The Daily Texan 2021-03-26

DT VOLUME 121, ISSUE 54 FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 2021

‘There’s a light at the end of the tunnel’ Students look forward to seeing family, friends after being fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

sylvia asuncion-crabb

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PERMANENT STAFF Editor-in-Chief Emily Caldwell Managing Editor Trinady Joslin Assoc. Managing Editors Emily Hernandez, Ariana Arredondo Director of Digital Strategy Hal Riley Director of Diversity & Inclusion Areeba Amer Internal Relations Director Sanika Nayak External Relations Director Abhirupa Dasgupta Assoc. Opinion Editors Isabelle Costello, Hannah Lopez, Julia Zaksek

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South Asian students struggle to find authentic cultural cuisine near campus.

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Texas baseball bounced back after starting 0–3, winning 15 of their last 18 games.

CAMPUS

By Kevin Vu @Kevin_Vu_

UT Health Austin will need more clinical volunteers to help with COVID-19 vaccination efforts since Texas announced all adults will be eligible to receive the vaccine starting Monday.

Stephanie Morgan, a clinical nursing professor who oversees the day-to-day operations of COVID-19 vaccinations at the Gregory Gym, said anyone interested can volunteer, but only vol-

unteers performing clinical tasks are currently needed.

“I will need more vaccinators, and I will need more people to prepare the medication to be administered. There’s no doubt about that,” Morgan said. “Most of all of this effort that’s done for vaccinations (is) based on volunteers. There is no funding source to pay people to do this.”

Bex Vasquez, associate director of special initiatives at Dell Medical School, said volunteers usually reach out via email to show their interest in volunteering. Those interested in working as a clinical volun-

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Emily Caldwell (512) 232-2212 editor@dailytexanonline.com

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Volunteers needed for UT vaccine distribution

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06

Congressional efforts to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 have been postponed.

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News Editor Lauren Girgis

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UT should expand and publicize its mask distribution program on campus.

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teer are reviewed by a team to ensure they have clinical experience. Once approved, they go through training, and then sign up for a volunteer time through a SignUpGenius link, Vasquez said.

Vasquez said she is in the final stages of creating a general request form for all volunteers to simplify the process of gathering and managing the requests.

“It’s been very difficult to funnel all of those requests that are coming in from every direction,” Vasquez said.

Volunteers have contributed to the vaccination efforts since UT began vaccinating people against COVID-19 on Dec. 15.

Morgan said volunteers are eligible to get the Pfizer vaccine on their first shift, since they qualify as frontline workers.

Each day, around 28 volunteers perform clinical tasks, such as administering the shot and navigating traffic for nearly 2,000 people, Morgan said.

Jeffery Wagner, a UT Medical Reserve Corps operations lead, works as a navigator and guides the flow of people in and out of Gregory Gym. Wagner said he received both doses of his Pfizer vaccine as a volunteer. “(Receiving the vaccine) just gives me that much more confidence working with the public,” Wagner said. “It also makes me feel a sense of responsibility to VOLUNTEER

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(512) 232-2207 news@thedailytexan.com The Texan strives to present all information fairly, accurately and completely. If we have made an error, let us know about it. E-mail managingeditor@thedailytexan.com.

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FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 2021

UNIVERSITY

UT to receive $85 million from third COVID-19 relief bill

By Skye Seipp @seippetc

UT could receive about $85 million in federal COVID-19 aid from the American Rescue Plan Act that Congress passed into law on March 11, according to the Association of Public Land-Grant Universities. Half of the money — approximately $42.5 million — must be used as student emergency funds, according to the bill.

Higher education institutions received nearly $39.6 billion of the $1.9 trillion ARP Act, according to the bill. Combined with the previous two COVID-19 relief bills, UT will have received nearly $164.5 million in federal aid since the pandemic began.

The Department of Education has still not released the final allocations for higher education institutions, but Veronica Trevino, media manager for financial and administrative services communications, said the University is expecting to receive about $85 million.

Student aid from the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, which passed in December and allocated nearly $48.4 million with $15.7 million for student aid to UT, has still not been made available. Trevino said the University received the funds on March 16.

Kathleen Harrison, communications manager for the Office of the Executive Vice

President and Provost, said UT is working to distribute the funds to eligible students by mid-April. Aid will be given directly to students through either their direct deposit or a check and is nonrecurring, she said.

“The University is working quickly to ready the process to disburse funds to eligible students with exceptional need according to federal regulations,” Harrison said in an email.

UT does not know how it will spend the 50% of the money not reserved for student aid from the ARP Act, Trevino said. She did not comment on when UT expects to receive the money or when the funds would be made available.

“The University has neither received the funds nor the accompanying use guidelines from the federal government,” Trevino said in an email.

Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education, said in a March 10 statement that while the money will be “enormously helpful” for students and colleges, it wasn’t enough. He said the council estimates colleges would need at least another $57 billion in relief.

“There remain many pressing problems, including students and families struggling to cope with lost jobs or reduced wages and colleges and universities battered by steep declines in revenues and soaring new expenses,” Mitchell said.

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Editor-In-Chief | @TEXANOPINION FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 2021

COLUMN

OPINION

Expand mask distribution

UT should bolster and publicize its mask distribution program to support masking on campus.

By Eva Strelitz-Block Columnist

oday, more and more people in Texas are choosing not to wear masks following Gov. Greg Abbott’s decision to rescind the mask mandate, despite data indicating that the COVID-19 pandemic is still ongoing. In March, UT President Jay Hartzell affirmed that masks are still required on campus, no matter the status of the statewide mask mandate.

According to Susan Hochman, associate director for assessment, communications and health information technology at UHS, UT has a program that includes having 25,000 masks on hand to provide to students who forget their masks at various campus locations. Additionally, Dean’s Squad Public Health Ambassadors walk the Forty Acres daily with surgical masks in case they encounter maskless students.

However, while these steps are important, they are neither sufficient nor adequately publicized. It is important now more than ever that UT expand its current mask distribution operations and publicize this initiative to students.

At this point in the coronavirus pandemic, officially over a year, it is clear that wearing masks is one of the most critical personal and public health strategies for mitigating the spread of COVID-19 and protecting our communities.

However, I will admit that when I do venture into the world, I often forget to bring my mask despite the many masks laying around every room in my apartment.

Hochman encourages students to remember that even though it seems like the pandemic has lasted a lifetime, masking is a relatively new practice for most people. She provided her best advice for how students can more consistently integrate masks into their lives.

“You don’t walk out of the house without your phone,” Hochman said. “There’s something you are always taking with you. I like to give the advice of keeping your mask by that item, so there’s sort of a natural association.”

This is solid advice. But it is not currently an adequate strategy.

UT can and should do better.

First, UT should provide free masks to students in all highly-trafficked buildings on campus, including dorms. This ought to include buildings that house labs and in-person classrooms as well as buildings open for students to study in.

Second, UT should make sure that students are aware of where masks are available. In fact, Protect Texas Together, UT’s online COVID-19 response hub, does not have any information about UT’s mask distribution offerings online.

This page could include free mask locations and information about mask availability.

ciara casarez

“I was not aware that UT was distributing free masks in the first place,” said Soren Ettinger DeCou, Plan II and biomedical engineering junior. “Complying with PPE guidelines on campus would be easier for students if they had ready access to masks.”

Students, staff and administrators alike have worked together all year to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Providing students with additional access to masks and making the public aware of where masks are located on campus are two simple steps that UT can take to finish out this year strong. This will help build our community’s confidence that we can anticipate a successful “return to near normal” next fall.

Strelitz-Block is a Plan II and anthropology sophomore from Austin, Texas.

/ the daily texan staff

GALLERY

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FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 2021

STUDENT GOVERNMENT

Senate of College Councils pushes flexible attendance policies for students as COVID-19 vaccines become more available

By Sheryl Lawrence @sheryl_adelle

The Senate of College Councils passed legislation by unanimous consent during their general assembly Thursday to urge the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost to recommend that faculty adopt “flexible” attendance policies for students receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.

The legislation includes all vaccines as they become available.

Due to academic freedom, the University administration cannot mandate faculty to implement a flexible attendance policy, but the provost’s office can advise faculty to do so, Senate PresidentElect Steven Ding said.

On Tuesday, University Health Services and UT Health Austin announced they will administer COVID-19 vaccines to people over the age of 16 starting March 29, after the Texas Department of State Health Services announced that all adults will become eligible to receive the vaccine in Texas.

Members of the UT community who are age 16 and older and have already completed the COVID-19 vaccination distribution form will receive an email to schedule an appointment to receive the COVID-19 vaccine next week, according to the UHS and UT Health Austin announcement.

Isabela Ponce, Senate representative for the Undergraduate Business Council, said she wrote the flexible attendance resolution after struggling with side effects from both doses of the Moderna vaccine.

“I was completely bedridden.

I had fever, chills (and) nausea,” illustration by barbra daly

accounting sophomore Ponce said. “It became really, really difficult for me.”

Ponce said she was notified about her vaccine appointment the night before she had to go in, and the late notice made it difficult for her to have a discussion with her professors regarding attendance, participation and upcoming deadlines.

Ponce said her professors require students to turn their camera on for attendance or require participation as a large percentage of their grade.

She said requiring attendance and participation can be difficult for students who experience side effects.

Ponce said she spoke to the provost’s office on Thursday about policy changes regarding attendance, and said the provost’s office will meet with the Faculty Council on Monday to discuss implementation.

Political communications sophomore Jose Puente said he traveled from Austin to Kingsville

/ the daily texan staff

to receive his first dose of the vaccine during spring break, so he did not struggle with attendance and deadlines. However, he said he is concerned for when he goes back for his second shot.

The Senate resolution will be sent to UT President Jay Hartzell; Dan Jaffe, the interim executive vice president and provost; Soncia Reagins-Lilly, the vice president for student affairs and dean of students; Terrance Hines, the executive director of University Health Services; and Amy Young, chief clinical officer at UT Health Austin, for implementation.

Ding, a management information systems and urban studies junior, said he volunteers at UT’s vaccination hub at Gregory

Gym. He said the average wait time is two hours, which he said could impact students in classes. “(The COVID-19 vaccine) is important if we want to get back to a normal or somewhat normal fall semester,” Ding said. “We really want to try to reduce barriers as students go to get the vaccine and work with admin and … faculty to ensure that flexibility is given to students.”

Ding said Senate will support students by having a class concern form available, which was implemented during Winter Storm Uri when some professors were not being accommodating.

Ding said since most of the representatives of each college have good relationships with the deans of their college, they can work to advocate for students.

NEWS

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FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 2021

NATION

Minimum wage increase efforts paused at federal level

By Lauren Abel @laurena0324

Efforts to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 are being postponed after the minimum wage hike failed to be included in the COVID-19 relief package President Joe Biden signed on March 11.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the minimum wage was last increased to $7.25 from $6.55 in 2009, when the average rent price in Texas was $910. In 2021, the average rent price in Texas has jumped to $1,045 per month, but the minimum wage has remained the same.

In the version of the American Rescue Plan Act that passed through the U.S. House of Representatives in February, a provision was included to gradually increase the minimum wage to $15 by 2025. Once the plan was brought to the Senate, the increase was removed.

Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough said including the provision in the reconciliation bill between the House and Senate versions of the bill would speed up the process, but violates budgetary rules enacted to limit what can be included in emergency packages, according to The New York Times.

Republican senators Mitt Romney and Tom Cotton countered the original provision with a $10 target minimum wage bill to “raise the floor for workers without costing jobs,” according to an article by The Guardian.

An alternative method to increase the minimum wage is the Raise the Wage Act of 2021, which was introduced on Jan.

26 in the Senate and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. The bill has yet to be voted on.

James Galbraith, professor in the LBJ School of Public Affairs, said studies done in the late 1990s showed that increasing the minimum wage in fast food restaurants decreased employee turnover and increased total employment.

“It does appear that a higher minimum generates more stable employment, and the result of that is higher levels of total employment,” Galbraith said. “Increasing the minimum wage may allow for increased job opportunities as people will not have to hold as many jobs to make a liveable wage.”

Chemistry graduate student Danny Cotton said graduate students at UT typically have to work minimum wage jobs to keep up with the costs of living.

“I worked in one of the better-paid departments at UT, and I still need … to have at least three roommates,” Cotton said.

“I also tend to work additional

jobs on the side.”

Ken-Hou Lin, associate professor of sociology, said in an email that many empirical studies indicate increasing the minimum wage does not have an adverse effect. Lin said increasing the minimum wage would reduce financial burden on college students and limit student debt.

“It’s not clear whether more or (fewer) people will go to college due to a difference in minimum wage,” Lin said.

Galbraith said the current minimum wage allows for predatory labor exploitation, particularly within marginalized communities. He said an increase in minimum wage will reduce the number of people who rely on food stamps and other welfare benefits.

“If the minimum wage is higher and the whole wage structure is higher, then the households that those young people come from are likely to have higher incomes, which means that they may have less pressure on them to be looking for work,” Galbraith said.

lorena chiles

volunteer

CONTINUES FROM PAGE 2

with the public,” Wagner said. “It also makes me feel a sense of responsibility to continue coming back and continuing to assist getting everybody healthy.”

Biochemistry junior Joseph Reitman said he volunteers several times a week and learned about the opportunity through Longhorn EMS. As a clinical volunteer, Reitman said he is tasked with mixing the vaccine and

cate lowry

/ the daily texan staff

giving shots to patients. He said he administers anywhere from six to 12 shots an hour, depending on how busy the site is.

“This is one of the first volunteering things where I really felt like I made an impact,” Reitman said. “I see a lot of people that are coming, especially when we’re vaccinating more elderly people, who have just been locked at home for a year. So, (giving) people that opportunity to actually go back to a normal life is really what kind of spoke to me.”

/ the daily texan staff

LIFE&ARTS

A I S L I N G AY E R S

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Life&Arts Editor | @TEXANARTS FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 2021

STUDENT LIFE

Students talk seeing loved ones after full vaccination against COVID-19 Students hope for a near normal future as COVID-19 vaccines become more readily available. illustration by sylvia asuncion-crabb

By Thomas Casler @thethomascasler

s Bonnie Devany wrapped her grandmother in her arms for the first time in over a year, she said it felt like everything she dreamed it would be.

“I know my world is not going to be entirely back to normal,” UT law student Devany said. “But not being afraid to be around the people that I love, that is more important than anything to me.”

Because they are both vaccinated, Devany said that hug held the promise of time spent together free from the constant worry of spreading COVID-19.

Starting Monday, all Texans above the age of 16 will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. After over a year of sickness, distance and cancellations, some UT students like Devany have found hope for normalcy in the form of a vaccine.

“I think that as much as the community in Texas, Austin and UT have suffered together (during the

/ the daily texan staff

pandemic), the vaccine distributions at UT have been us coming together to get through it,” Devany said. “There’s a light at the end of the tunnel.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people who receive the vaccines can still contract COVID-19, but the infection will be less severe. The vaccine also provides a significant decrease in transmission and less risk that the virus will mutate into different strains, according to John Hopkins Medicine.

Kyle Kistner, physical culture and sports and Plan II freshman, said his sister is at a higher risk of contracting the virus, and the consequences of bringing COVID-19 home are much worse. Until Kistner gets the vaccine, he said he’s afraid of putting his family in danger when visiting them.

“I want to be able to go see them without having to worry ... every time I go home,” Kistner said. “But seeing them, it could just be so stressful because the knowledge that I might have it, the test could have been a false negative. So I’m still worrying.”

As of Tuesday, only 22% of the Texas population has received

their first dose of the vaccine.

Biology s o p h o more Kanika Kappalayil received the second dose of the Moderna vaccine on Jan. 30, but feels her life hasn’t changed as drastically as she hoped.

“Since not that many other people have gotten the vaccine, it hasn’t really affected my day to day life,” Kappalayil said. “I just go about still practicing COVID safety, social distancing, wearing a mask.”

However, Kappalayil said she is glad she got the vaccine when she did because it allows her to contribute to the herd immunity of her community.

“I know there’s a lot of vulnerable populations out there,” Kappalayil said. “So I want to do my part to keep them safe.”

Herd immunity occurs when there is a significant decrease in the spread of a virus after 70% of a population receives the vaccine said Jeffrey Wagner, operations lead

for the UT Medical Reserve Corps.

“When the majority of people are vaccinated, the risk of cross contamination, someone becoming a superspreader, is diminished because they’re coming up against people that have already been vaccinated,” Wagner said.

With Texas increasing its COVID-19 vaccine distribution, the light at the end of the tunnel is getting closer for UT students.

“Once it’s safe, and we’re ready to go, I want to be around as many of my friends in one place at the same time,” Devany said. “I’m an extrovert so (I’m) one of the people that struggles in a pandemic. Just seeing all my friends together is going to be amazing.”

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FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 2021

LIFE&ARTS

Q&A

Film director Tomer Shushan discusses Oscar-nominated short film “White Eye”

By Thomas Casler @thethomascasler

Film director Tomer Shushan centers the narrative around immigrants living in Israel in his Oscar-nominated short film “White Eye.” The film, which is nominated for an Academy Award this year for Best Live-Action Short, follows one man’s journey to recover his stolen bike. On his quest to retreive the bike, he enlists help from strangers and police and then inadvertently threatens the livelihood of an undocumented immigrant.

Filmed in Israel, the 20-minute single-take short received the Short Film Grand Jury Award for a narrative short, an Oscar-qualifying award, at South By Southwest 2020 and the Urbanworld Film Festival in 2020.

Shushan talked to The Daily Texan about how his film has been received by American audiences and how he shot a film all in one take.

The Daily Texan : Your film deals heavily with how immigrants are treated by police and government. How do you think your

film ties with American immigration, and why have audiences here resonated so much with it?

Shushan : No one can understand what it is to be a person that is (undocumented) or is foreign. No one can see them in the streets, where they live (or) where they work. It’s just an image of a foreign thing and people don’t see the human side. I feel that this (lack of understanding) can make those people very frustrated … The authorities, the government and the society puts those people (at) the bottom.

Tomer

DT :

You shot the film all in one take, meaning there are no cuts in this film. What was it like using this technique for “White Eye,” and why did you decide to do it?

TS :

I really wanted to create this (connection) with the audience and the main character. The main character is a person that (bases) his actions (on) his instinct, and he never stops to think about (right) or wrong, and I felt the camera shouldn’t stop (either).

The most important thing is to control the rhythm of the story.

copyright meged guzani, and reproduced with permission

Director Tomer Shushan spoke with The Daily Texan about his Oscar-nominated short film “White Eye.” The film, which is nominated for an Academy Award this year, deals heavily with how immigrants are treated by police and government.

And if you make a one shot film, which is a big decision, you need to justify it. You can’t have empty moments where people will say, “Cut it and let’s move on,” you need to ask yourself why you’re doing (this). And when you have the answer, you just need to adapt the story to a oneshot scene. Building this formula (was) a huge puzzle that was very hard to build. At the end of it, you feel very satisfied.

DT :

How do you think your

career as a filmmaker be impacted if you an Academy Award?

TS :

will win

The Oscar campaign is only doing good (things) for me, and I’m getting a lot of offers and a lot of deals. It’s really an amazing moment to be (nominated for an Oscar). It’s something that you dream (of) when you’re a child. And now I’m so close to (my dream) ... I’m super grateful for the journey I (have had) with this film so far.

LIFE&ARTS

9

FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 2021

STUDENT LIFE

South Asian students find ways to bring authentic cuisine to campus

By Hanaa Irfan @hanaabun

The savory scent of homemade chicken biryani floated through a West Campus apartment as Kavya Sethi cooked her favorite dish for her friends.

“Even though most of my friends aren’t South Asian, just being able to cook them Indian food and try different recipes has been really fun,” Sethi said.

From driving 30 minutes to certain grocery stores to bringing her parents’ home-cooked meals back to campus, students like Sethi are finding ways to enjoy their childhood dishes despite a lack of authentic South Asian cuisine nearby.

Sethi, a government and economics sophomore, said she is constantly on the lookout for traditional Indian food, but many of the restaurants and grocery stores around campus lack authenticity and flavor.

“I look for classic Indian or Desi cuisine. A lot of the food here is pretty basic … You can tell it’s made for white people,” Sethi said. “It’s just not very authentic, (and) it’s not super flavorful.”

Marketing junior Kiran Patel grew up in South Austin and said she would often make the trek to North Austin to access traditional Indian grocery stores and restaurants.

“Living in Austin for the past 21 years, I’ve been able to see that market shift more to the South,” Patel said. “But living in West Campus, I have seen that there aren’t many options for South Asian grocery stores.”

Marketing sophomore Manshal Brohi said eating Pakistani food reminds her of her mother, who would cook traditional Pakistani meals for her family every day growing up.

“It definitely does

sylvia asuncion-crabb

remind me of home and of my mom,” Brohi said. “I just love Pakistani food, and it’s like me bringing a part of that to Austin.”

Every time Brohi visits her family in Houston, her mom packs her some Pakistani dishes to take back to Austin with her.

“A lot of South Asian restaurants are pretty far,” Brohi said. “If you don’t have a car, they’re not that accessible.”

Patel said she has seen some students taking an active role in bringing authentic cuisine to UT students.

“During finals, (the Indian Students Association) partners with a local Austin

/ the daily texan staff

organization called (South Asian’s International Volunteer Association) to cook meals for UT students,” Patel said. “I think that’s really nice to have, especially during finals because you’re so stressed, so being able to have a home-cooked meal is really comforting.”

Some members of the South Asian community at UT have made a collective effort to share their favorite dishes from back home with one another.

“One effort in the brown community that people try to make is just reaching out and asking people if they ever need anything any time they go to the Indian grocery store,” Patel said. “Besides that, I’ve seen a lot of people get together, and they’ll just cook Indian food together.”

While their cuisine might not be quite the same as their mothers’, students like Sethi are continuing to fill their apartments with the comforting aromas of the food they grew up with.

“The food around campus is not classic to us,” Sethi said. “For a lot of South Asian students, we want food that is authentic to us and reminds us of home.”

C A R T E R YAT E S

10

Sports Editor | @TEXANSPORTS FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 2021

MEN’S BASKETBALL

SPORTS

Defining moments for men’s basketball seniors The Daily Texan looks back at the career moments of the programdefining class of 2017

By Riley Glenn @rileyglenn13

he Texas men’s basketball senior class entered the Longhorns’ program in the fall of 2017, one year after head coach Shaka Smart endured the worst single-season record, 11–22, since 1984.

Ranked as the No. 6 recruiting class in the nation, the Longhorns saw 4 of 5 signees, with the exception of first-round NBA Draft pick Mohamed Bamba, play for Texas through their senior season. They led the Longhorns to a 78–51 four-year record, with two NCAA tournament appearances and one Big 12 conference tournament championship. However, the group may forever be marred by two Round of 64 exits in the 2021 NCAA tournament.

Here are the best career moments from every member of the senior class:

Jericho Sims’s breakout game in 2018: Jericho Sims was a bit of a project when he came to the Longhorns from Minnesota. Sitting behind Bamba, the crowned jewel of the then-freshman class, Sims received sparse playing time as he attempted to transform his body into the 245-pound lean frame he carries as a senior. However, on March 3, 2018, in a must-win game against No. 20 West Virginia, Bamba was unavailable due to injury. In his place, Sims started the game and exploded for 17 points and eight rebounds, slamming highlight dunks that energized his team on the way to a 87-79 Texas win. Sims delivered his best performance of the season and kept Texas’ NCAA Tournament hopes alive, as the team eventually snuck into the NCAA Tournament as a No. 10 seed.

Royce Hamm Jr. fills in for Sims, keeps 2020 winstreak alive: In his four-year career with the Longhorns, Royce Hamm Jr. never jumped off the screen with his scoring ability. However, his hustle on the boards and relentless effort made him the ultimate team player. On March 3, 2020, Hamm received a rare starting opportunity as the Longhorns faced Oklahoma on the road, and he responded with arguably the best game of his career. Texas, coming off four-straight victories, needed a win to give them

a shot at the NCAA Tournament, and the big man stepped in for an injured Sims to help them snag a 52-51 victory. Hamm wasn’t flashy in the game but scored eight points and grabbed 11 rebounds in his 30 minutes of play.

Jase Febres gets hot against Iowa State: Highly touted coming out of high school as a sharpshooting guard, Jase Febres overcame growing pains in his freshman year to shoot more than 37% from beyond the arc in his final three seasons with the Longhorns. The best game of his ca-

reer came in his sophomore season against Iowa State on March 2, 2019, where he hit a whopping eight three-point shots and scored a career-high 26 points.

While Febres was often limited by injury in his career, when healthy, he had moments where he was borderline unstoppable from three-point range.

Matt Coleman sinks Sooners with buzzer beater: In a sea of chaos for the Texas program the past four years, Matt Coleman has been the one constant. Coleman started all of the 128 games

that he played in over his career, serving as a rock and Texas’ floor general. Despite all of his great moments, the one Longhorn fans will cherish forever is his game-winning, buzzer-beating threepoint shot against Oklahoma on March 3, 2020. In a game where the winner effectively clinched a spot in the NCAA Tournament, Coleman willed an undermanned Texas team to victory with 21 points, three of which came on a wild bank-shot with 0.4 seconds left on the clock to give Texas the 52-51 victory.

jack myer

/ the daily texan staff

Senior center Jericho Sims throws it down in a Jan. 25, 2020 game against LSU. The big man from Minnesota has had his fair share of highlight-reel dunks in his four-year career as a Longhorn.

COMICS

B A R B D A LY & R O C K Y H I G I N E

Comics Editors | @TEXANCOMICS FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 2021

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FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 2021

SPORTS

BASEBALL

Texas baseball finds groove after slow start

By Amsal Madhani @amsal_madhani

After the team’s third consecutive loss to start the season against No. 6 Ole Miss, Texas baseball head coach David Pierce felt it was time to turn things around, one game at a time.

“Wednesday is game one,” Pierce said. “We’re not 0–3, and we’re not 3–0. We’re playing game one on Wednesday, and then we’re going to ex-

ecute and play well, and then we’re going to do it again.”

Following a year that was cut short due to COVID-19, the Longhorns came into the season with high expectations as they ranked ninth in the nation. However, with limited practice time as a team, it was hard for them to start the season clicking on all cylinders, and the team lost three straight games against Top 10-ranked teams.

Since then, the Longhorns haven’t looked back, winning 15 of their last 18 games to get to a favorable 15–6 record.

The Longhorns have improved their play tremendously on both the offensive and defensive ends of the field, and they have had multiple players step up and lead the way.

Redshirt sophomore pitcher Ty Madden started the season on a bad note, allowing four runs and four hits in his first start against No. 7 Mississippi State. Since then, he has allowed just three runs on 10 hits in four starts.

Madden is having the best statistical season of his collegiate career, pitching a 1.62 ERA and holding opposing hitters to

andrew zamora

a .125 batting average. He has also had some great games under his belt this year, setting a career high in strikeouts in a single game with 14 against Houston on March 5.

The Longhorns began the year struggling at the plate, striking out 40 times in their first three games. Since then, the Texas bats found their stride with redshirt junior infielder Cam Williams leading the way.

Williams leads the team in home runs with four and is second in both hits and RBIs with 20 and 16, respectively.

Texas has shown great resilience in their mid-season turnaround. Pierce praised the way his team has worked through the adversity they have faced this year. After a 10-1 win against Incarnate Word on Tuesday night, Pierce gave a lot of credit to his team’s hardworking demeanor.

“I thought we did a nice job in our prep earlier today,” Pierce said. “A lot of extra work in the outfield, (and) a lot of extra work offensively. This team just continues to impress how they like to work.”

But the Longhorns still have a long season ahead of them.

The team started its Big 12 regular season off strong with a series win over Baylor last weekend and will play Oklahoma this weekend at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.

It’s the start of a grueling stretch of conference play, where Texas will look to build on the momentum they have been gathering to finish the regular season strong in May.

/ the daily texan staff

Freshman infielder Dylan Campbell rounds the bases after hitting his first-career home run as a Longhorn on March 23. Campbell contributed to the baseball squad’s recent turnaround at the plate, helping win 15 of the team’s last 18 games.