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1900
TUESDAY, APRIL 30, 2019
volume
119,
issue
NEWS
OPINION
LIFE&ARTS
SPORTS
UTPD, APD reflect on results of recent UT community safety survey. PA G E 3
Prospective UT students need more information about LGBTQ resources. PA G E 4
Alone and kind of lonely, students talk spending the summer in Austin. PA G E 8
Despite recent woes, Texas players are optimistic they can get back on track. PA G E 6
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CAMPUS
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I APPLY? Potential UT students have multiple paths to gain admission. By Megan Menchaca @meganmenchaca13
T’s admissions process is complicated. The University’s admissions process — especially for athletes on scholarship — came under national scrutiny on March 12 after now-fired men’s tennis coach Michael Center pled guilty to accepting a bribe of approximately $100,000 to facilitate the admission of a student as a men’s tennis recruit in 2015. At peak season, approximately 120 admissions officers sifted through thousands of applications in less than three months. Each of the more than 50,000 applications were reviewed by two officers for about 15-20 minutes each. The most recent admissions data available from 2017 shows 62% of students did not receive offers of admission into UT. For most students, the admissions process begins with a holistic review. University spokesperson J.B. Bird
said admissions officers are not allowed to consider legacy status, monetary donations or information that might have undue influence during the holistic review. Instead, the officers score all applications based on factors such as class rank, SAT and ACT scores, essays, race and special circumstances. The admissions team then makes a decision after calculating different admissions “targets,” or enrollment goals, which often depend on the school the student is applying to. “The classic example in admissions is, ‘You don’t admit an orchestra full of oboe players,’” Bird said. “So when you have gotten your ‘oboe players’ — if they haven’t graduated — you may not be looking to admit more than one or additional ‘oboe players.’” All Texas students who graduate in the top 10% of their high school class receive automatic admission to state-funded universities under a state law passed in 1997, but UT can
ADMISSIONS
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emma overholt
| the daily texan staff
CAMPUS
LEGISLATURE
Freshman combats food insecurity
House passes free speech protections
By Trinady Joslin @trinady05
According to Student Emergency Services, 1 in 4 UT students face difficulties affording food. Among them is history freshman Elise Randall, who is facing food insecurity after running out of Dine In Dollars near the end of the semester. Despite University programs to combat food insecurity, students continue to struggle. Randall visits food banks once a week to gather ingredients and cook in the Jester basement kitchen. Rather than keeping the food to herself, Randall invites students to join her at no cost. “There’s no way for me to cook in my dorm or to store food in my dorm after I make it,” Randall said. “So I figured that (since) it’s from a food bank, I might as well share with as many people as I possibly can.” To spread the word, Randall sends out messages in the Finesse Nation GroupMe, a group chat dedicated to finding free food and other deals on campus. Providing everything from ingredients to utensils, Randall said conversation is her only requirement. “If I’m making food for them, I want to get to know who I’m making food for,”
By Katie Balevic @KatelynBalevic
jacob fraga | the daily texan staff With 1 in 4 UT students facing difficulties affording food, history freshman Elise Randall avoids this problem by making food for herself and other students using ingredients from a local food bank. Randall is helping combat food insecurity on campus by inviting other students to eat with her in the Finesse Nation GroupMe.
Randall said. “I love meeting new people and being able to converse with people while I cook. It helps me concentrate.” Bell Kolev, radio-television-film and English junior, attended and said students discussed how food provided by UT Outpost and Daily Bread are useful. However, they often require microwave access and additional funds to purchase storage containers. “Elise was able to avoid all of these problems by using the pasta that she got from
one of those programs (to feed) not only herself, but other people,” Kolev said. “She’s able to use the group chat to help a ton of other people, and she’s creating this culture of giving that is so important.” In addition to providing students with food, Kolev said Randall also serves as an example for students looking to combat food insecurity. “Elise is taking food banks like Outpost and Daily Bread a step further not only by giving away food, but by
making it and creating an environment where the food becomes truly accessible,” Kolev said. Out of Dine In Dollars, biology sophomore Sara Morakabian said she chooses between spending money to eat out or eating what’s in her dorm. “The free meal helped a lot,” Morakabian said. “Elise started a chain reaction of kindness with sharing.” After the first cooking
FOOD
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The Texas House passed a bill Monday meant to protect freedom of speech and expressive activities on college campuses, but some Democrats say it could prevent universities from intervening if the activities are offensive or hateful. House Bill 2100 by state Rep. Briscoe Cain, R-Deer Park, passed 82-56 and will now go to the Texas Senate to be heard in committee. During debate, state Rep. Terry Canales, D-Edinburg, successfully amended the bill to waive a university’s sovereign immunity, a rule that protects universities from lawsuits by requiring the plaintiff to get permission from the legislature to move forward with the lawsuit. Canales’ amendment means universities could be sued for limiting free speech. “If (a university is) attacking the student body’s ability to exercise their freedom of speech and they’re in violation of the law, they should be held accountable,” Canales said. “Under current law, a university would assert sovereign immunity, and you would not be able to enforce a jury verdict or even get to a jury.” State Rep. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas, questioned whether
the bill would protect against offensive events put on by university organizations, referring to an event planned in 2013 by the Young Conservatives of Texas at UT called “Catch an Illegal Immigrant.” The event was canceled but received national attention. “What about at the University of Texas, where you have a group that says, ‘It’s catch an illegal immigrant day?,’” Anchia said. “Can a university shut that down? Or how about ‘catch a Negro day?’ How about ‘catch a gay person day?’” Canales did not answer Anchia’s question but did say “popular speech isn’t what freedom of speech is about.” State Rep. Jessica González, D-Dallas, brought a successful amendment to allow universities to decide whether an invited speaker is part of a hate group. The definition of “hate group” would be left to the university. However, the amendment was withdrawn without explanation. State Rep. Gene Wu, D-Houston, unsuccessfully proposed an amendment that would clarify terminology in the bill that could prevent universities from taking positions on certain topics. “This amendment strikes … the requirement that institutions maintain a neutral
SPEECH
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