facebook.com/theutdmercury | @utdmercury
January 14, 2019
THE MERCURY | UTDMERCURY.COM
UREC addresses dress code petition
“Uneasy.” “Offensive.” “Unspeakable.”
Incident that led to outcry resulted from miscommunication, university officials say
Food service workers accuse Chartwells management of misconduct
T
he harassment, she said, be-
MEGAN ZEREZ Mercury Staff
ward her and other women at work.
gan gradually. When she first
The former student worker is one
started at the Chick-fil-A on
of five current and former Chartwells
campus, she noticed she seemed to at-
employees who allege managerial mis-
tract more attention from the manager.
conduct and workplace grievances. She
workers alleged verbal abuse, unfair
Other workers said the manager had a
said she was a target of sexual harass-
labor practices and sexual harass-
reputation of favoritism, and that he
ment by a Chartwells manager and
ment, came amid efforts by workers
preferred a particular type.
agreed to speak to The Mercury on the
Editor’s Note: The Mercury’s publication of a Dec. 3 report, in which former and current Chartwells
to form a union, with the support of
By 2017, she said, the manager
a local chapter of the United Food
would regularly make inappropriate
and Commercial Workers.
comments and suggestive gestures to-
condition of anonymity and only after her graduation on Dec. 19.
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NOAH WHITEHEAD | PHOTO EDITOR
A petition launched on Jan. 6 called for an end to a “fingertip length” shorts rule allegedly enforced in UREC facilities. ANNA SCHAEFFER Mercury Staff
Students launched an online petition last week criticizing an alleged decision by University Recreation to enforce a “fingertip length” shorts dress code in UREC facilities. UREC officials have since responded, stating the incident that sparked the petition resulted from a miscommunication. A Reddit post published on Jan. 6 claimed UREC had banned girls from wearing certain shorts in the gyms on campus, citing the enforcement of a “fingertip length” rule. Users then began to circulate the petition, entitled “Stop Enforcing the Finger-Tip Length Rule for Shorts at UTD's UREC,” which has since garnered over 150 signatures. UREC Director Tricia Losavio said the miscommunication stemmed from one student employee conflating UREC’s employee dress code — which requires employees, including student workers, to wear clean and appropriate shorts or pants — with the athletic wear standards for patrons using UREC facilities. “Somebody asked what the dress code policy was, not knowing they were different for the patrons and for the staff,” Losavio said. “That’s when it went off the rails. People were being told to leave or told they couldn’t work out in this, this and this, and once it got full circle to us, we did our own investigation. (The dress code) is for student staff when they’re at work, not for people who work out.” Chris McAlpine, UREC’s associate director of facility operations, said there was no policy change, contrary to what was discussed in the Reddit post, and said that UREC has no “fingertip length” policy. “Anyone’s welcome to wear whatever length athletic shorts they like, assuming they are an appropriate piece of clothing,” McAlpine said. “For the most part, if somebody complains about something being offensive or they’re offended by it, we ask that party to please come back with a change of clothes that is more appropriate. Losavio said she and McAlpine sent an email to all employees after the incident to clarify that UREC has no “fingertip” or “short-short” rule. The staff will meet in February to reiterate information to student and professional staff and resolve the miscommunication. “If you’re unsure, ask,” Losavio said. “We just want everybody to have a comfortable, safe and clean environment.”
ACADEMIC ADVISING: WHERE DO UTD STUDENTS STAND? Survey suggests most students across different programs have positive experiences with academic advisors MADISON YORK Mercury Staff
A quick search of the UTD’s Reddit page will yield several anecdotes from students detailing their struggles in finding an academic advisor who is willing to help them. Posts such as these tend to quickly gain traction on the site, prompting other users to share their own negative experiences with academic advising. However, a recent survey conducted by The Mercury suggests that the notion among students that advisors can’t or won’t help may not be accurate — and that most students, in fact, have positive experiences with their advisors. Just over 180 respondents — varying from freshmen to graduate students, across all UTD schools — reported whether they found their academic advisors useful or helpful and what main issues they had, if any, with their academic advising experience. Respondents also had the opportunity to write additional comments if they desired. 71 percent of respondents said they met with their advisor one to three times per year,
and when asked how useful their advisor was in their overall academic career, 82 percent of respondents said extremely, very, moderately or slightly useful. In contrast, only 18 percent said not useful at all. “ECS degree plans can be difficult to understand, and the advisors do the bare minimum to help students with any information they need or issues with their records,” one anonymous respondent said. “Actively making students aware of what resources they can use can resolve many common issues.” Stephanie Taylor, a biomedical engineering freshman, said while she found her degree plan to be organized, her biggest issue was being unable to see her advisor in person. “I haven’t actually met my advisor because every time I go to his office, he either isn’t available or they won’t allow us into the offices, which is really not helpful,” Taylor said. “But I have been in touch with him by email, and he gave a little bit of help, but as far as actually helping me with planning my schedule and
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PAGE 7
SAMANTHA LOPEZ | MERCURY STAFF
Freshman launches community Discord server Server initially designed for student gamers expands scope to encompass all aspects of student life EMAAN BANGASH News Editor
MADELINE AMBROSE | MERCURY STAFF
Students rebranded an existing Discord server as “CometLife” to better cater to the general student body.
Two students started a UTD student version of Discord, a popular chat server, to provide information about campus events and foster social interaction between incoming students. Business administration freshman Eric Aaberg initially started a Discord server for incoming freshmen in the summer of 2018. He was later joined by sociology sophomore Jack Greul to help manage and operate the server as it grew. Last month, Aaberg rebranded the server to “CometLife” and expanded its scope to include all UTD students.
Established in 2015, Discord is a voice and text chat app that was first designed for gamers to communicate with each other as they played, but the app has since expanded to other uses beyond gaming. Aaberg initially started an Instagram account for the class of 2022 to update users on campus events and giveaways. Additionally, the class had a GroupMe chat with over 200 followers, but Aaberg said the chat ran into problems when people’s phones began crashing because of too many notifications. “When there’s too many people in a GroupMe, it’s not that stable. The reason
→ SEE DISCORD,
Join the Chew Crew as they try authentic Brazilian food.
→ WATCH THE VIDEO
AND
SEE PAGE 4
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Jan. 14, 2019 | The Mercury
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THE MERCURY UTDMERCURY.COM Volume XXXVIV No. 36
NEWS
UTD PD Blotter
Editor-in-Chief Bhargav Arimilli
editor@utdmercury.com (972) 883-2294
Managing Editor Cindy Folefack managingeditor @utdmercury.com (972) 883-2287
Copy Editor Diego Alvarez
copyeditor@utdmercury.com
Graphics Editor Matt Strack
graphics@utdmercury.com
Photo Editor Noah Whitehead
photo@utdmercury.com
News Editor Emaan Bangash
news@utdmercury.com
Life & Arts Editor Ayoung Jo life@utdmercury.com
Web Editor Bharat Arimilli
web@utdmercury.com
Outreach Editor Carolina Alvarez
media@utdmercury.com
Opinion Editor Madison York opinioneditor@ utdmercury.com
Video Editor Ryan Magee
video@utdmercury.com
Contributors Madeline Ambrose Nikita Bantey Alesandra Bell EJ Chong Bianca Del Rio Samantha Lopez Chiamaka Mgboji Elizabeth Nguyen Anna Schaeffer Dev Thimmisetty Zuhair Zaidi Megan Zerez
Dec. 5 • A student reported the theft of her cellphone from the McDermott Library at 3:37 p.m.
A
Dec. 10 • A UTD student was assaulted by an unaffiliated person in the Phase 4 parking lot at 6:30 p.m.
B
Dec. 17 • A UTD student was arrested for the theft of a book, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia in the McDermott Library at 9:53 a.m. Dec. 18 • UTD police executed a search warrant in Canyon Creek Heights North and found a grinder with marijuana residue. A student was subsequently issued a citation for possession of drug paraphernalia at 12:10 p.m. Jan. 8 • Three unaffiliated individuals were escorted out of an on-campus apartment. One of the individuals was arrested on two Richardson warrants at 2:48 p.m.
E C C
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LEGEND VEHICULAR INCIDENT
THEFT
DRUGS & ALCOHOL OTHER MAP: UTD | COURTESY
Media Adviser Chad Thomas
chadthomas@utdallas.edu (972) 883-2286
Mailing Address 800 West Campbell Road, SU 24 Richardson, TX 75080-0688 Newsroom Student Union, Student Media Suite SU 1.601 The Mercury is published on Mondays, at two-week intervals during the long term of The University of Texas at Dallas, except holidays and exam periods, and once every four weeks during the summer term. Advertising is accepted by The Mercury on the basis that there is no discrimination by the advertiser in the offering of goods or services to any person, on any basis prohibited by applicable law. The publication of advertising in The Mercury does not constitute an endorsement of products or services by the newspaper, or the UTD administration. Opinions expressed in The Mercury are those of the editor, the editorial board or the writer of the article. They are not necessarily the view of the UTD administration, the Board of Regents or the Student Media Operating Board. The Mercury’s editors retain the right to refuse or edit any submission based on libel, malice, spelling, grammar and style, and violations of Section 54.23 (f ) (1-6) of UTD policy. Copyright © 2019, The University of Texas at Dallas. All articles, photographs and graphic assets, whether in print or online, may not be reproduced or republished in part or in whole without express written permission.
The Mercury is a proud member of both the Associated Collegiate Press and the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association.
A
B
D
Jan. 14, 2019 | The Mercury
3
NEWS
Students report raw, moldy food at on-campus eateries Richardson Health Department conducts inspections of Dining Hall West, iHOP Express to address numerous complaints EMAAN BANGASH News Editor
A series of posts on UTD’s subreddit featured pictures of moldy food and raw chicken allegedly found at various UTD dining establishments, beginning at the end of November. Jamie Lee Harris, a computer science sophomore, said he found a hot dog covered with mold in Dining Hall West the week after Thanksgiving break. “When I went up and handed the bun back to the workers, (one of them) said, ‘Yeah, that’s the third time today,’” Harris said. “He immediately went through and checked all the current bread they had out, but I’m guessing they brought out more bread that they hadn’t checked because I know there were multiple posts later.” Harris later created a thread on Reddit with an image of the moldy bun, which has since received over 170 upvotes, on Nov. 27. Harris said that same week, other individuals posted pictures of moldy buns they allegedly found in the Dining Hall. Computer science freshman John Martin said he was served undercooked chicken at the IHOP Express on Nov. 15. He later posted a photo of the inside of the chicken he was served on Reddit. “I was really fed up,” Martin said. “I took the picture, I sent it to my PA, I tried reaching out to some of the admins, and I haven’t really gotten a
response except from my PA who has about as much power in this as I do.” Chartwells, the UTD contractor that operates all food establishments on campus, said in an emailed statement to The Mercury that it was aware of the Reddit posts that were made. “The health and safety of our guests is always our top priority,” the statement said. “While we cannot confirm if the images associated with the post originated at our location, as a matter of caution, our Quality Assurance team has been engaged to thoroughly and swiftly investigate this matter and ensure that our high-quality assurance standards are continuously upheld at UT Dallas.” According to records in a database maintained by the City of Richardson’s Health Department, the last health inspection at Dining Hall West was conducted on July 19, and the facility received a score of 91 out of 100. iHOP Express’s last health inspection was conducted on August 30, and it received a score of 95 out of 100. Bill Alsup, the City of Richardson’s director of health, said the Health Department follows the Texas Food Establishment rules as part of the Texas Department of State Health Services, which cover issues such as food temperatures, storage temperatures, hygiene, personal sanitation and equipment sanitation. Alsup said the department generally conducts unannounced inspections twice a year
at every restaurant or store within the Richardson area. “We show up, we contact the manager and let them know we’re there so they’re not scared of people coming into their kitchens and all,” Alsup said. “We start walking through the facilities, food prep, dishwash, cold storage, dry storage, looking and poking with thermometers in hand.” Janice Tower, an environmental health manager, said health inspections involve a point system, with the most serious violations involving greater point deductions. Alsup said the Health Department received six to eight phone calls from individuals with complaints regarding food quality at UTD food establishments. He said most of the calls were about the same incidents and pictures found on the Reddit page. “We started getting calls from people that hadn’t even been to the stores or been to the restaurants, so they called in to complain,” Alsup said. “They weren’t the ‘victims’ for receiving the food — it was just stuff they’d seen, and they were reporting on it.” Alsup said an inspector from the health department conducted two complaint inspections on Nov. 29 in response to the incidents, two days after the initial Reddit posts were made. He said complaint inspections differ from normal, routine inspections in
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REDDIT | COURTESY
Students posted images on Reddit of what they allege to be undercooked chicken found at iHOP Express and moldy bread buns found at Dining Hall West.
Pub to feature gaming lounge Game consoles, TV screens installed to enable student gamers to socialize
NOAH WHITEHEAD | PHOTO EDITOR
Ongoing construction in the area near Lot U and the soccer fields will bring upgaded facilities such as restrooms, offices and a patio.
New patio, offices coming to Lot U Restrooms, concession stands undergoing upgrades for future building expansions in summer 2019
NOAH WHITEHEAD | PHOTO EDITOR
The new gaming cafe in The Pub features access to Xbox One and Playstation 4 consoles for students to play free of charge. ZUHAIR ZAIDI
DEV THIMMISETTY Mercury Staff
The concession stands and restrooms near the soccer fields and Lot U are undergoing renovations to create a new building with more expansive and updated facilities that is expected to be completed by the end of the summer. The renovation project is part of a deal between UTD and the Lake Highlands Girls Classic League, which uses the fields for their season games that run from August to February. Both parties are funding the construction project, said Doug Tomlinson, the assistant vice president for engineering and construction at UTD. The initial restroom building was constructed in 2000 and the concession stand was added in 2003. Since then, other than various repairs, there have been no major renovations to either structures. Multiple student complaints regarding the quality and quantity of the restrooms contributed to the push to renovate the building, Tomlinson said.
“The restrooms predominantly were in (poor shape) — there weren’t enough of them,” Tomlinson said. “They were old and needed to be updated. We’re replacing what was there with much bigger ones.” Instead of the previous total of six fixtures — including urinals and stalls — in the old complex restrooms, the new building will have a combined total of 25 fixtures in the men’s and women’s restrooms. Furthermore, the new building will also have an expanded patio area and office spaces for the soccer department, in addition to a renovated concession stand. At the moment, the restroom-concession stand complex is the only toilet area located near the fields other than the Activity Center and the portable toilets. Tomlinson said the more remote Lot U should now have better access to superior restroom facilities. “It’s going to be a wow factor,” he said. “These are phenomenal restrooms.” Tomlinson said another issue with the complex that needed to be fixed
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we felt that could happen with the surge of interest on campus.” Prior to the creation of the cafe, noncompetitive gaming areas on campus Citing a surge of interest in esports along with the creation of a dedicated were limited to the ones located on the esports team earlier last year, the Stu- ground floor of the Student Union and Student Services Addident Union and UTD Dining Services teamed tion. These locations Having places up to create a gaming were either limited to to get away cafe in The Pub. allowing three or four Dan Goodwin, digamers to play at any form studying given moment or rerector of the Student and classes is Union, said the initiative quired students to prowas in direct response really important vide their own gaming to students pushing for equipment to be able to to me to be more gaming outlets on make use of the space. able to balance campus. The creation With the new gaming of the gaming cafe will cafe in The Pub, there between work offer students an area will be eight new gaming and play... to exhibit their gaming areas that will allow for skills and socialize with three or four students to — Safi Khan, play at each gaming area others, he said. “We really wanted biology senior at the same time, at no students to have that cost. Four of the eight communal place with stations will sport an a good vibe for students to hopefully Xbox One while the other four will have enjoy themselves,” Goodwin said. “We a PlayStation 4, each with its own set of want to continually cultivate healthy re- pre-loaded games. Students will be able lationships within students and having to play with their own personal gaming a gaming cafe was really one of the ways profiles on the consoles but are required Mercury Staff
to bring personal headsets to minimize disturbance for other Pub patrons. The gaming cafe will be open in time for the start of the spring 2019 semester and will be available for use between 4 and 9 p.m. from Monday through Thursday. A staff member will be onsite to provide students with materials and manage the stations. The gaming cafe space can also be rented by campus groups. Biology senior Safi Khan said the introduction of a cafe in The Pub will be a great addition to the student experience at UTD. “Having places to get away from studying and classes is really important to me to be able to balance between work and play easily,” Khan said. Director of Food and Retail Carrie Chutes-Charley said additions like the gaming cafe are the product of student engagement and participation in what they would like to see on campus. “Our goal in Dining (Services) is really to foster growth and build community within students,” Chutes said. “This idea was really a win-win situation in that it both provides a student with a place to enjoy their food with entertainment in a nice atmosphere.”
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LIFE&ARTS
Jan. 14, 2019 | The Mercury
Long banjo breaks into Dallas folk scene Student musician releases EP MEGAN ZEREZ Mercury Staff
By day, Justin Mills works with numbers as a mathematics senior at UTD. But some nights, he trades the calculator for an extra-long banjo and takes the stage as one-man folk outfit, Levees. With the help of fellow mathematics senior Molly Harras, Mills’ unofficial manager and girlfriend, Levees has been producing music since the summer of 2018. Prior to that, Mills performed under other stage names. The two met in 2015 during their freshman year at UTD. Harras said it was the banjo that brought them together. “Our PA learned that we both played
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Mathematics senior Justin Mills, who performs under the name “Levees,” recently released an EP in December. He started producing music during the summer of 2018. NOAH WHITEHEAD | PHOTO EDITOR
bRaZiLiAn fOoD COMET MARKETING | COURTESY
The Comet Marketing team started last school year with an initial goal of promoting Honors College programming.
Students provide free campus marketing through new club RYAN MAGEE | MERCURY STAFF
EMAAN BANGASH Mercury Staff
My knowledge of South American cuisine is, unfortunately, quite limited and mostly consists of what I’ve seen in pop culture and other forms of media. However, when I was approached by former Mercury staff member and friend Madeleine Keith about trying Brazilian food, I found I had much more to learn than I thought. As a result of Portugal colonizing what is now Brazil during the 16th century, Brazilian cuisine isn’t very easily definable. Perhaps more accurately, it’s an amalgamation of several different cuisines including European, Mediterranean, Asian and African. In Brazil, dishes mostly include staple ingredients such as rice, beans and meat such as beef or chicken. However, there are some unique features to Brazilian cuisine such as tapioca flour, acai berries and guarana, a fruit used to make a popular soft drink that carries same name. This time, we tried pao de queijo, a type of cheesy bread, delicious bon-bons called Sonho de Valsa and the fruity, caffeinated soda called Guarana. To get the most authentic Brazilian experience, Keith took me to a store called
Kiosk Brazil at the intersection of Alma and Parker Road. Kiosk Brazil is a familyowned business and was opened in June 2012 after other Brazilian stores in the area started shutting down. Bruna DeSouza, one of the workers at Kiosk Brazil, told us people from all over Texas and even visitors from Louisiana and Arkansas travel to the store to get their favorite Brazilian food and drinks. The store didn’t look anything different from some of the Pakistani and Indian stores in my area. It was packed with items such as Brazilian coffee, cheese, sodas and spices. There were cases and large bottles of Guarana. The checkout area was stocked with different snacks — including pao de queijo, the cheesy bread — in heated display cases. Pao de queijo was not what I expected at first bite. It was a little ball of dough the size of a brussels sprout and was very dense and heavy. From what Keith described at first, I was expecting some sort of bread filled with soft cheese on the inside. However, the whole piece of bread had an overall cheesy flavor and the inside was incredibly doughy and chewy. Though pao de queijo wasn’t like anything I’d ever tried, there’s something so addictive about cheesy bread in general. I found
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PAGE 5
AYOUNG JO
Life & Arts Editor
A group of students came together to launch an organization dedicated to helping other student groups on campus better market themselves to the UTD community.
Comet Marketing provides services such as making posters and flyers, creating promotional videos and assisting with photography-related needs to campus organizations.
The idea for Comet Marketing surfaced last year with the aim of promoting the Hobson Wildenthal Honors College, said physics senior Benjamin Rubanov, founder and president of the eight-member group. “When we came back this year, I contacted the people who were on the team, and I said, ‘Guys, let’s make something happen out of this, let’s make it real.’ And it just started taking off,” Rubanov said. “We’ve got weekly meetings, and we’ve got eight people on the team who are working around the clock.” Biomedical engineering sophomore and Comet Marketing Vice President Emma Henderson said the group decided to expand its services to the entire university instead of just the Honors College. “There’s obviously things we can market (for the Honors College), but it’s not the breadth of the entire university,” Hen-
derson said. “We market for student organizations and that’s our main focus, but the Honors College has supported us so much and we appreciate that, so we love to market for them and take photos at events and things like that.” Comet Marketing’s most recent project involved helping UTD Tri Sci Professions with its Cultural Expo Event. The team published flyers along with taking photos at the event. “They did a great job. They definitely took a lot of pressure off of us, so we could focus on the event itself instead of focusing on other details,” said neuroscience senior Justin John, president of Tri Sci Professions. “Their help got the word out there a lot better than if it was just us doing it.” Each project that Comet Marketing undertakes involves several meetings between themselves and their clients. Depending on the scale of the project, the process takes anywhere from a week to several weeks. “After discussing it with our team, we develop a proposal of things that we can do in the due dates that we are able to abide by,” Rubanov said. “We go back to the client, who then says ‘Okay, that sounds good.’ Then we get to work, work, work, to make sure the best content goes out. And in the end, we always try to get as much feedback as possible.” Although the eight current members of
Comet Marketing share the goal of working to market other organizations, they all have varying backgrounds and roles in the team. None of the members are majoring in business-related fields, but Rubanov said anyone pursuing any major is encouraged to join. “The team has such a collaborative nature that most of these roles are loosely defined for now,” Rubanov said. “I think as we grow, we definitely want to more acutely define these roles, but now, it’s a little bit free-flow and a little bit defined, and it’s working really well.” The team receives its budget from the SOC for software and equipment needed to support its marketing projects, but it provides services to other campus organizations completely free of charge. “We are all learning skills that are all going to make us better in the future, in our professions,” Henderson said. Rubanov said his vision for the team is to have a dedicated office, where people can come and ask for help on their marketing needs. “I think we’re filling a hole in the university that hasn’t been filled before, and I’m pretty excited about it,” Rubanov said. “We’ll grow our website, we’ll grow our social medias, we’ll create recruitment cycles, we’ll know how to interview people and what questions to ask. Growth, growth, growth.”
Jan. 14, 2019 | The Mercury
5
LIFE&ARTS
ELISA CANO | COURTESY
Elisa Cano and Arturo Garcia teach dance in the style of bachata, a genre that originated in the Dominican Republic, to members of the student group Stop Pretending You Can't Dance every Wednesday night.
Local performers spice up UTD dance group ANNA SCHAEFFER Mercury Staff
“Spiced” can describe a lot of things: a dish, a drink or even the Wednesday night Latin dance classes at UTD hosted by Stop Pretending You Can’t Dance, a student group that promotes various music and dance genres including the widely popular bachata style. Two dance instructors and performers, who launched and run a local dance studio, partnered with SPYCD to teach bachata, which originated in the Dominican Republic, at UTD. Though bachata has its roots in the Caribbean, dancers today practice the rhythmic style worldwide. Elisa Cano and Arturo Garcia — the two dance instructors who teach bachata at UTD — met nearly nine years ago at a concert and said they didn’t know how to dance back then but were drawn in by the rhythm of the music. After
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myself ordering second and third plates of the bread, much to the amusement of Keith and DeSouza.
Guarana is a beloved drink to many Brazilians and contains a surprisingly large amount of caffeine. A can of Guarana contains double the caffeine compared to a cup of coffee, which is why the fruit the soda is inspired from is often used as an ingredient in energy drinks. It tasted like a much smoother and less intense version of Fanta — almost like someone mixed half a can of ginger ale and Fanta into a cup. So-
becoming dance partners, they makes them so great.” decided to dance full-time and Nguyen began taking classes open their own dance company, at the performers’ dance studio Ritmo Sensual Dance Compa- before inviting them to teach at UTD in the fall of 2017. Cano ny, or “Sensual Rhythm.” and GarSPYCD President cia taught and healthbachata The dance is more for two care studrelaxed...and you can s e m e s t ers ies senior make it meaningful and salsa Michael during anNguyen and pretty, or calm said he first other and and cool. took notice said they of Cano have been — Andres Uriegas, s u r p r i s e d and Garcia computer science junior at the moat a performance tivation of because of students. their unique and appealing ap“Usually we work with adults, and it was our first time proach to bachata. “At Stratos Greek Taverna, with younger people, so for one of the performing groups both of us it was a great experiwas Arturo and Elisa, and I re- ence,” Cano said. “A highlight ally liked the technique of their is that the energy is completely dance,” Nguyen said. “They different — the energy everyhave extensive background in one has is great. It’s fun for us ballroom which they incorpo- — that’s why we really like it rate into their bachata, which and continue with it.”
das like Coca-Cola and Pepsi can taste extremely strong when you first sip them, but Guarana was the exact opposite: flavorful yet simple and mildly sweet. Lastly, we had the Sonho de Valsa, which is a large, decadent bon-bon filled with cashew nut filling that happens to be one of Brazil’s most popular chocolates. The filling reminded me of a Ferrero Rocher chocolate, and the combination of flavors between cashew and chocolate was an unexpected but pleasant experience. DeSouza told me that during Easter, they would fill large hollow eggs with Sonho de Valsas as a treat. I could see myself eating tons of them, and the size and am-
ple filling made them much more satisfying to eat than any regular truffle I’ve had. For me, it’s very comforting to have access to stores in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex that cater to my own culture, so I understand why the family running Kiosk Brazil wanted to open a store like this. The Brazilian cuisine I sampled had both familiar and new flavors in its food and drink, and I can see myself going back and trying more of the foods like pao de queijo. It was amazing to be able to experience an entirely different culture through its cuisine at a place that’s only five minutes away from where I live.
Nguyen said he thought the duo would make excellent instructors when he first invited and that a year later, they’ve lived up to that expectation. “They are beginner-friendly, communicative, welcoming and have an atmosphere (that is) great for college students who are totally new to dancing,” Nguyen said. “They are approachable and talk to everyone, and they taught in a way that got beginners to understand the concept and the movement really quickly.” Cano said that she and Garcia work full-time training and teaching dance, but they used to have Wednesdays as their only day off. “Michael contacted us about teaching on Wednesdays and was really nice, and we said, ‘Okay, let’s try one semester,’” Cano said. “We don’t have any days off now, but we really, really like teaching.” Computer science junior
Andres Uriegas, SPYCD’s historian for the spring 2018 semester, started dancing with the group at the beginning of his freshman year. He said he loved classic bachata-style music since he first heard it on his favorite Latin radio station, so learning its characteristic dance was special for him. “The dance is more relaxed, not quite as upbeat as swing dancing or salsa, and you can make it meaningful and pretty, or calm and cool,” Uriegas said. Garcia and Cano taught Uriegas more steps throughout the year, and he said he grew more comfortable every week. The two teachers invited their class to their dance studio lessons for further dance classes and encouraged dancers to attend the Dallas Bachata Festival. Uriegas and several other SPYCD members attended the event in November 2018 to dance and socialize. “My first year was pretty
rough because I wasn’t confident and only knew a basic step and two turns, but I’ve learned a lot this semester,” Uriegas said. Uriegas said Cano and Garcia are quick to notice what their dancers need. “A lot of the time people are a little afraid to speak up about a problem they have, but as teachers they won’t move on until they’ve helped everyone in the class,” Uriegas said. “They even notice the people who might be anxious to speak up.” The dance partners also host social nights — Sensual Socials — every first Saturday of the month and are currently working on a new website, clothing line and studio space. “When you are passionate for something, if you work hard for it you can get anywhere,” Cano said. “If you are disciplined and persistent, it doesn’t matter what you do as long as you have passion.”
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COMICS
Jan. 14, 2019 | The Mercury
THIS IS HOW I SEE TALL PEOPLE
PACKING LIGHTLY
CHIAMAKA MGBOJI | MERCURY STAFF
UTD TURNS 50 THIS YEAR
EUNJEE CHONG | MERCURY STAFF
RYAN MAGEE | MERCURY STAFF
CARLZ SAYS
I’LL WORRY ABOUT IT NEXT YEAR
CAROLINA ALVAREZ | MERCURY STAFF
HOLIDAY HYJINKS
BIANCA DEL RIO | MERCURY STAFF
ACTIVITY
ELIZABETH NYUGEN | MERCURY STAFF
I COUNT GET ENOUGH OF YOU
CHIAMAKA MGBOJI | MERCURY STAFF
MATT STRACK | GRAPHICS EDITOR
Jan. 14, 2019 | The Mercury
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NEWS
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stuff like that I’ve gotten very little responses from him.” Taylor said despite having to wait up to week for an email response and visiting the advising office four times without getting to see her advisor, she had a better experience when allowed to see an advisor who wasn’t originally assigned to her. “She was actually able to put me into the class I was having trouble with getting into, so she was actually really helpful,” Taylor said. “She got me in and out in ten minutes, which was really nice, because my advisor hadn’t done that too much.” While 32 percent of respondents on the survey said they had no issues with their academic advisors, 22 percent said their main concern was unhelpful academic advice, 21 percent said difficulty communicating and 15 percent said their advisors weren’t frequently available. One JSOM student noted there seemed to be no consistency in the academic advice received. “I would...get entirely different answers from different advising staff regarding my academic path,” the student said. “It seemed that just depending on the day and the person, the requirements I needed to meet to graduate were different. There appeared to be virtually no coordination
in communication among different advising staff.” Laura Krietemeyer, a JSOM advisor, said one of the disadvantages of having non-assigned advisors is that students with specific issues may not be able to get with the advisor they had previously, having instead to revisit the whole problem with a different advisor. “I understand where the students are coming from, and I get that in a lot of responses from them,” Krietemeyer said. “That is due to just that the student’s needs are changing, the requirements out in the real world are changing and so therefore we have to change the degree plans (and) the requirements to accommodate what future employers are seeking.” Krietemeyer said problems tend to arise when many students schedule appointments during certain times of year, such as November. The largest of UTD’s eight schools, JSOM has a queue system that allows for 50 appointments per day. Krietemeyer said JSOM advisors do their best to accommodate additional students if possible. “It does become a challenge, especially during our peak registration, and I know that’s the time where our students need us the most,” Krietemeyer said. “And so, it does pose a challenge for them
to get in to see an advisor.” Academic advising officials from BBS, ECS and NSM declined to comment on the survey results. Officials from A&H, ATEC and EPPS were unable to comment prior to publication. Taylor said while she has a friend in the same degree program who’s experienced similar advising problems, she has also heard of positive advising experiences. “I do have a friend who’s in NSM, and she has had a wonderful experience with her advisor,” Taylor said. “She really loved her advisor, and she says he’s super helpful and is very knowledgeable and really knows what he’s doing.” Other students also highlighted their positive experiences. One ECS student said they appreciated how their advisor goes above and beyond to help. Another A&H student said their advisors are nice, knowledgeable and reliable. Still, others offered up some suggestions on how to improve. “The ability of the advisors to help us depends heavily on our ability to ask the right questions,” one anonymous respondent said. “If you don’t know that you should be asking a question, then you’re left hanging in the air until a problem comes up. The advising office should use a more proactive strategy.”
NOAH WHITEHEAD | PHOTO EDITOR
Mathematics senior Molly Harras manages folk artist Justin Mills, who performs on his banjo under the name Levees.
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banjo and encouraged us to meet,” Harras said. “It was my roommate who finally brought Justin over.” Harras said she’s been able to live out her “banjo dreams” through Mills. Alongside Harras’ banjo, it’s easy to see why Mills refers to his Deering Long Neck as “ridiculously long.” The bodies are the same, but Mills’ banjo boasts about an extra foot of fingerboard. “If I swung around really fast without looking, I might take someone out,” he said. Yet in Mills’ hands, the large instrument seems to fit perfectly, nestling comfortably against his chest. The long-necked banjo has a range that is more closely suited to the male vocal reach. Legendary American folk singer Pete Seeger was rumored to have commissioned the first longnecked banjo shortly before being deployed during World War II. Instead of the G-tuning of a standard banjo, Seeger’s banjo was tuned down a minor third to E. Mills said he was initially leery of the banjo for its “oldtimey” reputation. “A lot of people say they can’t stand the banjo,” Mills said. “But I’ve had people come up to me and say, ‘I usually don’t like the banjo, but I like what you’re doing.’” Mills said he approaches his music like he’s telling a story. There’s a whole universe of “slightly broken people” wandering around in his lyrics. On Levee’s newest EP, “The King of Lean Cuisine,” Mills taps into this talent. On the titular track, he is transformed into an off-the-clock grocery store cashier who dumpster dives for TV dinners. In “Candles,” he’s a stunned kid in a gas station watching in morbid fascination as a friend bleeds out after an attempted robbery. “I had someone come up to me at my last show and ask me if it was real,” Mills said. “I just laughed.”
Most of the time, Mills’ voice is strong and clear, a refreshing foil to the lilt of his banjo. But every so often, there is a note of desperation in his youthful confidence. Occasionally, Mills ornaments his voice with little trills. For Mills, there exists no barrier between his own memories and someone else’s. In the song “False Memories,” Mills utilizes his storytelling talents to unmask his own childhood. “There are images that I could summon that feel like memories. They’re bright and blurry and feel like memories. But I know they didn’t happen,” Mills said. “They’re so immutable to my image of childhood (in DeSoto) – I’m like, ‘Ah!’ That definitely could have happened to me.” Mills said he has a phantom memory of biking the length of one of the pylon trails that snake through the metroplex. In Richardson, there’s a similar trail that runs along Meandering Way. “I know I never did that,” Mills said. “But there it is, vivid as ever.” Mills said his sound is still evolving. He takes cues from lyric-rich groups like AJJ, formerly Andrew Jackson Jihad, and The Mountain Goats, but already, Mills has managed to incorporate a substantial amount of his own background into his music. Part of the growth of his sound comes from the name. Mills has had several names in his years playing music, but after releasing his “Salt Water River” album, he felt it was time for a change. “It was something like ‘Bear Fist’ or ‘Bear Gun.’ Just like, somebody could be so cool with this band name, but it would not be me,” Mills said. “I’m a fake punk all the way.” Mills and Harras eventually settled on Levees. It’s a local reference to the levees that hold back the Trinity River floodplain near Mills’ hometown of DeSoto, a
suburb in South Dallas. “If you go to the levees on the southern side of Dallas along the river, it’s the best place to see the skyline,” Mills said. “That’s where I’ve had some of the most memorable experiences. It’s floodplain culture.” In “Salt Water River,” the listener finds their way through a sweeping soundscape. Sometimes, it’s watching the landscape change from the open door of a boxcar or running barefoot on hard-packed dirt. Dallas is a city built on a crossroads. Even in Richardson, the distant roar of a freight train can sometimes be heard, passing through the night. To some, Mills said, it’s like a siren song. “It’s this intoxicating taunt that I think some people have and some people don’t,” Mills said. “There’s this urge to just drop everything, get on the nearest vehicle and leave.” Harras and Mills both said while they’ve both felt that urge to leave, the feeling seems to have mostly passed. Harras said the looming transition from school to a nine-tofive job has been on their minds the past few months. Levees will continue to live on as a side project. Mills said they plan to maintain financial security before jumping in headfirst. For him, listening to a lot of older musicians has helped to put things in perspective. “I feel like I have a lot more time than I did a couple years ago,” Mills said. “I was like, ‘In two years, I gotta be on this music thing, or my whole life is going to be ruined and I’ll be throwing away my dreams to corporate America.’ But that’s just not how it works anymore.” Both Harras and Mills will graduate this May and expect to accept jobs as data analysts for the same oil and gas company. In Dallas, the Trinity River floods may come and go, but with any luck, Levees, like its namesake, will be around for a while.
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“For the girls who work there, it really becomes uncomfortable at times — the way he acts, the way he speaks,” she said. From there, she said, things only got worse. “A few months ago, I had to go to him (because) I thought that (I) had exceeded hours,” she said. “It’s my graduation semester and I don’t want any problems.” The former student worker is the holder of an F-1 visa. Legally, she cannot work more than 20 hours a week, and without special authorization, she may not work off campus. “He checked and said, yes, they had been exceeded, but that ‘for the right cost,’ he would rectify it,” she said. “Then, he said something unspeakable.” In a phone interview, she said she could not bring herself to repeat aloud what he said to her. “It was the maximum, the most offensive demand that can be said to a girl,” she said. The former student worker said that she didn’t feel safe reporting the incident for fear of jeopardizing her current and future job prospects. “The day after, I had to go to work. He didn’t say anything (out of the ordinary) but I felt so uneasy,” she said. “He was in front of me, talking, as if nothing had happened.” The manager also followed her on social media. She said he would send her lewd messages in response to her Instagram stories. The Mercury confirmed that her former manager continues to follow her on Instagram, along with a number of other current and former student workers. Most of the accounts belong to young women. A Chartwells official confirmed the manager, named by numerous current and former employees as the perpetrator in this and other alleged cases of sexual harassment, is no longer an employee, as of late December. The former student worker said she was unaware of the change in employment and that the former manager continues to harass her on social media. A Chartwells representative on campus did not respond to a request for comment on this report. A spokesperson for Chartwells’ corporate office declined to comment after The Mercury cited its policy of not submitting interview questions in advance. *** Neha Kalra, an information technology and management graduate student and former employee at the Chick-fil-A on campus, said the former manager had a reputation of favoritism when it came to hiring and assigning duties. “If a girl isn’t good looking, then he’ll just reject them (for a job),” Kalra said. “This is the thing I don’t like about (him) — this is not how you judge people.” The manager hired Kalra at the beginning of the spring 2018 semester. She applied for the job with two of her male friends. Kalra said despite similar qualifications between the three, only she was hired. “I’m not saying that he gives jobs only to girls, but he gives jobs only to (people he thinks) are good looking,” Kalra said. Kalra said most of her coworkers at Chick-fil-A were women. In assigning duties, the manager would often put female workers at the counter and male workers in the back, she said. She also said there were times when she noticed the manager verbally abusing certain employees, but she didn’t know why exactly. She said he would allow employees to occasionally take home free food, but for some, certain foods were off limits. “When he saw that (a new em-
ployee had taken a milkshake), he was so angry with her,” Kalra said. “There was a dustbin there and he took it and threw it. But for me, I was able to do everything I wanted.” Kalra said the former manager followed her on Instagram. She said other than observing mistreatment and favoritism in the workplace, she herself didn’t have a problem with the manager. At Dining Hall West, a current student worker said she often saw international students were overlooked for the less physically demanding job of cashier. She said she would prefer to remain anonymous for fear of losing her job. “All of us got recruited as food service worker-cashiers, but not many of us (international students) get to do the cashier (part of the) job,” she said. “(Managers) prefer the U.S. students for that.” *** Another former student worker interviewed in the Dec. 3 report said his supervisors at Chartwells’ Starbucks location stopped granting him the required approval needed to clock in. As a result, initially he did not receive pay. Two current Chartwells employees independently confirmed they still have difficulty clocking in and clocking out in a timely manner. For student workers on an F-1 visa, failure to clock in and out at scheduled times could result in more than just lost pay. The dining hall student worker said if she exceeds 20 hours at the end of the week, she would be in violation of her visa terms and would face possible deportation. *** Several employees said they also weren’t always able to take a break when they needed to. “It’s very hectic. The shift is five hours and you’re supposed to get a half hour break,” the dining hall worker said. “For a four hour shift, you get a 15 minute break, and if there’s no one else on the floor, you won’t get a break at all.” The worker, who is a full-time master student, said the work at Dining Hall West could be physically demanding, depending on what tasks needed to be completed. “You have to continuously stand and clean tables. If you’re on the serving line, you can’t eat even if it’s super late — you just keep standing there and serve (food),” she said. “It drains you. When you go back home you don’t feel like doing anything. You just want to sleep.” Kalra said at Chick-fil-A, during a busy lunch shift, she would often not be allowed to leave the register to get water or to use the restroom if there was a line. “Speaking continuously for four hours without drinking water was very difficult for me,” Kalra said. “Working at the counter, you have to say ‘hello’ and ‘thank you’ to everyone, and the line is always very long.” Kalra said supervisors strongly dissuaded her from taking a break to get water unless she lost her voice or found it otherwise difficult to speak. Another employee, who requested anonymity, said she was not allowed to go home after experiencing a serious medical emergency as a result of a chronic illness. She said she was then asked to work the remaining five hours of her eight-hour shift. “They did not let me go home – they didn’t even offer it,” the worker said. “They didn’t file an incident report or anything. Just ‘get up and go back to work.’” *** Kalra said employees at the Moe’s on campus were receiving $9.50 an hour, compared to her own hourly rate of $8. She said when she asked her own manager about the pay disparity, she received varying answers. “He told us that (the manager at
NIKITA BANTEY | MERCURY STAFF
Cristian Otero is an evening utilities supervisor at Chartwells. He said he is helping organize union efforts on campus.
Moe’s) would give (his workers) $9.50 (an hour) and that’s why he got fired. After that, they just told us (Moe’s employees) have to do more work,” Kalra said. “But most of the people at Moe’s are my friends. They don’t do anything extra.” A current Chartwells student worker confirmed that the employees at Moe’s were paid more despite similar workloads to others paid less. Another way for student workers to earn a higher wage is to be promoted to supervisor. But a current international student worker said that she had never seen an international student receive a promotion where she works in Dining Hall West. “I don’t think that is an option for us,” she said. “It’s not like we can grow in that company or anything.” *** Chartwells resumed normal operations for the spring semester on Jan. 14. Prior to publication, current workers said they did not notice any significant changes in policy or operations, except for the change in management at the Chick-fil-A on campus. Since the Dec. 3 report, several workers, both at Dining Hall West and in the Student Union, said they’ve noticed a change in managements’ attitude towards workers. A full-time employee said she’s felt particularly targeted since she made her involvement with union organizers known to management. At Dining Hall West, a current student worker said she’d noticed an overall change. “Even the full-time employees, they say it’s not like before,” the worker said. “They say that everyone is micromanaging — they want to know what you do, where you are, how much time do you take. I think you need to trust your employees to have them satisfied.” Meanwhile, the former student worker who alleged sexual harassment said her experience will haunt her, even as she leaves UTD. “I wanted to bring this up so this doesn’t happen to any other girl there,” she said. She said she knew of other students who had similar experiences at Chartwells. “The other girls, they also had problems with managers, but they may not be speaking up because they have this fear of losing their job,” she said. “As an international student, it’s really important to have something in hand if you don’t have an internship. Losing a job is really not good.” Cristian Otero, an evening utilities supervisor at Chartwells, said while he thinks it’s good that the Chick-filA manager will be replaced, there’s a long way to go. “There are people who’ve gone to management, and management hasn’t helped them at all, or taken them seriously,” Otero said. “And the buck doesn’t stop with (the manager). He’s not the only problem.”
8
OPINION IN YOUR TIME OF NEED
Jan. 14, 2019 | The Mercury
Recent campus events underscore importance of knowing where to find support THE EDITORIAL BOARD
R
ecent events concerning the Jacob Anderson case and allegations of Chartwells mistreating its employees may leave some of us questioning where to turn in a crisis. For those involved, circumstances were overwhelming, even frightening. For those of us looking on, the impact is nonetheless upsetting. What if it was our friend who was living paycheck to paycheck and said he was promised better pay in exchange for longer hours —who worked those longer hours, but never received more pay? What if it was our sister who said she received illicit texts from a manager but was afraid to speak up and lose her job? What if it was our roommate who said she was the victim of sexual harassment — even sexual violence? In troubling situations such as these, it’s crucial to know what help is available and where to find it. UTD provides numerous resources to its students and employees — people ready to answer questions, mechanisms to report incidents and labor and Title IX laws that protect people who report those incidents. Speaking up for yourself and your friends doesn’t just benefit the people involved — it helps prevent history from repeating itself. The Employee Relations webpage from UTD Human Resources provides employees with services including training, consultation with staff, employee rights and conflict and complaint resolution. Human Resources does not directly administer the grievance process, but staff members at Employee Relations can offer guidance throughout the procedure and advice on how to approach a resolution.
International Student Services ISSOCurrent@utdallas.edu (972) 883-4189
Galerstein Gender Center gendercenter@utdallas.edu (972) 883-6555
In other words, if you’re uneasy about a situation at your UTD workplace, they’re just an email or phone call away. Some student workers employed by Chartwells said they were afraid to come forward with their stories out of a fear of harassment or losing their jobs. However, in cases such as these, confidentiality and whistleblower policies can offer protection. Don’t be afraid to come forward. According to a report from the Economic Policy Institute in 2017, 2.4 million workers in the 10 most populous U.S. states lose $8 billion every year — an average of $3,300 per year for year-round workers — because of minimum wage violations. According to the same report, minimum wage violations affect 17 percent of low-wage workers. For international students working on campus, who are all unable to seek employment off-campus, these statistics are startling and make it all the more important to be aware of what to do in cases of wage violations. If you or a friend are working or plan on working on campus, reading through labor laws and UTD’s complaint policies should be part of your preparation for the job. In case of a dispute such as withheld wages, unsanitary workplace conditions or unionization within the workplace, being mindful of procedures in advance will allow you to react quickly. How do you know if something is worth bringing up? Why bother someone with nothing? Perhaps someone you know pressures you repeatedly to date them, touch them or look at suggestive material, even when you say no? If you’re unsure in the first place, trust your intuition. Never let fear or a lack of evidence stop you from seeking out advice on how to proceed with an uncomfortable situation — whether
at work or in your private life. Telling someone about harmful or potentially harmful circumstances is vital. It’s far better to be vocal and aware than silent and unsure. Another factor that may make people apprehensive about coming forward is potential embarrassment. What if people find out about a situation and spread unwanted rumors? While certain individuals, called Responsible Employees — which include faculty, administrators and others — are required to report incidents of sexual misconduct to a the university’s Title IX coordinator, there are exceptions to maintain confidentiality. These include counselors at the Student Counseling Center and the Galerstein Gender Center, who can be allowed to contact the Title IX coordinator at your discretion. Additionally, some online reporting forms allow anonymity. Perhaps the most potent factor that may prevent people from coming forward is fear of retaliation. What if the people involved are violent or vindictive? Find a resource whom you trust and who can maintain confidentiality. Fear of retaliation may be a sign that your circumstances warrant urgent attention. If you’re on campus, call UTD police or the UTD TALK hotline. Get in touch with a counselor as soon as possible. They have the resources and knowledge to advise you on how to proceed. Preventing workplace misconduct or sexual harassment begins at an individual level. Treating our colleagues, superiors and employees with respect and exercising propriety in our interactions is a priority. But just as importantly, we need to familiarize ourselves with our rights and avenues of action that allow us to take a step ahead of a serious situation. Know where to turn, and face the crisis head on.
Student Counseling Center (972) 883-2575 (office) (972) UTD-TALK (24/7) crisis hotline
Human Resources hr@utdallas.edu (972) 883-2221
CAROLINA ALVAREZ | MERCURY STAFF
Title IX Coordinator TitleIXCoordinator@utdallas.edu (972) 883-4412
RYAN MAGEE | MERCURY STAFF
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Jan. 14, 2019 | The Mercury
LIFE&ARTS
9
highlights and milestones at utd
PAGE DESIGN BY: EJ CHONG | MERCURY STAFF
Jan. 14, 2019 | The Mercury
10 → LOT U
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was its infrastructure. “The plumbing service that was out there was old, and we had to do repeated repairs to the sewage system,” he said. “This project will include all
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that complaint inspections are much shorter and directly address the specific complaint in question. “These are snapshot inspections,” Alsup said. “We’re not in there every day or every month — we’re there for whatever length of time, whether it’s an hour or two hours, depending on the scope of the facility, and we see what we see while we’re there.” Alsup said the inspector saw no moldy bread and was told by management at the time that they
NEWS
new sewer lines, water lines and power lines.” In a separate initiative, the university is also renovating restrooms in on-campus buildings. Restrooms in Green Hall have been renovated over the last two years, and the restrooms on the fourth and fifth
floors of the Jonsson Building were rebuilt last summer, Tomlinson said. “When people walk by this new building, they’re really just going to be like, ‘Wow,’” he said. “It should be completed in late summer, just in time for the fall semester.”
had an incident involving moldy bread after Thanksgiving break, but had since gone through the stock and got rid of it. He said the same scenario applied to the chicken, and that inspectors were checking if the chicken came out of the fryer at the correct temperature of 165 degrees. “We checked and checked, and it seemed to be working, the process is OK, the rules are OK, we’re not seeing anything wrong and we’re not seeing any undercooked chicken. Does that mean it didn’t happen? No,” Alsup said. “It may have been one time, somebody was in a hurry, they didn’t count right, they didn’t check the tim-
er, but that’s just me guessing. They’re snapshot inspections.” Tower said the inspector visited with Chartwells management to ensure they were aware of the complaint and that they would address it. Martin said he posted about his experience being served undercooked chicken on Reddit in an effort to bring attention to the issue. “I posted to the Reddit because I’m fed up with it and there were other people were posting their bad experiences,” he said. “Honestly, nothing would make me happier than if there were some social outreach about it.”
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why I switched over to Discord, having used it for two years, is because it’s very new — it’s modern and it’s fast,” Aaberg said. “Unlike GroupMe, Discord allows for multi-text channels and voice channels, so that was very good for students to see specific topics and talk about different things.” Today, CometLife has approximately 700 members and provides information to students about campus events and general announcements. The server also features an introduction channel where students can introduce themselves and meet other people, a channel for club announcements and a channel for students to ask questions about academics. It also features links to other Discord servers such as Tespa and UTD Esports. “Since UTD is kind of that nerdy, techy school, there’s a lot of introverted students out there, so I wanted to give students a chance to introduce themselves, and texting is the best way to do that,” Aaberg said. “It’s been a great communications plat-
form and a great way to send notifications to students instantly rather than on Instagram.” Greul began working with Aaberg on the server shortly after joining the Discord at the start of the fall 2018 semester. Greul said he and Aaberg act as moderators and try to create an inclusive environment for students as well as limit inappropriate content while still allowing students to express themselves. “When I first got here, it was very anxiety-inducing just coming to a new place and not really knowing anyone or how I was going to fit in,” Greul said. “Seeing how there was already a place to chat headed by someone so professional for a freshman, I was like, ‘I can be a part of this, I can do this, this is very special to me.’” Psychology freshman Ellie Butler said she found out about the Discord server through the Instagram account Aaberg created in September and said the server was a useful tool for her to receive notifications about events on campus such as SUAAB and sporting events. She said she made a few friends from
chatting with them on the server during the semester. “I think it serves a great way for people to get to know what’s going on (at UTD), and that was the biggest thing for me,” Butler said. “I’m from Austin and I didn’t know anyone here, and I didn’t know what was going on … it was helpful for me that way.” Aaberg said he and Greul are working on getting the Discord server to be officially recognized by UTD so the school can promote it on its official social media channels. Additionally, as of this month, the CometLife Discord was recognized as a Discord HypeSquad Event Coordinator, allowing Aaberg and Greul to receive Discord merchandise to give away to students at events while also promoting Discord’s brand. “I don’t think (it) is too controversial of a statement to make that we’re an introverted campus,” Greul said. “We’re trying to take that and make it so you can chat and you can be free and (so) you can express yourself without the anxiety that comes from in-person interpersonal reactions with others.”
UPCOMING EVENTS SUAAB CALENDAR RELEASE Join SUAAB and Meteor Theater for food and merchandise as they release their spring calendar.
Jan. 14, 12 p.m. - 1 p.m., SSA Gaming Wall
SPRING ORGANIZATION FAIR Learn more about student organizations, sponsored groups and club sports at UTD. ALESANDRA BELL | MERCURY STAFF
Jan. 16, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m., Visitor Center
WELCOME BACK TEA BREAK Join the Galerstein Gender Center for a hot cup of tea.
Jan. 22, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., SSB 4.300
COFFEE HOUR Meet the librarians of the McDermott Library.
Jan. 25, 10:30 a.m. - 12 p.m., MC 3.544