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December 7, 2015
KEVIN VANHORN | MERCURY STAFF
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TUITION INCREASE PROPOSED University aims to pay for faculty salaries, buildings among other expenses NIDHI GOTGI AND TEENAZ RALHAN Mercury Staff
For the first time in four years, a tuition increase is coming to UTD. President Ad Interim Hobson Wildenthal submitted a proposal for a tuition increase to the UT System Board of Regents on Dec. 7. UTD is considering a 6.4 percent increase in resident and non-resident undergraduate tuition, an 8.5 percent increase in resident graduate tuition and a 10.4 percent increase in non-resident graduate tuition. This proposed increase would only affect incoming students starting Fall 2016, as current students have fixed tuition rates under the Guaranteed Tuition Plan. The Regents will vote on a decision about the proposal in February. Inflation has decreased the value of UTD’s income over the last few years, and there hasn’t been a rise in costs in the past four years. “(Chancellor William McRaven) had presented the Regents a concept that the universities needed
THE PROS OF HIGHER TUITION At this point in the game, it’s pretty clear that the tuition raise is simply non-negotiable. If students want basic functions of the university, like hiring faculty and staff that can cater to our high demands, this raise needs to happen. Even though UTD already has the highest tuition of any public school in the state of Texas, the university helps its students with financial aid packages and scholarships. Having higher tuition isn’t going to make more students want to come to school here, which may hurt UTD when it comes to getting high quality students. But when the alternative of not being able to pay bills is put into perspective, it really isn’t that big of a loss.
to have a base 2 percent per year increase to deal with inflation,” Wildenthal said. “And that it was conceivable that (the universities) would ask for more than 2 percent to deal with competitive gaps, and the Regents were receptive to considering that kind of proposal.” He said the university is already operating at a deficit and, if student costs don’t increase, it could lead to cutbacks on services. “We’re not affording what we’re doing now. We’ve got two layers: things we need to do that we’re not doing, but to be honest, we can’t afford to do what we’ve been doing because you can’t continue to run a deficit,” he said. The additional funding that the tuition increase would provide would go towards hiring more advisors and teachers’ assistants, provide competitive salaries to TA’s and health insurance to graduate
→ SEE TUITION, PAGE 14
-Esteban Bustillos, Editor-inChief
THE CONS OF HIGHER TUITION While it may not be a secret by now that UTD is in desperate need of a tuition raise just to pay to keep itself afloat, it doesn’t mean it’s something we should praise automatically. Student debt is already a massive issue in this country and the idea of a university raising the costs for students to attend school can be detrimental. While this particular increase in tuition may not be the end of the world, it makes me wonder what will happen in the future. Will there be more and more increases in how much it costs to go to school? How much say will students actually have in these decisions? It’s a chilling thought, but this tuition increase may open the door to more hikes in pay on the road to Tier One. -Esteban Bustillos, Editor-inChief
ESTEBAN BUSTILLOS | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Student stars in Nat Geo Memorial for transgender Jersusalem documentary victims marked by grafitti
Film highlights life of women of different religions in holy city LGBT groups seek better awareness on campus after incident
JASON JANIK, PEROT MUSEUM OF NATURE AND SCIENCE | COURTESY
Neuroscience junior Farah Ammouri (left) stands with Daniel Ferguson, the writer and director of “Jersusalem 3D.” The film screened at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science on Dec. 3. SURAIYA RAHMETULLA Mercury Staff
Almost all 297 seats were filled at the Perot Museum’s Hoglund Foundation Theater on Dec. 3 for the premiere of “Jerusalem 3D.” The film follows the stories of three young women and their families, all of whom practice one of the three Abrahamic faiths: Islam, Judaism and Christianity. One of those young women happened to be a UTD student. Farah Ammouri, a neuroscience junior, is a Muslim
whose family and ancestors have been in Jerusalem for thousands of years. “Jerusalem, to me, is more than just a city. It’s beauty, it’s spirit and it’s also my religion,” Ammouri says in the first few lines of the film. “But, most importantly, it’s my family. Most people don’t think I’m Muslim. It’s only when I go to the mosque and put a headscarf (on), and it surprises them. Jerusalem is full of surprises.”
→ SEE JERUSALEM, PAGE 14
RAINBOW GUARD | COURTESY
The word “weird” was found printed over a painting on Nov. 30 on Spirit Rocks memorializing individuals killed due to anti-transgender violence. ESTEBAN BUSTILLOS Editor-in-Chief
A display made on one of the spirit rocks in remembrance of transgender individuals lost to violence was defaced on the night of Nov. 30. The rock, which was painted by Pride and Rainbow Guard, was commemorating Transgender Day of Remembrance — an annual observance that memorializes those who were killed as a result of anti-transgender violence. This year, the Day of
Remembrance was Nov. 20. On the morning of Dec. 1, the rock was found with the word “weird” spray-painted over the message. Additionally, a separate rock painted with the words “#BlackLivesMatter” was also painted over with the words “#AllLivesMatter” for the second time in a month. Rainbow Guard President Adam Richards said he was upset by the message.
→ SEE MONUMENT, PAGE 13