the Mercury
www.utdmercury.com
The Student Newspaper of UTD
Vol. XXX, No. 12
Discover a life entirely unlike your own Page 6
Battling bedbugs Jessica Melton
Editor-in-Chief jjm082000@utdallas.edu
Bedbugs made their way onto campus apartments, and are currently being treated by Terminix. Bedbugs are more likely to nest in apartment buildings because there are many residences within a close proximity and there is no way to prevent them, said Terminix employee Christie Stotts. Electrical engineering graduate student Sandeep Kannappa has had three bedbug treatments in his apartment so far, and said apartment management has partnered with pest control company Terminix to fix the situation as best they can. The treatment requires apartment occupants to move all of their belongings into the center of the room so Terminix can spray the walls for bugs. Students are then advised to wash and dry all of their clothes to rid them of any bedbugs. “The worst part (about it) is that once you get the
treatment all the bugs come out,” Kannappa said. “If they’re still there after three weeks (Terminix) comes out again to spray. Kannappa said he’s had multiple problems with bedbugs because other people he knows get them and when they come over they bring them back into his apartment. Bedbugs can travel on people, clothing, bags, boxes or anything else they can get into, Stotts said. Impossible to prevent and difficult to see at the size of an apple seed, most residents learn they have bedbugs after they see the bites. Management information systems graduate Saudamini Kadam said she realized she had bedbugs after she noticed itchy bites on her arms. “That’s how you know you have bedbugs,” Suyaj said. “They itch a lot.” Psychology sophomore Brittney Gordon said she
see BEDBUGS page 4
October 4, 2010
Lady Comets earn victory after victory Page 8
Fuzzy faces find a home Page 7
New record set Growth of UTD student body 17,000
18,000 16,000
14,000
14,000
14,000
14,000
2005
2006
2007
2008
15,000
14,000 12,000 10,000 8,000 6,000 4,000 2,000 0
2009
2010
illustration by Laura-Jane Cunningham
Enrollment totals more than 17,000 Jessica Melton
Editor-in-Chief jjm082000@utdallas.edu
Enrollment has increased more than double its expected rate, resulting in the largest growth in the history of UTD. With more than 17,000 students in
attendance newly created space is already fully utilized. “We are pleased that we’ve had double our expected enrollment increase,” said Provost Hobson Wildenthal. “At the same time it creates problems we weren’t pre-
Dedicated to finish mall Mrs. Margaret McDermott receives flowers at the Sept. 29 campus enhancement dedication in appreciation of her major contribution to the project. UTD President David Daniel speaks at the dedication before an audience sitting on the newly renovated SU steps.
pared for.” According to the UTD President David Daniel’s strategic plan the targeted rate of annual enrollment growth is 4 percent. In the past five years the second largest enrollment increase occurred in 2009 at 5.6 percent.
“We don’t want to grow too fast,” said Executive Director of Strategic Planning and Analysis Lawrence Redlinger. If the university receives students faster than the
see STUDENTS page 4
Entrepreneurs stand strong Danelle Adeniji
Staff Writer dxa102120@utdallas.edu
It started with a few rubber bands and pencils. All they wanted to do was make a simple stand to hold up their iPad so they could continue watching TV. That’s when the idea developed to design something that would functionally hold and stand up most mobile Apple products. Entrepreneur senior Ajay Desai and his partner UTD alumnus Vindi Sedey have worked to upgrade an accessory that works and plays as hard as they do. Desai said as high end technology consumers,
Ajay Desai they’re always looking for ways to enhance the gadget experience. “Some Apple products already come with a stand, but they can be more trouble than they are worth,” Desai said. “The user would have to carry (the stand) around instead
see ICHAIR page 4
Technical textbooks Rebecca Gomez
Staff Writer becks@student.utdallas.edu
photos by Albert Ramirez
Expense and impracticality of use underlie uneven adoption of e-textbooks on campus. Portrayed as a lowcost, light weight option to traditional textbooks, they have been used by students with varying degrees of popularity. School of Management (SOM) Professor Marilyn Kaplan endorsed e-textbooks as inexpensive and useful for her distance-
learning students. “My distance learning students are literally all over the world. It’s not practical for them to haul paper textbooks to Japan with them on business trips,” Kaplan said. The motivation to seek out collaboration with a publisher to provide e-textbooks for her courses came five years ago, after intervening on a student’s behalf to correct a mistake the school bookstore had made. “The campus bookstore
see E-TEXTS page 4