The Mercury 9/17/18

September 17, 2018

facebook.com/theutdmercury | @utdmercury

THE MERCURY

UTDMERCURY.COM

POLICE JURISDICTION AT NORTHSIDE

UNDER QUESTION Lack of crime disclosure possibly in violation of federal mandate

O

CINDY FOLEFACK Managing Editor

ver the past two half years, over 100 calls for police service have been made from Northside apartments. In potential violation of a federal mandate, none of these calls were reported in the university’s daily crime log.

Northside opened in fall 2016 as a mixed-use development which mainly provides housing to UTD students.

The Clery Act, a federal statute, requires universities that receive federal financial aid to disclose crimes committed both on and near college campuses in an annual security report, a crime log and a document listing crime statistics. While Northside was included in the university’s annual security report as an on-campus location after a directive from the Department of Education, → SEE NORTHSIDE, PAGE 12 MICHAEL STOUT | MERCURY STAFF

student union starbucks:

WHY DOES IT TAKE SO LONG? Average wait times at Starbucks stores near campus

SOUJANYA BHAT | MERCURY STAFF

Jax Schmisseur, an arts and technology senior, said he sought approval from the Office of Student AccessAbility to have his cat live with him in a residence hall.

Delays in accessibility approvals cause concern Students push for increased transparency in process for approving disability accommodations RYAN MAGEE | MERCURY STAFF

BHARGAV ARIMILLI Editor-in-Chief

A study conducted by The Mercury revealed that the Starbucks franchise in the Student Union has longer average wait times compared to off-campus Starbucks stores. In a separate survey of 84 SU Starbucks patrons, 88 percent of respondents said they felt the franchise was somewhat or not properly staffed for rush hours at UTD. Steven Goodwin, Chartwell’s resident district manager for UTD, said student workers comprise 25 percent of the franchise’s staff, whereas full and part-time associates make up the remaining 75 percent. New hires

MARISA WILLIAMS

complete a standardized 6-week training course led by corporate-trained employees. New student workers typically complete the course at the beginning of the semester.

Goodwin said the wait times are not unusual since the franchise is located on a college campus.

“We’re not a traditional store,” Goodwin said. “It would just be like if a tour bus pulled up to any of those (off-campus locations), and everyone got off at the same time and came and got in line.”

The Mercury conducted the study during the week of Sept. 10, measuring the waiting times in line at both

the on-campus Starbucks franchise and three off-campus, corporate-run stores. To reduce the number of variables, The Mercury sent its reporters to place the same drink order — an extra hot grande chai latte — at the four locations at approximately 10 a.m. on Monday, Friday and Saturday. The Student Union Starbucks was found to have the longest average waiting time for the week at 18 minutes and 51 seconds. The next longest average waiting time, measured at the Starbucks store at the intersection of West Campbell Road and Coit Road,

→ SEE STARBUCKS, PAGE 12

Mercury Staff

Jax Schmisseur struggles with anxiety and relies on his emotional support animal to calm him during his panic attacks. During his freshman year, he sought approval to have his cat live with him in the dorms but ran into roadblocks. The frequency of his panic attacks increased. In the end, he chose to spend the year living without his animal.

“It was such a bad first experience that I didn’t even want to try again,” Schmisseur said. “So now I’m a senior, I haven’t touched that office, haven’t stepped foot back in it since my first time my freshman year.”

The waiting time to obtain approvals for accommodations such as emotional support animals from the Office of Student AccessAbility, however, has elicited concerns from students.

When applying for accommodations through the OSA, students are required to submit relevant medical documentation of their diagnosis from their healthcare provider. Given the student’s condition and their desired accommodations, the OSA will either approve or deny the request.

Should they be approved, an accommodation letter is drafted.

Schmisseur, an arts and technology

→ SEE ACCESSIBILITY, PAGE 12

What's it like to eat the world's spiciest instant ramen?

→ WATCH THE VIDEO

AND

SEE PAGE 4

→

Sept. 17, 2018 | The Mercury

2

THE MERCURY UTDMERCURY.COM Volume XXXVIV No. 30

NEWS

UTD PD Blotter

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

copyeditor@utdmercury.com

Graphics Editor Matt Strack

graphics@utdmercury.com

Photo Editor Noah Whitehead

Sept. 5 • A UTD faculty member reported a credit card and cash taken from their wallet between 8:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. at the Student Union.

Sept. 5 • An unaffiliated individual was issued a citation for possession of drug paraphernalia at 10:46 p.m. at PS4.

A C B

photo@utdmercury.com

News Editor Emaan Bangash

news@utdmercury.com

Life & Arts Editor Ayoung Jo life@utdmercury.com

Web Editor Bharat Arimilli

web@utdmercury.com

Outreach Editor Carolina Alvarez

media@utdmercury.com

Opinion Editor Madeleine Keith opinioneditor@ utdmercury.com

Contributors Razan Afghani Sarah Besserer Soujanya Bhat EJ Chong Travis Dickerson Amber Doan Vanessa Idigbe Christina Jia Samantha Lopez Ryan Magee Chiamaka Mgboji Keaton Nations Elizabeth Nguyen Anna Phengsakmueang Anna Schaeffer Michael Stout Sarah Streety Marisa Williams Madison York Megan Zachariah

Sept. 6 • An unaffiliated individual was issued a criminal trespass warning between 10:30 a.m. and 11:05 a.m. at the Administration Building.

C B

Sept. 7 • A UTD student reported their bicycle stolen between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. from JSOM.

D

Sept. 10 • Two underage students were caught drinking between 11:29 p.m. and 12:09 a.m. in University Village.

E

E

D A

LEGEND VEHICULAR INCIDENT

THEFT

DRUGS & ALCOHOL OTHER MAP: UTD | COURTESY

Media Adviser Chad Thomas

chadthomas@utdallas.edu (972) 883-2286

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.

Advertising is accepted by The Mercury on the basis that there is no discrimination by the advertiser in the offering of goods or services to any person, on any basis prohibited by applicable law.

The publication of advertising in The Mercury does not constitute an endorsement of products or services by the newspaper, or the UTD administration.

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.

Copyright © 2017, The University of Texas at Dallas. All articles, photographs and graphic assets, whether in print or online, may not be reproduced or republished in part or in whole without express written permission.

The Mercury is a proud member of both the Associated Collegiate Press and the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association.

A

EA

D

Sept. 17, 2018 | The Mercury

3

NEWS

CAROLINA ALVAREZ | OUTREACH EDITOR

Recovering opioid addict shares journey Senior utilizes university resources to overcome addiction while battling challenges on road to recovery amidst national crisis RAZAN AFGHANI Mercury Staff

Editor’s Note: The name of Brian was changed to protect his identity.

Brian remembered waking up with the side of his head pulsing. He sat up and touched his eyebrow and felt blood between his fingertips. Brian had just overdosed after smoking fentanyl, a highly addictive opioid medication that, when consumed in large quantities, can lead to death. Trying to blink the fog out of his eyes, Brian gathered himself from the floor and applied a butterfly Band-Aid to his eyebrow. He didn’t want to go to the hospital now.

He was 23 at the time. Now a senior at UTD, Brian is one of many students undergoing treatment for opioid addiction at the Center for Students for Recovery

amidst the wider, ongoing opioid crisis across the nation. Data released by the National Institute on Drug Abuse in February revealed that while opioid-related deaths in Texas occur below the national rate, the number continues to rise. Fentanyl-related deaths in the state have increased by 60 percent since 2010.

“It was just something that my friends were doing, and it seemed interesting to me. It started with just smoking weed and drinking. And then, I don’t know, I’ve just always been kind of willing to try anything,” Brian said. “But I don’t think me trying drugs was anything different from what anyone else would do. I just reacted differently.”

Brian was 13 years old when he first started drinking and abusing drugs.

He developed an addiction by the time he was 15. “(I) lost all my friends, really. Everyone

who I really cared about didn’t want to hang out with me anymore,” Brian said.

Throughout high school, he drifted between education systems. Starting at a public school, he was later relocated to a wilderness treatment program because of truancy and drug issues. Later, he was transferred to a therapeutic boarding school and then a private school.

“I went to college my first semester in Arkansas and my drinking really picked up. I went to Austin to try to get away from it but it just got worse,” he said. “And so, for probably the next 6 years, I tried to go to school, like, a bunch of times, but I kept dropping out the first semester and missing classes.”

Opioids are potentially fatal because they are respiratory depressors, slowing down breathing and heart rates. Fentanyl is a particularly potent synthetic opioid that became available to the public in 2016. Originally meant to be used as a pain medication, the

drug is now at the center of a national debate about how to effectively address opioid addiction while balancing its need for pain management.

“My parents, they cut me off a long time ago. Toward the end, they wouldn’t take my calls anymore. Because they were afraid that they would get a call saying that I had died,” he said. “They just wanted to distance themselves because it was too painful.”

The CSR promotes the use of Narcan, a nasal spray that reverses the effects of opioid overdoses, by offering training sessions for community members on how to recognize overdoses and use the spray. Other campus groups such as the university’s student-run EMT program have also received authorization to carry Narcan.

What prevents addicts from getting help, Brian said, is the fear of stigma that comes with admitting to addiction. One in four college students has admitted to abus-

ing a prescription opioid, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, and about 300 fatal overdoses occur on college campuses per year. Maya Bauman, a CSR staff member, said parents of incoming students increasingly approach the CSR during move-in week to ask if there’s an opioid abuse problem at UTD. “There’s a drug crisis everywhere. It’s a problem,” Bauman said. “But there are solutions.”

The CSR offers a 12-step addiction recovery program for narcotics abusers through a program with Dallas Area Narcotics Anonymous, which itself is an umbrella organization for several, smaller community support groups throughout the metroplex. “(UTD) does a better job than any other school that I’ve seen, that I’ve been to. I think that probably we could always do more, really,” he said. “But we should definitely be educating people more.”

Cheeky street signs help students navigate campus University Alumnus designs street, indoor signage with playfully sarcastic tone for various campus buildings unveils upcoming projects EMAAN BANGASH News Editor

In an effort to curb the uniform nature of street and directional signs, one UTD graduate has been posting a series of humorous and sarcastic signs all over UTD’s buildings and roads.

The alumnus, a Facilities Management staff member only identified as “Brett,” declined an interview request from The Mercury. Jay Silber, the sign and key shop supervisor at facilities management, said he was in charge of creating the signs before Brett’s arrival at UTD. He said the signs were placed around campus for wayfinding, interior and exterior signage and for ADA-approved accessible routes.

“It really started with trying to keep people out of the street during the construction of ECSW,” Silber said.

“Brett gets bored with doing the same thing every time, so he said, ‘Well, why don’t we do something that will catch people’s attention a little bit rather

than just basic directional signs?’”

Silber said Brett worked for Facilities Management for ten years and started making the signs himself when the Science Learning Center was built. Silber and Brett originally met while designing floor plans for buildings on campus. Silber said Brett has an immense knowledge of layout of every campus building, and his intellectual humor is reflected in the signs.

“Considering UTD accepts only the best and the brightest, these are signs we think people of this intellectual level will understand this humor,” Silber said. “We don’t do what I see many comedians do as ‘bathroom humor.’ It’s kind of a high intellect sense of humor.”

To produce a sign for the campus, Brett proposes ideas for signs, and staff members at Facilities Management offer opinions on the signs before they print. Silber said Brett designed 150-200 of the signs for ECS West in a week.

Campus plans for future expansions

MICHAEL STOUT | MERCURY STAFF

One of 200 signs posted in ECSW directs students to a working elevator.

“It takes a while, and he’ll kind of agonize over them for a while to get the wording just right. When we were putting up the signs in ECSW, we were putting one of them on the elevators and one of them said, ‘This elevator actually works. Push the button.’” Sil-

ber said. “When we went to put it up, he said, ‘Oh, we can’t use this, I don’t want to tell people what to do.’ So, he came back, he redid the sign, and it said, ‘This elevator actually works.

→ SEE SIGNS, PAGE 12

ECSW still undergoing construction, repairs New engineering building open to all students, faculty as adjustments continue to be made AYOUNG JO

LIfe & Arts Editor

NOAH WHITEHEAD | PHOTO EDITOR

Stairs from the second to the third floor of the recently-opened ECSW building are blocked off until further notice.

The new Engineering and Computer Science West building opened its doors at the beginning of the semester, but not all areas of the building are fully functional. The 200,000-square foot facility primarily houses the Department of Mechanical Engineering and features classrooms, laboratories, offices and study areas, as well as a 300-seat auditorium named in honor of Alexander Clark, a former vice president of academic affairs.

The building has four elevators, two of which are operational and

available for student use, and two that are not yet open. Interim senior facility officer for Facilities Management Doug Tomlinson said there were unexpected last-minute issues with the two elevators.

“We have two elevators that, at the last minute, had an interpretation of elevator code issue,” Tomlinson said.

“The elevators are actually complete, but of course, we’re not going to operate them until they are inspected and have a completion certificate.”

Tomlinson said though all the classrooms, teaching labs and study areas are

→ SEE ECSW, PAGE 5

UTD administrators and architects recently revealed upcoming construction and campus improvement projects in a series of town hall meetings.

Known as the Master Plan, the proposal adds nearly 1 million square feet to the campus, including an art village near the McDermott Library and an athletic district near Engineering and Computer Science South. Each development would come with three new buildings, including galleries and studios for the arts, as well as a multi-purpose sports arena.

Vice President for Facilities and Economic Development Calvin Jamison said the plan would make the campus more urban, with multistory buildings and increased efficiency for students walking through the university. The administration is also currently working with Dallas Area Rapid Transit to build a new rail line near Northside, decreasing the need for Comet Cabs.

Additional space will also come in the form of parking, with over 3,500 slots added to campus in the future.

Traffic flow will also be changed through the addition of a campus entrance along Campbell Road and a decrease in the amount of intersections on Loop Road. These changes will reduce traffic from Floyd Road and provide a clear route to campus parking structures.

Associate Vice President of Facilities Management Rick Dempsey said he hopes to obtain funding from the state legislature when it meets in January.

4

LIFE&ARTS

Sept. 17, 2018 | The Mercury

Q&A: Hispanic authors Latin American writers emphasize importance of written language

NOAH WHITEHEAD | PHOTO EDITOR

Biology junior Nishant Tyagi (left), mechanical engineering junior Yoojun Ahn (middle) and biomechanical engineering junior Wooyoung Choi are members of the Taekwondo club, which started this semester.

Taekwondo Club kicks off Junior establishes new organization to spread awareness about traditional Korean martial art VANESSA IDIGBE Mercury Staff

During his freshman year, mechanical engineering junior Yoojun Ahn sought out clubs that catered to Korean culture but was disappointed when he didn’t find any. His experience led to him create two organizations with strong Korean influences, the newest of which is Taekwondo Club.

“Because there weren’t any clubs catered around Korean culture, I thought maybe I could make a taekwondo club sport one day because I have some experience (in) taekwondo from Korea,” Ahn said. “So, I decided to register and proceed with the sport this semester.”

The organization began in the fall semester and is open to students of all experience levels. The $30 fee to join is used to purchase uniforms and belts. Registration through the University Recreation website is required to join, but students can walk in if they choose.

“Because I’ve been practicing taekwondo for over 10 years, I believe that taekwondo will help students build stamina and learn more about a type of martial art they may not be used to,” Ahn said.

Currently, 19 people have signed up, five of whom hold black belts and three of whom hold yellow or red belts. Most of the students are white belts and have no prior experience.

Additionally, due to the physical nature of taekwondo, certain measures are implemented to ensure student safety, such as a dedicated safety officer who is in charge of administering CPR and first aid. Wooyoung Choi, a junior biomedical engineer and assistant coach of Taekwondo Club, said safety was the first priority for the organization.

“We try to make sure that everyone stays safe. For right now, we’re not doing any sparring or anything dangerous without proper protection,” Choi said. “We don’t allow for kicking and punching without pads on, and if you’re kicking out someone, it’s probably going to be with one of the instructors or coaches.”

In addition to serving as president of the

Taekwondo Club, Ahn is also president of the Korean Language Club. Because of this, he was able to advertise the sport to students in the Korean Language Club and recruit new members.

Choi said the Taekwondo Club is planning several projects for its first year.

“Some of our future goals for the club include improving people’s skills in taekwondo and creating a performance and sparring team,” Choi said. “Getting the sparring team to a point where they can participate in different competitions is the first goal.”

Dongwoo Gu, a healthcare studies junior, joined the club because of his previous

Roasted Cheese, to Spicy Chicken Roasted Curry and other Spicy Chicken Roasted Insert-Name-Here, Samyang is famous for engineering some of the spiciest ramen currently known to mankind.

But exactly how spicy is the spiciest ramen? Spiciness, in this case, is measured in Scoville heat units. Named after Wilbur Scoville, the American pharmacist who founded the system, the Scoville scale measures spice-intensity based on capsaicin concentration. Capsaicin is an extract found in chili peppers and is a measure of pungency in a given food. As a frame of reference, pepperoncinis are about 100 to 500 SHUs, while jalapeños can measure anywhere from 2,500 to 8,000 SHUs. The Samyang 2X Spicy Hot Chicken ramen I was about to consume, on the other hand, is exactly 8,706 SHUs. Trepidation set in. On a scale of one to human volcano on how much heat I can

Q: What is the driving passion behind your work?

DSP: For me, it’s language itself. The love for language but also for what language can do, which is communicate and reach to other people. It’s the love of the sound of language, the structure of language, but also the meaning and conveying that meaning to reach other people and explore relationship with others.

Definitely involves a reader as a part of the equation.

ER: Especially with the novels, it has been to try to explore conflict. I once read a philosopher who said that if you didn’t have conflict with the world or with your surroundings, you wouldn’t write. If you are in agreement with everything around you, why would you write? To understand, to make peace, to iron out something that bothers us. The short stories are a bit more playful, but the novels have been a process of trying to understand the narrative and the contradiction of our times. For me, I

→ SEE NOODLES, PAGE 12

→ SEE AUTHORS, PAGE 5

MEGAN ZACHARIAH Mercury Staff

AMBARINA HASTA | MERCURY STAFF

Jenni Stewart graduated UTD in 2006 with degrees in art and performance as well as government.

“Because our program was a little bit more boutique at the time that I was there, you were really able to work a lot and you didn’t get lost in the shuffle the way that you could in a larger program,” Stewart said.

As a student, she worked as an assistant for the theater during the day and worked on art and performance productions at night.

Upon working with Shakespeare Dallas, Stewart said she found herself to be the only woman in the room. She continues to attribute the appointment to her current position to years of dedication to the theater, as well as the responsibility to represent women in a male-dominated field. Stewart said that she found the underrepresentation of women in leadership positions, especially in the theater industry, to be alarming.

“Females make up 50 percent of the population. Our audience is predominant-

→ SEE SHAKESPEARE, PAGE 5

UTD’s Center for Translation Studies hosted authors Daniel Saldana Paris and Eduardo Rabasa for a Monday night event to discuss literature, translation and the importance of the written word.

Saldana Paris and Rabasa are members of the Bogota39, a UNESCO initiative to identify 39 promising Latin American writers under the age of 39. Essayist, poet and novelist Saldana Paris’ first novel “Among Strange Victims” was shortlisted for the Best Translated Book Award. Rabasa founded Sexto Piso, an independent publisher in Mexico, and began writing novels soon after, starting with his debut “A Zero-Sum Game.”

NuClEaR sPiCy nOoDlEs:

→ SEE TAEKWONDO, PAGE 12

UTD graduate utilizes arts degree to take on leadership role at local Shakespeare troupe

AMBER DOAN | MERCURY STAFF

Author Daniel Saldana Paris is among the 39 writers of Bogota39.

Q: Can you explain a bit about your background?

Daniel Saldana Paris: I was born in Mexico City, grew up in Mexico, then studied philosophy in Spain. I started writing short articles about visual arts.

That’s how I began publishing what I wrote. I got a grant from the Mexican government to write a poetry collection in 2006, so I moved back to Mexico from Spain and wrote a poetry collection, then a second one, then I started working on a novel which eventually came out in 2013 in Spanish and then was published in the U.S. by Coffee House Press. I got to travel a little bit around the U.S. when the book came out and did a couple of residencies and now do some translating in French and English.

Eduardo Rabasa: I was also born in Mexico City and studied at the national university. I did my thesis on George Orwell, a super important influence in my writing. After university, I started with some friends a publishing house called Sexto Piso in 2002, and it’s been 16 years there. When I was 27, I had a deep personal crisis, and one of the ways of trying to understand what was happening to me was to write my first novel, which in English is called “A Zero-Sum Game.” It got some attention and was translated into English and French and will come out in German in the next year. It encouraged me to try and keep writing and to balance the writing with my work as a publisher. So I wrote the second novel, published last year, and I have a short story coming out next year.

Alumna spearheads theater company

An alumna from the School of Arts and Humanities became the first woman in 47 years to hold a position of artistic leadership with Shakespeare Dallas, a local theater company that performs renditions of Shakespeare’s most notable works.

Jenni Stewart graduated with a double major in art and performance as well as government in 2006 and began working with Shakespeare Dallas a year later as a program coordinator before moving up to her current position as the group’s associate artistic director.

Through her position, she oversees the production of the company’s plays and education enrichment programs. Stewart works closely with the education director of Shakespeare Dallas to run programs for children in elementary through high school such as Shakespeare Unplugged, which gives the Dallas community an in-depth understanding of Shakespeare’s plays. Stewart also works with the artistic and executive directors to select cast members, hire designers and run performances.

After being introduced to the world of theater when she was five, Stewart decided to pursue the field professionally during her undergraduate years. She said she was drawn to the performative aspect of theatre and the ability to connect to audiences. Coming from a performance background as a young actress in local productions, Stewart said she realized the diversity of the field upon working on various school productions.

“I started studying all the variety of different forms that take place in theater and worked a variety of productions and ended up leaving knowing that I wanted to be a producer,” Steward said. “So that was a time of really exploring my craft.”

Stewart said pursuing a creative arts degree in a predominantly STEM school presented her with a variety of challenges and opportunities. The specific program she was in was very limited at the time and had very few students.

SECRETARIA DE CULTURA CIUDAD DE MEXICO | COURTESY

wE tRiEd iT sO yOu dOn’t hAvE tO. MADISON YORK Mercury Staff

When my news editor, Emaan Bangash, first approached me about joining her recently-established Chew Crew, I was enthusiastic. When she excitedly told me that the first food I’d be trying would be the spiciest ramen currently on the market, my enthusiasm promptly turned into a cross between curiosity and dread.

For the seasoned veteran of spicy ramen (which I am assuredly not), Samyang Noodles are a well-respected name. Based in South Korea, this high-sodium ramen — 1,870 milligrams for a single serving of the Spicy Chicken Roasted Original — is also a halal brand, meaning that it fits the dietary standards according to Islamic law, as denoted, in this case, by the Korean-Muslim Federation Halal Committee. With volcanic flavors ranging from Spicy Chicken

Sept. 17, 2018 | The Mercury

5

NEWS

County divide to have implications for elections ANNA SCHAEFFER Mercury Staff

Near Franklyn Jenifer Drive, a congressional district line splits the UTD campus in half. This distinction determines which congressional candidate, county judge and even state congressman students vote for, depending on which on-campus housing options they choose.

The county line runs east horizontally from Waterview Parkway to Rutford Avenue. Canyon Creek and University Village Phases 1–3 fall in Dallas County’s Precinct 2500. University Commons residence halls, Northside and University Village Phases 6–9, in contrast, vote in Collin County’s Precinct 55. Even more divided are Phases 4 and 5, which rest on the county lin. There, residents’ registration depends not only on which building but in which apartment they reside.

President of UTD College Democrats and political science junior Fawaz Anwar said the split affects student access to polling sites.

“In the 2016 election, the closest Collin county voting site was a few miles off campus,” Anwar said.

“That’s not that far if you have a car, but if you’re an out-of-town student without a car, you have to rely on the generosity of others to drive you. Or you can Lyft yourself, which I’d argue

→ SHAKESPEARE

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4

ly women, we have about 58 percent women in our audiences. I think it’s really important to have female leadership to offer that representation,” Stewart said.

As the first woman in 47 years to hold her position of leadership, Stewart said she feels both humility and respon-

→ AUTHORS

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4

haven’t found another way (to process).

Q: What is it like to be part of the Bogota39?

DSP: I think it can be a bit dangerous to focus too much on these recognitions and honors because the most important part for me is elsewhere, in liking what I do myself and the fact that somebody else likes it is secondary even though it is important. But it’s been great in the sense that it put me in touch with many other writers from Latin America, and I got to read most of them and to think about the way they solve some aspects of the writing with their work. It improved my life as a reader, firstly, and as a writer in the second place.

ER: I’m also a bit ambivalent about it. I’m grateful for this recognition and for trips like this to come and talk to people. There are some re-

is a de facto poll tax at that point.”

Student Government Legislative Committee Chair Ben Darling, an accounting and finance senior, said he thinks the biggest effect of the split is voter apathy.

“We see really poor political engagement, although it’s improving, among our age,” Darling said. “A lot of college students aren’t super engaged or don’t know politically what’s going on.”

Political science lecturer Patrick Larue said the division especially matters in light of the close congressional race in Dallas County.

Larue said Texas’s 3rd congressional district — which includes the north half of campus — is projected by polling aggregate service FiveThirtyEight to be won

by Republican Van Taylor. In contrast, the southern part of campus falls in Texas’s 32nd congressional district, where he said recent poll data indicates a toss-up race within 2 percentage points.

Larue said the campus divide forces students to better understand the electoral process, voter registration and local government, but may lead to confusion about which elections they may vote in.

“I can easily imagine a situation where students may see posters, stickers or signs for Colin Allred,

research him and show up to vote for him, only to discover once they reach their polling location that Colin Allred isn’t even on their ballot because they live within the District 3 boundary instead of the District 32 boundary,” Larue said.

The northern portion of campus falls into Precinct 55, where 1,591 constituents voted for Hilary Clinton over Donald Trump 49 percent to 41 percent in the 2016 presidential election. South of Franklyn Jenifer Drive, 1,469 voters chose Clinton over Trump 50 percent to 44 percent in Precinct 2500.

Darling said the county line leads to difficulties in voter registration for UTD students because some neighboring on-campus living spaces do not belong to the same county. If a freshman were to move from Residence Hall South to Canyon Creek Heights the next year, they would have to change their voter registration. “(The divide) is super inconvenient, especially for registering voters on campus,” Darling said. “It’s one of those things where we need as few roadblocks as possible between people and political engagement.”

U.S. congressional district lines, including the one near Franklyn Jenifer Drive, are partially based on the Dallas and Collin County boundary. The

sibility for the proper representation of women in the stories the company tells and how it presents them.

“I’m an artist first, but also I feel very passionate about making sure that women are included in the way we tell our stories and the way we present works to the public,” Stewart said.

Stewart said she challenges her colleagues in producing Shakespeare’s plays — which are

traditionally male-dominated areas of performance — to be more inclusive.

“Finding ways to reimagine the classic stories that involves more perspectives than we’ve had in an Elizabethan society is frustrating and challenging, and being a young woman in a position of leadership, you have to work a little bit harder to have your voice heard,” Stewart said.

ally strong bonds between some of us and that part has been great because you belong to a group with people who share some interests. But there’s the thing about “best…” what is the best Latin American author? I think it can create this sense of self-satisfaction, like we are the chosen ones. It has its good things and its bad things.

one of the driving forces for the current social political system.

Q: What are you reading right now?

DSP: I try to read one novel and one nonfiction book at the same time. Nonfiction, I’m reading Alejandro Zambra’s “Not to Read” and I’m also reading Valeria Luiselli’s new novel “The Lost Children Archive,” which will come out next year.

ER: I have to read a lot of books at work for my publishing house, so when I read in my spare time, I try to focus on classical books that I have never had the chance to read. Right now I’m reading “The Heart is a Lonely Hunter” and also a book by a Slovenian philosopher called “Anguish,” which is about how anguish is

Q: Do you have advice you’d give to your younger self?

DSP: I would tell myself to be more open and don’t decide from the start if I don’t like something, because I feel that when I was younger, I would read something and immediately decide if I like it or not. Sometimes you have to force yourself to read something that maybe is not so pleasant at the beginning and in the end, it’s reading that informs your worldview and your relation with the world. Be a little more open and don’t trust your judgment so much.

ER: Try to be more confident.

Since I came a bit late into writing, by accident in a way, I’ve always been especially uneasy about it, and I spend a lot of time thinking about things that are not really that important. So I would try to focus more on just doing it and not on the things that surround being a writer.

District 3

District 32

CHRISTINA JIA | MERCURY STAFF

first building at UTD was the Founder’s Building in Collin County, but fifty years later, the campus has grown significantly to extend into the two separate counties. To solve the issue, Anwar said UTD should consider being completely annexed by either Collin or Dallas County.

“I think it would make a lot more sense administrative-wise for the entire campus to be in one county,” Anwar said. “If you look at some of these congressional districts, they’re all gerrymandered already. Would it

really be that big a deal to annex UTD to one side or the other?

Then again, we don’t know how this university votes because it’s been so difficult to find voter data — because it’s split in half.”

Darling said a Democratic student in Collin County may be less likely to vote because that particular county is historically Republican.

“Regardless of my partisan leaning, do I want to vote in (Collin County) in a noncompetitive election?” Darling said. “The biggest consequence is Collin County kids feeling like, what’s the point of get-

ting registered or involved when I’m trying to fight against this huge infrastructure and I’m just one person?”

Darling said it is crucial for students to feel relevant in the democratic process, as a student who doubts their role is less likely to participate in their civil right to vote.

“I want people to feel like they have a place in (the political process). Sometimes it feels like there’s a barrier in the way, and I want people to feel like they can come engage with politics and get educated,” Darling said. “Our generation can be one that has big impact.”

→ ECSW

until the assignments are made.”

Students may come across some portions of the building that are blocked off for small construction and safety reasons.

Aside from the construction areas, the rest of the building is accessible to all students.

“Every time you move into a new building, as people start to occupy it, they find something that doesn’t work quite right,” Tomlinson said. “And we definitely still have some of those

things going on.”

Tarun Basu, the assistant dean for the School of Engineering and Computer Science, said the two elevators should be certified to operate early next year. Facilities Management is also in the process of obtaining LEED certification in the coming months.

The formal ribbon cutting ceremony for the ECSW building will take place in the spring semester after all associated faculty members and research labs are situated.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

currently in use by students and faculty, the offices and research labs of the building are not yet occupied.

“They’re certainly available for use, but the School of Engineering has not assigned faculty members to those yet,” Tomlinson said. “The rooms that are going to be assigned to faculty and researchers… (will be) locked

6

SPORTS

Sept. 17, 2018 | The Mercury

AMBER DOAN | MERCURY STAFF

25 students make up UTD's four esports teams, with two groups of players for each game. Players on each team train by playing with each other and other schools in scrimmages ahead of tournament season.

Esports teams prepare for season Tournament training for members begins after 25 students selected at tryouts for ‘League of Legends,’ ‘Overwatch’ teams TRAVIS DICKERSON Mercury Staff

With the team rosters filled, the esports program has begun practice and preparations for the rest of the season.

A total of 25 students were accepted into the program during tryouts which started on Aug. 28 for “League of Legends” and Sept. 4 for “Overwatch.”

Team selections were announced Aug. 31 and Sept. 7, respectively. Only students of certain competitive ranks in their chosen game could participate in the tryouts, hosted online through Dis-

cord, a voice and text chat application.

Since esports teams are typically small, those selected were broken into four groups, with a starter and support team for each game. Both teams will function in the same manner, but the starter teams will have a higher rank than the support teams.

Head coach Greg Adler picked each of the players based on their knowledge of the game and communication skills.

Players had to be able to talk to each other during the most difficult moments and be able to handle a loss as well as learn from that experience. Par-

ticipants also had to have a good understanding of mechanics and the ability to strategize with others to take objectives.

Senior tank Joseph Mistrot, who plays under the nickname “Loon,” said tryouts were challenging but exciting once he got into the game.

“I was nervous during the very first game and the first couple of minutes — it took me a bit to work through the jitters, but after that, I got into the zone and was feeling pretty comfortable,” Mistrot said. “I’ve been playing ‘Overwatch’ for 2 years and was experienced with the unofficial student-led organi-

zation, so it definitely gave me an edge.”

“League of Legends” tryouts required players to be ranked “Platinum 1” or higher, while the Overwatch teams required players be ranked “Diamond 5” or higher. The starter teams have five players each and support teams have seven. The roles are broken down into top, mid, jungler, support and attack damage carry. Many of the attendees of the tryouts, including junior jungler Karlin Oei, who plays under the nickname “Faith,” had already been a part of student-run clubs on campus. Oei said he was happy to

be picked for the team after spending time assisting with League of Legends at UTD, a student club.

“I was overwhelmed with curiosity and excitement when I first heard about the program,” Oei said. “We have the luxury of focusing on competing at our fullest potential, so we’ll see where it takes us.”

Like “League of Legends,” “Overwatch” will have the same number of players on each of its two teams. Overwatch players are broken down into

→ SEE ESPORTS, PAGE 10

Freshman brings skills to men's soccer Recent transfer recognized with honor after scoring four goals in two games, performing hat trick as new team member TRAVIS DICKERSON Mercury Staff

A freshman men’s soccer player was named American Southwest Conference player of the week after scoring four goals in the first two games of the regular season.

Freshman forward Jovi Munoz scored the goals during the team’s trip to Colorado Springs, where they played Colorado College and Whitman College. During the first game against the former on Aug. 31, Munoz was able to not only score the final point of the game, but also perform a hat trick, one of 21 in men’s soccer history, scoring three points in a single game and pushing the team to victory. Munoz gave the Comets their only goal against Whitman College on Sept. 2, winning the game for the team in the second half. For his success in securing the points in both games, he was named Player of the Week on Sept. 4.

Originally from Arlington, Texas, Munoz attended Mansfield Summit High, where he played football and managed to kick a 58-yard field goal that was featured in The Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He then played football for Oklahoma State University during the 2017 season, ending in third in the

Big 12 Conference. He transferred to UTD during the 2018 season and is currently studying psychology. Munoz said the switch allowed him to get back to playing soccer and gave him more time for schoolwork.

“I missed the sport for one, and Oklahoma State really wasn’t a good fit for me. I didn’t fit the student body and it was hard to balance academics with football,” Munoz said. “It’s like a full-time job over there.”

As a forward, Munoz acts as the main offensive player for the team, making scoring goals his primary focus during the game. Head coach of men’s soccer Jason Hirsch said that Munoz is at his best when he’s making runs from behind the field, and his teammates can read what he’s about to do and what they need to do to help him score.

“A lot of guys understand what he’s trying to do and try to meet him. He’s good at holding the ball up in particular,” Hirsch said. “He’s good about making those runs from behind, and all our players understand, and they start to adapt to what he’s looking for, which helps us.”

The team played Ozark on Sept. 13, winning the game 2-1, with Munoz securing the first goal of the night in the

→ SEE MUNOZ, PAGE 10

ANNA PHENGSAKMUEANG | MERCURY STAFF

Freshman Jovi Munoz has scored four goals in the first two games of the season after transferring to UTD from Oklahoma State.

COMICS INNER DEMONS

Sept. 17, 2018 | The Mercury

7

ADULTING

RYAN MAGEE | MERCURY STAFF

O&B: AUTOMATIC PAIN

SARAH BESSERER | MERCURY STAFF

SARAH STREETY | MERCURY STAFF

WHERE I BELONG

DOWNPOUR

EJ CHONG | MERCURY STAFF

TAKE A BREAK

CHIAMAKA MGBOJI | MERCURY STAFF

ELIZABETH NGUYEN | MERCURY STAFF

CARLZ SAYS

CAROLINA ALVAREZ | OUTREACH EDITOR

SUDOKU

ROOMMATES

KEATON NATIONS | MERCURY STAFF

8

OPINION

Sept. 17, 2018 | The Mercury

Just skip to the end, already RYAN MAGEE | MERCURY STAFF

Condensed news, simplified stories increasingly impact our perception of society MADISON YORK Mercury Staff

Online Twitter debates cut down to 280 characters a bite. Snapchat messages that disappear in seconds. Clickbait. Eye-catching, snappy and compact. Condensed news has astonishing prevalence in modern society, and its consequent implications are startling. It polarizes beliefs and thoughts, skews viewpoints and treats sensitive, complex topics as something cursory — as things that can be treated lightly. Compressing news down to the bare minimum is dangerous for individuals and society as a whole.

Recently, I noticed an advertisement for an app called “theSkimm.” “theSkimm” is committed to presenting important news in an efficient manner: condensed news for the busy bees with no time to spare. It sounds great in theory. Yet as I scrolled through their website, I noticed one review from a user that I found rather odd. As tweeted by the anonymous reader, “theSkimm is my secret weapon.

One quick read and BAM, flash…I’m the smartest and most informed person in the room.”

Here’s the problem with that statement. Undeniably, having news that lets you glance, read and move on with your hectic day sounds nice at face value. But

does a brief article — sometimes as quick as one-to-two sentence summaries — really make you the most informed person in the room?

This isn’t to denounce the app’s credibility as a news resource. It’s impossible, however, to claim that all pertinent details — enough to make you the “most informed person in the room” — are included in its articles. And the fact that people advertising “theSkimm” endorse the I-read-this, thus-I-know-all mindset is unsettling. In order to present

Condensed news doesn't just change what we think, it changes how we think. news in such a slimmed-down fashion, “theSkimm” has to shed some informational weight. That weight will likely come from any facts contrary to the beliefs of their audience — because who wants to waste their limited time reading news they don’t like?

In the bleak dystopian future of Ray Bradbury’s 1953 book “Fahrenheit 451,” one of the antagonists describes how their society has come to abhor the deep contemplation of ideas: “Books cut shorter. Condensations. Digests, tabloids. Everything boils down to the gag, the snap end-

ing…Digest-digests, digest-digest-digests.

Politics? One column, two sentences, a headline! Then, in mid-air, all vanishes!”

I’m not here to write a book report, nor am I here to claim that our society has totally attained the science-fiction status of “Fahrenheit 451.” But notice the disturbing parallel between the world of “Fahrenheit 451” and ours. “theSkimm” fits the description exactly. The way the “Fahrenheit 451” society became complacent was by having its news simplified.

There was nothing to care about because there was only one, dieted perspective. Is our society headed in the same direction?

And “theSkimm,” of course, is only one example of this boiled-down information. Look at other news headlines, advertisements, social media platforms such as Twitter and Snapchat and even websites like SparkNotes. They are designed to catch the eye, provoke an instinctive emotional response or convey information quickly, stripped of substance. Rationality is exchanged for a brief, easy skim — the surface layer — of information. Efficiency becomes more important than understanding issues deeply. And, as the antagonist in “Fahrenheit 451” puts it, “Life is immediate…the mind drinks less and less.”

There are realistic, frightening implications for this

→ SEE NEWS, PAGE 9

When talent trumps indecency Societal norms should not shift to fit the celebrity

EMAAN BANGASH News Editor

In light of the recent rise in YouTube apology vidoes and public exposure of celebrity wrongdoings, it’s time to figure out where exactly we stand on societal morality and people’s pasts. Having talent or an entertaining personality does not excuse indecency and committing crimes.

On June 18, the 20-year old acclaimed rapper XXXTentacion, also known as Jahseh Dwayne Onfroy, was shot dead in his car. His death immediately divided the internet about his life. He’d been active in charities before his death and donated significant amounts of money to different organizations. However, the rapper had also been arrested and charged with aggravated battery, domestic abuse and frequent assaults of his ex-girlfriend.

Additionally, during a No Jumper Podcast, the rapper recalled his time in jail when he tried to strangle and beat a gay cellmate for staring at him. He acknowledged during the podcast that when a guard came to remove him from the cell, he yelled, “I told you all! I told you all I was gonna kill him!”

Despite the resurfacing of his crimes after his passing, the rapper’s post-mortem album ratings shot up drastically. Nielsen Music, a music sales tracking service, revealed that album sales jumped 1,603 percent the day after he died.

XXXTentacion touched hearts with his music and influenced many, but he also committed unspeakable crimes he bragged about. Regardless, many defend his behavior by saying the past is the past and bringing up his young age (although he was 20 when he died).

However, it’s important to realize that talent does not override character and actions. The recent trend of using talent to absolve stars of crimes committed such as sexual assault and abuse is horrific, and we as a society are

CHIAMAKA MGBOJI | MERCURY STAFF

becoming susceptible to apologizing for our favorite artists and celebrities because they perform well and provide excellent entertainment.

Recently, a few famous YouTube personalities within the beauty community have come under fire for racist and misogynistic tweets from years ago. YouTuber Laura Lee’s past racist and fat-shaming tweets were resurfaced by a fan of another beauty YouTuber and she was immediately slammed online for them. She created a 4-minute video apologizing for the offensive tweets, which she repeatedly referred to as “retweets” despite the proof that she had

originally written them. She lost nearly 200,000 subscribers in less than two weeks and was publicly criticized by companies she collaborated with such as Ulta Beauty, Diff Eyewear and Boxycharm.

Did Lee deserve this much backlash for a couple of offensive tweets? Her actions in the past were definitely disgusting and hurtful to many, but compared to sexual assaults, convicted abuse and other unforgivable crimes committed by many acclaimed celebrities today such as Johnny Depp,

→ SEE CELEBRITY, PAGE 9

Sept. 17, 2018 | The Mercury

9

OPINION

→ CELEBRITY

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

Harvey Weinstein and Melanie Martinez, they don’t seem so terrible. Lee lost multiple partnerships and thousands of subscribers from a few tweets, while Johnny Depp continues to star in multiple movies, including the upcoming sequel “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald” even after being accused of domestic abuse.

On the other side of the argument, how far can a celebrity go before they become publicly ostracized, and what can they do to redeem themselves, if at all? Aziz Ansari’s sexual assault accusations are unforgivable to the public and his career is forever tarnished over a single sexual assault allegation, despite his apology and acknowledgement that he’d misunderstood the

situation. His name is synonymous with celebrities who committed sexual assault and abused multiple people such as Harvey Weinstein and Bill O’Reilly. Who gets to make that judgement call and potentially end someone’s career over a single act?

This inconsistency in societal morality is problematic because publicly punishing one individual for their past misdeeds often is not applied to other individuals in the entertainment industry that commit similar actions.

Even after witnessing evidence of crimes and wrongdoings committed by a celebrity or personality, we continue to consume their media and excuse their behavior in favor of their talent. The entertainment industry in particular makes it difficult to hold artists and creators ac-

countable for their past actions because we want them to continue to make content. If their actions don’t affect you directly, why stop listening to XXXTentacion’s music or watching Laura Lee’s channel or seeing Johnny Depp movies?

Excusing their actions affects us as a society in the long-term.

What’s the next thing they’ll do that’ll be swept under the rug?

Gradually, public morale on certain issues such as racism, sexual assault, misogyny and discrimination could be impacted as we turn into apologists for these crimes. We can’t secretly excuse one person and ruthlessly punish another. We need to start holding all of our favorite celebrities and entertainers accountable for their actions, no matter the content they provide.

→ NEWS

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

phenomenon. By allowing ourselves to be fed the bare minimum of information, we fail to recognize the scope of issues and fail to treat them seriously because our connection with them is so brief. By failing to recognize the scope of issues, we become complacent and dogmatic in our beliefs. By becoming complacent and dogmatic in our beliefs, we stop questioning, stop being

skeptical and stop truly evaluating and acting upon the problems around us. We step closer to that science fiction dystopia.

So, as you consume your news — your articles, your books, your music, your movies, your new ideas and knowledge — consider carefully how it’s being presented and how it affects your mindset. Are you allowing yourself to drink deeply and take time to truly consider the gravity of ideas and issues? Or are you forcing yourself to slim down your

intake to save time?

Free thinking does not always mean rebelling against or fighting for some grandiose ideal.

Free thinking means recognizing when the thinking is being done for you.

ALL BARK, NO BITE

CAROLINA ALVAREZ | OUTREACH EDITOR

COMET COMMENTS

Has the SU Starbucks lived up to your expectations?

Why or why not?

Comets and Craters Director wins tech award Bryan Chambers, the director of the Blackstone LaunchPad, won an award for his work with the UTD Seed Fund.

“The lines could be a little shorter, there could be more outlets.”

“It's lived up to my expectations — I study there quite often now.”

Aishani de Sirkar Computer Science Freshman

Ishani Chowdhury Computer Science Freshman

“I think it is pretty cool because you can go and hang out, get coffee, just sit there.”

Manasi Inamdar Cognition and Neuroscience Graduate

Northside elevator outage An elevator in the Northside complex suffered a malfunction early last week, temporarily trapping some residents inside.

UTD rises in rankings U.S. News & World Report ranked UTD as the 61st best public university in the nation.

HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY?

Students interested in writing opinions or letters to the editor can email editor@utdmercury.com.

Letters must be 500 words or less.

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 prefered, 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.

Sept. 17, 2018 | The Mercury

10

NEWS

→ ESPORTS

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

three roles including tank, support and damage. Tanks mitigate damage received, while damage players act as the team’s offense, and supports keep the other two groups alive. Sophomore tank Garrett Porter, who goes by the nickname “Jukebox”, said the team structure allows him to be an important part of the group dynamic.

“I was super excited and had to tell all my friends when they contacted me asking me to be

on the team.” Porter said. “As a tank, you're basically a frontliner, like a linebacker in a football game. You clear the way.”

Adler said with the games being online, setting up schedules and tournaments tends to be more versatile. Seasons follow a format similar to those of golf and tennis, with games occuring in both the spring and fall semesters. For practice, the team will take part in scrimmages with other universities, such as Mississippi State. Practices will also involve starter and support teams playing against each oth-

er and will offer secondary team players a chance to move up to the main team.

“We’ll be taking it on a gameby-game basis. Practices will have us watching the logs after and reviewing what we did wrong and what we did right,” Adler said. “Going off that for tournaments, we’ll be looking for schools that challenge us and push us forward as a team.”

The team is expected to head to its first tournament on Sept.

22 for “Overwatch,” hosted

by Dallas Fuel, a professional league team.

→ MUNOZ

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

second half of the game. The

win brings him to a total of five goals this season, highest on the team so far. He currently carries a 0.455 percent shot

average, the second-highest for the team, and a 0.636 percent shot-on-goal average, the thirdhighest for the team.

DON’T LET THE FLU GET YOU DOWN...

Monday - 09/24/2018 9:30 AM - 12:00 PM GALAXY ROOM, SU 2.602 First come, First Served.

Limited Supply.

Thursday - 09/27/2018 1:30 PM - 4:30 PM Student Health Center SSB 4.700 By appointment only. Call the Student Health Center at 972-883-2747 to schedule your appointment.

GET YOUR FREE FLU SHOT!

Free Flu Shots for currently enrolled UTD students. Comet Card Required. If you are under the age of 18 you will need to have a consent on file with the Student Health Center.

Student Health Center The University of Texas at Dallas is an equal opportunity/affirmative action university. Students with disabilities who need special assistance, please call 972-883-2747 three days prior to the event. Texas relay operator: 1-800-RELAYTX

UNIVERSITY HOUSING

IF BAKING

Immediate Availability

FRESH BREAD EVERY 4 HOURS

MAKES US FREAKS

FREAK YEAH

™

WE’RE FREAKS

APPLICATION NOW OPEN: utdallas.edu/myhousing • All utilities provided • Variety of floorplans • Study rooms and lounges • Outdoor areas

VISIT JIMMYJOHNS.COM TO FIND A LOCATION NEAR YOU

• Wireless internet & television services • Walking distance to class Call: 972-883-7430 Email: housing@utdallas.edu

Sept. 17, 2018 | The Mercury

ADVERTISEMENT

11

Explore program options.

Learn about education abroad scholarships.

Talk with students who have returned from studying abroad.

STUDY ABROAD FAIR Oct. 3 12-2 p.m.

Visitor Center Atrium utdallas.edu/ea/fair

Sept. 17, 2018 | The Mercury

12 → SIGNS

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

Try the button.’ He didn’t want to tell people what to do, so he wanted to suggest (to) people what to do.”

Silber said the signs are popular

→ NOODLES

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4

tolerate, I am a fragile, flammable leaf floating on a breeze of mildness. The spiciest thing I had consumed to date was part of a homegrown jalapeño. In other words, much to the shame of many friends and family, I am unaccustomed to spicy food.

As Emaan cooked the noodles, she cheerfully informed me that inhaling the fumes from the poisonous-looking red sauce was akin to breathing in pepper spray. Truly, though the smell was pleasantly sharp, it wasn’t so much smelled as felt, slamming into the back of my throat. Luckily, in order to offset the agony I was about to endure, Emaan had also provided a milk-

NEWS

among students and that he gets calls and emails from them frequently. Brett continues to be the sole creator of the campus’ signs. Silber said he hopes people will follow the signs in the future.

“It kind of gets people think-

ing rather than just papering the world with a bunch of boring stuff,” Silber said. “It gives people a little chuckle along the way, and people know as they’re finding their way around the building… to look for these signs.”

based soft drink branded “Wahaha” (which was obviously fate laughing at my imminent passing). In preparation for bidding our taste buds goodbye, we both tried some. I noted how it vaguely reminded me of liquidized plain yogurt.

Then came the moment of reckoning. Briefly reflecting that this particular Samyang brand of ramen has a word in its Korean name — “haek” — that translates as “nuclear” (encouraging, right?), I twirled my fork around my demise and tried the noodles.

For a blissful moment, I noted the chicken-y undertones of the ramen and rich heaviness of the spices. Then the full impact of the heat crept and pounced. Starting first as a tingling in my lips, the sensation transitioned to

a scorching feeling in my mouth, and finally became an all-consuming blaze that made my eyes water and every breath singe the back of my throat.

Meanwhile, in the midst of my suffering, Emaan chewed calmly and thoughtfully, finally pronouncing that the noodles “actually aren’t that bad.”

I choked down water in response.

Though I emerged relatively unscathed, I know there may be some clinically deranged people out there who don’t believe that the experience was as intense as I make it out to be.

So, to anyone wishing to risk permanently damaging their sense of taste, I highly recommend trying this ramen for yourself. If nothing else, at least you can say you tried the culinary equivalent of a nuclear explosion.

RYAN MAGEE | MERCURY STAFF

→ STARBUCKS

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

was 11 minutes and 53 seconds.

44 percent of The Mercury’s survey respondents said they spend 10–20 minutes in line, whereas 20 percent said they spend more than 20 minutes.

Goodwin said while the SU franchise experiences more traffic, there aren’t additional training initiatives to help staff cope with increased demand due to Starbucks’ corporate policies.

“I think the training across

→ NORTHSIDE

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

UTD Police Department Chief Larry Zacharias said the property is not included in the department’s daily crime log because it is not directly operated by the university and falls under the Richardson Police Department’s jurisdiction. “(Northside) is included in the annual security report, it’s not included in the daily crime log, and the reason is because we don’t take those offense reports,” Zacharias said. “We don’t have those reports to put in our daily crime log, just like we don’t have any reports of what happened across the street in Dallas.”

According to the U.S. Department of Education, the region defined by the Clery Act is not limited to university-owned property, but also includes areas that neighbor the university but are controlled by other persons, are frequently used by students or support the institution through food or retail vendors. The land which hosts the Northside complex is owned by UTD but managed by infrastructure group Balfour Beatty.

UTD PD previously patrolled at Northside, but Zacharias made the decision to stop after students complained of confusion over which police department — that of the university or the city of Richardson — was responsible for protecting the premises.

“We were sending a mixed message, so I said we can’t patrol over there, we’re sending these mixed messages that we are the department of jurisdiction,” Zacharias said. “We do not patrol over there anymore, Richardson does.”

Other UTD-owned properties

the board is the same for any location,” he said. “I think that if they experience that same busload, they will have a line as they move the customers through their process.”

During normal operations, the SU franchise has 4–5 associates working at any given time.

Goodwin said Starbucks authorized the franchise to increase its staff to seven active members during periods of high traffic. Additionally, at corporate-run stores, associates only use one register at a time. Starbucks also authorized

the SU franchise to use two registers at once to reduce congestion.

Carrie Chutes-Charley, the director of food and retail services, said the volume of traffic at the SU location has prompted discussions about expanding to other areas on campus to help reduce the strain on the SU franchise. She said a new on-campus Starbucks store would likely be a freestanding establishment.

“We know there’s a need, and we need to add on,” ChutesCharley said.

such as the Callier Center and the Natural Science and Engineering Research Laboratories are included in both the daily crime log and the annual security report. While these properties are also patrolled

by UTD PD, Zacharias said the mixed messages caused by Northside patrols led to issues within the university administration.

“If we patrolled and were the primary responder for all of the housing (at Northside), the same assumption would happen that it’s part of university housing, and it’s not,” Zacharias said. “The University Housing people and the Vice President of Student Affairs don’t want any confusion about that.”

Zacharias said there have been cases where other complexes claim that they’re working in conjunction with University Housing, leading to complaints when students encounter problems with their residence despite the fact that the complex is unaffiliated with the university. Vice President for Student Affairs Gene Fitch said his office is not involved in the decision-making process for UTD PD patrols. Zacharias was unavailable for further comment.

“We have nothing to do, we being Student Affairs, with any decision that’s made related to the patrolling of Northside,” Fitch said.

“Who patrols it, when it’s patrolled or how it’s patrolled.”

UTDPD contacts Richardson PD to collect area reports, which provide a list of all crimes that occurred at Northside so they can be included in the university’s annual security report. Richardson PD’s most recent filing, for the university’s 2017 annual security report, listed only three

crimes, including assault and burglary.

According to documents obtained

by The Mercury from the Richardson Police Department, over 66 calls for service were made from the complex between October 2016 and September 2017, the time period covered by the university’s annual security report.

These calls were made for encounters including narcotics-related activity, harassment, suspicious persons and other possible offenses.

UTD PD also oversees universitysponsored events such as the annual Northside Block Party. Vice President for Facilities and Economic Development Calvin Jamison said Northside’s lease agreement allows UTD to have 21 days per year at Northside reserved for universitysponsored events and festivals. According to the U.S. Department of Education’s 2016 Handbook for Campus Safety and Security Reporting, properties or land leased by the university is considered a universitycontrolled on-campus location.

“We understood and this was our goal early on, that we needed an adjacent entity that gave us a college feel,” Jamison said. “Thus Northside is affectionately known as Comet Town.”

Jamison added that Northside reaches out to the university to develop the property in response to the needs of faculty, staff, students and the local community. While the university doesn’t have this relationship with other majority-student off-campus housing facilities, Jamison said this difference is due to Northside’s proximity. “(Northside) is on UT Dallas land adjacent to campus,” Jamison said.

“We’re probably more engaged than we would be with other properties.”

→ TAEKWONDO

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4

experience in taekwondo and the potential to meet new people who enjoyed the sport as much as he

→ ACCESSIBILITY

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

senior, said before he began his first semester at UTD, he referenced the OSA’s website and collected the required paperwork before approaching the office itself. Schmisseur said he was told he’d be contacted a couple weeks before move-in concerning his emotional support animal. A few days before he was scheduled to move into the dorms, he still hadn’t heard anything from either the OSA or student housing. When his mother called the OSA, he said they were told his paperwork had been misplaced.

Kerry Tate, the director of the Office of Student AccessAbility, said missing documentation can be attributed to a number of factors.

“Misplacement could be that students assume that their physician was going to send it to us, and we don’t receive it,” she said. “That’s one of the reasons why we tell the students you need to follow up to let us know that they’re faxing it or they’re sending it to us, because if we get something that’s not tied to another student or it says it’s pending, we don’t even know who the student is because a lot of times, when physicians send something over to us by fax, it may not tie to anybody who has come through the office yet.”

For students living in on-campus facilities, part of the OSA’s involvement in the accommodation process is to send a letter of approval to residential staff. Students who require service animals, for example, must produce the letter before animals are allowed to move in.

A few weeks after his initial request, Schmisseur checked with residence hall staff to see if any progress had been made. They had not received any paperwork regarding his accommodations from the OSA, including approval for a service animal.

The first semester of his sophomore year, he began walking with a cane after being diagnosed with fibromyalgia. After experiencing difficulty with an automated door in the computer science building, Schmisseur went to his professor who then put in a request for the door to receive maintenance.

“It was about the end of the semester before it was fixed, and I’m thankful I have nice classmates who are willing to hold the door open for me,” he said.

Schmisseur said he now sets aside extra time to navigate campus should an elevator or an automatic door be out of order, and he must take a longer route to class.

The Office of Institutional Equity’s website provides a form where anyone can report a barrier on campus, such as an inoperable automatic door. Director of Institutional Equity and ADA Coordinator Heather Dragoo said repairs are addressed rapidly by Kelly Kinnard, the director of physical plant services, unless a part must be ordered.

Talia Henry, an arts and technology senior, said her experience with

did. He said the existence of the club brings another aspect of culture to campus and is another way for student to meet up, as well as providing individual benefits.

“I’ve been getting more exercise

and meeting new people that I normally (wouldn’t) have met before,” Gu said. “I’m also getting a lot of my stress out because I am kicking, and it helps me regulate my stress and self-control.”

OSA was positive in the beginning.

“My first semester my freshman year, I was able to get accommodations for my disability, which pretty much equated to telling the professors I have a disability, and saying if I’m on top of my work, to be a little bit more lenient with absences,” Henry said.

Once a student’s file is complete, they are sent an accommodation letter. It is then the responsibility of the student to inform their professors, utilizing the letter, of their need for the specified academic accommodations.

Laura Smith, the associate dean for health and wellness initiatives, said students must refile for a new accommodation letter each semester. Accommodation letters can be requested through the OSA’s website after submitting proof of registration for the following semester’s classes.

“Hearing about… that they now require you to renew your disability every semester,” Schmisseur said. “I was like, ‘This is a lifelong disability.’

I don’t want every semester to have to go to the five or six different doctors that you want a note from.”

Students are not required to submit new documentation of their diagnosis should it remain the same in between semesters. Should a student’s diagnosis change, they can turn in the relevant medical documents and their accommodations can be readjusted, if necessary. Tate said it depends on the nature of their diagnosis. Although students must request a new accommodation letter every semester, residential accommodations only need to be renewed each academic year, or when the student signs a new lease.

“Accommodations are not engraved in stone for the four years while you’re here,” Tate said. “It depends on what classes they’re taking — it depends on if the nature of the disability has changed, or if there are things in the classroom that will alleviate having to request for accommodations.”

Henry said she dealt with similar issues of long waiting periods for correspondence from the OSA about her requested accommodations.

“We have a committee that meets once a week, but if it’s not turned in the Friday before our meeting, then there will be a delay, but there are also times that we have to get a consultation with someone else or set up the appointment,” Tate said.

“Right now, we are down one person because we did have someone pass away in our office. So, right now, there is a delay because I am having to meet with each one of them. We have high demand right now.”

The OSA provides information packets to familiarize students with the process of requesting services, the guidelines for accommodations, the difference between the accessibility accommodations at the high school level and the university level and the autonomy students have over their decision to request accommodations.

Tate said there are additional factors that affect wait times for accom-

modation approval, aside from the high volume of requests.

“Just because somebody has a disability, (it) does not automatically qualify them for accommodations.

It needs to be determined if it’s going to be provided or not. We take it very seriously. We consult. We make sure that we have all the necessary information,” Tate said. “Sometimes what students bring in, we don’t see the relationship between the two, so we may have to get in touch with the physician or the health provider.”

She said that a rejection of a student’s requests for accommodations is not a definitive “no.”

“If they got denied, they’re in a pending file. They haven’t really been denied,” Tate said. “The reason they’re not being denied is we are still waiting on whatever is pending to determine if they have that disability or not.”

The OSA notifies students via email about what their file is missing and why their request for accommodations hasn’t been processed. Tate said each student’s medical diagnosis and the accommodations they may need are reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

“It can’t be compared to somebody else and what they have received or what they didn’t receive,” she said.

Henry said her issues with missing paperwork continued into her junior year despite having all the required notes from her doctors. When she sought approval for her service dog to live with her in University Village, she did not receive a response from the OSA concerning her accommodation for a service animal.

“It depends on the individual.

It could be the documentation. It could be the health records. It could be the registration. It could be various things,” Tate said. “We have to determine if there really is a disability there that qualifies them to get that emotional support animal.”

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 provides for accommodations in the classroom but does not do so for dormitories or on-campus apartments. Instead, accommodations such as service animals are covered under the Fair Housing Act of 1968.

Dragoo said an accommodation cannot fundamentally alter the program or the class in which the student is enrolled, according to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

The OSA can thereby seek whatever paperwork is necessary to determine the student is qualified for accommodations. Tate said the university has to comply with state laws to prevent misuse of accommodations.

“There is a law in the state of Texas under the Texas code that if it gets misrepresented, there is a possibility that it could be a misdemeanor,” Tate said. “We’re just trying to make sure we do everything up to file. It does take a process.

Sometimes students don’t want to pay the physician or their health provider to get that information, and that delays it.”