March 31, 2014
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FOOLS'
Fake news for UTD → SPECIAL SECTION
SPRINGTIME Photos from the week-long celebration → SEE PAGES 8-9
THE MERCURY | UTDMERCURY.COM
Assault victims decline to press charges ANWESHA BHATACHARJEE Web Editor
A sexual assault, two other assaults and a robbery were reported in the University Village apartments in the last week of February; two of the cases have been cleared and closed. The sexual assault, reported on Feb. 24 in Phase VIII, was exceptionally
cleared, which means the complainant chose to not press charges with the Dallas District Attorney’s office, said Lt. Ken Mackenzie, UTDPD’s crime investigation division head. The DA office also declined to accept the case due to lack of evidence. Both the complainant and the respondent were cooperative with the police but were unable to provide suf-
ficient evidence supporting their side of the case, Mackenzie said. The sexual assault was reported several days after the incident, as a result of which there was no medical examination to prove or disprove the assault. The alleged assaulter was a person known to the complainant, Mackenzie said, which is the reason why no alerts were sent out to stu-
dents on campus. No other witnesses were present at the time of the incident, he said. Despite the complainant choosing not to press charges, UTDPD would have filed the case according to the Title IX and Dear Colleague Letter federal mandates, Mackenzie said, had any substantial evidence existed and had the DA office accepted the
case. The Dean of Students’ office has received the police report for the case and has been briefed by UTDPD. The office will conduct a separate investigation into the case as per the federal mandates on sexual assaults and the police report will form the starting point, said Dean of Students Gene
→ SEE ASSAULTS, PAGE 16
Students bootstrap New SG admin hardware startup puts focus on
traditions, spirit
ROLLOUT | COURTESY
Rollout, a hardware company, is a product of UTD's new Startup Launch Track program offered through the Master of Science in Innovation and Entrepreneurship degree in the Naveen Jindal School of Management.
Paperless blueprint system boasts flexible screen, scalable product JOEY SANKMAN Mercury Staff
With billion dollar initial public offerings, software startup companies like Twitter and Facebook have grabbed the limelight of public interest, creating the perception that there is a disparity of success and prevalence between software and hardware startup companies. However, hardware startups remain prolific. One example is Rollout, a company founded last July by innovation and entrepreneurship graduate students Alejandro Jacobo and Matthew Hinson. The pair is part of the 2013 inaugural class of the Startup Launch Track in the Master of Science in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, or MSIE, program. The MSIE degree prepares students for entrepreneurial activities, but the Startup Launch Track enables students to start a new business venture as part of their MSIE degree program. Rollout provides a novel hardware and software solution to enable scalable and full-size paperless blueprints for customers in the architecture, engineering and construction industry. The idea originated from Hinson’s experience in industry where he observed the need and advantage of going paperless, Jacobo said. Conventionally, updates to paper blueprints are slow and inefficient, and existing approaches using tablets or television screens are either too small and battery hungry, or too bulky for portable applications, he said. The most challenging aspect of the hardware design, Jacobo said, was the implementation of the display. “We are in the final talks with our
supplier for our flexible screen,” he said. “We have talked to manufacturers, and when it comes to the (Central Processing Unit) and other hardware, it’s not as challenging as you would think since there are people who can do that now.” Rollout is on the cusp of creating its first prototype and already has interested customers. However, launching Rollout has not been without ups and downs. Mutual support from co-founder Hinson has led to their resiliency, and a strong partnership has enabled the progress of Rollout, Jacobo said. “Matt is a tremendous leader, and when you have the right partner, you can get to the next level,” he said. The success of Rollout is indicative of a hardware startup community that may simply be flying under the radar. Surpassing the previous record of 29 fundraising deals set in 1999, 31 deals were secured by venture capitalists for hardware startups last year. Furthermore, hardware startups received a record $848 million from venture capitalists last year, beating the previous record of $442 million set in 2012, according to DJX VentureSource. The lower capital investment requirements and quick development of software startups are reasons why investors may pass over hardware startups, but hardware is still essential as a platform for new services much like smartphones are to apps, Jacobo said. A lack of media coverage has added to the prevailing view that there are few hardware startups, said Dan Bochsler, senior lecturer at the Jindal School of Management and member of the Metroplex Technology Business Council. “It’s part of what we see,” Bochsler
said. “There are plenty of hardware startups, but I think we hear more about the software startups because they are easy for a broad range of people. There are many phone apps that we hear about that are actually more of a cottage industry instead of being oriented towards a business.” Despite the focus on software startups, launching a hardware startup company is possible for anyone with an understanding of how to develop a new company, Bochsler said. Exploration is necessary before execution, meaning a careful understanding of customers is essential before releasing a product, which can be explained in a two-step process, he said. “First, customer discovery, which is understanding customer wants and needs, competition and market,” he said. “And second, customer validation, which involves the construction of a minimum viable product (prototype) that will give customer feedback.” Students interested in learning more about launching a startup company or becoming involved in the DFW startup community can participate in organizations like the Richardson Chamber of Commerce or the Metroplex Technology Business Council, but it is also important to focus on networking in general, Bochsler said. “It’s not just about a technical bent; it’s about finding the right people and organizations that can assist you in development,” he said. The Dallas Entrepreneur Center,
→ SEE HARDWARE, PAGE 16
BUILDING BRIDGES | COURTESY
Student Government President Brooke Knudtson (right) and Vice President Nancy Fairbank (left) seek to immediately improve the senate's outreach. SHEILA DANG Managing Editor
As each of the newly elected Student Government senators were named on the evening of March 26, Brooke Knudtson knew it was a good sign that most came from her ticket “Building Bridges.” Finally, Knudtson and her running mate, political science freshman Nancy Fairbank, were announced as next year’s SG president and vice president. The pair ran against EMAC and marketing junior Katie Truesdale, and electrical engineering sophomore Alex Zahabizadeh — the presidential and vice presidential candidates for the ticket “Forward.” A record-breaking 14 percent of students voted, double the 7 percent turnout last year. Part of 2013’s low turnout may be attributed to the fact that only one ticket ran in the election. This year, the two tickets were led by members of the same sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta. The election became a taboo topic among the Thetas. Knudtson said she knew it was going to be a split vote among the sisters; she and Truesdale didn’t campaign within the group. “We just wanted to (keep the election) outside of Theta,” Knudtson said. “I’m sure it’s going to be a little awkward for a little bit, but other than that I think it will be fine. I’ve worked with Katie before in other SG things and for 5Ks and stuff. It’s like another professional relationship.” The platform for Building Bridges is to improve spirit, tradition and community across campus; the three areas Fairbank said most students have asked them to work on. Apart from the Whoosh, Knudtson,
a political science sophomore, said there aren’t enough traditions on campus to bring students together. Additionally, communication must be improved to make students more aware of campus events, and in turn, increase student attendance. Knudtson said she plans to mandate senators attend a certain number of events and sports games in order to increase SG’s presence on campus. She pointed to the men’s basketball team’s game against Chapman on March 7, which broke a record for number of attendees, as an example of Comet spirit that should be evident every day. “If we can have that sort of energy throughout campus, that kind of spirit, that’s what we’re looking to build upon…,” Knudtson said. But adding food options on campus — particularly tacos and vegetarian dishes — is also a top priority for Knudtson and Fairbank next year. Chartwells currently has a contract with UTD, and thus a monopoly over the food options that are available on campus, Fairbank said. She and Knudtson plan to present a petition to Chartwells to pressure them to either lease out space to more vendors, expand their own menu or allow an offcampus vendor to sell their vegetarian food on campus. “I think that if we can show Chartwells that there’s a very large desire for that, they’ll be more receptive,” Fairbank said. “It should be beneficial to them as well, because if students are willing to pay for vegetarian options, they should be willing to do that to help their business.”
→ SEE SG, PAGE 16