The Mercury 4/29/19

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April 29, 2019

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auxiliary services renews contract with Chartwells agreement in effect through 2027 with option to extend until 2031 ANNA PHENGSAKMUEANG | MERCURY STAFF

The new contract, which was finalized in March, requires more rigorous background checks for Chartwells employees and increases profits for Auxiliary Services.

MEGAN ZEREZ Mercury Staff

University officials are working with Chartwells to implement a new eight-year food service contract, with an option to extend it for a full 12 years.

Bryce Brownlee, UTD’s director of the Office of Contract Administration, said the university received two bids in a January 2018 request for proposals — one from Chartwells and one from Aramark, which previously provided campus food service to UTD until 2008.

Brownlee said proposal evaluations wrapped up in mid-November 2018. After hearing suggestions from an evaluation committee, university officials made the decision to continue with Chartwells in early December 2018 under a new, renegotiated contract.

Changes under the new contract include more rigorous background checks for Chartwells employees, an increased cut of Chartwells’ profits and various new retail and catering options, Brownlee said. The contract will be implemented in stages over the next few semesters.

Director of Auxiliary Services Carrie Chutes-Charley said one of the main goals of the new contract will be the continued growth of the university's food service program. “(Chartwells) is doing good but we want better. We need to keep building our program, that’s probably where we’ve been the busiest over the last ten years,” Chutes said.

Chutes has overseen the Chartwells contract in her role as director since 2009.

She emphasized Chartwells’ willingness to work with university officials to grow the

CHIAMAKA MGBOJI | MERCURY STAFF

food service program.

“We’re building something (new) at least every two years. So that’s a lot of collaboration, a lot of investment and management of time and resources,” Chutes said.

UT System policy requires student input in the decision-making process for the food service contract, which occurred over the course of the spring and fall 2018 semesters.

Former Student Government President J.W. Van Der Schans said he did not directly approve the decision to continue with Chartwells but represented Student Government in discussions over the two bids in the spring semester. His term as SG president ended in April 2018, before a decision was made.

“I don’t think … we were in the decision making process towards the end,” Van Der

→ SEE CONTRACT,

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UH extends lease cancelation deadline after rent increase University Housing did not receive pricing approval from UT System until after given deadline passed

CHIAMAKA MGBOJI | MERCURY STAFF

NOAH WHITEHEAD | PHOTO EDITOR

Incoming on-campus residents received an email in early April notifying them of price changes for University Housing.

MANSI CHAUHAN Mercury Staff

In early April, housing officials notified incoming on-campus residents of increases in rent pricing for 2019-2020, citing aging facilities and equipment as reasons for the change. Soon after being notified, residents took to Reddit to voice concerns about the timing of the notification as well as the deteriorating infrastructure in the units.

When the newest dorm building, Residence Hall West, opened in 2014, the rent for University Commons dorms consisted of nine installments of $677, totaling up to $6,093 for the year. In 2018, students needed to pay $3,668 per semester instead of monthly, for a yearly total of $7,336.

For the 2019-2020 school year, University Commons will cost $7,556 yearly. The rent changes for all University Housing go through Matt Grief, Associate Vice President of Student Affairs. Across University Commons and University Village, the

rates will increase by about 2.8-3% for the upcoming year.

Individuals signing leases for University Housing 2019-2020 were not notified of a rent increase until after the leases were signed. University Housing extended the cancellation deadline to June 1st with no penalty.

“There is a multi-step process in deciding how rent will change next year. We meet with the President multiple times, and then the numbers are sent down to the Chancellor’s Office in Austin,” Grief said. “Sometimes we don’t have control over the timing for that and this year the numbers came back after the leasing deadlines.”

The funding from the rent increases go back to the students, Director of Housing Kevin Kwiatowski said.

“The rent goes up according to the needs of the building. We replace equipment, utilities have gone up, we’ve added

→ SEE HOUSING, PAGE 10

Select Chartwells employees to hold union election in May MEGAN ZEREZ Mercury Staff

Editor's Note: This article previously ran on The Mercury's website and has been updated since then.

After a months-long organizing effort, certain Chartwells workers will be able to participate in a May 2 election to determine whether they want to be represented in collective bargaining by local chapter 1000 of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union.

Student and temporary workers will not be able to participate in the election, said Anthony Elmo, a spokesperson for UFCW. “Our goal is to bargain with the company to include the student workers, but at (Chartwells’) demands right now, in order to have the election at all, the students were excluded,” Elmo said.

For the May 2 election, UFCW estimates there are 120-140 part-time and full-time workers who will comprise the “bargain-

ing unit,” or the group of workers eligible to participate. Chartwells will compile a list of all eligible workers ahead of the election.

Chartwells officials and union organizers agreed to terms for the election. Terms include a ban on so-called mandatory “captive audience” meetings 24 hours before the start of the election.

If at least 50% of the bargaining unit votes in favor of unionization, Chartwells must recognize the union as a collective bargaining entity. Workers will then select a committee of their peers to lead the negotiations process with Chartwells and draft a union contract.

“The Company respects our employees’ right to make an informed decision to choose in accordance with the National Labor Relations Act,” Steven Goodwin, the resident district manager for Chartwells, said in an email statement. Goodwin did not respond to questions regarding the exclusion of students from the election.

The election will be overseen by the National Labor Relations Board, a government agency that enforces labor law and collective

bargaining. Eligible workers will be able to vote via secret ballot in two locations on campus, depending on where they work.

Voting will be open from 11:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

UFCW organizers will aid the workers in this process, but the contract terms — and union dues — are ultimately the purview of the workers, Elmo said.

The workers hope to address issues such as wages, parking and uniform costs and guarantee recall and seniority rights, according to an April 15 UFCW press release. Dues and any other fees will be determined by the workers themselves in the union contract, Elmo said.

“Folks spreading rumors about union dues don’t really understand anything about unions … or how they work,” Elmo said.

“This is a union that really believes in the democracy of the workers.”

If the vote passes in favor of unionization, workers can choose to join or leave the union

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April 29, 2019 | The Mercury

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THE MERCURY UTDMERCURY.COM Volume XXXVIV No. 42

NEWS

UTD PD Blotter

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Editor-in-Chief Bhargav Arimilli

editor@utdmercury.com (972) 883-2294

Managing Editor Cindy Folefack managingeditor @utdmercury.com (972) 883-2287

Copy Editor Diego Alvarez

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Graphics Editor Matt Strack

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Photo Editor Noah Whitehead

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News Editor Emaan Bangash

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Life & Arts Editor Ayoung Jo life@utdmercury.com

Web Editor Bharat Arimilli

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Outreach Editor Carolina Alvarez

media@utdmercury.com

Opinion Editor Madison York opinioneditor@ utdmercury.com

April 17 • Officers responded to a report of verbal threats between two Chartwells employees at 11:42 a.m. at Dining Hall West.

April 17 • A student reported she was scammed by a fake employer and cashed a fraudulent check for $1,900 at 11:43 a.m.

April 18 • The UTD Finance Department reported a fraudulent request for payment in excess of $300,000 at 3:02 p.m. at Synergy Park North 2.

April 20 • A student reported his cell phone stolen at 4:31 a.m. at 838 Franklyn Jenifer Drive.

April 25 • An unaffiliated woman reported $100 missing from her purse at 4:19 p.m. in JSOM.

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Mailing Address 800 West Campbell Road, SU 24 Richardson, TX 75080-0688 Newsroom Student Union, Student Media Suite SU 1.601 The Mercury is published on Mondays, at two-week intervals during the long term of The University of Texas at Dallas, except holidays and exam periods, and once every four weeks during the summer term.

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Opinions expressed in The Mercury are those of the editor, the editorial board or the writer of the article. They are not necessarily the view of the UTD administration, the Board of Regents or the Student Media Operating Board.

The Mercury’s editors retain the right to refuse or edit any submission based on libel, malice, spelling, grammar and style, and violations of Section 54.23 (f ) (1-6) of UTD policy.

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Video Editor Ryan Magee

Contributors Alesandra Bell Sarah Besserer Mansi Chauhan Jenna Cherrey Pranati Chitta EJ Chong Bianca Del Rio Thomas Hobohm Amina Hussain Ruhma Khan Anika Kotaru Samantha Lopez Patricia Mathu Chiamaka Mgboji Elizabeth Nguyen Anna Phengsakmueang Sarah Streety Aasav Sureja Pavan Tauh Megan Zerez

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LEGEND VEHICULAR INCIDENT

THEFT

DRUGS & ALCOHOL OTHER MAP: UTD | COURTESY

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April 29, 2019 | The Mercury

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NEWS

Student workers voice confusion over sexual misconduct reporting Questions over mandated reporting practices raised in Auxiliary Services meeting convened to address concerns among student employees

ANNA PHENGSAKMUEANG | MERCURY STAFF

The Title IX office, housed in Synergy Park North, investigates allegations of sexual assault that are brought directly to the office as well as those that the office is made aware of without receiving formal complaints.

MEGAN ZEREZ Mercury Staff

In the aftermath of allegations of sexual harassment and managerial misconduct by Chartwells managers, faculty and student leaders raised questions about mandated reporting of sexual misconduct and the responsibility to respond to such allegations.

Certain students, such as those elected to Student Government, are also consid-

ered “responsible employees” and are required by law to report any instances of sexual misconduct that they witness or are made aware of. With a few exceptions, most university faculty and staff are also considered “responsible employees.”

Denise Boots is a professor of criminology and sociology who researches Title IX and other policies related to interpersonal violence.

“Even our student vice president and president were confused,” Boots said. “My

understanding is that they are required to report, but they were told by other administrators that they were not required to report.”

Computer science professor Ravi Prakash serves as Speaker of the Academic Senate, the representative body of the faculty. Prakash served as a representative for the faculty during a March 26 meeting in which the allegations were discussed.

“The question I have — and it hasn’t been answered — is when an article (al-

leging sexual misconduct) appears in The Mercury but a student hasn’t lodged a formal complaint with a responsible university officer, should the Title IX office take cognizance of this and initiate (proceedings)?" Prakash said. "I don’t know the answer to that.”

Boots also attended the meeting as a faculty representative.

“When I heard (about the allegations), my hair stood up straight. I had questions,” Boots said. “I wanted to know if a

Title IX investigation had been launched immediately upon (publication of ) that Mercury article.”

The meeting, organized by Auxiliary Services, included student workers employed by Parking and Transportation as well as Chartwells and representatives from the Academic Senate and Student Government.

The meeting’s original purpose was “to

→ SEE TITLE IX,

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Dallas DA attempts prosecution reform Office declines to prosecute low-level, first-time offenses

EMAAN BANGASH | MERCURY STAFF

UTD alumnus Joseph Vtlen opens up a laptop to take out the battery in the Student Union as part of “Fix-It-Friday.”

Alum finds new gig fixing electronics free of charge ‘Fix-It-Friday’ aims to teach students how to fix devices, reduce waste ANIKA KOTARU Mercury Staff

One UTD alum chose to return to campus after graduating, where he now splits his time between work and providing free repairs for student electronics in a bid to reduce waste production.

Joseph Vtlen graduated in 2012 with a Ph.D in material science and engineering. He returned to UTD to work on campus as a visiting scientist after getting his degree. Vtlen made a post on the UTD subreddit advertising his free device repair services in the Student Union, titling the post “Fix-It Friday.”

He mostly specializes in small electronics, but has also worked on a wide variety of machines, such as bicycles, vacuums and even a car transmission swap.

“On the UTD subreddit, some guy had a laptop hinge repair question and didn’t want to buy a new laptop,” Vtlen

said. “I asked him to take a few pictures so I could figure it out. Consumer goods are not usually the toughest of things, especially considering it is cheaper to make them flimsy. It’s kind of a questionable thing that I don’t really like, and I grew up in an environment where having to repair your things was considered normal. You develop an ability to fix things once you can take it apart and assemble it back together.”

Initially, when Vtlen tried to set up the “Fix-It-Friday” on campus, he was not sponsored by any student organization and was asked to leave. Students who were aware of his arrival and purpose to UTD were upset about when Vtlen was initially shut down. A few days after being removed, Vtlen was sponsored by the UTD chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America to return to campus.

“It was an unsanctioned event, and even if there’s no solicitation, apparently,

it’s against the university’s policy to allow that,” Vtlen said. “Luckily, when I put a call out for someone to bring a sign (for the repair table) so I could at least make it look better, the DSA said they could sponsor it. It would just be a program under them. I’m sure there is some liability issue that the school has, and I understand that they would rather be safe than sorry. Their place, their rules.”

He said he believes what he is doing is a way of bringing UTD together and encourages students to come visit him and learn. Vtlen added that he wishes to make a network of students helping other students with their items which need to be repaired.

“Hopefully if they want to come down and fix their stuff, and hopefully if they are willing to learn and I can teach, I am willing to do that,” he said. “This is me trying to live my truth of anti-throwaway culture,” he said.

NOAH WHITEHEAD | PHOTO EDITOR

Dallas District Attorney John Crezuot will not prosecute low-level first-time offenses.

MANSI CHAUHAN Mercury Staff

Since taking office in January, Dallas County District Attorney John Crezuot has adopted a policy of declining to prosecute low-level first-time offenses in a bid to reduce the amount of tax dollars going toward prisons.

Crezuot aims to reduce prison overflow in the county.

“The jail is not a suitable place for the mentally ill and homeless,” Crezuot said in a letter to the public issued on April 11. “These prosecutions are an ineffective and inhumane approach to dealing with homelessness or mental illness, and yet since 2015, Dallas County has spent nearly $11 million just to incarcerate those charged with trespass.”

The Dallas County line runs directly through UTD’s campus, encompassing certain phases of University Village apartments as well as Canyon Creek Heights North and South. Creuzot said he has instructed the prosecutors working under him to dismiss trespassing cases that don’t involve physical intrusion or a residential property.

Crezuot declined to comment for this story, citing his letter to the public.

“When we arrest, jail, and convict people for non-violent crimes committed out

of necessity, we only prevent that person from gaining the stability necessary to lead a law-abiding life,” Creuzot said in his letter.

As far as bail is concerned, Creuzot’s office will not hold people in jail who cannot afford bail, unless they have a criminal conviction from the last 5 years or the prosecutor feels they pose a threat to society. The defendant will be deemed a threat if they have directly threatened the victim, have a prior conviction or have a history of evading prosecution.

“When low-income people are held in jail simply because they cannot afford a few hundred dollars, they lose their jobs, housing, stability and cannot take care of their children: This makes our communities less safe,” Creuzot said.

In order to reduce pressure on lowincome families, Creuzot plans not to prosecute people who steal items valued under $750, unless the theft was purely for economic gain.

Creuzot’s plans to reduce the amount of taxpayer burdens and mass incarceration hasn’t sat well with the police in the area, Dallas County Sheriff Marian Brown said.

“We will continue business as usual,” Brown said. “Our job is to enforce the Texas statutes, and we will continue to do that.”

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LIFE&ARTS

April 29, 2019 | The Mercury

Movie review: ‘Avengers: Endgame’

Community helps fellow Comet in time of need Senior receives support after car, belongings are stolen in Dallas

AASAV SUREJA | MERCURY STAFF

Joseph Izen plays his banjo in his honors physics class. Izen began playing during his graduate years in 1980.

EJ CHONG | MERCURY STAFF

PRANATI CHITTA Mercury Staff

Faculty brings music into classrooms Mercury Staff

Speechless. I feel as if that is the only word that comes to mind when looking back at the movie. This movie did an amazing job at making me go through an emotional rollercoaster, but nonetheless, I had goosebumps the entire three hours.

Although I did not enjoy “Endgame” as much as I enjoyed previous Avenger movies, this movie was worth the hype.

Every moment was unexpected, and every gasp was rightfully elicited. My initial expectations for the film were that somehow the characters that died in “Infinity War” would come back alive. The movie is picked up right where it left off in “Avengers: Infinity War,” which solidified the fact that the ending of Infinity War was very real and the Avengers lost for the first time.

I went to watch the movie with my sister, who has only watched a handful of the Marvel Cinematic Universe films, not including “Infinity War.” Surprisingly, she didn’t seem confused as the movie progressed as the only fact that seemed essential for her to know from “Infinity War” was that Thanos succeeded in wiping out half the life in the universe.

We are reacquainted with Hawkeye, played by Jeremy Renner, who becomes a key character in the film as his family vanished with the Snap. This was also the first time I watched Captain Marvel’s role, played by Brie Larson, without seeing the character’s own movie that came out about a month ago. In my opinion, it was not necessary to watch to understand her role, which can be said for a lot of the film. Ant-Man/Scott Lang, played by Paul Rudd made a significant impact on the plot of this film because if it weren’t for him, the Avengers would never begin their mission to fix what has been damaged. To further fix the reality they live in, the Avengers come together to use nonheroic powers, specifically time travelling, which Lang experienced, to try to salvage what they can. There were many times during the movie, when the characters (Hulk, Scott, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Iron Man, Captain America, Iron Patriot, Nebula, Rocket and Thor) are time travelling, where I was thinking, “so this is just the end, what more could the characters have to fight for?” But I was proven wrong every single time.

Seeing all the characters unite in such an elegant fashion truly made my jaw drop. After time travelling, the Avengers are back in present time where they fight Thanos, again. This began my favorite scene, when Captain America saves Thor from being killed by Thanos by using Thor’s hammer, which Thor retrieved when he time travelled, a huge moment I never expected as it was thought that Thor was the only one that could use the hammer. I’m pretty sure I was the only one who cheered and clapped during this moment.

Each entrance made by each character left a huge impact on the audience. Eventually, we see the return of the dead characters from Infinity War. This entrance of all the revived characters happens at one time, which left me a bit overwhelmed.

From one corner, Black Panther and Shuri emerged, from another Dr. Strange appeared, from another Spider-Man ap-

→ SEE ENDGAME,

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Darab's vehicle and all of her belongings inside were stolen in downtown Dallas.

PRANATI CHITTA Mercury Staff

UTD professors share musical inclinations with colleagues, students PATRICIA MATHU

Editor's Note: This story includes spoilers for the movie.

ANNA PHENGSAKMUEANG | MERCURY STAFF

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oseph Izen, a physics professor, enters the SLC with his class notes and banjo. Today he is sharing with his students not only his love for physics, but his love for music. He, along with many other professors at UTD, find their personal interests intersecting with their professional ones.

Before the banjo, Izen played the violin, but quit in sixth grade, opting instead to take a shop class. He would not play another instrument until graduate school.

“Part of the trouble was those were violin lessons, and I wanted to play the fiddle,” Izen said.

Izen’s passion for music came from growing up during the folk boom, he said his elementary violin lessons were too classical. However, in graduate school, while working at a particle accelerator at Cornell, he started listening to college radio. In 1980, he rekindled his love for music and began playing the banjo, which he continues to do today.

“Practicing was just a pleasure. I was a grad student.

That can be kind of stressful and (playing banjo) was my downtime,” Izen said. ”I never expected to be good enough to play in public.”

Today, Izen performs in an old-time string band, “Squirrelheads in Gravy,” at contra dances in the North Texas region.

“Because I’m a physicist, I can explain a lot about musical instruments, like why they sound the way they do and why musicians do certain things,” Izen said.

“But that doesn’t help me when I’m playing.”

Despite his knowledge of physics and how its concepts apply to music, Izen said he tends to keep the two separate.

“People always want to talk about the overlap between physics and music,” he said. “But I do not really see it. Physics is calculating and music is expressive.”

Alex Piquero, a criminology professor, also uses music

to engage students. When he isn’t lecturing, he plays the bass guitar. He performs with a group of fellow criminologists called “The Hot Spots.”

Piquero said he likes to take the first couple minutes of class to engage with his students before lecturing. He often asks students with headphones what they’re listening to, sometimes playing a bit of it before class begins.

“You want to make learning a fun place to be and everybody likes music, just like everybody likes movies and just like everybody likes T.V.,” Piquero said. “Talking about things like that bring us all closer together and brings us into a place where we’re all interested in the same things. We’re going to have fun, we’re going to learn some things, and the experience of the class is going to facilitate that.”

In addition to using music as an ice breaker, he has used lyrics to drive home points in his academic articles.

“Music really does permeate everyday life,” Piquero said. “You don’t want academia to be a stuffy professor wearing a suit lecturing behind a podium.”

Piquero’s band had its debut at the annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology in 1991. They decided to charge people $5 to enter one of the conference halls at the hotel and play from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. to raise money for minority scholarships.

“We played all the stuff people could dance to and songs everyone knows all the words to,” Piquero said.

His band continued this tradition until 2013.

“All the people I studied with in grad school were there dancing like crazy. We got nothing out of it except for getting the association from zero minority scholarships to two, to three, to four, to five, to six,” Piquero said. “It was meaningful that we were not only giving students a good time but that the money being raised at the door was going toward a good cause.”

The Hot Spots designed concert tour shirts with a list of all the host cities for the criminology conference

→ SEE MUSIC,

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MADISON YORK Mercury Staff

Besides sugar, honey is perhaps the most familiar sweetener we know and love. And most of us also probably know that honeycomb (and the honey that comes with it) is produced by bees. But what are the details of the process, and how is UTD involved?

To answer these questions, my friend and fellow editor Emaan Bangash and I donned beekeeping suits and ventured right into the heart of local bee-dom: the UTD apiary.

Joining us at the gate to the bee enclosure were senior UTD lecturers Scott Rippel and Christina Thompson. Rippel said since starting the apiary in 2013, he’s enjoyed working with students just as much as working with bees. Emaan and I join many others who’ve zipped up the canvas jackets, put on the honey and resin-encrusted gloves and met the bees up close and personal.

After putting on our suits and Velcroing our veils to keep the bees away from our faces, we entered the main enclosure while Rippel removed the cover from one of the hives. Despite the ominous buzzing that had Emaan and me swatting the air, Rippel seemed unperturbed as he brought his gloveless hands close to the box. As he approached the insects with a bee smoker, he explained that the smoke helps obscure the pheromones bees use to communicate, keeping them docile and unaggressive.

As Rippel removed a rectangular plank covered in honeycomb, he pointed out the varying colors. Darker spots

HONEYCOMB

RYAN MAGEE | MERCURY STAFF

were where the honeycomb had been reused many times by the bees as they reared their larvae. The rich, amber portions were where the honey was stored.

To make the honeycomb, bees secrete small flakes of wax from their wax glands, chew it and build it into an intricate hexagonal structure. Some of the honeycomb was “capped” with beeswax to seal the hexagon. When the bees finish fanning the nectar they col-

lect, it turns into viscous honey, and is then covered in a thin layer of wax.

Drawing his fingernail across the top of several caps of wax, Rippel pointed out how the bees immediately swarmed the honey. At first, holding the slab of honeycomb covered in bees almost felt like something out of a horror film.

After becoming accustomed to it,

→ SEE HONEYCOMB,

PAGE 7

After a UTD student left work the night of April 6 to find her car and all its contents, including her laptop and textbooks, stolen, her friend posted an online fundraiser to the UTD subreddit to help.

Less than 24 hours later, the university community had donated nearly $200.

Computer science senior Nika Darab ended her shift in downtown Dallas at 8 p.m. on a Saturday night and headed to the parking lot where she’d left her car earlier that day. Once she got there, she realized her car had disappeared. Assuming it had gotten towed, she called 911 to get the report.

“I called 911 because (towing companies) give the report to 911 if they tow a car but they said they haven’t received anything,” Darab said. “And then it dawned on me that someone might have stolen it.

I really like didn’t know how to act so I just sat on the floor and tears were coming out of my eyes. It was pretty terrible.”

Darab then called the cops, who came to the scene where she was able to report the robbery.

“I thought my car was gone for good, and they told me that it’s very common that they take the cars for joyriding which is crazy to me because there is really no joy in riding my car,” Darab said. “(It’s a) really old car that I personally don’t feel safe in.”

After filing the report, Darab had a friend drive her home, where she took to Twitter to vent. Soon after, her friend, computer science junior Stephanie Quinto, saw the post and created a GoFundMe and shared it on her social media as well as the UTD subreddit in an attempt to raise money to replace Darab’s laptop.

“I knew the Comet community was really giving, and I found that at times of crisis and even at times of finals, we’re just kinda getting through it and I find it super giving,” Quinto said. “To see what the community is actually like in a time of need just shows a lot. Comets are really caring, and I’m really thankful for the Comet community for helping someone out in need.”

While the GoFundMe raised $177, students also offered their used laptops and cars to Darab in the meantime.

“It was so amazing. The post was on Reddit. I had strangers offering me their old laptop. I had a classmate telling me he has a car he doesn’t use that often,” Darab said. “People are really unreal. It just blew my mind.”

Two days after the theft, Darab received a call from the detective working her case.

Her car was found after the person who stole it was pulled over and an officer ran the license plate. Although Darab said that the robbery was frightening, she understood how it happened.

“The lock on the driver seat doesn’t work,” Darab said. “That night it got stolen I didn't lock it because I haven’t locked it before. So I actually had a spare key in my car too behind all the trash. They used the key to steal it.”

Darab used the money from the GoFundMe to get her car back after it was impounded. The experience taught her a lot about UTD and the campus community, she said.

“The fact that people who don’t even know me helped me just moved me and really changed my perspective,” Darab said. “I generally feel really disconnected at UTD, so that was really cool to see that people are here to help.”

Darab said she now triple-checks her

→ SEE CAR,

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SPORTS

April 29, 2019 | The Mercury

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Baseball leads with eight-game winning streak Esports Comets secure spot in ASC championship after latest three-game series against Sul Ross State teams wrap up first year Program begins recruiting efforts for fall 2019

AMINA HUSSAIN | MERCURY STAFF

Supply chain management senior and pitcher Jordan Box currently has an ER rate of 4.50 and a season high of two strikeouts.

PAVAN TAUH | MERCURY STAFF

Finance junior Edward Liu “A Good Sir” and computer science freshman Andrew Fu “A Bad Sir” play as support and ADC on the League of Legends team.

RUHMA KHAN Mercury Staff

The UTD esports program is wrapping up its inaugural year and ramping up fall recruitment with a new “Super Smash Bros.” team and overall good records for “League of Legends” and “Overwatch.”

The esports program was launched in August and now has teams for three different games. Esports director and head coach Greg Adler said the team has had a successful first year.

“I think it went pretty smoothly for our first year.” Adler said. “I think it’s a good sign going into the future.”

The teams have participated in several competitions throughout the year including the first-ever Texas Clash, a “League of Legends” tournament hosted by the University of North Texas. UTD competed against seven other teams and won both the first and second place spots. The team has also competed in a tournament at the Tulsa Pop Culture Expo in which the “League of Legends” team placed second and third.

ATEC junior and “Overwatch” support Blake Day said the team’s cooperation and performance have improved over the course of the semester.

“I feel I’ve gotten a lot better. One of the main things is that our teamwork has gotten a lot better as the year’s gone by. As a team we look so much better than we did at the beginning of the semester,” Day said. “Even if individually we haven’t all gotten better, which we probably have, our teamwork has come the furthest and it shows, and it’s what makes us as good as we are.”

The team trains three times a week for two hours at a time, Monday through Wednesday. Sunday is reserved for matches.

Mechanical engineering freshman and “League of Legends” jungler Ryan Joslin said the team introduced him to new people who shared his passion for video games.

“I’ve been playing this game for a really long time, and it was really nice

→ SEE ESPORTS,

SAMANTHA LOPEZ | MERCURY STAFF

PAGE 7

DULCE ESPINOZA Mercury Staff

The UTD baseball team came off a season record eight-game winning streak following a three-game American Southwest Conference series against Sul Ross State on April 19-20.

The players entered their latest tournament hot off a three-game win against McMurry but opened the series against Sul Ross State with a 14-9 loss. The Comets picked it up later in the day with an 18-9 win but fell short in the final game of the series, where they lost 11-6.

The team is ranked sixth in the ASC, which secures the Comets a spot at the

next ASC tournament in May. With three games left in the regular season against LeTourneau, the team has the chance to rise to fourth place in ASC standing.

Senior infielder Matthew Mikusek has been playing baseball for 19 years, beginning with tee ball when he was a child.

Mikusek was named Honorable Mention All-ASC and Academic All-ASC in 2018.

“I think we’re performing pretty well, especially accounting for how many young guys we have on the team,” Mikusek said.

The team makeup is considerably younger this season compared to last season with 10 new freshmen, and the team

has felt the learning curve in their gameplay, Mikusek said. He said the team hasn't exactly performed as well as they had hoped, but if they continue to work hard, they will be fine.

“It’s been interesting to see the younger guys step up into different roles that they might not have had to do normally, but I feel good about the season,” Mikusek said.

The team tries not to let winning streaks affect their practices and instead focuses on working hard and improving on the small things that end up making a big impact during games, Mikusek said. Getting the bunt down to advance in bases is one of the things

the players can improve during practice to increase their odds of winning during games, he added.

“We know if we work hard in practice, then the wins are a byproduct and take care of themselves." Mikusek said.

“It always feels good to get a couple of wins in a row.”

Shane Shewmake, head coach for the UTD baseball team, has never had a losing record since beginning the baseball program in 2002. Over the program’s 17-year history, Shewmake’s teams have qualified for the ASC tournament fifteen times, leading to an ASC championship

→ SEE BASEBALL,

PAGE 7

Softball loses series, advances in ASC games Team will play in upcoming championship despite losses PRANATHI CHITTA Mercury Staff

AMINA HUSSAIN | MERCURY STAFF

Jessica Vlasek, a junior healthcare management major, has a batting average of 0.321 and has had a season high of 13 putouts.

The softball team’s last series for the American Southwest Conference on April 26-27 against UT Tyler had a bittersweet ending, with the team taking losses in all three games while also breaking its home run record for this season.

The Comets are currently losing 20-16 and have won 12 out of the 14 games played so far in the ASC. Last weekend, the team played against Hardin-Simmons University, which is currently ranked fourth in the ASC, with the Comets winning two out of three games played with scores of 4-0 and 10-4, securing a spot in the ASC Tournament.

“The season so far has been not as consistent as what we’d hoped for, coming into it,” Head Coach James Kling said. “We’ve played well at times, then all of a sudden, we’re not playing as well. We’re still trying to figure some of the consistency.”

The team played LeTourneau University on April 11-12 where they lost three straight games in the series.

“It’s always hard to come back from a series like that,” Kling said. “We gave up a couple runs. Our shoulders dropped a little ,and we didn’t maintain that momentum.”

Healthcare studies senior and outfielder Melissa Livermore holds the NCAA Division III Stolen Bases Record as well as the ASC All-Time Hits Record.

“Even though it is an individual award, there are so many people that deserve recognition,” Livermore said.

Livermore had a batting average of 0.522 this season and hit a season high of four hits during the Hardin-Simmons game on April 19.

“We’ve been trying the entire season to keep the idea of playing one game at a time and being in the moment,” Livermore said.

Livermore has been playing for the team since her freshman year in 2015 while winning the first ever ASC softball title for UTD in 2017.

“It’s the juniors and seniors on the team now that have the experience as to how it feels to win an ASC tournament,” Livermore said. “So far — the juniors and seniors — we know what it takes: Just go out there and play your heart out one pitch at a time.”

Biology senior and pitcher BriAnna Young had a season shutout victory against Hardin-Simmons on April 18.

“I always try to go out and pitch my best,” Young said. “As a pitcher, I like to study the team beforehand so I can put myself in the best possible position to help my team.”

Young currently has an ER rate of 3.44 and a season high of three strikeouts against Augsburg on Mar. 18, earlier this season.

“I think I’ll continue fighting and have something to fight for because if you go into

→ SEE SOFTBALL,

PAGE 7

COMICS CRY-BRARY

April 29, 2019 | The Mercury

6

NOT THE CURVE I WANTED

SARAH BESSERER | MERCURY STAFF

OLIVER & BLUE: FARTY PARTY

SARAH BESSERER | MERCURY STAFF

SARAH STREETY | MERCURY STAFF

DETECTIVE PUP-A-CHU

UH OH! IT'S BOOBOO THE FOOL

JENNA CHERREY | MERCURY STAFF

THEY'RE LISTENING

BIANCA DEL RIO | MERCURY STAFF

CARLZ SAYS: GOODBYE

ELIZABETH NGUYEN| MERCURY STAFF

SHE'S MOM-UMENTAL

SAD-UATION

CAROLINA ALVAREZ | MERCURY STAFF

SARAH STREETY | MERCURY STAFF

EUNJEE CHONG | MERCURY STAFF

April 29, 2019 | The Mercury

7

NEWS

→ ENDGAME

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4

peared and many more Avengers began to assemble to finally defeat Thanos.

Coming into this movie, I of course braced myself as it has been known that many of the actors would not return after this movie. It is hard to believe that the heroes I grew up with and make me go awe can somehow end their stories in such a short yet significant moment.

Nevertheless, the Snap from “Infinity War” brought much heartbreak to the characters in the film, but also new life lessons, such as valuing family or friendship bonds, and that having superpowers can only help you so much. The real super power lies in the sacrifice for the benefit of all; this movie was really centered on the notion that just because you are a hero, does not mean you can fight enemies

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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4

where they performed.

“I love music,” Piquero said.

→ BASEBALL

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

in 2018.

“Remind (the team) what they’re playing for and hope that keeps the momentum going,” Shewmake said.

The team is relying on pitching well, having a good defense and making routine plays in order to win the remaining games of the season. Shewmake added that this

on your own. The two sacrifices of Black Widow and Iron Man proved that they were willing to do anything to keep their planet safe.

The moment Tony Stark’s Arc Reactor, the metal piece in his chest, turns off, signaling his death, I became emotional. We see his sacrifice and how much it affects his wife, Pepper Potts, and daughter, who finds comfort in Happy now. Further, towards the end, we see Thor give the Asgardian kingdom to Valkyrie and Captain America time travels one last time and comes back to the present to hand his shield to Falcon, making him the new Captain America. We also see Hawkeye reunite with his family members, who are revived. We don’t see what happens to Hulk, but we are to assume that the original six Avengers have officially parted ways.

Because the MCU films in the past had a scene after credits, I patiently watched, but ended up disappointed

in that regard. Nonetheless, the title soundtrack played for the last time, giving me goosebumps, especially when each of the six Avengers had their own credit slide, where a picture collage was shown for each actor, a sort of goodbye from the franchise.

Walking out of the theater, I was strangely satisfied; I did not feel like I needed more answers, like I felt after “Infinity War.” Rather, I felt like the movie accomplished everything that it was supposed to. It's hard to believe that this chapter has come to a close; these films have surrounded my childhood and coming of age, so saying goodbye to these characters was not something I imagined until I watched the movie and realized this is the last time I’ll see all these characters on screen. For a moment I wished the movie would go on and continue, going over three hours so I could just have some more time to soak it all in.

“There’s something about words and sounds. They just sit in your head. I like all music. It is a part of everybody’s life, regardless of the genre you’re interested in —

be it classical, or rap, or reggae — it is something that unifies people regardless of their sex, their race, their ethnicity, their culture. Music is the international language.”

season, the team has needed to adjust to gaining young new pitchers who have been in the process of learning how to pitch at a college level as opposed to the experienced pitchers of last season. Last season, the team had nine pitchers that graduated and were replaced with seven freshman pitchers.

“It’s been streaky, but when we’re good, we’re really good,” Shewmake said.

The players will use the mo-

mentum from their winning streak to finish the conference and motivate them into the playoffs, Shewmake said. He said he’s confident in the performance of the team this season and believes there is potential for them to finish the season strong in the last few games.

“They know what’s at stake, and they are willing to work hard to try to win another conference championship,” Shewmake said.

→ ATTORNEY

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

Brown, along with six Dallas county agencies, argue that not prosecuting certain thefts will put society in danger and escalate criminal activity. UTD PD Chief Larry Zacharias said that more aggressive policy has shown to keep criminals at bay.

“I do not support his position on drug cases or theft cases for several reasons, mostly because I think it is against our Texas Constitution’s direction for the police or prosecutors to determine which laws should or should not be enforced,” Zacharias said. “I believe it could also result in higher offense rates and the lack of

→ CAR

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4

locks and avoids leaving valuables in her car. She credits Quinto with helping her through the experience. The pair have been friends since meeting at Richland College in 2017.

“It was a short time that ev-

→ SOFTBALL

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

the game with no goals, you have nothing to look forward to,” Young said. “You’re fighting towards some kind of goal to push you.”

It’s Kling’s first year coaching at UTD, after head coaching for eight years at Our Lady of the

→ HONEYCOMB

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→ ESPORTS

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

to know that there’s a community that played “League of Legends” and it was a good experience overall," Joslin said. "I learned a lot of new things, I met some good people, and I just had a really good time.”

New members are being recruited through the team’s Dis-

→ TITLE IX

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

obtain various student perspectives about on campus work experiences and to provide feedback,” per a statement from Bob Fishbein, Associate Vice President of Auxiliary Services. Fishbein, Associate Vice President of Auxiliary Services.

Computer science senior Anuhya Emmandi was one of two representatives from SG present at the meeting. She said the meeting began addressing broader concerns but soon focused on allegations against Chartwells. SG’s main intent for the meeting was to ensure students knew their rights and resources for reporting under Title IX. She added that some students had expressed frustration about an apparent lack of response from the university regarding the allegations but that the meeting was a good first step.

“To me it felt like it was also a response … (from) the university stepping in and saying essentially, ‘Here’s how we’re going to talk to students and take a look at this problem,’” Emmandi said. “Because students really hadn’t seen a response from the university —like a public response.”

Student Government President Eric Chen was also present at the meeting but was unavailable for comment prior to publication.

Prakash echoed Emmandi’s concerns.

“This is something that we told the students in that meeting: ‘You can come and talk to us and then we are required to report it.’ We cannot ignore it.” Prakash said. “If we ignore it we would be breaking the law. They could take it to any faculty member and it would get escalated to Title IX.” Senior Director of Compliance Marco Mendoza serves as the university’s Title IX coordinator.

While allegations shared in news articles and other public forums are not considered official notifications to the university, they are addressed accordingly if the Title IX Office becomes aware of them, Mendoza said.

“Allegations do not need to be

cord server and through the UTD esports website. The positions being offered are not limited to just those who play video games competitively: Analysts, coaches, video editors and streamers are encouraged to join.

“A lot of it just gets down to word of mouth. Really just try to put the word out there that we’re having tryouts and everyone’s encouraged to join and just showing

what the benefits are of being a part of the program,” Adler said.

“I think we’ll definitely expand to more games, and I think we just up everything a little bit now that we’ve had a year of experience under our belt. I think we know how things are supposed to go and kind of have the flow going right into the year. I think everything is going to be a little better next year and it’ll show in our results.”

reported as a formal complaint in order for an investigation to be initiated,” Mendoza said in a written statement. “However, individuals are strongly encouraged to file a written complaint because the ability of the Title IX Office to conduct a proper investigation may depend on the amount of information and detail provided to the investigator.”

The former student worker contacted for the Jan. 14 issue of The Mercury agreed to an interview on the condition of anonymity, citing fears of physical retribution and challenges to employment and immigration status. The Mercury was able to verify the student had received text messages containing threats and sexual innuendos from a former Chartwells manager at Chick-fil-A. While she did not consent to publication of her name, she allowed other details to be published, such as her graduation date and former place of employment.

“If there’s a name listed or even a respondent name listed, we would contact that individual and try to at least determine: did this happen, are you aware of this incident?” Mendoza said. “If they say no, that’s really all we can do unless additional evidence is brought forward,” Mendoza said.

In his time as coordinator, Mendoza said he had not found a cause to investigate a case involving Chartwells or its employees.

Boots said it’s important for UTD to conduct Title IX proceedings with the diversity of the student body in mind.

“There are very strong ethnic, cultural and religious issues that come into disclosures and they can have fatal effects on a victim,” Boots said. “I have had students over the years who have shared past sexual assaults … not at UTD … and them telling me literally, ‘I would be killed when I returned home if my family found out.’”

Navigating Title IX can be challenging on the university’s end too, especially with recent changes to the policy at both the federal and state levels, Boots said. Trump’s appointed Education Secretary, Betsy

DeVos, introduced new guidelines last year that would narrow the definition of sexual misconduct and increase the accusers’ burden of proof, among other changes.

“Every university — because of litigation — is looking very hard at how (Trump era guidelines) are going to change how they’re going to investigate, how they’re going to have to staff their Title IX office,” Boots said.

UTD’s Title IX office recently underwent reorganization: it was absorbed into the Office of Compliance. Mendoza, who had served as the Interim Title IX coordinator since November 2018, accepted the full-time position as coordinator on April 22. Mendoza said he’s hopeful that the rearrangement and permanent position will allow his office to better serve the university community.

Boots said the success of the office relies on trust between the coordinator and the community they serve.

“How do we build better trust — maybe that’s the question,” Boots said. “Maybe it’s improving Title IX and not just offering online training, but seminars on Title IX throughout the semester that are live, where we have a person that can answer questions, where we have researchers that do work on Title IX, where we actively train our student government and our organization of student leaders on campus.”

Emmandi said she was not aware of any plans to educate SG officers about their responsibilities as “responsible employees” this academic year, but that the incoming administration might address the issue after taking office.

Prakash said despite the questions, he considered the meeting to be a step in the right direction.

“At the end of this meeting, students were better informed about their rights. They’re better informed of the protections the university is obliged to provide to them,” Prakash said. “A lot of them did not know that. The first step to preventing this kind of abuse in the future is to let people know that they have these protections.”

though, it was fascinating to watch the bees move in and out of their honeycomb home.

Now thoroughly acquainted with our newfound buzzing friends, Emaan and I bid them adieu and went to taste the fruit of their labor at the studio: the honeycomb itself. Never having tried it before, I anticipated the

court ordered services for violators.”

Mayor Mike Rawlings also stands with the police. At a press conference on April 18, Rawlings said he supported Dallas police in keeping the laws and processes as they are. Local criminal defense attorney Kim Tucker has been a defense lawyer for 20 years, handling cases ranging from theft to DWIs, and frequently works with Creuzot in Dallas County cases. Tucker said that she agrees with Creuzot’s reasoning, but his execution is faulty.

“I understand that our prisons hold many low income, mentally ill people that may not really pose a threat,” Tucker said. “But if you want to make these reforms, you shouldn’t

broadcast them because now people might try and take advantage of it.”

Creuzot plans to have prosecutors take an assessment of risk to avoid this problem. A non-dispositive tool will be used to decide conditions for release, customized for each case. If the prosecutor handling the case feels the defendant poses a safety or flight risk, then they will be detained; otherwise, the defendant will be released and expected to appear in court.

“He’s taking the role of the judiciary by determining the outcome of a criminal suspect,” Zacharias said.

“Although he says it will reduce taxpayer burdens, it may well become a new burden for the consumer to cover losses.”

erything went missing, but it felt like an eternity. This was the lowest I’ve ever been. Someone took all of your belongings without your consent,” Darab said. “I never thought I would get my car back. Steph is one of those people that goes above and beyond, she has the biggest heart I’ve ever seen.”

After the suspect was arrested, Darab tried to pursue legal action before abandoning the effort.

“I told (the police) I wanted to follow up and sue this person, so I called the sheriff’s department multiple times, but no one picked up,” Darab said. “I’m just happy, thankful and lucky getting my car back.”

Lakes University in San Antonio.

“This season has been a learning experience for me, especially with the seniors,” Kling said. “I’ve been able to talk to them, and that tells me how they interact with the underclassmen, so the senior class are ready to go and can’t wait for tournament to begin. I think they’re going to be ready for them.”

UTD is currently ranked sev-

enth in the ASC standings and will compete in the tournament on May 2-4 in Marshall, TX, hosted

by East Texas Baptist University.

“So if we just have the mindset of playing better and more consistently, then I think we’ll do well at ASC tournament,” Kling said.

“Hopefully we’ll be on a roll, play some good ball and make something happen.”

wax/honey combination to be more unpleasant than it was. The sweetness of the honey — combined with the crumbly-chocolate texture of the comb — reminded me of the initial burst of flavor when chewing sugary gum. Similarly — again, not unlike gum — the flavor faded rapidly, and I was left with a mouthful of bland wax.

This was possibly the only unenjoyable part of the experience—so be sure to have a trash can or nap-

kin handy to (discreetly) dispose of your leftover comb.

As you strike out on your own eating adventures, consider incorporating honeycomb onto your bucket list. It’s not everyday you can say you ate something’s house!

This is Emaan, Maddie, Marco, Chiamaka and Ryan (our camera guy) thanking you for joining us for this last segment of “Whatcha Eatin’?” We wish you the best on your culinary endeavors!

8

OPINION

April 29, 2019 | The Mercury

‘ALEXA, WHY ARE YOU HERE?’ Why Echo Dots in dorms are problematic THOMAS HOBOHM Contributor

O

SARAH BESSERER| MERCURY STAFF

n April 15, The Mercury reported that UT Dallas is planning to install Amazon Echo Dots in Residence Hall South this summer, with the long-term aim of installing Echo Dots in every residence hall. The university outlaid money for the Echos without consulting the students that actually live in the residence halls, and it’s still unclear what problems the devices are intended to address. Installing Echos in every room will be wasteful, impractical and a violation of residents’ privacy.

Proponents of the Echos claim they will make life easier for students who live on campus, arguing the devices’ convenient features make them a worthwhile investment. In reality, the Echos installed on campus will be severely handicapped by the university. Students won’t be able to tie their personal accounts to the devices, so they won’t be able to take advantage of several of the Echos’ most useful features, such as ordering products from Amazon, playing music and controlling smart devices.

Rather, the university will equip the Echos with their own set of custom features; The devices will be programmed to answer questions such as “What time does Dining Hall West close?” and

“What’s happening on campus today?”

University officials have acknowledged that the Echos will only support “call and response” features, meaning they will merely relay information to students, not perform services for them. Considering this, it’s unclear why students would need to ask the residence hall Echos anything when they have Google at their disposal.

A resident could find answers to any of the aforementioned queries by doing a quick search on their phone or computer.

Their practicality notwithstanding, the Echos also raise serious privacy concerns.

They are “always on,” meaning that the devices are always recording and uploading audio to Amazon’s cloud servers. At a meeting with students on April 25, an Amazon representative confirmed that in addition to raw audio, each Echo will also upload a unique device identifier and location data, including the specific room it is located in. Although the Echos will have a microphone button that can disable voice recognition, the only way to turn the devices themselves off will be by unplugging them. The Office of Information Technology further stated that it would be notified if a device was unplugged, and they may disallow students from unplugging the devices to avoid any technical issues. To be fair, there are millions of Echos out there, and I find the prospect that Amazon is using Echo recordings for nefarious purposes dubious and unfeasible. Still, Amazon does

employ thousands of workers to listen to voice recordings captured in Echo owners’ homes, ostensibly to improve their voice recognition software, and it is unsettling that students who are concerned about their privacy will be recorded by default.

Considering all of this, one must ask: Why is the university installing these devices, anyway? It’s a good question, and one that hasn’t been answered clearly. According to the university, the program was conceived by administrators at a conference with no student input. That’s not very surprising, given that a student survey conducted by The Mercury found that out of a sample of 116 students, only 31% expressed support for the plan to install Echos in dorm rooms. The majority were opposed to the idea or apathetic about it. Apparently, when it comes to an expenditure of this magnitude, what the students themselves want doesn’t weigh heavily in the university’s decision making process; University administrators don’t plan on conducting a comprehensive survey of students until after the devices have already been installed in Residence Hall South. Until there’s evidence that the Echos will genuinely improve campus life and that students actually want them, I’m against installing them in the residence halls. In light of their functional limitations and privacy issues, the Echos are not a reasonable expenditure.

FINALS SURVIVAL GUIDE

CAROLINA ALVAREZ | MERCURY STAFF

COMET COMMENTS

What do you think about the decision to put Echo Dots in the residence halls?

Comets and Craters EPPS professor receives award

“I think that’s cool. It could be useful to students studying.”

Fatima Ahmad Neuroscience Freshman

“That’s great. It would be fun to live in a dorm like that.”

Neha Koushik Information Technology and Management Graduate

“I think it’s a good idea for students to learn how to use that, though it seems kind of expensive.”

Sherry Fan Biomedical Engineering Freshman

Dr. Alex Piquero, a professor of criminology, received the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences Bruce Smith Sr. Award for his contributions to criminal justice.

Storm causes university closure On April 17, UTD closed all campus operations for the day because of a predicted hailstorm and flooding.

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Students should include their full name, major and year. Faculty, staff and administrators should include their full name and title. Authors may only have one letter printed per edition of The Mercury.

Email letters to editor@utdmercury. com. Although electronic copies are preferred, a hard copy can be dropped off at the reception desk of the Student Media suite (SU 1.601).

Please include a headshot.

We reserve the right to reject submissions, and we cannot be responsible for their return. We reserve the right to edit for clarity, brevity, good taste, accuracy and to prevent libel. Apart from your name and photo, personal info will not be published.

April 29, 2019 | The Mercury

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April 29, 2019 | The Mercury

10

NEWS

→ UNION

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

ALESANDRA BELL | MERCURY STAFF

→ HOUSING

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

some amenities like ice machines and water bottle fillers,” Kwiatkowski said. “We’ve also changed internet and TV suppliers to more reliable companies.”

Residential internet is provided

by Apogee, and their prices increase by 3% annually, Grief said.

Utility prices change as well; water charges were the highest they have ever been during the 2018-2019 academic year.

“We replace carpets annually, and carpet replacement charges are going every year,” Grief said. “The money goes towards cabinet and countertop refinishing, outdoor amenities and even the clubhouses as well.”

In a post on the UTD subreddit, a resident of Residence Hall West said their shower was incredibly volatile, and that sometimes the toilets flushed with tremendous force, causing water to go everywhere and made maintaining a clean bathroom difficult. The user also said that there had been no hot water or water pressure recently, which was a problem for the entire building.

The weekend of March 30, the

entire 600-suite residence hall did not have hot water or water pressure. This issue was resolved in a day, Kwiatkowski said.

“One of the pumps failed due to old age or use.” Kwiatkowski said.

“We discovered it in the afternoon and found a supplier that could send us a new one overnight.”

Earlier this year, a suite’s toilet exploded, leaking out into the hallway and the suite across the hall.

Neuroscience sophomore Priya Johnson said that the front desk at Residence Hall West already knew but nobody came up to see the extent of the situation.

“When the supervisors finally did come up, they spent an hour and a half cleaning it up and trying to stop the water from continuing,” Johnson said. “But our whole suite had water damage and we got moved for the night, but the people across from us had to stay even though water had gotten into their living room and the hallway smelled.”

Johnson said the students were displaced for about a week.

Biology freshman Akansha Agarwal said that the locks on bedroom and bathroom door of her suite in Residence Hall South did not work despite work orders be-

ing put in. Different infrastructure issues require different approaches as far as maintenance is concerned, Kwiatkowski said.

“There’s lots of issues that can require either preventive or reactionary maintenance, depending on the problem,” Kwiatkowski said.

More UTD students are moving to nearby apartments in the area each academic year instead of University Village, Grief noted.

“We have to make sure that we provide affordable housing for students, especially with competitors like Northside. It’s one of the reasons we either lower rates or don’t increase them,” Grief said. “The one and two bedrooms are more in line with our competitors so we raised those significantly but it’s still reasonable.”

Rent prices for four-bedroom and four-bath apartments in University Village and Canyon Creek did not increase, nor did two-bedroom and two-bath shared University Village apartments.

“We want to utilize these funds to keep these apartments up to a standard,” Grief said. “We know they’re not completely new but students should feel like they have a nice, new apartment.”

We are seeking a part-time nanny (10-15 hrs/wk) starting in May or June. Our five-year old twins will be in summer camp until Aug, and then will start Kindergarten at a local elementary school, only 10 minutes from UTD. We are looking for a responsible, caring college or graduate student who can pick up our children 3 days/wk (at 3pm) and then spend a few hours with them at home.

Please be in touch with their mom, Kim, at 469243-2071 if you are interested. Thank you!

at any time, Elmo said.

“Because Texas is what’s commonly referred to as a right-to-work state, nobody in the state can be forced to join a union,” Elmo said.

“If the union works with them to develop a contract and they don’t like it, they can vote against it and choose not to join the union.”

Elmo said the whole workforce — including students — can often benefit tangentially from union representation, even if they can’t participate in the initial election.

Former student worker and incoming Student Government President Ayoub Mohammed ran on the Labor ticket, which advocated for worker rights. In the election, students elected nine out of 10 Labor candidates.

“I think it’s very exciting, as a former student worker,” Mohammed said. “If the current workers think this is what’s best for them and this is how they’re going to further … job security or just a better work environment in general, that is great.”

Mohammed said despite the restriction on student workers, the election will be a step in the right direction.

“I think it’s disappointing, considering such a large number of students work there, but it is what it is, and honestly it’s not just the student workers who have their grievances — it’s (also) the full-time workers that don’t go to school here,” he said. “They have their issues as well and a lot of them have signed up in support of the union.”

UTD’s chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America headed an effort to organize students in support of Chartwells workers’ right to unionize. President of UTD DSA and ATEC junior Erin Bray

→ CONTRACT

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Schans said. “I guess they took our suggestions and then made the decision, but it would have been interesting to be a part of the process.”

Van Der Schans said he had not been made aware of the university’s decision to go with Chartwells. He assumed that the decision would be made over the summer and would instead involve his successor, current Student Government President Eric Chen, he said.

Chen did not respond to requests for comment. Current Vice President Carla Ramazan said that to her knowledge, no one from SG had been involved in the decision at any point this year.

The new contract comes amidst organizing efforts to unionize Chartwells workers. Workers alleged Chartwells managers engaged in sexual harassment, managerial misconduct and lack of compliance with state mandated training. The National Labor Relations Board will hold an election to unionize on May 2.

Chutes said since she was hired to oversee Auxiliary Services’ contracts in 2009, there had never been any incident that would give her cause to consider cancelling the

said they were hopeful the election would bring benefits for both workers and UTD as a whole.

“I think if you have people who are paid well and treated well, we’re going to have fewer food problems,” Bray said. “But that’s just an auxiliary effect. We’re mainly out here for the workers.”

Cristian Otero, a current parttime employee at Chartwells, said student workers should have a voice in the union. “(Student workers) get paid less than anyone else, they’re often seen as expendable,” Otero said. “They have the worst working conditions.”

Otero has been involved in the effort to organize workers since last semester.

“It’s been a long time coming …

I hope everyone votes yes,” Otero said. “People don’t really have a good livelihood (here) because they’re paid so low. Work is 60-70% of your day — if it sucks, that impacts your whole day.”

Texas House Representative AnaMaria Ramos released an April 18 statement in support of the election and the workers’ right to unionize.

Ramos represents House District 102, which includes UTD. “It’s exciting for them to finally be heard and have the opportunity to — whether they choose to or not to— join the union,” Ramos said.

“If these employees want to be a part of a union and if they’re being in any way being obstructed or intimidated … (from) exercising their constitutional rights (to join a union), it would be very upsetting to me because I know what those people are going through.”

Ramos said during her time working at the Dallas Community College District, she’d spoken with contract custodial workers who expressed many of the same complaints as the Chartwells workers at

UTD. “I was a college administrator for many years and so I know, in speaking with workers on college campuses, especially contract workers, I know first hand … the turnover was high, management was telling them one thing (and doing another) or not paying them or changing their shifts within hours (of the start of the shift),” Ramos said.

Ramos said she reached out to UTD officials to confirm that the university was not involved in the process, in accordance with labor laws.

“It appeared … from what they expressed to me, that they weren’t involved in any way,” Ramos said.

In October 2018, UTD PD removed UCFW organizer Cassidee Griffin from campus on a criminal trespass warning after receiving a complaint from the Office of the Assistant Vice President of Auxiliary Services.

According to a November 2018 statement from a university spokesperson, Griffin and other organizers are “not permitted to return to campus because their solicitation activities are not related to any official university business.”

Ramos said she was told that Griffin’s removal was not due to her involvement with the union, but because she wasn’t a sponsored guest of the university. University officials declined to comment further on any involvement with the union ahead of the upcoming election.

UTD DSA later sponsored UCFW organizers to return to campus as guests after Griffin’s removal.

“We’ve been out there tabling every week and we helped collect some signatures for UCFW,” Bray said. “I think workers being able to advocate for themselves is the most important step, however the rest plays out.”

Chartwells contract.

Per the contract, she has been able to review various documentation of Chartwells operations, such as a current list of all Chartwells employees and detailed monthly profit and loss reports, and has seen no evidence to support the allegations, Chutes said.

She added that she is able to request a list of active employees at any time, and typically does so twice a year, citing high turnover and a large workforce. Chutes said she never had cause to request the list beyond the routine biannual checks, nor to meet with Chartwells to formally rectify any large-scale issues, but said that should the need arise, she’s confident they’d be able to resolve any problems collaboratively.

“Our contractor — no matter what contract it is — has to be given the opportunity to rectify any situation,” Chutes said.

The contract also gives the university the right to conduct an independent audit of Chartwells for up to four years after the expiration of the contract. Such an audit has never occurred in her time, Chutes said.

“They’re very transparent with us. We haven’t had a cause to audit (Chartwells),” Chutes said.

Brownlee said there were several clauses in the contract that ensure both the university and Chartwells

have a vested financial interest in maintaining Dining Services as a joint operation, such as a profit share, a performance bond and a mandated investment by Chartwells into university infrastructure.

“The performance bond is basically insurance that’s purchased by the contractor that if (the university) has money riding on their performance — which in Chartwells’ case, we do — they would pay out in the case of non-performance,” Brownlee said.

Brownlee said that collecting on the bond would be a last-resort option for the university.

“In order to collect that (bond) we’d have to show (in court) that Chartwells had been furnished information about what they needed to correct and had been allowed the appropriate time in the contract to correct it and then they failed to do so in a way that harms UT Dallas.”

Chutes said the university had never had cause to collect on the bond and that the relationship between Chartwells and Auxiliary Services has always been very collaborative.

“Nothing has been contractthreatening,” Chutes said. “They’ve been a good partner in … helping our university to grow to feed all of the new mouths that have come on campus over the years.”