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serving the university of texas at austin community since
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THURSDAY, APRIL 18, 2019
volume
119,
issue
139
NEWS
OPINION
LIFE&ARTS
SPORTS
Professors aim to start program to save students textbook costs. PA G E 2
UT introductory Spanish classes require too much experience. PA G E 4
San Antonio band hosts festival benefitting victims of sexual assault. PA G E 5
After meeting six years ago, two track stars continue their friendship through the sport. PA G E 6
UNIVERSITY
UT faculty works to reduce costs of course materials By Laura Doan @ledoan17
A committee of UT professors is trying to institute a program that has saved students millions of dollars on online course materials at other universities. If the program, called inclusive-access, is adopted, UT students taking courses requiring online texts or courseware will be billed during registration for those materials. Jen Moon, chair of the committee spearheading the effort, Technology-Enhanced Education Oversight Committee, said these materials will be highly discounted by publishers. “It costs the University nothing to participate,” said Moon, associate professor of biology. “The publishers are actually the ones taking the hit to reduce cost, and they see a benefit because they have a guaranteed population of students associated with the course (to buy those materials).” Moon said students at the University of Indiana saved $16 million in their course materials in the seven years following the program’s implementation, and students at the University of Alabama have saved $1.3 million since adopting the program in 2018. Moon’s goal is to institute a pilot test of inclusive-access by fall 2020, and she said she invites any professors with online materials to participate. “I’ve never met a professor who doesn’t want to save money for their students,” Moon said. “This is something wae’d all
CO-OP
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CAMPUS
Landscape Services cleans up, prepares for graduation By Nicole Stuessy @nicolestuessy
Glitter and confetti are popular props to use in graduation photos, but the debris stays behind on campus grounds long after the photo shoots are over. UT Landscape Services will clean up the leftover debris from popular campus areas, such as Littlefield Fountain, Battle Hall and in front of the Tower, along with performing normal landscaping maintenance work to prepare for the commencement ceremony in May, landscape supervisor Michael Klemmer said. “Really from about now until graduation you’ll just see (pollution) happen in a handful of areas and the crews who work those areas pretty much know about it,” Klemmer said. “They just use a blower or pick it up. We do strongly encourage to not (use confetti) in photos because confetti makes its way into everything.”
CLEAN UP
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New housing policy disrupts graduate student living arrangements By Morgan O’Hanlon @mcohanlon
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charlie hyman
| the daily texan staff
eon Staines, his wife and young son moved from Mexico to Austin in 2017 in order for him to pursue his Ph.D. After spending nearly two years on a waitlist that’s currently 900 people long, they moved into Colorado Apartments in February. Now, along with 80 other households, they will be forced to move due to changes in University Apartments policies announced last month. “I have never been in a vulnerable position in my life until this moment,” Staines said. “The whole thing has been very aggressive … I don’t feel that we were included at all in this decision.” University Apartments is a group of three apartment complexes — Brackenridge, Colorado and Gateway — owned by University Housing and Dining and available to undergraduates, graduate students, their families and other non-familial registered guests. Previously, each of the three complexes accommodated a wide range of living situations, but the new UHD policies, announced on March 11th, would reorganize the residents. Under the new policies, families will be required to move to the Brackenridge complex, non-familial registered guests will no longer be permitted to live in University Apartments, and the Colorado and Gateway apartments will be rented out on a room-by-room basis to students only. These changes would create space in University Apartments for up to 190 additional UT student contract holders, according to UHD. UHD residence life director Mylon Kirksy has been working since the policy change announcement to negotiate the rollout of the policy changes through a series of meetings with tenants, student representatives and campus leaders. UHD said it is not open to delaying the process, however, after hearing complaints from residents, UHD released accommodations to the policy changes, including an option for student tenants who meet certain requirements to delay their apartment transfer until June 2020. The department will also provide additional means to financially assist residents who must make an apartment transfer. “We recognize that there are unique circumstances which may require exceptions not listed above so we will consider accommodations on a case-bycase basis,” UHD said in an email.
HOUSING
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