the Mercury
www.utdmercury.com
The Student Newspaper of UTD
Vol. XXXI, No. 7
Star pitcher powers through historic season Page 10
Comet mascot celebrates 13th
April 18, 2011
Two UTD bands share music and faith Page 8
Student survey reveals favorite classes Page 5
INTERNATIONAL WEEK STUDENTS SPREAD DIVERSITY
Story by Anwesha Bhattacharjee Photo by Akshay Harshe
Campus life at UTD is changing as the international student body grows each year. The university currently has international students from 102 countries across the world, according to a report released by the International Student Services Organization, or ISSO. UTD is the 45th largest internationally populated institution of higher education in the U.S., with a total international student population of 2,749 students. Just two years ago, the annual increase in the international population was 2 or 3 percent, said Lisabeth Lassiter, assistant director of International Services. “But last year the international student population went up by 54 percent for new students and overall by 17 percent,” Lassiter said.
photo by Akshay Harshe
Temoc celebrates his 13th birthday in the Comet Cafe. Hundreds of students dropped by between classes to eat a slice of the Temoc cake.
Temoc try-outs conclude, UTD flame is passed to new student Sheila Dang
Contributor news@utdmercury.com
His flaming orange hair, blue skin and wide grin can be seen throughout the year at basketball and volleyball games and even chess tournaments. They’re the telltale signs of the unique and eccentric
character known as UTD’s mascot “Temoc,” who was created by UTD alumnus Aaron Aryanpur in 1998. On April 14, Temoc celebrated his 13th birthday in the Comet Café complete with cake and hundreds of students who stopped by to
see TEMOC page 4
Student jumps straight to Ph.D.
photo by Navneet Kumar
see DIVERSITY page 6
Usher receives full ride to Johns Hopkins biostats grad program Nada Alasmi
Staff Writer nma096020@utdallas.edu
When Therri Usher applied to Johns Hopkins University to receive a master’s degree, her application was so outstanding that she was asked to consider a Ph.D. instead.
Usher, a statistics senior, will be attending Johns Hopkins on a full-ride scholarship in the fall to pursue a Ph.D. in biostatistics. Usher said while she isn’t afraid to jump straight into a Ph.D., she is nervous to
photo by Akshay Harshe
see BIOSTATS page 4
photo by Blaire Collum
Students take part in a five-day-long celebration of different nations. International Week took place April 4-8 and included a talent show (top), Henna art (left) and Passport to the World (right).
UTD alumnus runs for city council Former SG senator graduates to Plano politics Paul Dang
Contributor news@utdmercury.com
photo by Christopher Wang
Matt Lagos, former Student Government senator and UTD alumnus, is running for Plano City Council.
Matt Lagos graduated from UTD last semester, but unlike many of his peers who are scrambling to land their first post-college jobs, Lagos decided to run for a seat on the Plano City Council. While he was double majoring in accounting and finance, Lagos wanted to represent his fellow business students at UTD. He served on the student senate as the School of Management senior in January of 2010. “I basically saw Student Government as a place where I could give back and help serve (students),” Lagos said. SG president Grace Bielawski said she was impressed with
Lagos’ involvement as a senator. “When we were both running for election in spring 2010, he was one of the only senators running by himself,” Bielawski said. “He seemed to really understand his role as an elected representative by bringing awareness to candidacy and also what SG was. From what I’ve seen of his city council campaign, it seems to be the same thing.“ At UTD, Lagos oversaw the Govern the Vote initiative, which registered almost 500 students to vote. He also helped start the first annual I Heart UT Dallas drive, which raised about $2,000 for people affected by the tsunami in Haiti. Unbeknownst to Lagos at the time, his experience with
SG would transfer over into politics. Since spring 2011, he has campaigned for Seat 5 on the Plano City Council. As a council member, Lagos would be responsible for approving the city’s budget, ordinances and appointment of positions for boards and committees. Most importantly, he said, would be his job as an advocate and representative of the people. “What makes a good politician is someone who listens to the people — someone who is always seeking input from the people they’re elected to represent,” Lagos said. “The minute you start ignoring what people think, you get yourself in trouble.” Going door-to-door, Lagos introduces himself and his campaign to the residents
of Plano, and gets to know potential voters. He also talks to a younger demographic of voters at Collin County Community College. At age 32, some might consider Lagos young for political office, especially after he just graduated from college; but, Lagos does not see it as a disadvantage. “Most people, when I go to the door, they’ll bring up my age or my lack of experience,” he said. “But when I tell them that I want to balance the budget without raising taxes and promote redevelopment and neighborhood support, that’s what they care about. Yes, your experience does matter; your background does matter but they’re mainly concerned with how you’re going to help (their) lives.”