February 11, 2019
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ACADEMIC SCANDAL HIGHLIGHTS NEED FOR IMPROVED TRANSPARENCY 2012
The JAL program, funded exclusively through tuition, is created.
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Sept. 18, 2012
Memorandum of understanding signed by criminology professors John Worrall and Robert Taylor fails to comply with UTD transfer credit policy.
March 28, 2012
Worrall, Taylor and an unnamed person meet to discuss awarding credit to transfer students from CPI and ILEA. It did not involve any discussion of awarding A’s.
April 2015
Worrall submits another MOU requesting approval of transfer credit policy. It is denied on May 16.
May 18, 2015
Worrall sends an email to Taylor and Galia Cohen, writing, “Well, the MOU is dead. This stinks, but I understand their position and will live with it. I say we continue with the current practice with which we are familiar.”
Sept. 16, 2016
Cohen emails Worrall, saying she excused certain students from participating — and awarded them A’s — because they were graduates of CPI. Worrall alleges this was the first time he was made aware of the A’s without attendance.
Aug. 1, 2017
Denis Dean, the EPPS dean at the time, appoints Worrall as JAL’s director, an administrative appointment, through Aug. 31, 2018.
December 2017
University administrators alerted to unauthorized practices within the JAL program, according to a statement made by President Richard Benson on Feb. 6, 2019.
May 9, 2018
Provost Inga Musselman receives UT System’s investigative report of the JAL program from Trey Atchley, UT System’s chief investigative officer.
May 23, 2018
Executive Vice President Hobson Wildenthal forwards the report to Benson. Musselman, Benson and Wildenthal make plans to discuss it on May 23, but run out of time.
THE EDITORIAL BOARD
he recent controversy surrounding the Justice Administration and Leadership program came to light in a Feb. 3 report by The Dallas Morning News, in which transfer students in a criminology master’s program were awarded A’s for classes they did not attend. There still remain unanswered questions. However, The News took things a step further by publishing a scathing editorial the day after their investigative piece was released. The editorial singled out UTD President Richard Benson and overgeneralized multiple aspects of the controversy. While Benson holds ultimate responsibility as university president, he is not fully to blame. The editorial fails to address the fact that these fraudulent practices took place well before Benson took office. But it also begs a bigger question: who made the mistake that is at the root of this scandal, and how can we fix it? It’s clear the problem goes beyond Benson. The controversy surrounding the JAL program highlights the need for improved reporting practices and more open communication channels between university administrators, faculty and students. In its news report, The News cites an investigative report compiled by UT System in May 2018. The Mercury attempted to obtain a copy of this report in early January 2019 through an open records request, but was met with resistance on the basis of exemptions in the Texas Education Code. However, The Mercury did obtain a series of other documents detailing correspondence between the three professors at the center of the scandal — John Worrall, Robert Taylor and Galia Cohen — and university administrators. → SEE JAL, PAGE 9
May 24, 2018
Worrall and Taylor receive letters from the provost that terminate them from their positions within the JAL program.
May 31, 2018
Worrall sends a response to the provost defending his actions, saying that he “inherited” JAL program practices and that he signed a contract with Dean appointing him as director. Worrall demands that he continue as director and teach JAL courses through May 1, 2019, and demands the balance of the stipend he would have received as program director.
June 12, 2018
Provost responds to Worrall’s May 31 letter, saying that Denis Dean did not have the authority to make the contract and that administrative positions serve at the pleasure of the president. She denies his request for compensation.
June 29, 2018
Tim Shaw, the university attorney, responds to a June 21, 2018 letter from Frank Hill, the attorney representing Taylor. Shaw denies Taylor's request for teaching online-only classes and phased retirement.
July 6, 2018
Cohen, Taylor and Worrall all receive letters from the provost notifying them of the initiation of proceedings to terminate them as faculty members. In Taylor’s letter, the provost suggests that the A credit transfer system was Taylor’s idea.
July 27, 2018
Laura Barbour, a senior attorney for UT System, informs Hill that his clients have not yet been suspended or terminated from their positions and are expected to continue with their duties. She says they will receive academic year appointment letters on Aug. 1.
Aug. 3, 2018
Hill sends an email to Barbour and Shaw confirming that Taylor received his appointment letter on Aug. 1, but says Taylor won’t sign until he is assured he will be able to teach online-only classes for the 2018-2019 academic year.
Feb. 11, 2019 | The Mercury
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THE MERCURY UTDMERCURY.COM Volume XXXVIV No. 37
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Contributors Fawaz Anwar Alesandra Bell Sarah Besserer Soujanya Bhat Eva Branco Erin Bray Jenna Cherrey EJ Chong Bianca Del Rio Anika Kotaru Keaton Nations Elizabeth Nguyen Nadine Omeis Anna Phengsakmueang Marco Salinas Anna Schaeffer Sarah Streety Anjali Sundaram Aasav Sureja Pavan Tauh Megan Zerez
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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.
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LEGEND VEHICULAR INCIDENT
THEFT
DRUGS & ALCOHOL OTHER MAP: UTD | COURTESY
Feb. 11, 2019 | The Mercury
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NEWS
Anderson controversy prompts review of admissions Current application does not require prospective students to disclose disciplinary history, university representatives say
NOAH WHITEHEAD | PHOTO EDITOR
After a petition circulated in December to remove Jacob Anderson, a student accused of sexual assault, the university released a statement saying it would form a committee to review current admissions practices.
MEGAN ZEREZ Mercury Staff
UTD was thrust into the national spotlight in December 2018 after a student petition to remove Jacob Anderson, a UTD student accused of sexual assault, went viral. Anderson transferred to the university in 2016 after expulsion from Baylor University. University President Richard Benson said in a statement that the university had “admitted a student while unaware of his legal history.” Anderson was granted his diploma but was barred
from entering campus or pursuing further study at the university. Benson said a committee would be formed to review the admissions process. Executive Vice President Hobson Wildenthal said that, as he understood it, Anderson applied for transfer admission before he was formally expelled from Baylor University in in the spring of 2016. Wildenthal said a lack of information concerning Anderson’s disciplinary record was the primary reason why his application slipped through the cracks. “I haven’t seen his record,” Wildenthal said. “It’s always possible there’s something
there that we missed … there’s always human error. But the first thing we (want to fix) is policy and structure.” Ryan Slack, director of transfer admissions, said as long as students meet certain basic requirements, they are automatically admitted under an assured admissions policy. “We have students, that if they don’t qualify for assured admission, automatically go through holistic review,” Slack said. Review of these students is conducted by a board of admissions officials. The number of officials on the panel can vary
but is typically around ten, Slack said. The holistic process is not applied to those applicants who meet the requirements. Requirements for students from noncommunity colleges include a 3.0 GPA cutoff and at least 42 transferable credits, with no more than 90 attempted credit hours. Applicants must also be in good standing with the last university attended. Slack said good standing refers to the applicant’s academics based on their transcript. What constitutes good academic standing can vary widely from university to university, he said. Wildenthal said the admissions process
is centered around the goal of growing the university’s enrollment. He said as the university grows, there will have to be changes to admissions policies. Furthermore, as for a student’s general disciplinary record, Wildenthal said there’s little consistency in what individual institutions choose to report on transcripts and other official documents. In December 2018, Texas state representatives filed two separate bills to require colleges to disclose a student’s known disciplinary history on official transcripts. House Bill
→ SEE ANDERSON,
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UTD featured in ‘State of the City’ speech Richardson mayor highlights possible future collaborations with university MEGAN ZEREZ Mercury Staff
MEGAN ZEREZ | MERCURY STAFF
Richardson officials, community members and business leaders appeared at the annual State of the City video address, highlighting past and future city endeavors.
Richardson Mayor Paul Voelker addressed local businesses, government and community members on Jan. 30 at the annual State of the City Address. Voelker highlighted Richardson’s draws to the business community and spoke out against capping municipal taxes ahead of the new state legislative session. UTD President Richard Benson appeared in several video clips throughout
Voelker’s multimedia address, with the mayor calling UTD “a great success story for Richardson.” The city will partner with UTD and other schools to build the Collins-Arapaho Innovation District, Voelker said. He said the project aims to attract additional tech companies to the region. Preliminary studies for the district were presented in a Dec. 3 City Council meeting. The redevelopment project encompasses 1,200 acres around Arapaho Road east of Highway 75 and will be
centered around public transit and pedestrian accessibility. Richardson already has a high concentration of business headquarters, with 60 percent of property taxes generated by businesses. According to the most recent municipal budget, 0.8 percent of total property taxes go back into economic development, incentivizing projects such as the Restaurant Park development off of Highway 75.
→ SEE ADDRESS,
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RISD to adopt new election system New map comes after lawsuit finds school district in violation of Voting Rights Act
AASAV SUREJA | MERCURY STAFF
The Office of Student AccessAbility said 20 students are currently using the assistive software.
ALESANDRA BELL | MERCURY STAFF
MARCO SALINAS Mercury Staff
Officials from the Richardson Independent School District have decided to transition from an at-large election system to a hybrid system following the settlement of a lawsuit filed against the district. The school board voted unanimously to move from an at-large system to the hybrid system on Feb. 4. In an at-large system, all voters within RISD boundaries vote for all seven trustees of the RISD school board. Under the hybrid system, the seven board seats will be divided into
five single-member voting districts, with two at-large members presiding over the entire district. David Tyson is the sole plaintiff and only person of color to have served on the RISD school board in its 164-year history. The settlement forced RISD to move away from an at-large district where the entire school district voted for all seven trustees. Tyson said he filed the lawsuit in 2018 after speaking with an attorney and concluding that the previous at-large voting system was in violation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. “I filed the lawsuit in 2018 after I really wasn’t getting the type of response
from the school board as it relates to people of color not being able to get elected to the school board under the at-large system,” Tyson said. RISD President Justin Bono said the hybrid scheme will help solve some of the issues with representation. “That’s a system that can help address some of the geographic challenges that we’ve had with some inconsistencies with where trustees live that represent our district and certainly provide an opportunity for more minority representation on our board,” Bono said.
→ SEE RISD,
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OIT, OSA to provide free assistive technology Screen reading, magnifiying software now available to students with impairments MADISON YORK Mercury Staff
The Office of Information Technology and the Office of Student AccessAbility are partnering to provide visual- and learningimpaired students, faculty and staff with screen reading and magnifying software called Fusion Assistive Technology. Fusion is a combination of Job Access with Speech, a screen reader, and ZoomText, a screen magnifier. Melinda Colby, the senior
director of engagement and success for OIT, said the program has been a success. “It has been nothing but well-received,” Colby said. “JAWS and ZoomText and all those things have been around for a long time, but making it accessible in this manner is the latest and greatest way of the technology being available, and the fact that we’re able to provide that for our students is pretty exciting for us.”
→ SEE FUSION,
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LIFE&ARTS
Feb. 11, 2019 | The Mercury
New ATEC coffee bar attracts students Denton-based roaster sells locally-sourced beverages, pastries
PAVAN TAUH | MERCURY STAFF
Visual and performing arts junior Alexandra Schmid and marketing junior Carlos Manuel practice a scene in the upcoming play “The Flu Season.”
Play to offer introspective look into theater
Barista Michaella Headrick helps customers at the new ATEC coffee bar.
School of Arts and Humanities to feature contemporary production ‘The Flu Season’ in spring semester
MEGAN ZEREZ
MADISON YORK Mercury Staff
As the winter weather begins to lift, the School of Arts and Humanities will be bringing a production of “The Flu Season” to the UTD stage. Directed by Thomas Riccio, a professor of performance and aesthetics, the production consists of a relatively small six-member cast. Set in a psychiatric hospital — and, in a fourth-wall breaking style, a theater — the play centers on the plights of the characters Man, Woman, Doctor and Nurse, overseen by the nar-
rators Prologue and Epilogue. Software engineering freshman Zach Neiger, who plays the role of Man, said that the play is love story — of sorts. “It’s an absurdist piece about sort of the nature of life and why we’re all here,” Neiger said. “And there’s a pseudo-love story thrown in there with interesting consequences that you’ll have to come to the show to see how they turn out.” “The Flu Season” is a contemporary play authored by Will Eno, first performed in 2003 and with a runtime of approximately one hour and 40 minutes. Riccio said he decided on a production of
“The Flu Season” as he was familiar with Eno’s work for some time. “I met Will Eno years ago,” Riccio said. “I admired his work, and four years ago, I directed one of his plays called ‘Tragedy: a tragedy,’ and when I read this, I decided I’d like to do this one.” Rehearsals for the play began in early January, with the cast dedicating about 16 hours per week to on-stage practice. The play has a heavy emphasis on complex, witty dialogue, which is often loaded with meaning and self-awareness, said Eric Chauret, a computer engineering sophomore. Chauret said one of the challenges
middle eastern food EMAAN BANGASH Mercury Staff
I’ve grown up eating Middle Eastern food at restaurants and parties because it’s my family’s favorite cuisine apart from our own Pakistani food. I was very familiar with the usual dishes such as gyros, kabobs, hummus and pita. This episode, I was introduced to three Middle Eastern foods I’d somehow never had before — tabbouleh, baba ghanoush and knafeh. To be clear, most people refer to Middle Eastern cuisine under the umbrella
term of Mediterranean cuisine. While the two cuisines overlap culturally and share many dishes, they diverged once countries throughout the Middle East began modifying the dishes to their own regional tastes. The cuisine relies mostly on natural ingredients such as olive oil, rice, meats, chickpeas, tahini and pita bread. Electrical engineering junior Reem Aysha, fellow Mercury staffer Amaka Mgboji and I went to Sababa, a local Mediterranean restaurant in Richardson, to try the three dishes. Tabbouleh isn’t like your average Caesar salad. It’s bright green in color and filled with parsley, couscous, lemon, olive oil and other seasonings and vegetables.
of portraying his character, Epilogue, is communicating that meaning to the audience in an intentional way. “Epilogue and Prologue are the two narrators of the show, and they’re also kind of two separate aspects of the playwright himself,” Chauret said. “Epilogue, as opposed to Prologue, has the hindsight of knowing the entire story of the play before it actually begins onstage,and takes a much more pessimistic view towards things. He’s very goofy. He has a bit of a dark sense of humor.”
→ SEE FLU SEASON,
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RYAN MAGEE | MERCURY STAFF
At first bite, I was struck by the zesty flavor of this salad as I wasn’t expecting such a strong flavor of lemon. The texture was gritty and rough from the finely chopped parsley and couscous, but that didn’t deter me. Normally, salads taste bland on their own and require a bit of some kind of dressing, but I couldn’t imagine adding any kind of ranch dressing to tabbouleh. Bursting with flavor and tangy goodness, I could easily see this being a favorite. I really can’t stand eggplant, but for the sake of trying new things, and after hearing my family and friends rave about how much they loved baba ghanoush, I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.
Eating baba ghanoush was probably the strangest experience I’ve ever had. It both looked like hummus — a creamy, tan mixture — and was eaten like hummus, gathered in a small piece of chewy, soft pita bread. However, it definitely did not have the texture of hummus. The baba ghanoush was chunky and a little slimy at times. I wasn’t expecting little bits of eggplant throughout, but it wasn’t entirely unpleasant. I enjoyed the flavor, though, and it was smoky and had the deliciously rich flavor of tahini and olive oil. Despite my initial distaste for its texture, I couldn’t
→ SEE SABABA,
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Alum brings border town together with cafe, bikes ANNA SCHAEFFER Mercury Staff
In Brownsville, Texas, only blocks from the United States-Mexico border, one UTD alumnus works alongside Mexican citizens in the coffee shop he opened two years back. Graham Sevier-Schultz graduated from UTD in 2012 with a degree in interdisciplinary studies. He stayed in Dallas, working at restaurants and cafes to gain experience and ideas while preparing to open his own Brownsville business — a combination of a coffee shop and a bike shop. 7th & Park opened in early 2017, named after both its location and the park where Sevier-Schultz sold coffee at a farmer’s market for two years in preparation for the launch of his own business. He spent those years getting to know the
border region of Brownsville and gauging local interest in items he calls “third wave coffee,” such as cappuccinos and latte art. “We’re full service for bikes — we’ll work on your bike or sell you a new one — but my main aspect is to facilitate the culture because both coffee culture and bike culture are very strong, unique and involved,” Sevier-Schultz said. “They’re both pretty social and specific. There are bike stores where you go in and buy something, but you don’t hang out. I wanted a place where people would be comfortable and want to come hang out.” 7th & Park services bicycles and serves lattes just down the street is the federal courthouse with the busiest docket in the federal system. Sevier-Schultz said when illegal border crossings started being classified as criminal offenses, all those caught going across the border had to go through the legal system, and the courthouse went
from processing around 40 cases a day to 145. “That got a lot of attention and a lot of activity, so I’ve had journalists come in for two, three days and to use the Wi-Fi and write their story and drink some coffee,” he said. “It’s put people like myself in contact with a lot of these reporters and photojournalists where we can give them firsthand accounts and give them our experience at the border.” Sevier-Schultz said he has had at least two journalists who came back after their initial story to write lifestyle pieces on people at the border. “We want people to come travel here and realize the emergency could be fixed with education and funding instead of money spent on a wall,” he said. President Trump remains committed
→ SEE COFFEE,
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GRAHAM SERVIER-SCHULTZ | COURTESY
Graham Servier-Shultz started his coffee and bike shop, 7th & Park, in early 2017.
ANNA PHENGSAKMUEANG | MERCURY STAFF
Mercury Staff
At mid-morning on Thursday, ATEC is still fairly quiet. Suddenly, from under the big staircase, there comes a tiny puff of steam. A moment later, there’s a smooth click and a low hum. 20 seconds later, there’s the unmistakable scent of fresh espresso. The smells and sounds come from an espresso machine at the heart of Lemma Coffee’s new outfit at UTD. From behind the counter, barista Michaella Headrick pours freshly steamed milk into the shape of a heart on top of a latte. At night, the coffee bar, mounted on wheels, can be tucked away completely under the stairwell. The only connection to the building is an electrical outlet. In lieu of plumbing, Lemma has a small tank of filtered water and a tank for wastewater that’s emptied in JSOM. Lemma Coffee is a small-scale coffee roaster based in Denton, about 30 miles northwest of campus. The UTD stand, which opened Jan. 28, will be their second brick-and-mortar location and their first venture outside Denton. Chase Record, a barista and quality control specialist, said Lemma sources and roasts all the beans themselves. He said it ensures the company’s standards are followed and customers can get the best coffee. “We do a lot of single-origin coffees. This way, we can pick the coffees for the flavors, not just the roast profiles,” Record said. “With blends you’re going to get a lot of different regions, roast profiles, things like that.” For Lemma, single-origin sometimes means the beans are sourced from a single farm. Record said they buy four to eight bags at a time. The bags weigh around 150 pounds each. “One of our offerings, our Alto Cielo Colombia — we just roasted the last of it yesterday, so here in the next week or so, it’ll be completely gone until the next season.” For fans of flavored coffee drinks, Lemma makes its own syrups as well. Currently, there’s chocolate, caramel and vanilla, but Record said the selection will be expanding as they get more business. Lemma also offers vegan and non-dairy option and sells a range of vegan and gluten-free bakery goods from locally-owned Reverie Bakeshop, located at the intersection of Coit and Campbell. Record said the coffee bar has gained traction. Atop the refrigerator display, there’s a framed dollar bill, signed by ATEC Dean Anne Balsamo. “They’re there for us too, which is really nice,” Record said. “They want to see this in multiple places across campus, we just have to get this up and running.” Lemma Coffee signed a contract with Chartwells on campus to open the tiny coffee bar. In lieu of rent, they pay a small operation fee. “It’s like, what are the little things we have to do legally we have to do to get in here, like getting up to health code,” Record said. Record said he’s confident that even ATEC’s big, open atrium can feel cozy with time. “We want to get another table and some chairs, and we want this to have a coffee shop-like vibe, where people can just come and hang out,” Record said. “We want to bring a lot of life to this building.”
SPORTS
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Feb. 11, 2019 | The Mercury
Frisbee sweeps season opener Team brings in five wins at Florida tournament
ACHINT KHANIJO | MERCURY ARCHIVES
The men's baseball team competed at the Cactus Classic in its season opener from Feb. 7-10, where it had a 1-3 overall score for the tournament.
Upset in Arizona for men's baseball
Team takes home three losses in season opener, gains sweeping win in third game of Cactus Classic CINDY FOLEFACK Managing Editor
Men’s baseball opened the 2019 season with a close loss to California Lutheran University at the Cactus Classic in Arizona. The team left the invitational with an overall score of 1-3 after facing off against three more schools. The Comets suffered an 8-5 defeat against CLU despite a strong opening in the top of the first which netted the team five hits. UTD’s opening hits were quickly countered by a series of doubles from CLU in the bottom of the first as well as a hit on a wild pitch which led to a 5-5 clincher in the bottom of the third. CLU then overtook the Comets with doubles and steals leading to an 8-5 lead in the sixth inning, bringing the team to victory. The play-by-play of this year’s game against CLU mimics that of last season, where the two
teams faced off and the Comets went home with a 7-5 loss in their second game of the Cactus Classic. Going into the game, head baseball coach Shane Shewmake said the Comets were facing sizable opponents. “This season going in, it’s good competition. Right off the bat, those teams are all going to be good, and we’ve got to show up there ready to play,” Shewmake said. “You never know, you’re out there trying to win every one of them, but sometimes it doesn’t work out the way you’d like it to.” The team played Whitman College the next day and lost 5-4 in a game that was up in the air until the seventh inning. With a 2-2 tie at the top of the seventh, Whitman scored three times after hitting singles and advancing due to pitcher error. UTD bottomed out the seventh with two hits, falling just short of Whitman’s lead, closing the game in the
ninth with a close loss. The team turned its luck around in the last game of the tournament on Feb. 9, pulling in a 15-5 win against Pacific Lutheran University. That win was followed by a 16-4 loss against the University of La Verne the following day. Shewmake said the team has changed considerably since last season after 16 seniors graduated. He said new players would have to step up to the plate this year. He said freshman pitchers Orion Drymond, Brett Bihm and Ryan Vera were the standout players among the newest members of the team. “Those freshmen are going to have a chance to step in right away and get some meaningful innings for us,” Shewmake said. “We’re counting on big things from those guys.” Drymond scored six hits and five runs in his starting game against CLU and pitched for about two innings while Bihm pitched for five
innings against Whitman, gaining five hits and two runs. Vera also pitched against CLU for one inning, gaining one hit. Last season, the team reached the ASC Championship Tournament finals as well as the NCAA Division III Regional Tournaments and had a 32-17 overall record. The team was also ranked eighth in the NCAA DIII regional rankings for the 2018 season. Shewmake said he hopes to accomplish all of that and more this season. “Every year, our goal is to win a conference championship and go play in a regional and try to win that, and go play for a national championship,” Shewmake said. “We’ve got some new faces that are going to have to step up, but we’ve also got some guys coming back that have been through it a little bit and understand what it takes and we’re going to be counting on those guys to lead the way.”
Esports teams lose out at Midwest tournament ‘League’ teams place seventh, eighth at convention EMAAN BANGASH News Editor
For the first “League of Legends” tournament this year, UTD’s “League of Legends” A and B teams advanced to quarterfinals in the Wichita Esports Convention during the first weekend of February but ultimately lost to semi-professional teams. WEC features a range of different competitions and bills itself as a “Midwest pipeline for collegiate and amateur video game players.” The team’s primary focus was the “League of Legends” tournament with a $20,000 prize, head coach Greg Adler said. The tournament hosted both semi-professional teams such as BloodyGamers and Polar Ace as well as collegiate teams. During the tournament, 14 teams were divided into two groups, with one group containing four teams and the other containing three teams. The “League of Legends” A team competed with Polar Ace and Missouri Valley College in Group A and the B team competed with BloodyGaming and Keepers
of the Rift in Group B. After the A team lost a close match against Polar Ace, the team redeemed itself in a sweeping victory against Missouri Valley College in a 25-minute match with a score of 30-4. The match included highlights with freshman ADC Ryan Joslin “THE Jons” as Kai’Sa and junior support Chris Yang “YHW” as Braum. The victory landed them in the quarterfinals in a match against Azio, a North American amateur semi-professional team, but the A team ultimately lost. The “League of Legends” B team lost in a 40-minute match to BloodyGaming, a North American amateur semi-professional team who went on to win the entire tournament. During the quarterfinals, the B team competed against Super Nova, a North American amateur team, but ultimately lost. Joslin said he didn’t anticipate not making it past the quarter-stage but listed communication, game mechanics and teamwork as some of the weaknesses they identified from playing in the tournament. “It was a little surprising,” Joslin said. “I
UTD ESPORTS | COURTESY
The “League of Legends” A and B teams advanced to quarterfinals at a Midwest esports tournament where they took seventh and eighth place, respectively.
think we were pretty confident going into it, but the level of competition was pretty intense. We just learned a lot about our style, and it revealed a lot of our weaknesses as a team, more so than other scrimmages or other things we do in-house, just because it is so competitive.” In January 2019, ESPN released the first collegiate “League of Legends” Week 1 rankings for college esports teams across North America. Collaborating with “Riot Games”, the maker of “League of Legends,” ESPN will release bi-weekly rankings of collegiate “League of Legends.” Out of the 25 schools
listed, UTD was ranked eight. In addition to practicing for upcoming tournaments, the two UTD teams hope to encourage all student gamers to connect. “Obviously we focus on the competitive side of esports, but we want to connect all the gamers on campus,” Eric Aaberg, assistant coach, said. Adler said the tournament was a fun time and it highlighted their advantages as well as disadvantages. As the students prepare for the next tournament, practicing is going to be the central focus, Joslin said. Additional reporting by Anjali Sundaram
SOUJANYA BHAT | MERCURY STAFF
The men's ultimate frisbee team practices for over nine hours every week in preparation for tournaments. ANIKA KOTARU Mercury Staff
The UTD men’s ultimate frisbee A team competed at the 2019 Florida Warm Up in Tampa this past weekend, where it took home five wins and one loss. The team is ranked 55th in the nation on the USA Ultimate website, with a record of 22 wins and seven losses last year. The team opened the tournament on a high note with a 13-7 victory against the University of Alabama in Huntsville followed by a 13-9 win against Kennesaw State University later that day before the team fell to Brown University that afternoon, where they lost 12-10. Senior Neel Reddy, handler and team captain, said he was most proud of how involved the team is with the sport. In addition to the required nine hours of practice per week, the team also works outside of practice and discusses certain strategies or techniques to improve. “We have practice nine hours per week, but I’m sure people’s involvement per week is almost double that,” Reddy said. “Add in track workouts, throwing (the frisbee) outside of practice, watching films of other teams and, in general, talking about ultimate.” On the second day of the tournament, UTD scored three more wins against Northeastern University, the University of South Florida and Illinois State University, all of which are ranked higher than UTD, which stands at No. 28 in the tournament’s player pool. The victory against Illinois State was a close one, with a final score of 9-8. Junior Wesley Miaw, who plays as deep for the team, said playing year-round can cause the players to experience burnout. “We work on our bodies over nine hours per week, and it is like a relentless journey,” Miaw said. “It can be tough not only physically, but also mentally. We improve on that by having fun outside of practice and being friends off the field. Things like that balance out hard work and fun.” Reddy said this team has been one of the fastest growing teams in UTD history and that the biggest challenge for next year would be continuing that momentum. “When I came in as a freshman, the team was small,” Reddy said. “My freshman year kind of turned it around, and we had a big group of freshmen come in and that upward trajectory has just continued until this year. (The challenge) will be about the people next year continuing that growth.”
6
COMICS
Feb. 11, 2019 | The Mercury
THIS BABY UNLOCKS ALL KINDS OF DOORS
HOT DOG DINNER
JENNA CHERREY | MERCURY STAFF
THE BIG MAN’S BIG DAY
RYAN MAGEE | MERCURY STAFF
KEATON NATIONS | MERCURY STAFF
BREAK UP WITH YOUR GIRLFRIEND, TEMOC’S BORED
GET OWNED, SON
SARAH BESSERER | MERCURY STAFF
O&B: SPOILED CREAM
SARAH STREETY | MERCURY STAFF
CUTE DATE
EJ CHONG | MERCURY STAFF
MATT SAYS
CAROLINA ALVAREZ | MERCURY STAFF
LOVE AT FIRST SLICE
ELIZABETH NGUYEN | MERCURY STAFF
BIANCA DEL RIO | MERCURY STAFF
Feb. 11, 2019 | The Mercury
7
NEWS
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“One of our keys to success is working with local business leaders to strengthen our economy,” Voelker said. The narrated video presentation highlighted efforts to keep interactions with the city straightforward and simple for both businesses and citizens. Voelker praised the city’s access to multimodal and public transit as a draw for businesses looking to relocate. According to data aggregator
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Colby said the Fusion program was originally developed through a third-party company, Vispero, in a partnership with Christal Vision. OIT has worked with Christal Vision for years with independent licenses. To distribute Fusion, OIT joined with the OSA to give students access. “Typically, if a student needs to purchase JAWS for their own personal device, it’s around $2,000,” Colby said. “(We’re) able to provide it to a student for the duration that they are a student with the University of Texas at Dallas because it’s hard to come up with that amount of money.” Colby said UTD is the first university in the UT System currently using Fusion. Additionally, the program isn’t limited to on-campus computers. “One of the benefits of this is we were able to negotiate to be able to get access for personal devices for faculty, staff and students that have a need. They just need to go through putting in a ticket with our HelpDesk — they will walk them through the steps,” Colby said. “So, they have access
Walkscore.com, transit and walkability scores for Richardson remain at 32 and 43, respectively, out of 100 possible points. This means most errands in the city require a car and there are few available public transport options. Richardson currently hosts four DART stations, though a fifth has been proposed at Northside as part of the planned Cotton Belt Line. Three of the four extant stations include large surface parking areas and operate as “Park and Ride” stations, reflective of the city’s emphasis on multimodal transit rather
than strictly public transit. Voelker ended the presentation by addressing public education funding and property tax rates. “We feel state legislatures often point fingers at cities when the major cause of this issue lies with the state budgeting process,” Voelker said. “While all arms of government need to be mindful of spending (and) where the money comes from, there’s a balance that needs to be found.” Voelker cited the current debate over funding for Texas public schools as an example.
to course materials, books, videos, files, whatever material is needed to help enable success in a classroom, without having to be on-campus.” After a period of beta testing, Fusion was launched on-campus in November of 2018. Some of its features include magnification and enhancement of the screen, a cursor feature that allows users to magnify specific parts of the screen, and JAWS customization, which includes a mechanical voice that reads the screen aloud. “(Fusion) is the latest technology that provides that, as opposed to just having separate hardware sitting on your computer,” Colby said. “It gives the ability to enlarge, it does voiceover — you know, voiced, text-to-voice — so it gives multiple ways for those who have a visual impairment, blindness or learning disability to be able to access material.” Director of the Office of Student AccessAbility Kerry Tate said many students, after becoming adept at using JAWS, will adjust the speed of the screen reader, enabling them to “read” through text rapidly. JAWS is also available in multiple languages. “It’s just like any kind of soft-
ware, like Microsoft and all that, (but) it’ll convert (the text) into that language,” Tate said. “It’s probably the most widely used (program) across the world.” Across campus, there are 25 concurrent licenses of the Fusion program, meaning that 25 students, faculty or staff can use the program at any given time. This restriction does not apply to personal devices. If the number of Fusion users exceeds 25, the remaining users would be directed to a demo version of Fusion. “For us in the Office of Information Technology, it’s important that we stay up to date with the latest assistive technology for our students, faculty, and staff,” Colby said. “This opportunity to provide something for use on-campus, as well as off-campus, just has multiple benefits to it.” Tate estimates that about 20 students on-campus — that is, about one percent of the student population — are currently using Fusion through the OSA. The number is in addition to faculty and staff who might use the program through Human Resources. Tate said she hopes utilizing Fusion will enable students, faculty and staff to have equal access.
“Public education funding is the responsibility of the state, as outlined in the Texas constitution,” Voelker said. “Today, Texas is spending less per student than it has in the past, and less than other states.” According to a 2018 report from the National Education Association, Texas’s 2017 perstudent expenditures were $2,481 below the national average. While the national average for perstudent expenditures increased by 1.58 percent from 2016 to 2017, Texas’s average decreased by nearly 2 percent. Voelker ended
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Under the settlement agreement, two of the five single member voting districts are required to have minorities represent the majority of the voting age population. Marni Kaner, a past president of Richardson ISD Councils of PTA, said she was concerned about the district map draft. “We’re concerned that now a board member elected by a con-
the address by asking residents to vote against any municipal tax caps, citing concerns over a “onesize-fits all solution.” Among the many attendees of the address was the newly elected Dallas County Commissioner, J.J. Koch, who in an interview with The Mercury said he opposed the tax cap. “They took a hard stance, and it’s understandable from where they’re coming from, but I don’t agree,” Koch said. “I think you (should) give your citizens an opportunity to vote on that tax rate, and if you’re a city like
Richardson, that does a good job of communicating, then it shouldn’t be a problem to get that higher rate.” Koch ran on a hardline conservative platform in the last election. He said despite his opposition to Voelker’s stance on taxes, he was impressed with the address. “You can tell residents are happy about the way things are going, and if (the city) executes the way the presentation was put forward, they’ll be in good standing for the next couple of years,” Koch said.
stituency will vote for what is only good for their district and not the entire RISD,” Kaner said. Mechanical engineering senior Josef Zippi, who attended Berkner High School, a component institution of RISD, said he did not believe the hybrid system would improve the district. “I think that … it shouldn’t be the people in the area (that) are voting on the school district,” Zippi said. “It should be the people attending the school (that) should be voting on the
school district: like the parents of the kids.” Tyson said the current socioeconomic representation on the board is not diverse enough. “An overwhelming majority of the board is upper middle class … those are the folks that represent us and those folks don’t always represent everybody within the district,” Tyson said. “What it comes down to is inclusiveness, and that can be nothing but bright for the Richardson Independent School District.”
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OPINION
Feb. 11, 2019 | The Mercury
— LETTER TO THE EDITOR —
Previous op-ed supporting border wall miscontrues facts EVA BRANCO Contributor In the Jan. 28 issue of The Mercury, an oped by Alexander Christie — entitled “Shutdown at the D.C. Corral” — asserted that the recent partial government closure was necessary to reexamine the issue of border security. This, among other parts of the article, is categorically false. If the shutdown was meant to heighten the stakes, as Christie suggests — making it clear to Democrats that the Republicans are unwilling to delay or quibble on this issue — I would ask why the government is open today. Both political parties, after over a month of a partially shut down government, have not bent in the slightest on their respective positions. If missing two weeks of paycheck is a trivial price to pay, why would the president and Republican leadership cave entirely to Democrat demands to end the shutdown and still not receive a cent for the border wall? The shutdown ultimately accomplished nothing and did not alter the national political situation on border security at all.
Christie goes on to highlight the hypoc- ment after acknowledgement from all over risy of some leaders of the Democratic Party. the Democratic Party that our law enforceWhile it’s true that Democrats, including ment agents have a difficult job that should Barack Obama, did expand the amount of be respected. Christie does notice, however, physical security on the border, Obama de- that slow and inefficient legal immigration ported more people than either of his pre- results in a more illegal immigration, but ceding administrations and more than Presi- crossing the U.S. border and seeking asylum, which is what the vast madent Trump has so far. If jority of non-visa overstay Christie would contend, immigration is classified as he does in the first as, is legal. If the goal of paragraph, that immiThe answer is not the Trump administragration enforcement has to build a wall. tion is to prevent these been neglected up to this people from exercising point, I suspect he will be — Eva Branco their rights under intersurprised learn of this fact. national law, the answer is And as for why Democrats not to build a wall. It’s to are offended by the Trump administration, let us not forget the current hire more immigration judges to process and administration’s child separation policy. deport them faster, much like Obama did. The final flaw in the op-ed is a systemic Many children still have not been returned to their families, and many will likely never see misunderstanding on Christie’s part. This them again. This is a fundamental difference is the result of a hyper-focus on particular between today’s immigration enforcement statistics that seem useful in support of his central narrative. Disregard for wider trends and that of the past. The suggestion that there is no sympathy and larger collections of related issues is why for border patrol agents is a lie of omission. A Christie has difficulty understanding why simple Google search will yield acknowledg- people would support Democratic policies,
or why he argues that the wall is unnecessary or why this administration in particular should be treated with skepticism and distrust. The issue is not about the cost of the wall, as Christie makes it out to be. It’s about the 800,000 workers’ paychecks being withheld as a political tool and the complete distaste of the process of governance shown by the Republicans and the president. The shutdown was the direct cause of a singular action on the part of the president to veto a spending bill and the Republican Party’s decision to not allow any continuing resolution to come to the floor until the president gave the go-ahead. Democrats presented over a dozen bills to end the shutdown, but all were rebuffed by Speaker of the House Mitch McConnell. In short, the author of “Shutdown at the D.C. Corral” is simply ignorant of the incredibly complex sociopolitical issues that plague our nation’s immigration system, willfully ignoring his party’s contribution to that plague and looking for simple, unrealistic solutions. This is what happens when a holistic approach to social issues is ignored.
My biggest regret Desi-Americans need to re-examine their attitude toward mental health
FAWAZ ANWAR Contributor I haven’t always made the best choices in my time here at UTD. Like most of us, if I could talk to myself when I was a freshman, there’s a lot of different pieces of advice I’d tell younger Fawaz. “Go to class, you fool. Stop eating Taco Bell so much. At least pretend to pay attention
during lectures!” The list could go on for an eternity. But, above all, I wish that I would have told myself to take my mental health seriously. Unfortunately, we all know someone — or are that someone — who disregards their mental health, either brushing it off like I did, or worse, stigmatizing it or ignoring it completely. And I’ve learned that the issue of mental health is exacerbated within the community of people who hail from the Indian subcontinent — more popularly referred to as “Desis” — regardless if you’re an international student, or the children of
RYAN MAGEE | MERCURY STAFF
immigrants like me. College is a stressful enough experience, but even more so if you are far away from your home. The pressure to do well, maintain scholarships, meet deadlines, stay on top of finances, deal with eLearning — it all adds up. Last semester, when taking six classes, I often found myself angry, tense, overworked and very stressed out. And I’m not the only one — in an aggregation of studies done by CollegeStats.org, 80 percent of all college students feel overwhelmed by their responsibilities as a student, and 50 percent of us self-diagnose our own mental health status as “below average or poor.” What’s more, 40 percent of us fail to seek help and simply ignore it, brush it off and attempt to carry on. As for Desi-Americans like myself, we’re one of the “model minorities.” We’re “supposed” to get good grades, “supposed” to be academically successful, “supposed” to study in the ECS, NSM, BBS or JSOM schools. The expectations, whether intentional or not, from our families and cultures can seem astronomically high. I was partially victim to this. When I started at UTD, I studied computer science. It’s just what I was supposed to do. Thankfully, I
learned quite quickly that CS just simply wasn’t for me, so I happily switched to political science and have never looked back. Of course, there have been significant bumps in the road from the second semester of my freshman year to my final one now. Throughout all this, I consistently and repeatedly ignored the everincreasing amount of stress in my life, as I continued to pile responsibilities on myself. Recently, one of my friends pulled me aside, asking me why I didn't take a break, slow down and consider seeing a therapist. I told them I simply didn't have time, and besides, what would my parents think? It wasn’t just one friend. It took several friends and a mentor of mine all saying that I needed to do something to finally spur me to take action. I won’t lie — I’ve only taken a baby step in terms of mental health care — but I did something. While Christmas shopping with a friend, my friend mentioned that they had an appointment with their therapist in the evening. I jokingly asked if I could tag along, and to my surprise, they said I could. I initially thought that it was a joke, but I learned that day that one can come along to a friend’s therapy session. So, I went, and it was a very positive,
informational experience. This therapist told me a hearth of details about mental health and the Desi-American community. Frankly, it’s hard to accurately describe what it was like, but I went from someone who was skeptical of therapy and aloof about mental healthcare in general to almost the opposite. We already know there is a problem with mental health in America. Unfortunately, there are not many detailed studies on mental health and attitudes towards mental health within the Desi community. The American Psychological Association, the National Institute of Health, studies from other universities and my own personal interactions with a psychologist recently all have expressed the same message — that there is an unmistakable stigma in our community and that upkeep of mental health is not a priority or is nonexistent. Findings from the APA show that while approximately 18 percent of the general population seeks mental health services, only 8.6 percent of Asian-Americans seek the same services. In pursuit of being the “model minority,” we’ve brushed aside our own emotional fitness. We also face problems
→ SEE MENTAL HEALTH,
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To form a more perfect union Support democracy in the workplace for mistreated Chartwells employees ERIN BRAY Contributor As Americans, we often claim to love democracy while simultaneously not practicing it in one of the most important parts of our lives — our workplace. In some cases, bosses can exercise almost autocratic control over our working lives with few checks on their power. Some on-campus employees know this better than most. Employees of Chartwells, UTD’s food provider, have accused the company of a number of heinous worker abuses and are beginning to unionize in response. The list of Chartwells employee mistreatment allegations is a long one, including not receiving promised promotions, being given new responsibilities with no new pay, not being paid for up to six weeks after hire and not being able to see pay stubs to verify they were properly paid for the hours they worked. International student workers allege even worse treatment, including sexual harassment and
far lower pay. Additionally, some workers claim they have no guarantee of employment after breaks and university closures. This is not how workers on our campus should be treated. Imagine waking up Jan. 14 worrying about whether UTD has allowed you to continue as a student or not. For these reasons and more, Chartwells workers are looking to unionize. The United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1000 — a Dallas area union — has been working to help make this happen. Unions present a way to help bring democracy into the workplace. By voting on issues and collectively bargaining with employers, unions give employees a voice that they are frequently scared to otherwise exercise. Historically, union members have fought and — in many cases — died for rights we’re proud to exercise today, including things such as workplace safety requirements, the 40-hour work week and the civil rights acts. According to a
→ SEE CHARTWELLS,
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EJ CHONG | MERCURY STAFF
Feb. 11, 2019 | The Mercury
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OPINION
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2018 report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, union members earn an average of 26 percent more money and are more likely to have complaints such as work instability or grievances addressed. This is especially important for anyone who eats on campus. Many of us have seen the pictures of moldy food and poorly washed dishes. My freshman year, the “clear” glasses were often yellow. If “Kitchen Nightmares” has taught me anything, it’s that food and quality problems are almost always a re-
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The JAL program was established in 2012, according to a statement released by the university. The JAL website states the program prepares either current or future criminal justice professionals with a master’s degree in their field. The controversy focuses on transfer students from two local institutions, the Caruth Police Institute and the Institute for Law Enforcement Administration, some of whom received unauthorized credit for coursework that wasn’t completed at UTD. According to documents obtained by The Mercury, JAL faculty at the time — criminology professors Worrall and Taylor — drafted a memorandum of understanding on Sept. 18, 2012 to establish a mechanism for transfer credit from CPI and ILEA. Officials from those institutions did not sign the MOU, which was rejected. Documents show that a similar request was re-submitted to the univer-
sult of management punishing employees who point out flaws or expect a semblance of respect. Want better food? Support the staff who serve you that food. If you work at all, know your rights. The AFL-CIO Federation of Unions has an excellent guide to workplace rights available online. Also consider joining a union to help establish a more democratic workplace — one that protects your rights. And if you eat on campus, let the Chartwells employees know you support them and that they deserve a more democratic workplace that doesn’t put profit over their workers’ and UTD students’ needs.
sity administration in April 2015 and again denied. It is unclear — based on The Mercury’s documents alone — when the fraudulent grading scheme began. What is clear, however, is that Benson did not take office until 2016 — after both transfer credit requests took place and certainly well after the program even began. The investigation of the illegitimate grades began in December of 2017 and was completed by the beginning of May 2018. The key period of time that The Dallas Morning News' editorial glosses over is between 2015–2016, which marked a significant change in the university’s leadership. In June 2015 — after the April 2015 MOU request was submitted and denied — David Daniel stepped down from his post as UTD president, accepting a position in the UT System instead. Hobson Wildenthal was named interim president. Finally, in mid-July 2016, Wildenthal accepted the post of executive vice president and Benson assumed the position of president. Why is this im-
→ MENTAL HEALTH
such as being “fresh off the boat,” either being too Desi or not Desi enough or hiding our sexual orientations from our families. On top of that is the general dismissal of discussion about mental health concerns because it’s seen as a “taboo” subject, regardless if you’re a Desi here at UTD or anywhere else in America. Combined with the existing statistics about mental health for college students and Americans in general, you can see how this problem could
be much bigger than we imagine. Thankfully, UTD has resources for students. The Student Counseling Center offers help, guidance and a plethora of online resources to take care of one’s mental health —something I hope is emphasized more in future orientations, especially those for international students. Admittedly, it’s my own fault for not using this service when I could have. With my graduation in May rapidly approaching, I wish I had taken advantage of this sooner. What’s more important, however, is reversing the lack of con-
versation about this issue in the DesiAmerican community. Obviously, we are not a monolith. But, sadly, we are uniformly in the dark when it comes to having these conversations with our families, our friends or our communities. It’s on us to start these difficult discussions. As our campus continues to grow, the number of Comets who will need mental health services will inevitably grow as well. We need to confront this silent struggle that many of us face and disregard a fruitless quest to be the “model minority.” I only wish I had done something sooner.
portant? Leadership at the top of the university was changing at the time when the problem reached its height. To suggest that Benson is singularly accountable would be misleading. Going forward, two things need to happen to ensure this situation doesn’t happen again. First, there must be a better protocol for reporting incidents of this nature. Before an anonymous EPPS professor contacted the provost in 2017, they were forced to go to Worrall, their superior, who was involved with the JAL practices and told them to keep quiet. Resources for the entire campus community to report incidents is key. The Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance offers a confidential and non-retaliatory hotline (888-228-7707) to report cases of unethical behavior. The university community needs to be made more aware of the reporting mechanisms made available to them. On a similar note, students need to be prepared — and have better means — to step forward. On the UTD Community Standards and Conduct
website, there are forms available for faculty to report student academic dishonesty, but not the other way around. In the case of the JAL program, it was faculty members who were dishonest. The JAL scandal is a dark chapter in our university’s history, but it demonstrates the need for a more transparent and accessible reporting process for faculty, staff and students. As future criminal justice officials, scientists, doctors, engineers and humanitarians, having integrity isn’t optional — it’s mandatory. The value of our degrees depends on it. We can’t confirm the final findings of the UT System investigation based on The Mercury’s documents alone. What’s clear is what didn’t happen. Cohen, Taylor and Worrall are all still employed by the university and are teaching classes this semester. In the case of Taylor, he is teaching only online courses this spring, as he initially demanded in a June 21, 2018 letter from his attorney to the provost. All three professors received letters
from the provost on July 6, 2018, notifying them that proceedings had begun to terminate them from their faculty positions. All three letters said allegations had been raised that they “commissioned and committed what amounts to academic fraud.” A July 27, 2018 email from Laura Barbour, a senior attorney from UT System, to Frank Hill, the attorney representing Taylor and Worrall, said the professors would receive academic appointment letters for the upcoming school year, though the disciplinary process would continue. Nearly seven months later — and nine months after the release of the extensive UT System report — why are all three professors still teaching at UTD? A syllabus written by Taylor for one of his spring 2019 classes says, “Since (academic) dishonesty harms the individual, all students and the integrity of the University, policies on scholastic dishonesty will be strictly enforced.” Shouldn’t that be the case for faculty members, as well?
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ALTERNATIVE USES FOR DORMANT BLUE EMERGENCY POLES
CAROLINA ALVAREZ | MERCURY STAFF
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Feb. 11, 2019 | The Mercury
10
NEWS
what's happening at utd?
SOUJANYA BHAT | MERCURY STAFF
AMINA HUSSAIN | MERCURY STAFF
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ANNA PHENGSAKMUEANG | MERCURY STAFF
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AMINA HUSSAIN | MERCURY STAFF
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1. High school students rehearse a one-act play “The Person” directed by alumna Kristen Colaneri. The play was performed on Feb. 3 at the Dallas Museum of Art. 2. Sophomore guard Kelley Skinner attempts to score in a game against Louisana College on Jan. 31. The women's basketball team took home a 77-40 victory. The Comets' overall record stands at 19-4. 3. Artist Ron Bultongez won several music awards and was featured on the 2018 season of “American Idol. ” He performed at UTD on Feb. 7 as part of SUAAB's Liftoff series, which features up-and-coming artists. 4. Jessmine Sullenroc, a student at Texas A&M-Prairire View, also performed at the Feb. 7 Liftoff concert. She performs to raise awareness for mental health and to support historically black colleges and universities.
Feb. 11, 2019 | The Mercury
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Feb. 11, 2019 | The Mercury
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Neiger said a lot of Man’s character growth comes from his interactions with Woman and that the primary conflict for his character comes from trying to figure out his own psyche and feelings. As for Woman, portrayed by visual and performing arts junior Alexandra Schmid, the relationship with Man is likewise a key part of the play. “The Woman, at the beginning, sort of has this very cold exterior — she’s not welcoming to people, she’s not very open to anybody, she’s a reluctant pa-
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help but keep taking more bites to try and convince myself to love it like Reem and Amaka did. I wasn’t successful. Knafeh sounded heavenly when Reem was describing it to me. A thick chunk of cheese, covered with bits of baked thin noodles, is soaked in a decadent rose sugar syrup before being baked and topped with bits of pistachio. At first glance, the
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to building a wall along the United States-Mexico border. The issue sat at the crux of the recent government shutdown that ended Jan. 25 and was mentioned again in the president’s State of the Union address on Feb. 5. “It’s a little weird when you hear the president consider declaring an emergency in order to justify building a wall because I’ve lived here for four years, and I know people who’ve lived here their whole life, and it’s safer than it was seven years ago,” he said. “There’s no such thing as a national emergency happening. The only emergency is the educational system, which could be much better for poorer students here.” Across the Rio Grande sits Matamoros, Mexico, from which a number of Sevier-Schultz’s friends and colleagues commute every day. “The border is a strange thing. If you’re not near the
NEWS
tient at this institution,” Schmid said. “But as her relationship with the Man tends to blossom, you see a lot of that exterior sort of melt away, and you see a lot of the deeper emotions, a lot of the deep connections that she makes with the Man.” Marketing junior Carlos Manuel, portraying Prologue, said the play is special not just for the multiple breaks in the fourth wall, but also the comments it makes about itself. “Usually a play is, well, ‘trapped’ in the confines of its own story. This specific play isn’t,” Manuel said. “You’ve got the story within itself, then
you’ve got another story, then you’ve got that story commenting on the story that is life that is going on around you. And I feel like that’s probably the most interesting ideology in a play that I’ve ever been a part of.” “The Flu Season” will have its preview night on Thursday, Feb. 21 at 8 p.m., followed by performances at the same time on Feb. 22, 23, 28 and March 1 and 2, all in the University Theatre. Students, faculty and staff are eligible for free tickets by presenting their valid Comet Cards at the box office on the performance night of their choice.
knafeh looked like it should have been savory. It was bright orange and greasy-looking, and I couldn’t help but think of pizza. The dish was initially crunchy and then chewy, but its taste was something out of this world. Immediately, I tasted a rich, rosy flavor that wasn’t overpowering. The combined tastes of the cheese and thick sugar syrup made for an extremely extravagant dessert. Knafeh turned out to be infinitely better than your average cheesecake, and while
Reem and Amaka took a few bites just for taste, I finished the entire dish afterwards. Middle Eastern food is probably one of the more natural and fresh types of cuisines I’ve encountered so far. Most of the dishes employ simple spices and oils, and the flavors of the ingredients in the foods themselves are what stand out. Nonetheless, it’s an entirely enjoyable cuisine that makes me feel wonderfully cozy and homey every time I have it.
border it feels like a very definite thing,” he said. “The way I think of it now is that it’s similar to the tide at a coastline — it flows in and out at certain times, and we have a lot of traffic across the border each day — people going to work. Here, there’s a lot of undocumented residents. It’s part of the culture. At some point, Brownsville was in Mexico. I keep that in mind for the whole region.” He said he doesn’t see the number of undocumented people in Brownsville as a security risk, but as a piece of its history. “You could ask around in Brownsville and find a lot of people that are first-generation American citizens whose parents grew up in Brownsville,” he said. “There’s this muddy water of people born in Matamoros and have lived here 40, 50 years, but their birthplace isn’t clear because you could get a midwife to say they were a witness at your birth in Brownsville.” Sevier-Schultz said his wife’s family has lived in the Brownsville region for a while, and
somewhere down the family tree she has a distant uncle who lived right near the border. His ranch sat on the Mexico side of the Rio Grande, until a storm came. “There was a heavy rainfall and the river changed course, and when it did that, he went from living in Mexico to living in the US without having moved at all,” he said. “All of a sudden he was given the choice from the US government to become a US citizen or give up his property. It shows the flexibility of this region and the history you won’t find in many other places.” There is a segment of the Rio Grande that is sometimes less than 35 feet wide, where the salt water of the Gulf of Mexico mingles with the freshwater of the river. “That brackish water, to me, illustrates the border,” SevierSchultz said. “Those two cultures, the blurring of the two countries, not a definite line where the two are absolutely divided. That’s how close our cultures are down here.”
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449, filed by Arlington Rep. Chris Turner, would require all universities, public or private, to note any expulsions or suspensions on a student’s official transcript. A staff member at Turner’s office in Austin said the bill wasn’t filed directly in response to the Anderson case but had been in the making for three years. House Bill 524, filed by Dallas Rep. Victoria Neave, would require public universities to include a note on a student’s official transcript if that student were to violate the university’s code of conduct by committing a sex offense. Both bills have been filed and are currently in committee review. A representative for Neave’s office in Dallas did not respond to a request for comment. Wildenthal said the admissions review committee at UTD would meet over the course of the spring semester but that depending on the two proposed bills, changes could happen much sooner. He said beyond the Anderson case and the legislation, the committee will be reviewing the entire admissions process. “This was directed at a transfer application, but there’s no reason to restrict it to undergraduate transfer,” Wildenthal said. “(We) might as well worry about grad students and freshmen.” Wildenthal said had the incident occurred and been reported at UTD, the matter would have been investigated under Title IX guidelines. If a student is found to be in violation, they are often expelled or removed from campus, per the
recommendations of the Dean of Students and the Title IX Office. The victim in the Anderson case filed complaints at Baylor University’s Title IX office. After Anderson’s Title IX hearing, he was removed from Baylor’s campus. However, Wildenthal said universities aren’t legally required to share information between Title IX offices. “Title IX is, in a sense, extralegal,” Wildenthal said. “I’d imagine most institutions would be very leery of reporting their conclusions for fear of being sued.” Information on any expulsions within any of the UT System schools is made available to any other UT System institutionto which a student might transfer. Dallas-based Title IX lawyer Patricia Davis said in contrast, Baylor University is a school that elects to report little information. “Baylor is one of the colleges that has chosen not to put any kind of mark at all on anyone’s transcript that would allow the next college to know that there was any kind of disciplinary problem at all,” Davis said. Davis said because of the non-criminal nature of Title IX proceedings, any findings will not show up on a criminal record, either. “If Mr. Anderson had a criminal record, (UTD) would be able to find that,” Davis said. “But because this isn’t a criminal proceeding … there would be no public record of … any findings that he violated the policy at Baylor.” Davis said universities try to balance privacy, as protected by FERPA, with the safety of the campus, as outlined in Title IX – which can
result in communication issues. “If I were to give any advice to colleges that are accepting transfers,” Davis said, “I would include in the application process some question about whether there’s been any disciplinary issue at the previous college.” Davis said while disciplinary history might be self-reported, it would still make a difference. “People may lie, but it (should be) the same as it is with employment (applications),” Davis said. “If you’re found to have lied on your application, you’re liable to be fired, and that should be the same with colleges.” On Feb. 7, Benson issued a memo to potential members of the committee, which will be chaired by Provost Inga Musselman. Committee members will include academic officials such as Dean of Students Amanda Smith as well as Student Government President Eric Chen and Vice President Carla Ramazan. Four unnamed members of the Academic Senate, comprising faculty members, were also invited to join the committee. Wildenthal said at the moment, the proceedings will not be open to the public, but this could change as the committee begins to meet over the spring semester. “The committee’s work will be really straightforward — what do we do, can do we do it better (and) let everyone know how it happened,” Wildenthal said. “A lot of people have no idea what’s going on … the answer is, the way things are done, it’s perfectly natural (that this happened). We admit 5,000 to 8,000 students a year and we don’t subject every application to an investigative criminal background check.”
The following individuals will serve on the admissions review committee: • Senior Director of Enrollment Operations Michael Seeligson • University Registrar Jennifer McDowell • Dean of Undergraduate Education Jessica Murphy • Dean of Undergraduare Education Juan Gonzales • Dean of Students Amanda Smith • Speaker of the Faculty Ravi Prakash • 4 representatives from the Academic Senate • Student Government President Eric Chen • Student Government Vice President Carla Ramazan