The Daily Texan 2021-06-29

DT VOLUME 121, ISSUE 4 TUESDAY, JUNE 29, 2021

Students celebrate pride month, continue lgbtq+ activism

rocky higine

/ the daily texan staff

PERMANENT STAFF Editor-in-Chief Sanika Nayak Managing Editor Ariana Arredondo Director of Digital Strategy Katya Bandouil Director of Diversity & Inclusion

Assoc. Copy Desk Chief Mantra Dave

Internal Relations Director

Assoc. Design Editor Juleanna Culilap

Sruti Ramachandran

Senior Designer Jenny DeVico

Assoc. Opinion Editors Maria Sailale, Megan Tran Illustration Coordinator Abriella Corker News Editor Hannah Williford Assoc. News Editors Anna Canizales, Brooke Ontiveros Beat Reporters Sheryl Lawrence, Marisa Huerta, Kaushiki Roy, Kevin Vu Life&Arts Editor Jennifer Errico Assoc. Life&Arts Editor Fiza Kuzhiyil Sr. Life&Arts Reporters Andreana Lozano, Morgan-Taylor Thomas Sports Editor Carter Yates

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Assoc. Photo Editor Connor Downs Senior Photographer Hannah Clark Comics Editor Destiny Alexander Assoc. Comics Editor Rocky Higine Sr. Comics Illustrator Megan Clarke Social Media Editor Nuzha Zuberi Assoc. Social Media Editor Bernice Chen Senior Social Staffer Sarah Winch Audio Editor Addie Costello Assoc. Audio Editor Carly Rose

Senior Sports Writers Matthew Boncosky, Vicente Montalvo

Senior Audio Producer Mikayla Mondragon Editorial Adviser Peter Chen

ISSUE STAFF Columnists Cole Krautkramer

Opinion Illustrator Meba Wondwossen

Comic Artists Barbra Daly, Sylvia Asuncion-Crabb

L&A Reporter Sofia Treviño

Copy Editors Courtney Blair, Casey Ellis, Andrew Walter

Sports Reporters Kaitlyn Harmon, Amsal Madhani

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AUSTIN WEATHER TODAY June 29

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Students share initial thoughts and opinions about Latinx term and other gender-neutral language.

Sports

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Life&Arts

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05

Texas Tour Guides continue to strike with little communication from UT leadership.

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Texas baseball’s stellar pitching rotation helps Longhorns hit 50-win mark for first time since 2010.

Students frustrated with overwhelmed dorm room selection system

By Sheryl Lawrence @sheryl_adelle

TOMORROW June 30

HI LO

The University Housing and Dining room selection system for fall 2021 was overwhelmed by the number of students attempting to choose their rooms from June 8-19, causing students to be unable to see available rooms on their housing portal.

Some students said they feel the system is confusing and tedious.

In 2019 and 2021, UHD fulfilled roughly 7,200 housing requests, said Justin Jaskowiak, UHD director of apartments, occupancy and conferences. A few years ago, students were not given the opportunity to choose their room. Students would put in their preferences and housing staff would assign them to a room. Jaskowiak said the increased participation in the room selection program overwhelmed the system, which reaches maximum capacity at 7,300 contracts.

Undeclared freshman Alan Tran said he and his roommate were split up after not being able to pick a room during room selection.

Tran is in Jester

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New Student Services should implement pronoun education during the orientation experience.

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Contents:

West while his intended roommate is in Jester East, and they will have to move in order to be roommates again.

However, to move rooms, one person has to leave their current room before being reassigned, which leaves the opportunity for someone outside of the pair to claim the empty space.

“It makes me anxious because what happens when we are both in compliance with (one of our random roommates) leaving, … but someone ends up going in from the outside, sees an open Jester East room … (and) they end up taking that Jester East room away from anybody that tries to go in,” Tran said.

Jaskowiak said students who applied early for housing had the opportunity to choose their rooms before they were randomly assigned.

“It revealed that our system is very reliant on manual work, so we have to manually add to the pool of available rooms each time,” Jaskowiak said.

Mechanical engineering freshman William Kneip said he was assigned to supplemental housing on campus and plans to stay there because of the discount.

Kneip said he had to refresh the housing portal throughout the day to make his room selection.

When students emailed UHD, they received an automatic response saying UHD was experiencing a high volume of questions and that they would respond as quickly as possible. Jaskowiak said the staff members who respond to emails and phone calls are the same staff members who work on opening rooms in the housing portal.

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if you give a hamster a finger...

megan fletcher

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Editor-In-Chief | @TEXANOPINION TUESDAY, JUNE 29, 2021

OPINION

COLUMN

Include pronoun education in new student orientation

By Cole Krautkramer Columnist

will never forget when my high school best friend told me they would prefer I refer to them using they/he pronouns. While this was a simple change on my end, it helped them to feel respected and accepted for their identity.

That’s how everyone deserves to feel.

To better cultivate a safe campus culture for LGBTQ+ students, New Student Services must introduce a mandatory event to freshman orientation that teaches students about the importance of pronouns.

While orientation events such as Discover UT Resource Presentations allow for the Gender and Sexuality Center to talk with students about LGBTQ+ information on campus, none of them are mandatory. Thus, even though pronouns are an integral element of identity and daily life, education on their use is minimally integrated into orientation.

Savannah Tiber, an incoming theatre education freshman, reflects on their own experiences with pronouns during orientation this summer.

“I would say (pronouns were) something I barely heard about,” said Tiber. “On Zoom, I made sure to put my pronouns with my name, but there really wasn’t much I heard of or saw regarding pronouns just in orientation in general.”

When we fail to educate our students on the importance of pronouns, we facilitate an unsafe campus culture that normalizes misidentification.

Freshmen, among all other students, deserve to feel safe and accepted as they enter a new and unfamiliar environment.

Adrienne Hunter, a women and gender studies, radio-television-film, and anthropology fifth year student who uses they/she pronouns, described their frustrations with professors being insensitive toward their pronouns.

“Even though I’ll introduce myself with my pronouns, it will be in my Zoom corner, and when professors get it wrong, I’ll mention it to them in an email or in office hours, (misidentification) still happens really frequently, which is frustrating,” said Hunter.

While orientation advisers can choose to integrate pronoun discussions into their nightly small group meetings, this must become a required element in all orientation sessions. There, students can learn about when to use pronouns, how to intentionally and respectfully ask others about their pronouns, and the meaning of allyship.

Kyle St. Nicholas, assistant director of New Student Services, said while conducting assessments with incoming students about their orientation experiences allows for New Student Services to make some programming changes year-to-year, it focuses its time on fulfilling two

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main goals for students.

“We focus the required programming on getting students registered for classes and helping them make some connections on campus,” said St. Nicholas.

“We have students that come from all walks of life and different periods in their journeys, so (fewer mandatory events) allows them to really customize the experience that they want out of (orientation).”

A brief glance at the hybrid and virtual freshman orientation schedules reveals that all required events only take up a

couple of hours over the threeday period. There is more than enough time in the schedule to introduce a 30-minute mandatory assembly that could prove both minimally time-consuming and extremely beneficial for students.

Inviting a guest speaker to come discuss the importance of pronouns would allow students to learn from someone else’s firsthand experiences.

Even something as small as having students put their pronouns in their canvas profiles could provide a safe space for students to express

/ the daily texan staff

themselves, feel represented and connect with others.

When the topic of discussion is pronouns, New Student Services shouldn’t take educating students and cultivating inclusion lightly — especially during freshman orientation, when our impressionable new class of Longhorns is looking ahead to their next four years.

Krautkramer is a Plan II honors and undeclared business sophomore from Grapevine, Texas.

NEWS

HANNAH WILLIFORD

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News Editor | @THEDAILYTEXAN TUESDAY, JUNE 29, 2021

CAMPUS

Texas Tour Guides on strike Student guides continue strike against “The Eyes of Texas” lyrics in Admissions Welcome Center.

By Sheryl‌ ‌Lawrence‌ & Samantha Greyson

@sheryl_adelle‌ ‌@GreysonSamantha

ome members of Texas Tour Guides have boycotted work since May 1 in protest of “The Eyes of Texas” lyrics being featured in the Admissions Welcome Center display. They say they will not return until UT removes the lyrics, but have received little communication from UT leadership.

The University said it would review the display of the lyrics this summer, according to a letter to the welcome center staff

by Miguel Wasielewski, executive director of admissions at the Office of the General Faculty. University spokesperson J.B. Bird confirmed with The Daily Texan on Monday that this review process has begun.

Wasielewski also said in his email they will be providing tour guides with “additional training for questions related to ‘The Eyes of Texas’ to assist with a positive tour experience for our visitors.”

Tour guides originally emailed their sponsors and other welcome center staff to remove the lyrics in February, but the University took no action. The guides sent a formal statement of demands to UT administration on April 19. The statement requested a plan to remove the lyrics from the welcome center by May 1 or the guides would strike, tour guide Grace Widner said.

Chemistry senior Avery Thompson, who is currently on strike, said before the new class of tour guides in May, the office had to bring in people from other UT campuses to give tours.

Thompson said the lack of communication between the guides and University officials is disheartening and makes her feel disrespected. She said the tours have leveraging power because of their direct contact with prospective students.

“Tours are a large reason why a lot of students decide to come to this University,” Thompson said. “After I give a tour, I’ve

had students say, ‘I was on the fence, but you are the reason why I want to come to this university now.’”

Jeremiah Baldwin, a government, rhetoric and writing and African and African Diaspora studies junior, also said the lack of Universty communication made it difficult to continue being a tour guide and represent the University in a positive light.

When UT President Jay Hartzell announced the alma mater will continue to be the school’s song in July 2020, Hartzell said, “‘The Eyes of Texas’ should not only unite us, but hold all of us accountable to our institution’s core values,” and that the UT community needed to have conversations regarding the song.

In March, the University released a 59-page report detailing the history of “The Eyes of Texas,” which stated the song was written in a “racist setting” but is not “overtly racist.” Since then, history professor Alberto Martínez released multiple articles on Medium contradicting the report and listing reasons why it should not be the University’s alma mater.

“I’m sick and tired of having conversations,” Thompson said. “It’s not a conversation that needs to be had anymore, in my opinion, because it’s very clear that this song is actively harming Black students on campus.”

When the lyrics were placed in the welcome center, the history of the song was not as well-known to students.

The reports released over the past year brought the history to the forefront and influenced many students to fight for change.

“How can I be an effective tour guide when I know that we have displays within our welcome center that are not positively representing our University?”

Baldwin said. “Why would we want to promote the University? Why would we want to talk about different tour stops and recruit students when we know that this University isn’t representing us?”

eddie gaspar

/ the daily texan file

Some members of Texas Tour Guides have boycotted work since May 1 in protest of “The Eyes of Texas” lyrics being featured in the Admissions Welcome Center display.

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TUESDAY, JUNE 29, 2021

STUDENT LIFE

‘There are plenty of mountains to overcome’: Students celebrate Pride Month, acknowledge struggles

By Kaushiki Roy @kaushikiroy3

UT student organizations celebrated diversity, inclusion and acceptance on campus this June for Pride Month.

While students had different areas of focus, including advocating for LGBTQ+ rights in government and forming safe spaces on campus, all organizations have one value in common: pride in their identities.

“Pride is a reminder that the fight to end discrimination of LGBTQ+ folks in Texas, in the U.S. and around the world continues, and there are plenty of mountains to overcome,” history senior Ric Galavan said.

Galavan is the campus organizer for Texas Rising, a political organization advocating for progressive ideals in Texas. During Pride month, Texas Rising highlighted the history of Pride in Texas, including the successes and the struggles for LGBTQ+ equality through their social media accounts.

Galavan said they will be continuing their efforts past pride month by advocating against Texas Legislature bills such as Senate Bill 29, which would force athletes to play sports not based on gender identity, but sex assigned at birth.

Another campus organization, the

Queer and Trans Student Alliance, is an agency of the University’s Student Government that works with LGBTQ+ youth and advocates for social rights with other organizations.

During pride month, the alliance created a fundraiser selling pride merchandise such as shirts, bucket hats, buttons and stickers, and used the profits to create a scholarship for LGBTQ+ students, said Adrienne Hunter, a fifth year anthropology, radio-television-film and women and gender studies student.

“UT has a lot more to do to be inclusive to LGBTQIA+ students,” Hunter said. “There are a lot of

tangible actions, such as more gender neutral restrooms and more accessibility to gender inclusive housing that UT can take to make queer and trans students feel more welcome.

UT students have also formed pride organizations specific to different colleges. OUTLaw, formed under the University’s School of Law, focuses on supporting students who identify as LGBTQ+ by providing resources for classes, networking or anything else students need to feel successful at the law school.

“Law as a field tends to skew to the perceived ‘normative’

identities, like white, male and cis-hetero,” said Josue Teniente, an immigration and family law student. “OUTLaw helps to provide a safe space for students in a field where they don’t necessarily feel represented.”

Teniente said that during Pride Month, he educated himself on the struggles that other identities face while also trying to be more comfortable with his own identity publicly.

“I recognized that I was bisexual in 2018, so while I’ve accepted my identity, I want to try to learn to be more public with that part of my identity,” Teniente said. “Pride Month helps me do so by watching and listening to the stories of others, and listening to their narratives gives me courage and hope.”

Teniente said that while the University has held events that induced equality, it has a long way to go in order for the LGBTQ+ community to feel fully accepted.

“At the Law School, it’s complicated because other organizations will bring speakers or host talks that debate issues that directly impact our lives,” Teniente said. “It can be exhausting to have to defend our existence, and when these organizations do these events or when students make certain points in classes ‘just to play devil’s advocate,’ it only compounds our exhaustion.”

illustration by barbra daly

/ the daily texan staff

NEWS

LIFE&ARTS

JENNIFER ERRICO

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Life&Arts Editor | @TEXANARTS TUESDAY, JUNE 29, 2021

STUDENT LIFE

LGBTQ+ students describe feelings on labels in community While labels can feel limiting to some students, others may find them helpful.

By Sofia Treviño @Sofiacis_7

way from the nitpicking lens of those in his small town, Sam Aguilar was better able to explore their identity in their first year of college, coming out of the experience a brand-new person. Aguilar lives by letting go of restricting labels, dressing in whatever feels more masculine or feminine to them.

“From my point of view, as I’m bisexual and nonbinary, I see that without a label, I’m free to do whatever I please,” said Aguilar, a biology sophomore. “I’m able to be more creative with what I wear and how I present myself and my character.”

With the already broad and perpetually increasing amount of labels within the LGBTQ+ community, labels are bound to affect people in different ways. Whether labels feel restricting, as people navigate their identities, or empowering, as these labels help them feel more secure, each person has their own unique way of finding their place within the community.

“I was always taught that in order to become mature, you have to set in stone your identity and just hold

your character accountable,” Aguilar said. “As I’ve grown, I’ve seen that growing up as a person and finding out your identity should not come from a label; rather, it’s continuing to get to know yourself more, even if that means straying away from your personal norms.”

Growing up in a Christian household and small town, Aguilar said he had to learn to separate his religious identity with his sexual identity. “(To me), labels are more restricting,” Aguilar said. “I’d always question myself, and I would always be in this negative place trying to figure out who I was, why I’m straying away from these labels. In reality that’s not necessarily that healthy, and you should just be open to questioning yourself and figuring yourself out.”

Also coming from a small town, public relations sophomore Faye Haynes struggled with accepting her sexuality, seeing how others from the LGBTQ+ community were treated in her school. To her, though, having a wide variety of labels made the process of exploring her sexuality and sharing her identity with others easier.

“I personally like labels, and I can’t speak for the whole community, but personally, (labels) empower me,” Haynes said. “It’s helped me feel more secure in my identity.”

destiny alexander

Though labels may feel limiting to some, others may find them helpful in coming to learn more about themselves, said Liz Elsen, director of the Gender and Sexuality Center.

“Some students find that labels never sit right with who they are, or how they experience gender and/ or sexual orientation. Some people feel a sense of relief and community when they find a label that fits or works for them,” Elsen said. “Labels can feel restrictive, but they can also help people connect.”

/ the daily texan staff

Importantly, those labels should be chosen by the person themself and not placed upon by others. Elsen said people placing labels on others can set unwanted expectations.

“Labels that students choose for themselves can be very powerful,” Elsen said. “When other people choose labels for you, it can be harmful and limiting if it doesn’t resonate with who you are and your identity. Everyone deserves to come into themselves at their own pace, with support and community.”

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TUESDAY, JUNE 29, 2021

LIFE&ARTS

STUDENT LIFE

Students share opinions on ‘Latinx’ term

By Andreana Lozano @lozano_andreana

The word Latinx seemed wrong the first time Claire Harper saw it, as if the term had been coined by a non-native Spanish speaker. The “x” ending defied the basic gendered rules of Spanish.

“I definitely had a negative reaction to it at first, because I didn’t understand the context of why people use it,” Harper said. “Learning the purpose of inclusion behind it has definitely helped me understand that it was something that was created by the community.”

The word “Latinx’’ symbolizes a sharp break from the Spanish language’s gendered grammatical tradition, but has been embraced by many in the Latin LGBTQ+ community as well as in some academic circles as a gender-neutral label. However, the word still faces a fair share of scrutiny.

As of August 2020, only about one-in-four U.S. Hispanics have heard of the word Latinx and 3% use it.

The term is most often used among young, Hispanic women and in academic contexts.

Anthropology professor Martha Menchaca said she first saw the term appear in academic literature in 2018.

“On a personal basis I have not heard the term used by individuals,” Menchaca said.

“The only time (I’ve heard)

it used is when professors or other professionals give public presentations.”

Harper said she believes the term is not widely accepted because of the grammatical barrier.

“It ends with an x,” said Harper, an honors neuroscience, sociology and English junior. “That’s something that’s basically unpronounceable to monolingual Spanish speakers because of the way that the Spanish language works. It is a very bad combination with a very foreign sound to their tongue and it’s very difficult for them to say.”

Yet, Harper appreciates that the word is more inclusive of gender, unlike the usual o/a endings which signify masculinity and femininity.

“I do understand the value of having a more gender-neutral word, especially when Latin American cultures have this history of machismo,” Harper said.

For Ph.D student Melissa Santillana, the discussion about labels goes beyond Latino vs Latinx.

“I never thought of myself as Latino or Hispanic, for me it was always Mexican,” Santillana said. “But as you spend more time in the United States, you’re kind of forced to group with this Latino or Hispanic identity that encompasses a lot of other people from Latin America.”

Without knowing the true origins of the word, Paola Solano, applied learning and development junior, said she feels uncomfortable using it.

“I don’t know how I would feel if someone said a white person came up with this,” Solano said. “In that case, I don’t think that I would feel as strongly connected to it. I feel like if it was a Latino person, it might be a little bit cooler, because it’s like, oh, okay, you’re trying to find your own identity as well.”

Santillana believes the word Latinx is here to stay, regardless of pronunciation or popularity, and she is supportive of the inclusive intent behind the label, even if it is not the first word she would choose to define herself.

Harper prefers the term “Latine” to describe herself, a gender-neutral term similar to Latinx that originated in Spain and is easier for Spanish speakers to pronounce.

Still, Harper supports the growing usage of Latinx.

“I do think that there is value in trying to find more inclusive terms to really include everyone in the community, and not just men or women in the community, to really include everyone,” Harper said.

“I am appreciating that it’s becoming a more widespread term, even if I do find some flaws in Latinx.”

sylvia asuncion-crabb

/ the daily texan staff

SPORTS

C A R T E R YAT E S

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Sports Editor | @TEXANSPORTS TUESDAY, JUNE 29, 2021

FEATURE

‘There’s a light at the end of the tunnel’ Tara Davis speaks on the obstacles she overcame to earn Olympic spot.

By Kaitlyn Harmon @kait_harmon

Tara Davis became the first Longhorn woman to earn an Olympic bid competing in the long jump after finishing second in the U.S. Olympic Trials over the weekend, but the road to stardom was not easy.

Four years ago, the future twotime NCAA champion chose to compete for the University of Georgia over Florida and Kentucky. In fact, Texas wasn’t even in the running to snag her commitment. Current Texas head coach Edrick Floréal was leading Kentucky’s program during Davis’ recruitment and had a great relationship with the young track prospect, but he ultimately lost out to a Georgia team that Davis said told her everything she wanted to hear.

Davis’ freshman year was not kind to her. She lost four weeks of training due to mononucleosis and suffered fractures on her L4 and L5 vertebrae in her back during the season, all while struggling with her parents’ divorce. Davis said all these factors contributed to her depression and dissociation with Georgia.

But then entered Floréal, who was named Texas’ head coach in June 2018, a few months before Davis’ sophomore season would begin.

When the long jumper decided it was time for a fresh start, the University

of Texas seemed like the perfect landing spot.

“When I found out (Floréal, who had) recruited me from Kentucky, was at Texas, I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, I have to go to Texas,’” Davis said.

“Texas is my dream school. … I’ve always wanted to be a Longhorn.”

Her dream of running for Texas, however, was soon halted by Georgia head coach Petros Kyprianou. Davis was forced to sit out her first season at Texas when Kyprianou chose to bar her from NCAA competition for one year due to her transferring. On top of the NCAA block, Davis was still suffering from a back injury, which prevented Texas from allowing her to compete.

The fire within Davis had been building for two years. As things began to turn around for her, the then-junior broke her foot in December 2019. Three months later, the COVID-19 pandemic hit and the remainder of the indoor season, as well as the entire outdoor season, was canceled. In December 2020, Davis created a pros and cons list, debating if she should quit track. Six months later she would become a two-time NCAA champion and firsttime Olympian.

A former coach, an NCAA blocking, two back fractures and a broken foot could not stop Davis from continuing to chase after her NCAA and Olympic

copyright tara davis, and reproduced with permission

Tara Davis waves to the Texas fanbase after becoming the first Longhorn woman to win a national title in the outdoor long jump. This past weekend in the U.S. Olympic Trials, Davis earned a spot competing in the long jump for Team USA.

dreams. With a community of friends and family in her corner, Davis found the strength to keep going.

When Davis was 4, her dad told her that she would have to make sacrifices to be on top, and it’s why the word “sacrifice” is tattooed on her ribcage. After years of sacrificing her body to injuries, Davis takes nothing for granted.

“I actually surprise myself every time I jump,” Davis said. “I didn’t think I’d be here, being able to run track again and being able to just wake up in the morning. I really take it for the opposite of taking it for granted.”

During the NCAA Outdoor Championships on June 9-12, Davis saw Kyprianou for the first time since her time at Georgia. Davis said she almost broke down when her

former coach congratulated her, and she was told by other people that she shouldn’t give him the time of day.

“I’m not that person,” Davis said. “I’m a forgiver. Two years went by and I held my grudge as long as I could. Life goes on with or without him.”

A trip to the Olympics justifies all the hard work Davis put into her track career while also serving as inspiration for collegiate athletes who struggle with both mental and physical health ailments.

“It’s my dream to go to the Olympics and represent USA on that big of a stage,” Davis said. “Knowing my history and knowing my story, … if I’m able to do it, anything is possible. … There’s a light at the end of the tunnel.”

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TUESDAY, JUNE 29, 2021

SPORTS

BASEBALL

Texas comes up I game short of College World Series finals after season led by dominant pitching

By Amsal Madhani @amsal_madhani

Texas’ season came to a painful end Saturday night with a ninth inning walkoff double from Mississippi State, but the loss takes nothing away from a remarkable season for the Longhorn baseball program.

The Longhorns finished the year with a 50–17 record, their first season hitting the 50-win mark since 2010, and just one game shy of the College World Series finals. Texas battled through multiple rain delays in Omaha to win three straight elimination games, with tournament highlights including Zach Zubia’s three-RBI double in the top of the ninth inning against Virginia and Ivan Melendez’s three-RBI homer in the top of the ninth against Mississippi State. Even though Texas came up short, they left the College World Series with their heads held high.

“I mean, it sucks to lose that way, but it was an unbelievable season,” redshirt senior outfielder Mike Antico said Saturday night. “I’m really proud of this whole team, the coaches and the players. It was a hell of an experience.”

While the Texas offense had a bevy of clutch moments, the Longhorns consistently thrived on the mound this season thanks to a versatile and deep pitching group led by D1 All-American Ty

Madden. The redshirt sophomore came up big for the Longhorns during their World Series run, pitching 13 innings and recording 18 strikeouts. He showed tremendous guts Friday night in a win over Mississippi State, throwing six innings on short rest and giving up only two runs.

But it wasn’t just Madden who captured the spotlight this year. Redshirt junior Tristan Stevens earned AllBig 12 First Team honors after recording a career-high 77 strikeouts on the season.

He was also exponentially important as a veteran leader on a young Texas squad, according to head coach David Pierce.

Madden and Stevens both showed great poise at the mound all year long and set the standard for what to expect from the younger guys coming in that will have to fill their shoes at the mound.

With both likely headed off to start their professional careers, Pierce said they laid the foundation for the pitching group’s culture in the years to come.

“I think more than anything that I’ve been so pleased with is just the leadership from Ty (Madden) and Tristan (Stevens),” Pierce said. “This group, starting last spring, started really creating that attitude that we were looking for.”

Freshman pitchers Tanner Witt and Aaron Nixon were able to learn from Madden

and Stevens throughout the season. There were some great flashes shown by both players, as Witt pitched tremendously in a pivotal elimination game against Tennessee in the College World Series. The former highly touted recruit shut out the Volunteers through five and two-thirds innings pitched.

Nixon found a home with the Longhorns this season serving as the team’s closer, taking pressure off the bullpen when it came down to closing a game out in the

late innings. Antico said part of the reason Witt and Nixon enjoyed early success in their college career was their competitive spirit as former position players.

“It takes a special cat to be a closer in baseball, and (Nixon’s) got all the makings of it,” Antico said. “My thing for Tanner (Witt) and Nixon both is they were both position players. They were two-way guys. They understand the mentality of a position player, and they bring that same work ethic into pitching, and

I think it really helps them a lot.”

Although it wasn’t the outcome Longhorn fans were looking for, there’s still a lot to look forward to with this young squad, namely three freshman pitchers who still have a lot to prove.

“The future’s bright,” Pierce said. “The two big freshmen in Witt and Nixon, and you look at (freshman Lucas) Gordon, he’s right there close (to) being the next weekend guy.

Just a lot of positive things.”

copyright ncaa, and reproduced with permission

Redshirt junior pitcher Tristan Stevens fires a pitch in Texas’ elimination game against Mississippi State on June 26. Both Stevens and redshirt sophomore pitcher Ty Madden had excellent seasons on the mound while providing veteran leadership for talented freshman pitchers.

COMICS

DESTINY ALEXANDER

Comics Editor | @TEXANCOMICS TUESDAY, JUNE 29, 2021

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TUESDAY, JUNE 29, 2021

STATE

‘It’s just an utter waste of our time and resources’: Some UT faculty say building Texas-Mexico border wall is misuse of state funds

By Marisa Huerta

so that it won’t have any impact,” Gilman said. “The border wall will (not) halt migration, much less improve border security.”

Julio Salinas, secretary general for University Democrats, said Abbott acted independently from the federal government by taking up an issue that exceeds his jurisdiction and misuses state funds.

@_marisahuerta

Gov. Greg Abbott recently placed a $250 million “down payment” to continue construction of the Texas-Mexico border wall.

However, some UT professors say the wall won’t prevent immigration and the state should allocate the money elsewhere.

Abbott announced in a June 16 press conference that a “down payment” of $250 million would go toward facilitating the process. Abbott joined other Republican lawmakers in signing the letter and said the border crisis is a direct result of open border policies put into place by the Biden administration.

“Texas is stepping up and doing more than any other state ever has done to respond to these challenges along the border,” Abbott said.

Denise Gilman, a clinical professor at the UT School of Law and director of the UT Immigration Clinic, said the state does not have the authority to build the wall if its purpose is to prevent people from crossing into the U.S., since immigration policy is strictly a federal matter.

“The state definitely does not have the authority to engage in unilateral immigration enforcement, which it seems is what the border wall construction project is intended to be,” Gilman said. “On the other hand, the state of Texas has the authority to (take) land to build

jack myer

/ the daily texan file

The Texas-Mexico border wall Gov. Greg Abbott recently placed a $250 million “down payment” to build won’t prevent immigration, and the state should allocate the money elsewhere, some UT professors say.

infrastructure, but only if it’s for a legitimate government purpose, and I think there are real questions about whether that purpose could be established in this case.”

Gilman said the state should allocate toward social services such as COVID-19 relief programs, education and the foster care system.

“It’s just an utter waste of our time and resources to spend them on a border wall rather than on other measures that could actually assist the residents of Texas,” Gilman said.

Victoria DeFrancesco Soto, assistant dean for civic engagement and lecturer at the LBJ School of Public Affairs, said that as a

policy response, Abbott’s plan fails to address the root causes of immigration.

“Walls don’t work,” DeFrancesco Soto said. “If you really want to address migratory flows, you need to understand the dynamics of pushpull factors, which is: Why do people come here in the first place?”

Gilman said people tend to forget that immigration is a normal phenomenon and should not be linked with border security questions, which are best dealt with through law enforcement strategies.

“It’s been shown again and again that migrants who are desperately fleeing dangerous conditions will go up, around and through a wall,

The state definitely does not have the authority to engage in unilateral immigration enforcement.”

DENISE GILMAN

clinical professor at the ut school of law

“It seems like he’s putting a down payment on a wall that has to run through a lot of private property that he doesn’t know he’s going to get the rights to,” Salinas said. “At the same time, many people are suffering due to our broken electrical system. Our public schools are broken. We still don’t have the expansion of Medicare. Aside from the pure inhumanity of it all, it’s a misallocation of funds.”

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