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TUESDAY, APRIL 9, 2019
volume
119,
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NEWS
OPINION
LIFE&ARTS
SPORTS
Lawmakers hear testimony on a bill that would ban abortions in Texas. PA G E 2
Student journalists face difficulty working with University Communications. PA G E 4
North Austin American Ninja Warrior gym appeals to both children and adults. PA G E 6
Caitlin Shick returns to Texas Rowing after battle with thyroid cancer. PA G E 5
UNIVERSITY
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CAMPUS
Former UT tennis coach to plead guilty in admissions bribery case
Map aims to create accessible UT
By Megan Menchaca @meganmenchaca13
Former UT men’s tennis coach Michael Center will plead guilty by April 30 to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. As part of a nationwide scheme designed to fraudulently admit wealthy students into renowned universities, the DOJ accused Center of accepting approximately $100,000 from William “Rick” Singer as a bribe to facilitate the admission of a student with little tennis experience as a men’s tennis recruit. “The university learned today of the guilty plea,” University spokesperson J.B. Bird said in an email. “We continue to cooperate with federal law enforcement. Our highest priority is to complete our internal review to determine whether UT has the necessary rules and procedures in place to prevent someone from committing violations in the future.” Thirteen of the parents who were charged by the DOJ, including actress Felicity Huffman, will also plead guilty to using bribery and other forms of fraud to facilitate their children’s admission to selective colleges and universities. The maximum sentence for conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud is 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gain from the fraud. The plea hearing for Center and the other parents has not yet been scheduled. The U.S. Attorney recommended Center’s plea deal include “incarceration at the low end of the guidelines sentencing range,” a financial penalty, a year of supervised release, a
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amna ijaz | the daily texan staff Emily Shryock, assistant director of Services for Students with Disabilities, discusses the benefits of the newly developed accessible door map. Emily is pictured outside the Student Services Building on Monday afternoon.
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New UT Maps webpage shows accessible building entrances. By Mason Carroll @MasonCCarroll
ith the push of a power-operated door button, UT’s buildings become accessible to everybody. But before students can use an accessible entrance, they have to find it. This is where
UT’s new accessible door map can help students. The accessible door map is available on the UT Maps webpage and shows students all the accessible entrances on campus, including ones that have power-assisted doors. “That was a tool that came out of understanding that frustration of being in front of a building and not knowing how to get inside,” said Emily Shryock, assistant director of Services for Students with Disabilities. “We want people to know in advance, so that way it does not affect their plans and they can plan ahead of time.” The map is the result of the Division of Diversity and Community
Engagement’s Wayfinder Project, which focuses on improving accessibility signage on buildings across campus. Most buildings do have an accessible entrance, but Shryock said many of UT’s older buildings have staircases that are still inaccessible. Shryock said her goal is to ensure all students have the same access and experience. “As a person with a disability myself, I run into a lot of these challenges as well,” Shryock said. “Part of my job is working directly with students, so hearing their stories and experiences that they have is really motivating to make sure those don’t
MAPS
CAMPUS
UTA suspends all Greek life social events By Savana Dunning
By Tehya Rassman
@savanaish
@tehyarassman
andrew choi
people who are blind to understand more about how we can pillar the data and use algorithms to end user’s specific needs,” Morris said. Now, researchers are asking paid volunteers to describe images taken and
submitted by people who are blind through the crowdsourcing marketplace Amazon Mechanical Turk. They hope this data will help teach computers to describe similar images. The goal is to have data collected
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SYSTEM
Researchers seek to make computers more accessible for blind users Hoping to help people who are blind, professors from UT are collaborating with Microsoft to create a dataset that can be used by the public to expand automated image captioning. The goal of the Microsoft Ability Initiative is to use artificial intelligence to make life more accessible to people who are blind or have low vision by having machines verbally describe pictures for them, principal investigator Danna Gurari said. “It’s very important that I do something that feels like it has social impact,” Gurari said. “While I’m a computer scientist by training, I very much care about the connection to the real world.” The first part of the initiative aims to develop a public dataset to create image captioning algorithms, said Microsoft principal researcher Meredith Morris. “We’ll be following that up with additional interviews and studies with
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on 39,000 images, Gurari said. By early May, Gurari hopes to have finished the public dataset, which will then be used by Microsoft to create a “novel algorithm to create captions.” The initiative is interdisciplinary across
| the daily texan staff
technical and social science fields. Working alongside Gurari as a co-principal investigator, social scientist Kenneth R. Fleischmann said he focuses on human values within the technology.
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To address concerns over student code violations and hazing in Greek organizations, UT-Arlington suspended all fraternity and sorority social activities last week. “The University of Texas at Arlington is committed to our students’ safety and security,” UTA spokesperson Joe Carpenter said in an email to UTA students. “Due to concerns regarding the culture of the fraternal community both at UTA and nationally, on April 1st the University administration has directed the suspension of all social activities of the UTA’s fraternity and sorority community.” Suspended activities include brotherhood and sisterhood events, philanthropic events, new member showcases and social mixers. Chapter business meetings, community service projects and other limited activities, however, are still allowed if they are coordinated with the office of Fraternity and Sorority Life or Student Affairs, according to the email. On April 4, UTA released a statement further explaining the suspension. The statement cited hazing, alcohol abuse and student conduct code violations from community members in the past two years as being among the reasons for the suspension. Last year, Phi Gamma Delta and Sigma Phi
Epsilon fraternities and Delta Sigma Theta sorority were suspended because of these issues, according to records obtained by the Shorthorn, UTA’s student newspaper. On Monday, the Shorthorn reported an alleged hazing incident at Sigma Chi fraternity which resulted in a male student being hospitalized on March 26. Carpenter said UTA is assembling a task force to review the Greek Life community and recommend steps to “effect a positive shift in the community culture.” The April 4 statement said the task force would be composed of the four Fraternity and Sorority Life governing councils, Student Affairs staff and the UTA Police Department. UTA President Vistasp M. Karbhari said in the April 4 statement that he has admiration for the work done by Greek organizations and is “saddened by the cases of hazing, sexual assault, extreme intoxication and other inappropriate behaviors connected to some members of our Greek Community.” “It is with a view to ending this and strengthening and growing the good aspects of our Greek Community that we have decided to suspend current social activities and assemble a Fraternity and Sorority Life Task Force,” Karbhari said. “I expect the task force will act quickly and apply best practices that will enable us to
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CLAIRE ALLBRIGHT NEWS EDITOR @THEDAILYTEXAN
TUESDAY, APRIL 9, 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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STATE
Hundreds rally around bill to outlaw all abortion
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jacob fraga | the daily texan staff Anti-abortion lobbyist Russell Hunter, left, explains why abortion should be abolished to a crowd Monday. Anti-abortion advocates rallied at the Capitol to support House Bill 896, which would outlaw abortions in Texas and make abortion a criminal homicide.
By Katie Balevic @KatelynBalevic
Advocates for outlawing abortion gathered at the Capitol on Monday to support a bill that would prohibit abortions in Texas, regardless of federal laws and court decisions that permit them. House Bill 896 by Rep. Tony Tinderholt, R-Arlington, would outlaw abortions without providing any stipulations for cases of rape, incest or safety of the mother. The bill would make abortion a criminal homicide, which carries penalties ranging from a state jail felony to a capital felony — punishable by death, life in prison or life without parole. “We’re here today to bring a bill to the committee about abolishing abortion in Texas and criminalizing abortion because abortion is murder, whether you are an unborn child or whether you are
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strengthen and grow UTA’s fraternity and sorority community.” Peter Driscoll, former UT-Austin Interfraternity Council president and current advisory board member, said he does not think this suspension would be possible at UT-Austin, where private investors have significant influence over Greek organizations. Driscoll said he does not have enough information to know whether he agrees with the suspension, but he said he likes the idea of avoiding risks, especially after concerns over hazing resulted in the recent suspension of Texas Cowboys at UT. Under Driscoll’s watch as president, the council banned hard liquor in UT Greek
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born,” said Delaney Head, member of Abolish Abortion Texas. “Every human being has a right to life. We want equal justice for the murder of unborn children as for those who are born.” Over 400 people registered to testify about the bill before the Judiciary and Criminal Jurisprudence committee. The committee was scheduled to hear over six hours of testimony. Head said she adopted three children, who she called “poster children” for why people often have abortions, because they were neglected and left to the foster care system for years. “My children are not less valuable because of the kind of life that they’ve had,” Head said. “They do have something to give to the world, but our society and our culture and our country has said it’s okay to kill them.” In 2016, 54,507 abortions were performed in Texas, according to
HB 896 is all about, equal protection.” Pierce said members of Abolish Abortion Texas believe Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that established a woman’s right to an abortion, is wrong and should be ignored. “We believe that it is the duty of Texas to stand up for the preborn and to ignore Roe because Roe is unconstitutional,” Pierce said. “People say we can’t ignore the Supreme Court. Well, the Supreme Court is a constitutional body and that’s great. But you know what, where the Court ignores the Constitution, then we must ignore the Court.” Zeko said denying a Supreme Court ruling won’t work and that HB 896 is unlikely to pass into law. “There will be too many court cases against it,” Zeko said. “It just won’t go much further.” The committee was still hearing testimony at the time of print.
organization parties last October. “I err on the side of caution, especially with the Greek system,” Driscoll said. “It’s probably not the worst look, just because I think every Greek system has a certain amount of endemic risk in it, and any social organization … that gets together young people for a social purpose is going to run into safety issues (and) drinking.”
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“In the same image, different people in different situations might want different captions,” Fleischmann said. “Trying to make sure that the caption is not just a generic caption that works fairly well for everyone, but ideally to be able to customize it to some degree to align with the values of the user (is the goal).” Fleischmann is also involved in a project called Good Systems, which is an initiative that aims to ensure artificial intelligence benefits society. He said the Microsoft Ability
Politifact. Tatum Zeko, an English senior at UT-Austin, said she is against HB 896 because she believes abortions should be legal, especially for women who experienced rape or have medical conditions. “I don’t believe ‘abortion’ is a dirty word,” Zeko said. “I think society and religion have told us to believe that it’s a dirty word, when in all honesty, the people that I’ve known that have gotten an abortion are doing it because they need it and because it’s going to better their lives.” Bradley Pierce of Abolish Abortion Texas spoke to over a hundred anti-abortion advocates at a rally before the committee heard the bill. “We believe that everyone is created in the image of God,” Pierce said. “That’s why every single life from the moment of conception is of equal value and deserving of equal protection. And that’s what
It’s very important that I do something that feels like it has social impact.”
joshua guenther | the daily texan file Michael Center, former UT men’s tennis head coach, left, leaves a preliminary hearing at the United States Courthouse in Austin on March 12. Center will plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud.
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andrew choi the daily texan staff
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mandatory special assessment of $100 and forfeiture of $60,000 — the amount Center received from the fraud.
The sentence will be decided by a federal district court judge and based on the U.S. Federal Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. According to the plea deal, Center has agreed to not appeal or challenge his sentence.
Texas Student Media is seeking students for its Board of Operating Trustees
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PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Initiative is similar. “The whole purpose of Good Systems is to ensure that AI is making the world a better place and is helping people,” Fleischmann said. “That’s exactly what we’re doing in this project. We’re using AI to help people.”
correction
A caption in Monday’s paper for a story about Texas Crew included wrong information. The caption said Texas Crew raised $3,200 in the 40 for Forty campaign. It should have said Texas Crew raised $32,000.
Positions are available for students in the Moody College of Communication, as well as for other majors. The terms of office begin June 1, 2019. Board members will be appointed at the TSM Board meeting on Friday, May 3, 2019 at 1 PM.
Application deadline is Monday, April 29 at 12 PM. Visit texasstudentmedia.com to download an application with position requirements.
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TUESDAY, APRIL 9, 2019
CAMPUS
UT LGBTQ community feels impact of hate crimes By Peter Northfelt @peternorthfelt
Members of Austin’s LGBTQ community have reported two hate crimes this year, according to data released by the city earlier this year. Emi Ikeda, sociology senior and member of the club Queer and Asian, said she generally feels safe in her surroundings, but she does occasionally feel the need to keep her guard up in public. “Being out or visibly LGBTQ in Texas, even in Austin, in addition to being a person of color, is tough,” Ikeda said in an email. “It doesn’t really happen on campus, but if I walk downtown holding hands with my girlfriend, we usually get slurs yelled at us.” The two hate crimes this year occurred in January. On UT’s campus, no hate crimes against the LGBTQ community have been reported in recent years, according to the most recent annual Clery Report. But Ikeda said she still hears homophobic or transphobic comments from her peers. “It’s always sad to still hear things like that, and scary because what’s stopping them from saying the same about me?” Ikeda said. David Chambers, UTPD Threat Mitigation Unit detective and LGBTQIA+ community liaison, said the Austin community has still been open and accepting overall. “However, incidents like the attack on Spencer Deehring and Tristan Perry remind
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happen again.” In 2018, the Moody Communication Council passed legislation to install a power-operated door to the Moody Bridge that hangs over Dean Keeton Street. Former Communication Council member Karis Paul said accessibility is
me that no matter how caring a community may be, there are still people who have hate and bias,” Chambers said. “It is those people who create a safety challenge for the LGBTQIA community.” Deehring and Perry were attacked by four men on Jan. 19 after leaving an Austin gay bar, according to the Austin American-Statesman. Chambers said he is a resource but understands the concern that many LGBTQ people have when interacting with law enforcement agencies, which are designed to protect and serve. “Many people within the LGBTQIA community do not believe law enforcement represents them or their rights due to previous interactions they have had or heard about,” Chambers said. “Again, give us a chance.” UT offers specific resources for LGBTQ students who are victims of a hate crime, Chambers said. “First, call 911. Second, talk with the detective that is investigating the case,” Chambers said. “Explain to (the investigating detective) why you believe the case was a hate crime.” Tessandra Lancaster, radio-television-film academic adviser and chair of UT’s Pride and Equity Faculty Staff Association, said she feels less safe in certain parts of Austin, such as downtown and on campus at night. “But compared to my experiences in other cities like Houston and San Francisco, Austin has felt safe,” Lancaster said.
important for all students at all locations on campus. “We put in a lot of work to make sure the bridge was accessible for all students,” Paul said. “Otherwise, this great tool that so many students could use would not be handicap accessible.” While Paul does not have a disability that impacts her mobility, she said she tries to be conscious of how her actions affect others and
thinks the accessibility door map is a great addition. “If something doesn’t affect your day-to-day life, you’re not going to think about it,” Paul said. “It’s really important to realize not everyone on this campus have the same resources, and it’s hard for some people to navigate campus.” Finance senior Amie Jean was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis her sophomore year and uses her
jeb milling
wheelchair to navigate campus. Jean said accessibility on campus should be as important as any other student concern. “The subject is definitely important to the University because like any concerned student, (accessibility is) relevant to our experience,” Jean said. “It’s all about awareness and perspective.” Jean said other students can do better by being more aware of their
| the daily texan staff
actions, such as refraining from parking scooters in front of accessible entrances and being mindful of how they interact with students who have mobility impairments. “Learning to be empathetic requires an extra step sometimes,” Jean said. “I find that the students and professors willing to do that are the ones that have the best understanding of how I feel I should be treated.”
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LIZA ANDERSON EDITOR-IN-CHIEF @TEXANOPINION
TUESDAY, APRIL 9, 2019
EDITORIAL
liza anderson
By The Daily Texan Editorial Board We wanted to write this editorial about UT’s response to shifting Title IX policies at the federal level. The Department of Education has proposed significant changes that will soon be implemented nationwide, and schools across the country are scrambling to respond before they take effect. Many fear these changes will make it harder for schools to punish sexual assault and easier for students to get away with it. These changes provoke anxiety for a lot of UT students. Sexual assault is as prevalent at UT as it is anywhere, and students are worried about what these changes could mean. We wanted to find out how UT will respond. And we couldn’t. We couldn’t get the information we needed to write our initial piece through the official channels. We didn’t get the chance to explain to students how these changes will affect them or how their University will implement broad changes to its response to rape on campus — not through the official process. Instead, roadblocks within University Communications made information about sexual assault policies inaccessible. We knew some parts of UT’s response. We knew UT maintained the Obama-era standard of proof because that information is on the Dean of Students’ website. We knew the System planned to push back against some of the changes, because The Daily Texan wrote a piece about it in February. But we didn’t have any information about UT-Austin’s response. What would these changes mean for students on this campus? How would they affect our peers, or us? We needed to get this information through interviews with University officials. We emailed the Title IX coordinator for UT-Austin, Krista Anderson, requesting an interview. Anderson agreed to interview with us that Wednesday and asked us to schedule the interview through the University’s communications strategist, Shilpa Bakre. After some back and forth, Bakre asked us how our editorial would be different from the February news article highlighting the UT System’s response. We tried to explain that we were looking for the University’s response, or any information specific to UT-Austin. We wanted to know how this would affect students like us. Her response: “There isn’t much else we can provide in addition to what was previously provided. We aren’t able to provide a voice from the Federal level as we aren’t a Federal entity. We are a
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.
state institution.” This was the end of the conversation. It looked like we weren’t going to get the interview we needed. We needed information about sexual assault policies — about how the University will respond to changes that will have a huge impact on the process for reporting and responding to rape. We couldn’t get it. This looks like a lack of transparency. It looks like an unwillingness to give reporters at the student newspaper access to key information about sexual assault. This information — which would ideally be available online — isn’t even accessible to students who go through the proper channels.
When these practices create boundaries between reporters and the information they need, they shut off the flow of information to students.”
Remember that the Title IX coordinator had already agreed to an interview. Remember that she told us when she was available. Remember that the communications strategist was asked to schedule the interview, not cancel it. Students are worried about weakening Title IX policies. Students will be affected by these changes. But we couldn’t get this information through the official process. To get the interview, the editor-in-chief had to call the head of University Communications, J.B. Bird, and tell him we were planning to write an editorial about how hard it is to get information through his office. We had an interview set up within minutes. Issues with University Communications are broader than one interview. In this instance, the communications strategist asked for questions before setting up an interview.
| the daily texan staff
Reporters are taught not to provide questions, so this seems strange. When you’re trying to set up an interview on a controversial topic like sexual assault policies, demanding questions in advance makes it look like the University wants to filter its response. It makes it look like the University doesn’t want to answer questions it hasn’t seen beforehand. In a written statement responding to this piece, Bakre addressed the practice of asking reporters for questions before setting up an interview. “We want to make sure all Texan writers know that submitting questions is not required. At the same time, we know from our work with journalists outside the Texan that it’s a common practice to conduct interviews via email with questions provided in advance,” Bakre wrote. We asked 22 current and former professional journalists from news outlets across the country, including many who have reported on UT — The Dallas Morning News, The New York Times, the Austin-American Statesman, KVUE, CBS Austin, The Monitor, the Houston Chronicle, The Texas Tribune. Seven of them said they would provide sample questions, but never all of their questions. Only one said they would ever give questions in advance. We asked Texan reporters — everyone we talked to said University communicators regularly demanded questions before setting anything up. Most of them reported giving up rather than trying to fight back against the professionals. Bakre says sending questions isn’t a requirement. But when you’re a student journalist and someone in a position of authority tells you to send questions, it doesn’t sound like a request. When they follow up by telling you most professional journalists do what you’ve been told not to, it doesn’t feel like a request. These practices make the University look guarded. Demanding questions and denying interviews creates the appearance of not being transparent about issues such as sexual assault. Bakre and Bird both disagree, and state how open they’ve been. “As university communicators, we value the professional relationship we have with The Daily Texan and we facilitate many interviews for the Texan,” Bakre wrote. The Daily Texan is made by and for students, and most of our readers are current UT students. When these practices create boundaries between reporters and the information they need, they shut off the flow of information to students. Our purpose at the Texan is to provide students with information they need about issues that affect them. When we can’t do that, no one wins.
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.
RECYCLE | Please recycle this copy of The Daily Texan. Place the paper in one of the recycling bins on campus or back in the burnt-orange newsstand where you found it. EDITORIAL TWITTER | Follow The Daily Texan Editorial Board on Twitter (@TexanOpinion) and receive updates on our latest editorials and columns.
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ROSS BURKHART SPORTS EDITOR @TEXANSPORTS
TUESDAY, APRIL 9, 2019
ROWING
Shick begins return to rowing
Caitlin Shick found support, strength during her fight with cancer. Now, she wants a NCAA title. By Aneesh Namburi @AneeshNamburi
exas Rowing will have a new, yet familiar face to start the 2019 season. Caitlin Shick will return to the team after battling thyroid cancer during most of her sophomore year. Following a successful freshman season where she made the varsity boats, the junior from Millbrae, California, was looking forward to making a leap in her second season. However, one morning in the fall, she felt a lump in her neck. It initially didn’t seem like much. She had inflamed lymph nodes in the past and was already feeling under the weather. When the lump didn’t go away, Caitlin went through a series of trial and error methods in order to get rid of the lump. It took a biopsy on her lymph node to determine the issue. After the doctor tried calling her with no answer, he called Caitlin’s father, James Shick, who received the news first. Upon hearing the diagnosis, James was in such shock that he couldn’t deliver the news to his daughter that she had thyroid cancer, asking the doctor to do it instead. “I was going to have a really hard time telling Caitlin that I heard about the diagnosis, so I actually asked the doctor to contact her, cause I didn’t even know if I could tell her,” James said. Shick had to decide whether to undergo surgery and subsequent treatment in Texas or her home state of California. After consulting with doctors back home, she decided to have the surgery in California, but then recover in Texas. This meant not having her family by her side, something that proved to be tough for Caitlin and her dad. In her dad’s absence, Caitlin turned to
copyright texas athletics, and reproduced with permission After winning a Big 12 Championship in 2017, junior Caitlin Shick missed most of 2018 because of a diagnosis of thyroid cancer. Shick was cleared to return to the Texas rowing team this season and hopes the Longhorns can return to the NCAA Championships.
her community on the Texas rowing team for support. “I was so supported by everyone around me,” Caitlin said. “Everyone I told, they just were there for me if I needed them to come over and hang out or something like that and make me feel uplifted. My coaching staff was really supportive over my entire experience and my trainers as well. It was really nice to know that I had a family here while my real family was in California.” Because the cancer was detected before it could spread elsewhere, Caitlin was fortunate to “only” have to go through radiation treatment. After recovering from surgery, her main focus was returning to the team and the sport she loves. After months of strenuous rehab, Caitlin
was finally cleared to return to action this season. Despite not having many expectations for her to open the year, Texas Rowing head coach Dave O’Neill feels that Shick has not only exceeded his personal expectations, but also seems to have improved from her freshman year, both as a rower and a person. “Caitlin is a really special kid,” O’Neill said. “She has definitely grown quite a bit, going through what she has gone through in the past year-plus. She has certainly grown as a person. As an individual, I would say she probably has more inner strength. She was a tough kid to start with, but she has taken that to another level.” After missing an entire season, many athletes are expected to have some rust. However, O’Neill doesn’t expect any drawbacks
from Caitlin. “At first, I was thinking that she could be in contention to race in one of our priority boats to race in NCAA’s, and just in this past week, she has shown even more and put herself right in the mix,” O’Neill said. Throughout the ordeal, Caitlin said she feels like she has become a much different person when compared to who she was a year ago. As she enters the season, her goal is for her team to make it back to the NCAA Championships. But for her, she just wants to once again experience the thrill of competition in the sport she loves. “I guess, personally, last season I didn’t get to race at all, so this season it would be really cool to race and to feel accomplished with that,” Caitlin said.
BASEBALL
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Longhorns look to complete season sweep of Rice in midweek matchup
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Housing available High Rise Student Luxury only steps to campus! Tour today to see why space matters in our spacious floorplans. Great amenities, caring staff and much more! Call 21 Rio at (512)391-1991 to schedule a visit. katie bauer | the daily texan file Outfielder Duke Ellis hits a ball during Texas’ 6-5 victory over the Xavier Musketeers on March 31 at UFCU Disch-Falk Field. Ellis leads the Longhorns in on-base percentage and stolen bases and has been a key member for this year’s team.
By Daniela Perez @danielap3rez
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Now more than halfway through its season, Texas baseball has battled rainy weather throughout, from Stanford, California, to Sunday’s downpour in Waco, Texas. Battling physical conditions has become commonplace at times for the Longhorns. However, Austin has decided to bless the Longhorns with scorching weather this Tuesday for their game against the Rice Owls. Texas has already faced Rice earlier this season, beating them 11-4. In that matchup, Texas once again battled against bitter conditions in Houston. The Longhorns are coming off a slow weekend in where they went 1–1 against Baylor. Their first game ended in a disappointing 6-5 loss after initially leading the game 4-0. However, Texas turned the tide
on Saturday and came back from behind in a 5-0 deficit to win 8-6. “They were in a position where they could’ve said, ‘This is not our day,’ or whatever. They didn’t,” head coach David Pierce said in a postgame interview with Texas Sports. “I thought (pitcher) Blair (Henley) gutted it up. He showed true ownership of pitching the baseball today and he gave us seven innings when he didn’t look like he was going to get out of the fourth inning. … This is a great team win. We needed this win big time.” In Sunday’s game, the Longhorns were able to tally six runs in the first two innings. But due to inclement weather, the game was suspended and they were unable to complete the series comeback over the Bears. Now, the No. 14 Longhorns look to improve their 21–13 record. In their initial win against Rice, the Longhorns dominated the third and fourth inning to put the score at 8-1.
Key players in the matchup were outfielders Duke Ellis and Eric Kennedy, as well as designated hitter Zach Zubia, catcher DJ Petrinsky and pitcher Cole Quintanilla. Although Petrinsky is now out for the remainder of the season with a shoulder injury, Texas can still rely on its batters and pitchers for a successful showing. With a 15–5 record at home, the Longhorns have thrived under the lights of UFCU Disch-Falk Field. However, midweek games are still an area of improvement for the Longhorns, who hold a 5–4 record on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Their last midweek game, against Texas A&M, resulted in a 9-6 loss. Now, the Longhorns must wait until 6:30 p.m. to face the Owls for a second time this season. Not much is certain for tomorrow’s matchup, but Austin natives and baseball players alike can both hope rainy weather is a thing of the past.
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TIANA WOODARD & JORDYN ZITMAN LIFE&ARTS EDITORS @THEDAILYTEXAN
TUESDAY, APRIL 9, 2019
CITY
rachel olvera
| the daily texan staff
Since its opening in January 2018, Austin Ninjas, an American Ninja Warrior gym in Austin, continues to provide an open space for ninja training.
Austin Ninjas offers unique exercises Gym provides training for “American Ninja Warrior” hopefuls of all ages. By Landry Allred @l2ndry
o the left of the room, an adult sprints up a warped wall, grabbing a handle hanging from the ceiling. To the right, a child grabs two ropes hanging from a bar and swings his arms to move his body across the drop-off below. This isn’t a regular gym — it’s an American Ninja Warrior gym.
Last January, Austin Ninjas opened for children and adults to practice a unique type of training based off the show “American Ninja Warrior,” in which athletes compete by tackling ever-changing obstacle courses. The gym is located at 6001 W. Parmer Lane. Today, the gym continues training and dispatching prospective ninja warriors to compete on the show. The gym and show are separate entities, but Austin Ninjas still trains prospective ninjas by inviting past or present ones. The gym also reflects the show’s obstacle courses, including the warped wall and the jumping spider. Rick Hinnant, a current ninja, said training at the gym helped him know what to expect. “(Doing) any obstacle here similar to what the show has, I will feel totally comfortable and confident,” Hinnant said. “That’s a huge advantage.” Aside from training prospective ninjas, the gym is also open to others interested in
training. Jennifer Halla, the owner of Austin Ninjas, said the gyms provide a different approach to exercise. “It’s great to give kids an opportunity for something different that they might love,” Halla said. “If we can teach kids how to love to exercise because it’s fun, maybe they’ll stay exercising as adults.” Halla said ninja gyms differ from regular gyms because the obstacles in ninja gyms change often. “What you see when you come one week might be completely different than what you see in four weeks,” Halla said. “A regular gym, you go in and it’s the same weights.” With ninja gyms, the staff makes different combinations with obstacles, making training more challenging. Halla said people build up their core strength and muscles as obstacles require using both sides of your body. At Austin Ninjas, they house 40 obstacles, offer weekly classes and youth summer camps, host birthday parties and train
for competitions. Lexi Vasquez, 11, has been attending since the gym opened and said she wishes the gym had more adult obstacles. “I get to figure out different ways to do stuff but people would be able to do more if there were ... harder stuff here,” Vasquez said. Although the gym is child-centered, the gym is also open to adults during open gym and Friday’s adult and teen nights. Halla said they aim to provide more opportunities for adult training. “It’s always in our out-term,” Halla said. “Just trying to figure out how to implement that has been tricky.” Halla said overall, the small successes make the gym worthwhile. “Maybe it’s something a kid had never done before and the first time they do it, you’ll see a kid dancing at the top of the warped wall,” Halla said. “The smiles that you see is really fun.”
TELEVISION
STUDENT LIFE
Fans anticipate eighth, final season of ‘Game of Thrones’
UT students remain divided on usefulness of astrology in daily life By Celesia Smith @celsmit
lauren ibanez
By Kendall Tietz @TietzKendall
While some haven’t watched it, most have heard about it. The eighth and final season of “Game of Thrones” will premiere on April 14. Since the release of the first volume of the book series, “A Song of Ice and Fire,” by George R. R. Martin in 1996, a dedicated fanbase has emerged. The season 7 finale attracted a record 12.1 million viewers, further solidifying its status as a cultural icon. Lesley Willard, a radio-television-film doctoral candidate, researches “Game of Thrones” spoiler culture and fan theory podcasts. She said part of the show’s appeal is the idea that people like to latch onto one cultural object. “There are a couple big hits, you know, like ‘Walking Dead’ or ‘Stranger Things’ that most people have seen,” Willard said. “I think people like to be a part of a larger cultural conversation about a media text and ‘GOT’ provides that.” According to a report from Variety, the final season of the series will have a budget of $15 million per episode. According to Vanity Fair, “Game of
Thrones” has spent around $10 million per episode in the past. Willard said this growth in budget reflects people’s growing interest in the show. “The more popular it got, the more coverage it got, the bigger the fan base grew, the bigger the budget grew,” Willard said. “It just attracted more and more people so that everyone could be part of that same conversation.” Not everyone has hopped on the “Game of Thrones” bandwagon, including biochemistry sophomore Channing Hamilton. In addition to feeling pressure from her friends to watch the show, Hamilton said “Game of Thrones” advertisements and promotions are everywhere. “I’m just always hearing about it and since I don’t take part in it, it’s kind of like, ‘Okay, here’s another one,’” Hamilton said. “It’s just always in your face.” History freshman Justin Chasalow said he read the books before watching the show. He considers “Game of Thrones” to be a craze right now and said he has not experienced this much anticipation and hype around another TV show. Fearing his excitement will breed disappointment, Chasalow said he hopes this isn’t the case.
| the daily texan staff
“At this point, the show is well beyond the books, so no one really knows what’s going to happen,” Chasalow said. “I don’t think the ending of the show is going to be entirely happy. I think there’s going to be some sort of bittersweet ending.” Chasalow got his friends interested in the show and said he watched the entire series again with them. “There’s a lot of me pausing the TV and being like, ‘Okay, you understand what happened there, right? (Do) I need to explain this? Do you understand this?’” Chasalow said. Design freshman Meredith Cambis said a reason for the show’s hype is fans seeking television shows with a continuous storyline. Cambis said “Game of Thrones” is like a long movie but better because viewers get invested in the characters from spending so much time with them. “You kind of have to watch it and I feel like if you don’t watch it, you’re missing out on this huge part of pop culture,” Cambis said. “I would recommend anybody watch the show if they want something that’s very well written and has a lot of interesting thoughts and philosophies.”
While some students reach for the stars, others read them. Astrology-related apps and zodiac-based memes now frequent the phones of college students, but not everyone at UT finds it practical. Astrology uses knowledge about celestial bodies alongside tools such as star charts to generate predictions about future events and people’s personalities. Despite its reputation as a pseudoscience, many UT students use the stars as a medium through which to learn about themselves and those around them. For some students, the discipline can be used in aspects of life ranging from daily routines to relationship compatibility. Exercise science junior Monica Balderas said she uses astrology to get an idea of what to expect from her day. She said her chart and horoscope are usually accurate but that she uses the predictions as a guideline rather than a set plan. “(I don’t) make major decisions with astrology, but here and there I use it to keep certain things in mind like, ‘Okay, well maybe certain energies are going to be in the air today,’” Balderas said. “I’m just being more mindful of myself and others.” While some students use it for small aspects of life, others use astrology to make important life decisions. Chemical engineering sophomore Oishik Saha said his family considers astrology when planning marriages and evaluating a newborn’s future. “I come from an Indian household and usually before (family members) get married they look at star charts and find a day that’s considered auspicious for marriage,” Saha said.
“Usually when (a child) is born they tell the kid what is useful to him and what might be challenging for him based on his birthday.” Despite the nature of his family, Saha, like many students, said he does not think astrological predictions hold much truth. “It’s not that I completely don’t believe in it, “ Saba said. “It’s just far out of my scope of things I’m worried about. College and work take up so much time that I don’t have the mind space to focus on anything like astrology.” Busy schedules, however, aren’t the only things keeping students from astrology. Sophie Kellner, a supply chain management junior, said she doesn’t like the discipline because of its inaccuracy and impact on people’s actions. “(Astrology) gives people an excuse to act poorly,” Kellner said. “For example, if I texted my friend that I felt lazy that day and they’re like, ‘That’s because this planet is in retrograde’ then by thinking about that I feel like I have the right to be lazy because (of) my planet.” Kellner’s distaste goes beyond daily life. She said she doesn’t like when people use astrology in confluence with relationships. “I have friends who say they won’t date someone who’s not astrologically compatible with them,” Kellner said. “They read something that says that the relationship is doomed and therefore they’re dooming their own relationship because it’s in the back of their mind.” Despite criticism, many UT students hold true to astrological beliefs. Balderas said she doesn’t let the doubt of others cloud her love for the stars’ predictions. “(People) always align themselves with what they feel connected to,” Balderas said. “For some, that’s with astrology, and for others, it’s something different and that’s totally okay.”
channing miller
| the daily texan staff
7
TUESDAY, APRIL 9, 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, April 9, 2019
Crossword ACROSS 1 Allow in 6 Cause for cake and candles, in brief 10 Figs. that average 100 13 Sam played one in “Casablanca” 14 Skye of “Say Anything …” 15 Border 16 It has spots 18 “___ #1!”
SUDOKUFORYOU 6
5
9 7
3 4 6 1 4 6 3 1 6 2 4 4 5 8 3 6 2 8 9 5 7 6 1 8 1 2 3 4 5
Today’s solution will appear here next issue
5 6 8 1 2 4 7 3 9
3 1 2 9 7 5 4 8 6
4 7 9 3 8 6 5 2 1
6 4 5 2 3 7 9 1 8
8 2 7 5 1 9 3 6 4
1 9 3 4 6 8 2 7 5
9 8 6 7 4 3 1 5 2
2 3 4 8 5 1 6 9 7
7 5 1 6 9 2 8 4 3
31 Potential new job requirement, informally
61 Ingredient in gumbo
32 Nov. 11 honoree
63 “Listen here!”
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35 It has spots
64 Products from Parker and Cross
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40 Lengua de Mex. 41 Juiceless, as a battery
DOWN 1 Google Play purchases
43 Congressional hirees 45 Totally stumped 48 It has Spots
20 Fertile soil 21 Jackson of country music
29 Mob
A L U M
D A U B
E D G E
T I P S Y
I D A H O
Y E T I
E V E N S M O O L I E S T T H E A N T O O R K
R W R E H O D O N O R M A N A P E D H B E G O D T I N G I N G E E S B E Y U R A R I L G E E
2 Rotary phone feature
5 Privy 6 Lummox
56 Where Johnny Cash shot a man, in song
8 Enero a diciembre
A R E S
P M I F A A S E S T A R S H A M A F L C I O W I E A A R T H U R Y E A S S T E L O N E R P O N E O U R S E L L U T T E E S L A T S H E S S
F A T S O
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15 18 21 23
28
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29 31 36
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53 “Forget ___” (advice after a breakup)
10 “To the best of my knowledge”
7
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52 Jazz’s James
57 It has spots
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9 Still
5
No. 0305
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3 “Quite contrary” girl of rhyme
7 Stuffed grape leaves
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ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE L A M B
3
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4 Squid’s defense
60 Onetime maker of Matchbox cars
30 Vicinity
2
13
26
42 What “:” means in an analogy
51 Jump with a turn on ice
26 Title song on the Beatles’ final studio album
62 Throbbed
1
65 Scampers
19 Like a fox
22 It has spots
Edited by Will Shortz
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50 52
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PUZZLE BY JOE DEENEY
38 Word repeated in “Mi ___ es su ___”
53 Cheerful greeting 44 Home with a dome (in Nome?) 54 Rapper whose 45 Substitutes for name sounds like a drink 46 Art museum with many Constables and Sargents 55 Pharmaceuticals, briefly 47 High point in the Old Testament? 57 Blouse, e.g. 48 Sith title in “Star Wars” 58 Barely make, 49 Yellow-and-white with “out” meadow flower
25 Small complication?
39 Tick off
50 Pine (for)
26 Wedding dress material
Online subscriptions: Today’s puzzle and more than 7,000 past puzzles, nytimes.com/crosswords ($39.95 a year). Read about and comment on each puzzle: nytimes.com/wordplay.
11 Book of Islam 12 Tube used in heart surgery 15 Employee of the Month, e.g. 17 Inexperienced gamer, in slang 22 Writer O’Flaherty
R E D S
23 Cousin of an emu
F R E E
24 Honeycakes
27 Greek god with a bow
28 Source of day workers for an office 31 Unburden (of) 33 Takes the cake? 34 Some calls from boxing refs 36 Small vortex 37 Clarinet insert
59 Old TV hookup