The Daily Texan 2021-11-09

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one last dance

VOLUME 122, ISSUE 33 TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2021

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joshua guenther

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AUSTIN WEATHER TODAY Nov. 9

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Castilian hostess reflects on almost 25 years of working at the private dorm.

Sports

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Life&Arts

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UT must stop allowing political entities to use its facilities to avoid bias.

10

Texas men’s and women’s basketball both kick off their season Tuesday.

TOMORROW Nov. 10

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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Sanika Nayak (512) 232-2212 editor@dailytexanonline.com

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CAMPUS

Kerbey Lane goes back to 24 hours on Fridays and Saturdays

By Hope Unger @imhopeungerr

Kerbey Lane on Guadalupe Street returned to 24-hour service on Fridays and Saturdays starting in late October. Some servers and students are excited to bring back the excitement of the nighttime at the restaurant.

Jon Haben, general manager of UT’s closest Kerbey Lane, said due to increased demand, he expanded hours to around the clock on Fridays and Saturdays and may add overnight shifts for Thursday in the spring. He still has no intention of going back to 24/7 anytime soon.

The restaurant used to be open 24-hours a day seven days a week but decreased its hours to close at 10 p.m. because of the pandemic.

“The (labor) market is kind of flooded with a bunch of different places opening back up at the same time,” Haben said. “It was hard to find people to work for a long time, so we were kind of holding off until we felt like we were doing well.”

Mattie Jones, a server at Kerbey Lane, said traffic in the restaurant increased during Halloween weekend, the first 24-hour weekend.

Radio-television-film junior Jones said she expects more customers to eat at the

restaurant in the coming weeks since it is one of the only 24-hour places on weekends in West Campus besides Whataburger.

“I would say a good chunk of my coworkers are pretty excited,” Jones said. “I know they actually really enjoy working overnights because sometimes it can be a fun, chaotic (time), just having that adrenaline rush of the busyness of everything.”

Haben said the weekend of Oct. 29 was the first weekend that management could open through the night with appropriate staffing.

The cafe noticed a 10% increase in weekly sales after opening 24hour on Friday and Saturday, according to Haben, which he partially credited to

Halloween weekend.

Advertising junior Erin Wood said she would go to Kerbey at least twice a week before the pandemic led the restaurant to reduce its hours.

Wood said she thinks Kerbey Lane appeals to some students because when it used to be open 24-hours, students sometimes studied there for finals, which created a sense of camaraderie.

“It’s cheesy, but I really do think food brings people together,” Wood said. “Kerbey (Lane) has just been one of those things that I treasure so much because I just go with my friends and it’s been more of an activity. It’s more than eating. It’s just doing life together.”

leila saidane

/ the daily texan staff

Due to increased demand, Kerbey Lane will return to 24-hour service on Fridays and Saturdays.

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Children in Travis County are hospitalized for asthma at a higher rate than the U.S. overall.

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NEWS

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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2021

SCIENCE

UT professor named chief advisor of space company

By Katy Nelson @KatyNel86

A UT professor aims to achieve a safer, environmentally-conscious space after being appointed as chief scientific advisor for a company working to preserve space.

Privateer, created by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, appointed Moriba Jah, an associate professor of aerospace engineering, as chief scientific advisor in October.

In this role, Jah said he will help bring the science and analytics collected by other researchers in the company together to make informed decisions regarding space traffic, pollution, accessibility and potentially future space legislation.

“The main thing people need to understand is that Privateer is mostly a knowledge creation, solutions creation company,” Jah said. “It’s all about maximizing decision intelligence at the speed of relevance to different stakeholders with the goal to make space safer, more secure and more sustainable.”

Privateer, located in Kula, Hawaii, released a video in September stating its goal of keeping space safe and accessible for all humankind. Jah said one of Privateer’s first projects is to launch its first satellite, “Pono 1,” which is expected to launch on Feb. 11, 2022 with sensors attached to gather data of waste floating in space.

“If we want to be able to facilitate decision making, we need data,” Jah said. “Having our own set of observations of near earth space and the orbital ecosystem will augment our own information feeds from other sources and helps confirm or refute hypotheses and support decisions.”

Jah said managing the problems in space could prevent collisions, preserve space as an additional ecosystem and prevent misinterpretations or miscommunications between different countries regarding the early use of space.

“We have difficulty in predicting where things are going to be over the next few hours, days, weeks … and we have a growing number of operational satellites from different companies trying to do everything from Earth observation for climate change monitoring to providing global internet,” Jah said. “Orbital space has specific highways that are getting more crowded, so there’s a need for improved decision making to keep

things safer.”

Jah, who previously launched the Eyes on the Sky Project, an interactive virtual reality experience on space environmentalism, and helped develop the Space Sustainability Rating, said he gained his passion for space sustainability when he first began space environmentalism research in Maui.

“That’s when I discovered that there was all this garbage in Earth’s orbit as a consequence of human behavior and human activity,” Jah said. “I think juxtaposed with seeing a lot of ecological unsustainability on Maui, you know, single use plastics maximized by the hotel industry and landfills on Maui … it made me feel broken inside.”

Jah said that he hopes Privateer can make space safer, more secure and more sustainable for everyone.

“Space being added and recognized

by Privateer as one of Earth’s ecosystems (shows) that there’s real environmental impacts in terms of the carrying capacity of given orbits, or … a space traffic footprint,“ Jah said. “In terms of trackable stuff we’re talking about, upwards of 30,000 pieces ranging in size from the cell phone to the space station. The untrackable stuff we hypothesize is, upwards of a million pieces that are pretty small, and hard to detect … but still can be lethal to other satellites.”

destiny alexander / the daily texan staff

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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2021

NEWS

CAMPUS

Tokay gecko used as pest control in skeleton preperation lab

By Kevin Vu @Kevin_Vu_

At night, a lizard hunts for cockroaches inside the halls of UT’s Skeleton Preparation Facility.

Kenneth Bader, manager of the Skeleton Preparation Facility located on the J.J. Pickle Research Campus, said he uses a Tokay gecko as a natural form of insecticide to keep the lab, which often hosts decaying animals and materials, clean.

“We were salvaging animals from wherever we could, whether they’re roadkill, from hunting or animals that died at zoos or wildlife,” Bader said. “We have a minimum of 15,000 specimens.”

The facility removes the flesh and meat from animals ranging from roadkill to rhinoceroses, so staff can distribute the skeletons for various kinds of research, Bader said.

He said the lab uses dermestid beetles to clean the skeletons because they eat mummified remains.

“If an animal dies … while the carcass is still moist, usually you have things like flies that come in and feed on it,” Bader said. “But once it dries out and mummifies, that attracts dermestid beetles.”

The combination of dead animal flesh and beetle workers make the lab a perfect home for cockroaches, Bader said. However, the facility cannot use traditional insecticides since it would also harm the beneficial beetles.

“If it was in an apartment complex, they would be freaking out and bug bombing every building,” Bader said. “This isn’t a clean lab. It’s supposed to be dirty and messy and it’s always going to be dirty and messy, so you expect a few (cockroaches).”

Bader said Tokay geckos are often used in pet stores for pest control as well. The gecko is used every night to eat any crickets or cockroaches that might be in the building, he said.

While the gecko occasionally disappears during the summer, Bader said the gecko always returns.

“I always worry that he’s dead or gone,” Bader said.

“I’m not sure if he actually found a way to get out of the building at night (or) during the summer, because the

copyright kenneth bader, and reproduced with permission

The Skeleton Preparation Facility located in the J.J. Pickle Research Campus uses a Tokay gecko as a natural form of insecticide to keep the lab clean.

weather’s really nice, perfect weather for him during the summer. And then he just learned to come back into the building during the winter.”

Bader said the lab has a strict one gecko policy since if he added another male, they would try to kill each other, and if they added a female gecko, they would reproduce and create a colony.

Geology senior Michael Chiappone, who occasionally works in the lab, said he considers the gecko as a little

friend in the lab.

“I certainly wasn’t expecting it when I first went in,” Chiappone said. “But after Kenny explained it, it made total sense. You need something to run pest control and for small insects and things like that, geckos are a great option. They’re good little predators. You don’t always see him when you walk in. Sometimes he’s hidden somewhere out of the way, but when he does pop out, it’s a fun little thing to see.”

NEWS

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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2021

HEALTH

Dell Medical study finds Travis County asthma hospitalization rates higher than national average

By Kevin Vu @Kevin_Vu_

The hospitalization rate of children with asthma in Travis County is 60% higher than the national average, Dell Medical School researchers found in a study published in September.

The study, which began gathering data in 2018, compared Travis County’s asthma-related visits to the national average in 2016 and 2017. One of the study’s authors, Elizabeth Matsui, said that their research found 16 out of every 10,000 kids in Travis County are hospitalized for asthma each year, while 10 out of 10,000 kids nationwide are hospitalized. Researchers said the disparity could be attributed to the amount of air pollution, poor housing and lack of accessible healthcare.

“Having asthma in childhood, particularly more severe

asthma, is a major risk factor for lung disease and adulthood, and when you have lung disease in adulthood, you have a shorter life expectancy,” said Matsui, a population health and pediatrics professor. “If we can do something to prevent asthma in kids or make it less severe, it’ll have long-lasting effects into adulthood.”

Using Texas Department of State Health Services data from 2016 and 2017, the team discovered specific parts of Travis County, such as East Austin, had more cases of asthma hospitalization, Matsui said.

“I think it has a lot of meaning for Travis County, and it follows a pattern that’s been well described of structural racism and of socioeconomic deprivation that we see east of I-35,” Matsui said.

Matsui said the team does not know the cause of higher cases of asthma hospitalization in marginalized communities, but they plan to work on a different study to find the

copyright dell medical school, and reproduced with permission

Communities in East Austin display significantly higher rates of asthma than their counterparts across I-35 in West Austin.

root of the disparity in Travis County.

“Some of the potential causes are related to poor quality housing and all the types of environmental exposures that go along with poor quality housing, air pollution exposure (and) lack of access to transportation, which may make it more difficult to access health care,” Matsui said.

Pawel Misztal, a civil, architectural and environmental engineering assistant professor, said indoor air quality could contribute to higher rates of asthma-related hospital visits in lower income communities.

For example, many houses in low income communities have kitchens without ventilation holes, which can allow pollution to accumulate inside the house, leading to poorer air quality indoors, Misztal said.

Emili Agan, an applied learning and development sophomore who has asthma, said her asthma got worse when she moved to Austin.

“I feel like the air quality here, and especially just with how tightly packed everything (is), how industrialized everything is, there’s not that much green space here,” Agan said. “I feel like that has a big effect on my asthma.”

Agan said it is important that research is done on the effects of geographic locations on asthma.

“I feel like not many people realize the effects geographical location can have on asthma, and I feel like maybe if people talk about it, then something can be done about that,” Agan said.

S A N I K A N AYA K

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Editor-In-Chief | @TEXANOPINION TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2021

COLUMN

OPINION

Be transparent about how football game ads are chosen UT must provide clarity on how football game ads are chosen.

By Faleha Quadri Columnist

any people, ranging from alumni to raging football fans, look forward to watching UT football games, whether it be in the stands or at home on television. The numbers speak for themselves — this season’s Texas v. Oklahoma game generated over 5 million viewers alone, making it one of the most viewed games of the college football season.

Since a wide variety of people are tuning in to watch these games, advertisement companies rush to grab ad spots to promote their brands or messages. This makes the process of choosing football game ads important, as they can impact the perspective of many viewers.

Because the games reach huge audiences, UT must provide greater transparency on the methods they use to choose which types of ads they air at football games.

Without a clear understanding of the procedures in place, miscommunications are bound to happen, creating stress for all

parties involved.

In September, a 60-second ad from the Lincoln Project criticizing Gov. Greg Abbott’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic was set to premiere during the UT v. Rice football game but was unexpectedly pulled from the broadcast.

Reed Galen, a Lincoln Project co-founder, stated that they were informed about the ad being pulled from Longhorn Network’s broadcast about ten minutes before the game started, after already processing the ad’s content with ESPN’s legal team.

According to an Austin American-Statesman article, the Provost’s office responded to the situation by saying the decision to pull the ad was not made by UT but by a third-party sports marketing company who has a policy on not airing political ads.

“They said that they had a long standing policy against political advertisements, which we’ve never heard, the people who took our money hadn’t heard,” Galen said.

The lack of communication about these policies led the Lincoln Project to express concerns that the decision was politically motivated.

This move is especially interesting considering that UT recently allowed Breitbart to conduct an interview with Gov. Greg Abbott on the University’s football field.

“The Lincoln Project will be filing a Freedom of Information request with the University to determine if any communications were made

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.

sheryl long

between the school and those within the Governor’s office in regards to this First Amendment Protected speech,” the Lincoln Project said in a statement on Twitter.

Maya Mackey, a Plan II and government freshman, feels that this miscommunication could have easily been avoided if the University communicated the ad content they allow with ESPN and Longhorn Network.

“I think that if you have any situation in which you’re dealing with anything that’s going to cause controversy, anything that people should be transparent about,

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communication is absolutely key,” Mackey said. “I think that there definitely should have been communication between the Lincoln Project and the agency that pulled the ad as well as ESPN. I think (it) is incredibly important.”

Learfield, the third-party sports marketing agency that has a contract with Texas Athletics, could not be reached for comment on this situation.

It is clear that if the University wants to promote free speech and stay away from accusations of political bias, they must be transparent about what goes on behind the

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scenes when promoting ads and inform people about material that may be problematic.

“The University has always been a beacon and a bastion for free expression and I cannot imagine that this is where they want to be, that they want to be the people who are deciding on political speech for one side or another or receiving political pressure about it,” Galen said. “But you know, they’re going to have to make a decision.”

Quadri is a Plan II and business freshman from Austin, Texas.

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OPINION

S A N I K A N AYA K

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Editor-In-Chief | @TEXANOPINION TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2021

COLUMN

UT should not allow political entities to use their facilities

Gov. Greg Abbott should not be allowed to conduct interviews at UT’s stadium.

By Michael Zhang Columnist

he video opens with a wide shot: Amanda House, deputy political editor of right-wing news channel Breitbart News, sits on the left, and Texas Governor Greg Abbott sits on the right. The subjects on the screen were enormously influential figures who deserved my attention, but what caught my gaze was the location.

In the background of the video were the orange and white-colored seats I know so well, with the words “Longhorn Stadium” running across the screen. At that moment, a single question popped into my head: “What was UT thinking?”

Recently, Breitbart News interviewed Greg Abbott over politically charged topics such as vaccine mandates and the energy crisis.

With permission, Breitbard used Darrell K. Royal - Texas Memorial Stadium as the background for the interview. The Longhorns and school colors gave viewers the impression that UT supported the video.

This sense of endorsement is unacceptable from a large public

university such as UT, and it puts their image at risk by associating them with specific politicians. These actions are not representative of the student body, and UT cannot allow political entities to use their facilities and branding.

Alexandra Evans, a Plan II junior, shared her distaste towards UT’s actions.

“Abbott does not represent my views … You’re not supposed to do political advertisements on public university grounds … I think it’s super hypocritical; I also just think it’s wrong,” Evans said.

UT has stated they do not run political advertisements on their networks, but allowing Abbott to utilize UT’s stadium in a media interview serves as an implicit endorsement of his messages and political viewpoints.

UT should not be hosting political figures on their property. In doing so, they risk alienating and unfairly underrepresenting the large portion of the student body that disagree with such views.

Furthermore, UT risks the overall reputation of their brand when appearing to endorse figures such as Abbott. Abbott, in his interview, was called out by many for making questionable claims.

Roy Casagandra, a government professor at Austin Community College, spoke about Abbott’s statement on state, government and public health. Abbott stated in his interview that throughout history, states have been in charge of the health and safety of the people rather than the national government.

Casagandra said this statement is not completely true.

“That has been true to a large degree, and it accounts for much of the poor health of the US … But the

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.

dane hildreth

federal government has always been involved (in) research and research funding, Medicare, the ACA, etc,” Casagandra said in an email. “Also it is worth pointing out that safety has definitely never been just a state matter. So that’s just nonsense.”

Not only has UT given the impression of endorsement of Abbott through use of their properties, but the University also recently chose to pull advertisements criticizing Abbott on Longhorn Network. UT’s bylaws state that they will not discriminate on the basis of political

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viewpoint in the enforcement of their rules. Is supporting a political figure through supposed endorsements and suppressing dissent on UT network not discrimination based on political views?

University spokesperson J.B. Bird did not respond to requests for an interview despite being contacted multiple times within one week. This gives limited insight into UT’s choice to allow Abbott’s interview, and disregards addressing the strong feelings students have regarding the issue.

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UT, understand your role. As a public university, you hold a certain standard in your branding and represent the diverse student body you have spent years creating. Choose who you allow to use your facilities wisely or run the risk of mispresenting your student body. You are ruining a 137-yearold legacy by choosing to be at the beck and call of a political leader’s image.

Michael Zhang is an undeclared PACE freshman from Katy, Texas.

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FIZA KUZHIYIL

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Life&Arts Editor | @TEXANARTS

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2021

LIFE&ARTS

FEATURE

Beloved Castilian worker Aurora Gomez reflects on her life Gomez, in her 24th year as a hostess, serves as a warm, welcoming figure for students.

By Peyton Sims @peytonjsims

urora Gomez marked her calendar: April 10, 1997.

While putting on her nicest skirt, she held her head high — despite how nervous she truly felt on the inside — and braced herself for the cold, Austin air as she walked to The Castilian’s daunting entrance.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped inside the private dorm, eager for a new beginning.

Now, 24 years and seven months later, the hostess still wakes up at the crack of dawn to greet her coworkers with that same contagious smile at 6 a.m.

“After all these years, I’ve really enjoyed being here,” Gomez said. “It’s a part of my life … A lot of people have asked me, why have I stayed here so long? But this is what I like to do.

What’s the use of making good money and not being happy? We have to like what we do and enjoy doing it from the beginning.”

Castilian resident Jacob Campos

peyton sims

/ the daily texan staff

In April 2022, six years will have passed since Martin’s death.

November 7, 2021, would have marked Martin’s and Aurora’s 40-year anniversary.

“I miss him dearly,” Gomez said.

“For Dia de los Muertos, we have his altar where I do the offering of things that he liked when he was leaving, like mangoes, oranges, pears and those little tequila drinks and then we have (the altar) decorated all for him.”

From the moment Gomez arrives at work on the MetroAccess bus until the time she gets home, her surroundings constantly remind of Martin. But she cherishes the memories — they keep her continuously happy.

Beloved Castilian worker Aurora Gomez reflects on her nearly 25 years of employment at the dorm.

said he looks forward to Gomez’s positive energy every day.

“It’s the environment that she creates,” said Campos, a radio-television-film sophomore.

“It’s the comfort of knowing that when I go downstairs every morning, whether it’s 7 a.m. or 12:30 p.m., Aurora will be there. And she’ll be there with such patience and kindness for every single person.”

Gomez stood out to Pamela Reed, The Castilian’s food and beverage director, on her first day on the job four years ago.

“She is just the kindest of souls, and she has a very important position,” Reed said. “She makes everybody that comes in feel welcome, and it’s so important to make the residents feel like they can be at home because (The Castilian) is their home for a year.”

Her memories from her childhood motivate her to encourage and uplift

Castilian residents, so they can have similarly happy memories. From watching her uncle’s musical performances to riding her tricycle — which she always fell off of due to her clumsiness — she reflects on her childhood in Austin.

“I wasn’t able to go to college or have what (students) have, so I try to help them not give up,” Gomez said.

“It’s so important in life because a lot of us are not fortunate enough to have what they have.”

Nearly 25 years ago, she heard about the job opening from her husband Martin Gomez, a former chef at The Castilian. Even on her first day, the couple acted as nothing but coworkers when they crossed paths.

“We were very professional,” Gomez said. “They always said that you aren’t supposed to be working with a husband, wife or relative, but they made an exception (for us).”

A lot of people have asked me, why have I stayed here so long?

But this is what I like to do. What’s the use of making good money and not being happy?

AURORA GOMEZ

castillian hostess

“Martin told me one day that he must leave, and I said that I’d be going with him,” Gomez said. “He told me, ‘No you are not, you still have a mission to accomplish: you still have the Castilian kids to take care of.’”

LIFE&ARTS

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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9. 2021

MUSIC

University Orchestra members share experiences pursuing music in college

By Isabella Lawson @isauhbellah

Caitlin O’Callaghan spends most of her days cracking computer algorithms and coding JavaScript. But twice a week, she makes the lengthy trek from West Campus to the Butler School of Music to showcase her unconditional love of playing oboe.

From string to brass to woodwind instruments, students perform classical music with the UT University Orchestra. As a class that welcomes non-music majors, the orchestra serves as an outlet for students who wish to continue their musical passions in college.

“It’s amazing that (UT has) so many talented musicians,” O’Callaghan, a computer science senior, said. “The sense of community, the high level of talent and the really awesome music we get to play is just a super unique experience.”

Although time consuming, O’Callaghan said the group serves as a much-needed, relaxing break from her computer science studies.

“I completely forget about everything that’s stressing me out,” O’Callaghan said.

“So it’s nice to have that mental break from my academic classes.”

With her last semester on campus right around the corner, O’Callaghan said the size of UT provided a community to bolster her mental health and build connections outside of her major.

“This has been one of the most memorable experiences for me in college,” O’Callaghan said. “I have a lot of fond memories, like all the people I’ve been able to meet through orchestra, whether they’re friends or people in my oboe section, or even doctors that we’ve got (to) work with.”

For violinist Desheng Liu, an electrical engineering freshman, the sheer number of people who come to the performances in

eleanor irion

college differs greatly from his experience in high school. His college friends attend the concerts in-person, while his parents back home watch online.

“I love sharing my music with friends and family, even strangers as well,” Liu said. “I remember right after our first concert we had people stand up to roar and clap. It’s just like, ‘Wow we actually made them feel a certain way.’”

Liu felt less pressure in high school orchestra, but he noticed college musicians are more passionate about music, which fueled the rigor of the ensemble. When he first entered the rehearsal space for the organization, he said he went through the rigorous audition process.

“I hadn’t had a full orchestra rehearsal in almost a year and a half,” Liu said. “It was crazy… I was kind of intimidated, but I was excited because I knew I was going to be with a good stringed group.”

Assistant conductors Ke-Yuan Hsin

/ the daily texan staff

and Gabriela Mora Fallas said they include a diverse cast of composers for their concerts. For the Nov. 9 concert, they included both Russian and Mexican pieces.

“We all have different cultural backgrounds, but it’s like we’re family and we’re creating something together,” Hsin said. “It’s something beautiful.”

Fallas said students’ commitment and passion towards music in the orchestra surpasses the enthusiasm often seen in professional orchestras. She said she appreciated the students’ constant alertness and concentration.

“There’s something that this orchestra has that’s special,” Fallas said. “When they come (to rehearsal), they’re concentrated and they want to put all their energy into music making. Making music is easier when you have people who actually want to learn and want to be there.”

N AT H A N H A N

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Sports Editor | @TEXANSPORTS

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2021

MEN’S BASKETBALL

SPORTS

It’s time for the Chris Beard era Here are six storylines to watch as men’s basketball kicks off Tuesday.

By Christina Huang & Nicholas Pannes

@stina_huang @nickpannes

s the men’s basketball season officially tips off Tuesday, The Daily Texan took a look at six major storylines to watch in the Chris Beard era.

Murphy’s Law?

Although most of the buzz surrounding the Longhorns during the preseason has been about how well they can perform, there is more than a possibility for Murphy’s Law to apply to another Texas sports team. Almost everything that could go wrong for the football team has gone wrong, and all eyes are on new head coach Chris Beard’s roster to not suffer a similar fate as Steve Sarkisian’s team.

As talented as the Longhorns roster is and as accomplished as Chris Beard is, anything that can go wrong could go wrong for this team. The Texas men’s basketball team ended the 2020-2021 season in a painful and unexpected 53-52 loss to the Abilene Christian Wildcats.

The final game of the Shaka Smart era was an offensive disaster marked by poor shooting and an absurd 23 turnovers. Even though most of last season’s roster has moved on, the air of past failures still lingers. The curtain falls on Tuesday night as Texas makes a stab to kill the narrative of being a team that is good, but just not good enough.

Superstars Collide

Barring any potential curses, flops and jinxes Texas seems unduly prone to, this year’s team could truly be something special. Beard’s victories in the transfer portal have delivered him a wealth of talented players this school has rarely ever seen.

Forwards Tre Mitchell and Timmy Allen entered the portal as two of the best big men in the country, and both left suiting up in burnt orange. Sixth-year Longhorn guard Andrew Jones and transfer guard Marcus Carr were both just named to the Naismith Trophy watchlist. Other star transfers like guard Devin Askew and forwards Christian Bishop and Dylan Disu combine with solid Texas holdouts like guards Courtney Ramey and Jase Febres to round out a team with enough starpower to earn a trip to Louisiana for the Final Four.

Right now, Beard seems to have all his players’ egos in check. The true test for this team will be maintaining continuity down the stretch. It’s safe to say, however, that if the coaching staff can make all of its talented pieces sing in tune and on time in March, Texas men’s basketball should have an exciting year in the books.

Bear Spray, Blue Bloods and the Big 12

As Baylor looks to defend its 2021 national title, the Big 12 sits wide open for the taking.

Purely based on preseason predictions, the main contenders for the Big 12 title are Baylor, Kansas and Texas.

Kansas sits among the blue bloods of college basketball, sharing similar levels of consistency and accomplishment as UNC, Duke and Kentucky. Seeing the Jayhawks as a Big 12 title favorite is no surprise. Baylor came into this season with a target on its back as the reigning NCAA Champion. The Bears were clearly unfazed by the missed opportunity for last year’s Big 12 title as they mauled their way through the competition and handed No. 1 Gonzaga its first loss in the NCAA Championship game.

The Longhorns must be able to defeat the college basketball royalty that is the Jayhawks and unleash the bear spray on Baylor to truly prove themselves as a legitimate March Madness threat. Texas clearly has some worthy opponents to keep its eye on as the Longhorns look to keep their Big 12 title and more importantly, make a postseason run at the NCAA Championship.

Seeing Raider Red

While conference play does not begin until January, one of the most contentious matchups that sits on the Longhorns’ plate is the Feb. 1 game against Texas Tech in Lubbock. Texas AD Chris Del Conte struck a deal with Beard in a Comfort Inn in Plainview over McDonald’s breakfast in early April, silently snatching the

julius shieh

coach that took the Red Raiders to the 2019 national championship game against heavyweight Virginia.

Needless to say, Lubbock was not pleased with Beard’s decision to move on. To add insult to injury, redshirt senior guard Avery Benson and top-50 recruit and current freshman Jaylon Tyson followed Beard to Austin. The environment at the United Supermarkets Arena come Feb. 1 will probably be one of the most hostile conditions that the Longhorns will experience this season.

The biggest test of the season ... in November?

In every poll across the country, Texas earned a spot among the top-ranked teams in the nation. Across all of those same polls, however, Gonzaga clinches the No. 1 ranking. The Bulldogs are the consensus favorites to win the national championship- again. An embarrassing meltdown against Baylor in the championship game last year, which ruined Gonzaga’s chance for a perfect 32-0 season, forged through the fires of national criticism a team with an unwavering resolve and a singular objective: win it all in 2022.

Texas and Gonzaga will spend their second game of the season duking it out

/ the daily texan staff

at the McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, Washington. For the Zags, this game will be first in a slew of matchups against teams ranked in the top 25. For Texas, Saturday could be the only major contest before Big 12 conference play tips off on New Year’s Day. Goodbye to the Frank Erwin Center

While the Erwin Center will still be around for the foreseeable future for concerts, comedy acts, musicals, trade shows and practically every other event you can imagine, the 2021-2022 season will officially mark the last time the University of Texas plays basketball in the fabled arena.

Thankfully, Beard seems like just the right coach to give the Frank Erwin Center the send-off it deserves. His relentless PR efforts drove an all-time record in season ticket sales, topping the previous mark of 8,882 set in the 2004-05 season, and his student outreach initiatives have sparked a fire of intrigue among the student body.

If the Longhorns live up to their highest expectations this season, the last squad to suit up in the Frank Erwin Center could be the best.

SPORTS

N AT H A N H A N

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Sports Editor | @TEXANSPORTS TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2021

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Vic Schaefer enters year two with fresh faces Here are three storylines to watch as women’s basketball kicks off its season Tuesday.

By Amsal Madhani @amsal_madhani

ollowing the 20202021 season, during which the Texas women’s basketball team reached the Elite Eight in head coach Vic Schaefer’s first year, there are many questions to be answered about how the team will follow up from last year.

Here are three storylines to look out for as Texas gets ready to start the regular season Tuesday.

Who will fill the void for Charli Collier?

Former Longhorns forward Charli Collier was a major contributor for the team in the 2021 NCAA tournament and throughout the entirety of the season. She averaged 19 points on 51% shooting, as well as a whopping 11 rebounds per game. With her moving on to the WNBA, there’s a huge hole in the team’s offense, and Texas is going to need someone to step up and fill the void that Collier left behind.

The Longhorns did a solid job finding some young talent to help minimize the effects of Collier’s absence in the offseason with the addition of some promising freshmen in guards Rori Harmon and Kyndall Hunter and forwards Aaliyah Moore and Latasha Lattimore.

Harmon and Hunter can offset a lot of the scoring that Collier brought to the table with their ability to finish around the rim. Lattimore brings a versatile game to the team with her great rim protection, solid finishing skills and a decent threepoint shot. Moore showed in the exhibition game that she’s a tough finisher in the paint and a great inside defender in the painted area.

Other than the new additions to the squad, senior forward Audrey Warren and senior guard Joanne Allen-Taylor will need to take over as leaders of the team in order to speed up development of the younger players. Both have already shown their capability to score at a high rate, andit will be on the two seniors and Schaefer to keep the freshmen focused as the season goes on.

sphere is a huge plus for a team as the players will know what to expect. With the Longhorn squad mainly consisting of underclassmen, there could be a lot of mistakes made on and off the court.

Schaefer may need to be patient with his squad as the season goes on and the freshmen get acclimated to the transition from high school to college basketball. Although the team is young, they could get better as they roll through the season. With a little help from the upperclassmen on the team, the Longhorns could make another run at the NCAA championship if the team can stay focused and minimize rookie mistakes.

Will Texas return to the Elite Eight and get another chance to hoist the NCAA championship trophy?

The Longhorns enter the 2021-2022 season ranked 25th in the Associated

Press preseason poll, but being ranked low isn’t new for Texas. Last season, the Longhorns came into the year unranked but still ended up reaching the Elite Eight despite low expectations.

The lower rank coming into this season, however, is justified because Texas lost a big part of the team over the offseason. Despite losing Collier, the team has a lot of potential with the addition of the new freshmen and the return of Allen-Taylor and Warren.

Coming off a monstrous 77-44 win in their exhibition game against Oklahoma Baptist on Nov. 6, fans and opposing teams got a glimpse of what Texas can do with their raw talent.

If the team can come together, build better team chemistry and continue to fire on all cylinders, the sky’s the limit for them.

Can the Longhorns compete with such a young team?

This season will be different for Schaefer because there aren’t many experienced players on his squad this year. The team consists of just three seniors and one junior, while the rest are all sophomores or freshmen. Top teams such as Baylor and Iowa State have at least five juniors and seniors on their squad, giving them the advantage of experience over Texas.

Having been to the big stage and experienced the college basketball atmocopyright texas athletics, and reproduced with permission

Women’s basketball head coach Vic Schaefer enters year two of his tenure at the top with a new-look roster featuring just three seniors and one junior.

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D E S T I N Y A L E X A N D E R & B A R B R A D A LY

Comics Editors | @TEXANCOMICS

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2021

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