March 01, 2021
THE MERCURY | UTDMERCURY.COM
‘To the moon’ with a Comet Student invests in GameStop stock amidst Internet frenzy
Stick(er)ing up for Cancer Research UTD student raises awareness for breast cancer with animal art
The bobcat’s out of the bag Sustainability projects, low student traffic brings wildlife to campus
LETTER TO THE EDITOR The Mercury should do better
facebook.com/theutdmercury | @utdmercury
ALUMNus AT CAPITOL RIOTS Class of 2012 Chris Grider has been in federal custody since Jan 12
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UTD PD THE MERCURY UTDMERCURY.COM Volume L
No. 5Ҵ Editor-in-Chief Madison York
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Feb. 17 Officers were called to Canyon Creek North for odor of marjuana at 11:10 p.m. A student was cited for possession of drug paraphernalia. Feb. 22 A UTD employee reported the theft of a laptop from the Science Building at 4:03 p.m. Feb. 23 A student in Phase 8 reported a sexual assault at 5:24 p.m.
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Mar. 01, 2021 | The Mercury
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
NEWS
04-07
ALUMNI AT RIOTS......................................................................................04 STUDENT GAMESTOP STOCKS.................................................................05 BAND PROGRAM DURING COVID, CAMPUS LAND ENHANCEMENT........06 NEW DEAN OF NSM, LGBTQ+ WORKPLACE DISCRIMINATIO...................07
COMICS
08 09-10
LIFE & ARTS
BOBCATS, PINK RIBBON STICKERS.........................................................09 ASK SOPHIE: IMPOSTER SYNDROME, HUMAN PANDEMIC BEHAVIOR...10
SPORTS
11
BASKETBALL MANAGER TO PLAYER, CHESS TEAM CHECK-IN...............11
OPINION
12-14
EDITING WITH CARE, LETTER TO THE EDITOR........................................12 TRUMP INCITES VIOLENCE.......................................................................13 CRUNCH IN VIDEO GAMES........................................................................14
SECTION JUMPS
15-16
Visit utdmercury.com for more stories in your orbit! “He was not making efforts to damage property or hurt anyone. He just wanted to be a part of the protest.” - Brent Mayr, Chris Grider’s attorney, on Grider’s alleged participation in the Capitol riot.
SEE PAGE 4
“Even if we’re small as individuals, most people are holding one or two stocks. If we come together we’re holding millions of shares.” - Political science junior Eduardo Pasaret on his stock-buying during the GameStop stock craze.
SEE PAGE 5
“An animal holding the ribbon still carries that message of pink and support but with a different twist so that people can get something that not only supports breast cancer but it also cute in general.” - Neuroscience and healthcare studies freshman Izzy Raicu on her breast cancer awareness stickers.
SEE PAGE 9
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NEWS
Mar. 1, 2021 | The Mercury
UTD alum allegedly participated in Capitol riot Class of 2012 Chris Grider has been in federal custody since Jan. 21
JOHN SULLIVAN (JAYDEN X) | COURTESY
PALAK DAVE Mercury Staff
UTD alumnus and former military officer Chris Grider currently awaits his trial under federal custody after his alleged participation in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Chris Grider graduated from UTD in 2012 with a master’s degree in fine arts. In 2014, he and his wife opened their own winery – the Kissing Tree Vineyard – in Eddy, Texas. In 2016, Grider even held a wine tasting event at III Forks Steakhouse for UTD alumni in honor of the homecoming season. Now, in 2021, Grider is currently being charged with multiple counts such as the aiding and abetting of the destruction of government property in the Capitol riot, entering and remaining in a restricted building, disruptive conduct and obstruction of an official proceeding. Last month, hundreds of individuals gathered around the Capitol in support of Donald Trump, former president of the United States, to protest the result of the 2021 presidential election. While the gathering started as a protest, some participants escalated it into a riot: seizing United States property
and forcefully barging into the White House building. The aftermath of the attack left five individuals and one police officer dead. Following the riot, the FBI found evidence of links between participants and right-wing extremist organizations such as the Proud Boys. In an interview with the KWTX news channel, Grider said he wanted to join the event to protest against possible election fraud. “Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t, but what troubles me is the ‘nothing to see here attitude,’” Grider said in the interview. “The president asked us to come in support; that’s why I am here.” Brent Mayr, Chris Grider’s attorney, said Grider hopped on a plane to support Trump after listening to Trump’s speech urging citizens to attend a protest the day of Joe Biden’s announced victory and was unaware of the turbulent events that were to occur on Capital grounds later that day. “He decided to travel to Washington Wednesday morning with his buddy to be there for what they thought was going to be a peaceful protest to support their president,” Mayr said. “The next thing you know, it becomes violent. It was simply a case of wrong timing.”
Mayr said that Grider realized the protest was turning violent when he saw Ashli Babbitt’s dead body on the floor and knew in that instant that he needed to leave. “He told media outlets that seeing that dead body on the ground was unbelievable,” Mayr said. “He said he would’ve never imagined it would come to this.” U.S. Magistrate Susan Hightower is holding Grider under federal custody due to strong evidence showing his active participation in the riots. He has been in custody since his arrest on Jan. 21. The judge refers to an arrest warrant that said Grider aided a man trying to break glass into the Speaker’s Lobby by handing him a black helmet. Grider was also identified through photos in multiple locations around the Capitol, such as the rotunda and the hallway. He was seen wearing a flag on his chest with the words “Don’t Tread On Me,” a black jacket and a MAGA hat. Additionally, Grider was seen on video directly outside the Speaker’s Lobby, pushing and then kicking the barricaded door. Mayr said that Grider was just one among the masses and didn’t forcibly break or enter the Cap-
itol. All he did was walk through the doors. Mayr said Grider turned himself in when the FBI issued a federal arrest warrant against him. “He was not making any efforts to damage property or hurt anyone. He just wanted to be a part of the protest,” Mayr said. “When he learned that they had charged him, he surrendered himself without anyone coming after him.” Grider’s family and friends, Mayr said, described him in their testimonies as a loving and caring person who helped people of all different community backgrounds. He was an active member of the church, and relatives said that he was dedicated to his business and family. Michael C. Galdo, assistant U.S. attorney, filed a motion to keep Grider in custody without bond until his trial. Yet, Mayr claims that the evidence uncovered is not enough to determine this case’s potential outcome. “He is 39 years old. He has never been accused of any violent act. He’s married, a father of three and owns a winery,” Mayr said. “He’s not a member of any right-wing militia; he doesn’t ascribe to QAnon. He was just a Trump supporter.”
Mar. 1, 2021 | The Mercury
NEWS
‘To the moon’ with a Comet
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Student invests in GameStop stock amidst internet frenzy
JUHI KARNALKAR | MERCURY STAFF
Bolstered by discussion within subreddit r/wallstreetbets, political science junior Eduardo Pasaret is one of a few UTD students who bought in early to the online insurgency against Wall Street.
NANDIKA MANSINGKA Mercury Staff
On Jan. 27, Pasaret sold the entirety of his $3000 stock market holdings in Tesla and other companies to invest in a declining GameStop stock. Consensus on the subreddit pushed many others to do the same. The goal was to undermine the control of hedge fund investors involved in short selling stocks, which is a way to manipulate the market to profit off of falling asset prices. As regular people began buying more GME shares, GameStop stock soared and Reddit users profited at the expense of Wall Street investors. “I really associated with the common goal of ‘sticking it to the man’…kind of fighting this authority or power in Wall Street that does more market manipulation in a day than we can ever imagine,” Pasaret said. “It was this idea that we’re going up against this power that we always thought was untouchable, but the small guy has enough power and if we kind of unite as a collective, we are a force to reckon with.” Pasaret said he had been following r/wallstreet-
bets actively for about six months, though he had been trading for about four years prior. He was involved early during the conception of the idea, keeping up with the progress of the stock through posts on the subreddit from when it was priced at $60 per share. He finally invested through trading app Robinhood at $320 per share after it made the news. He saw a marked increase in his profits followed by a quick decline, but he refused to sell. “At one point I was eager to sell because I had doubled my investment,” Pasaret said. “I was like, this is great. I could sell right now, I can start my business, I could really do all the things that I want to do. At one point, I saw $5000 in my account. And the next day I saw negative $1000 and I wanted to sell because I’d lost more money than I’d made already. But I’m going to hold because I think that this is bigger than me.” Many people were wary of investing for this reason, citing the volatility of the stock, the possibility that its success would be short-lived and that people would incur losses regardless. “It’s definitely a big bet, but a lot of this is tolerance,” Pasaret said. “When you’re doing a short
squeeze, you have to tolerate the downfall, the tension. Don’t panic. I’m not mad that I lost the money. My $3,000 loss is going to cost them billions, and I’m happy with that.” In contrast, finance professor Harold Zhang, whose main research areas include investments and asset pricing, said he doesn’t think this stock has much of a future in the long term. Zhang said that GameStop is a very small stock that has a market cap of $29 billion and is nothing compared to the full trillion-dollar market. He also said that though investors may have lost a lot of money, it still won’t have as big an impact as people believe because the goal of the Reddit users hasn’t been achieved in the way they think it has. “There’s a sense that people thought ‘oh we want to fight those big-name Wall Street firms and institutional investors because we feel exploited by them’, but that’s not the right way to think about it,” Zhang said. “And yeah, you can push out the stock price a little bit and force them to close the short position and lose money. But the people that benefit the most from this is still another group of institutional investors: in other words, those people who actually own the
shares. This is sort of like moving money from the pocket of one group of investors to the targets of another group of retail investors who didn’t lose any money.” Pasaret and Zhang both agree that the dynamics of the stock market have changed irreversibly. Zhang said that people will be more cautious to take risks, but the way information is disseminated – and how people can communicate and assemble because of it – makes the possibility of this happening again significantly more likely. “I definitely do think that things are going to change after this: for the better or the worse, whatever it may be,” Pasaret said. “It’s an idea to everybody of how powerful these social media groups can really be. Even if we’re small as individuals, most people are holding one or two stocks. If we come together, we’re holding millions of shares. I think that people are scared, and they have the right to be because it’s a force they’ve never really come across. And now that it’s come out of the light, it’s really going to change things.”
March 1, 2021 | The Mercury
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NEWS
Campus land enhancement: how far it’s come, where it’s going UTD advances Phase III of the CLE project, including promenade ALEENA HASSAN Mercury Staff
The UTD campus has had ongoing construction for over the past decade, and the pandemic has allowed the current construction to move at an accelerated pace – soon to result in the completed Rutford promenade and several thousand newly-planted trees. The Campus Land Enhancement Project started in 2007 and is currently in Phase III. In Phase I, UTD planted over 5,000 trees over University Parkway, created the Plinth and planted the magnolia trees and reflecting pool on the southern part of campus. Calvin Jamison, vice president of facilities and economic development, said he has overseen the rapid growth of campus and has been with the project since the beginning. “If you go to any college campus, they have a destination. UTD didn’t have one back then. You would go from the parking lot to class and back to the parking lot,” Jamison said. “We wanted to soften up the campus.”
Three years after the start of the project, Phase II began in 2010. Hundreds more trees were planted across campus and the TI Plaza was renovated. UTD was also building other structures simultaneously, including science and engineering buildings. In 2018, Phase III of the project commenced with the construction of a promenade on Rutford, which is continuing today. Jamison said that current construction is accelerated due to the decreased presence of faculty and students. By the end of Phase III, UTD will have planted over 7,000 trees and created six new lighted signages to help people navigate the campus. Jamison said he hopes students will return to an improved campus after the pandemic is over. “The goal isn’t a new normal: it’s a different normal, a better normal,” Jamison said. “Students from 10 years ago would not recognize this campus because we’ve made so many improvements. We’ve built it so it feels more like a college town: Northside, retail, restaurants.” Benedict Voit, co-founder of the McDermott Alumni Association, agreed that the campus has changed significantly since he began as a student in 2004. After graduating in 2008 with a bach-
elor’s in political science, Voit has remained a presence on campus. “I was at a Finalist’s Weekend [for the McDermott program] around 2013 or 2014, and I overheard people say the campus is beautiful. It stopped me in my tracks,” Voit said. “Some people may say we could have used the funding for an endowment that could have supported five or six professors and changed the academic experience of a dozen to a hundred students, but what we have now is impacting over 30,000 students.” Construction for the project began in Voit’s senior year, a time where he recalls that the campus had no dorms and students came to campus for classes or meetings. “There has been a mental shift in the students, and there has been development from a visual perspective and an internal perspective,” Voit said. “The idea [for Phase I] was if you’re going down Campbell Road, all these trees are blocking everything. When you enter UTD, it’s like you’re escaping from Richardson and Dallas.” Looking to the future, Jamison said that UTD plans for Phase IV to include the Silver Line DART station, a bridge from Northside to the campus and another promenade. Voit said that further construction will give the campus a more typical university appearance and foster a better college experience. “I think Dallas is one of the few major cities [in the US] without a top tier university: New York, Chicago, Houston, all these places have them,” Voit said. “The demand and need are there, and UTD is there to fill that role.”
ALESANDRA BELL | MERCURY STAFF
And the band plays on…virtually UTD band, orchestra programs meet reduced enrollment requirements CHRISTINE JACOB Mercury Staff
GREGORY HUSTIS | Courtesy
The string orchestra enrollment was capped at 30 and the band ensemble cap was set at 15.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought a variety of challenges to UTD’s art programs; however, the university’s band and orchestral ensembles – known collectively as the Comet Symfonique – have adapted and found a way to continue making music. The ensembles are among the few classes on campus continuing to regularly meet in person. Adron Ming, director of the string ensemble, has been holding rehearsals in person every Tuesday night. The structure of the rehearsals has changed significantly since the onset of the pandemic. “Normally, all the strings meet together for the first half of class. Then, we join the wind (section) for full orchestra. As a string student enrolled in string orchestra, the student has the experience of playing string orchestra music and then also playing in the full orchestra,” Ming said. “With the
pandemic, we can no longer have full orchestra because we can’t fit everyone into the room safely, and the students miss out on playing the full orchestra repertoire. The experiences of the students are cut in half.” Maria Kiesewetter, a neuroscience junior and president of the Comet Symfonique, is one of only four students that is participating in the orchestra online. “Personally, I have been having to watch the class recordings because I live in a different time zone,” Kiesewetter said. “I am still required to do (some coursework) for the class, so what I have been doing is a solo or duet on my own and sending in the recordings. It is more difficult to actually participate in the group. COVID-19 safety restrictions pose challenges
SEE BAND, PAGE 15
March 1, 2021| The Mercury
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NEWS
‘You are welcome here’
UTD students, staff discuss LGBTQ+ workplace discrimination PALAK DAVE Mercury Staff
Members of the UTD LGBTQ+ community weigh in on the continuing discrimination in the workplace, including gender-based dress codes, shortened parental leave and limited representation. On June 15, 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protected members of the LGBTQ+ community in the workplace. This ruling made it illegal for employers to fire an individual based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. With recent and pending rulings regarding the Equality Act, students in UTD’s oSTEM – an organization for LGBTQ+ students pursuing STEM fields – discussed common concerns for the LGBTQ+ community in the workplace. Danielle Hope Griswold-Wheeler, social media manager of UTD’s oSTEM, said there was a recent example of LGBTQ+ workplace discrimination in Michigan. Aimee Stephens, a transgender woman and funeral home director, was fired from Harris Funeral Homes in Michigan because she wore a conservative skirt to work after transi-
tioning into a woman. “You can’t fire someone based on specific reasons such as gender identification, but at-will employment defines that you can basically come up with any superfluous reason to fire someone,” Griswold-Wheeler said. “It’s 2021. Why are we still forcing women to wear pencil skirts to work and men to wear suits?” With at-will employment, an employee is not under an employment contract and may be dismissed for any reason – except an illegal reason – at any given time. The Supreme Court has not specified whether employers can fire someone or refuse to offer their services to an individual for religious reasons. Another concern for LGBTQ+ people in the workplace is parental leave. Male couples receive dramatically less paid parental leave than heterosexual or female couples. This may not allow same-sex male parents enough time to bond with their children and could make it harder for them to financially support their families.
SEE WORKPLACE, PAGE 15
CHARLIE CHANG| MERCURY STAFF
ROSHAN KHICHI | Mercury Staff
Provost Inga Musselman said that Hyndman’s commitment to research and education in the natural sciences and math made him a valuable candidate.
Provost appoints new NSM dean Increasing number of tenure track professors among Hyndman’s priorities FATIMAH AZEEM Mercury Staff
Following the departure of the former dean in January 2020, a new non-interim dean has been appointed to the school of Natural Sciences and Math. Appointed on Feb. 1, David Hyndman comes from Michigan State University, where he was a professor, academic advisor and hydrogeology researcher. Hyndman succeeds Associate Provost Bruce Novak, who was dean of NSM for eight years. When Novak departed from his position at the beginning of last year, chemistry professor Dean Sherry said that he agreed to oversee the school as interim dean while Provost Inga Musselman looked for someone to fill the position permanently. “She desperately needed someone to step in and sort of man the store, and I just felt obligated,” Sherry said. “I mean, UTD is my home. I’ve been here for 48 years. So, you know, why would I not try to do what I can to help solve problems? It was really more or less out of just being loyal to the university.” Sherry said he worked to address salary inequities, workload issues and faculty recruitment in addition to finding research space for new faculty during his tenure as interim dean. While Sherry was doing this, Hyndman said he was applying for the opening as dean after he was contacted by a search firm last summer. “I was at a point where I’ve been chair of the department of the Michigan State now for 10 and a half years and was stepping out of that role and was looking for my next leadership opportunity,” Hyndman said. “This just came at the perfect time.”
Musselman said that Hyndman’s commitment to research and education in the natural sciences and math - values that are important to UTD’s status as a national research university - made him a valuable candidate. “Dr. David Hyndman’s record of leadership in research, teaching, service, and faculty and alumni engagement shows a shared commitment to these principles that make him an excellent choice to lead the school and contribute to the success of the university,” Musselman said. After accepting his position as dean, Hyndman said that Sherry assisted him in his transition by regularly keeping in contact with him about the position’s functionalities, issues in NSM and school budgets. Hyndman said that one of the key things he wants to do coming in is enhance the research portfolio of the school. “I also want to increase the number of tenure track faculty as soon as possible, as the number of students has grown immensely over the last decade,” Hyndman said. “So that’s one of my priorities … and looking at how we can hire new faculty and get the student-faculty ratio back something closer to what it was probably about 10 years ago.” When it comes to the future of NSM, Sherry said that the school is in good hands under Hyndman. “When you bring somebody new in, you have new ideas and new directions and that’s always a healthy thing,” Sherry said. “We’ve fallen behind in a few things and I think it’s important to sort of set us in a new direction again and to try to stimulate the faculty. We’ve got some great faculty in NSM, but you need a leader, you need someone to stimulate them.”
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COMICS
Mar. 01, 2021 | The Mercury
MAYBE NOT
OFF TO WORK
QUINN SHERER | MERCURY STAFF
REDBULL GIVES YOU WINGS
ELIZABETH NGUYEN | MERCURY STAFF
ISABELLE VILLEGAS | MERCURY STAFF
REGRESSING
TEXAS SNOWMAN
CHARLIE CHANG | MERCURY STAFF
JACKY CHAO | MERCURY STAFF
LIFE&ARTS
Mar. 1, 2021 | The Mercury
9
Stick(er)ing up for cancer research
UTD student raises awareness for breast cancer with animal art SMRITHI UPADHYAYULA Mercury Staff
BRITTANY THU-ANH HUYNH | COURTESY
Students should be cauttious if they have small pets, but the bocats’ presence is a net-good in terms of keeping the populations of other species under control.
The bobcat’s out of the bag Sustainability projects, low student traffic brings wildlife to campus LAUREN DOUGHERTY Mercury Staff
Two bobcats were spotted on campus in January, thought to be due in part to decreased traffic on campus and the biodiversity efforts of the Office of Sustainability. According to a photo posted on the Facilities & Economic Development website on Jan. 14, an adult bobcat and its kitten were seen in the middle of the day near a storm drainpipe. Gary Cocke, director of energy conservation and sustainability, said that the photo was taken along the creek near the UV housing north of Franklyn Jenifer Drive. “What I think (the photo) is indicative of is just simply with lower traffic from people on campus, we’re seeing some wildlife poking up in locations that we haven’t normally seen,” Cocke said. While the presence of bobcats is likely caused by a quieter campus, Cocke said, it’s also the result of an environment that can support the native species. Sustainability efforts such as the monarch butterfly waystations on campus help create a healthy base for the ecosystem, which ultimately allows the presence of predators at the top of the food chain, like bobcats. “Ecosystems really do require apex predators like bobcats that can help to keep everything in balance; they control the animals that are lower than them on the trophic ladder,” Cocke said. “I thought it was a testament to the good work that our university does.”
In recent years, Cocke said, the Office of Sustainability has launched a number of initiatives designed to increase biodiversity on campus. Many of the campus’ 7,000 trees have been planted in the last decade, and they’ve planted wildflower seeds on five acres of campus in the last few months. “When you have the right native plants in the ground, that means that we’re going to have the right native pollinators, and then that ripples up through the ecosystem,” Cocke said. A multi-year Texas Parks and Wildlife study published in 2019 found that despite rapid urbanization and loss of habitat, a larger-than-expected bobcat population in North Texas persisted. The research focused on a 78 km2 central section of the DFW area, which was selected due to a relatively high volume of bobcat sightings in the area. At the time of the study, an estimated 43 bobcats lived in the section. “A robust population of bobcats in the heart of a dense metropolitan area like DFW provides optimistic possibilities for the potential of bobcats and other carnivores to thrive in urban landscapes with minimal conflict,” the study said. There have been other bobcat sightings on campus in recent months: according to a post on the UTD subreddit by user u/Deanuna on Nov. 27, a single bobcat was spotted between the Johnson and Green buildings.
SEE BOBCAT, PAGE 16
Photo caption online: Raicu said her lifelong passion for art helped fuel the process of starting her business, in addition to her past experience in breast cancer research. Photo caption in print: Raicu chinchillin’ with her artwork (and pet, Willow) Combining the classic pink ribbon with her whimsical drawing style, a neuroscience and healthcare studies freshman is now selling her art to raise money for breast cancer research. Izzy Raicu’s interest in breast cancer began with a high school research internship. “In 10th grade, I got paired with a research lab at UT Southwestern, and I did breast cancer research there for the next couple of years,” Raicu said. “I also got to shadow and actually interact with patients, so it wasn’t only bench research. That really got me into understanding the breast cancer community and the challenges that everyone faces when they go through having breast cancer.” Unable to spend last summer in her lab due to the pandemic, Raicu found another way to pursue her goal of aiding breast cancer research. “I couldn’t work in my lab because it was shut down to anyone who wasn’t faculty or a postdoc employee, so I was just sitting at home,” Raicu said. “I kind of had this idea to keep contributing to the breast cancer community through fundraising.” Raicu opened an Etsy shop selling a variety of stationery and gift items from vinyl stickers and sticker sheets to greeting cards for birthdays and holidays. All of her products feature original drawings that incorporate the pink ribbon, a well-known symbol of breast cancer awareness. Hence the name of her company: Pink Ribbon Parcels. She said her lifelong passion for art helped fuel the process of starting her business. “My grandma was an art teacher; she taught high school art back in the day,” Raicu said. “She taught me to paint, honestly, before I could even write, so I’ve always had art as a hobby, as something that helped me express things in a different way.” Many of Raicu’s products star cartoon bunnies inspired by her pet rabbits, Scotch and Marbles. Her sister’s chinchilla, Willow, has also made a guest appearance. She said she hopes her cheerful designs deliver a message of positivity to those who really need it. “I wanted something that would be aesthetically pleasing and something that people would enjoy,”
Raicu said. “I think animals bring a lot of joy to people and are just universally liked. The traditional, normal ribbon – we’ve seen that a hundred times, you know? An animal holding the ribbon still carries that message of pink and support but with a different twist so that people can get something that not only supports breast cancer but is also cute in general.” In the future, she hopes to launch care packages directly aimed toward breast cancer patients. “(The packages) are going to have a support pillow, a mask, some adult coloring pages, stickers of course – things like that,” Raicu said. “Just some cute knick-knacks so they can take their mind off of what they’re going through and feel a little bit more happy and supported.” Raicu uses her website and Facebook page to raise awareness about breast cancer as well as the necessity of properly caring for animals like her rabbits. She said she hopes her shop helps foster a community that is educated about breast cancer and supportive of those fighting the disease. “It’s been a challenge, launching a business during a pandemic with no business background,” Raicu said. “There’s so much I have to learn, but it’s been a great journey so far.”
ISABELLA RAICU | COURTESY.
Raicu chinchillin’ with Scotch and Marbles.
Mar. 1, 2021 | The Mercury
10
LIFE&ARTS
Ask Sophie: overcoming imposter syndrome What it is, how to deal with it SOPHIE BOUTOUIS Copy Editor
JUHI KARNALKAR | MERCURY STAFF
The college experience is filled with ups and downs, successes and failures. While the joys of student success can be easily overshadowed by imposter syndrome, it is possible to counter such doubt in oneself by separating fact from feelings. Almost communally hated by college students, imposter syndrome is a psychological phenomenon that causes people to doubt their skills, feel unworthy of their accomplishments and believe that they are not as capable as others perceive them. Though commonly associated with low self-esteem or feelings of inadequacy, the syndrome specifically involves a persistent fear of exposure and rejection. For students, it often takes the form of intellectual self-doubt and sometimes even anxiety or depression. During periods of especially intense insecurity, it can be easy to feel like you’re the only one who’s ever felt like an impostor. However, this is simply not true. Even the most accomplished of people – such as Tina Fey, Maya Angelou and Michelle Obama – have struggled with impostor feelings at some point in their lives. The first step in conquering imposter syndrome is
recognizing what you’re feeling and why. In his book “The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down,” South Korean author and Buddhist monk Haemin Sunim said one should think about their emotions like fleeting clouds in the sky. Rather than attempting to actively suppress or eliminate them, we must calmly observe and respect their existence. All feelings – even the most uncomfortable or embarrassing ones – are impermanent, so permit yourself to experience them in their entirety. People deny or try to hide feelings like anger or guilt too often, so being honest and simply acknowledging that such feelings exist will go a long way. “(Feelings) are just passing through, like clouds in the sky. They, too, dissipate on their own,” Sunim said in the book. “Remember that you are neither your feelings nor the story your mind tells about you to make sense of them. You are the vast silence that knows of their emergence and their disappearance.” So, the next time you feel woefully inadequate or incapable, remember that these are just feelings. In no way do they indicate that you are actually inadequate or incapable. In fact, it is perfectly normal –
SEE IMPOSTOR, PAGE 15
Coping with Solitude Quarantine leads individuals to return to comforting pastimes CALIS LIM
Mercury Staff
Over the course of the past year, the majority of the population has dramatically increased leisure activities to cope with the pandemic. These trends relate to wider social issues amongst the populous and mental health problems in individuals. Google searches reveal what leisure activities have been on many people’s minds during the past year. Words related to domesticity such as “recipe,” “bread” and “sewing” have shown a huge surge in searches since the beginning of the pandemic. Why is it that domestic leisurely activities, amongst many others, are trending? Trillion Small – a UTD professor of the psychology of adjustment – said this could be a psychological response to the distress that many are facing due to the pandemic.
“Coping, essentially, is finding that balance between the things that are being presented to me externally. If they seem like they’re a little bit more than I could handle, that’s when our coping mechanisms kick in,” Small said. “The ultimate goal is really to find an ease and create a way in which you can decrease that level of distress.” Given that many people did not foresee a pandemic, Small said, they were left blindsided. “When there is a great deal of ambiguity, uncertainty, it can induce intense fears of the unknown,” Small said. “When we are left kind of in this space of ambiguity, our anxiety levels can increase, right? So, whenever we are anxious, it’s pretty common for us to reach for comfort.”
SEE PANDEMIC COMFORT, PAGE 15
ROSHAN KHICHI | MERCURY STAFF
Words such as “recipe” and “bread” have surged in the number of Google searches during the pandemic.
SPORTS
March 1, 2021 | The Mercury
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From team manager to team player Basketball team manager Donovan Williams joins roster
ANNA PHENGSAKMUEANG | Photo Editor
Williams said he started playing basketball at just five years old. LAUREN DOUGHERTY Mercury Staff
After serving as student manager on the men’s basketball team for the past three years, human resource management senior Donovan Williams was added to the roster as a guard in January. Williams tried out for the team during his freshman year, but due to the small size of the roster, there wasn’t a spot for him. He was instead asked to be the team’s student manager: a logistical and administrative role in which he has excelled, said men’s basketball head coach Terry Butterfield. “I felt that he was, first, just an outstanding
man, which you always like to be around; but he was also very much in tune with the other guys on the team,” Butterfield said. “He really knows everything we’re trying to do; he was sort of a hybrid between a manager and maybe a student assistance coach.” This year, a couple of players dropped off the team for various reasons, Butterfield said, which left open spots. When the team returned after winter break, Butterfield and assistant coach Jared Fleming decided to move Williams to the active roster. “I had contemplated all along how we might involve him because of his tremendous dedication
and loyalty to the program,” Butterfield said. “We decided to go ahead and really try to give him the sort of experience I know he’s wanted all along.” In his role as manager, Williams traveled with the team and handled everything from uniform and equipment maintenance to keeping statistical charts during games and helping with drills during practices, Butterfield said. “There’s really not anything he can’t do. . .he’s got skills,” Butterfield said. “He’ll do something (in practice) that involves handling a ball, making a pass, standing and defending somebody, so he’s just all-purpose.” Basketball has been a part of Williams’s life for
a long time: he started playing at five years old and continued throughout high school. Now, he’s carrying on a family legacy that began with his grandfather playing Division 1 basketball. “Both my parents were great inspirations to me when it comes to basketball; they both played college basketball,” Williams said. “This makes me a third-generation college basketball player on my mom’s side.” Williams said that his grandfather was always one of his biggest fans, and he would regularly drive three hours to see Williams play. He passed
SEE TEAM MANAGER, PAGE 16
The COVID gambit
Chess team takes to online group and individual tournaments this spring ANJALI VENNA News Editor
ISABELLE VILLEGAS | Mercury Staff
The UTD Chess team has been consistently ranking high during online tournaments this semester. Due to COVID-19, the Pan-American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship was held online for the first time ever from Jan. 3-6. Traditionally, this competition consists of six games with players allotted 90 minutes each, a format known as classical time control. This year there are nine games with each player receiving 25 minutes, a setup known as rapid time control. This means that each
game lasts about one hour. The UTD Chess Team A, said chess team coach Julio Sadorra, placed eighth, and Team C and Team B ranked thirteenth and fourteenth, respectively. “We were very close to qualifying for the final four and going into the last round we had a chance for one of those spots. We were basically in a mustwin situation, so it put pressure,” Sadorra said. “The guys did their best, gave their best effort and did all they could with the chances they had. We
SEE CHESS, PAGE 16
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OPINION
Mar. 01, 2021 | The Mercury
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: The Mercury should do better ALESANDRA BELL | OUTREACH EDITOR
Editing with (more) care
“Stability through civility” was poorly fact-checked, edited. DANIEL VALDEZ COURTESY
Op-eds can be dicey, to say the least. Remember last summer when The New York Times published an incendiary editorial by Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton advocating military intervention to curb BLM protests? The decision to print that authoritarian garbage was so ill-advised that the newspaper’s opinion editor resigned and the outlet’s op-ed process was overhauled. The opinion piece “Stability Through Civility,” posted on The Mercury’s website on Feb. 1, is not nearly as significant of a public danger as Cotton’s article. But the fact that it passed through The Mercury’s editorial board with little to no quality edits makes it a more disheartening read than anything The Gray Lady has published this century. Jimmy Teeling’s op-ed levels most of the blame for the Jan. 6 Capitol riot on Democrats and riots during BLM protests for making “political violence acceptable in America.” That contrarian viewpoint requires air-tight logic and relevant sources to back it up, but the structure of the piece does not directly relate to his argument or refute his claims when they are demonstrably false. For example, Teeling repeatedly minimizes the number of Capitol rioters (“a few Trump supporters,” “a small fraction”): a convenient obfuscation of the fact that over 200 people have been arrested on charges associated with the riot. Teeling also claims that Democratic politicians encouraged violence by BLM, citing a USA Today article about Rep. Ayanna Pressley. The link quotes Pressley’s August 2020 statement on MSNBC that “there will be unrest in the streets for as long as there is unrest in our lives.” Using
that quote as proof that Democratic politicians encouraged political violence is a stretch that would make Mr. Fantastic wince. Teeling also attempts to prove this claim by linking a Washington Post article about Kamala Harris promoting the Minnesota Freedom Fund bail fund. However, that article ultimately asserts that MFF funds did not lead to the release of “violent rioters” who then committed further crimes, contradicting Teeling’s claim. These are rhetorical inconsistencies and dishonest reaches that should have been caught by The Mercury’s editorial board, including its opinion editor, managing editor, copy editor and editor-in-chief. The lack of apparent care extends to the article’s formatting, which leaves “Republican” and “Democrat” in lowercase several times like a Billie Eilish song title. Teeling might as well have copied and pasted his rough draft directly onto The Mercury’s website. I do not blame The Mercury as an institution, as former Mercury editor-in-chief Cindy Folefack tweeted: “95% of The Mercury’s staff had nothing to do with this and no say in its publication.” She urged those frustrated with the decision to “take it to Merc leadership,” which is why I focus my criticism primarily on the newspaper’s editorial board. By granting its platform to such sloppy rhetoric without exercising due editorial diligence, The Mercury’s editorial board has damaged the credibility of its organization and UTD Student Media overall. So where do we go from here? This journalistic and ethical mistake highlights two major responsibilities for both readers and journalists in general. As readers, we must stay critical of any media
SEE EDITING, PAGE 16
CINDY FOLEFACK, BHARHAV ARIMILLI, MIRIAM PERCIVAL COURTESY
The Mercury has begun descending into a den of right-wing misinformation. As former editors-in-chief, it is heartbreaking to watch the paper that we worked to make a legitimate outlet become weaponized in this way. Jimmy Teeling’s Feb. 1 op-ed, “Stability through civility,” is emblematic of The Mercury’s recent habit of publishing opinion pieces that are demonstrably false at best and bigoted at worst. One often-repeated – but misused – rule of journalism is to always tell both sides of a story. There are not, in fact, two sides to every story. Racism is wrong. The truth is the truth. Facts are not political. These aren’t up for debate. There was a litany of problems in Teeling’s op-ed, from claiming that only a “few” Trump supporters stormed the Capitol when in fact hundreds were caught on camera doing so, to suggesting that supporters’ suspicion of voter fraud fueled the attack, despite no evidence of widespread voter fraud. The author then quotes Martin Luther King, Jr. to justify the violence at the Capitol. How would King feel about his words being used to defend domestic terrorists and white supremacists? Teeling also attempts to draw a false equivalency between the Capitol riot and the violence at the Black Lives Matter protests last summer, failing to note that the latter occurred in response to repeated episodes of police brutality, extrajudicial killings and systemic racism. Teeling’s use of legitimate news articles to support his revisionist claims was particularly problematic. He cites a USA Today article to claim Democratic politicians “encouraged the violent actions” from Black Lives Matter and Antifa protestors. The article he linked
made no mention of Antifa, and the only violence discussed in the article referenced threats Rep. Ayanna Pressley received from white supremacists. Additionally, the other article used to support his point of Democrats encouraging violence shows a tweet from Vice President Kamala Harris with a link to the Minnesota Freedom Fund, hardly a call to arms. Teeling also ignores the fact that several Capitol rioters have since come forward stating that they were following Trump’s orders. Did The Mercury’s editors read through the sources Teeling cited? If the current Mercury administration is unwilling to engage in basic fact-checking, it has no business publishing opinions. Teeling is free to rail against the “mainstream media” all he wants, but a cursory glance at the facts of the Jan. 6 attack make one thing clear: the only people responsible were the rioters, Trump and Republican lawmakers who stoked division by repeating false election fraud claims. As former editors-in-chief, we’ve dealt with opinion contributors who have relaxed relationships with truth. Let us be clear: having the opportunity to write an opinion is not an excuse to peddle conspiracy theories. An opinion requires basis in fact. What we’ve seen from the current administration of The Mercury is a failure to hold opinion writers accountable to this very simple standard. Cindy Folefack Editor-in-Chief, 2019-2020 Bhargav Arimilli Editor-in-Chief, 2018-2019 Miriam Percival Editor-in-Chief, 2017-2018
OPINION
Mar. 1 2021 | The Mercury
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Scrutiny of leaders is key Criticism of politicians integral to level-headed society FATIMAH AZEEM MERCURY STAFF
The Jan. 6 Capitol Hill riot and its aftermath are a reminder that we must be critical of our political leaders – especially the ones we might favor – to avoid blind allegiance and knee-jerk reactions. Post-election and pre-Capitol riot, former president Donald Trump gave speeches on how the election was fraudulent, speeches that appealed to his supporters’ disbelief in his loss but were filled with fallacies and false information. In his “Save America” speech, Trump said “make no mistake, this election was stolen from you, from me and from the country. And not a single swing state has conducted a comprehensive audit to remove the illegal ballots.” These claims are false. Popular theories on election fraud such as votes being cast on behalf of the dead and mail-in-ballots being rigged have been debunked. In addition, all states, including swing states, conducted comprehensive audits to ensure accurate election results. Georgia, a key swing state in the 2020 election, reviewed statewide ballots three times via Trump’s request, and each time, the majority votes were confirmed to be in favor of Biden.
Trump isn’t the only political leader guilty of logical fallacies and misinformation. A study done by pragmatics researcher Fareed Al-Hindawi showed that 26.66% of former President Barack Obama’s war speeches contained appeal to fear fallacies and 21.66% of his electoral speeches contained appeal to interest fallacies. In a war speech, Obama said “I don’t oppose all wars. What I am opposed to is a dumb war. What I am opposed to is a rash war. What I am opposed to is the cynical attempt by Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz and other armchair, weekend warriors in this administration to shove their own ideological agendas down our throats...” This statement is fallacious because Obama does not distinguish the difference between a dumb or rash war and one that is not. Through powerful language, the statement appeals to the emotions of Obama’s audience, but it doesn’t present any factual information to back why his audience should support what he is saying. Speeches such as Trump’s “Save America” and Obama’s war speech show that political leaders have the potential to misguide. Though we can’t control what’s being said, we can control how we react to
JACKY CHAO |MERCURY STAFF
it. It’s up to us to become knowledgeable on topics our leaders speak on so that we can be comfortable with holding them accountable. For example, if a politician quotes Martin Luther King Jr., research the context in which the quote is being said to see if it’s being misused. If a leader you like makes claims about COVID-19, look up CDC guidelines – or guidelines from other reputable health sources – to ensure that the information is accurate. And if it isn’t, don’t feel obligated to adhere to their claims just because they’re your favorite politician. Being critical of leaders, particularly the ones we subscribe to, doesn’t mean that we support them any less. It means that we are keeping ourselves safe from misinformation and the subsequent actions that could result. Being critical of our leaders also doesn’t mean that we have to be overly skeptical. We don’t necessarily need to doubt or be suspicious of everything that a politician says, but we should be willing to fact check claims and acknowledge when something is false to avoid overlookingfacts. Over-skepticism can be detrimental, as seen in the Capitol riot where – in addition to being egged on by Trump to question the election’s integrity
– conservatives were overly doubtful of a free and fair election system. When it comes to getting comfortable with being critical, we can start by recognizing fallacies in our personal lives with friends or family members. If someone close to you says something you disagree with, consider their reasoning before reacting. If you find fault in what they’re saying, don’t be afraid to point it out to them; acknowledging the fault allows both of you to practice being aware of your speech and reactions in a familiar setting. In addition to this, we can practice diversifying our points of view. For example, if you typically listen to liberal-leaning talk show hosts, consider listening to more conservative voices to get a feel for the opposite side. By doing this, you have a chance to break down the opposing party’s argument and familiarize yourself with specific fallacies in their speech that are causing you to disagree. You can even apply the same analytical strategies to your own political leanings. By normalizing these behaviors, we are setting ourselves up to stray away from blind following and its resulting actions.
Mar. 1, 2021 | The Mercury
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OPINION
JACKY CHAO |MERCURY STAFF
It’s time to stop crunch time Crunch in the video game industry is unsustainable, needs to be phased out ALESANDRA BELL MERCURY STAFF
As students enter the game industry, it is important that they recognize their responsibility in advocating for more sustainable industry labor practices. Every year ATEC enrolls upwards of 1,800 students in its various undergraduate and post-graduate programs. In a technology hub like Dallas, it is not surprising that many ATEC students hope to break into the competitive, fast-paced and exacting video game industry. Yet, the interplay of demands from publishing companies and studio policies, as well as the pressures of commercial success, place high levels of stress on game developers across the country. One of the symptoms of this interplay is an industry practice known as “crunch.” When a game studio faces a sudden or impending deadline, the push to complete a game is called crunch time. In effect, a studio and its developers attempt to meet the deadline by working long hours daily, sometimes for months on end, in order to condense the time it will take to ship a game and get it on shelves. During his time as a junior environment artist at Junction Point, ATEC professor Adam Chandler worked 80 hours a week for about a month and a
half while working on “Epic Mickey 2”. “I mean at that point I was young enough and this was my first big industry job right out of college and I was just willing to take it,” Chandler said. Students coming into the industry are often given advice that echoes the sentiment of “take what you can get.” ATEC Ph.D. student and game developer Eric Miller received similar advice himself before entering the field. “They always say take your first game job, whatever it is, and go…which isn’t bad advice, but it’s definitely a double-edged sword,” Miller said. During his first game job at Electronic Arts, Miller helped develop three games in two weeks that went live on the app store immediately after completion. Miller said that while he crunched during his time at EA, his motivation to prove himself to the studio as a contract hire influenced his working patterns. “It really highlighted internal-external motivations … You have to manage both, right?” Miller said. “You have to think about [both] in order to stay connected to the rest of your life.” As much as the normalization of crunch in the industry is blamed on poor project management – such as in studios like Naughty Dog, where there is a notorious lack of a production department – the normalization of this unsustainable and brutal
practice is in part sustained by developers. Chandler said that crunch didn’t just affect himself, but his friends and team members. “I think that the trap is that it’s easy to feel like [coworkers] are your family because you’re spending literally your entire day with them and they understand what you’re going through and you’re all going through [the same] thing,” Chandler said. Studios that capitalize on the willingness of young developers to crunch often do so at the peril of losing veterans in the industry. An especially long and stressful development cycle finished off with a round of crunch has been the reason for veterans leaving the industry for indefinite periods of time, or even permanently on several occasions. Crunch isn’t a sustainable practice because of the dire mental health consequences and heavy loss of industry knowledge in the areas that need it most, such as in leadership positions. However, games do not have to be completed under the extreme pressure of crunch. Supergiant proved that with its 2020 release of “Hades”. The company is an independent studio, with a core team of seven that has been together for ten years and ten hires from different projects. As the lives of team members have changed, they’ve implemented policies that respond to those
changes. Their retention rate is 100% compared to Naughty Dog’s 30%. While Supergiant has a notably smaller team, it’s their commitment to making changes based on the team’s needs that matters. In an industry where change is highly demanded but rarely implemented, Supergiant represents an ideal we should work towards, even if it cannot be exactly replicated. Chandler said that being aware of company practices while on the hunt for a job is especially important. “I think it’s easy to fall into the trap of, ‘oh, this is such a great opportunity for me… I’ll do anything to earn the opportunity.’” Chandler said. “I think normalizing that there is something that the company needs from you, but there’s something you need from the company too – it’s a two-way street.” Game development is always going to be hard work, but it can also be very rewarding work. The cost of human capital is high, so even if you love games, neglecting the practices that create them hurts you as a developer and the industry as a whole. Call out your favorite developers and companies when their practices are questionable. Demand transparency and candid conversations about creative practices and company policies. Good games require a sustainable workforce.
March 1, 2021 | The Mercury
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NEWS/LIFE & ARTS BAND
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6 for musicians on campus when it comes to maintaining these conditions. Most of the band students in the class play some sort of wind instrument and playing requires them to take off their masks. In order to adhere to COVID-19 safety restrictions, they sit as far apart as possible and in rows when they are not playing in a small ensemble. Gregory Hustis, director of the band ensemble, says that playing this way
WORKPLACE
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7 According to the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey Report, 27 percent of transgender and gender non-conforming people in Texas reported having been denied a promotion, fired or not considered for a job solely because of their gender identity. In addition, fifteen percent of respondents reported being verbally or physically abused or sexually harassed in the workplace due to their gender identity. The Higher Education Research Institute also conducted a study revealing a statistically significant difference in retention in STEM fields between LGBTQ+
PANDEMIC COMFORT CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10
This comfort can come in many forms, and it’s possible for people to revert to doing the things that they once found comfort in, Small said. “Think about that little kid who goes and grabs their blanket when they’re wanting to self-soothe,” Small said. “We naturally do that as even as adults; we reach for things that give us comfort.” Kacey Sebeniecher, director of the Stu-
IMPOSTOR
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10
and sometimes even beneficial – to feel a little bit of self-doubt after starting a new job or receiving an award or promotion. This shows that you are taking the time to think about your limitations and boundaries and use them to adopt a growth mindset. However, self-doubt can become counterintuitive when it becomes
has been challenging. “Doing anything online with a large group is pretty much impossible. Everyone’s internet is different, the timing is different and you can’t hear the other people. We had to have everyone willing to come in person,” said Hustis. “People wear masks until they get to their seats. Then they are six feet away from each other, which does not make for great ensembles sometimes, and they can’t really sit in a way that they can see each other very well because we have to space things
out. All of that is difficult. You come, you rehearse, and you leave. There’s no hanging around afterward. I think that this has taken a toll artistically.” In addition to the logistical challenges brought on by the pandemic, Kiesewetter said that the music groups experienced a drop in enrollment numbers early in the fall and spring semesters. This brought about a scare as to whether they would meet the minimum number of required people to hold the class. “It was super important these couple se-
mesters to make sure that everyone who is playing is enrolled in the class so we could show the school that people really want these music programs,” Kiesewetter said. Due to COVID restrictions, the band wasn’t allowed to enroll too many students either: the string orchestra enrollment was capped at 30 and the band ensemble cap was set at 15. “Right now, we are actually at the maximum we can put on site. At this point, I think I have about 21 that actually show up for class on Tuesday night,” Ming said.
“But normally, we have something like 35 people. There are students who would play but don’t because it’s just not feasible right now.” Hustis said that he is glad that the musical ensembles are still able to make music despite the obstacles of the pandemic. “It’s been a real challenge, but I have to say that the students have been great. They have been very flexible and very understanding and willing to adapt to a crazy situation,” Hustis said. “They’re the ones that have made it work.”
individuals and heterosexual individuals, suggesting that LGBTQ+ representation and retention in these fields were lower due to workplace environments. Alexander Xavier, a biology junior and member of oSTEM, said there are ways companies can do more for their LGBTQ+ employees. “It is important for companies to have diversity workshops, to educate the employees of different identities…also to make initiatives to hire and look for more diverse employees specifically,” Xavier said. “(Diversity) is beneficial to the companies because it makes them look good. A diverse workforce allows for greater diversity in ideas.”
At a Harvard Hillel Faculty Arts and Sciences Diversity Dialogue, Stephanie Huckles – senior global program manager of diversity at International Game Technology – said comprehensive talk is a strategy that can help members of the LGBTQ+ community feel welcome in the workplace. “Forty-six percent of LGBTQ people hide who they are at work. Thirty-eight percent do so because they are afraid of being stereotyped; 36 percent think they may make others uncomfortable,” Huckles said. “Approaches and tools for communicating with – and to – the LGBTQ employees in a way that sends the message, ‘You are
welcome here,’ are crucial.” Zayne , general officer of UTD’s oSTEM, describes how although progress has been made, there are still ways the LGBTQ+ community faces bigotry. “The larger problem here is that almost all states in America have some form of atwill employment, which means you can fire someone for almost any reason, as long as it’s not one of those covered by the Civil Rights Act of ‘64,” Zayne said. However, Marco Mendoza, UTD’s senior director of institutional equity and Title IX coordinator, said that in most situations, employers implement progressive discipline before firing an individual.
“If you have a progressive discipline policy in place even if you are working in an at-will state, the company will still have to provide you with a reason as to why the progressive discipline is needed,” Mendoza said. “Most organizations will not simply fire you without a reason – however some might.” At UTD, discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity has been prohibited since 2014. “When we presented this policy in 2014 to all the different groups on campus, we got no pushback. There was no issue,” Mendoza said. “I think it goes to show how UTD has always been a welcoming place.”
dent Wellness Center, said that leisure activities – beneficial or not – can be considered coping mechanisms. “It just depends on what a person is using for their coping mechanism,” Sebeniecher said. “A good way to tell (if this) is this crossing a line and becoming unhealthy is asking yourself, ‘is this affecting other areas of my life?’” Since leisure activities are considered coping mechanisms, they should be used to take care of mental health, Sebeniecher said.
“What do you enjoy? If it’s gaming, if it’s being outside, if it’s baking, home decor, painting art, anything you really enjoy, find time for it in your daily schedule,” Sebeniecher said. “And when I say daily, every single day we should be focused on stress management and self-care.” With extra time spent at home, 12 million people joined a streaming service such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video or Disney+, according to Ofcom’s Media Nations 2020 report. Similar spikes were shown in video
games as well. According to a study by the NPD Group in November 2020, total time spent gaming increased 26% and total money spent increased 33% since the onset of the pandemic. Prioritizing mental health is especially important right now, as widespread social isolation can impact depression and any sort of pre-existing condition, Sebeniecher said. Although the pandemic has actually caused the onset of such conditions in many people, Small said, this time can also be seen as an opportunity.
“It gives you the opportunity to realize your impermanence, which means you’re not going to be here forever,” Small said. “We don’t know when our next breath is going to be, and I think the pandemic has given us a beautiful opportunity. And I use that word opportunity instead of saying problem because problem naturally makes you feel like it’s something we have to fight. That’s what adjustment is all about. How can you see things as an opportunity rather than as a problem?”
overly crippling or when we get so wrapped up in self-criticism that we cannot function properly. Instead of identifying with any of the negative thoughts you may be having, work on countering them with statements grounded in fact and reality. If you ever feel undeserving of a good grade or an internship, ask yourself “Who told me I don’t deserve it?” Surely a professor or an employer would tell you that they gave you
a good grade or a new job because you earned it. Why else would they reward you? They don’t owe you anything. Asking yourself questions from others’ points of view will prevent you from fixating on your faults and help you develop a more positive internal script. Normally, negative thoughts are just a reflection of your innermost fears and anxieties, so demanding evidence from your mind is a great way to stop baseless self-criticism right in
its tracks. Students with impostor syndrome generally have difficulty accepting compliments. They attribute their successes to luck or help from others but are quick to blame themselves when things go awry. But we play the main characters in the stories of our own lives. If we can take full responsibility for our shortcomings, why not our triumphs as well? Celebrating success and even visualizing it in
advance can help us readily embrace it at its arrival. The next time you experience success but feel immediately overcome with self-doubt, consumed by the fear that soon everyone will know you’re a fraud, recognize that these feelings aren’t just in your head. They’re a manifestation of the very real and debilitating imposter syndrome, and if you were really a fraud, you wouldn’t be worried about this at all.
16 TEAM MANAGER
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11 away from lung cancer during Williams’ middle school basketball season, and Williams said that he’s been trying to follow his grandfather’s lead ever since. “It really affected me throughout that season and it still affects me today,” he said. “He’s pretty much the reason why
CHESS
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11 even beat the defending champions, Texas Tech, in the middle rounds. I’m really impressed, and I just told them to keep taking the losses in stride and take them as lessons for the next event.” Each game took place on an online chess board where parents could watch and players were monitored with Zoom. Blackboard Collaborate was used to strategize before the games. As a team event, the online format
BOBCAT
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A webpage on the City of Richardson website said that while there have been no reported bobcat attacks on people, there has been an increase in bobcat activity in the nearby Can-
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it includes. We face an uphill battle: according to a 2018 study by the Media Insight Project, only 21% of respondents aged 18-29 were even familiar with what an “op-ed” is (pg. 41). Fortunately, students like Folefack analyzing Teeling’s piece and publicly voicing their concerns are holding up their end of the bargain. As for The Mercury editorial board, they don’t have to fire anyone or reassemble the op-ed process from scratch like the New York Times did, but the obscure nature of the editing process led to this oversight. This isn’t just a Mercury problem: the same Media Insight Project study found a “substantial desire on the part
March 1, 2021 | The Mercury
LIFE&ARTS/SPORTS/OPINION I still play.” Williams said that his UTD basketball experience has been a connection to family: his extended family on the west coast watches every game online, and one of his favorite experiences with the team was visiting Memphis – the city where his grandmother is from – during his freshman year. “We got to go to the Lorraine Motel, which was where Dr. Martin
Luther King was assassinated,” Williams said. “And it was a really humbling experience for me as an African American man.” Williams said that he was shocked when Butterfield announced at practice that he would be added to the roster. “It was a great experience because I had no idea that was going to happen,” Williams said. “It’s been a tough year on everybody, and I think this is
a huge confidence booster going into overall life because I’m about to graduate in a few months.” After the season ends, Williams said that he’ll focus on helping his younger brother get a basketball scholarship. For now, he’s excited to contribute to the team as they work toward a conference championship. “(Williams) is anything and everything you would want in a stu-
dent-athlete in our university; he’s a full-fledged member of our team. He’s wearing the colors, he’s running, he’s representing our school in the very highest way possible,” Butterfield said. “And me, along with the guys on the team and my assistant coaches, we are the biggest Donovan Williams fans in the entire university. And that’s what I want people to know.”
posed a new set of challenges. Team events require paying attention to how other team members are doing, said computer science senior and Team A chess player Razvan Preotu. At an in-person competition, players can view other games that are occurring simultaneously, and while that was possible in the online format, cues such as body language were not evident. “Even though you’re playing your own game, you can see online the positions of your other team members and you might have to adjust your strategy according to
how they’re doing. If you think one team member is doing really well, then you might think ‘Okay I don’t have to play very risky because if that team member wins then we’ll win the match,’” Preotu said. “In over-the-board tournaments, you can walk around to kind of refresh your mind, but in this tournament, we always have to be in front of the computer in the Zoom call visible, so sometimes it was hard to focus for so long.” The team’s next competition was the Texas Collegiate Rapids Championship, held on Jan. 30, and five UTD players
placed in the Top 10. This competition was also held on online, and Preotu tied for second and third. “This one I treated as a usual rapid tournament,” Preotu said. “It wasn’t too different for me; I was pretty comfortable playing.” The Kasparov Chess Foundation University Cup is an international tournament that was held on Feb. 6 and 7. UTD’s Team A placed fourth and tied for third. The players have weekly training tournaments and small group sessions with
Sadorra where they study previous games and discuss strategies and techniques to adjust from classical time control to rapid time control. The first FIDE World University Online Championships is an important upcoming tournament that will be held in March. “I guess that’s why we’re busier this semester than ever. It’s these new events; it’s because it’s easier to organize tournaments these days,” Sadorra said. “You just log on online, pay the entrance fee and play. It’s good for collegiate chess and I think the chess world in general.”
yon Creek neighborhood, largely due to the habits of the people who live there. Allowing pets to be outside unattended and leaving trash cans out for long periods of time are behaviors that can attract bobcats. “People, either intentionally or unintentionally, have conditioned wild-
life to understand that neighborhoods are full of food, water, and shelter,” the website said. According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, bobcats tend to be active at night when they hunt birds and small mammals such as squirrels and rabbits – animals that
are prevalent on campus. Cocke said that because bobcats are native to the area, the ones seen on campus are not being actively managed. Students should be aware and cautious if they have small pets, said Cocke, but the presence of bobcats is a net-good in terms of keep-
ing the populations of other species under control. “I think that seeing things like bobcats on our campus is actually a good thing, that our ecosystem is supporting these native species that really should be here,” Cocke said. “And so, I think that we should really embrace
of both journalists and the public for more transparency.” The only remedy that the majority of journalist and reader respondents agreed upon was offering more information about the sources cited in a story. The editorial board can enact this by attaching an addendum to each editorial explaining the process behind the submission and editing of an opinion piece, keeping the editors accountable for misinformation instead of leading students to blame the newspaper altogether. The editorial board can also hold a Microsoft Teams call during the final round of article editing to prevent previously flagged mistakes from going to print. By making its editing process more transparent and efficient, The Mercury editorial board will differentiate student media from Twitter or Medium,
where baseless opinions can be puked into the digital void with seemingly no editorial oversight. For a Mercury article that analyzes race and politics in a way that wouldn’t get you laughed out of a college journalism class (if we had any here), I highly recommend this piece published last June. In this Q&A, Axum Taylor, an interdisciplinary studies senior, states “People need to start having conversations. More importantly, people of privileged groups need to start having these conversations amongst other people with the same types of privilege.” Taylor is right; these are crucial conversations. If Teeling’s op-ed was the clumsy opening salvo of that conversation, may the next line be better considered (and properly capitalized, while we’re at it).
