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VOLUME XXXII, NO. 5
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF UTD — WWW.UTDMERCURY.COM
MARCH 19, 2012
ARE YOU
OFF CAMPUS?
Story by Anwesha Bhattacharjee
CRIME FIGURES SHOW SOME AREAS ARE MORE DANGEROUS THAN OTHERS
Illustrations and Design by Cathryn Ploehn and Troi Cluse
O
f the 19,000 students enrolled at UTD, 15,700 live off campus. While students find apartment complexes and houses in Richardson, Dallas and Plano, a significant number of students make their home just west of UTD. But among the different places that UTD students live, the residential areas on McCallum Boulevard claimed 40 percent of the total crimes in the area in 2011, according to public records from the Dallas Police Department. Crime records from the Dallas and UTD Police Departments show 813 crimes logged from the region in 2011. These areas include the UTD campus, McCallum Boulevard, Frankford Road and Preston Road. Of these 813 crimes, 325 were from McCallum Boulevard alone. About 30 percent of the transgressions were property crimes including thefts, burglaries, burglary of motor vehicles and robberies. Assaults made up 19 percent of crimes, and criminal mischief cases made up 15 percent. One case of rape was also reported. Meanwhile, at UTD, thefts, burglaries and motor vehicle burglaries constituted 66 percent of the total crimes reported in 2011. However, only 40 percent of the 205 crimes reported from campus were in the apartments. In addition, the 18 cases of assault comprised 9 percent of crimes on campus in 2011. While numbers show McCallum to be more prone to crime compared to the UTD campus — which is in the city of Richardson — Sgt. Israel Herrera from the Dallas Police Department said crime rates in the area are not abnormally high when compared to other neighborhoods with similar demographics across Dallas. But properties on Frankford Road or Preston Road don’t show the same hiked crime rates as McCallum, although they too, like McCallum, are within the city limits of Dallas.
see CRIME page 5
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LAUREN FEATHERSTONE Mercury Staff
Senators approved amendments to their constitution and announced a potential funding cut if UTD buildings do not become entirely tobacco-free, at the March 6 Student Government meeting. Amendments to the SG constitution — except Article 1 — which was a topic of heated debate, were carried. Senate concluded that the Executive Committee must maintain a 3.0 GPA, a senator must have served one full term before running for SG president, there will be no write-in candidates for General Elections and there will be a formal impeachment process. Sharkey Andrews, SG president and Arts & Performance senior, said Article 1 was tabled due to a division of senate on the fundamental question of whether and how senators should represent their individual schools. Senate supported the proposed Student Union and Recreational fee increases and the creation of the Green Fee. The Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) decided, beginning August 2012, they will only fund institutions that have tobacco-free buildings, Andrews said. CPRIT currently gives $3 million to UTD for research, which explains why UTD administrators are strongly considering this change from the current smoke-free
THE MERCURY n MARCH 19, 2012
UTD Police scanner
buildings, Andrews said. Making UTD buildings tobacco-free, according to CPRIT policy, would eliminate e-cigarettes, snuff and any other tobacco products indoors, Andrews said. The tobacco-free discussion also led to a consideration of stretched awnings so that students might smoke under a covered area more than 25 ft. from the doors, Andrews said. Several events will lead up to the I Heart UT-Dallas health fair and 5k, scheduled March 31. The NSM Town Hall, including a meet and greet and discussion on healthy eating, will be from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. on March 28 in the Galaxy Rooms. Rec Sports and Radio UTD will hold a jump rope and hula-hoop contest from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on March 29 by the spirit rocks and information will be given on the healthy benefits of organized living at the trashketball and the RecycleMania weighing events on March 30. SG allocated up to $300 for the NSM Town Hall and up to $200 for the EPS Town Hall, scheduled April 4 at 3 p.m. in the Founders Atrium. SG allocated up to $60 for Coffee with SG, an event where students can meet and talk with senators, scheduled March 21 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the SOM rotunda. The next senate meeting will be at 5:15 p.m. on March 20 in one of the Galaxy Rooms.
Feb. 22 • A non-affiliated individual was arrested for Driving Under the Influence – Minor. Feb. 23 • A non-affiliated individual was arrested for theft. Feb. 24 • A student reported a theft. Feb. 29 • Two students were threatened with violence by another student, who was subsequently arrested.
March 1 • A student reported the theft of a wallet. • A non-affiliated individual struck the fence in Phase VII. • An unknown individual entered the possibly unlocked car of a complainant ant took property. March 2 • A faculty member reported a theft of a robotic arm. March 5 • A student was cited for theft.
• An unattended vehicle was hit in Lot M West. • A student reported damage to his motorcycle in the UV Apartments. March 6 • A concrete wall on school grounds was defaced with spray paint. • A non-affiliated individual was arrested for Driving While Intoxicated after a traffic stop. March 10 • A non-affiliated individual reported their vehicle had been burglarized.
• A non-affiliated individual was arrested for multiple outstanding warrants. March 11 • A student was arrested for Possession of Marijuana and Drug Paraphernalia in Phase V. • A non-affiliated female was arrested for multiple outstanding warrants, driving with an expired driver’s license and failure to maintain financial responsibility following a traffic stop.
Corrections: In the Feb. 13 issue of The Mercury, Saskia Versteeg is misidentified in the “Comets watch their waste lines” article. Marissa Miller is the current president of Students for Environmental Awareness. In the Feb. 27 issue of The Mercury, Students in Free Enterprise, or SIFE, is misidentified in the “Finance group adds volunteers to assist low-income taxpayers” article. SIFE is a general interest volunteer group and all majors can join. In the same article, it is the group’s financial literacy project that is good for students to participate in that want to be teachers. The Mercury regrets these errors.
utdmercury.com
Opinion Don’t care? Think again
There’s only one ticket but students still need to vote
MARCH 19, 2012 n THE MERCURY n WWW.UTDMERCURY.COM
It’s time to raise our movie standards Hollywood producers get to thrive off of the lack of creativity in an enterprise where absurd and recycled ideas are not only normal — they’re rewarded. I’m just going to list some of the summer blockbusters coming soon to a movie theater near you: “Battleship”: Yes, as in the board game, starring Rihanna no less. Remakes and updates of the “Three Stooges,” “21 Jump Street,” “Red Dawn,” “Spider Man,” “Total Recall.” “Step Up 4”: Four guys, four — this is the fourth installment. I heard there might be dance scenes in this one. “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter”: Okay, they might actually pull this one off.
PAUL DANG Mercury Staff
SHANE DAMICO
room to eat. Big changes. Even if you’re graduating this semester, you should still vote. When university officials finished the majority of the Student Government elec- beautification project — the tions are coming up and I am reflection pools, mister, chess willing to bet that the mass plaza, a new main entrance, majority of students don’t give those shrubs along Campbell a damn. That’s because, for the Road that everyone either loves second year in a row, there is or hates — there was an almost only one ticket running for of- instant shift in Comet culture. fice. Some might ask: “What’s UTD is “cooler” now and the point in votit’s helping us ing when Raj get noticed. Did Dwivedi and Nate you see that? It’s high time Fairbank are the That’s your dithat we get only ones runploma accumu(the referenda) ning for student lating value. president and vice The referenda through president?” are going to legislation or Really quickly, make a differturn to page eight ence, but only if put them to of this newspaper you vote. Three rest... and read it enhundred votes tirely. might get Raj Along with and Nate into piling our votes onto the only office, but it’s not going to ticket available, students are fly when they then use those also being asked to vote on votes as evidence in front of three referenda. These referen- the state Legislature. That’s 300 da have been in talks for a long votes out of a student body of time, especially the Green Fee, 19,000. and it’s high time that we get If the referenda pass then stuthem through legislation or put dent pride will improve. Then them to rest — depending on maybe we’ll even have more what students decide. than one ticket to vote on durThe Recreational Facility ing elections. Fee and the Student Union Fee One can only hope. promise to add an immense PS: As of March 16, Raj amount of value to the univer- Dwivedi, chemistry sophomore, sity. There haven’t been any of- and Nate Fairbank, undeclared ficial announcements as far as freshman, are the only ones runhow university officials plan to ning for office. However, it is expand the Student Union, but possible for another ticket to file I can guarantee that it will be in until March 23. I doubt it will a way like never before. We’re happen, but it’s possible. If a talking about adding an entire ticket waited until now to file, I floor to the Union, with sky- question their commitment to the walks and study areas and more role.
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Editor-in-Chief
Every column reaches that point when the reservoir of brilliant ideas for articles dries up and no matter how hard you strain and grunt, nothing comes out and you leave the seat angrier than when you sat down. That empty page glares at you with the same blank stare it sees on your face while the cursor blinks in and out of the technological ether in almost a staccatotype laughter, mocking. It’s moment like these that make me think about the film industry.
The mainstream film industry has been desperate for move premises for sometime now, and this is what it’s come down to. There’s even been word of an upcoming rendition of “Where’s Waldo.” A cartoon picture-book, made for remedial kids to kill time by searching for a peculiarly dressed, Woody Allen lookalike, has been picked up by MGM studios. Oh yeah, did I mention that time travel will be in involved in this movie? The sad thing is, most of these movies will garner millions of undeserved dollars at the box office when hoards of moviegoers line
see MOVIES page 4
Out of touch, short on sense
utdmercury.com
CATHRYN PLOEHN/GRAPHICS EDITOR
If student fees increased to fund a project on campus, what would you want it be? “The gym is worse than the YMCA in Oak Cliff where all the equipment is missing. Our gym is so small.”
“Green Building, because it has lots of issues right now and it’s obvious to me that money isn’t going into it.”
“Better wi-fi for sure, it sucks. During the evening it always lags, and has been for three years.”
Ali Elsehety Marketing sophomore
Katie Ener IPE graduate student
Eric Kwon Finance senior
“This year I just got a green (permit) because it seems like they’re just making more and more purple and orange.”
“More parking space, becuase parking here is ridiculous. It makes me just want to give up and walk to campus.”
“A stadium so that we can have a football team, and concerts like UTA does.”
Jin Ko EE graduate student
Amber Ingram Biology freshman
Yasmin Sharifi Biology sophomore
Media Adviser Chad Thomas Editor-in-Chief Shane Damico Managing Editor Bobby Karalla Director of Sales and Promotions Jessica Melton
Photo Editor Albert Ramirez Features Editor Anwesha Bhattacharjee Graphics Editor Cathryn Ploehn
Staff Writers Paul Dang Staff Photographers Akshay Harshe Christopher Wang Contributors Laura Carroll Shawn Cho Troi Cluse
Sheila Dang Lauren Featherstone Ben Hawkins Jesus Jimenez Alison Kwong JD McCrary Finny Philip Larry Stavinoha Yang Xi
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. Evidence of
discrimination will be the basis of denial of advertising space. The publication of advertising in The Mercury does not constitute an endorsement of products or services by the newspaper, or The University of Texas at Dallas, or the governing board of the institution. Copyright © 2011 UT Dallas
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Opinion
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Melting Pot helps to break barriers between students RUNCHUN CHEN
Accounting Graduate Student
The involvement of individuals on campus is important to the university’s diversity. Even though UTD is highly diversified with more than 3,500 international students from more than 90 countries, when you look at small groups of students, it is not hard to find students who stay within their own circles. As UTD continues to climb in both domestic and world rankings, more and more international students will come here to pursue their degree. As a Chinese student, I am well aware of the lack of interaction between international students and native students. Furthermore, I realize that there are cultural gaps. I know how difficult it is to get out of one’s comfort zone, and how nervous one can be to
talk to other students who success of the students, speak a different language both now and in the fuand are from a different ture. culture. I have talked to a With this in mind, I prolot of incoming Chinese posed a platform to help students and I have found international students to that many of them lack become more involved the confiin camdence to start pus life As a Chinese a conversathrough a tion with program student, I am American c a l l e d well aware students, eiMelting ther because Pot. This of the lack of of a perceived was done interaction belanguage barto enhance tween internarier or culs t u d e n t s’ tural stereoEnglish tional students types. This skills, netand native situation is working important skills and students. and should ability to be handled work as a with effort because these team with students from same students will face different backgrounds. At the challenge of working the same time, domestic with people from different students can learn about cultural and social back- different aspects of the grounds. Making full use world from interacting of our diversified univer- with international stusity will surely contribute dents. significantly to the overall The most recent Melting
Pot event was in late February when a group of American UTD students volunteered to lead international students through downtown Dallas for a public art walk all the way from the Pioneer Plaza to the Trammell Crow Collection of Asian Art. International students from China, Vietnam, India, Cambodia and Japan were separated into several groups, each with an American tour guide. It was amazing to see the cross-cultural interaction between the students during the art walk and at the reception at the Trammell Crow Collection of Asian Art. In summary, a diversified university not only has many different groups of students, but also encourages and values the active interaction between these different groups. The involvement of different groups in the university is the key to the success of the university and its students.
THE MERCURY n MARCH 19, 2012
MOVIES
continued from page 3 up at cinemas with their respective dates to eat overpriced popcorn, drink overpriced sodas, while watching craptastic movies. “Jack and Jill,” arguably the worst studio movie ever made — not just in Adam Sandler’s Oscar-winning career — but in cinematic history as a whole (Come on, he
plays his own female twin!), grossed almost $75 million in the five months it has been out. And it’s sure to scoop up more money over the years. The movie industry has exhausted almost every avenue for novel ideas, and has consequently resorted to rehashing, remaking, rebooting and reaping everyone’s money because we’ll settle for anything if it’s on a screen.
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State dollars fund new Bio building SHANE DAMICO Editor-in-Chief
The UT System Board of Regents made way for an increase in high-profile research at UTD with the approval of a Bioengineering and Sciences Building. The $85 million building, approved at a February Board meeting in Austin, will accommodate 1,720 students in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields. It will also add 48 tenure or tenure-track faculty members and generate $12 million per year in outside research funding, according to UTD President David Daniel’s proposal to the Board. “This (project) fits very well into the university strategic plan developed by Dr. Daniel,” said Rick Dempsey, associate vice president for Business Affairs. “We want to increase the research income to over $100 million a year, and the first step in that process was to build the Natural Science and Engineering Research Lab. Well now we’re full, there’s no room at the inn anymore.” Of the $85 million project cost, $72.25 million will come from the state’s Permanent University Fund, leaving
AKSHAY HARSHE/STAFF
$12.75 million for UTD to cover with $8.75 million in bonds and $4 million in cash. Because receiving Board approval is an early step for any project, many of the building’s details are subject to change or are still completely unknown. “We’ll know more probably by the end of the summer,” Dempsey said. “The problem right now, of course, is that the people that need to talk about this are all tied up in classes and their research.” Nonetheless, Dempsey said the building will be roughly 172,000 gross square feet, similar in size to the 192,000 square-foot NSERL building, with an intended completion sometime in 2015. The building will be constructed immediately south of the NSERL and will potentially be connected to it in some fashion,
although Dempsey admits it could be a challenge. “It has to have compatibility with NSERL, which is going to be interesting because that building is so iconic,” Dempsey said. “How do you tie with it but not necessarily duplicate it?” Dempsey said the university also wants to take a proactive approach towards ensuring sufficient parking is available for the additional students, faculty and staff after the building is completed. To meet this need, Dempsey said a third parking garage — in addition to the two parking garages already approved — is being considered. If university officials commit to a third garage, their decision will be brought before the Regents as soon as the next Board meeting on May 2 in Austin.
Registrar offers online transcript request service FINNY PHILIP Contributor
UTD students can now skip the lines to get their transcripts, but the convenience of going online to order official documents comes at a price. The Office of the Registrar has begun charging a $10 processing fee for each official University transcript. Additional expedited mailing charges remain the same, including $10 per copy for domestic mailing and $25 per copy sent through international mail. The changes were implemented to meet the growing student body’s need for transcripts while keeping the cost of overhead in mind. “We receive transcript requests from so many different means,” said Assistant Provost and University Registrar Karen Jarrell. “We have stu-
dents who walk up, students putting them in through the web, students who fax them to us, students who email them to us. We found that we were spending all of our time trying to serve the students standing in front of us that we were basically ignoring the students in all the other avenues.” The result is the UT-Dallas Transcript Storefront, an online portal which students can use to order their transcripts in either paper or digital form through a third-party vendor. While students can still order a paper transcript at the Office of the Registrar, ordering online gives users the option to create a package of documents to send out along with their transcript. “For medical and dental schools, that (option is) really important because they can attach all of their documentation as PDFs and send it all
out at one time,” Jarrell said. Not everyone is convinced that the added amenities are worth the price. “What if I wanted to apply to all the schools I want to? Now I’ll have to budget,” said psychology senior, Swathi Muppa. Currently, users must create an account on the Transcript Storefront’s portal before they can order their transcripts and they will be redirected to another webpage to make their payment. Jarrell acknowledges that this method makes students jump through unnecessary hoops. “Our next phase is to make it a little easier for current students where they don’t have to type in so much information about themselves. It’ll be like a single sign-on through the portal. That’s our next goal for the end of March or beginning of April,” Jarell said.
CRIME
continued from page 1 On north Preston Road, for instance, 169 crimes were reported last year, while communities on Frankford Road reported lower rates with 85 crimes and just nine assaults. Of these, 56 percent of the crimes were reported from AMLI on Frankford, a community popular among UTD students and alumni. Another 25 percent of the crimes were reported from Estates on Frankford. Frankford Road reported fewer assaults while communities on McCallum Boulevard reported 117 percent more assaults compared to UTD’s campus. Although numbers are high, as many as nine out of 10 assaults in multi-family communities like those on McCallum can be attributed to family violence, said Sr. Cpl. Dwight Beaty, public information officer for the Dallas Police Department substation on McCallum Boulevard. In communities with fewer families, like the UTD campus housing or even those on Frankford
WWW.UTDMERCURY.COM Road, assaults tend to be much lower, he said. Even as the number of students who live on McCallum Boulevard grows, as is evident from the increased hourly frequency of the UTD Shuttle to McCallum, it does not necessarily indicate that students feel safer in the area, according to Joyee Gao, president of the Friendship Association of Chinese Students and Scholars. New students would have preferred living on campus as opposed to McCallum, had on-campus housing been available, she said. Part of the reason students feel unsafe in the McCallum area is due to past crimes involving students, Gao said. In August 2010, two UTD students came back to their McCallum apartment to find it broken into and their laptops and money missing, she said. In another incident in October 2010, a student was tased and robbed of his money and belongings on his way back across the field connecting Target and McCallum Boulevard at night. These incidents were two among 293 on McCallum
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Boulevard in 2010, but students still talk about them, Gao said. Property managers on McCallum, however, feel it isn’t fair for their apartment communities to take the blame for crimes in the area especially those that didn’t occur on their property. “I spoke to a student one time and he said he was moving out because he thought this place was unsafe and (he had heard of the Target incident),” said Pamela Fleming, property manager for McCallum Glen and Courts at McCallum. “I asked him ‘Have you seen anything on the property?’ and he said ‘no’. All I’m saying is give us a chance before marking us as bad.” In an attempt to make residents feel safer, management at different communities on the street and the Dallas Police Department have come together to form a crime watch where residents meet quarterly to discuss safety issues. Residents are advised on crime reporting and to be proactive about reporting if they find unusual people or activity in the neighborhood, Beaty said.
Fifteen tips to keep safe 1. Pay attention to your surroundings. 2. If you arrive home or to a location and see a suspicious person, do not stop. Drive past or go back to a safe area and call 911 or the security service. 3. Travel in groups after dark. 4. Avoid being distracted by cell phones, iPods or computers when in a public place. 5. Have your keys ready to use when approaching your car or apartment. 6. Take lock and hide items left in your vehicle. 7. Install and use locks on your doors and windows. (McCallum properties already have these in place). Students can install a wireless home alarm for extra security. 8. Keep doors locked day or night whether you are home or not. 9. Know who is at the door before opening it. Insist on seeing an ID from anyone you do not know. 10. If someone comes to your door and asks to use your telephone to call for help, offer instead to make the call. 11. Door-to-door solicitation is prohibited on the McCallum Properties. Please report the presence of solicitors to security service. 12. Give your home a “someone is home” look. Put radio and lights on a timer. 13. Maintain good lighting around entrances. 14. Leave spare keys with a friend, not in accessible places. 15. Keep emergency numbers near the telephone or programmed in your cell phone. ---Chritsopher White, Director of Operations, Verified Response Students that reside at McCallum Crossing, McCallum Glen, Courts of McCallum, McCallum Meadows, Gables of McCallum and McCallum Highlands can call Verified Response at 214.239.3768 for security related issues.
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THE MERCURY n MARCH 19, 2012
Res Hall housing Debate duo takes fifth at nationals to remain limited SHEILA DANG Mercury Staff
CHRISTOPHER WANG Mercury Staff
The university plans to have more than 1,750 dorm rooms available to freshmen by fall 2014, but for now some students are content to stay off campus while spaces remain scarce. According to Director of Residential Life Ryan White, approximately 900 freshmen live in the two residence halls, which is more than half of the 1,760 freshmen, and the Office of Strategic Planning and Analysis said it is expecting an even larger class of freshmen next fall. With only one more 450-bed Residence Hall added, on-campus housing will remain a hot commodity. “Students want to be able to take advantage of the close proximity of on-campus housing, where commutes to classes and access to campus events and activities don’t require the use of a car. There’s also a sense of connectedness that comes with living on campus,” White said. Nick Mikesell, Arts & Technology freshman, finds that in the trade-off between proximity to campus and cost, cost wins. “Carpooling is not a problem. However, financing an apartment on campus would be a problem,” Mikesell said. In fact, Mikesell said it would be impossible for him to live on campus while paying tuition costs and fraternity dues. Currently, Mikesell lives at home with his family at no
cost. A room in the freshmenonly residence halls, however, costs about $640 a month, or approximately $5,740 a year. Rent for an on-campus apartment is around $330 to $761 a month depending on floor plans, and whether bedrooms are shared. Mikesell said he finds that living at home doesn’t mean he can’t get involved. “I live off campus but am definitely involved. I’m in Chi Phi, I’m Vice-President of Public Relations for Mu Epsilon Kappa and I work on campus. I am involved, despite living 20 minutes away,” Mikesell said. Moses Munoz, physics freshman who lives a mile from UTD, echoes Mikesell’s sentiment. He considers the university’s commitment to building more housing as a sign that UTD is responsive to other student’s desires to be closer to campus life. “If there’s anything going on that I want to attend, I can go. So its not a huge barrier,” Munoz said. Munoz said living off-campus provides him with more convenient access to shopping, Munoz also said those living on campus are quite lucky, considering the limited number of spaces available. “The whole point of college is to have a good time and earn your degree, and also set a foundation for yourself, whether it’s networking or making friends. It will go a long way. Just take advantage of it,” Munoz said.
The UTD debate team recently traveled to Clarion University in Pennsylvania to compete in the American Debate Association national championship from March 10-12. The team of Collin Roark, political science senior and Wes Dwyer, economics senior reached the quarterfinals by placing fifth out of 58 teams. This marks the fourth consecutive season that the UTD debate team has reached the top five at nationals. “We go to a number of tournaments each semester and we start in mid-September,” said Christopher Burk, director of debate. “Not every debater goes to every tournament. Some of the more experienced debaters will go to distant tournaments hosted by colleges like Harvard and Wake Forest. Our younger debaters do a mix of the national caliber tournaments and more regional tournaments.” The topic for this debate season is, “Resolved: The United States Federal Government should substantially increase its democracy assistance for one or more of the following: Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Tunisia, Yemen.” The team must be prepared to debate the affirmative and negative viewpoints and any subtopics that may be included. “Within (the topic) different teams may specialize, some teams like to talk
YANG XI/STAFF
The UTD debate team competed in the American Debate Association national championship from March 10-12. Collian Roark and Wes Dwyer finished fifth out of 58 teams in attendance.
about more philosophical things like foreign policy in theory, other teams talk about economic or military issues,” Burk said. “There’s a lot of different things that they can cover.” Last year, UTD hosted the National Debate Tournament, one the most prestigious debate competitions which drew 78 teams from across the nation. UTD has qualified for the competition in the past nine consecutive years, and last year placed in the top 16 for the second year in a row, making them only one of seven schools to do so. As the debate team continues to excel in competitions, Burk said the administration has introduced new debate scholarships this year. “We try to get the best students from the region and the country to come (to UTD),” Burk said. “(To recruit them)
we have debate scholarships ranging from a few thousand dollars to full tuition.” With many years of experience under his belt after debating throughout high school and college, Burk said one of the things he enjoys most about debate is simply the competition. “There’s an element of fun to it that you’re clashing with someone over ideas and concepts,” he said. “Debate is one of those things that if you practice and research, you do get better. It rewards your effort.” Dwyer, who has been a part of the UTD debate team since his freshman year, said he particularly enjoys exploring such a wide variety of issues. “One of the great things about my experience with the UTD debate team is I’ve researched and debated both sides of issues I’ve felt
many different ways about,” Dwyer said. “As a result, I’ve had a lot of my personal assumptions challenged ... we’ve covered every corner of thousands of issues over the years.” Roark, a four year veteran of the team, said he compares debate to a game of chess by the way debaters must learn to think and create a plan of action. “We have to digest a large amount of information, process that, formulate our own arguments, and then clash with other students who have been going through that same exercise,” Roark said. “Since we do our own research and craft our own arguments, we can say almost anything we want within reason. But at the end of the day, you want to have something that is realistic, compelling, and strategic all at once.”
Investing early can save thousands later
money will actually cost you $100 now instead of $85. But let’s say your Roth 401(k) grows to $1,000,000. When you pull the money out, it won’t cost you anything. If you pulled $1,000,000 out of a regular 401(k) it could cost you 15-20 percent, meaning you’d only have access to $850,000.
tributions (typically around 2550 percent up to a certain dollar amount). This is an important feature to look for when considering your overall compensation package with a new employer. If available, you should take full advantage of an employer’s match from day one to maximize your retirement benefits.
JARED PICKENS
How much money do I really need to save?
and in some cases even in different asset classes like bonds and real estate. The expenses of these funds are very low, so more money is working in the market rather than paying a mutual fund company. Finally, these funds automatically reallocate as you get closer to retirement. For example, an individual looking to retire in approximately 30 years would choose a 2040 target date fund. As you get closer to retirement, the fund begins shifting from an aggressive investment mix to a more conservative mix in order to limit large market losses as you approach your retirement date. It is important to remember that it is up to you to create your own personal financial plan. The ideas above are simply opinions and should not be taken as personal recommendations. The most important thing to take away from this article is start saving money early. At the end of the day, if no money has been saved it doesn’t matter what type of retirement plan you have or what your investment options are. If you have any questions about personal finances you should consider taking a class in personal finance in the Naveen Jindal School of Management. Please also feel free to contact Jared Pickens at jared.pickens@ utdallas.edu.
Senior Lecturer, Finance
Another spring break has come and gone, and now that the spring semester is beginning to wind down, many students find themselves in job search mode. While it is important to find a job that fits your interests, skills and qualifications, there are other things that are important to consider, such as your potential benefits package. One of the most important benefits to consider when accepting a position is the retirement plan offered by your prospective employer. I’m guessing that many of you who have already begun the job search have not even taken a look at the retirement plans available to you. After all, you’re decades away from retirement. However, a good retirement plan is so important that it should really be at the top of your list when looking at the overall compensation package provided by an employer. Since retirement might not be something you’ve actively been thinking about as a college student, I thought I’d take this opportunity to answer some of the most frequently asked questions about retirement planning. Hopefully the following information will help you make some informed decisions as you search for jobs and begin your career.
When should I start saving for retirement? Shouldn’t I wait a few years to get “established” before I even think about retirement? It’s never too early to start saving. Waiting just a few years could actually cost you as much as $300,000! It’s typical for young people to want to spend their newfound income right out of college to “establish” the lifestyle that they’ve been aspiring towards. I can understand the thought process. You are likely earning the most income you’ve ever earned and you’re anxious to spend it on a nice car or that cool high rise apartment downtown. You’ll get serious about retirement in a few years once you’re comfortable with the lifestyle you’ve created. While that all sounds great, and the short-term benefits might seem worth it, postponing retirement contributions could cost you big money. Let’s say you decide to forgo the lifestyle of your dreams and immediately start investing $350 per month into a 401(k) plan. If you do this for 30 years (until you retire), and we assume that the money will earn a return of 10 percent, your estimated retirement account would be around $727,000 when you retire. However, if you were to wait five years, that retirement nest egg would be only $435,105. There is no math error here. It really could cost you almost
$300,000. The issue is not just that you are not contributing to your retirement for the first five years, but there is also no money invested in the market, thus sacrificing and minimizing the effect of compound interest. What kind of retirement account should I look for? Is there a difference between a 401(k) and a Roth 401(k)? A 401(k) and Roth 401(k) are retirement plans with special tax benefits built in for those saving for retirement. Generally speaking, the Roth 401(k) is more advantageous for younger savers. However, at the end of the day the most important thing is that you save money regardless of the type of plan. If your employer offers a Roth 401(K) plan, you won’t be taxed on the funds during retirement. A regular 401(k) plan allows you to save money towards retirement on a pretax basis. In contrast, a Roth 401(k) uses post tax contributions. So if you’re paying taxes either way, why does it matter which plan you choose? If you invest $100 per month in a traditional 401(k) plan with pretax contributions, you would save about $10 - $15 in taxes per paycheck on the contribution. In other words, it only costs you $85 to save $100. The tax break now is great, but taxes are due when you withdraw money and are taxed as ordinary income. However, contributions made to a Roth 401(k) don’t get pretax treatment. Contributing $100 to the Roth 401(K) with after-tax
Ten percent is a great start. Ten percent isn’t some type of magic number, but it is a really nice starting point and helps create good financial habits for new professionals. Let’s look at an example. We will assume the average salary in the DFW area is around $45,000. If the employee saves $4,500 per year (10 percent of their gross income) and does so for 30 years, the estimated balance would be just shy of $800,000, assuming a 10 percent rate of return. As a side note, from January 1970 through the end of 2011, the average annual compounded rate of return for the S&P 500, including reinvestment of dividends, was approximately 10.01 percent. An important item to note is that many employers offer a matching feature for their retirement plans whereby they may match a certain percentage of each employee’s retirement con-
What should a young professional invest in to save for retirement? The typical inexperienced investor should select a target date retirement fund because it is diversified and its investment objectives are built towards a specific retirement age. When you begin your first professional job, you will be provided with many different investment options. Having many options can be a good thing, but sometimes too many options make things more difficult and frustrating. The average individual likely doesn’t have the time, experience or research tools to effectively choose his or her investment allocation. Instead, investors should consider using a target date retirement fund. These funds are great because they are highly diversified investments, so you are investing in hundreds of companies — both domestic and international —
Election 2012
THE MERCURY n MARCH 19, 2012
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ONE TICKET TO SAVE THEM ALL Editor’s note: The Mercury’s Editor-in-Chief Shane Damico and Staffer Lauren Featherstone sat down with Raj Dwivedi, chemistry sophomore, and Nate Fairbank, undeclared freshman, to talk with them about thier decision to run for office. The Mercury: Do you two have a ticket name that you’re running under? Nate: Students Advocating Voice and Expansion. Why is that the name? When you guys were coming up with it, how long did it take? Nate: Coming up with the ticket name took so long. Raj: You know what you want to base your campaign on and stuff like that, but you really just can’t decide what the ticket name should be. But for us it was relatively easy to come up with a platform because (one) of the most important things that we felt we should consider as a senate this upcoming year (was) going to be communications with the student body. If you were there at last nights (senate) meeting, you realized there’s so much debate about who we represent. Do we represent anyone, how do we represent them, how should we represent them and all that. And then expansion. This upcoming fall our enrollment numbers are going to hit 21,000 and we need better services, and these referenda (are) going to vote this spring. We’re going to support that. So we decided that should be our platform. Nate: … The campus is growing at an alarming rate, like very, very quickly, and our current institutions will not be sufficient to handle the new numbers of students. So the way we see it, expansion is going to have to happen. We want to make sure it happens in a manner that is satisfactory to the students because we’re the customers this university is here for and Student Government is here to represent our interests. Why are you guys running together? How did that happen? Are you good friends outside or inside of senate and do you think you both bring something different to the table? Raj: … As I got more and more involved with senate, I just felt that this was something that I wanted to do. I was just really passionate about it all this time. First and foremost it was up to me what I wanted to run for or if I wanted to run for anything — just planning it out in my head — and then after multiple conver-
sations I decided I wanted to run for president … I was looking around trying to find people who (I) would be comfortable working with because that’s just one of the first things you look for in a running mate … When I talked to Nate, the only thing that I had in mind was really that we were just really different people. We come from different backgrounds (and) we think differently on issues; and, I felt that that definitely was a driving factor in choosing Nate because I’m an international student and I’ve been here for a while and he was just one of the most hard working people on the senate and someone who stood out … Nate: … I took the weekend to think about it and I said UT Dallas is the place that I came to and it has very quickly become my home. And one of the reasons, when people ask why I came here and why I love it so much, … is because UT Dallas is young and it’s ambitious and it’s going places. And I thought about it and I decided that I really wanted to be a part of that development. I want 20 years from now for people to be able to say “this is something that UT Dallas offers and it’s offered because Nate Fairbank helped put it in place.” Raj said that each one of you brings something different to the table. What would be an example of something you bring with you that adds diversity between the two of you? Nate: I’m the looks. Raj: For sure, yeah. I bring the brains — works out well. But, I feel just inherently the way we approach things, how we look at different issues and react to them is different and our views clash sometimes. But I also feel that it compliments (our) views and we come up with something that’s better than both of our ideas … Nate: I guess I would just point out that different views do not necessarily mean disagreement … A different way to phrase it would be different perspectives. We approach things from different points of view … What is it that you think qualifies you for office? Raj: I’ve been here for two years now and I’m going to be a junior this upcoming fall, and even though I was not involved with (senate) my freshman year, I kind of made up for it starting last spring (when) I was involved with senate. I came to meetings, I went to events. I wasn’t really a part of senate officially, but I knew what was going on, what the issues were, and then I ended up running and then I joined (the Executive Committee). Currently I’m the
Election quick facts • Filing for spring 2012 elections closes at noon on March 23 • Online Voting for Elections and Referenda runs from 8 a.m. March 28 to 5 p.m. March 30 • Candidate Debates and Meet and Greet on March 26 at noon • Last Day of all Current SG Terms is April 30 Also: • I Heart UT-Dallas Teaser Events from March 28 to March 30 • I Heart UT-Dallas on March 31 Legislative Affairs chair for Student Government and I’ve organized multiple events … So I’ve kind of had that extra semester without even being on the senate and then outside of senate I’m involved with a social fraternity and I’ve held multiple leadership positions and served on multiple university-wide committees. I currently serve on the Auxiliary Services Safety and Security Council. Nate: Well, I joined senate like pretty much immediately when I came to UT Dallas. It was something I did in high school and something that I was very passionate about. I served on the Technology Committee and now I’m serving on the Residential Student Affairs Committee, as well as the Sustainability Sub-Committee. So I tried to jump right in … I’m pretty good at talking with administrators and things like that. Why do you think that?
what they like dealt with … So, we’re slightly giving you a hard time here, Nate, but as a freshman do you think you bring a benefit to the table or do you think that there might be some obstacles that you have to overcome since you’re relatively new to the university?
I want 20 years from now for people to be able to say ‘this is something that UT Dallas offers and it’s offered becuase Nate Fairbank helped put it in place.
— Nate Nate: I had a chance to do a lot of that and I’ve done a lot of it here. This Monday I was in a meeting with (David) Daniel, Calvin Jamison and (Darrelene) Rachavong, with Sharkey about (the Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas’) new mandate about tobacco use on campus. So I’ve had an opportunity through volunteering through senate to do things like that and I think that I’m also qualified in the sense that I interact with a lot of students on a daily basis. I’m involved in a lot of things on campus which I think puts me in a good position to hear students’ voices in terms of what issues they like brought up and
Nate: I have no doubts about my qualifications to fulfill everything in office. I think that I can represent this university as well as someone who is a senior or a graduate student. I think that as a freshman, you could argue that I have an advantage in terms of not being biased towards status quo and the ability to look at fresh ideas … That’s part of the dynamic between Raj and I. I can come in and say “what if we did this” and he could say “oh, we’ve tried that,” and so I think it’s healthy to have both perspectives.
Fairbank
OK, well, going off of SAVE, your ticket, what changes would you like to see at UTD or what would you like to help make happen in your term if elected? Raj: The most important reason why we chose that ticket name (and) why we took that platform is because we want this campus to expand. We’re going to have a hard time sustaining this growth if we don’t expand in terms of infrastructure and I think now that we have
see ELECTION page 9
UT DALLAS UPCOMING EVENTS
• Free VIN etching April 12 • Auto Theft Prevention tips 9:00am till 3:00pm. On April 12 in the Phoenix Room • RAD classes March 26-‐28 (Mon-‐Wed) 6p.m.-‐9p.m. • RAD classes April 24-‐26 (Tue-‐Thu) 3p.m.-‐6p.m. • Information about the effects of alcohol and underage drinking from 10:30am-‐1:30pm Monday April 2 and 9 in the Student Union at a booth. There will be "beer goggles" so students can have a realistic feel of how alcohol affects balance and coordination. • A quest speaker from MADD, Mother Against Drunk Drivers, will speak on campus about the mission of MADD and her personal loss of a loved one associated with an intoxicated driver at 11 a.m. on April 25
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Election 2012
THE MERCURY n MARCH 19, 2012
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if we can develop that kind of culture it’s only going to make our university stronger …
referenda on the spring ballot, our most important task as a team — as a senate — is going to be defending those referenda in different places.
Lately — at least for a while, anyway — Student Government and the student body haven’t really had that kind of relationship. How do you plan on trying to make that happen?
Nate: If they pass. Raj: Yeah, if it passes. But I feel there is a really positive vibe about it. We all know and we understand that we need those referenda to pass. We need a new Student Union, we need a new Activity Center, and as it passes, our most important task is going to be defending those referenda in different places in the legislature. Building off that, we’re going to see more changes, like more diverse food options for graduate students. International students have been asking for food options that they at least know what they’re eating because for most of them they’re just not sure about what they’re eating at the Comet Café … We’ll try to work on late-night food options because people who do not have cars or people in the Res Halls; we don’t want them to starve to death. They can’t get off campus … More transportation. We’re currently looking at buses to Frankford, more buses to McCallum because so many of our students live there and it’s just hard for them to travel. I feel improving public transportation on this campus is also the way to go about solving the parking issues. Explain that. How do you mean? Raj: If we have more buses running more frequently and if we increase them. Tell (students) that these buses are running … Because gas is not cheap … It would (encourage) them to use public transportation … Nate: … (Also,) in a school of 19,000, soon to be 21,000, we need to have a very updated relationship with the student body … Part of it is online interactions, surveys, being out there, being visible, but part of that is changing the culture of the student body and the perspective that “someone else is going to do this and deal with this” to “this is my school and I’m taking pride in the changes that are happening and this is where I’d like to see it go.” I think that starts with the referenda and
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Which culture are we talking about? Nate: In terms of student participation, student outlook and a real sense of UT Dallas community and cohesiveness and involvement with the campus. Because in the past — well what, like 20 years ago, 21 years ago — there weren’t even undergraduates on campus. From there it became very much a commuter campus where it wasn’t so much your school, but it was a place where you went to school. But we’re seeing a change. More and more students are living on campus. We’re putting up buildings like crazy and as that happens I think that we’re going to start to see a university culture start to develop …
Nate: We’ve put together a very, very diverse ticket … There’s a veteran, there’s international students, graduate students, people from nearly every major or classification, which is step one in terms of accessibility. Everyone should know a senator. Everyone should have someone they know and be able to turn to and say “hey I noticed this, can we do something about that.” That’s step one. Step two is public You say there’s been inherent changes outreach programs being visible. Volunteering that have happened recently, are you saying at events around campus, wearing SG polos that specifically just the housing coming up around, things like that. Step three is online on campus or have there been— interaction using survey software such as qualtrics, using social media more effectively and Nate: I think more and more students livjust increasing on caming online pus is an imIf I feel a certain way, I’ll let it be presence … portant part of it. Not that known. I feel that would help me Nate mencommuter with this job immensely. tioned trying students can’t to change — Raj Dwivedi be just as pasthe student sionate about mindset. Do the university you think that some of the senator’s mind- or anything like that, but I think that having set needs to be changed as well? Or do you more and more people on campus begins to think everyone on senate is already on page shift that dynamic more … as far as talking to people they don’t know? If you had to narrow yourself down to a Raj: … We need to have a proactive ap- single personality trait that you believe deproach towards reaching out to (students), fines what you bring to the table as a presibecause it’s not a hard thing to do. If you hear dent or vice president, what would that trait some complaint or if you’re standing right be? next to someone who’s talking about how he doesn’t like this of the school, it’s not a hard Nate: I’m good at talking and I like talking. thing to do to go up to him and ask him what I really take pride in my ability to communihe feels should change … We do need to take cate with people and try to convey my points a proactive approach and that is a set part of and understand theirs. I think that it comes in the model that we’re going to try and imple- handy across a number of things in Student ment. Government. Talking with administrators, talking with students, talking publicly, talking Nate: If I can throw in one more thing, I privately. Whether it’s in spoken word or in think it’s also very important to have this letters … initiative to change the culture happen right now, because there are inherent changes hapWhere did you get that from? pening on this campus that make this the most opportune time. Nate: High school debate. You learn how to throw together your sentences on the fly. That,
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and I’ve always been kind of loud. Raj: Personally, there are just a lot of things that I can probably think about that I can relate to, but I think the most important thing for me is being honest and being straightforward … I’m not the kind of person who would try and be all bureaucratic or political or anything. I would just let it out … But not trying to argue a debate with them, that’s for Nate. Nate: I’ll give you an example. It’s not “oh Nate, you’re hair’s getting kind of long,” it’s “Nate, get a hair cut.” Raj: Yeah, I would let it be known … I think everyone that I’ve worked with until this point has appreciated it or they realized that it’s just per my personality. If I feel a certain way, I’ll let it be known. I feel that would help me with this job immensely. The Mercury: You mentioned an increasing student involvement with Student Government. Why should students care about Student Government? Nate: Because it’s decisions that are going to affect their everyday lives here at UT Dallas. From where we need a new dining hall placed, where the Activity Center goes, to what services they see offered. They should care because these are things that are actually going to affect them. These are policy decisions being made about the university that they attend. That’s why it matters … I would like to see everyone be passionate (for) the same reason that I decided to run for office. Because when they come back as an alumni 10 years or 20 years, I want them to be able to say “I voted on this. I helped make this change,” and “I helped this university become the great university that it is.” I mean, that’s the number one thing when I talk to alumni who were here four years ago or five years ago or 10 years ago. So much change has happened since then and everyone I’ve talked to feels so great to have been a part of that and that is still going on. Things aren’t cemented. Things are growing and changing rapidly and that is a chance for Student Government and students to get involved and make a difference that they’ll see now and they’ll see in the future. I think that’s something anyone can get excited about.
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WWW.UTDMERCURY.COM n THE MERCURY n
L&A
MARCH 19, 2012
From streets to schoolbooks Student, prof With help prof persevered through difficult teenage years JESSICA MELTON Mercury Staff
Sixteen-year-old Venus Reese lived on the streets surrounded by drugs, prostitutes, police, pimps and hoes. “There wasn’t any other model,” the now Professor Reese said. “You get on welfare, you hoe, you steal or you get on drugs. Pick one.” Reese said everyone has walked through some fire in his or her lives. She said life can be heartbreaking, and it can knock you to your knees. One day, she came to class smelling like beer and urine be-
cause she had slept in an alley the night before. She was teased by the other kids — today it would be called bullying — and only one teacher, Miss Francis, took action. That day, Miss Francis helped her get cleaned up, she gave her a warm meal and dropped her off at her corner without asking any questions. “That began our trust relationship, because she never asked me to explain,” Reese said. “Sometimes it’s not what you say, sometimes it’s what you don’t say.” After that first day, Reese began to spend more time in Miss Francis’ classroom. If she stayed long enough, she figured she would get a free meal, and so she began cleaning the blackboards everyday after school. These times she spent in the classroom were bonding mo-
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Suit Up
MUSO ATO/COURTESY
UTD senior manages, markets brand worldwide SHANE DAMICO/Editor-in-Chief
M
usa Ato is quite worldly. He speaks Russian, English and some Ukrainian and he lived in Nigeria for most of his life. Ato studied hard and his family was proud. So when he told them he was going to start his own fashion line, he was met with confusion and disappointment. “I still remember a comment from my sister. She said ‘so are you going to be selling suits? You’ve gone to school for all these years just so that you can sell suits?’” Ato said as he reflected on his past. Little did his family know — to be fair, even Ato was unsure and thought it was a large risk — the brand would grow faster than anyone had ever imagined. For as long as he can remember, Ato has always loved
fashion. His passion grew so large, in fact, that in 2008 he opened his own clothing boutique in Ukraine. After nearly two years, Ato closed shop and transferred to UTD in pursuit of a Global Business degree. But he had made many friends in the fashion scene during his days running the shop and so when Ato left it created a void that a few of his best friends still wanted filled. They wanted to create a fashion line and since Ato already had two years of experience under his belt, they asked him to help. “Originally, I didn’t want to take the risk of starting
see REBELS page 11
rejoin to create Facebook app LAURA CARROLL Contributor
Researchers in the Emerging Media and Communications program are continuing their battle to highlight social dissonance with EnemyGraph, a Facebook application that allows users to publicly declare enemies. Associate Professor Dean Terry and EMAC graduate student Bradley Griffith sought to expand their critique of niceness culture among social media by at- tacking the ultimate platform — Facebook. “It’s just a nasty little place on the Internet that we wanted to mess with,” Griffith said. “We already messed with Twitter and got that cease and desist. It would be nice to strike at Facebook as well — sort of a ALISON KWONG mini-protest.” Due to technical limitations within Facebook, users of EnemyGraph can only declare pages, groups, friends and fellow users of the app as enemies. Ironically, these restrictions have molded EnemyGraph usage to remain within the positive, cyclically joking sphere of Facebook — the exact ideology the application was made to critique. “In a way, EnemyGraph is a kind of social media blasphemy,” Terry said in a February interview with BBC Online. “We are suggesting you share differences you have with people or talk about things you don’t like.” After their success in bringing tweets back from the dead with Undetweetable, Terry and Griffith continued their quest for disrupting social media normality by creating a Facebook application. Highlighting social dissonance on a platform that is entirely structured to support happiness and affinities raised challenges throughout the production process. Before EnemyGraph was conceptualized in its current form, Terry, Griffith and undergraduate researcher Harrison Massey set out to create Unfriend — a Facebook application that would notify users of recent “unfriending” and the context in which it occurred. However, after three months of research, Griffith discovered that Unfriend was against Facebook’s rules for developers. This setback forced the team to go back to the drawing board for a new idea that did not so explicitly undermine Facebook’s philosophy. “If you think about what their philosophy is, it’s only positive feedback,” Griffith said. “Their corporate ideology would be a friendly place. Clearly, we are probably breaking that term (with EnemyGraph), but it’s sort of under the surface.” In addition to technical limitations within Facebook, user interaction with applications is limited to individuals who have “opted-in.” Undetweetable was more frictionless because users could simply browse an open webpage. Massey is currently working on EnemyGraph.com, which will display trending and top 25 enemies. This public report will allow increased visibility for their ultimate message of highlighting dissonance. “Controversies aren’t simple,” Griffith said. “Controversies aren’t always very violent or heated, but they are the best chance at understanding the structure of our society. Because whenever controversy strikes, everything sort of breaks up into structures and you can better understand the cartography of that society.” EnemyGraph and Undetweetable have served as research for a large-scale project that aims to channel social dissonance. The challenges Terry, Griffith and Massey have faced are representative of real-world scenarios in creating content for the Web. “My job in the program is to have people make things,”
see ENEMY GRAPH page 11
UTD grad opens early-morning fitness program Trainer aims to help students shed weight PAUL DANG Mercury Staff
Music blared from the basketball courts by the Activity Center at 5:30 in the morning. Under the glaring court lights, a dozen tiny figures could be seen from a distance, jumping, crawling and dashing around each other. Brian Scott was running another session of Camp Gladiator, a fitness camp he runs every Mon., Wed. and Fri. morning for UTD students in conjunction with the university. A 2010 graduate from UTD and currently a personal trainer at the Activity Center, Scott said he discovered his passion for fitness and health near the end of his college days. But if you had met Brian Scott a few years earlier, you wouldn’t see the same fitness instructor encouraging a group of people to crank out their last set of burpees. “I used to be 225 lbs.,” he said. “I smoked a pack of cigarettes a day. I was completely out of shape — eating like crap.” A future of imminent health problems waited for
Scott with the habits he had chosen. It wasn’t until a tragedy struck his family when he finally reconsidered his lifestyle. His uncle was diagnosed with cancer in 2008. “Once I saw him get cancer,” Scott said. “It was kind of like, ‘Why am I doing this to my body, putting myself at risk for the same types of health problems he’s having?’” His uncle’s illness hit too close to home for Scott, and he soon checked himself into a gym and found a personal trainer that he stuck with for the next couple years. In those two years, Scott said he underwent a physical transformation. However, the real change occurred with his mentality towards health and fitness after seeing how getting in shape changed his life for the better. He soon got his certification as a physical instructor. “It’s a great thing to help somebody meet their goals, help them get healthier and it kind of snow-
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BRIAN SCOTT/COURTESY
UTD students attend Camp Gladiator at 5:30 a.m. with UTD alum Brian Scott as their trainer, at the basketball courts adjacent to the Activity Center.
L&A
THE MERCURY n MARCH 19, 2012
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‘Casa’ a satire success Tower defense game not beginner-friendly LARRY STAVINOHA Mercury Staff
WWW.IMDB.COM/COURTESY
Will Ferrell (left) and Diego Luna star in “Casa De Mi Padre,” a satire on melodrama.
Purposely bad film will leave viewers in stitches JOHN D. McCRARY COMMENTARY
For those of us who have ever seen too many movies, myself included, you’ll often find your taste in films begin to develop a bit of a split personality. You begin to realize that things like plot and character development make for a better experience than fight scenes, beautiful people and explosions. You start to look on movies you used to get excited about as boring and trivial, and even begin to agree more and more with the opinions of snooty film critics. But I don’t think I’m alone here when I address the fact that for many of us, we begin to develop a fondness for the positively terrible. Movies that take themselves too seriously and fail to realize just how terrible they are can make for just as good a time as a movie that puts you through an emotional roller coaster. Essentially, as your taste for good movies gets better, so does your taste for the really, really bad. Take the Inwood Theater on Lovers Lane for example. Due to a small number of screens,
ENEMY GRAPH continued from page 10
Terry said. “Because when you make things, half of what you learned happens after you’ve made it.” The next goal for Terry and
REBELS
continued from page 10 up the line,” he said. “But since I had some experience with sourcing and merchandising, I (decided) to help my friends out.” Everyone in the group loved to wear suits full-time, no matter the occasion. So they decided to design suits that could be worn in almost any casual setting. They called the brand League of Rebels: class, with a hint of rebelliousness. Ato described the line as slim-fitted suits with a modernized classic style. The group designed each suit and created their own size chart for them. Ato said it took months for the group to agree on the dimensions and fabrics to use and the process cost way more than they had intended. “Our suits fit differently than any other brand out there,” Ato said. “We don’t use the regular U.S. or European chart, we actually formed ours to give a perfect fit.” Once League of Rebels was established, Ato took a backseat to the designs of the brand and began to fo-
they tend to stick to high-quality mass-appeal flicks that might not get much airtime during commercial breaks, but they also regularly hold midnight screenings of what is arguably the worst movie of all time, “The Room.” With an uncanny degree of regularity, the hipster cinema snobs will find themselves standing in long lines waiting to get tickets to something objectively awful. In short, bad movies can make for a really good time. So for anyone who has lingered on Telemundo to try and figure out what is happening on a game show or has picked up a slasher flick in search of a few laughs, “Casa De Mi Padre” is the film for you. A satire on cheesy Mexican melodrama, “Casa De Mi Padre” relishes to the point of gloating all of the terrible mistakes that are made on a regular basis in cheap productions from south of the border. This is the part of the review where I’d normally tell you the plot of the film, but in all honesty it really doesn’t matter. While there is a coherent arc, it’s really just an opportunity for this batch of very talented comedians to work their way through all of the different kinds of clichés one finds rid-
dled throughout Latin American productions. From the ludicrous plot points and the cheesy sets, to the bad editing and even worse acting, “Casa De Mi Padre” manages to bring out laughs in all of the things that you look for when watching a really bad movie. While I’m tempted to share with you some examples of these spoton depictions, I wouldn’t want to deprive anyone of a punch line as nearly the entire movie is a joke. I know that because what Mr. Ferrell and company are trying to do is so unique, this film can be a bit of a tough read. With two of the best actors Latin America has to offer in Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal, (and if this is the first time hearing those names I insist you check out their work) and subtitles, it can be hard to tell exactly what this movie is all about. So I’ll leave you with this: If you’ve ever watched something truly bad and enjoyed it, this is a must-see. Even if you feel you lack the kind of nuanced knowledge of cinema to relish a cheesy melodrama, this movie still packs in enough laughs for just about anyone. 9/10
Griffith will be exploring collective social dissonance on a broader platform. While social dissonance is evident on websites like 4chan or Reddit, it is very dispersed. They are working towards one place where users can gauge the social temperature of issues.
“I’m interested in trying to show that a controversy is on the brink of being public, Griffith said. “And have a site where we can say this is what the media is, a storm is brewing around this topic, and this is next week’s hot controversy — anticipating controversy.”
cus on managing it. “I started out with structuring the line, to give us a base,” he said. “But then I got really excited with the whole marketing part of businesses and so since the summer of last year I’ve been mainly working on marketing, branding and analytics.” Ato has orchestrated all League of Rebels photo shoots locally in Dallas and has had the brand featured in multiple fashion shows across the country, including Fashion Week in Austin last year. A local retailer in Austin, Edge Boutique, approached Ato after the fashion show and asked to sell League of Rebels in their shop. He agreed and closed a deal with Edge at the end of February. Ato said the education he’s received at UTD has had a lot to do with his success. “I got a lot of insight on how to position a brand, find out who our target market is and how to approach that,” he said. During his Product and Brand Management course, instructed by Marketing Director Julie Haworth, the entire class analyzed the
League of Rebels brand and gave their input. “It is incredibly impressive of Musa to have already developed his own global menswear line. Our Product and Brand Management class was eager to provide branding recommendations,” Haworth said. “We should expect great things from (him) and the League of Rebels.” At the moment, League of Rebels suits can be purchased online and shipped to anywhere in the world, but the Edge Boutique is the only brick and mortar store currently selling the brand. Ato said he hasn’t yet decided whether to pursue the creation of League of Rebels specific stores or to continue selling through Boutiques such as Edge, but either way he wants the brand to continue to expand. “Our aspirations are to get in to a number of stores in Nigeria, England and Ukraine by next year,” Ato said. “Also expanding out product line, because right now we just have suits and jackets, but we’re looking to expand that before the end of this year to carry accessories, ties, pocket squares, belts and formal shirts.”
As the sky turns a crimson shade of red, the large lumbering beasts begin their slow descent to the town square where they’ll eat the entire town’s livestock. Dillon, a hero evoking images of the Wild WWW.GAMEINFORMER.COM/COURTESY West in both his profession as a ranger and literally being an armadillo, is tasked with stop- cle to upgrade the gun towers “Dillon’s Rolling Western” ping the Grocks before the or bolster other town defenses. feels like a game from the town loses all of its livestock. The controls in both the “Legend of Zelda” series. The “Dillon’s Rolling Western,” day and night phases revolve art direction embodies the sort developed by Vanpool for the around the 3DS’ touchscreen. of fantasy and cartoon look Nintendo 3DS eShop, is a With the touchscreen controls that is a staple of the “Zelda” unique and enjoyable tower comes the need for move- games, and the 3D display defense game that captures the ments to be precise. Swiping helps bring the environments spirit of a western adventure. the stylus towards the player alive, creating the same feel of Each level is divided among is the most effective way to immersion that proper “Zel3 days and each day is broken move about the map, and to da” titles do. into a day and night secinitiate Dillon’s rolling Anyone playing the game tion. which serves as an feels as though they are on During the day, attack. a quest of great importance the player moves This is prob- and that the actions taken about the overlematic in the night in the game actually matter. world upgrading cycles, when the The developer Vanpool has gun towers, collectplayer is pressed for previously worked on spinoff ing food for the town’s time defending the titles for the “Legend of Zellivestock and mining town and cannot da” series that were published for minerals that can make exact mo- by Nintendo. It is this prior be used to build gates tions. The learning experience in dealing with a WWW.NINTENDO.COM around the town. curve for the night series focusing on a sense of During the stages is steep be- adventure that shines though night, the Grocks make their cause of this, and even those in “Dillon’s Rolling Western.” way toward the town, and to more familiar with the touch While some of the controls defeat them, Dillon must roll screen will be frustrated. are frustrating in their reliance into them, which initiates a Outside of night combat, on the touch screen, “Dillon’s minigame stage where the when there isn’t a race to keep Rolling Western” is a game player engages in combat with the town intact, the controls with a sense of adventure and several smaller Grocks. De- are easier to learn and use. worth the time and money feating all the enemies with- Had there been an option to of those looking for a good out the town being destroyed change the layout of the con- game. “Dillon’s Rolling Westawards the player money that trol scheme, it would have ern” is available on the Nincan be used in the next day cy- been more beginner-friendly. tendo 3DS eShop for $9.99.
REESE
continued from page 10 ments, but not in the traditional sense. They didn’t share stories, they didn’t gab, both teacher and student worked in silence. At the time, Reese was always silent. She said she didn’t speak for at least six months. “At least,” because she doesn’t know exactly when she stopped talking, she only knew when Miss Francis noticed she wasn’t talking. Reese was following a path to self-destruction until one teacher got in her way. Miss Francis wasn’t just a sweet lady. She was an edgy high school, inner city math teacher, and at 4’11’’ she had an attitude that would make her students listen to her. Miss Francis didn’t play. So when Miss Francis came up to Reese and told her if she wasn’t going to talk, she was going to write, as she shoved a pencil and pad into Reese’s hands, Reese listened. She said this woman was feeding her five days a week, and she sure didn’t want to piss her off, so she figured she should do what she said. Reese’s thoughts came out as poetry. Miss Francis read them. She typed them. She sent them to the NAACP nation-wide poetry contest. Reese won first place.
GLADIATOR
continued from page 10 balled. It was something I got more and more passionate about. And I want to get more students on this campus involved in some type of program.” The people that attend Camp Gladiator vary from university soccer players to mothers with a day job, from athletes to people trying to lose excess weight. Katelynn Flory, a business junior, regularly attends Scott’s hour-long morning workouts before her classes. “His program is hard in the right way,” she said. “He’s not
“The winning part I can’t even wrap my head around,” Reese said. “Here was a stranger — not blood — who gave me the tools to have a voice. She turned herself into a resource. She would have had to of found (the contest) on my behalf. She poured love on me that I did not have to earn or pay for with my body. In that moment, when I comprehended what she had done on my behalf, I became a social being.” Miss Francis saw Reese as worth something, while Reese saw herself as worthless. Reese thought, maybe she should see herself as Miss Francis saw her, because maybe then she could do something with her life. When Miss Francis showed Reese that she mattered, everything changed. Today, Reese stands tall with a Ph.D. from Stanford University, professorship at UTD and a speaking career helping others discover what they’re worth. She’s no longer quiet or shy, she can — and does — fill a conference room with her booming voice, captivating laugh and bold personality. Reese is currently preparing a talk for 500 women at DFW International and recently spent time in Canada where she was selected by Ewomen Network as one of the most impactful women speakers of the day.
She’s accomplished so much, but her journey is far from over. Right now, PhDs don’t pay, Reese said, the payment is honor and accolades, and she believes the current system can’t work. So, in addition to teaching, Reese is trying to take her academic skill set and repurpose it in the real world to make money. To make this a reality, Reese started an organization, Defy Impossible, in which she helps people work on their relationship with themselves in the same way Miss Francis helped her. “Most of my clients are multimillionaires,” Reese said. “We focus on people who’ve been hurt, we don’t ever focus on those who we perceive haven’t been hurt, (but) they’re the ones who make the decisions. They’re all wounded, and we’re impacted by their wounds. Let me influence the influencer, because when their hearts are healed, when they really comprehend that they don’t have to force an outcome, they can actually have influence rather than force, and we can have a different kind of world.” She’s changed herself so much since her days living in the streets, but said she won’t forget the fire she walked through to get here. “It was my ninth grade math teacher who saved my life,” Reese said. “It’s just that simple.”
one of those trainers that make you feel bad if you need to modify something.” Haley Renfro, a graduate student and former soccer player for the university, heard about the camp through another friend and decided to see the boot camp for herself. “Being an athlete, I need something that’s going to push me and motivate me, but still gives that high intensity workout,” Renfro said. Looking back at his collegiate days, Scott understands how the college lifestyle can deter students from getting into shape. “For the most part, the overall fitness of most college students
is pretty bad,” he said. “You get odd hours so you’re staying up super late — sleeping in. The first thing you do is grab something on your way to class, and on campus, there’s not too many healthy food options.” Working with a self-paced routine and using group activities like “Popsicle” — a game where all players compete for popsicle sticks by completing exercise sets as fast as they can — Scott said he hopes to make people actually enjoy working out and getting healthy. He hopes to see more students in fitness programs and offers a student discount to anyone enrolled at UTD.
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WWW.UTDMERCURY.COM n THE MERCURY n
MARCH 19, 2012
Unlikely champions
Sports
Crowds remain small despite efforts from athletic dept. JESUS JIMENEZ Contributor
AKSHAY HARSHE/STAFF
Sophomore Cameron Broussard eludes a Lamar defender in the TRU Division 3 Semifinals on Feb. 19. The rugby team won the championship the next week and will play in the national tournament on April 14 in Neb.
Club qualifies for national tournament in first season BOBBY KARALLA Managing Editor
It’s not often to find a true rags-toriches story in sports. Rarely does a team that epitomizes an underdog actually pull off the upset, go undefeated or win a championship. But in its first year of competitive existence, the UTD rugby team did all
Barnes, Smith have made their mark BOBBY KARALLA COMMENTARY
One of the most exciting things about college sports is the recruiting season. Blue-chip prospects are always compared to their predecessors at whichever position they play or whichever school they attend. Only rarely, though, does a player leave a lasting mark on his or her program. Uncommon as it may seem, it’s been an ongoing occurrence for both UTD basketball teams now for four years in a row. This year’s pair of players, though, left a much more indelible mark on their respective programs than any that came before them. Chris Barnes and Lyndsey Smith will both graduate as UTD’s all-time leading scorers and as reigning ASC East Players of the Year — an honor Smith received for the first time this year, while Barnes won the Player of the Year in 2011 and 2012. Individual awards can only mean so much, though. What’s most important in terms of judging the impact a player has on a program is the growth and success of the team during his or her stay. Looking at it from that angle, Smith and Barnes did a lot more than just score points and win trophies. Until last season, the women’s team had never won an ASC Tournament game. While Smith will leave the program without a conference title, she led the team to two straight ASC Semifinals appearances and was the leading scorer on all three of the 20-win teams in program history and one East Division regular season champion. Smith’s teams won a combined 81 games during her four years, which makes up for nearly half of the 172 games UTD has won in women’s basketball history. Smith set a scoring record that will be hard to break in the immediate future — her 1,375 points is
see SENIORS page 15
of the above. The club completed a season-long clean sweep of its opponents as it won the Texas Rugby Union Division 3 Championship on Feb. 25 on its home field. After falling behind 10-0 in the first half, UTD held off UT San Antonio in the second half to come away with a 15-10 victory and earn the school’s first championship.
UTD will head north to play against Wayne State (Neb.) on April 14 for a shot at the Pacific West Regional Championship and one of four spots in the national championship tournament in Colorado. Just one year ago, UTD rugby didn’t have a home field, and the
see RUGBY page 13
It’s 2 p.m. and Zack Dickson is about to fire a first-pitch strike to Concordia centerfielder Brent Schaekel. The sunny, 70-degree weather could not be better for a baseball game on the last day of February. In the stands: 11 students and seven parents. This is often the scene at UTD sporting events. According to UTD’s athletics website, in 2011 UTD’s men’s and women’s basketball, softball, baseball, men and women’s soccer, and volleyball teams averaged a total of 229 fans in attendance per game. Men’s basketball averaged the highest among these teams with 374 fans per game and softball averaged the least with 96 fans per game. “(Attendance) always could be better,” UTD Associate Athletic Director of External Relations Bill Petitt said. “But I think we’re competitive with the other teams in the league.” UTD’s sporting event atten-
dance does not differ much from other schools in the ASC. However, UTD’s enrollment stands out among the ASC. According to other university websites, the average enrollment of ASC schools not including UTD is 1,888, while UTD’s is 18,864. UTD’s enrollment alone makes up for over two-thirds of the total enrollment of all schools in the ASC combined. In terms of enrollment, UTD is not only larger than all schools in the ASC, but also larger than all Texas Division II and Division III schools. “It’d be nice to see more fans,” women’s soccer midfielder Jeri Mills said. “I think (the school pride) is there, but it’s just kind of hidden. It’s not as good as other schools.” While UTD’s attendance at games is comparable to schools within its conference, it is not representative for a school with an enrollment of nearly 19,000 students. The University of Texas at El Paso has a similar enrollment to UTD’s with 21,011 students. According to UTEP’s ath-
see ATTENDANCE page 13
Comets sweep ASC First Pitch SHAWN CHO Mercury Staff
The UTD softball team is on fire as it extended its winning streak to six straight games, including sweeping a double-header against Austin College on March 6 with scores of 9-1 and 12-8, respectively. The Comets were 10-4 as of March 6 and were already past the halfway mark of last year’s win total of 18 not even half way through the season. The Comets also recorded a perfect 4-0 record at the annual American Southwest Conference First Pitch Tournament that took place from March 2 to 3 in Farmers Branch. This is the first time in the history of the program that UTD has ever swept its four opponents in the tournament. “When you start to see the team battle like they did, especially in the last game, you really see that they are coming together as a team,” coach Brad Posner said. “They are starting to play for each other, and that is a very, very powerful thing when they put the team first ahead of individuals.” Sophomore pitcher Heather Foust (7-1) had an impressive showing against Howard Payne on March 2 when she struck out a season-high 10 batters, only giving up two hits in the process. The team outscored its opponents 24-2, defeating the likes of Sul Ross State (13-0), Howard Payne (5-0), Schreiner (4-1) and University of
BEN HAWKINS/STAFF
Junior outfielder Rachel Riley celebrates with her teammates after scoring against UT Tyler on Feb. 23 at the UTD softball field. For the latest softball and baseball standings and results of games during Spring Break, see page 13
Mary Hardin-Baylor (2-1), the two-time defending West Division champions. Despite the terrific run of results the team is putting out, Posner still felt that there are some
areas for improvement. “We’re becoming more anticipatory rather than reactive,” Posner said. “We know what to expect now, and we know what we’re looking for. We are still a very young team, but rather than looking at what we still have to do, I think we need to look at how far we have come already in just a short amount of time.” Even though the Comets have a 10-4 record, they are at the bottom of the East Division table because they lost out to UT Tyler in their first conference match up in February. The Comets will look to change that as they go deep into the conference play starting with the games against Mississippi College on March 9. The significance of the conference games is that the top three teams from the ASC East Division will make the conference tournament at the end of the season. Posner made it clear that the team’s goal this year is to go to the national championship. But in order to get there, the team will have to finish as one of the top three and get past the regional tournament. “We play in an extremely tough conference, in my opinion, the toughest conference in the nation, and to be able to competitive throughout the season in the conference really sets the bar of where we want to be this year,” Posner said. Only two of the eight teams in the East Divi-
see SOFTBALL page 13
UTD wins 10 of 12 after 2-6 start
SHAWN CHO Mercury Staff
The Comets are 8-8 after their recent loss against Texas Wesleyan University 5-2 on March 6 in Fort Worth. The loss came off an impressive seven game stretch where the team was able to pull off two three-game series sweeps against Sul Ross State University and Howard Payne University, respectively. Junior pitcher Derek Dallas just gave up two earned runs and struck out five in their first win over Howard Payne, and senior right hander Max Willard was named the American Southwest Conference East Division Pitcher of the Week on March 5. Comets fell behind 3 runs in the first inning against Texas Wesleyan and were unable to put numbers on board until the 5th inning, when they scored 2 runs to make the game 3-2 going into the bottom of the 5th. Despite all their efforts to rally back and take the victory away from Wesleyan, they allowed 2 more runs in the bottom 8th and ended the game with a final score 5-2. “We had opportunities, but we just didn’t get the base hit that we needed,” coach Shane Shewmake said. “However the guys didn’t get down when we were down 3-0 but kept playing and gave ourselves a chance.” One stat that troubled Shewmake was the fact that
BEN HAWKINS/STAFF
Senior Jacob Starnes tags out a Concordia runner on Feb. 29 at the UTD Baseball Field. The Comets lost the game, 10-8, but won seven of eight games heading into a three-game weekend series against UT Tyler. The Comets were a perfect 3-0 in ASC play as of March 15.
the Comets left 12 men on base, a few of which were in scoring position. “That’s baseball,” Shewmake said. “Sometimes you get the base hits and sometimes you don’t, but it’s important to keep fighting which was good to see from our guys.” The Comets opened their conference play on March 10 against the University of the Ozarks in a
three-game series. Shewmake emphasized that the conference play is like starting a whole new season. “You’re basically 0-0 going into the conference, every game counts, and the guys understand that,” Shewmake said. “They’ve been working hard toward this, and that’s why we’ve been playing all these tough
see BASEBALL page 13
Sports
THE MERCURY n MARCH 19, 2012
RUGBY
continued from page 12 school didn’t own a set of goal posts. In fact, the team didn’t have a roster large enough to field a team. “Half the time we were on the recreational baseball fields,” Nathan Sohadaseni, the team’s captain, said. The rugby club’s quest to compile a side large enough to compete against other schools began in fall 2010 when it consisted of only six or seven players, not enough to make up half of one team. Sohadaseni inherited the club’s presidency the next spring, and set out to recruit as many players as he could, regardless of whether they had ever played the game before. He targeted former football players, but welcomed anyone interested in learning. “It was difficult,” he said. “Sure we’d recruit people, but they’d come out and see there are only six or seven people and then maybe they wouldn’t come back the next time.” He kept recruiting through the summer, and as many as 45 players showed up to the first official practice of the school year this past fall, which was surely enough to field a team. In order to join the Texas Rugby Union, or TRU, and compete against other schools, the team needed a coach. Fortunately, former player and coach Tony Wagner was the TRU collegiate director at the time and planned to retire at year’s end. He’d previously coached at SMU, itself a member of the TRU, for nine years before taking the job as director, and left his post as director to join Sohadaseni and vice president Dominic Prestia at UTD. Wagner taught the players every aspect of the game, including how to pass, run and tackle. With such an inexperienced ros-
ter, he had to take it slow. “The cool thing is no one on the team, including the coach, is ever going to be mad at you for being new,” Sohadaseni said. “You don’t know what you’re doing? It’s okay. You’re going to learn.” It also just so happened that Sul Ross State, also a member of the TRU, couldn’t fill its roster. So UTD filled the spot, but no one on the team knew whether the roster made up mostly of players with no previous experience would be able to keep up with opposing teams. “I told (the TRU), ‘we don’t know how competitive we’ll be. We might not even win a game, but we’d love to do it,’” Sohadaseni said. After a few preseason matches and two tournaments, Sohadaseni was still unsure just how successful the team could be. “In some of them, we even got stomped. Scores were like 64-5,” he said. The silver lining was that UTD was playing against schools such as Rice, with much larger, more established programs. Among the losses was a 34-10 defeat at the hands of SMU, Wagner’s former team. But suddenly, UTD found its rhythm. It took third place in a tournament in San Antonio, and beat Lamar, 34-10, in the team’s first official league game. “That was a huge moment,” Sohadaseni said. “After that, everyone just kept working hard and we just kept winning.” UTD scored 51 against Tyler Junior College and 54 against Midwestern State. The club then exacted revenge against SMU in blowout fashion, 74-0, to complete an undefeated regular season and earn the right to host the TRU Championship. After a 44-5 trouncing of Lamar, UTD played UT San Antonio in the championship match. UTSA jumped out to a quick
lead, but UTD scored to go up 15-10 in the second half. UTSA was knocking on the doorstep for the game’s final 10 minutes, though. After a penalty with two minutes left, Sohadaseni and the other defenders watched UTD’s forwards try to win a scrum down to regain possession of the ball and end the game. “We knew we had to stop them,” he said. “Everyone was exhausted, and everyone had been running 100 percent the entire game. Everyone knew the importance of this game.” Sohadaseni stood back and could only hope the players he helped train would win possession of the ball, and they did just that. UTSA was called for a penalty after what seemed like an eternity, and UTD kicked the ball out of bounds as time expired. The game was over. “It was insanity,” Sohadaseni said of the emotion after the final whistle blew. “It was a culmination of everything. It was crazy.” The club earned the right to play in Neb., and will face Wayne State, one of the top-ranked teams in the country and also undefeated, on April 14. UTD was scheduled to play Rice on March 10 to stay fresh, but the match was cancelled due to weather. The only other chance for a warm-up is on March 24 against Baylor. Sohadaseni said the match would be useful to keep the players sharp and focused. More important is the camaraderie the team has built. Concentration won’t be an issue. “Everyone’s friends. We always hang out all the time,” Sohadaseni said. “So whenever anyone starts getting nervous, you just put things in perspective. We’ll be okay.” At this point, it’s difficult to doubt the team. Sometimes in sports, passion and heart are worth more than experience and funding. This might be one of those cases.
WWW.UTDMERCURY.COM
13
SOFTBALL
continued from page 12
Louisiana
2-0
11-1
sion have a losing record while five out of seven teams in the West Division have a losing record. The Comets took on Mississippi College at Clinton, MS, on March 9 and 10 in a four-game conference series. They will take on East Texas Baptist University in a double-header on March 24 followed by another four-game conference series against University of the Ozarks on March 30 and 31. Editor’s Note: This article
UT Tyler
3-1
11-3
Mississippi
3-3
10-6
Ozarks
2-2
7-7
East Texas Baptist
1-1
8-4
UTD
3-5
13-7
LeTourneau
2-4
9-7
Note: Standings are accurate as of March 15
does not include stats or information from the Comets’ eight games between March 10-17. The Comets were 3-3 during the eight-game stretch as of
March 16, to improve to 13-7 on the season, and 3-5 in the ASC. Two of the wins came on the road against Mississippi College.
BASEBALL
continued from page 12 pre-season games for, so that we’re fully ready to go into the conference.” The Comets hosted University of Dallas on March 13, and then travelled to Tyler for a three-game conference series against University of Texas at Tyler. The games against UT Tyler are always the matchup to look forward to when the game schedules come out at the beginning of the season. UT Tyler was 12-3 as of March 8 and is deemed to be one of the favorites to take the conference title according to the ASC poll taken before the start of the season. However, Shewmake reiterated the importance of every con-
ATTENDANCE
continued from page 12 letics website, in 2011 UTEP’s men’s and women’s basketball, women’s soccer, softball and volleyball teams averaged a total of 2,303 fans per game, not including attendance averages from the school’s football games. UTEP men’s basketball averaged the highest among these with 7,279 fans per game, and UTEP volleyball averaged the least with 383 fans per game. “I think our attendance is pretty good,” Petitt said. “If you’re thinking it’s going to be like the University of Texas at every facility, it’s not. Schools of our size, our caliber, we’re very competitive.” Regardless, the UTD athletic department continues to create incentives to bring students to the games, with programs and events such as Greek Nights, dorm nights, connecting through social media and many promotional giveaways. “I think we make the effort,”
UTD
3-0
12-8
Louisiana
3-0
8-6
UT Tyler
2-1
16-4
Mississippi
1-2
8-10
East Texas Baptist
0-0
4-13
Ozarks
0-3
6-11
LeTourneau
0-3
6-13
Note: Standings are accurate as of March 15
ference series and not just the one against UT Tyler. “It’s just the fact that it’s UT Tyler which kind of turns up the pressure a little bit, but that’s it. We don’t change the way we approach the game at all when we play them.” Editor’s Note: This article does
not include stats or information from the Comets’ seven games between March 11-17. UTD won all three games against the University of the Ozarks and one against the University of Dallas heading into a three-game weekend series at the University of Texas at Tyler. Their record was 12-8 as of March 15.
Petitt said. “It boils down to the students, do they want to come or not.” Some incentives fail to bring out more students, but despite the small crowds, the players are not concerned about attendance. “We just tell them to play the game,” assistant baseball coach Kyle Starnes said. “Crowd size doesn’t affect our kids. Obviously when their parents are there and their girlfriends are here it makes them feel good. But we’re going to play the same game regardless of if we have 20,000 people in the stands or 20 people in the stands.” The players also understand UTD primarily identifies as an academically focused school. “Some people like sports. You like them or you don’t,” Mills said. “Our school is so challenging. People spend a lot of their time doing homework rather than going out and doing things for themselves.” The large number of commuting students at UTD also contributes to lower attendances at sporting events. Ac-
cording to the College Board, only 23 percent of all UTD undergraduate students live on campus. Some students commute from a little as four miles away to as far as 27 miles away or even further. Despite the small crowds, any support from fellow classmates always motivates UTD athletes. “We’re really happy with the attendance that we get here, and we’re thankful for every fan that comes out,” Starnes said. When he attended Baylor, Starnes said he would often go watch parts of games inbetween classes to get a break from the daily stress of school. Many UTD day games and on-campus facilities allow students the opportunity to do the same. “Of course we’d love to have the students come out more and support us,” Starnes said. “I think they’d enjoy it. It’s a good break from the everyday grind of getting up going to class, going to eat, going back to class and going to study. It’s fun, it’s relaxing.”
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THE MERCURY n MARCH 19, 2012
Sports
THE MERCURY n MARCH 19, 2012
SENIORS
continued from page 12 500 points higher than any player in program history aside from Chelsea Edwards, who scored 1,314 points. Barnes, meanwhile, was a part of four consecutive East Division champions and a member of three NCAA Tournaments, two of which advanced to or beyond the Sweet 16. He was named an All-American last season and there’s a chance he might repeat as one this season. He scored more than 1,400 points in his career, a mark that might not last long, as sophomore Kyle Schleigh has already scored nearly 700 in two years as a second option. What made Barnes and Smith indispensible, though, wasn’t just their scoring prowess. They always seemed to come up with big baskets at big times. Smith had a knack for knocking down a three-pointer when there were less than five seconds on the shot clock, or ending an opponent’s run by weaving in and around the defense to make a layup, and you could always count on her to hit free throws if she was fouled — she shot higher than 81 percent from the line.
Regular season award-winning Comets
Similarly, Barnes always rose to the occasion. At the beginning of this season, for example, the UTD offense would stray away from its star for minutes at a time, and would go on cold spells accordingly. However, as soon as Barnes got a good look, he’d curl off a screen and nail an 18-footer, hit a three-pointer in transition or get a put-back dunk to re-ignite the team. It’s just how he operates. It’s how great players operate. And the great thing about the pair’s careers during the last four years is they’ve had the chance to learn from some of the most decorated players in school history. Smith saw Chelsea Edwards, Rachel Addison and Tarneisha Scott carry the load on offense. Barnes played with Scott Rodgers, Brandon Greene and Jordan Eppink, and all of them scored more than 1,000 points in their respective careers. This trend of passing the torch on to the next great Comet is bound to continue — both basketball programs are still relatively new, so growth and evolution is completely natural. Barnes and Smith, though, have always been effective, even when they weren’t the featured weapons. Smith was supposed to be
Christina Brosnahan, Joanna Davis — ASC East Freshman Team
Lyndsey Smith — D3hoops.com First Team All-South, ASC East Player of the Year, All-ASC team, All-ASC East first team
Chris Barnes — D3hoops.com First Team All-South, ASC East Player of the Year, NABC First Team AllDistrict, All-ASC Team, All-ASC East first team
Brittany Houston — All-ASC East honorable mention
Kyle Schleigh — All-ASC team, All-ASC East first team
the third or fourth option as a freshman, yet led the team in scoring. Barnes provided instant offense as the sixth man on a team that went to the Sweet 16. As both programs continue to grow, the talent figures to improve. Barnes and Smith, then, will probably end up outside the top five, or certainly top 10, in career scoring by the time all is said and done. Again, though, numbers aren’t important. Ten or 20 years from now, UTD might be playing in Division II or even Division I, and a player might come along and score 2,500 points in his or her career, but what happened during Smith and Barnes’ careers helped make it all possible. UTD became nationally recognized during their careers, and the pair earned some personal hardware along the way. It’s hard to argue that any UTD players in recent memory have been more valuable to their respective programs, and it might be a while until we see two players who have such a remarkable influence on a program’s development. Or perhaps a freshman or sophomore on this year’s roster will step up and be great. Only time will tell.
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BEN HAWKINS/STAFF
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Chris Barnes (above) and Lyndsey Smith will both graduate from UTD as the leading career scorer for their respective program. Each was named the ASC East Player of the Year for the 2011-12 season, and both were also selected to the D3hoops.com All-South Region First Team.
Greg Chiasson — ASC East Defensive Player of the Year, AllASC East second team, ASC East Defensive Team Matthew Medell — ASC East Freshman of the Year, ASC East Freshman Team Terry Butterfield — ASC East Coach of the Year
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