The Daily Texan 2021-11-12

DT VOLUME 122, ISSUE 34 FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2021

students seek solutions Students advocate for University support in fighting climate change. leila saidane/ the daily texan staff

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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

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ISSUE STAFF Columnists Hillary Ma, Michael Zhang Comic Artists Hayley Rodgers, Audrie Roeder, Mindy Van, Louisa Matzner, Candace Marie, Derrick Lam Copy Editors Isabella Zeff, Kamryn Brownlee, Sage Dunlap, Andrea Rodriguez Designers Sara Kinney, Sam Treviño

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08

Students with dual citizenship reflect on its impact on their cultural identities.

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Life&Arts

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07

UT must either cancel classes or hold them online after tragic events.

10

Pierceson and Parker Coody are creating their own golf legacies.

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Students react to recent antisemitic attacks in Austin.

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Contents:

UT empowers female students through new Women in STEM program

By Fernanda Figueroa @Fernanda_figs

The University is looking to encourage women to step into and feel more comfortable in science, technology, engineering and math roles with the Women in STEM program, which debuted Monday.

Women in STEM will build upon the work of the Women in Engineering Program, which has existed for 30 years, to increase the number of women in engineering, said Tricia Berry, Women in STEM’s executive director. Berry said the new program will broaden its predecessor’s initiatives, such as summer camps, to apply to all STEM fields. The program will also expand on the Women in Engineering Program’s various pre-college initiatives.

“Our goals are to advance gender equity in STEM spaces,” Berry said.

“We look to increase the numbers and percentages of women pursuing STEM majors that we have on campus and graduating those students at even higher rates and getting them out to change our world.”

Berry said Women in STEM will adopt previous programs such as Girl Day, a yearly festival that gives K-12 students hands-on STEM experience.

“We will likely be adding more opportunities for high school students to explore other STEM majors,” Berry said. “We’ll also be looking to see how we can serve students in STEM

majors outside of engineering that perhaps had not had the opportunities to connect with role models or to participate in STEM focused leadership programming.”

Because women in STEM are underrepresented, Berry said it is important to create opportunities for young girls to see themselves as STEM professionals and feel comfortable in their abilities. Berry said she hopes the new program can help meet the growing demand for STEM professionals going into the workforce.

Sanju Vardhan, treasurer for the Society for Advancing Gender Equity in STEM, said she hopes the program will reach a wider audience of STEM majors.

“It’s broadening the horizons …

to support women in STEM,” graduate student Vardhan said. “Not just in engineering, but … on a broad level at UT.” SAGES president Emma Gugala said she hopes Women in STEM will connect students with alumni from various STEM fields, building on WEP’s Mentor Monday alumni-advice program.

“We are hoping that by taking this up to the University level and kind of out of the engineering college, this will help them bring in more diverse groups of speakers. Their speakers are all engineers,” Gugala said. “Hopefully they’ll continue to have these very interesting events going forward with a more diverse group of people from broader STEM fields.”

sylvia asuncion-crabb

/ the daily texan staff

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, NOVEMBER 12, 2021

ENVIRONMENT

Students stress importance of climate action amid global conference Students advocate for University support in fighting climate change amid UN Climate Change Conference.

By Kaushiki Roy @kaushikiroy3

fter speaking with world leaders and representatives at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow last week, senior climate activist Roshan Khan said she wants to work with other UT organizations to continue advocating

against climate change.

“We have to do more than just protest,” Khan said. “We have to actually come up with solutions, and then push the solutions. Because no one else is going to do that for us. … We are the generation that is going to drive those solutions.”

Khan, who represented a local environmental organization called the Rainforest Partnership, said that as global leaders act to combat climate change, she wants to see UT take more initiative to address the climate crisis. Khan said while the United States pledged to halve emissions and end deforestation by 2030, UT continues to invest in fossil fuels.

Khan said there needs to be collective and sustained action to prevent the worst effects of a warming planet. Khan is also concerned that initiatives taken at the conference may fall through after

President Joe Biden leaves office.

“One of the speeches I remember the best from the conference asked why young people are frustrated and (the answer is) because we see people making promises for when they’re not going to be around,” said Khan, a Plan II, economics, government, international relations and global studies, and Asian cultures and languages major. “How can we trust that they’re going to follow through and deliver on those pledges?”

Edwin Grove, a Students Fighting Climate Change officer, experienced leaders not fulfilling their promises firsthand when UT administration removed the organization off the student advisory meeting agenda Oct. 26, where they wanted to discuss fossil fuel divestment with President Jay Hartzell.

“We were very angry,” geography junior Grove said. “We had

destiny alexander

laid out five demands and they were very manageable. … Our demands included just having regular meetings with us, acknowledging the climate crisis and officially creating a team to deal with climate issues at the University. They just wouldn’t be with us.”

Grove said administration later reached out saying they understood the demands of Students Fighting Climate Change, but the group is still in the works of scheduling another meeting. The group said it will continue to protest and put pressure on UT administration until they take action.

Khan said she was glad to see so many young activists gathered in Glasgow to attend a climate march with about 30,000 people. She said she hopes to see that same

/ the daily texan staff

passion to make the world a safer place in Austin.

“It’s important for us to understand the full landscape of climate solutions and which ones actually will deliver on what they pledged,” Khan said. “Going forward as a student, I plan to use my organization and also any opportunities I get during or throughout UT (to fight for climate justice).”

Samara Zuckerbrod, director of the student organization Campus Environmental Center, said the center plans on working with Khan next semester to expand its reach to students on campus.

“We’re trying to make (administration) aware that a large part of the student body cares about climate change and climate action,” Grove said.

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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2021

RESEARCH

UT researchers produce algorithm to improve EMS response times

By Marisa Huerta @_marisahuerta

Emergency medical services in Austin can respond an estimated 88 seconds faster by using an algorithm created at UT, which researchers are continuing to improve in hopes of further reducing emergency response times.

The algorithm identifies how many ambulances should be put in each location and which 911 calls should be served, said graduate student Joshua Ong. The group is currently working on expanding the project to determine the number of medical personnel available, their rotations and scheduling, said assistant math professor Ngoc Tran.

“Austin decides to make some of their strategic decisions with their ambulances just based on experience and trial and error,” Ong

said. “They don’t have a formal algorithm or something like that to make their decisions. … We found that our algorithms performed better than (those) decisions.”

Ong said he mainly focused on improving EMS response times by locating areas where emergency calls spiked in previous response time data and created a mathematical formula that finds the optimal location for ambulances to station to reach residents faster.

The team ran tests on 12,000 points of response time data. One of the team’s models, Stochastic, responded 88 seconds faster than the average EMS response time of 7.677 minutes, which they calculated from the past data, Ong said.

Response times are also based on the number of resources in the area, which researchers considered when creating the algorithm, Tran said. Because most stations are situated downtown, response

times are typically faster than those for calls coming from more suburban areas. Depending on available resources, the algorithm could recommend the city place stations in suburban areas with high 911 call rates.

The group also looked into how socioeconomic factors might change response times. However, they found the demand for EMS calls was the same for every neighborhood, and instead, the distance proximity to the EMS station was most important.

“The closer you are to the station, the faster they can respond to your call,” Tran said. “It means that there isn’t a discrepancy between better off neighborhoods and poor neighborhoods.”

Graduate student Xinyu Xie said he analyzed 911 call demand at the height of the pandemic to provide the most accurate reflection of EMS response times. The

juleanna culilap

group found that demand immediately dropped when COVID-19 hit and the travel ban went into effect, Tran said.

“It turns out that people were more reluctant to call EMS during a pandemic,” Tran said. “The moment that travel ban came into effect, it dropped by 30% down to 70% of the demand before.”

Tran said the researchers opened the project for others to update, and the software for ambulance stationing and routing, which was completed in May, is already in the hands of Austin-Travis County EMS. The team is continuing work with the city as they refine their algorithms and build a more efficient system to accommodate population growth, Xie said.

“I think this kind of research and intellectual collaboration can really help both communities,” Xie said.

/ the daily texan staff

NEWS

NEWS

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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2021

STUDENT LIFE

‘It’s just so alarming’: UT Jewish community share thoughts on recent antisemitic incidents Content warning: antisemitism

By Kevin Vu @Kevin_Vu_

When Rachel Schlesinger and her roommates saw that a racist group hung an antisemitic banner from a highway overpass in Austin last month, they cried.

“It’s just so alarming to be like, ‘Whoa, someone hates me (so) much that they’d be willing to hang a banner from an overpass from a highway for the world to see,’” said Schlesinger, a member of the student board of directors for Texas Hillel, a Jewish student center for UT and other Austin-area schools.

Last month, Central Texas saw an uptick in antisemitic incidents, said Renee Lafair, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League in Austin. The incidents included a group hanging a banner with antisemitic remarks on Loop 1 of the MoPac Expressway several times.

Police have not yet identified any suspects in the antisemitic banner incident, Lafair said.

“It’s always unsettling when someone targets you specifically because of an immutable characteristic that you have,” Lafair said.

Following the incidents, Austin City Council approved a resolution last week condemning antisemitism and asked city manager Spencer Cronk to find ways to improve the city’s response to hate speech and violent action against the Jewish community. Council members asked Cronk to educate the community on how hate starts, how to respond to it and social media’s role in promoting hate, according to the resolution. The council members asked Cronk to report his findings and recommendations to them within 120 days.

Lafair said she feels grateful the city is taking steps to prevent antisemitic incidents.

Schlesinger, a Plan II and management information systems senior, said although it is great that the resolution brings awareness to the situation and makes her feel supported, she wants to know what concrete action the city can take to prevent these incidents.

“It’s also hard because, at the end of the day, it’s a piece of paper,” Schlesinger said. “I don’t really know how to get rid of hate in this world.

I guess it’s important to stay optimistic.”

Maiya Edelson, Texas Hillel’s executive director, said the incidents were unsettling and serve as a reminder for Jewish students that there is still hate in the world. Texas Hillel has been the victim of different crimes several times in the past. Last year, a rock was

thrown at the building, and in 2017 a window was broken in the night.

“There’s a lot going on that really can negatively impact students,” Edelson said. Texas Hillel reached out to students to check up on their well-being following the incidents.

Schlesinger said she has been living in Austin all her life, and that it was shocking to see these events happen to places she has been to in the past.

“I know that there’s plenty of hate in this world in 2021, but every time something like this happens, it’s still so beyond you (as to) why someone would do something like that just because someone practices a certain religion,” Schlesinger said.

juleanna culilap/ the daily texan staff

S A N I K A N AYA K

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Editor-In-Chief | @TEXANOPINION FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2021

COLUMN

OPINION

UTPD must improve crisis communication Transparent and prompt communication from UTPD and the University is absolutely necessary during crisis events.

By Hillary Ma Columnist

knew my Halloween night wasn’t exactly typical.

Rather than attending parties and indulging in candy, I was stuck with midnight deadlines. What I wasn’t expecting that night, though, was the string of text messages from friends warning me to not leave my apartment.

My phone was blowing up with texts and tweets of the same message from just students: “There was a shooting in West Campus. Please stay safe, and don’t go outside.”

As students and community members continued to panic, neither Austin nor UT Police Department sent any immediate updates.

Misinformation proliferated. Fear became rampant. Sunday night grew into a tragedy for UT students.

In the middle of a crisis, students need active updates from UTPD on the situation at hand to limit panic and the spread of misinformation as much as possible. 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.

prioritize safety transparency with students in future crises.

The majority of students’ anxiousness stemmed from the lack of updates from a source of authority on the situation. While verifying and assessing situations takes time, how are students expected to keep calm when an active shooter is on the loose around West Campus and could potentially threaten more lives?

“With the history of shootings in schools and universities, I felt like it was kind of irresponsible to have such … little attention drawn, while still expecting students to show up to class the next day,” Isabela Salinas, an international relations and global studies sophomore said. “The fact that nothing happened is very lucky on the University’s behalf. They chose to be very irresponsible and handle the situation in a very inadequate way.”

Salinas is one of many students on campus who felt disappointed by UTPD’s communication with students on the situation. She emphasized that transparency and promptness of communication delivery were two big factors that UTPD lacked that night.

“No one was really getting any reputable news,” Salinas said. “Everyone was taking it to social media to talk about it, so having that quick response time would have really helped.”

Noelle Newton, director of strategic and executive communication for the Office of Campus Security, explained in an email that off-campus events are challenging to give prompt updates on because 911 calls go directly to the Austin Police Department.

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Furthermore, West Campus is within the Austin Police Department’s jurisdiction — not UTPD’s. Some delays in relaying information to the public within the current department structure are inevitable as police also have to assess and verify the situation.

“We want to serve a caretaking role … and let (the community) know when things are going on, … even though they’re not on campus,” Newton said. “We gave as much as we could, and also realize (West Campus is in the jurisdiction of) Austin Police, and we’re not the main agency. So we’re getting our information from them as much as you can, and pushing it out when we can.”

But the frustrated attitudes from students raise valid criticisms of the police department’s lack of transparency and communication. Students regularly receive updates about burglaries and other minor threats on Guadalupe Street, yet when UTPD is needed most, updates on high-risk situations — like active shootings — are scarce.

Students deserve full transparency of safety efforts and updates from UTPD, no matter the degree of severity of the event.

Halloween is a time when students should be thinking about costume parties and spooky festivities — not gun violence.

Ma is a journalism and Chinese junior from The Woodlands, Texas.

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OPINION

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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2021

COLUMN

Cancel or hold classes online after tragic events

By Michael Zhang Columnist

My walk to class Nov. 1 felt different. It was the morning after the shooting, which occurred roughly 1,500 feet from West Campus on Halloween, and everyone seemed tired and on edge from the events of the night before. Even inside my classroom, the mood was heavy. I could tell that no one was mentally ready to be in class.

After tragic events such as the West Campus shooting, UT needs to either hold all classes online or cancel classes altogether to accommodate students that may be displaced or emotionally distraught after the incident.

Public relations sophomore Sasha Haynes shared a similar experience to mine on campus.

“I got the alert from Citizen. … We decided, ‘Yeah, we’re not going home,’ and we stayed (put) overnight. Personally, I’ve been on edge,” Haynes said. “I know there were students concerned over why classes (were not) being shut down. I know it’s off campus, but it’s still very near campus. …

I don’t even think they caught the people yet.”

The shooting occurred just under a 10 minute walk from campus, and the morning after, the suspect had still not been apprehended by authorities.

“I actually know some people personally (who) either just didn’t show up, or their professors moved their stuff online for the day, or even canceled class,” Haynes said.

Professors, students and even student organizations such as Senate stepped in at the time,

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.

sharon chang

stating they didn’t think there should be classes the next day and that they were working to excuse student absences the following morning, Nov. 1. If the staff and student body are voicing their concerns against holding classes, who exactly is the administration advocating for when they choose not to listen?

Kathleen Harrison, assistant director of communications of the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost, provided some insight into the reasoning behind UT’s choice of continuing in-person classes Nov. 1.

“There is no official campus policy regarding cancelling classes or holding online classes after

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.

crisis events. … These decisions are made carefully and encompass a number of factors such as communitywide safety concerns, as well as any impact on the academic calendar and general disruption of critical campus activities,” Harrison said. “While last week’s shooting was not on campus, we know many of our students live and work in that area. And we know that an effective learning and research environment must also be a safe one.”

Despite the lack of timely public announcements regarding the spree of crimes near West Campus, UT seems to be quite aware of the events that transpired.

/ the daily texan staff

The University must take into account the emotional and physical stress that students went through by staying up late and seeking safety throughout the night. It is frustrating to see UT acknowledge these events and still fail to take action.

UT, fix your mindset. You need to cancel classes, or at least provide online alternatives, following a traumatic incident to protect your students’ safety and emotional health. The academic calendar should not be prioritized over the overall well-being of the student body.

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

RECYCLE | Please recycle this copy of The Daily Texan. Place the paper in one of the recycling bins on campus or back in the burnt-orange newsstand where you found it.

EDITORIAL TWITTER | Follow The Daily Texan Editorial Board on Twitter (@TexanOpinion) and receive updates on our latest editorials and columns.

FIZA KUZHIYIL

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Life&Arts Editor | @TEXANARTS

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2021

STUDENT LIFE

LIFE&ARTS

Students with dual citizenship share experiences UT students discuss dual citizenship and how it affects their cultural identity.

By Sage Dunlap @SageDunlapp

eering out an airplane window with wide eyes, 9-year-old Sofia Vargas Karam examined the sprawling Houston skyline for the first time, anticipating her year long stay in the United States. Three years later, Vargas Karam, originally from Mexico City, did what her childhood self never imagined: She obtained her American citizenship and became a full-time Texas resident.

Attending college in the United States, where obtaining citizenship is a demanding process, UT students with dual citizenship offer a different perspective on the meaning of being a citizen of other countries. Though citizenship status ultimately lies in a few signed documents, possessing it in multiple countries can change the relationship between physical location and cultural identity.

With citizenship in France, Mexico and the U.S., journalism freshman Vargas Karam said she faced harassment from peers while acclimating to American culture in middle school.

“I did the morning announcements for a little bit, and if I said a word wrong because of my accent or if I messed up on grammar, (classmates) would be like, ‘Oh my gosh, get out of the country,’” Vargas Karam said.

However, with her newly acquired American citizenship, Vargas Karam said she felt empowered to stand up to close-minded classmates.

“Citizenship was kind of a breather,” Vargas Karam said. “There’s no need to prove anything to anybody, because I’ll just pull out a picture of my passport.”

Vargas Karam said having citizenship in multiple countries grants her a different understanding of what citizenship means to multiple cultures. “(Dual citizenship) 100% shifted my perspective,” Vargas Karam said. “I think about my cousin who has thought about coming to the U.S. for college, and he sees

derrick lam

(U.S. citizenship) as such a barrier because he doesn’t have it.”

Raised in an American household

by French parents, Camille Layen, a radio-television-film sophomore, said she obtained French citizenship at birth. When she considered her future, she said she never limited herself to living in America forever.

“I went to visit (France) two years ago and stayed for a really long time,” Layen said. “That opened my eyes and made me realize I want to live there sometime in the future. Being able to speak to everyone in French and having all the same customs was really cool.”

/ the daily texan staff

Besides celebrating Bastille Day with her family every July, Layen said she incorporates her French culture into her day-to-day life by sharing her heritage with non-French friends through the world’s most widely recognized language: food.

“A really important part of French culture is we really take pride in all of our meals, and not just the food, but being together and having dinner,” Layen said.

After moving to Texas for college, design junior Irene Chamorro-Beckenhauer said her Peruvian citizenship solidified her ability to speak up against stereotypes surrounding Latin Americans.

“I think (my Peruvian citizenship) … makes me unique in Texas more than anywhere else,” Chamorro-Beckenhauer said. “All Hispanics are kind of grouped as Mexicans here. Being Peruvian is very different, … and I like educating people here about how different the two (cultures) are.”

Before earning Peruvian citizenship at 17, Chamorro-Beckenhauer said she visited Huancayo with family every two years. While she enjoyed connecting with extended family, she said she never felt fully accepted in either culture until she received citizenship.

“It’s essential to stay connected to my culture,” Chamorro-Beckenhauer said. “I know it’s just a legal document, but there’s something special about being able to say I am a Peruvian citizen.”

LIFE&ARTS

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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2021

CITY

The Phoenix comes to Austin; brings free fitness classes, socials in exchange for 48 hours of sobriety

copyright erin wackerla, and reproduced with permission

By Caroline Culberson @greatercaroline

The often packed Mozart’s Coffee Roasters offers students and tourists alike a space to gather and enjoy a magical lakeside view while sipping a cold brew. But at open mic night, the place bursts with patrons and possibility. As laughter echoes through the outdoor café, one member of the crowd bares a part of their heart.

Erin Wackerla, local program coordinator for The Phoenix, wears a black T-shirt with “SOBER” in big white letters, which serves as a beacon for attendees of The Phoenix’s first

music social. While it used to make her self-conscious, a reaction she now attributes to the societal stigma attached to leading a substance-free lifestyle, the uniform now offers a sense of pride.

“I spent too much time in the shadows in shame with my addiction,” Wackerla said. “I never admitted it to myself, much less anyone else, because there was so much stigma around it. I wasted years trying to find a way out of it and rediscover what life’s really about.”

The Phoenix — a sober active community offering free, premium fitness classes in exchange for 48 hours of sobriety — serves as a saving grace for those leading a sober lifestyle or working to edge maladaptive behaviors out

of their lives and reconnect with simpler, more joyful pastimes. In August, the nonprofit had their first kickoff event. Their calendar offers weekly crossfit, yoga, stand-up paddleboarding and more.

“Austin has been super welcoming for The Phoenix and everyone who has heard our name,” program manager Jessica Looney said. “When we say, ‘The Phoenix,’ we get grins and, ‘We’re so happy that you’re here, it’s about time!’”

The nationwide organization has over 70,000 members and plans to reach a million people in the next five years, according to Looney.

The Austin local looks forward to

diversifying the opportunities for camaraderie with cultural events, such as the music social and holiday gatherings. The Phoenix hopes to hold events with UT’s Center for Students in Recovery and University High School to meet on-campus needs.

“Working with others truly is the key (to recovery), and that’s what we’re doing,” Looney said. “It’s what The Phoenix is: bringing people together, helping physical, mental, emotional health and working with others.”

After sitting at home for months, nervous to risk her tenuous new sobriety, Wackerla joined The Phoenix. She began rock climbing again — a passion her addiction had separated her from — and now leads The Phoenix’s bimonthly rock climbing sessions at Crux Climbing Center.

“If I have that goal, I need to be healthy and be able to prioritize well. Drinking and drugs are not going to support that,” Wackerla said. “(Climbing is) my intrinsic passion, and The Phoenix helped me rediscover that. There’s definitely more out there than partying, and it’s more fun, more adventurous.”

Activation associate Shane Berber describes the organization as a blessing. Now, he’s reconnecting with his passion for tennis and helping other sober and sober-curious people find their spark again.

“Addiction is like isolation in a nutshell,” Berber said. “The Phoenix brings together people from different backgrounds of addiction, and different severities as well. It’s amazing to bring everyone out of their isolation into this community.”

The Phoenix’s website offers a plethora of synchronous Zoom fitness classes for those unable to meet in person.

But for those seeking to step out of their post-pandemic cocoon, Berber will be waiting on the court with an extra racket.

“Even if you don’t look at yourself as someone athletic or in shape, that doesn’t matter at all,” Berber said.

“Just come in and get the sense of the community that we’re building.”

N AT H A N H A N

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Sports Editor | @TEXANSPORTS

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2021

FEATURE

SPORTS

From Masters to top of amateurs, golf blood runs deep in Coody family Pierceson and Parker Coody are following in the footsteps of their father and grandfather’s golf legacies

By Payne Williams @paynewilliams5

ierceson and Parker Coody are some of the nation’s best golfers, and they have the genes to prove it.

The twins’ grandfather, Charles Coody, who won the 1971 Masters Tournament, and father, Kyle Coody, who, in 1983, was the first of the Coody’s to attend and golf at Texas, both kept the clubs close to the Longhorn seniors from day one.

However their family’s expansive golf legacy played a strong role in pushing them out of playing the sport for a period in their childhood.

“As soon as we got basic motor functions, they had clubs in our hands,” Pierceson said. “It really pushed us away from golf.”

In fourth grade, Pierceson and Parker explored other sports that didn’t involve the family’s pressure on the two to play golf.

“There was kind of an overbearing sense of golf in the family, and other sports became really interesting,” Pierceson said. “When you’re young, the ball’s small and doesn’t go very far, and it’s not a very fun sport to play.”

copyright texas athletics, and reproduced with permission

Pierceson and Parker Coody are some of the nation’s best golfers, and they have the genes to prove it. With a long family history of golfers and quite a legacy to live up to, the twins have both made important contributions to the Longhorn golf team.

Once the twins stepped back into golf in sixth grade, Charles and Kyle took less of a hands-on approach and let the twins navigate the sport on their own. The twins haven’t looked back since.

Pierceson is ranked second internationally at the amateur level, according to the World Amateur Golf Ranking and helped lead the Longhorns to a strong finish this fall and a first place finish in Big 12 match play in mid October.

And Parker, ranked in the 68th internationally, led Texas to a second

place finish in the first tournament of the fall at Maridoe Collegiate.

Both their father and grandfather carried immense, but differing roles in the twins’ introduction, development and eventual success on the course.

In the twins’ eyes, their grandfather’s mental approach and advice has added an invaluable aspect to their game.

“A lot of people can hit a golf ball and hit it really well,” Pierceson said.

“It’s just how well you do when it counts, and that’s what (our grandfather) has really helped us with,

especially through college.”

The Masters champion added that with two professional level golfers like his grandsons, he almost wishes he could combine them into one.

“Pierceson has a tendency to be a little more aggressive than Parker, and Parker is a little more conservative,” Charles said. “I kind of wish we could blend the two together and get one.”

Charles highlighted the trend with many golfers today to swing from the tee as hard as they can, and the advice he gives his grandsons against that.

“Everybody is swinging from their heels trying to hit it as far as they possibly can,” Charles said. “And that’s good, but at some point you’ve got to think it’s a much easier game in the short grass than in the long grass behind those trees.”

Of course, having a Masters champion for your grandfather has its ups, but the twins’ father, Kyle, has had more of a direct influence on their golf game since day one.

Kyle has served as the twins’ caddy throughout much of their amateur careers and has been Pierceson and Parker’s main source of technical advice and support throughout the years.

“He’s not our full-time coach, but he really feels like a coach. If I ever have questions, I’m going to text him first or send him videos of my swing,” Pierceson said. “So our dad has been, by far, the biggest influence in our life and our golfing careers.”

With their father and grandfather behind them, both have their eyes set on the PGA Tour, which would only add to the Longhorns’ extensive resume of producing elite golfers at the professional level.

The sky’s the limit for two of Texas’ most electric golfers.

SPORTS

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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2021

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Here’s what to expect as Texas men’s basketball takes No. 1 Gonzaga

By Nicholas Pannes @nickpannes

This Saturday, No. 5 Texas travels to Spokane, Washington, to take on the No. 1 Gonzaga Bulldogs. The contest has serious implications for March Madness projections and will serve as a good test of both teams’ potential. Here’s a scouting report exploring what the Longhorns are going up against.

The coaching staff:

Gonzaga head coach Mark Few returns for his 22nd season at the helm with a trove of accolades under his belt. He is a two-time Naismith College Coach of the Year winner and the reigning recipient for the 2020-21 season. Few has reached the NCAA Tournament in every one of his 21 seasons thus far, and boasts the highest winning percentage for a coach with over 600 games (a staggering 0.834). The only thing left to consummate his career is a national championship title.

For the past couple years, Few maintained personnel continuity in his coaching staff, juggling a small set of assistants around to various positions. While Gonzaga’s on-court talent has changed, it’s safe to say they still have a championship-caliber sideline crew.

The frontcourt:

Despite losing three important players from last year’s roster, Gonzaga’s front court remains relatively unfazed. Center Oumar Ballo and forward Pavel Zakharov averaged a combined nine minutes of playtime per game and were relatively non-essential role players. Star forward Corey Kispert’s transition to the NBA, however, looked like a major issue for the Zags on paper.

Replacing a team second-best of 18.6 points per game, a team high of 31.8 minutes per game and a remarkable 44% shooting from three is a daunting task.

Fortunately for Gonzaga, a strong slate of new and returning talent looks like it could keep their frontcourt running at full tilt.

All-American forward Drew Timme looks to retain his spot as the team’s

copyright dylan smith of the gonzaga bulletin

leading scorer with his versatile skill set and high basketball IQ. A prolific scorer in both the low post and mid-range, Timme continues to improve his capabilities and show he can shine as both a role-player and a go-to scorer.

Freshman center Chet Holmgren showed great promise in his college debut against Dixie State. The 7-foot, 195-pound teen flexed his prodigal shot-blocking with seven rejections against the Trailblazers. He is unusually agile for his size and can shoot from practically anywhere on the floor. However, his lanky frame invites speculation as to whether he can sustain his dominance against more physical competition.

Anton Watson also looks to return as a solid role-player for the Zags. He’ll likely see a spike in playtime as Gonzaga finds

the best lineup to match last year’s frontcourt production. If he shows improvement over last season, he may even earn himself a starting spot on the roster.

The backcourt:

Gonzaga’s roster losses are a little more serious in the backcourt. Losing both Jalen Suggs and Joel Ayayi to professional basketball means the Zags dropped three of their top four scorers from last year.

Suggs’ electrifying freshman performance was crucial to their championship run.

The No. 5 NBA draft pick was the de facto leader of his team and a generational talent. A primetime scorer who doubled as an elite floor general, Suggs’ absence leaves a hole his former teammates now have to fill.

Ayayi, while not as talented as Suggs,

, and reproduced with permission

was almost equally important to Gonzaga’s success. He racked up 31.3 minutes per game as a solid scorer who could rebound and shot a consistent 39% from three in his final year.

Despite having his backcourt talent siphoned by the NBA, Few recouped his losses yet again with an impressive pair of recruits.

Point guard Nolan Hickman was the fifth-ranked recruit at his position. He plays with a fluid poise, emulating a Kyrie Irving-style scorer, and has decent court vision. Hunter Sallis is an athletic 6-foot5-inch, 175-pound versatile guard who could pose a serious all-around threat if he gains some weight.

Senior Andrew Nembhard’s return also stems Gonzaga’s bleeding and brings much-needed continuity to the backcourt.

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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

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2021

COMICS