serving the university of texas at austin community since
@thedailytexan |
thedailytexan . com
1900
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 2019
volume
119,
issue
NEWS
OPINION
LIFE&ARTS
SPORTS
Student Government passes resolution supporting apology to former regent. PA G E 2
Plan II directors need to foster the community they promised students. PA G E 4
Students change course catalogs to suit academic needs. PA G E 8
After offensive surge, Texas surrenders ninth-inning lead to Texas State. PA G E 6
STATE
143
CAMPUS
UT to revitalize East Mall
MJ Hegar announces 2020 run against Sen. John Cornyn By Chase Karacostas @chasekaracostas
MJ Hegar, the Air Force veteran who narrowly lost a Congressional race in Round Rock last year, announced Tuesday she would challenge incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in 2020. A previously unknown candidate, Hegar drew attention from national Democrats after her viral campaign video describing her time as a pilot in Afghanistan and her later battle against the Pentagon’s ban on women from serving ground combat positions. Hegar lost her 2018 midterm race by less than three points to Republican Congressman John Carter. “I didn’t win (my last) election, but we won something much bigger,” Hegar said in a three-minute ad on Twitter. “We didn’t just close the gap in my district by almost 20 points — we helped change the status quo.” Despite Hegar’s November loss, Josh Blank, the manager of polling and research at the Texas Politics Project, said Hegar will still be a strong candidate, because she already has some name recognition and a fundraising and campaign base. “The reality is that the Democrats don’t win a lot of offices,” Blank said. “The bigger problem the Democrats have faced in previous election cycles is they’ve had candidates run races, lose and then not run again … Running for an office again, any office, is a benefit to Democrats.” Last month, a member of fourterm Democratic Congressman Joaquin Castro’s campaign team said he is “seriously considering” a run against Cornyn, and Castro himself said last week that he would make a decision soon. “She brings a ton of great qualities to the race and will provide a unique perspective that all of us ought to take seriously — especially Washington John Cornyn,” Castro political adviser Matthew Jones said in a statement
HEGAR
page
hannah simon | the daily texan staff Nicholas Strain with UT Landscape Services searched for the source of an irrigation leak at the ongoing East Mall lawn renovation on Tuesday morning. It is likely that the machinery used in the renovation caused the pipe leak.
UT Landscape Services manages erosion, drainage along East Mall. By Nicole Stuessy @nicolestuessy
eavy rainfall, low sunlight and high traffic have been consistent factors limiting grass growth on East Mall for the past few years. Last weekend, UT Landscape Services installed new grass and crushed stone along sections of the mall to widen the walkways and allow student tabling without further damaging the lawn, landscape supervisor Mike Klemmer said. “We also built it the way it is now, with the gravel around the edges, to slow down the water that washes across there and help keep all the soil in place,”
Klemmer said. “We still want to make it usable for people who need to use it.” Landscape Services manager Jim Carse said in previous years, they have replaced the entire East Mall lawn because of how worn down it gets. “We’re just not going to go down that road, or at least not to that extent, because not only is it unsustainable, but it would be cost prohibitive,” Carse said. “So, what we’ve done is a temporary solution.” With the crushed stone, Landscape Services hopes to limit erosion and alleviate the lack of drainage in the area, Carse said. “That site has only two storm drains that are really close to it, and then when you get a big rain, only a little bit of that water can reach those drains,” Carse said. “What that stone does is it helps filter and slow down the rain and storm water in that area.” Because of similar issues, Landscape Services began blocking off the South Mall lawn from foot traffic six years ago and redistributed events held on the lawn to other areas of campus, such as Speedway Mall and the LBJ Lawn, to preserve the grass. However, because
the space on East Mall is still widely used, Carse said they will work to make it accessible to students. “With East Mall, I think it’ll be event-driven,” Carse said. “I think there’ll be times when we will block off those grass areas, but now it’s a much lower amount of grass, and it’s more maintainable.” Psychology freshman Raven Botello said she appreciates that students are still able to use some of the space on East Mall while they work to fix the lawn. “It’s nice students can still use the space to set up booths instead of them blocking the entire lawn,” Botello said. “Last semester, I was walking near East Mall when it was raining a lot, and it was just flat out mud, so I think adding the grass and rocks looks much better.” Going forward, Carse said Landscape Services is looking for a longterm solution to redesign the mall for student use that takes into account environmental factors. “Whatever (the solution) is, it needs to be functional for a huge amount of stakeholders,” Carse said. “We have to rethink that area but also keep in mind that it’s an iconic, historic space.”
2
CAMPUS
CAMPUS
Texas Hillel, Palestine Solidarity Committee clash at Israel block party By Laura Morales @lamor_1217
As Jewish student leaders played music, sold food and brought camels to showcase Israeli culture Tuesday, Palestinian counter-protesters marched up and down Speedway chanting and waving signs. The annual Israel Block Party is a student-led event sponsored by Texas Hillel, a Jewish community organization for students. The Palestine Solidarity Committee, a Palestinian activist group, protested what they say is Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory throughout the event. Ethan Robinson, cochair of the event and supply chain management junior, said the event is important in changing perceptions of Israel, given the ongoing violence in the country. “I think that Israel is a very misunderstood country,” Robinson said. “People hear things in the news that are very negative coverage, and a lot of students in Texas are actually very passionate and care a lot about what Israel has to offer … and seeing so many people engaged in Israeli activities, it brings that to light.” International business junior Shira Hovav said she grew up traveling back and
evan l’roy | the daily texan staff Attendees pick out fruits at a food stand set up at Tuesday’s annual Israel Block Party held at Gregory Gym Plaza. The student-led event aimed to educate students of Israeli culture and to change public views of the country.
forth from the U.S. and Israel to visit her family and is glad to see her culture represented on campus. “Especially for the Jewish community, it’s important for us to share our culture and country with the community so they can understand our food, our music and the innovation that we have to offer,” Hovav said. “I personally have very strong connections with the land. When I am there, I feel most at home.” The PSC marched down Speedway in front of the event
with chants such as “Up with liberation, down with occupation;” “Occupation, endless war. We know what your party is for;” and “Free Palestine.” PSC’s protests focused on the larger abuses of Palestinian people by the Israeli government, according to fliers the group passed out. Rami Shaibani, a PSC member and health and society junior, said he is not Palestinian but believes Israeli aggression and occupation has stretched beyond its borders into his home country of Syria.
He said he believes the Israel Block Party appropriates Palestine culture and erases the conflict. “Unless we come out here to speak out, people are going to see this party, they are trying to have all this extravagance in order to distract you from what is really going on,” Shaibani said. “What you see is what you know, so having some sort of media bias or only hearing one side, you don’t have the necessary information to formulate a proper opinion.”
Registered bike riders outnumber parking spaces
often full for the whole day. “I personally have huge issues with this at my dorm … since people just leave their bikes,” An additional 1,700 bike parkWang said. “But honestly, it’s a ing spaces have been added over problem all over campus for me the last six years to accommodate at least.” for the high number of campus More distant buildings, such bikers, according to the most reas those within the engineering cent Parking and Transportation school, also tend to have more Services report. overcrowded bike However, sturacks. This causes dents say the Unistudents to strugversity still needs gle to find availmore parking able spots before availability due There should be a class starts. to continuously “If the one nearovercrowded bike record to under- est to the building racks. There were stand which ar- is full, it’s often difabout 7,000 spacficult to find a neares for the 9,200 eas have the most by rack that doesn’t registered bikers in bike traffic and require stairs,” civil 2017, according to engineering senior the highest need James Lentz said. the report. “Parking is not for bike racks.” “The rack that provided at a ratio happens to me the of one-to-one,” PTS most on is the one associate direcon Dean Keeton H AY L E Y B I S H O P tor Blanca Gamez under the pedesCHEMICAL ENGINEERING said. “Traffic untrian bridge by the SENIOR dergoes continuous Civil Engineering changes through Building.” the day on campus whether you Chemical engineering senior are driving a vehicle or riding Hayley Bishop said PTS should a bike.” keep better track of what areas of While PTS has been provid- the campus need more bike racks. ing more spaces, they stopped “There has not been enough three years ago when there surveillance of which bike racks were enough racks to accommoare useful and where the racks date for more than 70% of the get overcrowded,” Bishop said. registered bikers. “There should be a record to unPublic health freshman Eric derstand which areas have the Wang said this is not enough, most bike traffic and the highest especially when bike racks at Carothers Residence Hall are B I K E page 2
By Bonny Chu @bbbonny_