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1900
MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2019
volume
119,
issue
NEWS
OPINION
LIFE&ARTS
SPORTS
Researcher speaks to engineering students about artificial pancreas technology. PA G E 2
Forum contributors discuss the problems and realities of UT’s admissions process. PA G E 4
Lizzo’s third studio album radiates body positivity and self-satisfaction. PA G E 8
Softball loses three-game series to the No. 1 ranked Oklahoma Sooners. PA G E 6
141
UNIVERSITY
University faces hazing lawsuit UT students sue claiming Title IX, constitutional rights violations, seek $1 million. By Emily Hernandez @emilylhernandez
our undergraduate male students are suing the University, saying they were unfairly disciplined for actions they committed as pledges in an unnamed fraternity last fall, according to a lawsuit filed in early April. In the lawsuit, the anonymous plaintiffs accuse the University of violating the students’ rights under Title IX, the U.S. Constitution and the Texas Constitution. While the exact reason for the University’s disciplinary actions is not specified in the lawsuit, it states the Office of the Dean of Students placed the students on disciplinary
probation and required them to participate in a Virtual Academic Integrity Module tutorial. The tutorial is a disciplinary requirement for academic dishonesty, according to information on the tutorial from the UT Libraries website. The lawsuit states the University violated Title IX, the federal law banning discrimination on the basis of sex at any institutions that receive federal financial assistance, because it does not punish female students, especially sorority members who participate in sorority-related activities, as often or as severely as it does with male students. “The University treats all students and student organizations equally under its rules and policies and does not discriminate on the basis of gender,” UT spokesperson Shilpa
Bakre said in an email. The students are seeking $1 million plus attorneys’ fees, as well as the striking of the disciplinary action from the students’ records. The students, who are anonymously named Jon 1 Doe, Jon 2 Doe, and so on, are represented by attorneys Chigozie Odediran and Terry P. Gorman. Neither responded to multiple requests for comment. According to the lawsuit, the students have been harmed “emotionally and economically for perhaps the rest of their lives” by UT’s disciplinary process. The economic harm from the University’s disciplinary actions refers to students potentially being required to retake a class, meaning they would have
HAZING
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EARTH DAY
elias huerta | the daily texan staff Taylor Collins, Katie Forrest and their dog stand outside a silo that holds the meat produced on the land, tools, field guides and a provides a sense of closeness to what is ahead in the coming months— lots and lots of food.
By Elias Huerta @twitterhandle
ROAM Ranch in Fredericksburg is what Taylor Collins and Katie Forrest, both Austinites, call a lifelong dream to raise a family immersed in nature. They
bought the land in 2017 with no real background in farming aside from mentors and reading lots of books. So far, it’s working, and at the same time, it’s a work in progress. While other Texas farmers are ready to hop on the hemp
bandwagon, ROAM Ranch is planting fruit trees, herding bison, learning and teaching themselves through trial and error. They’re do-it-yourself farmers trying to make farming cool again. If it never was cool, they’re the
first. If it’s in season, they probably have it. As odd as it sounds, one of the most astounding parts of the land was a pasture of grass. Taylor hopped out of the Mule, looked at the ground, touched it and
RANCH
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CAMPUS
LEGACY
What ‘start-ups’ here changes the world
School of Journalism remembers former director Lorraine Branham
By Lauren Rahman @RahmanLauren
On Saturday, 22 student entrepreneur teams competed in Texas Shark Tank at UT, where they pitched their company ideas to investment professionals with backgrounds in venture capital and serial entrepreneurship. The competition, which featured teams of students from universities across Texas, was hosted by the University Securities and Investment Team and Texas Convergent, two UT student organizations. Invenstment team vice president Eric Sun said Texas Shark Tank allows students to show off their startups to investors from the Austin area and beyond. “Austin is one of the biggest startup hubs in the nation, and we really wanted to offer all the entrepreneurial opportunities that Austin has to offer to student startups across Texas,” said Sun, a
business honors, finance and math junior. “A lot of these connections actually lead to stronger relationships that result in an amazing mentor network and even seed funding in the thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars.” The first place startup was SurviVR, a virtual reality program for police training. The company, presented by a UT-Dallas student, creates realistic and cost-effective training scenarios that help police officers train and prepare for situations such as an active shooter or domestic battery. It is also the only VR training product that emphasizes unconscious bias monitoring, according to Brian Hoang, CEO and co-founder of SurviVR. Hoang said his team is trying to solve the problem of accidental or preventable deaths of both police officers and civilians, many of which they say could have
START-UP
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By Graysen Golter @graysen_golter
Lorraine Branham, former director of UT’s School of Journalism, died April 2 at age 66, prompting current faculty to reflect on her achievements and work at UT. Branham’s career in reporting and academia spanned over four decades, including her time at UT from 2002 to 2008. Before working at UT’s Moody College of Communication, Branham worked at newspapers such as The Tallahassee Democrat in Florida, where she was the first female and African-American executive editor. After leaving UT in 2008, Branham became the first woman and first person of color to lead Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications as dean. Kathleen McElroy, current director of UT’s journalism school, said she was inspired by Branham’s accomplishments and who she was as a person. “It meant something to me to see a black woman was running the UT School of Journalism,” McElroy said. “It shows you what the possibilities could be. (Branham) became a
copyright colin davy, the daily orange, and reproduced with permission Lorraine Branham, former director of UT’s School of Journalism, died April 2 at age 66. Branham was at UT from 2002 to 2008
mentor and a friend. (She had) quiet power and quiet elegance. (She was) a person who made stuff happen. I was in awe of her abilities to get things done. Every time I walked away from a conversation with her, I felt smarter.” Tracy Dahlby, a journalism professor who was hired during Branham’s tenure at UT, said he was nervous
about jumping into an academic career straight from a reporting career, but Branham easily made him feel at home. “Lorraine was the colleague of a lifetime,” Dahlby said. “When I met Lorraine, I knew I was in the right place. She had all the attributes of good editor. She was eagle-eyed, she
CHAIR
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