the Mercury
www.utdmercury.com
The Student Newspaper of UTD
Vol. XXX, No. 14
Alumna’s cupcake art moves to NY gallery Page 2
Campus through the lens of day and night Page 7
November 1, 2010
Poet shifts views through art Page 9
Graphene rising
Parking update: permits, lots Shane Damico
Managing Editor spd064000@utdallas.edu
courtesy of Rodolfo Guzman
Materials science graduate student Muge Acik published research on new formations of graphene, a single layer of carbon one atom thick, and oxygen in October.
Grad student publishes on new material Rebecca Gomez
Staff Writer becks@student.utdallas.edu
Before her research was published in the Oct. 2010 issue of the scientific journal “Nature Materials,” before
her discovery of a radical new formation of graphene oxide, before she could even conceive of what the data from her experiments was telling her, materials science graduate student Muge Acik had to prove
quantum physics wrong. Acik, more familiar with chemistry than physics, worked with Materials Science Department Head Yves Chabal to observe the unusual behavior of electrons in the experiments.
“The exciting part was that to discover this conformation of graphene oxide, we had to solve how this conformation occurred,”
see GRAPHENE page 6
Remember it ‘gets better’ Danelle Adeniji
Staff Writer dxa102120@utdallas.edu
On Oct. 20, the National Day of Remembrance, people across the nation and campus wore purple to honor the memories of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (lgbt) teens who took their lives. Throughout September a
total of ten lives, ranging in from ages 13-19, were ended. These suicides had one thing in common — bullying. The case that brought antigay bullying back into the light was Rutgers University freshman Tyler Clementi who committed suicide September because two students videotaped him in an intimate encounter with a man and
broadcast the video online. This issue has exploded the past month according to Dana Rudolph in her Oct. 10 article “Bullied to Death.” Writer Dan Savage started the “It Gets Better Project” in September for lgbt teens who have no one to talk to or no one to turn to. One of the
photo by Albert Ramirez
Hundreds of students wait to take chemistry quizzes in the GEMS, Gateways to Excellence in Math and Science, PC lab about four times a month.
Students in science classes question quiz protocol Contributor news@utdmercury.com
There are about 800 students in General Chemistry I, 200 students in General Chemistry II and only 40
seats in the GEMS, Gateways to Excellence in Math and Science, PC lab where each week, these students must take an online quiz. This, some students have said, has resulted in long lines and missed quiz deadlines.
see PARKING page 4
Ban discussed Smoking policy evaluated Shane Damico
Managing Editor spd064000@utdallas.edu
see REMEMBRANCE page 4
Running out of time
Nada Alsami
This semester, students, faculty and staff have had a few reasons to look at parking differently. First from permit changes and increased online sales, and now to future lot adjustments. The Evening Orange (EO) permit is once again available for student purchase, said Transportation Manager Nancy Branch. EO permits allow students to park in orange spaces after 5 p.m. only. “The students at (the School of Management) really communicated to Dean Pirkul that they wanted (the EO permit) back,” Branch said. Following the EO’s availability to students, the Purple permit is now available for purchase by faculty and staff. Branch said the idea was to provide each demographic with a higher level permit than they had previously been capable of purchasing. Unexpectedly, the Purple permit’s availability barely improved its sales. “We were very sur-
prised that we didn’t see a significant increase in Purple permit purchases,” Branch said. Branch said perhaps her department failed to adequately market the change, but she also has another theory. “Staff and faculty got mad at us that they weren’t seeing enough gold (spots),” Branch said. “(They) are buying green and gold. They’re not buying the ones that they should be buying, orange and purple, the higher levels of parking. Everybody wants to pay the lower price.” In the future, at least a year’s time, the Parking and Transportation Department will discuss designating the lots nearest to on-campus buildings for faculty and staff and lots farther away for students. Branch said this is a typical parking setup for most universities. UTD will have its first paid visitor lot in the next 2-3 weeks, Branch said. Lot I, adjacent to the Conference Center, will have an electronic pay
General Chemistry I and II students are assigned an online quiz in the GEMS PC lab about four times each month. The Students have
see GEMS page 4
According to University policy, to promote a healthy, safe and aesthetically pleasing work, educational and living environment, all facilities at UTD are smoke free. This means all students, staff and faculty are expected to smoke at least 25 feet away from campus buildings. The UT System Student Advisory Council (UTSSAC) is discussing the possibility of a system wide smoking ban which could ban smoking on campus at UTD entirely. UTSSAC meets three times every year to discuss possible policy changes concerning students in the UT System. After a decision is made, the council may present a proposal to the UT System Board of Regents for approval. The council is composed of two student representatives from each campus. UTD’s 2010-2011 representatives are Student Government (SG) President and political science senior Grace Bielawski and SG Communications Committee chair and Arts & Technology senior Kia Wright. Wright is serving
photo by Albert Ramirez
Graduate students Nuvsh Reddy (left) and Shakil Lalani (right) smoke outside Green Hall. on UTSSAC’s Student Involvement and Campus Life (SICL) Committee, which is responsible for drafting the smoking ban, if they choose to do so. Discussion on the ban started after SICL Committee members said many students on their campus don’t like smoking, Wright said. According to the results of SG’s September soundoff, out of 302 responses, 195 students would likely support a smoking ban and
107 would likely not. A decision hasn’t been made, yet. The first SICL Committee meeting was primarily composed of brainstorming. “The committee isn’t certain if it’d be a full-out smoking ban or just have designated areas away from traffic,” Wright said. “But apparently it’s not feasible at some schools because their campuses are
see SMOKING page 5