Serving The University of Texas at Austin Community Since 1900 @thedailytexan | thedailytexan.com
Volume 121, Issue 17
Thursday, September 5, 2019
STATE
PROJECT
UT adopts new Title IX policy in light of legislation change By Emily Hernandez @emilylhernandez
eddie gaspar
/ the daily texan staff
Echo Nattinger, a Plan II and government freshman, was unable to get automatic admission into UT because she was home-schooled.
from home school to UT UT denies home-schooled students automatic admission, narrowing their chances to get in.
By Savana Dunning @savanaish
E
cho Nattinger is just like any other incoming freshman. The Plan II government major wants to join a theater troupe, Student Government and has her eye on law school. “I realized I wanted to pursue politics and political science in a manner that was more intense than just a hobby,” Nattinger said. “I wanted to find an outlet for my politics that wasn’t just complaining on Facebook or Twitter. I wanted to do something to change it.” Like many UT students, Nattinger said she was as an academic overachiever in high school. And she has a vast profile of extracurriculars, from working on James Talarico’s 2018 house district campaign to participating in YMCA’s Texas Youth and Government club. Yet, despite Nattinger’s high SAT and ACT scores and academic successes, she was not automatically admitted to UT. She was not in the top 7% of her class, or even the top 10%.
But that’s because she didn’t have a class to be ranked against. Other than a brief stint in a private school in first grade, Nattinger was home-schooled her whole life. Home-schooled kids made up around 3% of the United States school-age population in 2016, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Since Texas is one of the few states which does not require families to disclose to the state whether or not their child is enrolled in public school, estimates for how many UT students were home-schooled are hard to quantify. Miguel Wasielewski, UT’s executive director of admissions, said he estimates a couple hundred home-schooled students apply every year. In 2003, Texas amended its education code to require public universities to treat graduates from nontraditional secondary education, such as home-schooled applicants, the same as applicants who graduated from a public high school, so long as they have completed an education “to the same general standards,” according to the Texas Education Agency. While state law requires home-
of students
are home-schooled in the U.S.
home-schooled students
apply to UT every year (estimated)
schooled applicants to be treated like accredited high school graduates, it does not require that homeschooled applicants be eligible for automatic admissions policies. This means home-schooled Texans like Nattinger go through the holistic review process for admittance into UT, which evaluates extracurriculars, essays and recommendation letters just for initial admission. For those automatically accepted into UT, the process is used for admission to their major. “It was frustrating to me because I knew I had better test scores than some of these kids, but I can’t qualify,” said Nattinger, who scored in the 99th percentile on her ACT. Texas law also requires 75% of the in-state students to be automatically admitted. As a result, home-schooled students are competing with a larger pool of applicants for a smaller amount of seats. “It’s the same bucket you would be in if you were a public school student but weren’t in the top 10%,” said Amy Quartaro, an aerospace engineering senior who P R O J E C T PAGE 2
Beginning Jan. 1, state law will require public and private colleges to enforce mandatory employee reporting of Title IX violations to the Title IX Office or employees will face criminal offenses and employment termination. The University began sending emails to students and employees Aug. 27 to address the passing of Senate Bill 212 during the 86th Texas Legislative Session. Title IX is the federal law banning discrimination on the basis of sex at any institutions that receive federal financial assistance. LaToya Smith, interim Title IX coordinator and senior associate athletics director for student services, said it is the University’s responsibility to clarify what this law will mean for the UT community as information for implementation and employee compliance training is released by the UT System and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. The University’s new Title IX coordinator will take office Sept. 16, Smith said. “The intent behind the law was to really put teeth behind reporting and … (to ensure) that the University was being transparent in reporting what was going on on their campus,” said Smith, who served as UT’s Title IX coordinator from 2015 to 2017. “If anything, it really will encourage the University to not only maintain but also step up resources and areas where students can go and get support and information.” Current Title IX requirements include mandatory reporting by responsible employees, such as professors and resident assistants. This new law strengthens the consequences of not reporting Title IX violations by charging those who fail to report with a Class B misdemeanor and those who intentionally make false reports with a Class A or B misdemeanor, plus employment termination. Both misdemeanors include thousands of dollars in fines and/or at least 180 days in jail. Delaney Davis, president of the sexual assault prevention student organization It’s on Us, said with the new law, she hopes T I T L E I X PAGE 2
CAMPUS
UTPD police chief diagnosed with lung cancer, continues reforms By Emily Hernandez @emilylhernandez
A diagnosis of stage 4 lung cancer unrelated to smoking has not stopped UT Police Chief David Carter from continuing to push for campus policing reform. Carter, 61, who also serves as assistant vice president for campus security, told the Austin American-Statesman he visited the doctor after he felt he was not properly recovering from back surgery earlier this year. He said he was shocked when his doctor discovered tumors on his spinal cord from lung cancer, according to the Statesman. Carter did not provide any comments to The Daily Texan. “If you look at it in terms of statistics, mine aren’t good,”
Carter told the Statesman. “I’ve pretty much tried to focus on what do I have to do to beat it. That is where I’ve tried to be in this process.” Despite his diagnosis, Carter continues to work from his office on campus, reorganizing the department into three new units focusing on investigations, community engagement and public order. He is also partnering with the Steve Hicks School of Social Work to investigate challenges to campus policing this semester. According to the Statesman, Carter has worked in public safety for three decades, from his start as a patrol officer at the Austin Police Department to police chief for the University. He told the Statesman his cancer diagnosis reforming the way police departments
operate on college campuses across America feel even more pressing. “We have these huge challenges that remain,” Carter told the Statesman. “We are policing a polarized community, and I want to say, ‘Let’s figure out a way to put our energy in the right place.’” UTPD spokesperson Noelle Newton said she has admired and respected Carter since she worked as a FOX 7 News Edge reporter while he was APD’s chief of staff. “I was thrilled to have the opportunity to work for him,” Newton said in an email. “What he is doing here at UT is revolutionary. I often tell him we should change our mission statement from ‘serving those who will change C H I E F PAGE 2
anthony mireles
/ the daily texan file
UTPD police chief David Carter continues to work on-campus police reform despite battling stage 4 lung cancer.