The Daily Texan 2021-10-01

DT VOLUME 122, ISSUE 22 FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2021

‘you’re not in this alone’ UT professor creates safe space on campus for Black male students.

assad malik

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/ the daily texan staff

PERMANENT STAFF Editor-in-Chief Sanika Nayak Managing Editor Myah Taylor Assoc. Managing Editors Jennifer Errico, Hannah Lopez Director of Digital Strategy Katya Bandouil Director of Diversity & Inclusion Abhirupa Dasgupta Internal Relations Director Carolynn Solorio External Relations Director Rachael Hatchett Assoc. Opinion Editors Izzy Costello, Sruti Ramachandran, Megan Tran, Julia Zaksek Illustration Coordinators Abriella Corker, Audrey Williams

Newsletters Editor Jessica Garcia Copy Desk Chief Phoebe Hayes Assoc. Copy Desk Chiefs Mantra Dave, Alex Mercadel, Chloe Roman, Andrew Walter Design Editor Megan Fletcher Assoc. Design Editor Juleanna Culilap

Life&Arts Editor Fiza Kuzhiyil Assoc. Life&Arts Editor Morgan-Taylor Thomas Life&Arts Desk Editors Dina Barrish, Zoe Tzanis Sr. Life&Arts Reporters Sofia Treviño Senior Film Columnist Noah Levine Sports Editor Nathan Han Assoc. Sports Editor Matthew Boncosky Sports Desk Editor Taylor Hawthorne Senior Sports Writers Ross Fisher, Christina Huang, Hannah Williford Double Coverage Editor Kaitlyn Harmon

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ISSUE STAFF Columnists Lucero Ponce Comic Artists Teagan Jensen, Devin Wilcox, Mindy Van Copy Editors Sage Dunlap, Isabella Zeff, Kamryn Brownlee, Andrea Rodriguez Designers Sara Kinney, Sam Treviño Opinion Illustrators Rong Hua Wang

L&A Reporters Reya Mosby, Chandler Rowley, Caroline Culberson News Reporters Ubah-Kamilo Moallim, Henry Hays Photographers Reid Stacy, Assad Malik, Peyton Sims Sports Reporters Payne Williams, Ethan Ferguson, Emily Schumacher

AUSTIN WEATHER TODAY Oct. 1

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Check out our list of the three best bacon, egg and cheese tacos.

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Eva Jess opened her collegiate career placing first in the 5K at the Tornado Watch Invitational.

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thinking about how much money i’ve spent on UT vending machines,,,

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PLACE

Waterloo Park reopens to public after decade of closure

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Beat Reporters Lauren Abel, Tori Duff, Marisa Huerta, Katy Nelson, Kaushiki Roy, Kevin Vu

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University Housing and Dining must require dorm residents to get tested weekly.

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Student Government passes resolution for UT to become carbon neutral by 2033.

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DT

Contents:

By Koshik Mahapatra @koshikmahapatra

Visitors can now come to the newly reimagined Waterloo Park, which reopened in August for the first time in a decade as part of a larger project to improve the greenway on Waller Creek running through downtown Austin.

The city has renovated the 11-acre park, which used to be largely green space, into an area with 1.5 miles of hike-and-bike trails, an elevated skywalk that spans the length of the park and a 5,000-seat Moody Amphitheater, an outdoor space for ticketed events.

“The old park was certainly nice, but it was very different,” said Stuart Reichler, natural sciences associate professor of practice. “The (new) park, I feel like, is a little more interactive where people can walk through it and see it and find different parts of the park to sit and relax in.”

Waterloo Park, which is near Dell Medical School, closed its doors in 2011 for the construction of a flood tunnel to alleviate the park’s flash flooding issues, said Susan Kenzle, project manager for the Austin Watershed Protection Department.

However, setbacks and budget increases due to tunnel design flaws prevented the flood control

leila saidane

/ the daily texan staff

Waterloo park reopened in August for the first time in a decade. The city has renovated the 11-acre park and officially opened it to the public.

project from being operable until 2018, according to CBS Austin.

After the tunnel was completed in 2018, the city began renovation work on the park.

In 1998, Austin citizens approved construction of the Waller Creek Tunnel, a massive runoff tunnel to free up 28 acres of land downtown for development, according to the city of Austin Master Plan. As part of the plan, city leaders envisioned a greenway of parks and open spaces stretching from E. 15th Street to Lady Bird Lake that would be connected by bike trails, including Waterloo Park.

“The idea of being able to

bicycle through downtown without having to interact with traffic is fabulous,” Reichler said.

“I’m hoping that the (greenway) will … be a nice kind of respite from the busy hustle bustle of whatever downtown.”

Lisa Storer, project manager for the City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department, said she is glad Austinites can enjoy the park once again after a decade of closure.

“With Waterloo being closed for so long, it was kind of a little bit forgotten,” Storer said. “Now that it’s back in the public realm, it’s just been great to see the way the city has been embracing it.”

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

B R O O K E PA R K

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News Editor | @THEDAILYTEXAN FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2021

CITY

Students celebrate city approval of Austin Climate Equality Plan ByMarisa Huerta @_marisahuerta

UT students and other community members gathered outside City Hall on Thursday to celebrate City Council’s approval of the Austin Climate Equity Plan, which students said includes measures to help counter the effects of climate change.

The plan seeks to overturn environmental policies that have disproportionately affected communities with fewer resources according to a post by Public Citizen Texas, one of the organizers of the rally. The plan also includes a goal to reduce climate pollution and greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by 2040 by increasing the number of sustainable buildings and the electrification of transportation.

Penelope Ackling, activism director of Students Fighting Climate Change and speaker at the rally, said climate equity is an issue that requires urgent action because of its impact on the community, more specifically those in marginalized communities.

“I think it’s really important for young people to stay engaged with climate

action, especially (with) something so historic like a climate Equity Plan,” said Ackling, a geography, sustainability and urban studies junior. “The plan does a lot around reducing greenhouse gas emissions and creating opportunities for Black and brown people.”

The plan intends to create more green jobs as well as entrepreneurship opportunities geared toward marginalized communities, according to the Office of Sustainability.

Ackling said more students should care about climate equity because it affects everyone’s future and will have drastic impacts on natural disasters and weather and temperature over the next 10 years.

The Climate Equity Plan is just one governmental decision that could help protect the future of the environment, Ackling said.

“It was just hurricane season, and we went through one of the historically warmest summers that we’ve ever experienced,” Ackling said.

“Species are going extinct, and our ecosystems are becoming more and more destabilized.”

Lisette Hotz, a psychology and

connor downs

/ the daily texan staff

Penelope Ackling, activism director of Students Fighting Climate Change, spoke at an event hosted by Public Citizen Texas on Sept. 30 outside of city hall to celebrate the passing of the Austin Climate Equity Plan.

dance junior who attended the rally, said it’s important to take action for underrepresented communities as they have been the most negatively affected by climate change, especially during February’s winter storm.

“With the snowstorm, so many unhoused people didn’t have a place to go, and I know people literally passed away from (freezing temperatures),” Hotz said. “I think the housing situation is becoming a bigger problem in Austin, and it’s not going to get better with the fluctuating climate.”

Siva Schwarz, an environmental science junior and member of Students Fighting Climate Change, said City Council’s

implementation of this plan is crucial to climate equity because of how it will help impoverished people.

“A lot of minority groups live in poverty, and when you’re in poverty, there’s no way to protect yourself against climate crises that can pop up,” Schwarz said.

Schwarz said that by educating others about climate change, the organization can work together to create a more sustainable environment for future generations.

“I would like a future, I would like to be breathing clean air and to be able to visit natural wonders of the world,” Schwarz said. “I don’t know if I’m going to have children, but if I do, I would like them to be able to enjoy a clean world.”

S A N I K A N AYA K

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Editor-In-Chief | @TEXANOPINION FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2021

COLUMN

OPINION

Require weekly COVID-19 testing in dorms Columnist Lucero Ponce urges University Housing and Dining to require weekly COVID-19 testing for residents.

By Lucero Ponce Columnist

t the start of the semester, University Housing and Dining required over 7,000 residents to get tested for COVID-19 before Mooov-In. Now that students are on campus, there are no other testing requirements. Measures are taken by UHD, such as disinfecting high touch areas and common spaces, but they need to do more to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

Mandatory testing once at the beginning of the semester does not mean students are good to go for the rest of the year. If the University does not want to mandate weekly testing for all students, it can start with residents and take further action from there.

University Housing and Dining should require residents to take a COVID-19 test once a week.

Aaron Voyles, director for residence hall operations, said UHD follows University guidelines, including

LEGALESE | Opinions expressed in The Daily Texan are those of the editor, the Editorial Board or the writer of the article. They are not necessarily those of the UT administration, the Board of Regents or the Texas Student Media Board of Operating Trustees.

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encouraging wearing masks, getting vaccinated and being tested regularly.

However, nothing is stopping UHD from requiring residents to test weekly. There is no law that prohibits the University from mandating this. Additionally, students complied with the requirement at the beginning of the semester, so there seems to be no issue there either. “(University Housing and Dining) followed University guidance during Mooov-In, asking everybody to get tested prior to classes,” Voyles said.

“So we in University Housing and Dining aligned with that, to ask students to get tested when they’re moving in, and it was really, really successful. We did not run into issues with students having negative responses.

Compliance was great.”

SUBMIT A FIRING LINE | Email your Firing Lines to editor@dailytexanonline.com. Letters must be more than 100 and fewer than 300 words. The Texan reserves the right to edit all submissions for brevity, clarity and liability.

/ the daily texan staff

If there wasn’t any backlash from students, what is stopping UHD from requiring weekly testing for residents?

Jessica Klima, Proactive Community Testing program director, says it would be possible to test all on-campus residents in one week.

“Since the beginning of the semester, we’ve had the capacity to test 15,000 per week,” Klima said.

“It’s underutilized. Last week, we tested around 5,000.”

Both legally and logistically speaking, it is possible for UHD to require residents to get tested for COVID-19 once a week. They just haven’t done so.

It is essential for UHD to mandate weekly testing, as there have already been cases in residence halls. It

begs the question of what would have happened if those individuals did not get tested of their own accord.

Nikki Hewett, a health and society freshman, agreed that a testing requirement would be much better than simply encouraging students to get tested.

“I think (a testing requirement) would help a lot because some people aren’t always aware that whatever’s wrong with them is COVID-19,” Hewett said. “A lot of people will assume, ‘Oh I have a stuffy nose or I have a slight cough, but no it’s not COVID-19.’ But if we get tested regularly, then things like that will be taken care of, as well as people who are asymptomatic.”

Simply relying on students to test for COVID-19 is not enough. University Housing and Dining should require residents to test once a week, and to offset stress on PCT test sites, the day they get tested should depend on what floor residents live on. Residents can test at the testing location closest to them. If a resident tests positive, Student Emergency Services will work directly with them to identify the best option and ensure the student has a space to isolate.

Students living on campus should get tested for COVID-19 every week, as it is an efficient way to reduce the spread of the virus in residence halls. University Housing and Dining promises “worry-free living,” and they need to uphold that promise and start taking real steps to reduce the spread.

Ponce is a journalism freshman from Laredo, Texas.

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NEWS

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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2021

STUDENT GOVERNMENT

Student government passes carbon neutrality joint resolution, others suggest UT’s oil and gas endowments are bigger culprits

By Lauren Abel @laurena0324

Last Tuesday, Student Government passed a joint resolution calling for a University carbon neutrality deadline of 2033.

The resolution calls on the University to form a committee to assess renewable energy production on campus, implement renewable energy infrastructure and establish a carbon neutrality deadline, which would have UT offset its carbon emissions by investing in sustainable alternatives.

The resolution also recommends UT create a system to reduce the amount of carbon emitted from the University power plant.

“Right now, there’s currently no plan for UT to be carbon neutral,” Universitywide representative Braxdon Cannon said. “We do have sustainability goals that are created by the Office of Sustainability, but none of those goals have anything to do with carbon neutrality.”

UT did not respond to requests for comment on carbon neutrality plans at the time of publication.

One of the biggest on-campus carbon emitters is the Carl J. Eckhardt Combined Heat and Power Complex, which is one of the largest independent energy systems in the United States. The plant provides 100% of electricity and heating on campus and has allowed the University to have a utility system independent from the city of Austin for nearly a century, according to the Utilities and Energy Management website.

However, since 1996, the plant has generated 4,765,600 tons of carbon dioxide, averaging approximately 240,000 tons per year, according to the website.

“The way they’ve designed this power plant over the last few decades is to increase its efficiency every year,” Cannon said. “In doing that, they’ve made it harder and harder every year to wean off of it or to use other methods of energy.”

Cannon said UT will need to offset these carbon emissions through actions such as planting trees, purchasing renewable energy, using electric vehicles or creating a system to trap carbon emitted by the plant.

Changing the energy grid system to be more sustainable would be a complex process, said Jim Walker, director of sustainability for the Office of Sustainability.

“There’s been both the challenge of (what to) switch to because there’s just not enough room by any imagination to put enough solar on campus to replace the natural gas power plant,” Walker said.

A lot of students and professors want to see the University make public commitments to sustainability and acknowledge that they understand the dire situation we’re in, Cannon said.

“The University has yet to even acknowledge the climate crisis to say that human-induced climate change is a threat to students’ futures,” said Penelope Ackling, activism director for Students Fighting Climate Change.

Recently, other major universities, including the University of Michigan, Harvard University and University of California, Berkeley have committed to carbon neutrality by 2025 or 2026.

Student Government’s joint resolution recommends a carbon neutrality deadline of 2033.

In September 2021, Austin City Council committed to reaching net-zero communitywide greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, according to the city website. However, Ackling, a geography, urban studies and sustainability studies junior, said the University has not followed the same guidelines and hasn’t addressed equity considerations within the 2016 Sustainability Master Plan.

However, Ackling said the University also needs to focus on reducing carbon emission in the UT System, as well.

“The University leases these lands

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to oil and gas companies, they drill up oil and then we get a percentage of that revenue,” Ackling said.

“Then, we reinvest that revenue into oil companies, things like Exxon and other really damaging companies like that.”

University spokesperson J.B. Bird said the oil and gas endowment managed by the UT System most likely is the largest source of University carbon emissions.

Ackling said although the SG initiative takes a step in the right direction, only so much progress can be made if UT doesn’t acknowledge it is a huge contributor to the climate crisis.

“We can buy electric vehicles and we can shut down our natural gas plant, but that is really only a small percentage of the University’s true carbon footprint,” Ackling said.

/ the daily texan file

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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2021

NEWS

STUDENT LIFE

Some students live with emotional support animals in dorms to help with mental health struggles

reid stacy

/ the daily texan staff

Dewdrop watches out a window in Jester East Residence Hall. Pets are helping students in dormitories get out of bed in the morning and face the day during the pandemic.

By Henry Hays @HenryHays5_32

Hedgehogs and cats are helping students in dormitories get out of bed in the morning and face the day during the pandemic.

College students have greater rates of depression than other age groups, which emotional support animals can alleviate by providing companionship, said Miki Tesh, a psychiatrist who registers people’s pets as emotional support animals. Tesh said animal adoption rates are increasing due to COVID-19 as more people look for ways to deal with isolation.

Jolie Royal, a health and society and social work sophomore, lives in Jester East Residence Hall with her 9-month-old cat, Dewdrop.

Royal said she is diagnosed with depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder.

Royal said taking care of Dewdrop helps her when she lacks the motivation to get up or when she is anxious about leaving the dorm.

“I had a problem with suicidal ideation, and just having that responsibility, knowing that another living animal is depending on me, is really helpful,” Royal said. “If I wasn’t here, who would

Having that responsibility, knowing that another living animal is depending on me, is really helpful.”

JOLIE ROYAL

health and society and social work sophomore

take care of him? So I really can’t overstate how much it helps.”

Royal said she considers Dewdrop her family and checks in on him in between classes to make sure he is okay.

“We have a great friendship,” Royal said. “I call him my son. I call him from across the room, ‘My beloved, my son,’ so he’s like family to me.”

Government freshman Shefali Rao also lives in Jester East with her 6-month-old hedgehog Carl. Rao said her depression can also make it difficult to get out of bed sometimes, but her responsibility to look after Carl motivates her.

“He really makes me feel like I have a purpose in my life even if that’s kind of cheesy,” Rao said. “(Carl’s) literally so cute, I get so excited every time he wakes up, like every single time, I’m like, ‘You are so cute’ and he rattles around, and it’s just adorable.”

Rao said taking a break from homework or other college stressors to play with Carl is therapeutic.

To keep an emotional support animal in the dorms, a non-University psychiatrist mu st verify that a student needs one. Students then present the document to the University and wait to find out if the University will allow the student to keep the animal.

Royal said the verification process is complicated and she did not understand why an outside psychiatrist had to verify having an emotional support animal.

“I know they have psychiatrists who work for the (Counseling and Mental Health Center), and they’ll give you medication, but they can’t just sign a paper (to grant an emotional support animal),” Royal said. “It was really confusing to me.”

Tesh said she recommends students book three appointments a week apart to assess their mental health. Tesh said the total cost for the three appointments and sending the documents to the University is $300.

However, other options are also available. Royal got her animal certified through one phone call.

“Everyone can benefit from having any type of emotional support animal,” Rao said.

“College is super stressful, and I feel like having that companionship with an animal is beneficial.”

LIFE&ARTS

FIZA KUZHIYIL

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Life&Arts Editor | @TEXANARTS FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2021

CAMPUS

UT professor creates safe space on campus at Heman Sweatt Center Ryan Sutton uses his own life experiences to mentor Black male students.

By Reya Mosby @ReyaMosby

or Black men on campus, Ryan Sutton provides a safe space.

As the director of the Heman Sweatt Center for Black Males at the Longhorn Center for Academic Equity, Sutton encourages Black male students to find their place at UT and express their emotions relating to race and influential life experiences. The prominent campus figure only gained this wisdom through his own personal challenges.

As a young Sutton trekked toward the administrative building one day while he attended Howard University, tears threatened to spill down his face.

He had prepared to drop out of graduate school after his psychological assessment professor told him he thought Sutton was in the wrong field.

Then, he called his mother for reassurance. Her advice grounded and comforted him.

“Boy, what are you doing?”

Sutton’s mother said. “Turn

around and keep grinding.” curates a safe space for young At that moment, he decidBlack men to have serious and ed he would not fail because insightful conversations. of those who doubted him, but “We talk about our experisucceed in spite of them. This ences, how we feel, how society daunting choice ultimately led to perceives us (and) how society Sutton’s success, not only at the wants us to feel,” electrical engiCenter for Black Males, but as a neering sophomore Bryce Harris graduate psychology assistant said. “These conversations don’t professor of practice. happen in our neighborhoods at As an undergraduate student home. Being able to come into a at Xavier University, Sutton space and talk about these things struggled with has been very schoolwork and impactful.” faced expulsion Undecidfor his 1.5 GPA. ed freshman Nevertheless, Donye Crawhis professors ford joined Yes, I see you as a continued Heman Sweatt student. More than to push him after listening to be better. to Sutton speak that, you are a “It’s importon a Zoom call person.

You are a ant for profesand attendsors to lean in ing the Black soul, and I’m here.” and connect Male Orienwith students tation offered RYAN SUTTON director of the heman and realize that by the center. sweatt center this is a human “He has a lot being in front of energy and of you that has all this potenhe’s extremely positive,” Crawtial, and you play a role in that,” ford said. “I started to realize that Sutton said. he genuinely gets pleasure out of After being reinstated on helping people.” academic probation, he had a This environment creates a renewed sense of hope, motisafe space for African Amerivation and confidence that alcan men to build community, lowed him to persist through his and Harris, who is in Heman master’s and Ph.D. programs at Sweatt for a second year, Howard University. felt this community helped “Realizing my value in with the isolation he felt as a this space and knowing I Black man at UT. have strength to give got me “(Sutton’s) number one to a place where I was good statement is, ‘You’re not in this with where I’m operating,” alone,’” Harris said. “That was Sutton said. a really powerful thing to hear, Now part of the Heman Sweespecially being someone who’s att Center for Black Males, an definitely an underrepresented organization of African Ameriminority at the University.” can professors, administrators Crawford and Harris said they and students, Sutton carefully and other Black students trust

assad malik

/ the daily texan staff

Professor Ryan Sutton has learned to persist through life’s struggles, after gaining his masters and Ph.D. Now, he encourages Black male students to find their place at UT and express their emotions.

and look up to Sutton.

“Sutton has been instrumental for a lot of people at the University, building them up and allowing them to be the best person they can be,” Harris said.

Like the professors who pushed him at Xavier, Sutton makes sure to help every student he can, whether through a conversation about their mental

health or putting them in contact with someone who could help further their career.

“I’m in a position to say stuff to people’s daughters and sons that they can’t say to them now because they’re millions of miles away,” Sutton said. “Yes, I see you as a student. More than that, you are a person. You are a soul, and I’m here.”

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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2021

LIFE&ARTS

FOOD

A guide to best breakfast tacos in West Campus

MSKin MSSW

What job title do you want?

Exploring your next steps beyond graduation can be overwhelming. If you’re trying to narrow down your Graduate School options, we can help.

Learn more about graduate degree programs and connect with recruiters at schools around the country at GraduatesofTexas.com – the site built for UT students to explore post-grad opportunities in Texas and beyond.

Join us at the Graduate School Fair!

October 12, 2021 | 10 AM-2 PM In front of Gregory Gym on Speedway Meet in person with recruiters from graduate schools around the world.

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peyton sims/ the daily texan staff

With few foods more “Austin” than the breakfast taco, there are naturally multiple places near campus to snag one of these delicious breakfast creations.

By Chandler Rowley @chandler_rowley

Very few food items can capture the essence of Austin, but breakfast tacos come incredibly close. The Daily Texan reviewed three West Campus morning grub staples to provide students with the information necessary to satisfy their taco cravings.

To create a baseline for this review, the Texan chose to review the bacon, egg and cheese taco from each establishment.

Torchy’s Tacos

Whether walking, driving or riding a bike down Guadalupe Street, one can’t help but notice Torchy’s Tacos. Situated about a block north of campus, Torchy’s serves as a go-to for students looking for delicious food with a decidedly Austin atmosphere.

Their breakfast menu, while small, packs a punch full of simplicity and 24-hour availability. Composed of an omelette-like mass of egg and bacon, the taco juxtaposes fluffy and crunchy textures. Whether complemented by a flour or corn tortilla, this taco’s flavors work together beautifully. Topped with a healthy portion of cheese, any taco-lover would be satisfied with this classic.

4.5 tacos out of 5 Kerbey Lane

Looking for a locally owned restaurant

with a homestyle atmosphere? Kerbey Lane might be the place! Located across Guadalupe Street from Duren Hall, Kerbey-goers can count on this cafe being packed at all times of the day. With eight locations in and around the Austin area, Kerbey makes finding breakfast goodness, regardless of location, easy.

The taco, a medley of almost equal parts bacon and egg, offers just enough of each so that neither ingredient dominates. While their tortilla doesn’t reinvent the wheel, the plainness compliments the taco and allows for the filling to take center stage. The side of salsa offers a zesty yet subdued flavor to an already delicious meal.

4 tacos out of 5 Kesos Tacos

Tucked away in West Campus just off MLK Boulevard, Kesos Tacos seems to be a well kept secret in the world of Austin breakfast tacos. Though the restaurant seems small and unassuming, these tasty tacos come with a unique topping: queso.

While the addition of queso to the beloved any-time-of-the-day-snack may seem like overkill, it’s not. The city of Austin and UT serve as bastions of innovation. Naturally, the local tacos should progress as well. The tasteful addition of queso unites the distinct flavors of egg and bacon, while adding a unique twist on the element of cheese. This taco challenges the status quo just as UT students strive to do on the Forty Acres.

4.5 tacos out of 5

LIFE&ARTS

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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2021

STUDENT LIFE

Sober students salute Center for Students in Recovery for providing community, flexible paths to recovery

By Caroline Culberson @greatercaroline

“Ebby” is a pseudonym for a UT student whose identifying details have been changed to protect their anonymity, a central tenet of the Alcoholics Anonymous program.

When Ebby stopped playing for a UT sports team their freshman year, they said their life lost a carefully planned structure. Without the looming 5 a.m. workout wake-up call, they no longer needed to carefully avoid hangovers.

“I would rationalize it, saying, ‘If you had anxiety like I do, you would drink every day, too.’ It all snowballed,” the senior economics major said. “I realized that I didn’t have the ability to choose anymore. (Drinking) just felt like something I had to do to function properly.”

Ebby joined Greek life, and the hard partying atmosphere made it difficult to tell whether their self-medicating drug and alcohol use was normal. After chronic overuse of marijuana caused a psychotic break, the pandemic provided a needed opportunity to commit to recovery. While getting sober in Alcoholics Anonymous over a year ago, they initially struggled to relate in meetings filled with people much older than them.

For many UT students like Ebby, the Center for Students in Recovery provides a supportive place to land right here on campus among their peers. The Center offers a mixed recovery environment for those who utilize it to discuss issues other than alcohol, or to pursue modalities other than the 12 Steps.

Now sober for over a year, Ebby expressed gratitude for the wisdom of Winston Chapman, CSR’s senior student program coordinator.

Chapman says the peer support at CSR serves as the “secret sauce.” Regardless of academic or recovery status, all students are welcome to come and connect over their lived experience coping with addiction.

“We encourage students that are unsure about their recovery status just to come to an event or meeting and enter into a conversation with a staff member

or student,” Chapman said. “Through discussion, we can help that person find where they’re at in their journey.”

Students seeking a sober refuge gathered last Friday to participate in CSR’s special Yoga in Recovery event, taught

by Zoe Mantarakis, kinesiology assistant professor of practice.

“We’re all in recovery from something,” Mantarakis said. “You could call it recovery, or you could call it yoga, but it’s doing the same work of looking at ourselves being honest, but also in a kind and compassionate way. Making amends, trying to be better, maybe our best self.”

Matarakis said three new people sought recovery resources after the event, including social work graduate student Ashley Villodas.

“Recovery can look different for every single person,” Villodas said. “A lot of

people think of church basements and metal chairs with old men. That is not the reality anymore — there are people who are teenagers getting sober and staying sober.”

Villodas took a break during her undergraduate degree to seek treatment, despite feeling resistant to the “addiction” diagnosis. Hurt by people with addiction before who refused to seek help, Villodas forged a different path. She returned to college when her sobriety and mental health were stable.

Villodas said UT’s master program stood out because of the campus CSR program.

“I had actually written about it in my admissions essay, as wanting to be a part of a campus that promoted and supported recovery,” Villodas said.

She said she plans to make trips to the CSR a part of her recovery routine.

“We’ve all heard that the opposite of addiction is connection,” Chapman said. “When you walk into the community room — there’s coffee brewing, there’s music playing, there are leather couches. It feels like a living room, because the living room is where connection happens.”

Mantarakis echoed the value of having a “homey” space, where students can sit on the couch, play board games and hang out without having to make an appointment or get a diagnosis.

According to the CSR website, center staff offer phone, video and in-person appointments, with no barrier to entry.

Reach out to recovery@austin.utexas. edu for more information.

“Nobody has to know much about you,” Mantarakis said. “Just by being there, you are worthy of the support and the care of everyone else who’s there.”

madison morris

/ the daily texan staff

The Center for Students in Recovery provides a supportive place to land right here on campus among their peers. The Center offers a mixed recovery environment for those who utilize it to discuss issues other than alcohol.

N AT H A N H A N

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Sports Editor | @TEXANSPORTS

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2021

GOLF

SPORTS

Texas faces off against Big 12 rivals in Fort Worth invitational Texas golf works towards elite status at the Colonial Collegiate Invitational.

By Payne Williams @paynewilliams5

proven Texas roster with high expectations looks toward elite status and a top finish at the upcoming Colonial Collegiate Invitational next week.

Texas’ third invitational of the season will take place at the Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, and head coach John Fields has embraced the expectations set for the team.

“It’s justifiable to say we’re one of the best teams in the nation,” Fields said.

“Now it’s time to (prove) that.”

The 54-hole invitational hosted by TCU will comprise 36 holes Monday starting at 8:30 a.m. and 18 holes Tuesday starting at 8 a.m. The Longhorns will play a practice round in Fort Worth on Sunday. Texas is coming off a good start to its season with a second-place finish at the Maridoe Collegiate Invitational and seventh place in the Fighting Illini Invitational.

Texas returned three seniors from last year’s squad for the invitational, including senior twin brothers Pierceson and Parker Coody, and two juniors who all have extensive amateur and professional experience.

Last year, Texas took second at the Colonial Collegiate Invitational behind strong performances from the Coody brothers and junior Travis Vick. The Longhorns will look to replicate their previous success in Fort Worth behind proven returning talent.

Seniors Pierceson and Cole Hammer both competed in the 2021 U.S. Open

daulton venglar

/ the daily texan file

Cole Hammer will be one of the few members of Texas golf to travel to the Colonial Collegiate Invitational next week in Fort Worth. The experienced Texas team has fielded high expectations from fans as they continue in the season.

Championship, and Coody placed first in the 2020 Western Amateur Championship. Vick, also competing at Colonial, advanced to the semifinals at the 2021 U.S. Amateur Championship. Parker and junior Mason Nome both also competed in the 2021 U.S. Amateur Championship.

The experienced Texas team has fielded high expectations from fans, but no one is more confident in the team than Fields.

“There’s probably no team in America that has the guys that we have,” Fields said.

Fields laid out the team’s biggest focus heading into Colonial Country Club, but reaffirmed his message for his team to remember to have fun in the face of high expectations.

“They’ve got to get really good at playing one shot at a time and being at their best for that one particular moment,”

Fields said. “In the meantime, they’ve got to have a lot of fun.”

Competing in the invitational for the Big 12 are No. 4 Texas, No. 1 Oklahoma State, No. 2 Oklahoma, Baylor and TCU. The Pac-12 will field No. 19 Stanford, Oregon, USC, San Diego State and Oregon State, tied with the Big 12 for most schools competing from one conference.

No. 10 Vanderbilt, No. 13 Georgia and No. 20 Florida will represent the SEC, with No. 7 Clemson and No. 17 Wake Forest set to represent the Atlantic Coast Conference. No. 3 Pepperdine will be the invitational’s only non-Power Five contender.

Texas’ biggest threat out of the Big 12 at the invitational hails from across the Red River with Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. Redshirt senior Chris Gotterup of

Oklahoma tied for third at Maridoe in September and carried the Sooners to a firstplace finish, barely edging out Texas by one stroke. Oklahoma State also finished third at the Fighting Illini Invitational behind an impressive one-under performance from junior Brian Stark.

Fields emphasized that relentless competition and consistency will put the team at the elite status amongst a competitive Big 12 conference and field at next week’s invitational.

“We never stop competing,” said Fields.

“We want to create the belief in our opponents that we’re the team to beat.”

The Colonial Collegiate Invitational won’t be televised or streamed, but admission is free and spectators are welcome. Live scoring will also be available at GolfStat.com.

SPORTS

11

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2021

CROSS COUNTRY

More miles, more smiles

By Ethan Ferguson & Emily Schumacher

@tethan_ferguson6 @emilyschu71

Eva Jess is the only female in El Paso to break a five-minute mile.

She set the goal going into high school, but over the years, she continually missed the mark by five seconds.

Jess finally achieved the time on a day when she wasn’t feeling well ­­— the last race of her junior year.

“In that last lap, I just booked it and everybody was going crazy,” Jess said. “I was like, ‘Dang, that was not easy,’ but it felt good.”

Hailing as a graduate of El Paso Franklin High, the freshman distance runner comes to Texas with an already substantial amount of success in the sport.

Her senior quote was, “More miles, more smiles,” and the

phrase became a mantra she shared with her teammates.

She made the decision to come to Texas not only because of the impressive running program, but also the great education.

Assistant coach PattiSue Plumer saw her academic achievements in high school as a major reason why she would be an overall asset to the team.

“She chose a hard school and wants to be successful as both a student and an athlete,” Plumer said. “She had managed academic and athletics really well, and so I thought it would be a good fit for the team.”

Jess was race-ready as soon as the season started.

She opened up her collegiate career by winning the women’s 5K at the Tornado Watch Invitational with a time of 18:12.2.

Jess also earned personal best times in the 6K at both the Cowboy Jamboree and the Concordia

Classic, running 22:02.2 and 21:43.3, respectively.

The difference between college and high school, Jess said, is the abundance of facilities that help prevent injuries.

“In high school, if you felt something hurt, you went to the trainer,” Jess said. “In college, we don’t just go to athletic trainers because something hurts, we go to prevent things from hurting.”

It was destiny to become a runner — her parents met at an ultramarathon. She’s run four of them herself, the longest being 102 miles in 24 hours.

“My family’s support means everything,” Jess said. “I would not be as good as I am without their support. I really owe them everything.”

Jess’s passion for racing is even stronger than her devotion for running.

While being recruited by Texas, a major drawing point was Jess’s championship wins.

Not only is she a highly competitive runner, but Jess also has experience that allows her to understand the strategy of leading races. She has already put this skill to use this season despite being one of the younger competitors.

“You can train and train and train if you love (running), but you don’t necessarily know how to win,” Plumer said. “Eva doesn’t put limitations on herself and (places) herself in a position to be successful, and I think that’s really unique.”

Jess said before the season, she trained primarily with men due to her running capabilities.

“It’s so great to actually be with the ladies on my team, like actually running with them and making really good connections,” Jess said.

“They’re all wonderful people and I can’t wait to go through the rest of the season and get to know them more.”

copyright texas athletics, and reproduced with permission

COMICS

DESTINY ALEXANDER

Comics Editor |@TEXANCOMICS FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2021

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