The Mercury 10 04 21

UTD names first female Hispanic AD in NCAA D-III

Angela Marin hopes to lead DEI initiatives as Interim Athletics Director, while Bill Pettit transitions back to External Affairs

UTD returns to fully in-person

NANDIKA MANSINGKA News Editor

After six weeks of de-densified instruction, UTD administration made the decision to return campus to full density.

Classes will be back in person full-time

beginning Oct. 4, and professors have been given the option to terminate use of most online components of learning, including live online lectures and recordings. The directive came directly from President Benson, who has been working closely with the provost, other communication staff and Vice Presi-

dent and Chief of Staff Rafael Martín who is the main person responsible for coordinating the COVID-19 response across campus.

“I feel like we've had a pretty comprehensive response and conservative response to the pandemic thus far,” Martín said. “With circumstances at the start of the fall semester,

with the Delta surge, we felt that it was best to de-densify some of the larger in-person classes. But we obviously have made a promise to our students that we were going to be back in person for the fall semester. I've been

TYLER BURKHARDT Editor-in-Chief

Effective Oct. 1, Bill Pettit is transitioning out of the role of Director of Athletics, and Angela Marin has been appointed to fill that role until a full job search can be completed.

Marin, who has been with UTD’s athletics department since 2012, was previously the Associate Athletics Director. She steps into this new role intending to continue UTD’s trajectory of growth and competitiveness with the conference and personify the diversity of Comet athletics. Meanwhile, Pettit returns to the position of Associate Athletics Director for External Affairs, a role he held from 20082014, prior to becoming the Director of Athletics.

“This was my goal and my dream since I entered college athletics as a student worker almost 15 years ago, so this is a dream come true,” Marin said. “I’m extremely grateful to be here. I’m grateful to represent this department. But most importantly, I’m grateful to represent UT Dallas.”

Marin began her career in student athletics as a student worker in Texas A&M’s men’s basketball program, where she gained her passion for college athletics. After her tenure at A&M, Marin transitioned to the athletics department at the University of New Orleans, where she would spend six years initially coaching both basketball and volleyball before finding a long-term home in collegiate athletics administration.

“I came in post-Katrina, so it was a war zone with armored tanks, military personnel and enforced curfews. I was working with student athletes who had lost everything in that storm. So, to be able to connect with them and make sure that they had the experiences they deserved, regardless of the resources we did or didn’t have we obviously lost a lot of resources due to that disaster—that taught me how to be resilient and resourceful.”

From New Orleans, Marin would transfer to a position at UTD in 2012.

“I’ve been at UT Dallas since 2012, and October 1 was my first day on campus, so that makes nine years today, actually. In that time, I’ve learned so much from Bill and from Dr. Fitch, both of whom truly championed my growth and my experi-

GRAND THEFT TOBOR

TEMOC CITY

Two students were caught 'stealing' a Tobor near Northside but were just pulling a practical joke

A recent incident regarding a few students who put a UTD food delivery robot in the trunk of their car gained a lot of attention among Comets online, attempting to speculate what intent could have motivated this act.

On Tuesday, Sept. 14, two students were recorded carrying a food delivery robot, or Tobor, to their car next to the Northside Drafthouse. Many onlookers perceived the event as an attempt to steal the Tobor

following the Devious Licks TikTok trend, which features students vandalizing or stealing school property, and one witness even called campus police to the scene. The police arrived around midnight and investigated the situation to assess whether there was any damage to the Tobor. After a couple of hours of confirming that there was no damage, the police let the students go without pressing criminal charges and left the case to be handled by the Dean of Students.

Lieutenant Adam Perry, division commander for UTD’s Criminal Investigative Division, said, “in this particular case, it appears that it was some students

who were going to a friend’s house who they knew really enjoyed robots. They picked it up and they took it over to their friend’s house, showed the friend the robot and then immediately released it, so there was no deprivation of property. They didn't steal it and they didn't have it very long.”

According to criminal law, for an act to be considered theft, someone must be deliberately deprived of their property. Since the two students who took the Tobor had no criminal intent behind their action, the

MANYA BONDADA Mercury Staff

BEN NGUYEN | MANAGING EDITOR ALI KHAN VIDEO EDITOR

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Outreach Editor Jacky

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UTDPD Blotter

September 8

• An unaffiliated parent attending a soccer match on the UTD fields parked her 2018 white Ford Expedition in Lot U at 6:09 p.m. She left her purse in the center console, which was later burglarized.

September 16 • A student who left his laptop at ECSS reported it missing at 2:29 p.m., after returning to discover it gone.

September 17 • Police escorted a UTD female student to the Counseling Center from Residence Hall Southwest at 3:25 p.m. for assistance after detecting possible marijuana use.

September 24 • A student possessing a counterfeit driver’s license was issued a citation at 10:35 a.m. by UTD PD.

From The Mercury Archives: Sept. 2, 1992

Richardson, TX 75080-0688

Bookstore competition heats up, students remain victors

Campus Bookstore,” said Jerry Solomon, assistant vice president for Business affairs. “You know, competition works.”

The competitive battle between UTD’s bookstore and Off Campus Bookstore has benefitted UTD students, as the campus bookstore is forced to cut book prices and open longer hours.

“Prices at the campus bookstore were very high,” said Alison Keenan, who owns Off Campus Books with her husband, Patrick. “Their books were marked $1 over retail.”

Keenan said her bookstore saved UTD students 7 to 10 percent on books. Between 70 percent and 80 percent of their books are used.

“It’s true we have made some price adjustments due to competition from Off

The campus bookstore’s counterattack has deflated the price differential between the two rivals. But according to Keenan, the “playing field” is not level.

“The Texas Open Record Act requires the campus bookstore to provide book lists from professors to us in a timely manner,” she said, “but instead they linger in getting the information to us. They are the depository of this information.”

She claims that there is a “degree of unfairness” in the competition between Off Campus and the UTD bookstore. “It’s their duty to make the information public,” Keenan said.

“It’s not true,” Solomon said, referring to the delivery of book lists to Off Campus. “We’re making it available for pickup twice a week.”

Keenan, who went on the record saying the UTD bookstore is “wonderful,” accused the Campus store of “throwing stumbling blocks” in front of her business recently.

“They’re not used to competition,” she said. “We want to be an alternative bookstore for students and faculty.”

LENNARD PIERSON Mercury Staff Writer

Coach check in: Hemal "Hemal" Salvi

LoL coach discusses beginning of season, team future

BEN NGUYEN Managing Editor

Today on Coach Check-in, I sat down with head League of Legends coach Hemal “Hemal” Salvi to discuss the beginning of the team’s season and its future.

I cast y’alls game the other day, and I saw that you were in the midlane. How did that happen?

So in the tournament we’re in, basically our midlaner GoodSir was out of town for a business trip. And so I was in as the substitute midlaner.

And how do you think that went?

It was okay. I think I had some fun, despite the loss. Still got one win. You saw that ryze triple kill in the base? That was pretty fun.

That was entertaining for sure. But with the full starting roster, how are you feeling about the team this year and how far you guys are going to go?

Currently I’d say we’re still making a lot of fundamental mistakes. We’re still gelling as a roster. We’re making our final roster decisions right now actually, and I’m hoping that once we have everything set and prepared going into the rest of this semester and next semester, we’ll be able to start improving at a pretty fast pace and reach the level we want to be at, which is having solid fundamentals, having your players in good spots in their lanes and every matchup and just overall being a well-polished team.

Do you think you’ve already seen some kind of play style emerge for the team or are you trying to be fairly flexible with your champion pools and how you play?

Right now? We’re a little experimental with the team. There definitely are some trends though. We usually have our jungler Ryan on an enabling pick. We usually have him as the focus for early games and are playing through or with him, and we usually have Jraff on a scaling carry champion to serve as a late-game carry.

Comets clash with DFW's best smashers

And you said tryouts were still going on. What players are you still trying out for right now?

We still have two supports we’re choosing between, TreeKangaroo and CrazyKilla, so we’re wrapping up that decision right now.

And otherwise, everything else is pretty much locked in then. What tournaments are you guys going to be playing in?

So we’re currently playing in the Upsurge Secondary League, UAL, that’s the tournament you saw me playing in, and we’re fairly soon going to be starting in Riot’s CLoL fall tournaments and we’re going to be playing in that. And those are our main tournaments we’re going to be playing in this season, this semester. There might be more that crop up, but those would be weekly things. I doubt we’re playing a multi-week tournament other than those two [Upsurge and UAL].

How do you project you guys will do this semester with a few new teammates and trying to lock down all your fundamentals?

I’m not sure about the Riot CLoL fall tournament; I don’t know the format of that or anything, but for Upsurge, I think we’ll make it to playoffs. And I think we’ll go pretty far in playoffs. I’m pretty confident in our ability to improve and start winning at Upsurge fairly soon, so I think that if you just keep watching us at Upsurge, you’ll see us probably hit at least semi-finals if not win the whole tournament.

On-campus tournament returns, providing cheap competitive alternative to other local competitions

BEN NGUYEN Managing Editor

Comets can return to on-campus Smash Ultimate battles against top players in the DFW area with the return of Comet Clash to the SU on Sunday evenings.

The student-organized Comet Clash Smash tournament returns after waiting out the brunt of the pandemic. The on-campus local provides a cheap and easy way for students to compete against top-ranked players in the DFW area, as tournament organizers Chaynen “Sun” Casas and Kenny “Duallium” Gausserin have put together an event that pulls over 60 players per night. Duallium attributes the event size to its college-oriented entry fee.

“We exploit the poor college students (laughs jovially). Like we’ve always been catering to that because since the beginning, we’re always three dollars no matter what. We’ve turned down venues for that reason, basically that’s the one thing CC won’t budge on,” Duallium said. “It’s always going to be the affordable tournament, and because of that, everyone comes; and you get a mix of the top of the top with like Orex over there. And you have people who have never touched Smash or they’re just peering through the esports room watching them practice, and they’re wanting to see what they can do to get on that team.”

However, if you’ve seen the TV room at the SU, you may wonder how an event typically filled with so many people could fit there. The answer is in the initial pools stage, splitting the field into two pools of people that are seeded into matches against each other. They then rotate the groups of players

through nine or 10 setups to knock out players and qualify the winners for a bracket stage.

“As soon as we get a match reported, we’re already sending in the next group to that setup that just finished. And then as soon as we finished that first round in the winners [bracket], one of us dips down into the losers bracket and starts already assigning those losers matches to get that one moving through,” Duallium said.

This ensures that the TV room is never too crowded and that they’re able to continue using the space to run the tournament. Some students might wonder why the esports room isn’t used, but Sun said that the SU provides a reliable space to play the game without being super crowded.

“Unfortunately, the esports room, it’s just too condensed, like we have that many people," Sun said. “In terms of being in the SU, like, she’s always been our fallback. ... it’s always reliable, it’s our home.”

The Blackstone Launchpad was previously used before COVID-19, but once the pandemic hit the Comet Clash organizers were forced to wait for the venue to reopen for use. Since Sun is close to graduation, new students in the UTD Smash community will have to step up to keep the event on campus. Student players like current team manager Zen “Fufa” Farris will have to keep the event going.

For Sun and Duallium, the event is more than just an opportunity to play. It’s a place for students to prove themselves and practice against top-tier players without having to pay venue fees which can go up to $12 on top of

tournament fees.

“Comet Clash has always been there as a way to kind of, you know, instead of sending off the kids to the talent, bring the talent to the kids. And then they just get to play with the high-level players. Sun said. “The loyalty and respect that we have amongst each other, it’s like family. Because you talk to some of the people that started at Comet Clash and they would advocate that if it wasn’t for Comet Clash, they wouldn’t be where they’re at.

The best and worst of esports today

It’s a good day to be a fan of UTD esports. The Overwatch team is putting up undefeated scorelines, the Rocket League team is off to the races and the Smash team is showing results at Comet Clash, Freaks, Low Tide City and more. Let’s dive in!

Comets beat the Chads 2-0

In what could be a very funny analogy to the nerdy reputation of UTD, the Rocket League team took down a non-collegiate team named “The Chads” in a 2-0 series victory for the USO Invitational qualifier. While the Chads were able to get one point per game off the Comets, UTD held firm and repeated a 2-1 game score line to close out the series. This year’s Rocket League roster is super strong, so expect to see a deep run through both the qualifier and the tournament as the six-week event progresses.

LoL team loses opening UAL series 1-2

The League of Legends team unfortunately lost their opening series against USC for the UAL regular season. With starting midlaner GoodSir preoccupied, head coach Hemal had to sub in, and while the team was able to get one game on the board, USC ultimately outperformed the Comets in a close series. However, with their full starting lineup and plans to build up and run the upsurge tournament (see the Coach Check-in with head coach Hemal Salvi), the UTD LoL team will be going onwards and upwards.

GG EZ Café runs LANs for clubs

With the return of in-person activities comes the return of in-person club activities. And while you may not associate gaming clubs with in-person gatherings, the LAN competition is a long-lasting tradition in esports and local gaming organizations everywhere.

Recently, a VALORANT LAN and a Teamfight Tactics tournament have been run out of the GG EZ Café, with a large turnout and a great time to be had. Hopefully, these LANs will continue throughout the year.

Low Tide City brings in-person Smash in a tidal wave

Remember how LANs are back? Well, in Smash Ultimate they’re really back, with the first major regional happening in Austin this past weekend. Once again, I unfortunately have to write this column before the paper publishes and the event actually happens (darn you schedules!), but suffice to say, all the UTD and DFW participants ran the bracket for sure. If you didn’t watch one of the biggest tournaments in recent history, you missed out.

Pine and Jecse leave the Dallas Fuel

While this paper does not generally cover big tier 1 moves in esports, the loss of Pine and Jecse from the Dallas Fuel is one that hits close to home. With the impending release of Overwatch 2, it was natural that as the game turned into a 5v5 instead of a 6v6, cuts would be made. But Jecse in particular was a fan favorite player. You can read Sean Collin’s coverage about it in the Dallas Morning News, but here in this little column, I wanted to offer a moment of silence for the loss of some great players from the Fuel.

HEMAL SALVI | COURTESY

BEN NGUYEN Managing Editor

Comets and local DFW players fight through a pool stage to make it to the bracket stage.

Friendly games are played between players before the tournament begins.

J-pop music strikes a chord with student pianists

the same genres as us,” Caleb said.

“It was easy to start a conversation around it.”

Four. Strike. Five. Strike. Three. Strike.

Six. Strike.

ATEC junior Caleb Wang strikes a wave of upbeat J-pop chords in the rhythm of “Fireworks” by DAOKO and Kenshi Yonezu. Chemistry freshman

Nathaniel Nguyen sits next to him on the worn piano bench, rocking his head back and forth and animatedly humming to spur Caleb on. Nathaniel had just finished playing his own rendition of the “Your Lie in April” and “SAO” anime openings on the Student Union piano before him.

“Me and [Caleb] are very similar,”

Nathaniel said. “We both like anime music. We both find solace in it. That’s just kind of our motivation. We just keep playing it.”

Caleb and Nathaniel have only known each other for a few weeks, but they’re already close friends. They met at the SU piano at the start of the semester and bonded over similar music tastes. It was

Nathaniel’s first semester on campus – he’d never played on UTD’s public piano before. Caleb, on the other hand, had practiced at the SU piano so many times, he’s known to passersby as the “piano guy.”

“[Nathaniel] was playing songs I know on the piano, and there aren’t a lot of pianists on campus that specialize in playing

When they did get to talking, Caleb learned that Nathaniel is selftaught – he picked up a keyboard when he was four years old and has been playing by ear ever since. Caleb, conversely, is classically trained; he learned to play the piano through traditional music lessons and reading sheet music. However, he didn’t enjoy playing classical repertoire, so he quit in the eighth grade.

“I started playing anime songs [instead],” Caleb said. “That’s what I wanted to play, but that’s not what you get to play in music school. You learn all this classical music and sure, it sounds nice, but those aren’t the songs you actually listen to. They’re not the ones you want to play.

You want to play those pop songs that you listen to all the time or the songs in the anime you’re watching.”

That’s where the fun in piano playing comes from for Caleb and Nathaniel: only ever playing what they want to play, migrating from one half-learned J-pop melody to another. Though there are pianos on campus in the Arts and Humanities building with clearer acoustics, tuned to perfection and in near spotless condition, Nathaniel and

Caleb almost always find themselves playing at the aged, out-of-tune SU piano. They like the sense of community they feel when people recognize the melodies they’re playing.

“To put it bluntly, UTD is a nerd school,” Nathaniel said. “A lot of people know the anime songs we’re playing and even if they don’t, they’re not going to condemn you for it. Just earlier, one of the tables next to us was talking about Jujitsu Kaisen, and I’m like, ‘Nice.’ It’s very accepting here, and it feels cool when people clap or are like, ‘Yeah!’ when they recognize the songs.”

While Caleb and Nathaniel said that playing the SU piano is a great source of

SP/N Gallery honors ATEC Professor

since, exhibiting shows by famous artists like Kara Walker and Felix Gonzalez-Torres.

fun for them, they have to remember not to compare themselves to other players. It’s not healthy, Nathaniel said. They want to become better pianists – always – but they’re there to support each other and have a good time, foremost.

"Anyone can play this piano. You have people here, you listen to them, and you're like, 'Oh, this guy has no idea what he's doing. But hey, he's trying, and that's what matters,’" Nathaniel said. It was predicted that the SU piano would last five years when it was installed in 2017. Now in 2021, it’s weathered, out-of-tune and home to spiders. The piano is nearing the end of its lifetime; it’ll go soon. But the friendship the piano sparked between Caleb, Nathaniel and an indefinite amount of other pianists on campus is here to stay.

Ask

Sophie:

Richard Brettell, a prominent art historian and educator, transformed the Dallas art scene during his lifetime. His brief tenure as the director of the Dallas Museum of Art earned him the affectionate title of “Art’s Bad Boy,” and his passing in 2020 left a significant void in the local and international art scene.

“Brettell: An Artist’s Homage to the Dynamic Influence of Rick Brettell,” opened at the SP/N Gallery on Sept. 10 to a full house. Among the crowd were Brettell’s family, friends, former students and casual devotees. The exhibition includes works from Brettell’s personal collection, alongside works made by artists he formed relationships with during his lifetime. Greg Metz, director of the SP/N Gallery, spoke of his friendship with Brettell

“Rick and I became close personal friends … he would come pick me up from my studio and take me to fancy restaurants, and he would tell me fantastic stories.”

After moving from Chicago to Dallas, Brettell became the director of the DMA in 1988. There, he headed community outreach programs dedicated to engaging with the local Dallas art scene. Outside of the DMA, Brettell played a formative role in the creation of the McKinney Avenue Contemporary, known as the MAC. The MAC has transformed Dallas art in the decades

A powerful slice-of-life

Despite being called “A Little Life,” Hanya Yanagihara’s bestselling novel brings more than just a little heartache to readers by using beautiful language to combat the emotional and physical trauma she unleashes on her characters.

The novel follows the lives of four men as they navigate the joys and trials of adulthood, but this is not your average coming-of-age story. Yanagihara combines decades of heartache and suffering within twisted storylines that make readers wonder “what did these characters ever do to her?” But she somehow creates figures that remain likable despite their vanity and selfish ambition.

The characters are strangely close yet all have the potential to love and hurt one another in extreme ways, which made me want to read the entire novel in one sitting. The story starts with a simple lightheartedness but soon progresses into relationships that are more complex and dark. At times I wished I could hug these characters and at other times I wanted to slap them, which in my opinion, is a sign of successfully creating three-dimensional characters.

Test anxiety

Tips for managing stress during midterm season

“None of what happened at the MAC could have happened without the championing and hands-on convincing that Rick took deep care to do. The art world took him seriously, and he took artists seriously,” said Victoria Corcoran, the MAC’s first curator.

In 1998 Brettell joined the faculty of UTD. For 16 years, he taught courses on Aesthetic Studies, until stepping into the role of director for the Edith O’Donnell Institute of Art History in 2014.

Bonnie Pitman, director of the DMA from 2008 to 2011, said in an essay dedicated to Brettell, “Rick was deeply committed to creating a place on the UTD campus for the presentation and study of the arts.”

At the SP/N exhibit, works by canon artists such as Camille Pissarro and Edouard Vuillard comingle with a work by Jean Lacy featuring Brettell’s glasses in a cigar box, recalling the memory of their late owner.

“When I went into [Brettell’s] house, I was greeted by an eclectic collection,” Metz said. “Every work had a story, and I realized that he collected artists more so than art. Curating this show, I selected work by artists he had inspired, provided opportunities for and even just hung out with.”

Brettell’s memory lives on in his work with the Edith O’Donnell Institute of

Art History, the planned Athenaeum Museum and memories of friends and family. The exhibition catalog collects writings from local artists, gallery owners, associated scholars, Brettell’s family and more – all dedicated to capturing Brettell’s ineffable spirit. In her writing, Brettell’s wife, Caroline B. Brettell, said, “[H]e found beauty in so many things, wanted to have them around him, and arranged them artfully so that they spoke to each other. He was forever the curator and the collector.”

A video of Brettell playing his Steinway grand piano echoes throughout SP/N from its display in the front gallery. The posthumous memory of Brettell fills the gallery as his hands glide across the keys.

“My hope is that Dallas and UTD remember him and his visions,” said Brettell’s long-time assistant, Pierrette, “and will carry on with the same spirit in the future.”

After a long, hard week of studying, you take a deep breath and print your name on your exam booklet, eyes skimming over the first question. But as you try to make sense of the words, your heart sinks, your stomach churns and your mind suddenly goes blank. If this experience sounds familiar, you’ve likely been a victim of test anxiety – a nearly universal experience for college students. Apart from the obnoxious physical symptoms and the inability to think clearly, test anxiety can drastically impact your performance and quality of life — even outside the classroom — if you don’t know how to manage it well. To take control of your exams and not let them control you, first consider the nature of your fears and approach them with a change in thinking.

Students normally fear exams for either one of two reasons. First, they worry they are not ready and are bound to fail due to their unpreparedness. This fear is valid, but it can be confronted by reducing expectations for perfection and making your study time feel as comfortable as possible.

“I advise students to sit down and have a friend that you usually enjoy relaxing with say, ‘We're going to chat about every 15 minutes. We're going to just flip through our notes, just flip through and just read, and then we're going to chat,’” said Student Counseling Center psychologist Beverly Wil-

liams. “And so what you're doing is trying to integrate something that feels really nice and supportive with something that you tend to feel very upset by.”

The second fear is more unfounded and pertains to missing out on future career opportunities because of a bad grade. Yes, exams are important, but one test in a college class cannot significantly alter the course of your entire future. From doctors and lawyers to engineers and businesspeople, it would be hard to come by a successful professional who has not performed poorly on or failed a test at some point.

“I cannot tell you how many people have gotten from point A to point B when their perfect plan didn't work – because not all the time do perfect plans work,” Williams said. “So helping [students] just to get their own balance and speak to themselves in a rational, comforting way and then just remember, ‘okay, I'm going to do my best. I'm going to do everything it takes to do my best and be more relaxed.’”

Furthermore, exams are not even all that effective at predicting career success, which is presumably what most college students are ultimately after. Remind yourself that regardless of your performance on a test, you won’t gain or lose a significant job opportunity due to a single grade.

Taking tests is essentially like playing games, with your goal being to collect as

SEE

FATIMAH AZEEM| MERCURY STAFF

SOPHIE BOUTOUIS Copy Editor

BLAKE BATHMAN Mercury Staff

MIA NGUYEN Mercury Staff

FATIMAH AZEEM Opinion Editor

Yanagihara uses beautiful prose to play with her audience’s heartstrings in the enthralling novel A Little Life

SIHANYA ROCHA | MERCURY STAFF The SP/N Gallery exhibition features pieces from Brettell and other artists SIHANYA ROCHA | MERCURY STAFF

TechNOLOGY support on tap

Are you or a loved one suffering from computer gremlins? Luckily, OIT’s newly-opened TechKnowledgy Bar is conveniently located in the lower floor of the Student Union and is dedicated to showcasing new technology and helping Comets resolve any device-related headaches. Though not the first time that OIT has had a walk-up help desk, Chief Information Officer Frank Feagans explained that the Tech Bar’s capabilities and location make it far superior to any previous project.

“We’ve never had something like the Techknowledgy Bar, per-se. We had a walk-up help desk way over in the ROC because we were unable at the time to secure another space on campus, but over the past two years, we were able to work with Dr. Fitch, who saw the need, and he provided that space there in the Student Union to put it in.”

In terms of functionality, the Tech Bar provides the same services as OIT’s walkup help desk. But, Feagans said, it goes “way beyond what was in the ROC two years ago.” The Tech Bar is intended to serve as a technology showcase as well as a place where more specific hardware

Pipe

Stroke rehab device speeds up motor skills recovery

fixes can be conducted. Moreover, it’ll be a centralized location for OIT to house the student loaner program and distribute the electronic devices that students need, and it’s also going to have a small area running video for OIT training and outreach.

Naqvi Khan, a computer science senior who works for OIT, highlighted the outreach advantages of the new space.

“I feel like this is one of the prime locations on campus for a walk-up,” Khan said. “Students are always passing by, which gives them a lot more awareness to our service existing for them when they need it. And the dedicated space of the bar itself gets us a lot of exposure, which makes it a good spot for OIT to cater to specific technology needs of the different campus populations.”

The initial vision for the Tech Bar project was conceived by Shannon Cepica, a direct report of Feagans’s.

“Shannon—who unfortunately passed away last summer—was really the vision for this project,” Feagans said. “It started about three years ago, and he kept building up interest and momentum for the project, and then he shared that vision with Pulin Bhatt, who kept the energy going. Then, Dr. Fitch got involved, he saw the need, and he provided us the

space in the Student Union to put it in.”

The key to making the whole project come together, however, was Shannon’s conversations with Student Government and the student body. Feagans said he broached the idea with them early on, and students were immediately on board, even beginning to lobby for this to reach fruition. This, in turn, caught the attention of Student Affairs, from which point Fitch brought the idea to several other student groups, who ultimately came up with the name for it. While the pandemic slowed the rollout of this space, UTD’s commitment to the Tech Bar project never wavered.

“We were well underway to deliver it last year, and then COVID hit, so the

Complication with repairs leaves UV buildings 44, 45 waterless for 30 hours

or shower was terrible,” Curtis said. “You want to be able to just use the bathroom whenever you want, without having to think about needing to run around and find a working toilet. Also, I had an oral exam that was in-person with my professor, one-on-one this morning, and because we didn’t have water, I hadn’t showered, which was not a great look.”

project stalled for a little while – but we never gave up the dollars,” Feagans said.

“Even with all the budget cuts, we made sure to keep that project alive because we knew how important it was to the students from the feedback we got.”

As learning returns to campus, demand for the Tech Bar’s services is expected to increase substantially. But enthusiasm about the Tech Bar isn’t coming just from those in need of its support. As Khan put it, “We’re also super excited to have this space. We’ve all been studying and working remotely for the past year and a half, so it’s great to be able to finally interact with people again and help them out face-to-face.”

Implanted electrotherapy device musters FDA approval after two years

UTD researchers received FDA approval for their stroke rehabilitation device, bringing eight years of research by over 500 students and faculty to fruition.

In 2013, the UTD Texas Biomedical Device Center set out to create a device that would increase the stroke recovery rate. At the time, PhD students Ben Porter and Navid Khodaparast demonstrated that it was possible to increase the recovery rate from stroke in rats. In 2016, a team led by Seth Hays, Robert Rennaker and Michael Kilgard conducted the first human trial for this innovation and by 2021, phase three clinical trials were published in the medical journal “The Lancet.” The team’s most recent achievement was the FDA approval of the Vivistim paired VNS System, a device that uses vagus nerve stimulation to improve motor recovery for stroke patients.

44 and 45 until after 6 p.m. the next day—turned off at approximately 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 29. But Andrew Lujan, on the scene of the repair in the parking lot behind Phase 6, gave one plausible explanation.

“We’re guessing tree roots, but we’re not completely sure,” Lujan said. “But, I was working in building 18 the other day, and it’s pretty much the same stuff: it’s just an old building. A lot of the problems you get are just that when a building is 30 years old, you start to run into some wear.”

One building 45 resident, international political economy sophomore Kara Curtis, noted how much people take guaranteed plumbing for granted.

“Not being able to use my own toilet

The explanation for the water shortage’s extended duration comes down to the fact that the system actually had to be repaired twice.

“There’s one leak that we [had] already fixed,” Lujan said, “and another one that we didn’t find until we turned the water back on … at 1 a.m. in the morning. Tailend of an 18-hour shift, you fix one leak, turn it on, and something else shows up. At that point, the plumbing supply house was closed—they’re open like 9-5—so it became a whole new issue.”

Repair crews returned the next day to fix the second leak, a process nearly as lengthy as the first. Meanwhile, ATEC junior Sigrid Rittby—another Comet living in building 45—reported concern for the lack of alternatives provided to residents during the water outage, especially for students potentially under a

mandatory quarantine.

“I was lucky to have a ton of water in my apartment in jugs. So, I was able to drink that, although trying to use the

A recent reimplementation of the “no water bottles” policy in DHW is intended to address the issues of cross-contamination and the use of the Dining Hall as a to-go facility.

Students might bring their water bottles into DHW when getting a meal right after class, wanting to refill their bottles with cold drinks to cool off from the Texas heat. However, to comply with university social distancing guidelines, Dining Services has replaced the convenience of allowing reusable water bottles in DHW with practices that are intended to keep students and faculty safe. These practices include the installation of a cubby station at the entrance where diners are required to leave their water bottles.

Pam Stanley, director of Food and Retail Services, said, “the pricing structure and facility is not set up to be a grab and go, so water bottles were never really supposed to be in the Dining Hall. We did notice this semester a little bit of an uptick in people bringing the bottles in, so we did set up some cubbies.”

The “no water bottles” policy has been in place since at least 2018, but the recent stricter enforcement of this practice is a result of the rapid spread of COVID-19.

“We wanted to stress this because we were noticing that the water bottles that were being brought in were used to fill up at the fountain, and people were touching the bottle part where your mouth goes on the bottle – they were touching it to the actual fountain machine. So, we wanted to follow the University’s request to mitigate any crosscontamination everywhere we can,” Stanley said.

Dining Services has posted several signs in DHW to make sure that students follow this water bottle policy. They have also started to discourage the practice of using the same cup to refill drinks at the fountains in light of the

"I don't like it. One, it's because of COVID, and two, I don't want to have to wake up an hour before my class."

Connor Sullivan Mechanical Engineering Sophomore

"I learn better in person. Over COVID, I did not learn well online ... I'm comfortable with going to class in person. But I understand that a lot of people aren't comfortable with it. They are higher risk, and have differences in circumstances."

Kyle Glover Finance Senior

"It's kind of scary because there's a lot of people, but I also learn better in person so I'm conflicted on it. I have the vaccine, so hopefully I'll be safe."

Samita Virani Biochemistry Freshman

pandemic.

Carolyn Rutter, director of Dining Services, said, “we've seen crazy things like somebody even washing their hands in the beverage station. So, it's really just for students and faculty, staff, for everybody’s safety that we put these practices in place.”

According to Dining Services, students have been compliant with the practice so far.

Everyone seems to understand the need for safer dining options, especially with the conclusion of de-densification, where students and faculty will be exposed to more people at once.

Nicholas Norris, resident district manager of Chartwells Dining Services (the dining services company that UTD partners with), reiterated the University’s focus on health and safety.

“This is all about safety and sanitation, and we just wanted to take another step to try to enhance what we were already doing,” Norris said. “Again, this practice has been in place for a while. But we felt like we needed to take another step given the environment we are in right now to enhance that practice, and that’s why we ended up having all the students leave their water bottles at the front.”

TYLER BURKHARDT Editor-in-Chief

TYLER BURKHARDT | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Plumber Kevin Cliborn surveys the pipe apparatus after repairing the leak.

CRISTINA KOVACS MERCURY STAFF DHW is enforcing their bottle policy.

UTD Dining cracks down on personal bottle usage, asks Comets to check flasks at the door

MANYA BONDADA Mercury Staff

Comets need (balanced) return to in-person instruction

Not going back to full density is ill-advised and illogical; UTD should prioritize educational outcomes while maintaining what flexibility they can grant students

TYLER BURKHARDT Editor-in-Chief

Last week, there was a Change.org petition suggesting that UTD return to fully online learning for the semester. While that particular suggestion doesn’t seem to be getting serious attention, Student Government is polling students about a resolution to extend de-densification, and a vocal segment of Comets have been campaigning against this week’s proposed operations adjustment. Nonetheless, UTD should stay the course of full-density instruction.

Full-density learning has been the plan all along. It projects to be reasonably safe (even by student calculations), with a less than 1% campus positivity rate and vaccines readily available to all who want them. SOC activities have been occurring with no regard to density restrictions since the start of the semester. But most importantly, in-person classroom learning is demonstrably more effective. The safety of all Comets is undeniably important, but universities are not purposeless institutions of voluntary affiliation — their raison d'être is to educate.

Extensive research has been done into the educational impacts of online learning, both prior to but especially during the year of pandemic-altered education. And the results are nearly universal: online learning produces

worse educational outcomes.

A study of spring 2020 instruction by Bird et al. found an 8.5% reduction in coursework completion after transitioning online. Alpert et al. studied two identical economics course sections at West Point, only differing in instruction modality, and found that “learning outcomes were reduced for students in the purely online section relative to those in the face-toface format by 5 to 10 points on a cumulative final exam.” Another study by Stephanie Cellini and Hernando Grueso looked past single-course outcomes and analyzed graduates’ mandatory exit exams in Columbia, finding that bachelors’ students in online programs performed worse on nearly every test compared to their on-campus counterparts.

A Brookings Institute lit review from August sums it up: “students in online courses generally get lower grades, are less likely to perform well in follow-on coursework, and are less likely to graduate than similar students taking in-person classes.”

So, if universities are intended to teach, and students pay tuition to learn what is being taught, it becomes patently obvious that in lieu of extenuating circumstances, in-person instruction takes the cake.

There’s no denying that virtual learning was convenient. With few rigid class time commitments—combined with the allure of 2x speed lectures—students had more time to

schedule other commitments, learn a hobby or acquire a job. But for students to prioritize any of these matters over a degree that they have dedicated four years of their lives—and likely tens of thousands of dollars—toward is self-sabotage of the worst kind.

Regardless, mandating a return-to-campus that has been signposted for four months is not draconian.

The University has made it clear since the beginning of the semester that the plan for inperson courses was pre-pandemic instruction and that de-densification was merely a temporary measure. In fact, Comets knew the semester plan months ago when they registered for their fall courses, which were pre-assigned inperson, asynchronous or even the rare hybrid modality. UTD is justified in returning to the original plan of operations, and there is much better rationale to undergird that decision than simply wanting revenue from parking passes and lunch meals, as one Reddit user suggested. Obviously, there are exceptions for whom in-person attendance is less advisable. For instance, students who are immunocompromised may have different risk thresholds than the average vaccinated student. On a similar note, professors will probably need to maintain some form of asynchronous learning option for students who have to enter 10 or 14-day isolations anyways—accommodations that may as well be extended to students

Performative activism distracts from real issues

Slactivism pervades political discussion, creating outrage but hindering true change

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s 2021

Met Gala dress exemplifies how individuals use performative activism to gain social capital rather than actively promote change.

Performative activism typically entails fruitless and pointless actions from celebrities and influencers that take away from the voices of people with less social or political influence and overshadow their initiatives. This type of activism puts on a façade for people to show that they care about an issue but does nothing to actively aid the cause.

As the youngest female member of Congress, AOC has increased her popularity through her active social media presence, serving as a voice for the younger generation. A politician turned influencer, AOC has a total of 8.7 million followers on Instagram and regularly uses her platform to inform followers on policy changes she’s working on implementing.

While AOC does use her platform to promote awareness and is a figure who doesn’t just talk the talk, there is a sense of irony in her wearing a white dress with the statement “Tax the Rich” streaked on it.

AOC’s political viewpoints rally against elitism, yet she’s gaining social clout from her statement dress at the Met Gala—an event revolving around elitist celebrities. The issue isn’t solely her interaction with celebrities but specifically her voluntary affiliation with rich public figures such as Lauryn Hill—who has a history and means of avoiding taxation—all while wearing that dress. It’s ironic that political opponent Ben Shapiro could take the high ground here, stating on Twitter, “Actual revolutionaries eat the rich. They don’t eat cake with the rich, then declare their virtue by wearing a shirt saying ‘eat the rich.’” AOC’s dress was on display for elitists who will continue to do nothing to support progressive tax reform.

While people can argue that her remark raised awareness, the statement only further publicized the Met Gala as tax reform took a back seat to celebrity fashion choices.

Performative activism isn’t only seen through the actions of celebrities and public figures but regular people as well. A prominent example is when people posted black squares on social

media to “support” the Black Lives Matter movement.

While it is important to raise awareness, it is perhaps more important to participate in activism that directly benefits the cause. Instead of reposting black squares, some better alternatives would have been to support AfricanAmerican-owned businesses, get educated about systemic racism throughout our nation’s history or join a protest. Another example of performative activism is when businesses use pride and LGBTQ+ history months to make a profit. Popular companies often use this month of October to market rainbow-colored products and draw more attention to their brands rather than raise awareness for the cause. Adidas promotes

who wish to remain at home.

The administration has already done its part: in-person courses can operate at full density. Faculty should now focus their efforts on creating a flexible instructional plan for the remainder of this semester that allows for and even recommends fully in-person attendance but does not mandate it. Like the implementation of de-densification—which was, from the

outset, a suggestion rather than a policy—this judgment will have to be discretionary; the semester is too far gone for one-size-fits-all uniformity. And ultimately, the burden will fall to the students to respect these policies and capitalize on the benefits of in-person learning, all while ensuring that pandemic best practices are maintained. It’s time for Comets to re-learn how to learn.

Beautiful space comic embodies creative spirit

Wandering Star is so much more than a different take on intergalactic warfare and the space opera genre

“Wandering Star” by Teri Sue Wood centers around Cassandra, a big deal space-war hero. But Wood’s visuals, themes and opening scene make it immediately clear that this series is no generic war hero’s narrative.

The series starts with Cassandra being interviewed about her time fighting the main antagonists of her galactic universe—the Bono Kiro—after they make a sudden reappearance. From the outset, we see our protagonist depicted as a tired, cynical, older woman who recounts fighting in a war in her youth without any traces of patriotism or pride. She’s a major contrast from the usual headstrong and optimistic protagonist that dominates the sci-fi and coming-of-age genres.

This framework makes her recollection feel intimate and real, but it also sets the stage for Wood’s worldbuilding, allowing the comic to emphasize a war of truly galactic proportions – not just the standard two-species conflict. That, in turn, prevents the series from falling into the trap of having humans come in as the allied third party to help out the good side and save the day, enabling the comic to capture the complexity of war from all sides.

faces the rude awakening that Earth and its inhabitants aren’t well-regarded by other galactic species. She faces discrimination and bullying for her humanity but is eventually able to befriend the other outcasts, who later become the supporting cast and key characters that help in winning the war against the Bono Kiro.

Speaking of the Bono Kiro, while they are universally accepted as the bad guys, the author does a good job of portraying them as dangerous and smart enemies. Wood depicts them as brutal but calculating, and their leader is always calm, collected and diplomatic. That cunning is on full display in an arc where their leader takes advantage of Cassandra's father’s desperation to find a solution to Earth's problems. By portraying themselves as a necessary evil, the Bono Kiro entice her father into an alliance, despite his daughter’s affiliation with the Galactic Academy.

a Pride Collection each year with rainbow-colored apparel but doesn’t do anything to actually benefit the LGBTQ+ community. Instead of focusing on how to increase profit, companies could increase diversity training within their workplace or donate a portion of their profit to LGBTQ+ institutions.

Some may argue that AOC’s stunt acted as a slap in the face to the rich figures at the Met Gala who use the current tax code to their benefit. But at the end of the day, AOC’s statement— like so many others—has done nothing to aid the cause.

Performative activism promotes false advocacy, which consists of stunts that do nothing more than show the world you supposedly care about a cause. Instead of posting black squares on social media and only raising awareness for the LGBTQ+ community during Pride month, let’s attend and lead protests, volunteer to lobby for Congress, boy

cott companies with unethical prac

tices and genuinely use our time and voices to make a difference.

From that interview, the reader learns that Cassandra is the daughter of the President of the United Nations. She is also the first human to be accepted into the Galactic Academy. Now, despite those two impressive facts, she is a bit naive, wide-eyed and excited at this stage in her life. Surrounded by many different types of creatures and cultures, cast against the backdrop of cool and beautiful scenes of space, it’s no wonder Cassandra is a bit awe-struck at first.

However, soon after being accepted into the Galactic Academy, Cassandra

The Bono Kiro aren’t the only ones wellpersonified: Wood also makes it a point to highlight that the main cast are naive, idealistic and hopeful kids. This makes their reactions and experiences more relatable, especially when moments of destruction and grief are shown. Conversely, in moments of solidarity, as they seek each other out when they are fighting or upset with one another, their compassion for each other can be felt through the pages. But most importantly, the reminder that the characters are kids throughout the story makes the coming-of-age aspect of “Wandering Star” payoff. When reading this se-

PALAK DAVE Mercury Staff

Performative activism promotes false advocacy, which consists of stunts that do nothing more than show the world you supposedly care about a cause.

Tobor was not damaged and it was immediately released, the students were not charged with any criminal offenses.

“Dining Services uses the robots from Starship to deliver food on campus. It is a very rare case that we would press charges when a robot is in an incident, whether it was hit by a car or taken, for this example, or [if] a wheel falls off,” said Michael

ences here. I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else today.”

Vice President of Student Affairs Gene Fitch said, “we appointed [Marin] because of her familiarity with the program, and because of her leadership, not just here, but with the NCAA on both the regional and national level. She’s proven through her work that she’s highly capable of doing the job, overseeing the duties and responsibilities that are associated with it, and she has nearly ten years of relationships with the staff and coaches.”

Marin attributes her success as the product of several people and programs that have bolstered her career, placing particular emphasis on the

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involved in pretty much every step of the decision-making process as it affects campus. Obviously, consulting with a lot of other leaders across campus, this current decision is no different.”

The COVID-19 Proactive Testing Program’s success was one of the deciding factors to bring campus back to normal. The results and data compiled from the program were used as evidence to support ending de-densification. The Daily Health Check system as well as the voluntary symptom reporting form have allowed for identification of

Lamberth, area operations manager for the U.S. South Region of Starship (the company that makes the robots). “The on-site team up in Dallas, they go and they take care of it. They pick up the robot, bring it back to our office and then fix it.”

If the Tobor was damaged, UTD PD would press charges on behalf of the school for the damage, after assessing what on the Tobor needed to be replaced or repaired. Generally, the police would get a warrant for the

initiatives of the NCAA.

“I'm a product of NCAA leadership development, and they have put so many resources and so much growth into me, but more specifically into people of color,” Marin said. “They’re really trying to make sure that we have a space at the table and not just a seat but an educated seat.

I'm grateful to the NCAA for that, for those initiatives, because I feel prepared. I can't see the future, but I absolutely feel prepared to step into this role because of the training that I've had and the mentorships that I've benefitted from.”

Marin also recognized a few of her mentors, without whom her career may not have culminated in this appointment.

“My first mentor was a men’s bas-

potential cases and contact tracing very quickly.

“Ultimately, the decision came down to our belief that we have created a very safe environment on campus, and I think the results of our Proactive Testing Program have demonstrated that we have less than 1% COVID positivity,”

Martín said. “We've tested almost 85% of the students thus far since the start of the fall semester. We're getting ready to transition testing all our faculty and staff who are on campus in the next week or so.”

Students’ compliance has also been taken into consideration, bolstering administration’s deci-

arrest, and the perpetrators would go to jail and eventually court. Additionally, Starship could press charges and the Dean of Students would handle the enrollment status of the students involved.

Perry said “[the Starship robots] have 360-degree cameras, and so they are monitoring and recording everything that is happening around them. That’s helped us in times where someone has called and said, ‘I think somebody is messing with the [robot],’ and

ketball coach at A&M, Buzz Williams—he’s now the head coach at A&M. He also hired me into the GA role in New Orleans. I was the only girl in that men’s basketball office, and he could’ve brought anyone, but he was the first one to say, ‘Gender doesn’t matter. If you work hard, and if you’re willing to put the time in and put our athletes first, I’m going to pick you.’ That was a really important step in my career. And then, of course, there’s been Bill Pettit. He’s seen my potential from day one, and I would not be here without him.” Transitions of leadership, even when they more closely resemble reshuffling nameplates than organizational rebuilds, create uncertainty. So, Marin says her first order of business as director is to get on the same page

sion in hope that case numbers will stay low. Out of the entire student body, less than half a percent have reported testing positive and having any close contacts on campus. Martín said those numbers give administration confidence in returning to normal operations.

People would be hard-pressed to find a more vaccinated population anywhere else, Martín said. OEMCP data from the voluntary reporting form shows that students’ vaccination rate is 75%, and faculty and staff are 85% vaccinated.

“I am really proud of our community in the response that they have given. When we contact

we get there and we can verify that no, they are actually helping them.“

Surya Purimetla, a business administration senior who witnessed the incident, said, “it did look like [the students] were stealing it. It did look very sketch, which is why the police were giving them such a long talk. Because I mean from the outside, it looked really sketchy and you got to keep in mind that's what we saw.”

Videos and pictures of this incident were taken out of context

with her staff.

“I will be meeting with all of my coaches and staff individually within the next few weeks. I want to make sure that they realize that just because I have a new title doesn't mean it's about me, making that sure that that foundation is there and that they understand that nothing big is going to change right away. My staff, my coaches and my student athletes are always going to be why I'm here. It's funny: the more responsibility you have, the less it becomes about you. So, it's still about them. Absolutely.”

After establishing that foundation, Marin said her focus will be on promoting DEI initiatives within the athletics program.

“One of my priorities is to continue working in that DEI space. I don't

people who say that they may be symptomatic or who have tested positive and ask them to isolate or quarantine, virtually everybody is compliant with that request and that's really allowed us to keep the case numbers low. I'm not aware of any cases of transmission on campus in a classroom environment and very few cases outside of the classroom environment on campus,” Martín said. There is no specific benchmark or criteria to decide to return to full density. Though proactive testing and compliance were heavily considered, there is no upper or lower limit of measurement that was con-

when they were posted online. The videos showed blurry images of the two students, the Tobor and UTD PD, and as a result, the situation was decontextualized and interpreted as attempted theft.

Perry said “that's the problem with our industry: when we have the public taking snippets of a video of a situation, it's taken completely out of context from the broader understanding and what we find when we do the full investigation.”

want it to be a catchphrase in this department. I am the first Hispanic female to be in an AD role in D-III. It's an honor, but it's also 2021. It should have already happened by now. So, I want for all of our student athletes, our staff—really all Comets—to know that if you identify as an ‘other’ in any way at all, I see you. I am you. I represent you. That's what athletics is about.”

It remains to be seen whether this will be a long-term position for Marin. Fitch explains that UTD will have to conduct a national search to fill the role of athletics director, although it seems likely Marin will serve as interim director for several months as that process plays out.

“We are required by policy,” Fitch said, “to post this position and con-

sidered in the distinction between de-densification or not.

“The CDC hasn't released any kind of guidelines saying if you're below this percent positive on campus, then you're safe,” Martín said.

“It's really more of a judgment call, but we did look at those factors, the testing and the case numbers that we've seen on campus. We also looked at kind of the environment in the North Texas region, and we have started to see just over the last week falling numbers of cases.”

It is currently unclear whether professors will be required to adhere strictly to this full density plan or if it is simply a recommendation.

The best thing that students can do, Perry said, is just let the Tobors do their job without disturbing them. If a Tobor needs some assistance, there are people on-site who can deal with the repairs themselves.

“This is the first incident where we have had somebody manipulate, touch or mess with one of the [robots],” Perry said. “This is the only time where somebody legitimately messed with the robots, and it wasn’t even criminal really.”

duct a national search. I have no doubt that Angela would, at that time, likely be a candidate. As far as a timeline, I hate to say it already, but the holidays are almost on us. That really impacts the hiring procedure, so there's a very good chance we can't start until we return in the spring.”

Whatever the future holds, Marin isn’t planning to waste her time as director.

“There’s a saying in our circle: lift as you rise. So, as I have risen, I'm bringing people with me, and that's important for our student athletes to see. We, as females, have a voice; we, as people of color, have a voice, and I'm going to use that platform in the best way that I know that I can. I want them to see that whatever you want to do, you don’t let anyone silence you until you get there.”

As of now, Martín said faculty have had and will continue to have a lot of discretion in how they deliver their courses. They are encouraged to return to in-person fully, though decisions about consistency among departments or the campus as a whole remain to be seen.

“You know, students want to come here to be in-person to learn in person,” Martín said. “And I think now is the time that we feel like we can do that. The aim is to try to get students back in those environments at full density so that they can get the full benefit of that course and not lose that educational experience.”

I was originally skeptical of the novel, especially since the characters all have different career paths. Willem is an actor, JB is an artist, Malcolm is an architect and Jude is a lawyer and mathematician. I thought it would be difficult to incorporate detailed descriptions of extremely different lives in one novel. Yanagihara didn’t previously have detailed knowledge about these careers, but after reading the novel, I felt like I had a better idea of their professions and their lives. At times it is a highly romanticized version of the working-class lifestyle and felt slightly pretentious.

LIFE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 many points as possible in the allotted time. People who test well do not frantically check how much time they have left, nor do they fixate on how they might be doing on an exam. It’s too hard to predict your score accurately, and Williams said sometimes it can be smarter to answer all the questions on a test your first time around than it is to skip them and run out of time to return to them.

REHAB CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

The device uses a surgically implanted mechanism that sends electrical signals to stimulate the vagus nerve, which can aid in a patient’s recovery of motor function following a stroke. Furthermore, this device uses 100 times less electrical stimuli than devices the FDA approved over 20 years ago for the same result. Possible side effects consist of mild surgical complications and discomfort surrounding the area of the implant

LEAK CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

bathroom or shower wasn’t as simple. But, if I didn’t have access to that, expecting people to go to a classroom building— which aren’t always open—to get

STAR CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7

ries, you grow with the characters, learning all the lessons they learn throughout the struggles of their war experiences.

Visually, “Wandering Star” is a product of its time, as the graphics add to its charm, make it

It is a bit idealistic that all these men become wildly successful in their fields and achieve so much fame, but Yanagihara attempts to balance their luck with a lot of misfortune.

Many reviews found the storyline overly pretentious and voyeuristic. The author shows the hardships of living through rosecolored lenses, but readers felt like Yanagihara also idealized selfharm and poor mental health. The controversy that surrounds this book is understandable, as there are a lot of triggering subjects within its pages. It dives deep into multiple types of abuse, infidelity and addiction amongst many other sensitive topics.

“If you have to skip some questions or come back to them, I mean, I would still answer them at my best in that moment just in case there's not enough time to come back and really parse them out,” she said.

For those who have not taken an in-person exam since March 2020, completing a timed written test in a cramped room brimming with other students – or even worse, at the Testing Center – may seem like a nightmare. To

when the vagus nerve is stimulated during rehabilitation sessions.

“The side effects we saw from the clinical trials only occurred when the vagus nerve was being stimulated, but other than that, there are no other major side effects,” Kilgard said.

The Vivistim paired VNS system was completed in 2019 but had been awaiting FDA approval for the last two years. Kilgard said the majority of treatments created for psychiatric and neurological diseases have a high failure rate, so the fact that this device

water or use the restroom is, in my opinion, ridiculous. And, if somebody was quarantined like I was two weeks ago, they would’ve been completely screwed.”

After the second leak was located and repaired and water was re-

even more endearing and unintentionally establish it as a classic 90’s sci-fi period piece. But, what really makes the art stand out from other comics is that it's all hand-drawn, even down to the detailed line work and intricate stippled illustrations. This personal touch is also a really

For instance, a huge focal point of the novel is Jude St. Francis. Jude is a racially ambiguous enigma with a mysterious, troubled past and a whole lot of emotional baggage. While it is clear that Jude is self-loathing and stubborn, readers will remain unaware of why he has permanent physical impairments and hates physical touch, among other unusual traits, until he’s ready to discuss these things with his companions. But throughout, Yanagihara's pacing forces the reader to be patient and consume her content page by page.

This novel is clearly not for the faint of heart. At times, it is gruesome and difficult to read.

stave off any potential feelings of anxiety, Williams said to avoid associating with equally anxious peers right before the exam.

“You don't want to stand around those folks who are like, ‘Oh my God, did you look at this part? Or did you look at that? Oh, I'm going to fail. I'm not ready,’” she said. “I mean, we need camaraderie to some degree. But that's not the best kind before your test. So maybe look for a quiet place to do what-

is now FDA-approved was an unexpected outcome.

“We start off working on a project with a 99% chance of failure in mind; [usually] the side effects are either too big, or the effectiveness is too low,“ Kilgard said. “Now that we’ve proven the effectiveness for this rare case, we can go ahead and test other cases as well.”

The Device Center partnered with the company MicroTransponder to put their device out in the biomedical commercial market. UTD licensed

stored, journeyman plumber Kevin Cliborn further clarified Lujan’s description of the situation.

“As to what caused the outage, any number of things can happen. It could be age of the system, some fluctuation in the ground,

cool time capsule or footnote to the indie scene in comics.

Aside from the amazing handdrawn art and the epic timeless story, you should read “Wandering Star” because it's one of the best examples of a “labor of love” in existence. The story behind the comic’s creation is equally compel-

But the prose itself is wonderful, filled with powerful descriptions and romantic diction. Yanagihara’s beautiful writing style and excellent emotional pacing clash heavily with the brutal content to create a unique novel that is one of the most emotional things I have ever read.

A lot of people also disliked how the novel failed to mention the origin of the men’s friendships despite it being a lengthy book. The novel begins with already established friendships, but I liked the ambiguity of it. Many times, meeting someone isn’t the most exciting moment in a relationship, and I can’t recall how I met my closest friends. It’s the restaurants

ever your routine is. Look at a magazine, or, or whatever on your phone, but find something that's relaxing.”

If you still find yourself panicking during the exam, Williams said “to start to take a breath or to calm yourself with your thoughts and get centered again.” Close your eyes, breathe in slowly through your nose for five seconds and then out through your mouth for another five seconds. Continue this deep breathing until you actually notice your

the device technology to MicroTransponder in order to make it accessible to the healthcare community.

“Early next year, the company will initially provide these devices to a few local sites but eventually plan to market it around the world,” Kilgard said. “There are certainly some barriers to adoption since it’s a surgical implant, but other than that, it will be widely available.”

Currently, the team is running three new clinical trials, with the first one involving a device that works

tree roots pushing on it, any number of things. And then there was the second leak, which wasn’t here when we were working on the system initially—at least, we didn’t see it, so if it was here, it wasn’t showing itself.”

ling: Wood worked on this book while she had a full-time job. Furthermore, the version of “Wandering Star” available for purchase is the second version because Wood wasn’t satisfied with the initial iteration and felt compelled to redo it to perfection. Wood embodies the spirit of a true artist and made this

we eat at, the car rides we take— not the initial meetings that make a relationship. The author proves that point by immediately throwing the reader into this tightly bound friend group which makes you feel like a part of the group from the very beginning.

The magic of this book lies in the fact that Yanagihara's development of the characters almost always supersedes the volume of descriptive mundane activities. I assumed I would grow tired of pages of characters going to their jobs, eating or commuting. Instead, I found myself loving these seemingly unimportant details because it gives so much insight into the characters. They aren’t

body start to relax (it might take a few trials). Open your eyes and assure yourself that you studied and you’re doing the best you can. Since you may only have a minute to spend on this, it’s okay if your body does not feel exceptional as a result. The goal is to just feel okay enough to get through the test.

As for practical things, Williams said to take a shower, brush your teeth and exercise the day before the exam to refresh and ease your body into a state of

similarly to the Vivistim paired VNS System but is much smaller. The second trial is for using this device to treat spinal cord injury, and the third trial is for testing the device to potentially aid people with PTSD.

“The possibilities are endless,” Kilgard said. “This device could potentially aid veterans who’ve been to Iraq or Afghanistan or people who have suffered from some sort of trauma.”

The team is currently recruiting people with PTSD or spinal cord injuries and those who are recovering

While Phase 6 residents were primarily focused on their lack of water, the amount of potable water lost to the parking lot’s drainage systems prior to the system’s reparation was not insignificant.

“Flow through these pipes de-

project not because she had to but because she was passionate.

If you want to support this fellow creative, you can leave a review on the Amazon listing for “Wandering Star” after you purchase it. In addition to bringing attention to this diamond-in-therough by leaving a review, you can

just two-dimensional people; they live day to day just as the readers do. It gives the audience time to become invested in the lives of these characters that we follow for chapters and chapters of content.

Although “A Little Life” is known for being sad, as an unemotional person I was fairly certain that I would not shed a tear. I was very wrong. Towards the middle of the novel, I was a sobbing mess, literally staining the pages with my tears. I have never cared or hated literary characters the way I did in this book, so I highly recommend it if you want to romanticize your life, or if you're in need of a good cry.

normalcy. She also said to avoid caffeine and try not to review your notes during the hour before the test to help relax your mind.

Take your studying seriously, but remember that your grade on an exam does not accurately reflect how brilliant or unintelligent you are as a student. If you can’t remember how many points you scored on each of your exams last semester, don’t agonize about another test score you will also soon forget.

from stroke to participate in clinical trials. For more information about participating in the trials, visit the Texas Biomedical Device Center’s website.

“The real benefit [of the approval] is for the patient population. If 100 years ago you had a stroke, they would tell you to practice motor movements, and that’s even what we do now,” Kilgard said. “After this approval, people will be able to go to their doctor and say they want this neuroscience-designed treatment.”

pends on the city, and I’m not completely sure what Richardson’s is—I haven’t measured it,” Cliborn said. “So, we have no idea how much water was lost. It was still on before we got here, and nobody thought to turn it off.”

even get a hand-drawn character illustration from Wood. All you have to do is consult the gallery of illustrations on Wood’s website, then email her a link of your Amazon review and the number of illustrations you would like. What are you waiting for? Go out and give this comic a read.

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