The Daily Texan 2021-04-30

Violence against Asian community takes toll on students Reported hate crimes against the AAPI community rose 150% in 2020. Students reflect on the effects.

DT VOLUME 121, ISSUE 64 FRIDAY, APRIL 30, 2021 hannah clark

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09

University employees discuss their experience with UT’s paid leave policies.

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UT boxing club creates bonds, will compete at collegiate level in Lubbock, Texas this summer.

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Matt Coleman leaves behind a decorated fouryear legacy as a Longhorn on and off the court.

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04

Professors should excuse absences for students experiencing vaccine side effects.

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Opinion

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DT

Contents:

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Participants in UT’s Proactive Community Testing program have decreased as vaccination efforts have increased, with only 1,800 COVID-19 tests administered to students last week. However, PCT program director Jessica Klima said students should continue getting tested despite vaccination.

There was an average of 3,966 student PCT tests a week for the month of February, 3,235 for March and 2,181 for April, according to the UT COVID-19 Dashboard. The average calculated for the month of February excludes the week of Winter Storm Uri, when PCT testing was halted. UT Health Austin distributed approximately 8,800 vaccine doses last week and has fully vaccinated over 47,000 individuals, according to the dashboard.

A small amount of people who are vaccinated can still contract COVID-19, as well as spread it to others, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“By continuing testing, even beyond vaccination, it helps our campus community monitor and respond to any breakthrough COVID-19 cases,” Klima said. “A breakthrough case is where a person that is fully vaccinated still somehow contracts the virus. We really want to just keep tabs on what’s happening with the level of disease in the campus community.”

The University is continuing to

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

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

MANAGING EDITOR

Trinady Joslin (512) 232-2217 managingeditor@thedailytexan.com

NEWS OFFICE

UT proactive community testing continues despite high vaccination levels

By Samantha Greyson

(512) 471-4591

test positive COVID-19 samples acquired through Proactive Community Testing to detect new possible variants, Klima said.

Receiving the vaccine will not cause a positive test result on COVID-19 viral tests such as PCT, since they test for active agents of the virus, according to the CDC. Biology freshman Jayden Lee was fully vaccinated earlier this week, but said he still plans on getting tested at least once a month.

“Since I just got vaccinated recently, I read from the CDC that it takes two weeks to fully build antibodies for it, so I could still get COVID within that time,” Lee said.

Lee said he gets tested to protect himself and others around him, but also because the vaccine doesn’t ensure immunity against various strains of COVID-19.

Biochemistry freshman Anastasia

Brown was fully vaccinated Thursday, but said she got two tests between her first and second dose of the vaccine.

“The first dose does not ensure that I don’t have COVID,” Brown said. “Just like before the vaccine I wanted to ensure that people around me were safe when I was interacting with them, it would give me peace of mind.”

Klima said while testing numbers have decreased, COVID-19 testing will continue to be offered at no cost to students through the upcoming summer and fall semesters. “(Numbers) have gone down, but we are still testing over 2,000 people a week,” Klima said. “We have had 100 people that are brand new to PCT, that have never tested with PCT before, that have already tested this week alone. We’re still attracting new people to PCT.”

megan fletcher

/ the daily texan staff

(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.

NEWS

3

FRIDAY, APRIL 30, 2021

UNIVERSITY

UT to begin allocating additional emergency aid to eligible students

By Skye Seipp @seippetc

UT will distribute the latest COVID-19 student emergency funds to some eligible students in the next week, according to the Texas One Stop webpage.

The Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund II aid is only available to Pell Grant eligible students and those whose family’s adjusted gross income is under $65,000 and have a “remaining financial need” of $1,000.

Remaining need is determined by subtracting a student’s cost of attendance from their 2020-2021 expected family contribution and other financial aid. If the remaining number is greater than $1,000, students are eligible to receive the HEERF II aid.

Applications are not required to receive the funds, and those eligible received an email Thursday with details on distribution.

Pell Grant eligible students who received aid from the CARES Act will receive $500, while those who did not will get $750. Students who are not Pell Grant eligible and have an adjusted gross incomeI under $65,000 will receive $500.

Students with direct deposit set up can expect the money within three to five business days, while students without a direct deposit set up will receive a check in the mail.

The aid is only available to U.S. citizens or permanent non-residents who are undergraduates enrolled in the spring 2021 semester and degree-seeking students and have not completed a previous degree.

More aid from HEERF II will be allocated in the summer and fall, but there is no other information about those disbursements at this time, said Kathleen Harrison, communications manager for the Office of the

Executive Vice President and Provost.

Harrison said 9,586 students are receiving aid this round, with about 80% of those students getting the $500 award.

This student aid comes from the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act passed by Congress in December, which gave UT about $48 million, with nearly $16 million earmarked for student emergency aid. UT spent approximately $5.17 million of those funds for the spring disbursements, Harrison said.

UT will also get another roughly $85 million in federal COVID-19 relief from the American Rescue Plan Act passed in March, with half of the money — approximately $42 million — allocated for student emergency aid.

Diane Todd Sprague, executive director of the office of scholarships and financial aid, said the University has not received any guidance or updates as to when it will receive the money from the act.

Sprague said the federal government distributed aid on a rolling basis, and UT was one of the last universities to receive its money.

Harrison said UT received the money on March 16 and then had to work with the UT System and legal affairs to determine who was eligible for funds. The University received notice that funds could be disbursed on April 20, and since then UT has been working on communication and testing the distribution process, Harrison said.

Anthropology junior Schyla Hernandez said UT should have communicated earlier to students about updates on the funds.

“It probably would’ve been helpful for some students who were waiting on money,” Hernandez said.

kirsten hahn

/ the daily texan file

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

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Editor-In-Chief | @TEXANOPINION FRIDAY, APRIL 30, 2021

COLUMN

OPINION

Excuse vaccinerelated absences

Allow excused absences for students experiencing COVID-19 vaccine side effects

By Danielle Buffa Columnist

s finals begin and many students prepare to receive their COVID-19 vaccine, a lack of due date and attendance flexibility for students suffering vaccine side effects forces students to choose between prioritizing their health or their education.

According to the CDC, side effects of the vaccine include chills, fever, headache, tiredness, nausea and muscle pain GALLERY

charlie hyman

that “can affect your ability to do daily activities.” The side effects from the second dose are likely to be even more severe.

Strict policies related to class assignments, attendance and upcoming exams may discourage students from getting vaccinated promptly due to fear that side effects of the vaccine may impair their abilities to complete coursework.

It is the responsibility of UT professors to enable and encourage students to get the vaccine by allowing assignment extensions and excused absences for students suffering side effects.

Communication and leadership junior Briana Kallenbach reported that side effects from her second dose of the vaccine caused her to fall behind in her coursework.

“I was mentally exhausted ... and my body was hard to move, like I was actually physically exhausted,” Kallenbach said. “My brain was so foggy.”

Kallenbach said her symptoms lasted for about two days, and she struggled to attend class and complete assignments. Kallenbach missed her first class the day after

andreana lozano

the vaccine, and even though she reached out to the professor informing him of her situation, no allowances were given.

“My roll call attendance grade got pushed down,” Kallenbach said. “It wasn’t excused. I was just absent.”

Kallenbach also said that one night she was so tired she fell asleep and forgot to do two assignments that were due at midnight. Both of those assignments resulted in zeros.

Requiring students to complete work while experiencing side effects doesn’t only risk harming students’ grades, but also impairs students’ ability to recover.

“I’d push myself to do it when it wasn’t productive at all, so I wasn’t giving out good work, and I wasn’t recovering because I was trying to do both at the same time,” Kallenbach said.

In addition to allowing assignment extensions and class absences, professors must also

make these policies known to their students so that students feel confident scheduling their vaccines and taking the necessary time to recover.

John Daly, professor of communication studies and management, agrees that students should be able to prioritize their health over assignments.

“There’s nothing more important than getting the shots,” Daly said. “If someone said, ‘I have a choice between getting an exam and getting the shot,’ I’d say, ‘We’ll delay the exam for you.’”

Daly did note that there are some faculty concerns related to this matter, such as students using their peers to cheat on a rescheduled exam. However, Daly in particular is not concerned about his students cheating because he believes the loss is the student’s own.

/ the daily texan staff

“People may cheat,” Daly said. “It’s college. You’re shaping your own career.”

Daly said he could imagine issues arising regarding rescheduling exams that are scheduled the day before grades are due, but he said this would be a solvable issue.

“The worst I would ever do is give you an incomplete if you miss the exam … as soon as we get a grade we can change your grade from incomplete to a real grade,” Daly said.

Safety must come first, and students should not have to worry that getting the vaccine will interfere with their ability to complete their coursework.

The UT community has set out to Protect Texas Together, and our professors can lead the way by helping students protect themselves.

Buffa is a political communication sophomore from The Woodlands, Texas.

/ the daily texan staff

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LIFE&ARTS

5

FRIDAY, APRIL 30, 2021

FEATURE

Boxing club builds bonds on campus

By Grace Robertson @gracearobertson

Alejandra Gutiérrez was walking on campus one day when she stumbled upon a noisy room full of sweaty students punching bags. Before she could think twice, the freshman picked up a pair of boxing gloves and joined in.

“Someone immediately came … (and) tried to see where I was in terms of technique,” said Gutiérrez, now an exercise science and dietetics senior. “I started working out with people there, and I haven’t stopped.”

Four years later, Gutiérrez leads the seven person UT boxing club as the first female and Latinx president.

A sport of intense physical contact might not seem like a place to find community, but the physical and mental challenges of boxing draw people like Gutiérrez in and keep them coming back.

“You’re going against nature in a way,” Gutiérrez said. “The way you train, the way you think, the way you eat … above all else your mentality has to be spot-on.”

The club reached a new milestone this spring: finding a gym and a coach at the Buffalo Boxing Club, just off campus on Shelby Lane. The group practices an hour and a half a day, five days a week.

“It’s a huge step for the club,” said business freshman James Park, who started boxing in the fall. “We’re getting a trainer who’s giving us pad time, who’s organizing workouts, and it’s made it a much more fulfilling experience.”

Robert Clemente, who founded Buffalo Boxing Club, was contacted by

members of the UT boxing club in the fall about coaching the group.

He said he thinks the UT club will be able to compete in more collegiate competitions one day. For now, a few members of the team will go to a national tournament in Lubbock in July, including Gutiérrez, who competed in her first tournament at Texas A&M last fall.

“All of my effort has gone into this team,” Clemente said. “I think Alejandra (Gutiérrez) can do really well if we go into this tournament.”

When Gutiérrez joined the club as a freshman, she said she didn’t have any experience with boxing. Her family was initially worried about the potential danger of the high contact sport, but she said it now gives her a chance to connect with them.

“My parents see how much work I put in … it’s something they really appreciate.”

Gutiérrez said. “When I’m boxing, I put in so much work because … while I’m privileged now I can still feel the amount of work they put in to get me here.”

Gutiérrez, who used to visit Mexico when she was little, said boxing helps her relate to her heritage.

“All of my family is Mexican, so right now my favorite boxer is Canelo Alvarez,” Gutiérrez said. “Even though my family is not very immersed in the sport, I know they’ll follow him, because he represents their country.”

After six months of remote practice, Clemente said being at a physical gym has given the members of the team a chance to grow closer both to the sport and to each other.

“They’re all there sweating and bleeding together,” Clemente said. “They’re building bonds for sure.”

ashley miznazi

/ the daily texan staff

The new coach of the UT Boxing Club, Robert Clememte (left) trains with Nathan Smith, one of the club members.

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FRIDAY, APRIL 30, 2021

Trigger warning: This story contains mentions of racism, hate crime and vi olence against Asian people. For a list of Anti-Asian violence resources look here: https://anti-asianviolenceresources.car rd.co/ rowing up in the predominantly white town of Tomball, Texas, Hana Thai’s classmates sometimes made comments like, “You’re really pretty for an Asian,” and, “You’re really pretty for a hijabi.”

She didn’t process the racist comments about her Vietnamese heritage at the time, but had read headline after headline about hate crimes against Muslims and Asians for years.

Hate crimes against the Asian American and Pacific Islander community increased by nearly 150% in 2020.

Now, when Thai reads about the violence, she turns her phone off. She said it feels like she’s reliving her own trauma.

“I want to be upset, and I want to be angry, and I want things to change,” said Thai, an international relations and global studies sophomore. “But I’ve been (dealing with) this for so long now that I don’t have the energy to continuously be angry … upset or scared or frustrated.”

Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, Stop AAPI Hate has reported 3,795 incidents of discrimination. In the wake of the recent violence, some members of UT’s Asian community reflect on lifelong instances of hate, racism and microaggressions directed towards their community.

When people make fun of Jackie Cheng’s name, or ask, “Where are you from?” she said she typically ignores them.

But Cheng, an international relations and global studies and sociology freshman, said the increase in hate crimes made her reflect on racism that she and other Asian women have experienced.

In 2020, Stop AAPI Hate received 2.3 times more reports of violence against women than men. Time magazine reports Asian women have experienced decades of fetishization, rooted in the objectification and hypersexualization they experienced

COVER STORY

‘It feels kind of hopeless at times’

Increased violence against the Asian community unsettles students.

By Fiza Kuzhiyil @fiza11k

during their initial immigration to the U.S. in the late 19th century.

The New York Times reported the gunman at the March 16 Atlanta shootings admitted he targeted Asian massage parlors to eliminate his “temptations.” Eight people, six of whom were Asian women, were killed in the shooting. In conversations about the shooting on social media, Cheng said she continued to see posts fetishing Asian women. She said the media she sees about other Asian women influences her perception of herself.

I shouldn’t have to tell people that I deserve to exist safely, no matter what I identify as.”

HANA THAI international relations and global studies sophomore

“I sort of see myself as though I’m an object in other people’s eyes,” Cheng said.

“Is that all I am? Am I just an object for them to fetishize? ” Tony K. Vo, assistant director of the Center for Asian American Studies, said

society deemed Asian American populations as the “model minority” in the 1960s in response to the Civil Rights Movement led by Black Americans. He said this myth was fabricated to drive a wedge between Asian Americans and other marginalized groups.

Now, as reports of violence against Asian American and Pacific Islanders grow, Vo said he sees the protections afforded to the AAPI community under notions of the model minority myth fading.

“A lot of (Asians) were like, ‘If I was just a good person, did my part, paid my taxes, kept my head down … as I moved through America, no one (would) bother with me,’” Vo said. “Now none of us feel that way.

We’re all anxious.”

As a Vietnamese Muslim woman, Thai said the Atlanta shooting felt reminiscent of other hate crimes against her religious community, such as the Christchurch shooting in New Zealand, which killed over 50 Muslims in March 2019.

“I am a part of so many groups that face such discrimination and hatred and violence on a daily basis that it feels kind of hopeless at times,” Thai said.

Vo said the University should invest in its Asian students by building an inclusive Asian community on campus and hire more Asian staff and faculty. Currently about 20.2% of UT’s student population is Asian, only 11% of professors and 7.43% of staff are Asian. Five percent of Texans and 8% of people in Austin are Asian.

7

Chemistry junior Grace Liu said this gap makes her feel underrepresented in the classroom. She said she’s more likely to speak up in classes with Asian professors rather than white professors.

“I’ve had a couple of Asian professors, and I’ve been very interactive with (them),” Liu said. “I feel more motivated to go to their office hours and try to strike a conversation with them. I tend to be quiet in classes that are led by white male professors as opposed to professors of color or Asian professors.”

Thai said she feels frustrated seeing people outside the AAPI community shocked about recent AAPI violence, when she has personally been affected by news of the violence her entire life. The calls to end violence come in waves, she said, and she’s afraid this wave of activism will fade like the ones before it.

“Our experiences are minimized,” Vo said.

“It took an entire year of violence and hate language toward Asian Americans for the nation to address the issue and convey care to

our community.”

Liu said she feels more comfortable talking about racism with her fellow AAPI peers, but she encourages non-AAPI students to attend university workshops to continue the conversation about ending violence toward the AAPI community.

“Racism directed toward us is something that we can all relate to, but at the same time, being able to understand each other and empathize with each other strengthens that bond among all of us,” Liu said. “Even though it’s painful, it’s definitely something that should be talked about.”

As a community facing violence, Thai said many in the Asian community want one thing: to exist safely without fear of violence.

“I shouldn’t have to tell people that I deserve to exist safely, no matter what I identify as,” Thai said. “Everybody just wants to feel safe. Everybody just wants to feel like they’re being who they are isn’t going to put them in danger.”

juleanna culilap

/ the daily texan staff

8

FRIDAY, APRIL 30, 2021

STUDENT LIFE

Autistic students discuss the effects of online learning, COVID-19 pandemic

By Sheryl Lawrence @sheryl_adelle

Trigger warning: This article contains discussion of suicidal ideation.

Autistic students who face accessibility barriers in day-to-day life have experienced different levels of comfort with online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ashley Richardson, autism spectrum education and outreach administrator New Student Services, said the Longhorn Transition, Inclusion, Empower, Success initiative was launched in January 2020 to provide students on the autism spectrum with support. The program started with eight students and is currently serving 22 students.

“For our program, students just have to identify as being on the spectrum,” Richardson said.

“We don’t require any diagnosis

information, because I do understand as students become adults, it is very difficult to obtain diagnosis information, and it’s really expensive.”

Debarshi Kundu, a computer science fifth year, is an autistic person and said he needs to be engaged in class, so online classes make it harder to engage with lectures.

“Now, I’ll get up maybe five minutes before, take my phone and log on to Zoom,” Kundu said. “(I) pretend like I’m actually listening even though I’m exhausted.”

Kundu said it was difficult for him when he moved back home at the beginning of the pandemic. When he came back to Austin in November, he said he felt more supported by his friends.

“For half a year to like eight months, I was stuck at home in Houston, and I actually had some suicidal ideation,” Kundu said. “I do believe that I have more of a community that understands depression here.”

Kundu said losing the routine of going to class in-person and interacting with

people in his organizations has made him feel lonely.

“That makes it difficult for someone like me, because how are you supposed to like an autistic person if you don’t know them, if you don’t interact with them, if you don’t see them on a regular basis?”

Kundu said. “That’s been difficult for me because not having that same structure has impacted me as an individual.”

Other students say online classes have actually been helpful during the pandemic. English junior Ethan Weinberger is autistic and said the online environment has been comforting because he is not forced to socialize all the time. Weinberger said he is also struggling with the anxiety of going back to in-person classes in the fall.

“It’s easy to just opt out and turn off (the) camera, only type in the chat,” Weinberger said. “I feel more comfortable doing that, but I feel like it’s not healthy because then I’m going back to classes in the fall, and it’s not going to be like that.”

Weinberger said he has mostly had asynchronous classes, which have been beneficial to his learning.

“For example, in classes when I’m taking notes, I feel so overwhelmed to write things down that I’m not learning anything and have to look back over it,” Weinberger said. “When I’m able to pause the video and go back and soak up every little bit of information, I feel like it’s helpful, and also more efficient that way.”

Emily Shryock, assistant director of Services for Students with Disabilities, said their services have not changed since the beginning of the pandemic.

“Sometimes students were continuing their same accommodations, but they might have looked different,” Shryock said. “We also have students who are specifically seeking accommodation because of some of the challenges of online learning.”

Shryock said SSD provides accommodations for students based on their needs.

“Accommodations are individualized based on students and their experience in the classroom,” Shryock said. “It’s hard to say all students with autism have the same barriers and same accommodations because that’s not true.”

barbra daly

/ the daily texan staff

NEWS

NEWS

9

FRIDAY, APRIL 30, 2021

CAMPUS

UT employees navigate paid leave policies, use donated time through Sick Leave Pool

By Laurie Grobe @grobe_lauren

When Elsa Ramos, senior financial aid counselor for the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid, slipped and fell in 2019, she had to get spinal fusion surgery. By using the University’s Sick Leave Pool, Ramos was able to take more than five months of paid time off.

If a University employee has to take leave, they must first use all their saved sick time. Then, they can apply to the Sick Leave Pool, which allows employees to donate their unused paid sick time to another employee. To apply to receive time from the pool, an employee must have already used all their accrued paid leave. The employee applying or one of their family members must be “suffering from a catastrophic condition,” or one that impacts one’s physical or mental health and requires treatment from a professional over a period of

time, according to the Handbook of Operating Procedures.

Veronica Trevino, Financial and Administrative Services Communications media manager, said in an email that eligible employees gain eight hours of sick time each month they are employed, as dictated by the state.

Ramos said she is also currently on leave for a broken arm and is using saved sick time. Ramos said she also used her optional disability insurance during her spinal injury, which was a “lifesaver” and allowed her to get paid the entire time she was on leave.

“I think there are a lot of employees who don’t realize what short-term and long-term insurance means,” Ramos said. “If we were more aware of what it actually meant, maybe people would opt into it.”

Short-term insurance at UT covers up to 22 weeks, and long-term disability insurance can cover from one to five years, depending on the employee’s age, and can cover conditions sick leave may not, according to Trevino. Disability insurance payments are 60% of an employee’s paycheck.

Trevino said in an email that the University’s disability insurance begins

copyright chérie amour pittman and elsa ramos, and reproduced with permission

UT staff members Elsa Ramos and Chérie Amour Pittman have both used paid sick leave. Employees must first use all their saved sick time before they can apply to the Sick Leave Pool.

coverage when an employee runs out of paid sick time, not when all paid time is used.

“Employees do not need to exhaust all of their paid time,” Trevino said in the email. “Employees with disability coverage may voluntarily elect to take their vacation leave simultaneously with short-term disability for additional income during their period (of) recovery.”

Cherie Amour Pittman, marketing coordinator for the Office of the Dean of Students, said when she needs to take leave related to a mental health condition, she alerts her supervisor and is able to take paid leave through her disability insurance.

“It makes it much easier for me to manage my workload and manage my personal life, (and) it takes a lot of pressure off,” Pittman said.

Pittman said everything related to her hospital stay was covered, partly from the Staff Emergency Fund, which provides temporary assistance to staff members facing emergencies and relies on donations.

The University provides multiple avenues for paid medical leave but does not provide paid family leave.

The Family Medical Leave Act is a federal law that requires employers to provide twelve weeks of unpaid leave for employees if they have a child, have an injury that prevents them from doing their job or to care for a family member.

The Faculty Welfare Committee filed legislation to gain paid family leave last year and it’s currently pending review from the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost.

Ramos said she was able to navigate the leave request process thanks to helpful human resources staff, but it can be difficult alone.

“You have to know what questions to ask sometimes,” Ramos said. “Navigating through it can take time, and sometimes these emergencies come up, and you need to take care of them right away.”

C A R T E R YAT E S

10

Sports Editor | @TEXANSPORTS

FRIDAY, APRIL 30, 2021

MEN’S GOLF

SPORTS

Coody follows in family footsteps Junior Pierceson Coody had his best season as a Longhorn in 2020-2021.

By Stephen Wagner @stephenwag22

alking into the Texas men’s golf locker room, junior golfer Pierceson Coody can feel the pressure of being a Longhorn — pressure set by college All-Americans and Masters Tournament winners like Ben Crenshaw, Jordan Spieth and Coody’s grandfather Charles, who won the 1971 Masters.

It’s nothing Coody isn’t used to.

Growing up in a family of golfers,

golf was less of a habit and more of a way of life. He can’t remember not knowing how to hold a golf club and can recall caddying for his grandfather as a small child.

He even played so much that he began to despise the sport from first grade through his prepubescent years before he rekindled his love for golf as a middle schooler.

And now, even though his time as the No. 1 amateur golfer in the world last week was short-lived, he’s following in his family’s footsteps.

“Whatever sport you’re playing, you aspire to find a way to get to the top,” Coody said in a Thursday press conference.

“To know that I’m taking the right steps is nice, but we still have a long way to get to the (PGA) Tour.”

But after this season, Coody’s path to the Tour is significantly clearer.

Coody had his best season in his three years as a Longhorn in 20202021, winning his first collegiate tournament as an individual and notching four total top-three finishes this spring as he briefly rose to the world’s top amateur ranking in late April. He also helped the Longhorns score six top-five team finishes in the spring alone and said he’s felt like he’s played at a special level for the last two months.

However, not much has changed in his routine.

“I still go out there and do the same thing I’m doing with the guys and have fun,” Coody said. “I think that I’m pretty focused on what I want to accomplish this year and let the other stuff kind of fall in line after that.”

He’s more than accomplished a few of his goals this year, even if the Longhorns didn’t win the Big 12 championship at the conference tournament in Kansas earlier this week. Coody wanted to crack the top five of the amateur golfer rankings, and he’s now No. 2. Coody wants to qualify for the PGA Tour; he makes his professional debut at

AT&T Byron Nelson Tournament in 2 ½ weeks.

Coody joked that he needs to reassess his personal goals after his individual success this spring, although his sights are still set on a national championship and team success in the NCAA regional and national meets. But one goal hasn’t changed: putting on the green jacket at Augusta National Golf Club.

“I think you have to … Making it to Augusta is the pinnacle,” Coody said, adding that he pictures celebrating on the 18th hole. “I (imagine it) all the time.

It’s not just standing there on the first tee.”

stephanie martinez-arndt

/ the daily texan file

Junior golfer Pierceson Coody won his first collegiate tournament as an individual in 2021. Now, he’s set his sights on the PGA Tour, with his debut in 2 ½ weeks.

COMICS

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SPORTS

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Coleman’s clutch career comes to end with lasting legacy

By Matthew Boncosky @mboncosky

Numerous high-profile athletes with gaudy single-season performances have come through the Texas men’s basketball program, but few players had the four-year impact of senior guard Matt Coleman.

Coleman, who announced his decision to turn professional Thursday via Instagram, leaves the Forty Acres as one of the most consistent point guards to don the burnt orange. He ranks third all-time at Texas with 477 assists, fourth all-time in minutes played and has started in all 128 games over the course of his career.

But what stands out most to his teammates isn’t Coleman’s on-court accolades. It’s how he carries himself outside the boundaries of the hardwood.

“He’s such a great guy, and I say that in the most genuine way

possible,” sophomore forward Kai Jones said at a March 8 teleconference. “He’s been somebody who’s been helpful to me since I first got here.”

Jones credited Coleman as an integral piece in his choice to come to Texas. When the forward from the Bahamas toured Austin as a high schooler, Coleman was his host.

“He’s just one of the greatest people you’ll ever come in contact with,” Jones said. “And then on the court, you know, he’s a bad dude.”

When the game was on the line, every Longhorn looked to Coleman for an answer.

Whether it was crushing the hearts of Oklahoma fans with a full-court sprint followed by a buzzer beater that banked in off the glass, lifting Texas to the Maui Invitational Tournament title on a step-back jumper against North Carolina or calmly sinking two clutch free throws against

juleanna culilap

/ the daily texan staff

jack myer

/ the daily texan file

Senior point guard Matt Coleman announced that he is going pro in an Instagram post Thursday, marking the end of a four-year career filled with game winners and consistent playmaking.

Texas Tech in the Big 12 Tournament, the examples of Coleman’s on-court dependability are numerous.

But it was never just about winning for Coleman.

As a point guard tasked with coordinating and orchestrating the offensive attack, Coleman’s role involved much more than scoring the game-winning bucket.

He served as the team’s primary distributor, striving to get others involved so they could be just as successful as him — the true mark of a veteran leader.

“There’s a sense of joy and unselfishness that I see (when) you’re just having fun (and) you’re happy to be playing the game of

basketball,” Coleman said.

“You’re happy for the guy next to you making an extra play, cheering them on.”

This year was particularly special for Coleman, who will graduate in May with a degree in communication and leadership.

Despite the challenges presented

by COVID-19, Coleman led Texas to the program’s first-ever Big 12 Tournament title.

“There were a lot of trials and tribulations, a lot of ups and downs, a lot of emotions, a lot of blood, sweat and tears,” Coleman said at a Thursday teleconference. “But (I want to be remembered as) someone who was able to stick through the tough times and always had a

smile on his face, played with passion, joy, excitement and was just unselfish at the end of the day.”

For junior guard Courtney Ramey, who will take over much of Coleman’s responsibilities next season, playing alongside Coleman was one of the biggest reasons why he chose to play at Texas.

“I wanted to play with a guy like that to learn from and just be a part of what he had going, and he accepted me with open arms, so I appreciated that from him,” Ramey said. “He’s a great leader, and in some ways I’ve watched (him) from afar to learn things from so when things are handed over to me, then I can just take off.”