The Daily Texan 2020-06-09

more than an athlete

DT Volume 121, Issue 1 Tuesday, June 9, 2020 cynthia treviĂąo / the daily texan staff

Contents: page

DT Senior Videographer Jennifer Xia

Assoc. Managing Editors Brittany Miller, Marcus Krum

Senior Audio Producer Aurora Berry

Internal Relations Director Lauren Girgis

Photo Editor Amna Ijaz

External Relations Director Assoc. Photo Editor Angelica Arinze Jamie Hwang Assoc. Editors Julia Zaksek, Jennifer Beck

Life&Arts Editor Trinady Joslin

Illustration Coordinator Abriella Corker

Assoc. Life&Arts Editor Ariana Arredondo

News Editor Nicole Stuessy

Sr. Life&Arts Reporters

Assoc. News Editors Emily Hernandez, Neelam Bohra

Sports Editor Myah Taylor

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page

Managing Editor Sami Sparber

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Assoc. Multimedia Editor Faith Castle

page

PERMANENT STAFF Editor-in-Chief Emily Caldwell

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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

cover story Former Black UT athletes discuss the relationship between race and sports.

News Student organizations raise money and awareness following Austin protests against police brutality.

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UT’s Black Student Alliance encourages allies to demand justice for George Floyd.

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The Daily Texan, a student newspaper at The University of Texas at Austin, is published by Texas Student Media, 2500 Whitis Ave., Austin, TX 78712. The Daily Texan is published daily, Monday through Friday, during the regular academic year and is published once weekly during the summer semester. The Daily Texan does not publish during academic breaks, most Federal Holidays and exam periods. News contributions will be accepted by telephone 2.120). Entire contents copyright 2020 Texas Student Media.

NEWS

News Editor

3

NICOLE STUESSY

TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 2020

Q&A

Hartzell discusses updates for fall semester On his first day on the job, UT interim president breaks down returning to campus amid COVID-19.

By Anna Canizales @annaleonorc

eddie gaspar / the daily texan file UT Interim President Jay Hartzell discussed plans for reopening in the fall and keeping students safe on campus in a Q&A on June 1. Hartzell is pictured here on Nov. 30, 2018, during an event recognizing the Canfield Business Honors program.

ay Hartzell, dean of the McCombs School of Business, started his role as interim president of The University of Texas at Austin on June 1. The UT System Board of Regents appointed Hartzell as interim president in April after President Gregory Fenves announced he would leave to become president of Emory University. On his first day on the job, The Daily Texan spoke with Hartzell about his plans for the coming semesters in light of the coronavirus.

DT: What would you say to students and faculty who have concerns about physically returning

to campus in the fall?

On June 3, Hartzell announced up to 2,100 of the 11,000 classes offered this fall will be held online. Last month, Fenves and Hartzell announced fall classes will be held on-campus beginning Aug. 26 as planned but will end at the start of Thanksgiving break.

Hartzell said as guidelines surrounding the coronavirus continue to change, individual students or faculty members should take reasonable precautions based on their needs.

“It sounds hard to do at a 70,000 person place, but some of it’s gonna have to be at the individual level to figure out what fits that person’s needs,” he said. “We are working through the various things we know we need, from how we worry about people who

are diagnosed with COVID-19, how we keep track of how the risks are evolving over time for our community, how we take care of those who need protection.”

DT: What are you doing to keep students enrolled and feeling safe?

“We want to make sure students continue to take advantage of UT and keep on their paths,” Hartzell said. “You look at all the great ground we’ve gained in terms of graduation rates for example, and we just hate to see that slip because of the pandemic.”

Hartzell said there is going to be a support network in place for students with resources for mental health and physical well-being.

“There’s a wide safety net at a place like UT for students to know

that if they come they’re gonna be supported,” he said. “We’re all aligned. We all want the students to succeed.”

DT: What do you hope to convey to students, staff and faculty during the pandemic?

“We’re gonna get through this together,” Hartzell said. “This University has wonderful fundamentals, has wonderful people, and I just wouldn’t trade what we have at our place for virtually any other university in the world. The future is still bright. There are gonna be bumps for a while to get to that future.”

DT: Are you planning on pursuing the permanent president position? How do you view your current role as interim?

Hartzell said it is in the best interests of the University to keep

moving forward on initiatives that President Fenves and Provost Maurie McInnis were working on to continue the momentum.

“I love this University, and it was an easy choice for me to say yes when I got the chance to step in,” Hartzell said. “If asked to serve, my tendency is to want to say yes … but it’s up to the regents and the chancellor to decide how they want to go.”

DT: What is your favorite UT tradition?

“It was not until I got to UT that I had a sense of the scale of pride and passion that this place creates,” Hartzell said. “There’s just this idea of a world-class, fantastic institution that is this big.

That excellence at scale, I think, is the thing that gets me the most excited every day.”

4

News Editor

NICOLE STUESSY

TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 2020 BLM

NEWS

Students organize for racial justice

jamie hwang / the daily texan staff Malcolm McGregor, president of the Black Student Alliance at UT, is calling for police reform following the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. UT student organizations, including the BSA, have increased their efforts in spreading the word to support the Black Lives Matter movement in recent weeks.

By Hannah Williford @HannahWillifor2

Student leaders are calling for change on the University campus following police killings of Black Americans such as George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minn., Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Ky. and Mike Ramos in Austin.

According to the UT Senate of College Councils, 117 student groups as of Sunday had released statements or made donations to organizations including the Black Visions Collective and the George Floyd Memorial Fund.

Seven student organizations, including the Black Student Alliance and Student Government, released a statement May 29 listing six steps the groups will take toward racial

justice. The list included holding regular meetings with the UT Police Department and redistributing $8 million in funds from the UT System Board of Regents currently given to UTPD to increase campus security to traditionally Black organizations.

Alliance President Malcolm McGregor said his organization would like to see increased prevalence of de-escalation training and a more public commitment from UTPD to use nonviolence when safely interacting with students.

“This is a place where we all call home, whether it be for a semester or for an entire year,” marketing senior McGregor said. “Everyone would feel a bit better if we had more policies in place to demonstrate de-escalation.”

UTPD chief David Carter said he would like to connect with more groups

on campus to improve the relationship between UTPD and students.

“It’s incumbent on police leaders to grapple with these issues (and) confront them when they come up as a police chief,” Carter said. “We are responsible for the actions of our police officers. We’re also responsible for the organizational culture of the (department).”

McGregor said the organization’s political action chair will be part of a group meeting with UTPD organized

by SG on June 10.

SG financial director Ethan Jones said the SG executive board members also made a donation out of their own pockets. Because SG and Senate are not allowed to give funds they receive from the University to other organizations, SG pledged in their statement to change that rule to ensure Black

groups are receiving adequate funding. “(SG) has really seldom been involved in advocating for social issues, especially for issues within the Black community,” said Jones, a business and public relations junior. “Something that we are intensely focused on is using our platform to intensely advocate for these causes and amplify Black voices that are too often underrepresented and silenced.”

Senate released a statement May 29 calling for increased funding for the Multicultural Engagement Center, a push for diverse hiring and comprehension bias training for faculty and divesting from APD and UTPD. “Until last year, we didn’t even have a position that was focused on diversity, and we didn’t have a committee or group that focused on equity or inclusion,” said Veda Yagnik, the

diversity coordinator for Senate and a Plan II and business junior. “The first step for us was really just bringing those positions in those topics to the table and having honest conversations where we looked at our history and we reassessed.”

McGregor said student organizations should focus on spreading the word, showing unity and donating if possible.

“Black students are taking this very seriously,” McGregor said. “The least that everyone else can do is take us seriously, take solidarity seriously and take support seriously. Support and be as available as they can, help to generate change at the Austin level and avoid perpetuating negative stereotypes, negative comments and negative ideology. Black lives definitely do and forever will matter.”

NEWS

News Editor

5

NICOLE STUESSY

TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 2020 UNIVERSITY

Enrollment surges for discounted summer classes

By Anna Canizales @annaleonorc

With decreased tuition rates and online classes, the summer semester started on Thursday with higher enrollment than previous summers.

Tuition for summer courses is usually reduced to 85% of the regular fall and spring rates, but due to the pandemic, this year’s summer tuition is 50% of the fall and spring costs. Students have taken advantage of the discount: UT reported a 59% increase in summer enrollment compared to the summer of 2019, University spokesperson J.B. Bird told The Texas Tribune.

Finance senior Eric Loop said he is taking a summer marketing course to satisfy a credit for an internship that was canceled due to the pandemic.

While Loop said learning remotely can be challenging, he said he is not worried about taking the class online.

“My learning style works better when we’re in person and having real face-to-face conversations, but I definitely anticipated there to be a bigger dropoff in quality of learning than there is,” Loop said. “It’s really not that much different.”

UT students are also registering for more course hours compared with last summer, Bird told the Tribune. On average, undergraduates have registered

for 0.59 more hours this some professors are not summer, he said. being lenient enough given After the unexpected the current situation. transition to remote learn“We’re still in a paning in the spring, Fay Medemic,” Medina said. dina, an economics and “I would like the prointernational relations and fessors to take that global studies senior, said into consideration.” she has already noticed Valdez, who is teaching the technology used in the class through pre-reher summer classes runcorded lectures, said it is ning more smoothly. She largely self-paced. chalked it up to students and professors having had I’m excited that UT is making time to get to it a priority to have in-person know Zoom and classes in the fall because other programs, there’s really nothing like it.” but she said the online learning ERIC LOOP environment finance senior is still awkward.

“I can’t really communicate,” Medina “There’s a separate said. “I like going up to degree of responsibility that the professor and askthen falls on the students in ing him a question after class or something, and terms of whether they want to listen to all of (the lectures) I can’t do that now beall at once,” Valdez said. “I’m cause their office hours trying to keep the lectures at are at the time when I have a good pace. The unfortuanother class.” nate part is there isn’t that Anthropology professor interaction, which would be Fred Valdez is teaching an great because then everyIntroduction to Archaeolobody would have a chance gy course that is normally to ask a question or get an in-person lecture. He things clarified.” said it was strange to tranLoop said he thinks sition the coursework into summer classes will be enan online format. joyable and insightful even “I can’t say it’s nearly though they cannot take as satisfying in terms of teaching in front of stuplace in person. dents and interacting with “I’m really looking students directly,” Valdez forward to being back in said. “(In-person is) much person,” Loop said. “I’m more enjoyable, and I get excited that UT is making a better sense of whether it a priority to have in-perstudents are understanding son classes in the fall bewhat I’m saying.” cause there’s really nothing Medina said she feels like it.”

alejandra gavilanes / the daily texan file

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You may Under restrictUnder access to this information by The information below isavailable considered information. federal law, directory The information below is considered information. federal law, directory visiting http://registrar.utexas.edu/restrictmyinfo.

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Please be aware that iflike youto web page by the twelfth class dayinofthe theprinted fall semester. you must request thatyour ALLchanges your directory restrict information from appearing directory,If you make at this request that be ALLrestricted your directory information about be restricted NObeinformation about you will be given information NO information you will to anyone, your web page by the twelfth class day of the fall semester.

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• name • classification • weight and height if member of an athletic teamif member of local and permanent •• name major field(s) of study •• classification • weight and height addresses student parking athletic team permit • local and permanent expected dateofofstudy graduation • an •• major field(s) information • addresses phone number •• expected date of graduation degrees, awards, and honors • student parking permit • the most recent previous information e-mail number address •• phone received awards, (including selection • degrees, and honors educational institution attended most recent previous public user name (UT EID) received •• e-mail address criteria) (including selection • the • job title and dates of employeducational institution attended •• public place of birth user name (UT EID) • criteria) participation in officially ment when by the • job title and employed dates of employrecognized activities and dates of of birth attendance •• place • participation in officially University inemployed a positionbythat ment when the sports recognized activities and enrollment status •• dates of attendance requires student status that University in a position sports • enrollment status requires student status DIRECTORY INFORMATION is is sent DIRECTORY INFORMATIONSHOULD SHOULDBE BEKEPT KEPTCURRENT. CURRENT.Official Officialcorrespondence correspondence sent to the e-mail last to the registrar; if the student hashas failed to correct this to the postal postal or or e-mailaddress address lastgiven given the registrar; if the student failed to correct DIRECTORY INFORMATION SHOULD BEtoKEPT CURRENT. Official correspondence is sent address, he orhe she not relieved of responsibility on the grounds that the correspondence this address, or will sheaddress willbe not be responsibility the grounds that the to correct to the postal or e-mail lastrelieved given toofthe registrar; ifon the student has failed wasaddress, not delivered.

For about educational records official communications correspondence not For details about andon this he orwas shedetails willdelivered. not be relieved of responsibility the grounds that the with the University see General Information, 2019-2020 catalog. educational records official communications with the correspondence wasand not delivered.

For details about University see General 2011–2012. with the educational records andInformation, official communications University see General Information, 2011–2012.

6

COVER STORY

TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 2020

BLM

tackling two worlds Adored on the field, Black athletes speak out on navigating racial injustice once out of their uniforms.

By Myah Taylor & Stephen Wagner @T_myah @stephenwag22

our words came to Teahna Daniels’ mind when she first heard a white police officer had killed George Floyd, a Black man, in a Minneapolis street: “Here we go again.”

The former UT track star was 14 when a neighborhood watch volunteer fatally shot Trayvon Martin, a Black teenager, in a community less than 30 miles from her home in Orlando, Florida. In her youth, Daniels said she believed similar acts of violence against African Americans like herself would cease. But to her dismay, they have continued — time and time again.

As Daniels watched video footage of Floyd pleading for air, his neck crushed under the officer’s knee, she said tears came streaming down.

“Just to hear him cry for his mom and … say ‘Get off of me, I can’t breathe,’ that moment was really hard for me and a lot of people throughout the world,” Daniels said.

copyright chase moore, and reproduced with permission Texas football alumnus Chase Moore stands clad in burnt orange gear in front of the Perry-Castañeda Library. Moore said he recieved more positive treatment while sporting Texas Athletics-issued regalia as opposed to regular street clothes.

The recent killings of Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and Michael Ramos at the hands of police officers have prompted nationwide protests and national outrage.

But to the Black community, these occurrences are shining a light on a long-standing issue. Breaking the mold by using her platform to speak out, Daniels is one of many current and former Black UT athletes who have navigated racial injustice outside of their sports.

While sports have historically been used as a tool for integration, Black athletes have long been told to “shut up and dribble.” Many refuse to, saying their athletic abilities don’t erase the realities they face as Black people in America.

Chase Moore, a former Texas

football player, felt valued on the playing field but said the University’s support was confined to the turf.

Moore said that because so many Black college students are athletes, it highlights the fact that “institutions value (them) in terms of entertainment.”

You’re playing basketball, you’re the entertainment. You’re seen differently, as opposed to walking around the mall.”

ISAIAH HOBBS

texas basketball alumnus

Longhorn basketball alumnus Isaiah Hobbs said his status as a professional athlete only protects him in the sports arena. Hobbs, who plays for the Austin Spurs in the NBA’s G League, said he knows he can’t go running with a hoodie on at 1 a.m. or leave Walmart without a receipt in hand. Off the court, he said the world sees him as a Black man first.

“You’re seen in a different light when you’re dribbling a basketball opposed to walking on the street,” Hobbs said. “You’re playing basketball, you’re the entertainment.

You’re seen differently, as opposed to walking around the mall.”

Although Daniels is a professional sprinter who has run outside throughout her track

career, she still feels the need to be aware of her surroundings and take precautions. After Arbery’s killing, Daniels started using an Apple Watch to share her location with others while training so they’d know where she was if she fell victim to a similar crime.

At UT, Moore said his Texas gear was a form of protection, as the burnt orange apparel immediately signaled he was an athlete. In 2013, African American men at UT comprised nearly 68% of the University’s basketball and football players, despite making up just 1.8% of the student body, according to a University of Pennsylvania study. Moore said he noticed how much friendlier other students treated him when he would

7 wear football gear to class compared to casual jeans and a t-shirt.

“If I wasn’t an athlete, and I was just a regular Black student at UT, people wouldn’t necessarily care (about me),” Moore said.

Athletes aren’t the only ones speaking out. Although university coaches and administrators typically remain neutral on social and political issues, numerous figures from Texas Athletics programs have spoken out since the protests began, including athletics director Chris Del Conte and head football coach Tom Herman.

On the June 1 broadcast of the FS1 program, “The Herd,” Herman said

I could’ve done a lot more throughout the years to contribute since I saw nothing was being done … but now, I want to do more.”

TEAHNA DANIELS

he spent the previous three hours before his appearance discussing current issues with his players on a Zoom call. Herman later shined a light on the double standard Black athletes face in an interview with the Austin American-Statesman.

“We’re gonna cheer when they score touchdowns, and we’re gonna hug our buddy when they get sacks or an interception,” Herman told the Statesman. “But we gonna let them date our daughter? Are we going to hire them in a position of power in our company? That’s the question I have for America. You can’t have it both ways.”

Many athletes who move away from home to play sports at universities around the country lean on coaches for support in the absence of family and friends. “(Coaches), you’re a very important part of your athlete’s life,” Daniels said. “(Speaking out) shows that you are supportive of not only your white athletes, but also your Black athletes.”

Moore, who said he is often the

only Black student in his master’s classes, said he feels there is much work to be done, as having the support of coaches isn’t enough. He said he wants the current movement to go beyond the latest hashtag.

“How far are (people) willing to take this social media advocacy?” Moore asked. “Is it just going to be the 280 characters that Twitter allows, or does this now mean that they’re going to familiarize themselves with the leaders of Black communities that are on the front lines every single day, fighting injustice?”

Meanwhile, Daniels is stretching her advocacy beyond social media by spreading petitions, sharing links to donation sites and encouraging others to vote. She said she doesn’t have all the answers, but she’s refusing to stay silent.

“I could’ve done a lot more throughout the years to contribute since I saw nothing was being done … but now, I want to do more,” Daniels said. “I’m tired of seeing this same exact thing.”

texas track alumna

e e e h w a

s s n % d t f e r d

christina peebles / the daily texan staff

copyright belga image, and reproduced with permission Former Texas sprinter Teahna Daniels warms up on the track during a training session. Daniels said she is more cautious when she runs outdoors in light of the killing of Ahmaud Arbery in a Georgia neighborhood.

8

Editor-In-Chief

E M I LY C A L D W E L L

TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 2020

FORUM

OPINION

tand with us in solidarity, S demand change everywhere By the Black Student Alliance @TXBSA

Dear fellow students, community members and public officials, Foremost, the Black Student Alliance extends congratulations to all who found a way to finish a uniquely difficult and exhausting semester and wish that this message invokes feelings of not only inner peace, solidarity and support, but also hope.

The Black Student Alliance grieves the death of George Floyd, a Texas native, and deeply resonates with the nationwide sentiments of disgust, frustration and revolution.

On May 25, George was murdered by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.

In the 21st century, it is inconceivable to believe that unarmed Black men, women and children still perish at the hands of the very establishments that are tasked with ensuring their protection.

We have witnessed the tragic and horribly unjust deaths of Trayvon Martin, Philando Castile, Oscar Grant, Freddie Gray, Eric Garner, Chinedu Okobi, Michael Brown, Breonna Taylor and, sadly, so many more.

We stand firmly against the continued violence against unarmed Black bodies.

We stand strong with the Black Lives Matter movement and the various demonstrations of unrest occurring throughout the nation.

In a nation such as this one, there are few more tragic events than the death of an unarmed Black man at the very hands of an officer who swore an oath to protect every American citizen.

The Black Student Alliance: CALLS upon every police department across the United States of

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.

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gianna shahdad / the daily texan staff 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.

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Place the paper in one of the recycling bins on campus or back in

America to denounce the continued injustice of Black Americans under police custody.

DEMANDS our public officials pay attention, bring justice to the family of George Floyd and enact change that will protect our lives against the police.

CHALLENGES our community to voice its outrage to our elected officials and organizations. We cannot allow a blind eye to be turned to the persecution of Black bodies and must use our platforms, no matter the scale, to spread awareness and demand change.

DEMANDS that all non-Black allies and community members stand with us in solidarity and demand a change that affects more than just your personal lives.

To see change, we must stand together as one as we witness the plight of our fellow Black brothers and sisters.

The Black Student Alliance, since its establishment in 1980, has held itself accountable for uplifting and empowering our community with the ultimate goal of uniting the Black community.

As a firm reminder, OUR BLACK IS powerful, bold, smart, uniting, strong, impregnable, loving, unique, monumental, fierce, brilliant, eloquent, treasured and, without question, important.

Again, we send our condolences to the family and loved ones of George Floyd. May he forever rest in power and peace, knowing that the Black community will continue the fight for racial equity.

Sincerely yours, The Black Student Alliance at The University of Texas at Austin

the burnt-orange newsstand where you found it.

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LIFE&ARTS

Life&Arts Editor

9

TRINADY JOSLIN

TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 2020

BLM

New Austin app supports BLM Student-developed ‘Keep Austin Black’ serves as a one-stop directory for Black-owned businesses.

By Katya Bandouil @kat372

hen protests against police brutality and racism began to erupt nationwide, Earl Potts Jr. said he immediately knew he needed to take action.

A few months back, the computer science and African and African diaspora studies junior began creating a Black business directory app to help

other Black students find a sense of community. Now, he’s reopened production on the app.

“I’m not really able to go out and protest in the streets, so I wanted to find a way I could contribute,” Potts Jr. said.

“I figured I could go back to my idea of providing a Black business directory.”

“Keep Austin Black” is a collection of business listings that range from hairdressers to legal services. When Potts Jr. moved from Lancaster to Austin,

he said he often had trouble finding Black-owned businesses in a city that is predominately white.

“It just feels different when you go into a Black-owned restaurant and you see people that look like you, especially because there are so many people that don’t,” Potts Jr. said.

Combating gentrification is another aspect of the app.

“Especially with gentrification becoming an increasing problem in Austin, a lot of Black businesses are the first to go,” Potts Jr. said.

copyright earl potts jr. and reproduced with permission Earl Potts Jr., “Keep Austin Black” creator, attended the Afrotech Conference last November.

The UT junior compiled a list of Black-owned businesses in the Austin community into an app.

He began working 5-6 hours a day to individually code nearly 200 Black businesses and make the app accessible as soon as possible since reopening the app.

After seeing Potts Jr.’s tweet about the app, multiple students shared his post and offered to help. Psychology senior Yay McKee sent Potts Jr. Twitter threads of information about Black-owned businesses she felt other students were unaware of.

“A lot of times, my friends on campus don’t really know where the beauty supply stores are,” McKee said. “They don’t even know that there is one so close to campus, right on MLK. They’ll just settle with going to Sally’s or going to Target and get something that they can barely use.”

Potts Jr. said other directories like his exist, but the lists are very limited and receiving information from other students helps make his more extensive. “(The existing directories) have like 10, 15 businesses, and there are a lot more out there,” Potts Jr. said.

Biology junior Amanda Piamonte, who helped design the app’s logo, said students should use their unique skills and talents to have a meaningful impact on the Black Lives Matter movement.

“Along with donating and signing petitions, it’s also who you are and what you’re good at,” Piamonte said. “I think that finding ways to help is very important.”

Later, Potts Jr. realized he would not be able to put “Keep Austin Black” on the app store until his next paycheck, so he decided to tweet informing people that there would be a delay. He didn’t ask for monetary support, but said he was glad to receive a donation from a stranger to help

expedite the $100 process.

Potts Jr. is currently awaiting approval from iOS and Android, but anticipates the app will be available for download by the end of the week.

From the initial blueprints to the fully programmed directory, Potts Jr. said the ultimate goal of the app has

always been to support the Black community. “(Potts Jr.) is just doing the work of the people, honestly, the people of the Black community of UT,” McKee said. “(He’s) finally giving them something so they don’t have to go to Google and type in ‘urban’ or ‘Black-owned.’”

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Life&Arts Editor

TRINADY JOSLIN

TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 2020

LIFE&ARTS

FEATURE

Recent graduates are ‘let down’ by inconsistent, short virtual ceremonies

By Trinady Joslin @trinady05

After in-person graduation ceremonies were canceled in March, spring 2020 graduates said they hoped their virtual celebration would be memorable.

For Nicole Pownall, the prerecorded “celebration” only lasted 4 minutes and 50 seconds.

Pownall said she viewed the College of Liberal Arts ceremony from her West Campus apartment with her mom and roommate. The length of the ceremony, she said, was disappointing.

“The word ceremony connotated to me and other people who I asked in the aftermath, like, ‘Oh, a live sort of event, something that is more intimate or lively,’” Pownall said.

Other students in the class of 2020 said their ceremonies were longer than COLA’s, but still did not meet their expectations.

“I was just expecting more, especially because the University was making it seem like UT ‘20 graduates were a priority,” Safiq Sindha, a graduate from the Cockrell School of Engineering, said. “It just kind of felt like a letdown.”

Considering the circumstances, Sindha said he thinks moving the in-person ceremony back was the right call.

“It’s for the safety of the community,” Sindha said. “I’d rather have my graduation delayed than know that a single Longhorn is in the hospital because I wanted to graduate.”

Cockrell’s ceremony, like many other colleges, was around 30 minutes and featured student, faculty and alumni speakers. Most ceremonies did not, however, read students’ names aloud, something some graduates said they were looking forward to.

Sindha said he thought the University should have created a standard for all colleges to follow to eliminate disparities between ceremonies. The University gave each school access to a software called MarchingOrder, which allowed them to place student-submitted slides

destiny alexander / the daily texan staff below the commencement video.

The School of Information posted several videos, totaling 10 minutes for graduation, director of communications Keisha Brown said. She said in an email that their graduation coordinator “was

I was just expecting more, especially because the University was making it seem like UT ‘20 graduates were a priority.”

SAFIQ SINDHA

ut ‘20 graduate

advised by MarchingOrder that people prefer to click on their individual slide than wait to hear their name listed in a long readthrough of all graduates, so that’s the direction we went.”

In the School of Law, executive director of communications Christopher Roberts said they showed student slides on-screen and read their names aloud in their hour-long ceremony.

Some graduates said the Moody College of Communication graduation was more successful than others because they scrolled through a list of names on screen, in addition to posting student slides below.

Aside from being given access to MarchingOrder, University spokesperson Ellie Breed said in a written statement that she is unaware of any additional guidance for graduation ceremonies given to individual colleges.

David Oshner, a representative from COLA, said no online ceremony could have been as good as an in-person one, but that he understands students’ criticisms.

“We could have done a lot more,” Oshner said. “I was thinking we should have had some students speak. Our college is filled with really, really talented students, and I think it would have really meant a lot more if it would have been a longer ceremony than what we presented.”

Oshner said COLA was more focused on planning for the eventual in-person ceremony that is set to take place in 2021.

“Being fully aware of what happened with the virtual graduation, we want to make this one super special,” Oshner said. “For those who can’t attend, we’ll do something online as well, that is a lot longer, a lot more meaningful, a lot more celebratory.”

COMICS

Comics Editors

B A R B D A LY & A L E K K A H E R N A N D E Z

TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 2020

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Sports Editor M Y A H

TAY L O R

TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 2020

SPORTS

FEATURE

Acho looks beyond the turf In the midst of COVID-19 and NFL free agency, the Texas Ex is making an impact off the field.

By Marcus Krum @marcuskrum

owering over most at 6-foot3-inches and 260 pounds, Sam Acho is a gifted athlete.

But the nine-year NFL veteran has never thought of himself as just a football player.

The Texas football alumnus is currently enduring the uncertainty of NFL free agency. As the sports world remains paused amid the coronavirus crisis, Acho knows that life without football is just a glimpse of the future.

“I’ve never considered myself a lifelong athlete, so for me, life without sports isn’t that different,” Acho said.

As a defensive end for St. Mark’s High School, Acho dominated the ranks of Dallas high school football. While Acho’s impact on the field has been on display since his youth, his high school head coach Hayward Lee said that his presence in the community was just as large.

“Sam had an impact on life at St. Mark’s that went far beyond just football,” said Lee, who is now the assistant coach. “And he had an impact on his classmates. He was just a really beloved guy.”

At Texas, Acho picked up

derek stout / the daily texan file Former UT defensive end Sam Acho watches from the sideline during Texas’ game against Texas Tech at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on Sept. 18, 2010.

unanimous All-Big 12 honors, but his sharp mind wowed even more than his play on the field.

Acho won the William V. Campbell Trophy as the nation’s top football student-athlete, was a member of the UT Friar Society, graduated from the McCombs Business Honors Program and was listed as one of Sporting News’ 20 Smartest Athletes in 2010.

Oscar Giles, Acho’s defensive line coach at Texas, said that his intelligence made him a natural-born leader in the locker room.

“Sam studies the game and he studies his opponents, and he’s just a really brilliant guy,” Giles

said in an email. “We had some interesting conversations in the (defensive line meeting room) with him knowing Shakespeare and literature and things like that. I learned as much from him as he learned from me.”

After Acho was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the fourth round of the 2011 NFL draft, he spent the better part of the last nine years in Phoenix and Chicago. Acho signed a one-year deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers a year ago but has played in just 12 games in the last two seasons.

Now, Acho awaits his next opportunity to sign with an NFL roster. But he’s no stranger to the unpredictability of his

current situation. After just four games, Acho’s 2018 season came to a halt when he suffered a torn pectoral. Then in 2019, he signed with the Buffalo Bills in the preseason, only to be released two weeks later.

“I’m realizing that life is not about just the highs. It’s about the highs and the lows,” Acho said. “There was definitely some uncertainty there, so I think some of that has helped prepare me for where we’re at right now.”

Even during this unprecedented time, Acho continues to be a leader in his community. He coordinated an outreach event on Chicago’s West Side with several other professional athletes in

response to the recent protests of police brutality and racism. Additionally, Acho published an article in the Players’ Tribune about the lack of Black representation in NFL front offices.

With his future in flux, Acho is doing what he knows best — supporting those around him.

While some may be looking back, Acho said he’s used this time not to reflect, but to look ahead at what’s next.

“It’s been an opportunity to think about what would life be outside of sports because I know … eventually, football is gonna be over,” Acho said.

“What will bring me joy?”