11 minute read
NEWS
from The Mercury 04 05 21
by The Mercury
April 5 2021 | The Mercury TABLE OF CONTENTS
NEWS 04-07
Advertisement
STUDENT GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS,
SAFEDISH APP, GRAD SCHOOL APPEALS................................................06 GRIDER FOLLOW-UP.................................................................................07
COMICS 08
LIFE & ARTS 09
SOCIAL JUSTICE FESTIVAL, LONG DISTANCE RELATIONSHIPS..............09
CROSS COUNTRY ASC WIN, BASEBALL...................................................10
SPORTS 10-11
SMASH UPDATE, ROCKET LEAGUE UPDATE............................................11
OPINION 12-13
ASTROLOGY MISAPPROPRIATION...........................................................12
MISSION TRIPS, FEMALES IN STEM.........................................................13
SECTION JUMPS 14-16
Visit utdmercury.com for more stories in your orbit!
- History junior Rutendo Chando, SG vice president, on the recent student Senate resolution. “There’s this genuine desire for people to help after feeling powerless for so long, and the opportunity to get vaccinated was also there.”
- Rafael Martín, UTD vice president and chief of staff, on the Comets who volunteered with the vaccination effort. “I believe that this shouldn’t be a one-anddone thing, because it’s important to continue to have people’s voices be shared.”
- ATEC senior Jonavon Ignont on participating in the social justice art festival.
UT Southwestern opens vaccination site on campus
Over 1200 Comets volunteer to help administer vaccines
FATIMAH AZEEM
Mercury Staff Chemistry senior Roberto Ramirez stands outside UT Southwestern’s COVID-19 vaccine site at the Davidson-Gundy Alumni Center, smiling as he greets people walking in to get vaccinated. A woman who just received her first dose stops in front of Ramirez to chat. She tells him she appreciates the little decorations scattered outside the site and, more importantly, Ramirez and the other volunteers’ kindness. It was moments like these, Ramirez said, that made him feel like his three days of volunteering had paid off.
Ramirez is one of the 1,276 UTD students, staff and faculty members that Vice President and Chief of Staff Rafael Martín said signed up to volunteer at the on-campus vaccine site hosted by UT Southwestern. Volunteers were originally eligible to get vaccinated under Phase 1A but can now be vaccinated without the designation if they’re an adult over 16.
Martín said for the UTD vaccine site to run smoothly, UT Southwestern needed personnel to manage the greeting, screening and general functionality of the site. To help, UTD opened volunteer registration in early March for four-hour volunteer slots taking place in March, April and May. Martin said within 12 hours, the portal shut down.
“It was an overwhelmingly successful effort,” Martín said. “Slots were already filled through the end of April and May, and so many people registered, we actually broke the tool people were using to sign up. I think there’s this genuine desire for people to help after feeling powerless for so long, and the opportunity to get vaccinated was also there.”
SEE VACCINATION, PAGE 14
JOHN KYLE | COURTESY
The site is located in the Davidson-Gundy Alumni Center.
COVID demographics: who’s getting sick on campus?
ALESANDRA BELL | OUTREACH EDITOR
Overview of COVID transmission at UTD this past year
CHRISTINE JACOBS
Mercury Staff
Since lockdowns began – and as of March 6, 2021 – there have been a total of 676 reported cases of COVID-19 and one virus-related death among UTD-affiliated individuals. Now, with on-campus cases currently in decline, the university continues to focus on testing and keeping track of vaccinated Comets.
Of the nearly 700 people who reported testing positive for COVID-19, 470 were students, 164 were staff, 20 were faculty and eight were visitors or others. Mariah Phipps, director of the Office of Emergency Management and Continuity Planning (OEMCP), said that cases have historically increased about 10-14 days after a break or holiday where people have been gathering together.
“We did see a spike in January and right before Thanksgiving,” Phipps said. “I think what kept numbers down on campus was the fact that we did not come back on campus at the end of the semester.” Phipps said she has noticed a promising downward trend in on-campus cases in the past few weeks.
“Part of that may be attributed to the recent (winter weather) where people were forced to stay home, but we are also seeing a general decline in cases,” Phipps said. “We do have an increase in vaccine availability here in north Texas and in Texas in general, and I do think that is beginning to make an impact.”
So far, 830 people have self-reported vaccination against the coronavirus, and 386 have reported receiving their second dose if required.
Karlynda Poage, COVID-19 health screening and training program coordinator for UTD, said that one of the ways university administration keeps track of COVID-19 cases is through the Daily Health Checks that are emailed each day.
April 05, 2021| The Mercury NEWS Safe eating with SafeDish
Students create app making restaurant health inspection data accessible
LAUREN DOUGHERTY
Mercury Staff
After a recent bout with food poisoning, a UTD student co-created SafeDish, an app that makes it easier to find health inspection information for nearby restaurants.
Computer science senior Caleb Jiang noticed how inaccessible health inspection data is when he got food poisoning after eating at Chipotle. Jiang said that while restaurants are required to have copies of their latest health inspections available upon request, the data can be very difficult to find online.
“We thought, you know, it would be pretty cool if we could make this hard-to-find government data much more accessible to everyone so they could be more informed consumers about what food they eat,” Jiang said.
SafeDish aggregates health inspection data from food establishments and displays inspection scores, sanitary violation information, and links to the inspection reports. Users can search for restaurants or use their location to view data for nearby restaurants. According to the coverage map, data is available for restaurants in the DFW and Austin areas, as well as for Chicago, New York City, San Jose and municipalities across Tennessee and Georgia.
Jiang said that current coverage depends on how easy it is to get data from different areas: – Tennessee and Georgia have a statewide system that handles health inspection data, and they use the same software as Tarrant County, so the code could be reused.
“When we do write new features for new regions, we try to prioritize the amount of people covered per hour [of work],” Jiang said.
Jiang co-developed the app with Blake Bottum, a friend from high school who is now a computer science student at UT Austin. Bottum said that he recalls looking for health and sanitation information for a restaurant in Austin before the two conceptualized SafeDish. He was unable to find any data online.
“To be honest, that may have been a failure of the state health department, and if that’s the case, then the app doesn’t solve that anyway,” Bottum said. “But just knowing where to look was half the problem.”
The two came up with the idea for SafeDish in September and started working on the front and back ends over winter break, Jiang said. While they
SEE SAFEDISH, PAGE 15
ANNA PHENGSAKMUEANG| PHOTO EDITOR SafeDish aggregates health inspection data from food establishments and displays inspection scores, sanitary violation information and links to the inspection reports.
ISABELLE VILLEGAS| MERCURY STAFF
Denied from grad school? Here’s what you can do.
UTD administration breaks down how to appeal a grad school rejection
FATIMAH AZEEM
Mercury Staff
As graduate school decisions are released, appealing and reapplying for future cycles are the options available to students who are unsatisfied with denials.
Dean of Graduate Education Juan González said UTD has a decentralized graduate appeals system like other universities without a graduate school. This means that graduate appeals go directly to departments and programs instead of the graduate dean. In contrast, universities such as UT Austin follow a centralized graduate appeals system where students appeal their denial directly to the graduate dean.
González said the process for appealing Ph.D. and Master’s program rejections are generally similar to one another, but admission for doctoral students is more rigorous.
“There’s a lot more that is expected from those candidates,” González said. “Remember that in most our programs and departments, those Ph.D. admissions are supported students, so it is a lot more competitive.”
González said that submitting new material helps increase the chances of a successful appeal to a Master’s or Ph.D. program, but a new application isn’t necessary. New pieces of information include updated letters of recommendation, recent awards or an improved GRE score for aspiring Master’s students. González said that if new material isn’t submitted, it’s unlikely that the appeal will be effective.
“(Graduate) denials are usually based on the fact that the student doesn’t have the preparation, doesn’t have the background and then might not succeed,” González said. “So, there needs to be something new to the plate for the committee to consider.”
In the instance of a Title IX issue, the appeal should be sent to the graduate dean. Title IX issues involve sex-based discrimination in educational programs and activities. “I’ve never handled one as a graduate dean,” González said. “But there is a process that we can do and additionally, refer to the Title IX office so they can do an investigation. But… this is very rare.”
If students need support with the appeals process, graduate advisors are available in each department and program to contact. González said these advisors keep track of a student’s applications and send reminders about what they need to send.
“For example, sometimes the student failed to send their transcript or failed to send one of the letters of recommendation,” González said. “So (graduate advisors) give follow-ups to that application to make sure that they are complete and considered.”
When it comes to MBA denials, MBA Program Director Lisa Shatz said the rule is usually that students reapply for another semester. However, if there is an error, the program is willing to look back on the decision without a formal appeal.
“In the 12 years I have been at UT Dallas, I have not seen a single (formal) appeal to an MBA deci-
April 05, 2021| The Mercury NEWS
Alumnus held in federal custody now released under certain conditions
Chris Grider must remain in Texas, wear ankle monitor, maintain curfew
PALAK DAVE
Mercury Staff
As decided by U.S. Magistrate Susan Hightower, Grider is held under custody at Limestone Detention Center due to strong evidence depicting his role as an active participant in the Capitol riots. Evidence suggests that Grider aided a man trying to break a glass window by handing him a helmet, was seen in multiple locations at the Capitol and was caught on camera directly outside the Speaker’s lobby. Hightower ruled that Grider will be held in custody until his trial.
Brent Mayr, Chris Grider’s attorney, filed for a motion to invoke Hightower’s decision twice and was rejected from a hearing both times.
After Hightower refused to reopen the detention hearing for the second time, she said that she no longer held jurisdiction over Grider’s case since it had been transferred to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. On Jan. 22, the court held a hearing to reopen the detention.
Mayr said there are four factors that the judge had to consider before making a decision: the nature and circumstance of the offense, the weight of the evidence against the defendant, the nature and characteristics of the defendant and the levels of danger posed to the community if Grider were released.
Mayr said he does not believe that Grider deserves detainment since he was not one of the people who premeditated the riot.
“I saw people carrying out their plans, and the others, the law-abiding citizens, who were there to see their president for one last time. Grider was
ruled against the detention charge, Mayr said, Grider would be willing to comply with local supervision that the judge decided upon. Furthermore, the U.S. pre-trial services office in Waco said they were willing to supervise Grider and monitor his location. U.S. attorney Candance Chiu Wong said that Grider’s character is not enough to determine his innocence. While referring to the various counts Grider was charged with, Wong said that the nature of the charge is serious because of one of the others,” Mayr the substantial weight said. “It would be a sad ALESANDRA BELL| Outreach Editor of the evidence. When chapter to keep Grider locked Grider used his bare fist up with the planners of this riot.” to smash the glass door to the
Additionally, Mayr said that since Speaker’s lobby, the potential for danGrider turned himself in, he did not presume ger was apparent. danger and was filled with shame and regret for District of Columbia judge Ketanji Jackson what he saw that day at the Capitol. If the judge said in the hearing that Mayr’s claim lacked evidential burden because all of his claims were solely based on Grider’s character. While reviewing the facts, Jackson said that Grider told the police that people were getting crushed during the riots. However, Jackson said it was notable that Grider did not retreat from the mob and provided a helmet to assist the breaking of a glass door, and those actions can justify the need for detention.
“This was a very close call; Grider had put himself in the center of this situation,” Jackson said during the hearing.
Jackson ultimately ruled that Grider will not be held under federal custody and would be released. However, he is required to abide by certain conditions: he must remain in Texas, cannot travel to D.C. unless required by law, is required to wear an ankle monitor, has a curfew from 10 PM to 6 AM and cannot engage in excessive drinking.
“He’s being supervised under high-intensity supervision where once a week, he has to check in with a supervision officer in Waco to make sure he complies with certain conditions,” Mayr said.
