July 6, 2015
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A BUG'S LIFE
VOLLEYBALL COACH WINS WITH TEAM USA
Professor uses apiary on campus to teach students about bees
Coach travels with women's senior team to Peru, returns with gold medal
PG 4
THE MERCURY | UTDMERCURY.COM
HONING THEIR CRAFT Team of professors, students create game based off of Minecraft to help students learn about science
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Mr. SMITH, MS. SMITH and MX. SMITH Examining the unique challenges transgender students, individuals face within society STORY BY: NIDHI GOTGI | MANAGING EDITOR & CARA SANTUCCI | MERCURY STAFF PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY: ANDREW GALLEGOS | PHOTO EDITOR
The gender neutral honorific "Mx." (pronounced mix) is used by some members of the transgender community who don't feel that a gender title such as Mr. or Ms. reflects their gender identity. It has recently been considered for inclusion in the online version of The Oxford English Dictionary.
-Editor's Note-
Due to concerns about their safety and privacy, no photos of the transgender individuals interviewed for this story were taken and some of their names were changed or partially redacted.
Also, some transgender individuals do not identify with a specific gender. In this story, a source is referred to with the pronouns "they","their" and "them" to reflect their gender identfication.
T
hey remember not feeling right about being a girl. They would wear loose t-shirts and huge khaki pants to hide the feminine attributes they were born with. The idea of telling their family what they were experiencing scared them because they had no words for it themselves. For most of their life, they felt out of place. Angel is a junior who identifies as agender, meaning the absence of having a gender. Growing up in a Pakistani household, where everything was heavily gendered, made being transgender very difficult. “It’s not safe to be transgender, especially in the Desi community and the Pakistani community,” Angel said. “My mother was very upset. She wanted me to fit better. She wanted me to look like the girls in my community.”
They explained that transgender people are stereotypically known as home wreckers in the Pakistani community. “They are said to be intentionally trying to shame the family,” Angel said. "This perception of people as being intentionally harmful or intentionally full of malice, it scares me.” Trans Experience (first inklings) There are approximately 700,000 transgender individuals in the United States. Stories like Angel’s, where young people feel confused and scared when they start to realize that their gender doesn’t match the sex they were born with, are common within the transgender community. Alexander Kujak, a healthcare studies senior and a transgender man who was born with a female sex, first felt an inkling of this gender dysphoria when he was in elementary school. As a child, he was frequently called a tomboy and recalls not truly feeling like a girl. “My parents always said (I’d) grow out of it,” Kujak said. “As I got older, it just morphed into, ‘I’m not a tomboy. I’m a boy.’” At the time, he said he thought he would have to be a girl for the rest of his life. Back when he was growing up, Kujak remembers “transgender” was a highly stigmatized word. It was often equated to
cross-dressing, given a negative connotation and denounced publicly. Not wanting to align with that definition, Kujak distanced himself. It wasn’t until he entered high school that he discovered what the term really means: that one’s biological sex at birth does not align with one’s gender identity. “It was kind of like a light switch turned on,” Kujak said. “(It) explained everything I experienced when I was younger.” Not every transgender person experiences the revelation of their actual gender as though a switch had been flipped. Zackary, a junior in literary studies and a transgender man, described his discovery as gradual at first, and then all at once. The summer after his freshman year, he lived in a male friend’s apartment. Over the course of the year, he found that the more feminine habits he had started to fade away. He stopped wearing makeup, dresses and heels. These behaviors began under the influence of his mom, but were continued as he compensated for feeling uncomfortable with his gender. Zackary said that these feelings of dysphoria are very common in transgender individuals. “It’s kind of weird because I had the same experience when I realized that I was not straight,” Zackary said. “I think one day I was just like, ‘Wow, I think I’m not straight,’ and it was like (all) the previous
years made sense.” A major element of the transitioning process involves the medical changes. This deals with everything from hormone treatments to mastectomies. Before any physical changes can take place, however, an intricate web of checks and balances must take place first. This requires going to counseling to get a letter, going to a doctor that will treat transgender patients, paying for hormones and finally waiting for gender confirming surgeries based on insurance plans. A significant barrier to medical transition is the cost. Many insurance plans, especially those in Texas, are trans-exclusive, meaning they don’t cover anything related to transitioning. Kujak ended up paying for his double mastectomy out of pocket, a procedure that costs $6,000. For others, just deciding to pay just for hormone therapy still costs a significant amount of money. “My friend spends $70 a month on hormones… and that’s not even counting the doctor visits,” Zackary said. “It is very expensive.” Because insurance plans are trans-exclusive, college students frequently don’t have the funds to pay for medical treatments. Even if a transgender person has the means to
→ SEE TRANSGENDER, PAGE 7
Same-sex ruling brings joy, determination DANIEL Discrimination issues still stand for LGBT community despite landmark decision legalizing same-sex marriage DEPARTS ESTEBAN BUSTILLOS Editor-in-Chief
LINDA NGUYEN | MERCURY STAFF
Former President David E. Daniel perfroms "The Whoosh" at a a ceremony on June 30 honoring his tenure at UTD. Daniel, who has been hired as the deputy chancellor and chief operatig officer for the UT System, was the fourth president in UTD's history. He will be replaced in the interim by the current provost and executive vice president, Hobson Wildenthal. During Daniel's presidency, UTD's student population grew from 13,000 to 23,000. See page 6 for more from the ceremony.
When a 5-4 vote made by the Supreme Court on June 26 legalized same-sex marriages in all 50 states, members of the LGBT community around the country, including those at UTD, celebrated the decision. Mechanical engineering junior Evan Fowler, who is gay, was at work on campus when he heard the announcement. Even though he was expecting the court to legalize same-sex marriages, it took a while for the idea of marriage equality in every state to sink in for Fowler. “I was kind of thinking, ‘We finally did it,’” he said. “There’s obviously still a lot more to do, but this is something that we’ve been working for a long time and it’s finally a reality.” The ruling has allowed gay and lesbian couples in Texas to get married in state as opposed to having to travel to another state. Justin Keeling, a software engineering senior, said he and his fiancée had been planning to have their wedding in another state before the ruling came down. Since Texas doesn’t have a state income tax, the couple wasn’t as concerned with the economic effects of the state not recognizing their marriage as the federal government would recognize their marriage anyways. Still, not having to travel has lifted a large burden off of the couple’s shoulders. “It was just something that we were always planning on, flying somewhere and doing it in a different state,” he said. “But now it really simplifies things.
LINDA NGUYEN | MERCURY STAFF
Adam Richards, president of the UTD chapter of Rainbow Guard, said while the Supreme Court decision is a victory for LGBT individuals, more still needs to be done to bring attention to other challenges such as the lack of attention for transgender and bisexual individuals.
We can actually have family there to celebrate with us.” Anthony Champagne, who teaches constitutional law, said he believed the court would rule in the favor of marriage equality. After looking at state decisions on the issue from the past, he was convinced that not allowing same-sex
couples to marry was a denial of the equal protection of the law that is guaranteed to United States citizens by the Fourteenth Amendment. “That’s basically why I supported the decision,” Champagne said. “It’s just after reading the decisions, I
→ SEE LGBT, PAGE 10
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THE MERCURY UTDMERCURY.COM Volume XXXVI No. 2
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June 9 t 0ï DFST SFTQPOEFE UP B DBMM DPODFSO ing an assault that caused bodily injury A at Residence Hall South at 11:12 p.m. June 11 t "O VOBï MJBUFE NBMF XBT BSSFTUFE BOE B charge with assault that caused bodily injury in a case of family violence in Phase 3, building 27 on Waterview Parkway at 3:43 a.m. June 16 t " 65% TUVEFOU SFQPSUFE UIBU IFS C and her new boyfriend’s cars were egged in Phase 2, near building 31 on Waterview Parkway at 2:39 p.m. June 18 t A UTD employee reported that an D unknown suspect took reagents from a freezer without consent in Founders at 1:07 p.m. June 19 t "O VOBï MJBUFE NBMF XBT BSSFTUFE GPS E possession of marijuana and drug paraphrenalia in the McDermott library at 6:50 p.m. June 19 t " 65% Pï DFS XBT EJTQBUDIFE UP B F bike theft which occured at the bike rack in front of the clubhouse in Phase 2 at 8:57 p.m. June 29 t 0ï DFST SFTQPOEFE BU B N UP G the SSB in reference to a student reporting that she’d been sexually assaulted.
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OPINION
JULY 6, 2015 | THE MERCURY | UTDMERCURY.COM
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Christians need to be more open
Opposition to legalization of same-sex marriage from religous-right highlights lack of tolerance for LGBT community in churches, congregations
with a man who would quickly become one of my best friends. We enjoyed the ups and downs of ESTEBAN working for a college newspaper in what was one BUSTILLOS COMMENTARY of the best work environments of my life. Later in that year, I found out he was gay. The revelation honestly didn’t come as a surprise, but it did make me wonder: does the fact that this When the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriages were legal in all 50 states, supporters man lives differently than I do make me any better around the nation breathed a sigh of relief. For than him? The conclusion I came to was no, it didn’t. a large group of Christians, it was a moment of Looking across this country, one of the key qualiturmoil. According to the Pew Research Center, only 27 ties of Americans is the abilitiy to accept those who percent of white evangelical Protestants support are different than us. At times, it seems like we forgay marriage. Support from black Protestants for get this and let simple barriers tear us apart, but at the end of the day we’re still united in our diversity. marriage equality only rises to 33 percent. A large majority of Christians have painted the Unfortunately, Christians like those I have encounstruggle for gay rights as a battle that pits them tered still seem too set in their ways to accept this against the world. Now that marriage equality specific thread in our nations fabric. It’s going to take time, but this can change. is a reality in the United States, the values they have held on to for so long seem to be threat- There are few things that scare a Christian more than the thought of an LGBT person (even though ened. Speaking as one of those Christians, it’s hard to nowhere in the Bible does it mention a grading say that this hasn’t been a confusing time. But just scale for sin.) Fear is bred from ignorance. Honestly, if I were because something is foreign doesn’t give us the right to attempt to take away from others. In fact, to survey members of my congregation, I would be we should try to become familiar with what we more than willing to bet that very few of them have associated with gay individuals. If they did, I doubt once pushed away. My family has deep roots in the church. When that fear would still persist. If Christians want to my dad was just a small child, make an actual difference, his father moved his family we need to break the barto America from Mexico to riers we have with LGBT take up a position as a pastor. If Christians want people. We need to do betMy mother’s father, on the ter at actually getting to other hand, studied ministry to make an actual know people before we in college and was a pastor difference, we need judge them and tell them his whole life before he died what they can and cannot in 2003. to break the barriers do. Currently, my dad is the we have with LGBT If those who oppose gay minister for a congregation in marriage could be more Dallas and I have at least five people. We need to open-minded, maybe they family members who are prido better at actuwould see that gay people marily employed by a church. have the same aspirations If you were looking for better ally getting to know that we do. At the end of the definitions of Bible thumpers, people before we day, everybody just wants a you would be hard pressed to warm meal on their plate, a find them. judge them and tell soft bed to sleep in and a safe Growing up in this atmothem what they can place for their family to stay. sphere has given me firstIf everyone on both sides of hand experience with how and cannot do. the debate could look at the Christians have dealt with other side and realize they the Supreme Court ruling. have more in common than In the church that I go to, they think, maybe a more members of the congregation perfect union could actually have expressed their outrage at having the right to marry being passed on to be obtained for all. I would be lying if I said the Supreme Court’s same-sex couples. The Sunday after the ruling, I sat in the audi- ruling didn’t make me wrestle with my own torium of the church building and couldn’t help thoughts. On one hand, I have my belief system but feel a bit uncomfortable as I heard my fellow that I strongly stand by. On the other hand, I live attendees express their feelings about gay marriage. under a Constitution that allows me to have these The word sin was thrown around like a label to beliefs, along with those of others who disagree with me. stamp on those they didn’t agree with. As a Christian American I need to recognize For most of my life, I lived with the idea that gay people were inherently strange or weird. Even as I the beliefs of others just like they have recognized grew older and started to form my own ideas and my beliefs. Even though we may disagree doesn’t opinions about what is right and wrong outside mean we can’t get along. Standing against gay of the oversight of my parents and family, I never marriage as a right for same-sex couples would really had any interaction with anyone who wasn’t mean that a large group of human beings are inferior just because of our interpretations of our straight (or at least was openly gay.) All of that changed when I came to college. As beliefs and that just doesn’t feel right. Tolerance can eventually be gained, evne if cliché as it sounds, college gave me the opportunity to interact with people who aren’t like me. I started beliefs stay the same.The Christians that still shun to have conversations with people of all creeds, the LGBT community need to start doing away colors, religions and sexualities. I could no longer with the self-quarantine they have seemed to place against gay people. A great man once said to love say I lived in a bubble. That breakthrough changed a lot of how I your neighbor as thyself. Maybe we should begin viewed life. In my junior year, I started working to live by those words more.
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“What is your reaction to the Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage?” Tell us what you think about same-sex marriage and answer our poll at www.utdmercury.com.
“It’s the right idea these citizens should be able to have, but it does make me wonder a little bit about the Supreme Court’s authority in making such blanket decisions for the whole country.” Kiarra Dean Computer science junior
“I personally accept the concept, because it’s always there within everyone’s opinion. No one can stop it.”
“I actually thought it was a good thing. I have a friend that’s actually a part of (the LGBTQ community,) so I was happy for them. They’ve been waiting a long time for that.”
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The online poll was open from June 8 to July 3 and had 40 participants.
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JULY 6, 2015 | THE MERCURY | UTDMERCURY.COM
The Latest Buzz
Hidden apiary provides hands-on beekeeping experience for students
LIFE&ARTS PIN POSSIBLE LINDA NGUYEN COMMENTARY
PARTHASARATHY S.K. | MERCURY STAFF
Honey Bee Biology professor Scott Rippel shows off a swarm of bees working on slices of honeycomb in an apiary on campus grounds. CARA SANTUCCI Mercury Staff
A hidden apiary located on campus grounds is abuzz with the thousands of bees living under the careful direction of Natural Science and Mathematics faculty member Scott Rippel. At the apiary, Rippel will blow smoke into the boxes where the hives are placed to disorient the bees. After removing the lid, the writhing mass of bees busily working between slices of honeycomb is revealed. The apiary first opened on campus in early 2014 after Rippel received approval from the NSM department head. This past spring, the facility expanded to allow for more boxes. Rippel primarily uses the UT Dallas-funded facility for the hands on portion of his upper level elective course, Honey Bee Biology (BIOL 3388). The boxes, which each contain an individual hive, were all installed and painted by students in the course. The Honey Bee Biology class is open to all students who have taken introductory biology. “Now that we have the apiary, it’s part of the course grade to come up and do an entire hive inspection,” Rippel said. Rippel first pitched the idea of offering a course in honeybee biology shortly after he began keeping bees at home. His intention was twofold: to offer a unique upper level elective course and to relieve his fatigue from teaching the same classes over and over again. “I needed to find a course that just stretched me and allows me to do something I don’t normally do,” Rippel said. Biology senior Kristen Payne took the course in the spring of 2014 when it was first offered. At that time, there weren’t any hives in the apiary. Her class
built the first boxes as part of a project for the course. She has gone on to be a TA for the class multiple times. “I am sure I speak for every bio major in existence when I say that we are so sick of hearing about the cell cycle,” Payne said. “To hear something about bees is just so refreshing.” Rippel uses his survey course to teach students about beekeeping methods, but primarily lectures on the behavior and anatomy of the honeybee. “A lot of the behaviors you see are genetic, but how they’re controlled is based upon what’s happening in the hive,” Rippel said. “This is truly a social organism. If you take a bee and set it by itself, it’ll die.” Rippel first learned an appreciation for bees from his grandfather, who was also a beekeeper. Years later, Rippel rediscovered his passion for the insects. He initially purchased bees to begin his colonies at home. When he started the class at UTD, however, he took to capturing swarms that plagued campus. Several of the boxes in the apiary are filled with bees that were caught near JSOM and the parking garage. Rippel learned techniques for beekeeping through videos, books, and courses at the Collin County Hobby Beekeepers Association, which is one of the largest beekeeping organizations in the country. More than anything else, Rippel has learned through trial and error. “I read the books and the books say one thing, but the bees haven’t read the books, so they do whatever they want,” he said. “There’s a lot of science to the bees, but as far as beekeeping for raising
→ SEE BEES, PAGE6
This Pin Possible project is quite possibly the easiest project I’ve done, but throughout the last couple weeks, it’s definitely gotten the most use. These pendants have become a staple in my jewelry rotation, and it gives me a chance to express my more literary side. Still, I couldn’t resist adding a little bit of my scientific side with a neuroscience necklace. The hardest part of this project is probably acquiring the materials for it. You can find the pendant trays and glass cabochons at your local craft store (Hobby Lobby or Michael’s) or you could go the route I did and order in bulk online off of Etsy or Ebay. I bought a set of 10 pendants and glass cabochons along with 10 chains for $11.50 including shipping. Glass cabochons are essentially pieces of glass that fit into the pendant tray.
want on your necklace. 3. Let it dry for about 10 minutes. 4. Using the x-acto knife, cut off the excess paper around the cabochon. 5. Using a small bit of super glue, attach the back of the image to the pendant tray. 6. Let it dry overnight. And that’s it. A very simple, but potentially very cute piece of jewelry that only cost me about $1. The only thing I would caution is the possibility of using too much glue, which could cause the paper or image to bleed through, but other than that, it’s a really easy way to create some custom jewelry.
WHAT YOU’LL NEED - one 25 millimeter round pendant with matching glass cabochons. - one chain of the same color - a picture, dictionary page or whatever else you want to put into the necklace - Super Glue - Mod podge, a glue substance found in most craft stores, Wal-Mart or Target - brush for the glue - X-acto knife
LINDA NGUYEN | MERCURY STAFF
With just a few materials that are needed to make the pendants, a little bit of work and creativity will have you wearing these easy to make necklaces in no time at all.
INSTRUCTIONS 1. Find whatever picture, piece of a map, a dictionary word you want to include in the pendant. 2. Put a small bit of mod podge on the back of the glass cabochon and place it over the image you
LINDA NGUYEN | MERCURY STAFF
Every issue, The Mercury’s craft connoisseur will scour Pinterest and craft blogs in search of the best and worst DIY projects. Show us your results on social media using #pinpossible.
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GREAT TIMES IN GRAPEVINE Hidden treasures, summer hotspots ranging from museums, art galleries to boutiques await in sleepy suburb just northwest of Dallas RYANNA QUAZI Mercury Staff
As a native of Lewisville/Flower Mound, I usually only traveled to Grapevine, a town about 30 miles away from Dallas, to visit the Grapevine Mills Mall. I did not quite realize that within this quiet suburb there is a large, exciting area to explore close to home. Main Street Grapevine, also known as the Grapevine Historic District, is filled with museums, restaurants and bars reminiscent of the town’s history. Try and make this area part of your summer excursions and fun. Here’s a preview of some places available to visit. Gidden Art Gallery: 624 S. Main St, Grapevine, TX
as a museum which features phonographs, radios, sewing machines and blankets from early Grapevine residents. Donald Schoolhouse Museum: 206 W. Hudgins St, Grapevine, TX
The Donald Schoolhouse was originally built in 1900 on the Grapevine Prairie. This museum gives a peek into the origin of the GrapevineColleyville school district. The house contains two rooms with little school Main Street desks and little chalkboards reminisGrapevine, cent of those used in old schoolhouses.
also known as the Grapevine historic district, is filled with museums, retraurants and bars....
The Gidden Art Gallery on south Main Street opened up in 2012. The owner of the museum, Cherrie Gidden, said that Texan painters made many of the pieces in the museum. Some, in fact, are right from Grapevine. There are watercolor, oil and acrylic paintings, as well as steel sculptures and “found object” sculptures (objects constructed out of random items.) This little museum was listed as the second best art gallery on the Dallas A list, a website that rates local Dallas businesses based on votes by website account holders. Grapevine Historical Museum: 206 West Hudgins St, Grapevine TX
A little farther away from the Gidden on West Hudgins Street is the Grapevine Historical Museum. The building is constructed to look like the Grapevine Ice Company, which provided ice to Grapevine residents in the 1900s. Now the building serves
Settlement to City Museum: 206 W. Hudgins St, Grapevine, TX
Another museum on Hudgins Street filled with artifacts from Grapevine’s history including a lie detector used by the early Grapevine police department. All three of these museums are open from Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Vintage Tex: 603 S. Main St, Grapevine, TX Vintage Tex is a clothing store that just recently relocated from Colleyville to Main Street Grapevine. According to one of the sales associates, the clothes sold there are all authentic, ranging from the 1920s to the 1970s. People from the community come to sell or even donate their old vintage clothing. The store is open from Monday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Sunday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
LINDA BLASE | COURTESY
Located in the Grapevine historic distric, Vintage Tex is one of the highlights of this little known jewel hidden within the metroplex.
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School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences
Tahera Mustafah Abdulali Saira Elizabeth Alex Nina Dhakaa Alton Jynelle Guerrero Mari Arches Daniel James Avedikian Bethany Leah Barnell Melanie Victoria Bayat Karen Elizabeth Beserra Shannon Lynne Borger Adrianna Shivauhn Braddock Anna O’Brien Burton Preston Scott Butler Nicole Marie Caunt Sheridan Helen Cavalier Yea Jin Chang Shefali Chauhan Davelle May Cheng Judith Elaine Claxton Franklin Lucas Co Veronica Lenaye Coleman Stevie Denae Cornett Tina Nghi Dam Kathryn Elizabeth Debruler Rachel Gail Deen Cristina Yasmir Diaz May Ding School of Arts and Nicolette Cattuong Doan Technology Aaron Douglas Dotson Ruthina Fan Macaire Brenna Ament Ayesha Farooqui Jordan Antohny Arriazola Brianna Christine Bartholomew Thuy-Vi Le Figueroa Sarah A. Fincher Jory Bryton Black Kate Elizabeth Flanagan Jessica Kay Bowers Dante Michael Gallucci Sarah Frances Buxkamper Ramesh Babu Ghanta Alexander Wesley Chan Lisa Yvette Gonzalez Caroline Rose Curley Daniel R. Guest Elizabeth Irene Del Rosario Mary Elizabeth Harrell Caryn Nicole DiMarco Sara Mohamed Youssef Hassan Paul Eugene Ford Matthew William Herrington Daniel Ryan Franjac Elizabeth Suzanne Hilscher Andrea Hostetter Savannah Heather Holtcamp Kassiopia Raquel Jackson James J. Houston Hannah Marie Jones Priscilla Jacob Andrew Schultz Kelly Shruthy Jacob Twinkle Gloria Lam Justin Thomas James David Ian Lane Jerry Lee Jewell Sarah Rachel Larson Alexzandrea Elexus Jones Amber Celeste Litke Lauren Elizabeth Jones Luis Rafael Prates Martins Kevin Kadado Ryan Greer Matlack Grace Wanjiku Kamau Alec Griffin McKay Mallory Kathleen Kirzinger Molly Lathitham Meyer Kireet Koganti Stephanie Anne Myers Tran Bao Le Mashal Noor Emily Rose Lent Adam White Pickrell Samantha Natalie Lim Nathaniel Patrick Propp Eliana Abigail Luna Tatiana Marie Quiroga Priya Mary Mathew Hannah Victoria Ridge Matison William McCool Liam Taylor Riker Sarah Elaine McMenamin Summer D. Saylor Marcela Denisse Mendez Matheus Coutinho Souza Fatima Zahra Moon Allison Anne-Marie Sparks Giselle Alexandra Morales Micaela June Stein Michael C. Stewart Maria Lashe Muhammad-Brown Di Theis Alexandra Chartrand Neenan Ryan Patrick Tyler Stephanie Thuy-Nhien Nguyen Michelle Su Ting Woon Joshua Harvey Nichols Lindsay Willie Nussbaum Emily Joan Niewiarowski Benjamin Borst Patrick Cecily Reilly Oleksiak Julio Cesar Romero Brooklynne Pearl Mae Palmer Keanu Austin Vallier Janki Patel Draven Blake Ashorn-Hejl Ravin Sandip Patel Michaela Elena Alvare Banks Daniel Payberah Marc Ryan Chea Liana Margaret Pinson Alex Stephen Curtis Parth Mattu Raina Reid Nicole Fagerquist Yvonne K. Ralph Hylaree Kristian Garza Elaine Chelsea Ramirez Michaela Christine Gulasy Zachary Michael Regetz Amber Benson Hardesty Anna Maria F. Reiter Megan Nicole Jenkins Houda Nurahmed Saleh Sean Paul Lenox Christi Rene Schaefer Steven Liu Jirga K. Shah Lydia Grace Moore Jessica Marie Shotland Jenna Nicolle Polyniak Stephanie Madeline Shyu Thomas James Prendergast Evelyn Grace Simmons Aimee Phonespaseuth Srioudom Laurie Michelle Smith Kyle Andrew Trost Rachel Marissa Smith Nicolas Ashton Vallier Ajay Venkatram Somaraju Tiffany Nhu Do Siddhartha Srivastava Kiratiben Dilip Amin Ashwin R. Srivatsav Nicholas Philip Benke Joel Brebt Sullivan Joshua Clinton Bowers Melissa Rene Tarlton Fernanda Kislak Da Costa Linsey M. Thai Paul Dillon Hassell Dana Thi Tran Mark Anthony Herrera Lisa Van Tran Lauren Hidalgo Tammy Hoai Trinh Sabrina Maurine Jordan Francesca Gabrielle Ursua Asya Jeang Mantey Zubeda Musa Varwani Brian Warner McCollum Niven Lu Wang Megan Jaine Stevenson Emily Ann Wilkinson Zackery Tyler Leaman Elizabeth Megan Wilson Hannah Claire McCravy Zainab Bint-Tariq Yoonas Alexander Raphael Parry Alfredo Octavio Zarraga Sean Thomas Korzeniewski Helena Zhang Kristofer Ruonala-Perez John Harjeen Zibari Blake Christian Artesi Tom Tamir Erin Lorraine Bett Nida Safdar Chantel Marie Boor Sarah Rouhani Ashley Marie Dang Neeraja Balachandar Laila Mir Farzeen Zainab Syed Hannah Elizabeth Murphy Amanda Danielle Avona
Rahul Rakesh Thakkar Samiha Jamilah Chowdhury Ali Mansoor Alexander Mayor Miller Jaron Tyler Arismendez Kyla Michele Harris Faraha Hasan April M. Mendoza Monserrat Stefannya Paez-Espinoza Jeremy Michael Scott Kirsten Lee Anderson Sarah Louise Colliflower Allison Elizabeth Cunningham Sarah Bakir Daud Drew Michael Guenther Salma Haneef Sumaiyya Ahmed Kamal Harshita Kumar Jessica Kaleda Meah Leonardo Rojas Anna Lee Skavlan Jennifer Denise Steward Jayson Mark Stibbe
Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science Rahat Arman Ahmed Jeanie A. Aird Alexander Lawrence Aitken Gopika Ajaykumar Hans Chiwuike Ajieren Shaurya Arora Angham Fh. Asmar Stephen Paul Badger Craig Austen Bailey Christie Elaine Baker Ryan Martin Bauman Nicholas Paul Bresson Brandon Hoangnam Bui Tri Q. Bui Geoffrey David Campbell Benjamin Vu Cao Alexander Esin Chang Jason Marvin Chang Chi-Kan Cheung Jaejin Cho Sun Ah Cho Travis Wah Chun Gerard Le Copeland Fidel Coria Rushi Sunil Dalal Catherine Lee Davis Patrick Jawen Deng Thomas Scott Drablos Dustin Clay Endres Jesus A. Espinoza Diaz Leah Diane Ferrell Brandon Eric Fisher George Earl Fleming Sebastian Pradeep Fonseka Mavis Carag Francia Parker Hudson Franklin Nikhil Gaur Asim Hossain Gazi Rithvik Gottumukkala Benjamin John Gravell Maxwell Bartholomew Hall Zachary Ethan Hancock Colin Timothy Haney Michael James Hankin Rachel Rae Helguero Michael Brent Hinkle Haden Justin Hogan Shayan Jaffar Jocelyn Mei-Ling Johnson Catherine Neeliyara Jojo Deepu Joseph Jose Ryan Charles Kao Paarth Pranavkumar Kapadia Elise Marie Keller Abdullah Saleem Khan David Stanley Kinnamon Kimberly Michelle Kintz Brandi James Kirkpatrick Georgiy I. Klimenko Eric Yuji Komachi Samuel Allen Konstanty Bonhyun Ku Shruti Pushpa Kumar Daniel James Lambert Anthony Johnathan Lau Mason Reece Leach Cameron David Lee Jihwan Lee Ariane Trembley Lemieux Hailey Austin Lewis Zackary Ryan Lindstrom Jared Ryan Looper Michael Thomas Lopiccolo Yiding Luo Anurag Madan Guy Avraham Maor Reilly Parker Martinez Jamie John Mathew Gary Michael McCuistian Bradley Alexander McFadin Kevin Andrew Meadows Matthew Edward Molter Austin Shamsan Mordahl Ryan Everett Morton Alekhya Nandula Dhruv Narayanan Cuong Phu Nguyen Giang K. Nguyen
DEAN’S LIST
THE MERCURY | JULY 6, 2015
5
The Dean’s List contains the names of students who completed at least 12 credit hours during Spring 2015 with a grade-point average among the top 10 percent of all students within their respective schools. The students are listed below in accordance with student privacy requests under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. Van Dean Hong Nguyen Brendon Chase O'Connor-Lynch Nathan Alexander Owen Dongmin Pak Kwanwoo Park Andrew Bryan Parker Aaron Parks-Young Andrew Thomas Parrill Alankrutkuma Patel Peter Minh Pham Son Hoang Pham Tran Bao Pham Jordan Keo Pin Bilal Syed Quadri Hamzah Syed Quadri Aaron Preston Quan Iakov Rachinskiy Hammad Raza Rashed Tawfek Rihani Marla Kaye Rink Matthew Daniel Roberts Moshe Rubanov Joel Philip Seida Soham Shah Zain Ahmed Shariff Shiva Sharma Hans Alexander Shinn Nazeera Aisha Siddiqui Mary Elizabeth Smith Arman Ryan Sobhi Robert Christopher Somma Saikiran Reddy Srirangapalli Nicolette Adrienne Stoddart Ken David Suura David Scott Swedberg Luke Jacob Szymanski Katherine Thanyamongkhonsawat John Russell Thurman Kyle Joseph Tillotson Mikhail Tishechkin Alexander Richard Tomkovich Raul Ignacio Tovar Ergueta Satsuki Luke Ueno Andrew Triana Vaccaro Samuel S. Vallejo Jobby J. Varghese Tarunesh Verma Bontavy Vorng Jacob Brion Walsh Andrew Ran Wei Aaron Mitchell Weittenhiller Nathan Elliott Whitaker John William Will Adam Kristopher Winkle Cannon James Woodbury Yibo Yang Nikki Hiteshkumar Shah Ryan John Mani Samuel Alexander Nin Muhammad Nabeel Akram Max Roycroft Rafi Al Ayub Laurel Alice Hansen Ayari Lissett Cruz Vincent L. Beltran Dor Gamliel Gamliel Forest Vail Bryant Holly Anne Burk Ryan Benson Duan Mey Muafaq Jabari Jaswin Singh Kohli Dino Benjamino Occhialini Henry James Popp Tristan Fun Timothy Allan Gowan Melanie Elizabeth Maurer David Michael Merz Noah William Mudd Apurva Pramodkumar Patel Benjamin Daniel Reed Joseph Matthew Ryan Michael Paul Shamoun Pablo Christian Velasco Tyler James Brune Jazmin Marie Chavez Phuong Ai Diep Anita Kirit Dodia Kristen Nicole Griggs Nathaniel Thomas Hard Taber Benjamin Hust Mohammad U. Khan Bradford James Kupka Meredith C. Lee Sungho Lim Brandon Nelson Lizana Ian Blake Maley Harrison Reid Post Gabriel Hart Rockwell Karan Shukla Siddhesh Pratap Singh Andrew Michael Turner Albert T. Wang Andrew Steven Watts Cameron Ryan Alberts Micah Brighton Brouwer Zachary M. Cooner Henry Linh Dinh Esther Miriam Goldstein Harrison Roth Goulden Tyler Dean Gray Joseph Wood Hackenbracht Omar Andrew Hasan Ju Heon Lee Daniel Nunez Martin Travis Justin Millican Paul Wan-Yong Mitchell Nathan Andrew Morrison
Vivien Hong Ngo Naveed Nuruddin Punjwani Chris Rodriguez Robert Antony Westman Dalton Bruce Wooley Joshua Y. Cai Joshua Michael Carpp Persia Ghaffari Peter Wahba Mickael Erick Zadiel Narvaez Rodriguez Tiffany Angeline Pouw Ximone Quyen Willis Sanyukta Bihari Peter Jacob Barrosse Alec James Burmania Eun Jin Cho Sean Aaron Farris Clyde Kehbuma Fomunung Jacinth R. Nguyen Rachel Morgan Raimer Matthew Ignacio Villarreal James Ford Williams
School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences Phillip Wayne Accetturo Blake Joseph Adams Vivian Chishom Asonye Allison Judith Audd Dana Ayagh Inara Bandali Arman Bin Baqui Mittan Barzani Jason Alan Benham Franco Luciano Bria-Massaro Denise Maria Cortez John Arcadio D. Cruz Marisa Uma Lama Durham Lisa Lynne Duvall Blake Jackson Eaton Mary Jean Elbanna Nancy Ayer Fairbank Lauren Ashley Featherstone Nathan Robert Glover Jose Valentin Gonzalez Reyna Izadora Hernandez Isabella Hsiao Kaitlyn Rena’ Hunter Keaton Dorian Johnson Rhegan Chanel Johnson Rachel Mariah Kail Meri-Sofia Elisabeth Karttunen Leandra Jo Kelly Aysha Khan Curtlyn Charlene Kramer Tanner Michael Landry Victoria Li Elizaveta Liberman Jacob James Loehr Cecelia Rachel McEwen Yehia Mokhtar Airic Michael Monroe Anh Nhat Nguyen Alexandra Barker Noll Jeffrey Michael Padgett Rachel Rosan Perry Elizabeth Garrison Peterkort Colin Joseph Phillips Kristen Nicole Phillips Danielle Angelique Powers Benjamin Joseph Pratt Stephen Wesley Reeves Michael Kyle Reynolds Alessandra Veonica Richter Mackenzie Christine Ridgle Josette Catherine Rophael Alen Arpana Samuel Tamuno Tonye Cecilia Somiari Hope Lynn Steffensen Beverly S. Talley Alazar Mekdem Tamer Theodore John Torres Cynthia M. Tusko Christine Joy Varghese Ryan Edward Wanner
School of Interdisciplinary Studies Yesenia Barrios Matthew Ben-Shabat Malinda Cavage Rebecca Lynn Chrasta Trevor Orian Clifton Samer Nabih Dalal Bethany Victoria Davidson Kristin Fusilier Rossalya A. Granda Meredyth Grange Austin Lee Jentz Amy Nicole Jowers Zainab Batool Mamdani Melissa Ann Maranto Carolyn Mai Han Nguyen Karen Trang Nguyen Preston Ooi Aishwarya Ramamurthi Aila Soomro Summer Suhwail Christine Tiffany Tran Noor Musa Wadi You Zhou Nicolette Claire Cefai Aseel Ali Dweik Kayla Marie Cox Maliha Ahmed Khan
Uzair Javaid Rehan Ahmed Karim Andrew Manh-Quan Nguyen Madison Mayo Pond Meridith Rene’ Peter Tuan Trinh Shadan Alwan Elizabeth Ashley Adams Courtenay Sheridan Bowers Ashley Renee Ramirez Kevin Curtis Davies Jasmin Maria Hakeem Heather Bao Han Hoang Faith Sunah Kim Min Young Lee Tiffany Lashon Ollie Katelin Rohde Hafsa Shaikh Melissa Anne Sweeney Jazmine Torres
Naveen Jindal School of Management Holly Amber Abouk Iqra Ali Eyad Almasri Alexander Mark Alperovich Victoria Kay Alperovich Janet Alvarado Preston Alon Alyashuv Alex James Amheiser Hyung An Kyu Jordan Javid Anwer Leena Abdeljabbar Asmar Sh'muel Ben Avraham Bilal Ayub Zarah Barkatullah Daniel Bryan Batey Sydney Marie Beasley Sharon Hope Benedicto Arindam Bhattacharya Vishavjyot Bhullar Amir Ridruan Bin Hamza Karan Bindra Bryan Keith Bjerke Ashley Michelle Blaha Sneha Bose Marie Mae Braswell Steven L. Buchner Van T. Bui Lesley Lee Capehart Alexandra Michelle Castillo-Papaleo Joshua Chang My Thi Ngoc Chau Joyce James Chemplanikal Ying Lan Chen Michael Paul Cheney Linh Yen Chu Nicholas Scott Ciolino Christopher Lee Clark David Ryan Cohen Jacob John Colling Izaac Chavez Costiniano William James Crawford Austin Taylor Daniel Soham Virendra Daptardar Alfredo De La Cruz Andi Dedja Anuka Dhakal Sabrina Kaur Dhesi Tamara Ivana Djakovic Ginger Rose Doggett Robert Henry Duenner Sepideh Ebrahim Austin Shigetaro Endo Jeremy Justin English Clark Hunter Enochs Zachary Michael Evans Omar Bazil Farid Erich Alvin Finch Ana-Maria Frampton Erin Melissa Franc Joseph Francis Reiniel Joshua T. Garcia Sarah Elizabeth Gontarek Nidhi Gotgi Sarah Layden Greene Kaylee Ann Villarica Gross Phuc Tien Ha Brian William Harris Jason Daniel Harris Miguel Angel Hernandez Tucker Alexander Hess Hailey N. Hollas Eric Maurice Hunt Lyndsey Lace Ibarra Kirsten Andrea Ishikawa Md Akibul Islam Ramya Pam Jose Stanley G. Joseph Pablo Josue Juarez Hasan Kalim Christian Dee Kelly Al Ameerah Khan Urmi Dharmendra Khatri Eunjin Andrea Kim Archit Kshetrapal Christopher David Lambert Thuy-Mi Le Austin Yuenfung Lee Binet C. Lee James Michael Lester Jessica Nguyen Lightfoot Alice Liu
Jeremy YHW Liu Matthew YHP Liu Scott Edward Macke Lloyd Greter Hernandez Lopez Sean Patrick Lowry Huanyu Lu Jordan Paul Lucky Kayla Valentina Maaraoui Shefali Mahajan Darren Lou Mao Marzooq Hanif Markatia Hugo Marroquin Lorenz Arnold Marsh Mariah Alexandrea McHenry Thomas James McKee Matthew Karl Merritt Andrew Mezheritskiy Brandon James Milburn Chase Andrew Miller Mehreen Jabeen Mir Mahir Singh Modgil Chad Douglas Montgomery Bilal Ahmed Moon Greyson Rye Morgan Afraz Ali Nawaz Triza Njoki Nganga Ngoc Hong Nguyen Germain Bena Nsoga Scott Patrick Oberst Vishal Minesh Parikh Zachary Dalton Parkinson Nidhi Mayank Patel Colton Anthony Payne Caroline Louise Personius Anh Phuong Phan Diana Carolina Pinzon Alexandra Pollock-Jenkins Chantel Annette Powell Taylor Ray Privitt Jimmy Johnson Quach Nidia Quezada Kashan Karim Rajani Janak Ranchod Rebecca Ann Raymond Jessie Lynn Richardson Merab Shaloom Roberts Timothy Andrew Roberts Carlos Mauricio Rodriguez Cruz Y Cel Brandon Michael Rohlf Timothy James Sage Iris Anahi Salas Brenna Genevieve Saxton Daniel Scotto Tanvi Ketan Shah Maryam Shahid Gurleen Kaur Sidhu Trent August Small Erin Patricia Smith Mahtab Sobhani Micheli Catherine Soong Jakeb Timothy Spears Andrew Frank Stacey Laura Patricia Su Casey Lynn Sublett John Bezalel Swei Meghan Lynn Takahashi Jenna Marie Taylor Nhu-Tam D. Thai Uttara Thiagarajan Robert Jackson Tillman Nathan Ryan Tipsword Rebecca Kristy Tjahja David Ngoc Tran Shanelle Lam Tung Kyle Blaine Turner Miranda Michelle Turner Marya Ishaq Unwala Sterling Gabriel Utley Aman Jiten Vakharia Shea Rene Van Schuyver Jessica Nicole Villarreal Ana Karen Viramontes Sarah Ferguson Vogt Siddarth Vyas Scott Brandon Wagner Angel Yuan Wang Caleb Walter Ward Amber Nicole Wess Stephen Michael Williams Malik Ishmela Wilson Marina Wongjaruensuson Brian Lee Woods Chih-I Rebecca Wu Fanuel Weldegebriel Zekiros Alice Wenyi Zheng Mingda Zhong Rodolfo Zolezzi Alexis Rylee Zoys Brian A. Kihneman A Thao T. Cao Ting Chen Aeron James Brown Kristy Lynn Forsthoff Raymond Lou Denys Shevnyuk Maclean Kathryn Anne McCord Duong Hoang Nguyen Trang Viet Phuong Pham Matthew Clark Smith Mateen Shah Ali Matthew Kyle Ballard Christine Diane Bonisch Alice Chang Angela Lo-Chi Chang
Continued on page 6
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LIFE&ARTS
THE MERCURY | JULY 6, 2015
UTDMERCURY.COM
PARTHASARATHY S.K. | MERCURY STAFF
Bees from the university’s apiary are used to teach students in the Honey Bee Biology class hands-on applications of the life and behavior of the insects. The class is availabe to students who have taken an introductory biology course.
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honey… that’s kind of almost an art.” Rippel and his students have collected about 50 pounds of honey between just two of the many hives. They are unable to sell their product for profit because the university funds the facilities. Instead, the beekeeping team gives the fresh honey away as gifts or at the demonstrations they host at the Dallas Arboretum. Biology senior Lauren Rosene was in the class last spring. She, along with a few other students,
went to the Dallas Arboretum to teach children about bees and to dispel some myths about how they operate. “A lot of times they think you have to save each bee individually, and honestly, before I took this course, I felt the same way,” Rosene said. “It’s kind of nice to teach them that you want to think about the entire hive.” Rippel said the life of a bee revolves around the hive rather than the individual. “An individual bee is nothing,” Rippel said. “It’s really the colony as a whole. It’s a super organism.”
A FOND FAREWELL
LINDA NGUYEN | MERCURY STAFF
Vice President for Communications Susan Rogers (left) is comforted by former president David E. Daniel during a ceremony celebrating his tenure at UTD on June 30. Daniel, who is the fourth president in the university’s history, was named the vice chancellor and chief operating officer for the UT System. His farewell reception was attended by faculty, staff and student leaders from across campus.
Continued from page 5 Christopher Chen Zeina Hussein Haidar Jia Han Colin Grant Holmes Peter Michael Hsiao Derek Peter Hui Joyeeta Islam Daniela Ivanova Ivanova Christine Ellen Mankarious David Mendez-Geada Hadeel Khaled Nassar Trang Van Nguyen Kayla Elizabeth Romero Assima Berikkazyevn Abdrakhmanova Murtaza Nasir Ali Leezen Amatya Elad Joseph Banay Eliza Ann Carey Awais Amir Ali Charaniya Sheryl Chayka Regina Chowdhury Richard Curtis Crawford Mohamed Hussein Dewji Nicholas James Goudeau Katie Danielle Harper Brendan Phillip Hopper Priyanka Jagannathan Sihyun Jeong Christopher Joseph Keith Jiana M. Khazma Albert Theodore Kim Edward Yu-Ju Lai Chang Hee Lee Logan Anthony Matamoros Spandana S. Mudhaliar
Garrett Thomas Norton Abraham Olalde Anna Panasenko Victoria Briana Puckett Uriel Ramirez Dean Joseph Runyon Devon Paul Schmid Alejandra N. Serrate Viswanathan Sundaresan Andrew Thomas Weis Jaime Leigh Wrobel
School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics Laila Fatima Abbas Mahmoud Abdulgafar Abdulbaki Nazanin Abolhasani Phebe Ann Abraham Vedika Subodh Agrawal Oyindamola Nicole Akinseye Sara Walid Al Dogom Ranna Ghannam Al-Dossari Obada Alfarawati Basil Puthiampurat Alias Hassan Hanif Allahrakha Caelan Anyagafu Rohit Hanif Badia Melody Ramina Bahrampour Aida Basirat Jacey Marie Beasley Allison M. Beltrone Dene Momtaz Betz Lisa Marie Bird Laura Hart Bret
Sierra Nicole Brune Duy H. Bui Tu Cam Bui Amanda Jane Bull Suna Noora Burghul Evan Andrew Cedor Maci Taylor Chapman Lillian Chen Maneera Tosha Chopra Brent Cland Jade Paule Clinton Rachael Ann Couch Henry Levi Curtis Francesca Clarice Daigle Angela Kim Dang Anthony Quang Dao Pooja Dasari Nicholas Oscar Davidson Matthew Deng Edward Grame Lapulapu Desabelle Pallavi Dev Athena Kaur Dhaliwal Megan Li-Xin Dibbern Jennifer Bao-Vy Dinh Dang-Huy Do Kayleigh Marie Donnelly Daniel Herman Eilbott Bayan Nathan Entezari Amy Fang Bethany Renee Geer Daniel Gelvez Sanjeeth Shibu George Matthew James Gillings Justin Tawan Goodwin Bhargavesh Gottam Gerardo Guevara Evan Guo
Kareem Fawzan Hamdan Sharjeel Hassan Matthew Alan Henderson Khang Phan Thieu Ho Karthik Hullahalli Mai Thuan Huynh Usman Hyder Farid Ighanihosseinabad Aarzu Jawaid Isa Mohammad Jahangiri Ann Mary James Jenny Jiou Alysha S. Joseph Rohan Premji Joshi Pradyotha Kanchustambham Mandeep Kaur Mehraban Kavoussi Armin Khamoshi Jawad Khan Yesul Tina Kim Atef Kokash Michael Lee Catherine Danielle Leigh Jonathan Wing-Him Li Joseph Seunghyun Lim Meisam Mahmoudi Joseph Luis Melendez Lakshmi Menon Vidya Menon Andrew Daniel Merrill Bradley Donald Meyer Bradley Keck Moreno Neha Vardhani Mulpuri Khanh Huy Nguyen Kieu Nhi Thi Nguyen Linh Vivian Ngoc Nguyen Nancy Naruemon Nguyen Taylor My Hang Nguyen
Wilfrid Mutombo Ntalaja Gino Eduardo Occhialini Charles Philip Orr Rashmi Machendranat Palankar Ganesa Jeanne Parmar Brian G. Pasha Rhea R. Pate Dev Narendra Patel Sijil Patel Juhi Darshan Patell James McRacken Payne Emily Marie Peterman Thien Hung Pham Vi Hung Pham Victoria Thuy Vi Pham Andrew Toan Phan Hiep Steve Phan Brandon James Pires Stephanie Kristin Powdar Grishma Pradhan Matthew Aric Prowant Zaara Yaasmeen Qasim Anthony Ian Quisenberry Dayal Sankar Rajagopalan Jenny Nadia Raman Milin Nilesh Rana Rajadhar Tippi Reddy Alexander Herbert Riley Matthew Andrew Salm Daniel Arminius Sattelberger Taylor Lucia Sells Sidra Rehan Shah Mohammad Shalabi Landon Robert Simpkins Swamynathan Singaravelu Shahriar Soroushi Whitney Leigh Stuard
Shan Su Naveen Gopal Subramanian Christina Suikkari Ali Shah Tejani Sanaa Tejani Lini Mary Thomas Shayna Elizabeth Thomas Matthew Alexander Thompson Andrew Clark Thomson Robert James Thomson Michael Tieu Laura Mihaela Timciuc Quang Nhut To Auvi Tu Tran Kha Andy Minh Tran Triet Vincent Minh Tran Cristian Trejo Michael Nguyen Trinh Thomas James Trompeter Jadiette Tsan Samantha Lee Tschirhart Michael Tseggay Alan Velazquez Victor Bao-Lam Vinh Kevin Quochuy Vu Jackie Christopher Webb Casey Elizabeth Wing Yaoxiang Xuan Blan Yamek Ailing Eileen Yang Greg W. Zhang Swetha Ramamurthy Shivani Sharma Calvin Xin Geng Hoang Huy Nguyen Kolby Lee Mangino Daniel Brent Bowling
Nhu Dinh Ifeadikanwa Ifechi Emejulu Seong Hyun Park Puja Mukesh Patel Hyeonsoo Kim Zakariya Shafaat Ahmed Akanksha Saxena Rohan Bhalchandra Kanade
Undeclared Abdullah Jan Allawala Hongmin William Du Alfredo Hickman Matara Rae Hitchcock Greg Louis Mork Anders Sj Nelson Tiffany Thuy Kim Nguyen Amanda Lynn Pena Jin Young Mayo Sakai Cara Elizabeth Santucci Tyre Akira Wilson Angella Zhang Alexandra Garrison Peterkort Sabrina Ly Ahsun Asad
Congratulations to the students named to the 2015 Dean’s List
NEWS
UTDMERCURY.COM
Marriage for All
Where in the world is same-sex marriage legal?
THE MERCURY | JULY 6, 2015
7
In the United States... 1995 state to enact a Defense of Marriage Act.
1996
DESIGN & RESEARCH BY CONNIE CHENG | GRAPHICS EDITOR
Argentina (2010) Belgium (2003) Brazil (2013) Canada (2005) Denmark (2012) England / Wales (2013) Finland (2015) France (2013) Greenland (2015) Iceland (2010)
The Netherlands (2000) New Zealand (2013) Norway (2009) Portugal (2010) Scotland (2014) South Africa (2006) Spain (2005) Sweden (2009) United States (2015) Uruguay (2013)
How the Supreme Court ruled on same-sex marriage
President Bill Clinton signs the federal Defense of Marriage Act, upholding states’ right to ban same-sex marriage and prohibiting the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriage.
2003 The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court rules that the state constitution gives gay and lesbian couples the right to marry.
2013 The Supreme Court strikes down part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, requiring the government to recognize marriages from the states where they are legal.
2015
The Supreme Court rules all state bans on same-sex marriage unconstitutional—thus allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry in all 50 states.
Sources: Pew Research Center, Steve Petteway, URGE
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access surgery or hormones, they might decide not to. Gender confirming surgeries can be very invasive and require several weeks of healing time. Sarah Hodgkinson, the student development specialist in the Women’s Center, said not all transgender people feel surgery is necessary for them. “A lot of society kind of waits to confirm someone’s identity until they’ve had some kind of gender confirming surgery or hormones,” she said. “The number one thing I want people to do is not wait for that, because the individual may not ever feel like that’s something that’s necessary for them in their gender identity or (because) of the significant costs and legal barriers.” Social Transition (family/dating/friendships) After transgender people have made their transition, coming out to the public can be a complicated affair. Some transgender individuals are out to their friends, but not their family. Some are out to their family, but not their friends. According to The Huffington Post, 102 acts of violence against transgender people occurred within the first four months of 2014 across 14 countries worldwide. Because of the violence and harassment publicly transgender people face, the decision to come out is not taken lightly. Zackary attributes his ability to show his peers who he really was to his friends at Pride, a social organization for LGBT students. “I personally don’t know if I would have been able to come out if I didn’t have such great friends that were so supportive,” he said. According to Zackary, Pride has anywhere from 40 to 60 people on a regular meeting day. He estimates about 12 of those participants are transgender individuals that are very connected with one another. The transgender students in Pride frequently take classes together so they can be there for one another. “I’m already out in my classes and it was hard. I’m not going to say it was easy,” Zackary said. “There were a couple students, I don’t think they were rude, but I think they didn’t know how to interact with me.” He said he was comfortable going public with his gender because he is willing to have hard conversations with people. “I feel like if I did things like that, it would make it easier for other trans people,” Zackary said. Coming out to family can also be a complicated affair and can sometimes lead to other discoveries. For Zoe Jones, a software engineering student and a transgender woman, her attempt to tell her family did not go very well. Her family had a hard time believing that she was transgender because she hadn’t acted clearly masculine or feminine when she was young.
To add on to this, Jones’s family had a secret of their own: they had never disclosed to Jones that she had Asperger’s syndrome. “It was confusing enough having Asperger’s and not knowing about it until then,” Jones said. This helped to explain why her family didn’t believe she could be transgender. A misconception stemming from the extreme male brain theory led them to believe that people with autism spectrum disorders couldn’t be transgender. “That [theory has] since been debunked,” Jones said. “It did play a role [in how my family reacted]. That was the reason that [they] used.” Angel, who isn’t out to their family, came out last year to their boyfriend and said that they’re only out to a close circle of friends. Angel has considered telling their parents, but they said that although they recognize that not all members of the South Asian community are wholly opposed to LGBT terms, they feel that their parents aren’t ready to face the truth. “If they can’t even find it in them to say the word lesbian, you can’t even begin to approach the word transgender,” Angel said. Another aspect of coming out is navigating the dating scene. This gets more complicated if the other person does not know their partner is transgender. “For me, a transgender man, all I care is that the partner I’m dating is interested in men,” Kujak said. Violence against transgender people is already a concern, but it is especially prevalent in dating scenarios. “Transpanic,” where a transgender woman and a cisgender man—a man who aligns with his assigned sex at birth—go into a bedroom and the man attacks the woman in a panicked state after discovering his partner is transgender, is common. Kujak said it is perceived as an obligation in society to tell dating partners if one is transgender. He said it is more common to drop hints around a partner to gauge their reaction to discover if coming out would put their safety at risk. For example, a transgender person might ask what a partner thinks about transgender celebrities like Laverne Cox or Caitlyn Jenner. If they had a negative response, Kujak says he usually just makes an excuse and stops seeing them. “Once we kind of feel for that barrier, that’s… when we feel it’s more appropriate to tell,” Kujak said. Currently, Kujak is dating Jerica Bartleson, a cisgender woman who is pansexual. Typically, if someone is open to dating transgender individuals of either gender, they are considered pansexual. “I find it easier to say pansexual, because for me… the gender doesn’t play a role in how I’m attracted to a person,” Bartleson said. “It’s how we connect as people.” She is not a student at UTD, but works in the area. She has been dating Kujak since September of 2014. Bartleson first met Kujak when she moved to Texas from Arizona and lived in an apartment with him and a few friends. As they got to know one
another better, they gradually became friends before beginning to date. “I met Alex and we connected on a friendship level first and then eventually connected on an emotional, relationship level,” Bartleson said. “We’re happy, so it doesn’t really matter that he’s not a girl because he’s who I want to be with right now.” Bartleson has become much more involved in the LGBT community since dating Kujak. She didn’t have much experience with transgender individuals before moving to Dallas. “It’s not any different than dating someone who was born… cisgender,” Bartleson said. “All your stereotypical guy tropes are still there.” Legal Transition (policy changes/gender marker/name change) For transgender people, the legal transition can be almost as difficult as the physical and mental ones. Legally changing name and gender on official documents for transgender people can be especially complicated depending on where they live. UTD is on the border of Dallas County and Collin County. According to Kujak, there are almost no judges who will grant name and gender marker changes in Collin. In Dallas, there are approximately 17 judges who will grant the request. This becomes an issue for students living on campus, as the border between Dallas and Collin cuts between apartment phases, leaving some students in either county. Gendered bathrooms also raise an issue for trans people, especially early in transition. “To some extent, it’s a bit of a safety issue in that if you’re visibly trans and in the men’s room, then there’s a risk of violence,” Jones said. “If you’re visibly trans and in the women’s room, then there’s a risk of very severe words.” Jones discussed using only unisex bathrooms for a while after her transition and how not all public buildings are equipped with enough of these facilities. “[It] could sometimes be a little bit of a problem that most buildings have only one,” she said. “And if you’re trying to go there on break from work or in between classes, you can just be plain out of luck.” Currently there are 13 accessible unisex bathrooms across UTD’s campus, located in the Activity Center, ATEC, ECSS, Founders, SSB and SOM II. Rainbow Guard has just finished cataloguing single stall bathrooms at UTD. All of these bathrooms will now be converted to gender-neutral bathrooms, meaning that they will be located and signs will be put up to reflect the change. Hodgkinson has also made progress pushing for gender inclusive restrooms on the rest of campus. On campus, policies for transgender students vary depending on the department. Through her work with the women’s center, Hodgkinson has created a way for students to enter their preferred name on
the registrar’s website. The preferred name will then go into class rosters on Coursebook. She is currently working on potentially changing how a student is listed on their Comet Card. Along with these advances, the Activity Center now allows students to play on any rec team that matches their gender identity. All of the policy work is done through the LEAP initiative—an advocacy and programming initiative that works to protect the sexual orientations and gender identities of students on campus—and the Rainbow Guard. “We’re starting to have conversations about how we can have policy that really protects and honors (transgender) individuals,” Hodgkinson said.
The Future of Transgender Rights Approximately 41 percent of transgender teens and adults attempt suicide at some point in their life according to The Williams Institute at UCLA. This number jumps up to 45 percent for transgender individuals age 18-24. According to the National Center for Transgender Equality, an estimated 20 to 40 percent of homeless youth are part of the LGBT community and one in five transgender people have been discriminated against when seeking home in the United States. One in ten have been evicted from their homes because of their gender identity. Angel said these, and other issues, have yet to be addressed by society. She said programs that combat substance and alcohol abuse and mental illnesses and eating disorders among transgender people need to be implemented. Above all, research and talking to transgender people will provide ways to find solutions to these problems, they said. “I would say looking into local initiatives, for example, the Trans Pride Initiative or the Transgender Law Center, would help with answering people’s questions on how to support transgender friends and their families,” they said. Sociology sophomore Cody Kuhn, who is the programming director for Rainbow Guard, pointed out that there’s even stigma against transgender people within the LGB community. “It’s difficult because even within LGBT communities, the ‘T’ is often forgotten or left out,” he said. While Angel acknowledged that the Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriages across all 50 states brought a lot of attention to the LGBT community, they pointed out that there’s still a lot that still needs to be done for transgender people. “It’s a win, but it’s not the whole ten yards,” Angel said. “I would say it’s something that everyone in the community can venerate. It’s just (about) doing that while also recognizing that it’s not the last step. Transgender people have more milestones that need to be met.”
THE MERCURY | JULY 6, 2015
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Head volleyball coach wins gold medal in Peru
Staff member for U.S. Women’s National volleyball team returns to UTD with plans to implement strategies, poise for school squad PABLO JUAREZ Mercury Staff
MARCI SANDERS | COURTESY
Head volleyball coach Marci Sanders (bottom center) poses with members of the U.S. Women’s National Volleyball team in Peru after its firstplace finish at the Pan American Cup on June 21.
After serving as a staff member on the U.S. Women’s National Volleyball team at the Pan American Cup, UTD’s head volleyball coach Marci Sanders recently came home with a gold medal following the team’s first-place finish. At the tournament, which was held June 13 to 21 in Peru, the U.S. Women’s National Volleyball team swept the competition, going undefeated and losing only one set during the cup. In the final match, Team USA was able to dethrone the defending champion, Dominican Republic, 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-15) to capture its fourth Pan-American Cup. Here at UT Dallas, Sanders boasts an overall 252101 record and a 156-24 record in conference play as well as three NCAA Division III Tournament appearances in the last seven seasons. Before heading into this year’s tournament, Sanders had some prior affiliation with Team USA through the collegiate national team. “It started a few years ago,” Sanders said. “Tom Pingel, who’s with the collegiate national team, was looking for a place to train. They stayed in our residence halls and ate in our dining hall. The next year, I got invited to work with the collegiate national team in Minnesota. I actually got the opportunity to co-head coach a team.” Her name was eventually passed around important
people within the volleyball community, such as Karch Kiraly, head coach of the Women’s National Team. He was looking for staff to head to Peru when he contacted Sanders with the opportunity. “(It was the) day before April Fools day. I’ll never forget it because I thought someone was messing with me, Coach Kiraly called me and said he got good recommendations and was looking for staff to go to Peru,” Sanders said. “Of course I got excited… a couple days later I told him I’d love the opportunity.” While in Peru, Sanders was a team leader and director of operations. Her responsibilities centered on taking care of all the necessary paperwork for the team and making sure the players had anything they needed, from their groceries to their laundry. “I made sure the paperwork side of things was taken care of, that way the coaches could focus on coaching and the players focus on playing. So I took care of all the outside distractions,” Sanders said. With this being her first international trip, she said one of the biggest takeaways from her experience was to not take for granted the conveniences of the United States. “It’s definitely a different environment there,” Sanders said. “I told my family I was going to go drink out of the water hose [here] because I could, whereas there you’re not even supposed to brush your teeth with water.” From a coaching standpoint, some key take-
aways she noticed was the calm aura behind Team USA. Most importantly, she noticed the playercoach relationship, which focused on the importance of treating the players like the people that they are above anything else. “There was a big calmness over everything within the Women’s National Team,” Sanders said. “Even though we had some injuries and things were a little stressful… David Hunt, the head coach, and the staff… kept a calm confident demeanor about them. That’ll be something I’ll carry on to my staff and my team.” Sanders, who has led UTD to a record of 252-101 along with three national tournament appearances during her tenure, looks to translate what she learned during her experience in Peru to the team here at UT Dallas. From a technical perspective she looks to revamp the teams’ workout and training regimes as well as utilize new applications for preparation such as scorekeeping and film coverage. Most importantly, Sanders looks to carry over the calmness and poise among the players and staff that was present within Team USA. “(Assistant Coach Zach Villarreal) and I already do a good job of making sure the athletes feel like people first and players second,” she said. “I definitely liked that calmness and even if you’re feeling a little nervous or jittery about something or stressed out that you (roll with the punches). That’ll be something (to implement).”
New program will Callier Center provide clothes to under expansion students in need Research capacity will expand with new 50,000 square foot builiding
Clothes from Comet Closet available after completion of workshops SAI SARIPELLA Mercury Staff
ANDREW GALLEGOS | MERCURY STAFF
A student walks past an artist’s rendering of the Callier expansion, which will include new space for research, therapy services, faculty offices and classrooms for students and faculty in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences. JIANA KHAZMA Mercury Staff
Since beginning construction in April of this year, the Callier Center for Communication Disorders has been undergoing significant expansion and is projected to triple clinical, research, and academic space for students and faculty by fall of 2016. The construction project will focus on general repurposing of the original 20,000 square foot building by maximizing available floor space for research equipment and testing. “Our vision is to be the premier research, student training program in the country,” said Bert Moore, dean of behavioral and brain sciences. Additionally, a 50,000 square foot extension will be constructed in order to expand research capacity, therapy services, faculty offices and classrooms. In terms of layout, the new facility will be compartmentalized to cater to the Callier Center’s various functions. “It will be a new academic home, particularly for the speech-language pathology students who have not had a place to go,” Moore said. The expansion will also include a lounge for students as well as a courtyard. While most of the undergraduate speech pathology classes are currently held on the Richardson campus, currently some students still need to commute to the downtown Dallas Callier Center in order to attend class during an off semester. “What the expansion will now allow us to do is have more opportunities for observation classes for our undergraduates,” said Thomas Campbell, executive director for the Callier Center. The expansion is expected to grow training capacity by 80 percent for speech-language pathology and audiology students. With the growing number of faculty members who specialize in speech-language pathology and audiology, the university has had difficulty providing assignable research and office space for incoming researchers and professors. Campbell said the new space will help to meet the needs of those students, staff and faculty members in need of workspaces. “There will definitely be new offices associated
with laboratories for people who have funded research activities,” Campbell said. While the Richardson campus will undergo significant development, it will not take away from the Dallas Callier Center, Campbell said. “If anything, the two complement each other,” he explained. “It’s not a matter of closing down one and ramping up the other. For a program our size, with the number of patients that we see and the number of students that we have to train, we need to have both locations.” In addition to providing more academic and research space for communication sciences faculty and students, the new building will provide two separate lecture halls open to undergraduates across all disciplines within the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences. “We will be able to foster integration not just within the school, but between schools. And with researchers who are doing work in communication sciences, as well as related fields like bioengineering, cognitive science, and neuroscience related to communication,” Moore said. Additionally, other arms of the university will be affected by the expansion and will be relocating to Callier from different areas on campus. Campbell said crossover with departments such as the Center for Children and Families, an organization that focuses on child development services, will be easier once under the same facility On the community level, clinical demand for populations with communication disorders is expected to grow 30 percent within the next two years. Undergraduate student enrollment is also expected to rise 30 percent within the next five years. Since its inception in 1963, the Callier Center has grown to be one of the largest and highest ranking programs for communication sciences and disorders in the country. The U.S. News Report currently ranks UTD’s audiology program third in the nation, while the speech-language pathology program is ranked eleventh. “We think we have the resources, both in terms of facilities and faculty and students, and we really want to accomplish (and) be the best place there is,” Moore said.
A new program started by a professor in the School of Management will help provide formal clothes for underprivileged students who need business attire for interviews. The program, which is called the Comet Closet, will have used clothes that can be worn by students that needs them for internships or job interviews. Comet Closet’s donated goods will only be provided to students who have already completKAPLAN ed a certain number of career prep workshops and have had their resumes reviewed by the Career Center. Marilyn Kaplan, the associate dean of undergraduate education and a professor in the School of Management, came up with the idea for the program. “I was thinking about the fact that we have a need for the Comet Cupboard,” said Kaplan. “If we have students who cannot afford dinner, how can they afford a suit for an interview? We are educating them, getting them ready for careers, but they still need to make a professional first impression in interviews and on the job.” Inspired by the Comet Cupboard, the program will have pop-up shops of donated clothing avail-
able. Although the dates and locations are yet to be determined, the shops will be open once or twice a semester in preparation for events such as the career fair. Nick Hinojosa, the undergraduate student services coordinator for the JSOM, helped Kaplan get the project off the ground. “The bulk of the funds are very small donations from students and faculty members across the business school. The biggest one actually came from an alumnus from the Gordon MBA program,” he said. “It’s not something that’s just an interview outfit, hopefully it’s something you can wear on the job as well.” The School of Management will provide business internship credit to students who volunteer to run the store. Students that volunteer will spend their time with handling inventory systems, marketing, and general management. The program will not only offer to meet the needs of current students but will be a long term solution, Kaplan said. “Once it is established, we would like to have a competition among student organizations to find the organization that will take over the management of the Comet Closet,” Kaplan said. Kapland said she would also like to see a winter coat drive to help students who are unprepared for cold winter. The Comet Closet is set to start this upcoming fall semester in the School of Management. In her 16 years as part of the university’s faculty, Kaplan said that projects like these are what she enjoys in her position. “My favorite part of my job is working on initiatives like this that improve the experience for our students,” said Kaplan.
-In BriefSoftball coach leaves UTD after four years After four seasons with the softball team, head coach Brad Posner will not be returning to UTD next season. His last day was June 1. Athletic director Bill Pettit said he and Posner both had a mutual understanding at the end of the season that it was time to move on, but he would not comment on Posner’s reason for leaving. Posner could not be reached for comment. As the fourth coach in the program’s history, Posner was 86-70 overall. The team qualified for the ASC tournament twice during his tenure, but failed to make it to the postseason this past year after going 16-19. Assistant Softball Coach Jeny Fuller, who was hired before the start of the season, is currently acting as the interim head coach. She said no one else on the staff is expected to leave. Fuller said the players have been made awareß of Posner’s departure. Mulitple players from the team either declined to comment or could not be reached for comment. An official decision on who Posner’s replacement will be is expected later this month. -Esteban Bustillos
POSNER
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Furnished ROOM for RENT by female UTD employee in Carrollton $500/month Includes rent, FiOS, electricity & water. Female, senior/grad student ONLY Available 7/1 (214) 542-9555 for pictures & more info.
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MORE THAN A GAME Professors, students create Minecraft mod to teach about science
HUMZA KHAN | MERCURY STAFF
Ron Smaldone (left) and Christina Thomspon, two professors who worked on Polycraft World, said the game will help students understand material sciences. RYANNA QUAZI Mercury Staff
A group of students and professors from different disciplines, such as natural sciences, ATEC and engineering, are involved in a project called Polycraft World, which is a version of the popular game Minecraft. It aims to teach students about material sciences. In Polycraft World, UTD is the home base. Players create their own worlds within the server and can go back and forth between the world and campus. On June 5 the beta version of the game was released to the public and the first 10,000 registered players had free access to a part of the server. Christina Thompson, a chemistry professor who is part of the project, said students learn from their ability to share in the game. “You build, you share things, it’s a perfect place to inject educational material,” she said. As with any project, the project faced certain challenges while creating the game. “I think from our perspective, beyond the coding and the software work, most of which was done by Dr. (Walter) Voit and a former UTD graduate, Jim McAndrew, the biggest challenge was accurately getting the chemistry into the game while keeping it fun,” said Ron Smaldone, another chemistry professor who worked on the project. “We don’t want to make the polymer chemistry so simple that it wouldn’t be realistic.” Despite these challenges Smaldone believes that Polycraft World allows students to not only learn but have fun at the same time. “The best way for people to learn is to make it fun,” Smaldone aid. “We think Polycraft World finds this balance and every change and update we make to the game considers this interplay between accurate science and gameplay.” Shelbi Parker, a biomedical engineering junior
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involved with the project, described her experience as enjoyable yet informative. “My experience so far has been amazing,” she said. “I’ve been a gamer and a Minecrafter for a long time. It combines a lot of science with education and helps people learn and master new concepts in a fun way, which is phenomenally enjoyable.” Smaldone said there are plans to make it a learning tool for UTD students, as well as intergrating the game into the admissions process even if new students are not a material science or engineering major. It will test applicants’ critical thinking skills, something necessary for any college student. Parker is also planning to make the game a part of elementary and middle school curricula in area districts. “I am currently working on that integration,” she said. “As of now, I work with Garland ISD, though I am working to expand to Richardson and Plano.” The current server is owned by the lab in the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science. In addition, there are also plans for other schools to make their own servers in the future. The School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences has shown interest in creating their own server in the same mod, and it wishes to use it as a way to teach students about trading. According to both Smaldone and Parker, the team is still in the process of making updates to the beta version. Parker said there are plans to add green chemistry and 3-D printing into further updates. Since June 5, UTD has kept track of the game’s hits. So far the game has become popular in other areas of the country, but not locally. “Most of the games hits have been from the Northeastern United States. We hope to see the game take off at UTD,” Smaldone said.
practices. Fowler said reactions like this illustrate the barriers gay and lesbian individuals still have to get through to reach full equality with others. For could think of no legitimate justification to deny Fowler and other members of the LGBT comsame-sex marriage. Therefore, I thought it was very munity, the fear of prejudice based on their sexual orientation in still very prevalent. clearly a violation of the Equal Protection Clause.” “(A lot of) kinds of discrimination are still legal,” One of the arguments brought up by the justices who dissented the ruling focused on the possible he said. “If I didn’t work for UTD, if my employer religious ramifications of legalizing same-sex mar- thought that I was going to be (gay), I could be fired for no reason at all and I wouldn’t have any recourse riages. against that because it’s perIn his dissent, Justice fectly legal.” Clarence Thomas said that Moving forward, Keeling religious groups may have to Marriage is not the expressed a desire for people be forced to perform wedend of this. It’s never to get to know the LGBT ding ceremonies for gay and community more so the larger lesbian couples even if it been the end goal of issues of ignorance can start to goes against their beliefs. this. I’m sure there are fade away. Champagne said such occur“With all the parades and rences are unlikely. people out there who stuff, you only see one aspect If same-sex couples are think it is, and I’m like, of it,” he said. “You’re not denied the performance of ‘No, it’s not.’ seeing, ‘Well, that’s my doca marriage by a certain relitor or that’s my coworker gious organization, like the — Adam Richards or that’s my supervisor.’ Catholic Church, they can always attempt to find one Rainbow Guard president You lose that human aspect because it’s an ‘us’ and ‘them’ that will do it for them, he kind of issue.” explained. He said anyone Others problems, such as who would try to sue to get the group to perform the religious ceremony would housing discrimination, where landlords will kick out tenants because of their sexuality, still have likely lose. “Just because you have a right to a same-sex mar- to be resolved, said Adam Richards, president of riage does not mean you have the right to a same the UTD chapter of Rainbow Guard. While he sex-marriage performed by a Catholic priest, in a acknowledged that the Supreme Court’s ruling was Catholic church, in a Catholic ceremony. That would very important, he pointed out that he believed interfere with free exercise of religion,” he said. “I there are much more pressing matters for LGBT think you can separate the two out. You can have the individuals, like youth homelessness and a lack of right to a same-sex marriage and you can still have awareness of the bisexual and transgender comfree exercise of religion. I don’t think they necessarily munity. “Marriage is not the end of this,” he said. “It’s have to come into conflict.” After the ruling, Texas Attorney General Ken never been the end goal of this, at least it shouldn’t Paxton told county clerks that they did not have be the end goal of this. I’m sure there are people out to sign marriage licenses for same-sex couples if the there who think it is, and I’m like, ‘No, it’s not.’ But action violated their religious beliefs. Champagne it’s just kind of like a steppingstone. It’s like a visual said this type of behavior is harder to argue for when marker that (says), ‘Hey, we’re finally being taken an agent of the state is taking part in discriminatory seriously here.’” CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10
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