The Daily Texan 2022-02-08

DT VOLUME 122, ISSUE 46 TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2022

student engineers to design food pantry Engineering capstone unites students with a project that will serve 5,000 East Texans.

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Engineering students began work to design a new food pantry for Rusk community.

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Students and alums share Longhorn love stories from the Forty Acres.

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Texas baseball returns with Alumni game, shows potential of Texas roster before season kicks off soon.

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UT should reimburse students who chose not to return to University housing during virtual learning.

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Contents:

City of Austin to upgrade lighting in West Campus

By Leila Saidane

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.

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The city of Austin announced a plan Jan. 27 to upgrade more than 400 streetlights in West Campus by the end of the year, in accordance with a 2017 resolution and in an effort to increase safety in the neighborhood.

West Campus has some of the densest housing concentrations in the city and a higher than average property crime rate, according to the resolution. SafeHorns, an organization dedicated to student safety, has been calling for improved lighting in the neighborhood since 2016, SafeHorns president Joell McNew said. “(West Campus) is close to the campus, it’s a walkable community (to get) to and from campus ... without necessarily needing a car,” McNew said.

“But the issue we have is, there’s never been any crime prevention through environmental design. … One element of that is obviously the lighting, but it’s looking at your environment and making sure that it is safe … so that you’re seen and can be seen.”

Along with upgrading 439 streetlights to LED lighting, repairing broken lights and trimming foliage that obstructs lighting, the city will increase APD patrols and organize regular visits by the City’s Homeless Outreach Street Team to West Campus, according to a city press release.

“Austin Energy and other city of Austin departments worked closely together to get a lot of the recommended actions completed,” said

Director Gerald Johnson Business/ Operations Manager Frank Serpas III Advertising Manager Emily Cohen Manager for Product and Revenue Strategy Are Marlies Arevalo Media Account Executive Chance Weick Design Tillie Policastro

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Few working street lights line Graham Pl. and Rio Grande St. The city of Austin plans to upgrade more than 400 streetlights in West Campus by end of the year.

Elton Richards, Austin Energy vice president of electric system field operations, in a press release. “We continue to work collaboratively to ensure that all West Campus concerns are identified, addressed and corrected.”

SafeHorns plans to meet with Austin Energy on Thursday to address areas of concern, such as adding temporary lighting in crime hotspots, McNew said. Students who want to share their safety concerns to SafeHorns and Austin Energy can contact SafeHorns on their website.

“We have always tried to focus on concerns that students have and then advocate and work through those,” McNew said. “The number one concern has always been lighting.”

According to a city press

release, the lighting improvement schedule will prioritize locations based on how dark the area is, previous crime locations, pedestrian crash history and the city’s lighting study results.

McNew said SafeHorns hopes to continue improving campus safety through community efforts, such as hosting a monthly Saturday service to pick up trash and clean graffiti.

Finance and economics junior Samantha Burg said she will feel safer walking home at night when more lighting is installed. “(Lights) would just make me more comfortable. … It makes us feel safer, because we can see our surroundings,” Burg said. “For me I feel safer if I walk during the day versus at night, especially being female.”

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OPINION

S A N I K A N AYA K

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Editor-In-Chief | @TEXANOPINION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2022

COLUMN

UT must adjust billing for students in University housing UT should reimburse students who chose not to return to University housing during virtual learning.

By Sruti Ramachandran Associate Editor

n Jan. 4, UT announced its plan for the spring semester: although classes would begin as planned, the first two weeks of the semester would be virtual. Students were asked to return slowly to campus to avoid a surge of COVID-19 cases. Despite this, UT has made no change in billing students living in University housing.

It is unreasonable to ask students to stay at home yet refuse to provide flexibility in billing to support them.

Students are forced to either pay for housing they are not using or risk their safety and come back to campus prematurely. UT must give some form of credit back to students who did not return to campus in January and not burden students with costs for unused resources.

Kennedy Greenleaf, a psychology and sociology freshman, expressed

frustration over paying for a dorm without using it.

“It’s really unfortunate to know that my money for my housing and dining services was kind of (going) to waste in (the) week that I wasn’t there, and there wasn’t really much I could do about it,” Greenleaf said.

COVID-19 cases at UT set records in January. Students had to pay for more and more time they were not necessarily using their housing — and that can add up quickly. Students pay for the resources University Housing and Dining provide, and students are not using those resources if they are staying home.

So what exactly are they being charged for?

Melissa Garland, associate director for occupancy management, spoke about UHD’s billing practices.

“Students can return whatever it’s best for their situation.

No, there’s not an adjustment if a student chooses to delay the return until later,” Garland said. “If a student needs to delay their arrival after the first day of class, and they’ve tested positive for COVID-19, we’ll

work with them on an adjustment to their housing.”

Garland went on to say billing would also be adjusted in the event that campus closed. If UHD can adjust their billing in the event a student cannot return because of a positive test, they can also do so to prevent positive tests. Even if they cannot adjust billing for the housing itself, they should give credit back in some form, such as dining dollars or through Bevo Pay. “It’s not the best thing when you’re having to be forced to be in a situation where classes are online and you

could just be spending your time at home, but you feel the need to come back because you’re paying for it,” Greenleaf said.

Students shouldn’t have to choose between saving money and risking their lives. After nearly two years of experience with the challenges the pandemic poses, it is high time UHD policies catch up to the times. If UT truly cares about student well-being, they will care for the costs they burden students with as well.

Ramachandran is a sophomore communication and leadership, sociology and Malayalam major from Austin, Texas.

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Life&Arts Editor | @TEXANARTS

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2022

STUDENT LIFE

LIFE&ARTS

Tat-Tuesday: Tattoo mishap turned good memory

Marilyn Howell talks tattoo misfortune and life-long memories.

By Kaiya Little @kaiyalittle

l o u c h e d against the seat of her car, Marilyn Howell said she re-

members the salty taste of tears cascading down her cheeks and onto her lips. Sobbing in the parking lot of a tattoo parlor in Spring, Texas, the sinking weight in her stomach stamped out the high of sneaking out against her parents’ wishes for a rendezvous with a special Friday the 13th tattoo deal.

Assessing the artist’s work with blurry, tear-filled vision, the public health freshman said the face of one of her favorite animated characters — now etched forever into the skin of her hip — sat with missing details, recognizable but obviously inaccurate.

“I didn’t realize that it was wrong until he brought me to

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the mirror,” Howell said. “I was just blown away.”

After meeting with some co-workers last August, Howell said the promise of a $20 tattoo and a brush with rebellion brought her to a local tattoo parlor. While Howell thought she would be playing it safe getting something small and easily hidden, shortly after being inked, panic set in when she noticed the tattoo looked nothing like the stencil.

“It’s just ironic because (my parents’) whole point was like, ‘What if it looks terrible?’” Howell said. “(And) the way I did it makes it like salt in the wound.”

No larger than her palm, Howell said she figured her

desired tattoo — a glass bottle containing the googly eyed flame, Calcifer, from the Studio Ghibli film “Howl’s Moving Castle” — would be a simple request with little room for error. Instead, once realized in ink, Howell said the tattoo lacked a distinct face, but she hesitated to speak up about it.

“Do your research. … It is not hard to find a legit tattoo artist that fits your preference and fits your style and price range,” Howell said. “Just do that and also be ready to spend money because when you’re in my position, you can’t really complain about a $20 tattoo.”

Despite the disappointment, Howell said she salvaged the

experience by using the tattoo as a reminder of a lesson learned and time well spent with the company of friends.

“I don’t associate a terrible memory with it,” Howell said.

“It was a good memory … just with a little bit of crying.”

With a semester’s worth of time under her belt since her first tattoo experience, Howell said she still admires the artistic value and diversity of tattoos and plans to get another after more preparation.

“I feel like there’s something really deep about the idea that (a tattoo is) stuck on you,” Howell said. “Which makes it even more important to think through … these sorts of things.”

reyona mitchell / the daily texan staff

LIFE&ARTS

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STUDENT LIFE

Longhorn love stories

By Sage Dunlap @SageDunlapp

For many Longhorns on the hunt for love, the sprawling Forty Acres can seem like a hopeless jungle of bad dates and Tinder catastrophes. However, for some lucky students, UT can be a great place for finding their perfect match. Student couples, past and present, share their Longhorn love stories with The Daily Texan.

1995 zoology alum Bryan Elvebak and Kristin Elvebak, a 1996 professional program in accounting alum

The week before classes in fall of 1991, an 18-year-old Kristin Elvebak unpacked her bags and settled into college in her cozy Carothers dorm. Eager to explore campus and reconnect with high school friends, she ventured to Jester with her roommate to visit an old friend named Todd.

“I lived four doors down from Todd,” Bryan said. “He had the room in the dorm that was where everybody hung out. I moseyed down there to see what was going on, and that’s where I met Kristin.”

Six months later, the now-married couple started dating.

“There was clearly some sort of connection,” Bryan said. “I don’t think either one of us would have predicted in September of that year that we would be married 30 years later.”

Today, the couple operates an orthodontics practice together in Dallas, with Bryan behind the braces and Kristin running finances. After being married for over 20 years, the couple said their shared drive and commitment to family brings them together every day.

“There’s really no reason for us to ever split up.

We’re just always happy together,” Kristin said.

Business freshman Guadalupe Tapia and finance sophomore Jason Paro

“We came from the same hometown, and I had no idea,” Paro said. “I heard through the grapevine that she was going to McCombs, so I reached out on Instagram to congratulate her.”

After their initial Instagram connection last summer, the pair — both from Lake Dallas, Texas — bonded over their shared aspirations in the business field. After a summer of flirting and exploring the Dallas museum scene, they made their relationship official at UT in August and shared their first Austin date at the Museum of Ice Cream pop-up.

“It was really fun,” Tapia said. “The ice cream was good, and there were a lot of places to take pictures.”

Bonded by similar humor and upbringings, the business-oriented couple said they try to make time for each other every day, even by accompanying each other in mundane tasks.

“Our workloads aren’t too (heavy) to the point where we have to say, ‘I can’t see you this week,’” Paro said. “We’ve been able to make time, even if it’s just doing our work in the same room … or going to the (Perry Casteñeda Library) together.”

sun. We both have strict parents, so for the first few months before we moved to UT, we were basically long distance even though we were 30 minutes away.”

Since arriving at UT in the fall, the couple said they enjoy making memories at iconic Austin spots on and off campus.

“The first week we came to UT, we went to Littlefield Fountain when it was really late at night,” Sunesh said. “We just laid there and talked about us, life and everything.”

Engineering freshman Nivin Sunesh and studio art freshman Stacy Nguyen

As high school seniors living in Dallas, Sunesh and Nguyen were thrilled to receive their acceptance letters from UT. After hearing the good news, they both joined online chat groups to meet fellow classmates — including the app Patio, where the pair sparked an immediate connection after Sunesh complimented Nguyen’s hair.

“We just clicked,” Nguyen said. “We could talk about literally everything under the

sylvia asuncion-crabb

/ the daily texan staff

ANNA CANIZALES

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News Editor | @THEDAILYTEXAN

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2022

UNIVERSITY

NEWS

Helping the Samaritans: UT engineering students design new facility for Rusk food pantry Engineering students began work to design a new food pantry for small East Texas community.

By Hannah Ortega @_hannahortega_

group of UT engineering students walked through a dark and deserted campus in the early morning hours of Feb. 2. Their bus would leave at 3 a.m. for Rusk, Texas, where they were to survey the site for a new food pantry they’d design themselves.

Once aboard the bus, the roughly three-and-a-half-hour drive to Rusk was mostly silent aside from a quick exchange of pleasantries and coffee and donuts the students’ professor provided. Most everyone fell asleep, but when they awoke they’d arrived at the Good Samaritan Food Pantry and Thrift Store, where staff greeted them with breakfast tacos.

Then the work began.

Designing a new facility for the Good Samaritan serves as a capstone project for 28 engineering students, each belonging to one of three degree plans: civil engineering, environmental engineering or architectural engineering. Each engineering undergraduate student must take a two-semester-long capstone course in order to navigate real-world problems with the tools they’ve learned.

Heidi Ross, engineering lecturer and capstone co-instructor, said this year is the first time the three majors and their respective capstone courses have come together for one project.

copyright kimberly barnet, and reproduced with permission

For civil engineering senior Olivia Toth, this project provides the unique experience of working with student engineers from other majors.

“I get to work with an environmental group, and they are going to take care of the wastewater treatment and

stuff like that,” Toth said. “The architectural engineers are in charge of the actual buildings and the aesthetics and the internal parts of the building. I just figure out the square footage of the building and exactly where it’s going to go, and they do

the rest of the building.”

Bob Gilbert, professor for the civil engineering capstone, said the Good Samaritan Food Pantry and Thrift Store first reached out for help designing a new location near the end of last semester.

NEWS

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2022

“I needed someone to do a rendering for us because we have an idea of what we wanted in our pantry … and we need to borrow money, but you can’t borrow money unless you have solid numbers and a tangible drawing for them to look at,” said Mona Burford, Good Samaritan public relations director and former president. “So I contacted my son, who actually works at UT. And then I get a call from him the next day and he says, ‘You’re not going to believe this, Mom.’” The Good Samaritan Food Pantry and Thrift Store has served the Rusk community for over 25 years in various locations, starting with a church closet. The Rusk population is a little over 4,000 people, but along with the additional people who drive in to use the pantry, Burford said the facility helps nearly 5,000 people a year.

Burford said food distribution currently operates out of a small warehouse, where families can get everything they need by driving through.

“We have volunteers that come in and they help us unload the (supply) truck,” Burford said. “The cars drive through and vehicles are loaded from both sides by volunteers with produce and boxes of food. The boxes of food weigh about 45 pounds, … and then on top of that we give them about 15 to 20 pounds of frozen meats. And then they get … whatever produce that comes in on the truck.”

While Burford said families love the drive-thru, their current facility is “substandard” and in need of an upgrade. The new food pantry location will include a resource area, medical office, training lab with computers, learning kitchen and new thrift store.

In designing a new facility, Gilbert said the engineering students have to ask themselves a variety of questions.

“You need to figure out, … where are you going to put the structures?”

Gilbert said. “How big are the structures going to be? How are you going to provide energy for the structures? How are you going to deal with wastewater from the structures? How are you going to configure the transportation system for the people who work there and for the people who are

copyright kimberly barnet, and reproduced with permission

coming in to get the food?”

Toth said she felt a mixture of excitement and intimidation during the trip to see the new food pantry location.

“Seeing the new site, it’s definitely daunting because it’s truly just dirt and trees,” Toth said. “And … it’s on a slant, which makes it easy for drainage but then difficult for actual development.

And the dirt isn’t ideal for a foundation or pavement, so we’re going to have to do some work regarding that.”

Though the task may seem daunting, Gilbert said each team in the capstone program consults with two engineering professionals, who mentor the group and help supervise their progress.

“So not only are these real projects, but the engineering that the students are doing is solid engineering, because we’re making sure that people who ac-

tually do this for a living are looking over their shoulders,” Gilbert said.

In addition to design help from UT students, the Good Samaritan received financial support for their new location from the Rusk community. One family donated $50,000 in honor of their late daughter, who loved the food pantry.

“She loved coming down here when she was alive, and she loved the camaraderie and she loved the volunteers here,” Burford said. “It felt like home to her. She didn’t need it, but she would come home with giant cabbages saying, ‘Look at this cabbage I got,’ and she’d be so proud of it.”

Toth said she felt touched by the hospitality of the food pantry volunteers. She said Burford and her colleagues decorated, set up and served the students barbecue for lunch when they came to survey the site.

“It just feels like a really tight-knit community,” Toth said. “Everybody knew each other, all the volunteers knew each other. So it was really cool to be invited into that and be a part of that for a day.”

Gilbert said his students’ main objective for the semester is creating a finalized design for the facility that the Good Samaritan can present to potential donors and submit for construction permits. Burford said she hopes to have concrete laid down at the new location in the fall.

“We teach what it means to be an engineer and how you have an obligation to serve the public,” Ross said. “We do these community service projects to really live up to our goals as civil engineers and show them that this is why we do what we do to make the community a better place.”

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2022

LIFE&ARTS

STUDENT LIFE

Fine Arts students reflect on impact of underfunding, out-of-pocket expenses, staff support

By Sebastian Barajas @texanarts

Hunched over a drawing of a delicately colored apple, pencil posed meticulously in hand, Sean O’Neill dove into a project for his studio art class.

After assessing his limited, self-supplied materials — five black pencils neatly wrapped with a rubber band and a brown canvas bag of colored pencils — the art history freshman said he was wrought with exasperation.

“It’s frustrating feeling invalidated,” O’Neill said. “You’re walking and seeing million dollar buildings being constructed, and some of my friends and I are struggling to afford some basic art supplies.”

As he sketched, O’Neill said he artistically articulated his frustration with the underfunding in the College of Fine Arts and the impact it has on the fine arts community. O’Neill said while UT spends millions on new sports facilities, art students like him face unmanageable out-of-pocket expenses,

and can’t afford the necessary supplies to succeed in their field.

Studio art sophomore Sophie Stoeger said egregious expenses for art supplies are a prevalent issue among students in the fine arts community that make school shopping incredibly taxing. “(My friend) spent $300 for just one class,” Stoeger said. “There (are) times when he can’t even afford food, and he’s spending that much on the materials for one class.”

Though frustrated by the often outrageous cost of being a fine arts student, O’Neill said he understands the complicated nature of the issue and feels grateful for the internal support from staff.

“I’ve seen my fine arts teachers do everything they can to help students, but I wish the University could lend more support,” O’Neill said.

Studio art lecturer Katy McCarthy said she sympathizes with the fine arts students’ disappointment but acknowledges the ubiquity of the problem, noting that many art departments across the country face underfunding. If more funds were allocated to the college, Professor McCarthy said she would want to see that money spent on more student support.

“I’m a big believer in more scholarships for students,” McCarthy said. “That feels really important to expand upon.”

Despite the circumstances, McCarthy said the professors within the College of Fine Arts do a wonderful job giving students as much support as possible.

“I have a super supportive program director,” McCarthy said.

“I’ve felt that she has done a great job supporting our classrooms.”

Stoeger said that despite the inconsistent funding, she loves her college, the eclectic environment and the supportive staff.

“As an art student, whenever I walk into the art building, I just feel so much care for my major,” Stoeger said. “I love being around other students in my major.”

While O’Neill said he has enjoyed his experience in the College of Fine Arts thus far, he wishes costly supply bills and out-of-pocket expenses for class necessities were a thing of the past.

“I feel lucky and proud to be a Longhorn,” O’Neill said. “But, if the university believes that what starts here can change the world, they can start by making sure fine arts is treated with the same respect as any other college.”

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Sean O’Neill illustrates his frustration with out-of-pocket fine arts expenses through a sketch of a half-eaten apple.

NEWS

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2022

RESEARCH

Flowing liquid on Mars most likely a bunch of rocks, according to UT study

By Kevin Vu @Kevin_Vu_

What was previously thought to be liquid water detected under Mars’ ice-covered south pole is most likely volcanic terrain, according to a study published Jan. 24 led by a researcher at UT. Scientists first thought they were looking at liquid water when they saw bright reflections under Mars’ southern polar cap in 2018. Since then, many scientists have debated whether or not they were actually looking at water, with UT researchers exploring a new possibility for the reflections in their study. The study found that the reflections match those of volcanic plains, which is a more plausible explanation due to Mars’ environmental conditions, said Cyril Grima, a research associate at the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics and co-researcher for the study.

“Mars is dry, … It’s kind of a frozen, dusty world,” Grima said. “Today, liquid water at the surface (of Mars) cannot

be sustained because of two reasons. The main reason is the pressure, (there’s) pretty little pressure on Mars, water would evaporate pretty fast. It also (has) very low temperatures, so at some latitudes, water could instead freeze rather than evaporate.”

Using known mapping data about Mars, Grima said the researchers used a model of the planet on the computer and covered it with imaginary ice sheets to see if other areas of the planet’s terrain would produce the bright reflections when covered with ice. When covered, the researchers found bright reflections similar to the ones found in 2018 under the polar cap all across the planet, meaning terrain underneath the ice caps is largely responsible for the reflection, not liquid water, he said.

Mars’ terrain likely reflects so brightly because of basalt, a volcanic rock found both on Earth and Mars, Grima said. He said previous studies showed that basalt, when rich and dense, can produce this reflective, bright radar.

Pierre Beck, an associate professor at the Université Grenoble Alpes and co-researcher for the study, said although their study found no liquid water on Mars right now, frozen water in the form of the polar ice caps shows that there has been flowing water in the past.

“If you want to get a taste of how much water this is, if you were to melt these two ice caps, you would have enough water to fill the Mediterranean Sea,” Beck said.

Grima said the question of liquid water on Mars is still an ongoing debate years later, especially after a different study was published the day after his, suggesting that minerals under the ice cap have water in them. Despite the two polarizing studies, Grima said he is excited to be able to contribute to this debate.

“This would have implications to understanding the volcanism of Mars,” Grima said. “Why did volcanic activity produce so much iron? It has implications to the far future of human exploration because this is a resource as well.”

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2022

SPORTS

MEN’S TENNIS

Texas men’s tennis falls to Baylor in first matchup since conference championship

By Matthew Caldwell @texansports

No. 9 Texas kicked off Big 12 play Monday night in a top-10 matchup with No. 2 Baylor. While the Longhorns hoped to bounce back from a conference championship loss to the Bears the last time the two teams met, they fell 6-1.

The doubles point has proven to be the deciding factor for No. 9 Texas. In the two previous matches the Longhorns have lost, the doubles point has gone to the opposition, with final scores of 3-4 versus No. 1 Florida and 3-4 versus No. 14 Arizona.

The Longhorns had hopes of securing the doubles point on Monday. After sophomore Siem Woldeab and freshman Pierre-Yves Bailly lost 6-4 at line 2 doubles, it was up to junior Chih Chi Huang and sophomore Micah Braswell to keep Texas’ chances to win the doubles point alive. The pair was unable to overcome a loss of serve earlier in the set, losing 7-5. Senior transfer Richard Ciamarra and redshirt sophomore Cleeve Harper,

the No. 13-ranked doubles team, were two points away from taking down the No. 18-ranked doubles team of Finn Bass and Sven Lah in a tiebreak before the set had to be marked as unfinished.

It would take wins in four of the six singles matches for Texas to come out on top. Ciamarra and Harper came out strong, winning their first sets. Unfortunately, they were the only two to do so.

Without sophomore Eliot Spizzirri, the singles lineup was forced to bump up one spot.

Hope of a win quickly faded as the Longhorns found themselves down in most singles matches. Harper,

Woldeab and Braswell all lost early, making a comeback impossible. With an overall score of 4-0 for Baylor, the remaining singles matches went on.

Ciamarra was one of a few bright spots for the Longhorns. After winning his doubles point alongside Harper, Ciamarra took it to Sven Lah of Baylor. Winning in straight sets, Ciamarra gave Texas its lone point of the match.

Freshman Pierre-Yves Bailly was another highlight for Texas. After losing the first set 6-4, Bailly fought back and took the second set off Matias Soto in a tiebreak. Even though he ultimately lost the third set tiebreak, Bailly fought with determination and fight.

Although the match didn’t go Texas’ way, the Longhorns were able to see how they matched up with one of the nation’s top teams and put up a fight in doubles.

The Longhorns were outmatched by the Bears tonight, losing 6-1. The teams will meet again April 1 at the Texas Tennis Center, with Spizzirri potentially returning to the lineup and giving the rest of the team slightly easier matchups.

The Longhorns have two more matches this weekend against Rice and No. 25 UCF before heading to Seattle for the ITA National Team Indoor Championship.

josh guenther

/ the daily texan file

Cleeve Harper loses in a tight match against Baylor as the team falls 6-1.

SPORTS

HANNAH WILLIFORD

11

Sports Editor | @TEXANSPORTS TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2022

BASEBALL

Longhorn fans get insight into competition at alum baseball game Texas baseball returns with Alumni game, shows potential of Texas roster.

By Jordan Mitchell @TheJordanKenzie

n hour before No. 1 Texas baseball played its alumni in the annual Alumni Game, facility workers chipped away at the hardened ice on the bleachers just before spectators were let through the gates at UFCU DischFalk Field. Despite the recent winter storm that had passed through Austin, the weather cleared just in time for fans to bundle up in blankets and welcome alumni back to the Forty Acres.

Historically, the Alumni Game is an opportunity for fans to interact with current and former Longhorn ballplayers as part of Texas’ annual Fan Appreciation Day, which includes autograph signings and photo opportunities with athletes. However, the game doubled as a source of insight into internal competition before the start of the season.

With redshirt junior Ivan Melendez moving out of his designated hitter role to first base, redshirt senior Murphy Stehly and sophomore Dylan Campbell started at designated hitter for Texas and Texas alumni, respectively. The competition between the two hitters quickly turned the game into an offensive power struggle, with the alumni eventually taking it 8-6.

“That competition is really healthy for us,” head coach David Pierce said. “It makes

me excited because now it gives us another option. (Campbell) is a young man that’s fighting to be an everyday starter.”

In Campbell’s start for the alumni team, the sophomore carried the old-timers and struck out only once in his five times at bat, hitting a homer in the second inning and recording a double, two singles and three RBIs on the night.

“Dylan Campbell (was) probably a bad trade by me because he had a great day,” Pierce said. “But we’ve always felt like he could get to the top of that order.”

For Texas, Stehly blasted sophomore pitcher Lucas Gordon’s fastball past center field for a statement home run in the third inning, putting the home team on the board.

While Stehly did not record any other statistical hits on the night, the California product sent out a sacrifice fly to bring redshirt sophomore catcher Silas Ardoin home in the fourth.

The alumni team featured the likes of 2021 draftees in Zach Zubia and Mike Antico, who were competitive in their return to the Forty Acres. The pair combined for two scores on the night and engaged in some trash talk with Tristan Stevens, former teammate and redshirt senior pitcher, after Zubia grounded out in the first inning.

Former Longhorn shortstop David Hamilton also showed out Saturday.

During his time at Texas, Hamilton was named to the All-Big 12 second team and was drafted in the eighth round of the MLB Draft in 2019. Hamilton recorded two hits and was involved in a double play that outed redshirt junior outfielder Eric Kennedy.

“They’re all young, and they’re either breaking through or getting started.

They’re in shape,” Pierce said.

Before the start of the game, second baseman Kody Clemens, first baseman Kacy Clemens and Roger Clemens, their father and former MLB pitcher, snapped a picture, recognizing the legacies in Texas baseball.

“It’s just good to see our guys,” Pierce said. “This is one special place.”

The New York Times Syndication Sales Corporation jonathan sherchand / the daily texan staff 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10018

Sophomore infielder Dylan Campbell makes his way around the bases after hitting a home run For Information Call: 1-800-972-3550 during the Alumni Game Feb. 5.

For Release Tuesday, February 15, 2022

Crossword ACROSS 1 Positive particles 8 Fending (off) 15 Brand X 16 Precipice of exposed bedrock 17 & 18 Emmywinning “Ugly Betty” actress 19 Festive French season 20 Goddess often depicted holding a staff of papyrus 21 Lunch with Skippy, briefly?

24 Tricky thing to get caught in 25 Nabokov’s longest novel 26 QB Newton who popularized dabbing 29 Ate away 31 Author of “An Inconvenient Truth” 33 Spelling of “BH90210”

34 Enlighten 38 Deeply regrets 39 65-Across justifiers, in a saying 40 Year, in ancient Rome 41 “The Queen’s Gambit” actress Taylor-Joy 42 Newswoman Paula 44 Remark further 45 Sondheim’s “___ the Woods” 46 Fellows 47 When viewed 50 ___-runner (bootlegger) 52 One calling you out, perhaps 53 Bunch of numbers for crunching 54 N.B.A.’s ___ Ming 55 Charge 56 Come over the top, in poker

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE C O P S D R A W C E R E G E E P A N T A N T L O S T H E M B E S O R T C L E A A D A P O K E E V I L D A N K

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7 Common bathroom device 8 Bulgaria’s capital 9 They always come 48 hours before Thanksgiving 10 Relating to a heart chamber 11 Some old tape players, briefly 12 Wrath 13 Here/there go-between 14 Transcript fig.

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28 Bit of Southwest topography

30 Share juicy gossip

32 2008 Clint Eastwood film “___ Torino”

35 Half of a double helix

36 Grammy-winning singer of “Little Things” 37 Chocolate treat on a stick 43 Rhyming descriptor for Obama

45 Groups fixing computer crashes, for short 46 Scar’s brother in “The Lion King” 48 Scot’s refusal

49 “Mama ___ Crazy,” 1984 hit by the Judds 51 Gloomy

59 “Superman” antagonist ___ Luthor

62 Dem.’s opposite

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Read about and comment on each puzzle: nytimes.com/wordplay.

B A R B R A D A LY

12

Comics Editor | @TEXANCOMICS TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2022

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