DT 2021-10-15

DT VOLUME 122, ISSUE 26 FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2021

honoring athletic alum

rocky higine

/ the daily texan staff

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Women in engineering share their experiences in male dominated classrooms.

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04

UT must provide free housing to students who receive free tuition.

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Texas and MLB baseball standout J.P. Howell reflects on “his greatest accomplishment.”

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New technology allows tumor responses to chemotherapy to be predicted ahead of time.

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DT

Contents:

School of Information creates scholarship for BIPOC students

By Leena Alali General Reporter

School of Information alumni and Texas Exes opened a fundraiser to the public last week to create a scholarship endowment for graduate students of color in an effort to make the school more inclusive.

The alumni’s goal is to raise $50,000 for Black, Indigenous and other communities of color, said Michelle Keba Knecht, co-leader of the fund. Keba Knecht said they hope to begin providing scholarship funds to graduate students in fall 2023.

“It’s only one piece of a much larger movement,” Keba Knecht said. “Just offering scholarships won’t create a more diverse, equitable and inclusive atmosphere at the (School of Information), but hopefully it can be one step and a part of increasing the diversity there.”

Students from the School of Information petitioned for change in the summer of 2020 following the Black Lives Matter protests. The petition called upon the School of Information to address racial issues by encouraging the inclusion of BIPOC individuals among staff and faculty.

Students also created a survey to gauge the depth of the issue, which found that 89.3% of respondents supported the creation of a BIPOC scholarship.

derrick lam

Keba Knecht said the 2020 petition motivated her to try to bring the action items to life with other alumni since UT can not offer scholarships based on race.

“When we learned that, … (we) started working with Texas Exes, which has more flexibility in that area,” Keba Knecht said. “We felt it was something we could do as alumni that the school wasn’t able to do because of those prohibitions.”

Dorothy Guerrero, vice president of communications for Texas Exes, said the scholarship department of Texas Exes will help choose the scholarship recipients to prevent any conflicts of interest from donors. Additionally, Guerrero said Texas Exes will help provide social and networking opportunities

/ the daily texan staff

for students that receive scholarships like that of the School of Information Fund.

“It’s more than a check that people need,” Guerrero said. “If we have a network connection, we’re going to unlock it for you.”

Graduate student Emma Hetrick said she participated in creating the 2020 petition and now serves as a student consultant for the BIPOC fund.

“I think similar to most departments across UT, the (School of Information) is not representative of racial demographics in the United States, or even in the state of Texas,” Hetrick said. “I hope … that the (School of Information) would be more reflective over time with the scholarship.”

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 15, 2021

RESEARCH

New technology predicts tumor response UT collaboration develops a new technique to eliminate the trial-and-error process of chemotherapy.

By Fernanda Figueroa @fernanda_figs

n collaboration with multiple health care agencies, UT researchers published a study last month detailing a technique that can predict the response of breast cancer tumors to chemotherapy treatments, a resource doctors don’t currently have access to, according to computational oncologist Tom Yankeelov.

University researchers, Texas Oncology and the Austin Radiological Association worked together to eliminate the trial-and-error process of chemotherapy for patients. “(With) many types of cancer, it’s difficult to predict who will respond and who will not respond (to treatment),” Yankeelov said.

“What we end up having to do is just assess whether or not somebody responded, but there’s no prediction involved.”

Yankeelov, who worked on the project, said after patients undergo one round of chemotherapy, doctors can use a series of their tumor MRI data from before and after treatment to create a predictive model.

The doctors can then predict if that

specific chemotherapy treatment will be effective.

“Chemotherapy can be toxic,” said Debra Patt, co-principal investigator on the study. “We want to make sure that the right chemotherapy is being used for patients. So having an earlier insight into treatment can help us get the right treatment, the right patient at the right time.”

The model technique allows doctors to plan optimal treatment, as one type of chemotherapy does not shrink tumors for all types of patients, said Julie DiCarlo, co-author and research associate at the Oden Institute, a research unit for computational engineering and sciences.

The ability to make predictions for individual patients based on their specific characteristics will revolutionize cancer treatment, Yankeelov said. He said the researchers are in the final stages of patent processes and hope to collaborate with industry partners such as Philips Healthcare and General Electric Healthcare Systems.

“It’s getting progressively harder and harder (to generalize treatment) because the diseases are becoming more and more specialized, and the treatments are becoming more and more specialized,” Yankeelov said.

Breast cancer is the second most common cancer among wom-

en in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Some people have genetic mutations that might put them at higher risk for breast cancer, DiCarlo said. The more doctors know about how to select the best treatment, the higher the chances of survival and the less need for invasive surgery, DiCarlo said.

“The long-term goal is that you could use that prediction to guide therapy, specific for that individual woman,” Yankeelov said.

S A N I K A N AYA K

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Editor-In-Chief | @TEXANOPINION FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2021

COLUMN

OPINION

Low-income students should get free housing UT must provide free housing to those also given free tuition.

By Emily Harrison Columnist

’m a first generation college student from a low income household.

When I decided to go to college, my family always told me to pick the school that gave me the most money. Thankfully, the Texas Advance Commitment allowed me to have free tuition at UT, but I’m still left with the financial insecurity of loans to pay for my housing.

The Texas Advance Commitment is a program that guarantees free tuition for students from families who make $65,000 or less per year and provides tuition support to those from families who make up to $125,000 per year.

Many times, the cost of housing is about the same as tuition, if not more, but the Texas Advance Commitment only covers the tuition of students from low-income households. How can a student be expected to pay for housing if they can’t even afford tuition? UT needs to

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.

provide free housing for students who come from lowincome households.

Astronomy freshman Arnav Shah expressed his concerns about being able to pay his next housing bill.

“I almost (had to take out loans), but my parents at the last minute decided not to because it was just the first payment,” Shah said. “The first few months, they paid (out of) their own pocket, but for the next few payments, we might have to (take out loans).”

College students like Shah should not have to worry about debts. Instead, they should be able to focus on their education without the added stress from worrying if they are able to pay their bills.

Students often aren’t taught how to take out loans or pay off debts.

I know that I wasn’t, and my parents don’t have the knowledge of a stable financial history to help me. It’s scary to know that in four years I will have to somehow pay off my debt while having barely started my career.

Shah also expressed concerns over how much interest would accrue over the four years he’s in college if he chooses to take out loans.

“Just one year of loans would add up to (around) $25,000 after college,” Shah said. “After four years, that would be $100,000 just for housing.”

Annual tuition and fees for most students are about $10,800, but that’s still less than the cost of housing. Housing in the majority of

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sydney perkins

dorms, even with community bathrooms, is over $12,000 per year.

Brian Dixon, associate vice provost for Student Aid and Affordability, said that many students in financial need receive enough scholarships to pay for housing. As for the students who don’t receive the extra scholarship money, Dixon says they typically do have to take out loans. “(Free housing) is something we’re interested in looking at,” Dixon said.

“It’s about identifying funding to do that. The Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid works closely with the Development Office at the University to try to raise more money.”

It’s encouraging that the financial aid office is looking into free housing, but action needs to be taken as soon as possible to help the students who

/ the daily texan staff

are currently struggling financially.

With the large endowment UT receives, free housing should be more than affordable for the University. “(Free housing) would relieve a (lot of) stress (from) trying to find a source for the housing payment,” Shah said. “The housing cost at UT is pretty much the same as the tuition. If I can’t afford one, how can I afford the other? It would make sense for them to cover both of them because both are equally important to go to UT.” Because housing and tuition prices are so similar, it’s unreasonable to expect students from low-income households to be able to pay this price. UT, change needs to be made.

Harrison is a journalism freshman from Dallas, Texas.

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NEWS

5

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2021

RESEARCH

UT, MD Anderson Cancer Center researchers develop tumor-touching technology

By Kevin Vu @Kevin_Vu_

Researchers at UT are developing a robotic endoscope that allows doctors to “feel” cancer tumors, which could help doctors detect some cancers earlier and have more precise treatments.

In September, the University and the MD Anderson Cancer Center funded the research, which will connect UT researchers and the hospital’s oncologists to develop a tube-like camera that will enter the body to determine the exact location of a colon or stomach tumor without surgery, said Jennifer Lyon Gardner, UT’s deputy vice president for research.

Farshid Alambeigi, a mechanical engineering assistant professor, said the robotic endoscope would provide doctors with information on a tumor’s texture and stiffness. He said tumor cells are harder and stiffer than normal tissue cells, so by touching it doctors can differentiate between a normal cell and a cancerous one.

“You are in a dark room, your eyes cannot see, but what do you do? (You) use your hands,” said Alambeigi, a principal investigator of the project. “For any reason, if they miss detecting the tumor using that front camera, if they touch it

they can basically see very tiny tumors that cannot (be) seen with the front camera.”

Dr. Naruhiko Ikoma, a surgical oncologist in MD Anderson who will be leading the clinical trial of the study, said currently surgeons typically open up the whole stomach to locate and take out the tumor. With the robotic endoscope, surgeons could remove tumors surgically without having to search during the procedure. This way, they are more likely to preserve stomach functions.

“As a surgeon, the haptic feedback, or how I feel the tumor, is critical information when we do surgery,” Ikoma said. “For example, when I feel the small bowel or stomach, I can tell where the exact location of the tumor (is) and then make a decision on where to do the surgery.”

Alambeigi said it could take two to three years before the robotic endoscope is ready for testing, and five to six years before it is approved for hospital use.

Ikoma said this technology has the potential to detect other tumors in different parts of the body as well.

“This is quite exciting,” Ikoma said. “This is a great potential solution for those limitations and potentially fill in the gaps we are struggling with and potentially

help future patients.”

Gardner said the partnership between the two institutions will provide funding for different projects every year to find better ways to detect, diagnose and treat cancer. “(The partnership) allows MD Anderson to benefit from access to (UT’s) outstanding basic and translational researchers,” Gardner said. “(This) allows (UT) researchers to benefit from (MD Anderson’s) outstanding clinical researchers and their relationships. … It’s a really great partnership because both sides get a complement to the

research that they do.”

Colon cancer is the third most common cancer diagnosis for men and women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Stomach cancer is the third most deadly cancer, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information.

“I always tell my students, ‘Don’t forget, this is a realistic need. It’s not just some, like, mobile robot for fun, you make it and then it does something,’” Alambeigi said. “If you can help people with this technology, that’s amazing.”

emma george

/ the daily texan file

6

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2021

LIFE&ARTS

ART

‘The Blessings of the Mystery’ exhibition highlights Indigenous voices, environmental activism in West Texas

By Kiernan McCormick @KiernanMcCormi4

A variety of objects — toolboxes, rulers and construction vests — are suspended from the ceiling of the Visual Arts Center’s first exhibition room, greeting visitors with a truly eye-catching installation. Artists-in-residence Carolina Caycedo and David de Rozas’ exhibition, “The Blessings of the Mystery,” features a series of engaging works such as this one.

On display until Dec. 3, the exhibition explores themes of Indigenous rights, environmental activism, memory and the shaping and spreading of knowledge with a geographic focus on West Texas, according to the center’s website.

Organized by Ballroom Marfa, a nonprofit art museum in Marfa, Texas, “The Blessings of the Mystery” will travel to the Rubin Center for the Visual Arts at UT El Paso and then go to Ballroom Marfa, Caycedo said. De Rozas said the ways memory and historical memory exist in specific places in West Texas inspired him and Caycedo.

“Many of the artworks that were made for this exhibition explore the history of Texas and the relationship with the landscape and with native lands,” de Rozas said. “We were interested in speaking about how native lands were privatized and sold and basically stolen for a matter of profit.”

laura ullman

/ the daily texan staff

The Visual Arts Center’s exhibition organized by Ballroom Marfa will be on display until Dec. 3. The exhibition explores themes of Indigenous rights, environmental activism, memory and the shaping and spreading of knowledge.

In addition to the many suspended objects, an installation entitled “Measuring the Immeasurable,” the exhibit features “Halving and Quartering,” a work consisting of service flags, stakes, tape and spray paint spanning the entire wall behind the installation. This work demonstrates the Public Land Survey System, which divided the Western territories of the United States into sections to

help with the sale of land. These pieces complement an intriguing drawing entitled “Somi Se’k” and a series of photographs, both depicting numerous areas in West Texas.

A 47-minute film titled “The Teaching of the Hands,” narrated by Juan Mancias, Chairman of the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe of Texas, acts as the exhibition’s focal point. The film focuses on the environmental memories

within the land of West Texas and the history of colonization, specifically relating to the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe.

Caycedo said everyone, Texans and UT students alike, would benefit from giving more attention to Indigenous premises, knowledge and experience.

“Within my own process of decolonization and kind of opening up to non-western epistemologies and knowledge,

was a profound conviction that within that knowledge lies clues to come out of the crisis that we are in right now as humanity — the climate crisis, the inequality we experience as a society,” Caycedo said.

The exhibition also includes works from special UT collections such as watercolor paintings from the 1930s. Also, the Biodiversity Collections and the Billie L. Turner Plant Resources Center loaned extinct and near extinct species of plants and animals to the exhibition, according to the center’s website.

Center director MacKenzie Stevens said the exhibition brings visibility to Indigenous histories in Texas. “(The exhibition) to me seemed like a really great project to kind of bring some of those ideas and some of those histories to the forefront in the foreground of our thinking,” Stevens said.

Cayedo and de Rozas will be participating in a live recording of the “Chrysalis” podcast, hosted by John Fiege, an assistant professor at the University at Buffalo SUNY and former UT lecturer, at the G.B. Dealey Center for New Media on Oct. 27. This will be followed by a roundtable discussion Oct. 28 featuring the artists, along with Martha Menchaca from the Department of Anthropology; Fred Valdez, director of the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory; and Juan Mancias.

LIFE&ARTS

FIZA KUZHIYIL

7

Life&Arts Editor | @TEXANARTS FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2021

UNIVERSITY

Female engineering majors discuss lack of representation

By Ikram Mohamed @ikramxmoham

Huddled around her lab table, Haylie Nguyen watched as her male groupmates erased and rewrote her original answer in their own words.

“They completely changed what I did, and it wasn’t even to make it better,” the civil engineering sophomore said. “It was the same content, … (they) just changed it to what they wanted and didn’t even ask.”

Women’s enrollment in some engineering majors has decreased since 2016, and today only 30% of students in the Cockrell School of Engineering are women. Many say this is due to the antagonistic classroom environment, where women find themselves underestimated, spoken over and ignored by their male counterparts. Consequently, many female students feel like they don’t fit in the engineering field.

Nguyen said women make up about 20% of some of her engineering classes.

According to her, the male majority continuously dominates classroom conversations, which affects her ability to comprehend the material. “(They) challenge the professor which changes the dynamic of my learning,” Nguyen said. “(When) I try to get help on my homework or ask a question, they tend to overexplain. They never actually say anything of substance.”

Nguyen said she wants to challenge men who ignore her, but she restrains herself for fear of playing into the stereotype of women who act “too aggressive.”

“Whenever I say something confidently, I’m like, ‘Oh my god, I shouldn’t have been so assertive,’” Nguyen said.

Petroleum engineering junior Sophia Rojo said although her upper-division classes have more female representation than her lower-division classes did, she still sees male students regularly talking over their female counterparts and not respecting their female peers. “(The men in my class) all kind of know each other, … and they’re a lot more confident and outgoing,” Rojo said. “They talk to each other across the class and talk over people.”

Rojo said being spoken over and doubted by men made her question her career path in engineering, especially since this cycle continues in the workforce as well.

“I went to a retreat my freshman year for petroleum engineering,” Rojo said. “We had meetings throughout the day with different representatives. … It was just a bunch of white men. I couldn’t relate to them. I felt really out of place. I went home and I was like, ‘Is this for me?’”

Lorine Salel, an environmental engineering and international relations and global studies sophomore, said not only

does she experience disregard from her male classmates, but from professors, too.

“I was asking for help … after a test, and (the professor) was extremely condescending to me,” Salel said. “My guy friends who were in the class thought he was a wonderful person … and in office hours, they said he was very nice. It didn’t click until later (that)

… maybe he’s just sexist.”

With a lack of female representation, Salel said she regularly feels intimidated. She feels the Cockrell School needs to do more to make women feel accepted.

“Women in engineering are supportive of one another, … but there’s nothing being done about men and how they’ve been acting,” Salel said. “Men should be involved in the conversation … of changing the mentality of Cockrell. … Engineering schools (shouldn’t) be a hostile place for women.”

barbra daly

/ the daily texan file

8

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2021

LIFE&ARTS

CITY

Austin, heart of bat city

connor downs

/ the daily texan staff

As night falls, thousands of bats emerge from under the Congress Avenue Bridge. After the 1980 renovation, the bridge accidentally became the perfect environment for bats to shelter their pups, soon becoming an Austin icon.

By Jade Emerson @jade__emerson

As twilight sets out over Lady Bird Lake, crowds gather on Congress Avenue Bridge humming in anticipation.

Against the Austin skyline, small, dark figures begin to take off from under the bridge, disappearing into the night.

“I feel bats are the mascot for Austin,” said biology junior Ishita Neeraj.

“You haven’t really lived in Austin unless you’ve gone and seen the bats.”

Naturally, October boasts the title of Bat Appreciation Month. However, leading up to Halloween, bat fear and misconception peak. Husband and wife duo Lee Mackenzie and Dianne Odegard of the Austin Bat Refuge share

their knowledge and love for these flying nocturnal mammals.

“Bats give Austin its identity,” Mackenzie said. “It’s so amazing to see the whole world show up at our doorstep at Congress Avenue Bridge. …

They bring nature right in the middle of downtown.”

After the 1980 renovation, Congress Avenue Bridge accidentally became the perfect environment for bats to shelter their pups. Thus, a colony of bats made their home in the heart of Austin.

“When the bats first started gathering there in large numbers, people were really afraid because there wasn’t a lot of bat education available back then,” Odegard said. “People just really knew nothing except all of the myths and things that made them afraid.”

Lifelong lovers of wildlife, Odegard

and Mackenzie dedicate their lives to helping Austin’s bats through public education and bat rehabilitation. In addition to providing feed and care at the refuge, creating social media posts, and leading education programs, they answer around 350 bat rescue calls a year. “(Bats) just want to go out and make a living, raise their families and enjoy life like we all do,” Mackenzie said. “We just ask people to give them a break and realize that they … (are) worthy of our respect and consideration.”

Eating 10 tons — 20,000 pounds — of insects every night, the bats of Congress Avenue Bridge help exterminate harmful crop pests. Beyond their ecological importance, Mackenzie celebrates the intrinsic value of bats stating each has its own personality and life story.

While the Austin Bat Refuge takes volunteers and donations, Odegard and Mackenzie emphasize education as paramount to promoting coexistence with bats.

“Learn about bats and talk to people in your life, and make sure that they know the truth about bats,” Mackenzie said. “Be an advocate for them — the underdog.”

Mackenzie says the biggest obstacle bats face lies in human misunderstanding, leading people to act in a harmful or incorrect way when face-to-face with bats.

“Anything kind of scary thing that comes along gets blamed on bats right away,” Mackenzie said. “Part of our education campaign is to use social media to show how non-scary they are (and) how charming they can be.”

LIFE&ARTS

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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2021

CITY

Women-owned Tiny Tats ATX provides tattoos for all communities in Austin

By Michelle Facio @michelleefacio

In the middle of the hardcore male-dominated Austin tattoo scene, one shop sticks out as a more feminine environment for people looking to get inked: Tiny Tats ATX. After practicing at a South Carolina tattoo shop for several years, Coley Jackson wanted a change of pace.

She moved to Austin to open up her own tattoo studio with the environment and style of her choosing in October 2019. Now, two years later, she works with three other artists.

Located at 104 E. 31st St., just north of UT’s campus, Tiny Tats thrives as one of Austin’s only women-owned and women and gender queer-ran tattoo shops.

“The shop I originally came out of

was very male-dominated, and I think there is a place for women in tattooing,” Jackson said. “There is a way of creating a client experience that could be more superior, or at the very least more feminine.”

Tiny Tats artist Kaylee Mcgilbery said switching to a women-based shop from a mainly male-based shop positively impacted her career because now she gets to work with more people who understand her perspective.

She said the shop not only offers a safe place for artists, but for clients as well.

“A lot of younger girls especially, and maybe a lot of people in general, go into a mainly male shop and they’re intimidated,” McGlibery said. “When they walk into Tiny Tats, I feel like it’s not (like) that at all.”

UT alumna Liliana Hall said she used to live near Tiny Tats as a student and walked by the shop

nearly every day on her way to class.

In November 2020, she finally decided to pay them her first visit during a Friday the 13th event.

“As a queer person myself, I definitely gravitate to those sorts of environments when choosing where (I) want to get a tattoo and who touches (me),” Hall said. “Obviously they advertise that they want people to know that this is a safe space.”

Tiny Tats shut down from March to July of 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since reopening, the shop has seen a massive boom in business.

Resident artist Cecilia Ercolino said she enjoys seeing more clientele in the shop. She said she likes commemorating a meaningful moment in somebody’s life.

“Sometimes people just get (a tattoo) because it’s beautiful and they

like it, but even when they do that, they’re still marking a time in their life by doing it,” Ercolino said. “It’s pretty incredible that people want you to be the one to facilitate that, but to have this many people want it definitely makes me feel like we’re doing something right.”

Currently, all of Tiny Tats’ resident artists are fully booked, but most plan to reopen appointment scheduling starting October for early in 2022 months. Jackson said she takes pride in the relationships she has built with everyone on her team and looks forward to continuing to grow as an artist.

“I want other women to feel empowered to do whatever they want to do, no matter what the field is, and also to offer a space for women to be tattooed and to work — that’s empowering to women,” Jackson said.

laura ullman

/ the daily texan staff

Tiny Tats artist Coley Jackson said switching to a women-based tattoo shop from a male-dominated shop positively impacted her career because now she gets to work with more people who understand her perspective.

N AT H A N H A N

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Sports Editor | @TEXANSPORTS FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2021

FEATURE

SPORTS

Gardere reflects on Red River legacy Longhorn legend Peter Gardere will be inducted into the Texas Athletics Hall of Honor this Friday

By Hunter Dworaczyk @HunterDworaczyk

eter Gardere typically never stayed on the field very long after one of his 41 career starts at Texas.

The 1992 Red River Showdown was different.

The former Longhorn quarterback led Texas to the upset victory against No. 16 Oklahoma, making him the first and only starting quarterback to win the Red River Rivalry game four times in a row.

The Sooner faithfuls broke out into cheers of, “Graduate! Graduate!” when the game ended.

Hearing the rival fans’ chants, Gardere decided to break his routine by staying on the field to enjoy the scene.

“I didn’t know what they were saying at first because, usually, there was profanity involved,” Gardere said. “I just thought that was interesting the way they said it. It was fun to listen to.”

Now, nearly 30 years since he last donned the Longhorn uniform, Gardere will be inducted into the Texas Athletics Hall of Honor this Friday in recognition of his athletic career.

Despite having to go through three offensive coordinators and two head coaches during his time at Texas, Gardere had one of the most prolific careers in program history. The quarterback held

several school records by the time he left the Forty Acres, including career passing yards and touchdown passes.

The best season during Gardere’s stint at Texas came in 1990.

In a season that became known as the “Shock the Nation Tour,” the Longhorns upset No. 21 Penn State, No. 4 Oklahoma and No. 3 Houston. Texas finished with a 10–2 record and won its first Southwest Conference championship since 1983.

While all of his accomplishments as a Longhorn made him an obvious choice for the Hall of Honor, Gardere credits his teammates for his success.

“It’s great to be remembered,” Gardere said. “I just kind of went through my head of all the people that I need to thank that

helped me get to where I was.

You don’t do it by yourself. Football is a team sport so I wish I could give them all Hall of Honor inductions, too.”

Even though both his father and grandfather played football at Texas, Gardere said he would have strongly considered playing for Southern Methodist University if not for its infamous punishment for recruiting violations in 1987.

Besides having to choose what school he wanted to attend, Gardere also needed to decide what sport to pursue. He excelled at baseball at an early age and was drafted after high school by the Chicago Cubs in the 1988 MLB Amateur Draft.

The Houston product also played for the Longhorn

baseball team after he played his last snap at quarterback, helping Texas make the 1993 College World Series.

Ultimately, Gardere selected Texas not because he was being pressured to follow in his father’s footsteps, but because of what the University offered.

“At the end of the day, he left it up to me,” Gardere said. “I decided where I would want to be if I wasn’t playing football. It’s a great University (with) good people, and that’s where I wanted to be.”

Following his senior year, Gardere signed a free agent deal with the Seattle Seahawks as a punter. He then went on to punt in the Canadian Football League for three years, playing for the Sacramento Gold Miners and the Memphis Mad Dogs.

Gardere briefly enjoyed the big screen after his playing career, working as a passing coach and as a stand-in for the 1999 movie, “Varsity Blues.”

Along with being the only quarterback on either side to go 4–0 in the Red River Rivalry, Gardere remembers the games against OU fondly because of how unique the environment was. Even with a 2-year-old daughter, Gardere, who works in real estate, still almost always makes the annual trip to the Cotton Bowl for the game, including this year’s Red River Showdown.

“I get chills just thinking about running down that tunnel,” Gardere said. “It was just a fun, exciting game. I would play until I almost puked. Sometimes after the game, I just left it all out there.”

jack plunkett

/ the daily texan staff

Peter Gardere, who played quarterback at Texas from 1989 - 1992, will be inducted into the Texas Athletics hall of Honor this Friday

SPORTS

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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2021

FEATURE

‘My greatest achievement’: MLB standout, Texas star pitcher J.P. Howell will be inducted into the Hall of Honor

By Emily Schumacher @emilyschu71

J.P. Howell thought he had an unpaid bill when he received a call from the University of Texas.

Instead of an average automated voice message, the former Texas pitcher received a call from Texas Athletics informing him of his induction into the 2021 Hall of Honor Class on Friday.

A mundane day quickly turned into something much greater.

“I’m just so humbled, and it is probably my greatest accomplishment,” Howell said. “(It’s) something this honorable … where you feel like you don’t deserve it.”

Undeserving is far from the truth. Howell was a two-time All-American who led Texas baseball to the College World Series in 2003 and 2004.

Texas Athletics credits him as “one of the most prodigious” strikeout pitchers in school history, and Howell will be honored at the Hall of Honor ceremony Oct. 15 and at the Texas vs. Oklahoma State football game.

His successful collegiate career with the Longhorns was just the beginning. Howell went onto the MLB, where he played with the Kansas City Royals, Tampa Bay Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays.

During his 12-year career in the MLB, Howell earned a 3.83 ERA and 566 strikeouts in 619.2 innings pitched.

In a game where numbers are everything, Howell goes beyond the stats.

His most memorable college moments aren’t big wins or shining trophies, but the 5:30 a.m. wake-up calls, mandatory study hours and long training days with his teammates that he believes shaped him into the man he is today.

“Those are the kind of things I reminisce about when I think about Texas; … all the hard work we would do as a team,” Howell said. “I owe all to Texas — along with my parents — but Texas really instilled in me (a work ethic) at a professional level. ” Howell transferred from USC as a sophomore, and he said the high pressure environment of Texas sports drew him in.

The Forty Acres was the perfect fit for Howell from the beginning.

He credits former head coach Augie Garrido, former associate coach Tom Harmon and the rest of the coaching staff for helping him find a home on the team.

What made the team atmosphere so desirable to Howell were the traditions and joining a community bigger than himself.

“You’re playing for more reasons than just yourself. It’s playing for your teammates, the fans, the future, the past and to uphold the traditions at the University,” Howell said. “The fanbase that is Texas is not even a match (compared to others).”

Howell’s focus throughout it all is his family that made it all

mu ming chen

/ the daily texan file

J.P. Howell returns to UT for Hall of Honor Ceremony. He will be honored during Football game this Saturday.

possible. He is bringing the people closest to him to Austin this week to celebrate the Hall of Honor ceremony, including his best friends, family and 13-yearold nephew, whose games he’s been attending.

Howell is especially thrilled about showing his nephew

what the University of Texas means to him.

“That’s what makes this whole thing great: All my favorite people are coming out, and I’ll get to show them all the facilities and how beautiful it is out there (in Austin) this weekend,” Howell said. “I can’t tell you how grateful I am.”

COMICS

DESTINY ALEXANDER

Comics Editor | @TEXANCOMICS FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2021

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