Freshmen move into Res Halls, apartments PAGE 11
From war to the chessboard PAGE 13
the Mercury
VOLUME XXXI, NO. 11
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF UTD
AUGUST 22, 2011
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Student enrollment continues to climb NADA ALASMI Mercury Staff
UTD is poised to break yet another student enrollment record. There will be about 18,400 students enrolled at UTD in fall 2011, according to projections by the Office of Strategic Planning and Analysis, or OSPA. The enrollment growth of about 1,000 more students marks a 7 percent increase from fall 2010.
“Even though there are very few days left until classes begin, historically many new students enroll in the last few days,” said Lawrence Redlinger, OSPA executive director, in an email to The Mercury. “If historical trends repeat themselves, enrollment could reach 18,750 (students this fall).” In the past, enrollment at UTD has followed a pattern of about three years of rapid growth (at 5 percent or more), followed by seven years of slow growth (less than 5 percent per year), accord-
ing to information from the OSPA. UTD should, on average, grow at a rate of 5 percent per year for the next eight or nine years, Redlinger said. For the first time in UTD’s history, a large growth in enrollment is expected to continue not for only three years, but for an entire decade. He also added that by 2020, enrollment should be at least 25,000 students.
see ENROLLMENT page 7
AKSHAY HARSHE/STAFF
Overcrowded housing Temp housing requests at all-time high
NADA ALASMI Mercury Staff
students. In an effort to cope with the situation, Doug Eckel, associate dean in the School of Management, asked for help with temporarily housing about 100 Chinese, Taiwanese and Indian students in an email to all faculty, staff and students on Aug. 11. Ten students and faculty members responded to the email within
Lot J, located near the Activity Center, lost more than 25 parking spaces when it was repainted on August 10, according to information from Paul Smith, Parking and Transportation supervisor. The gold spaces, which Smith said were used by students in the School of Management, or SOM, were “moved” to the SOM’s lots and replaced by 14 purple, 10 orange, three green and nine handicap parking spaces, Smith said. These purple and orange spaces were added to replace Lot F, which will be demolished along with UTD’s old bookstore, to make way for the Arts and Technology building. Repainting will also take place in the parking lots near the SOM — lots Q, M-North, M-East and the new M-West, which is yet to open. Currently these lots are permit-type segregated: Lot Q and MNorth, near the SOM side doors, are for purple and orange permits and lot M-East near the front entrance is for orange and gold per-
see HOUSING page 13
see PARKING page 7
ANWESHA BHATTACHARJEE Mercury Staff
Two major international student organizations are struggling to handle a 33 percent increase in temporary housing requests from new students this fall, resulting in a dearth of shortterm accommodation for the new students. Joyee Gao, president of the Friendship Association of Chinese Students and Scholars, or FACSS, said their website had received more than 400 requests from incoming Chinese students for airport pick-ups and temporary housing. Meanwhile, the Indian Students Association, or ISA, has received close to 300 similar requests for fall 2011, said computer science graduate student and ISA volunteer Lakshmikanthan Vijayaraghavam. Since some schools had department orientations starting Aug. 16, many students arrived early in order to attend. However, most of the onand off- campus move-in dates are in late August or September, so these students need temporary accommo-
Parking changes at SOM
AKSHAY HARSHE/STAFF
Indian students arrive at the DFW International Airport on Aug. 14. Many students coming from overseas must wait until the end of August to move into their apartments. Meanwhile, a record total of 700 international students have requested short-term accomodations.
dation for 15 to 20 days until they can move in to their own apartments. Jiayi Liu, Accounting & Information Management graduate student and a volunteer with FACSS, said their organization has two main ways to accommodate the new students temporarily. “The first resource is our students from previous years who have already settled down and have an apartment,” Liu said. “The other resource (are the
Losing the training wheels
local churches), which have helped us a lot — they pick up students from the airport and provide temporary accommodation to the new students.” The high demand for temporary housing keeps in line with UTD’s increasing international student enrollment. More than 1,300 international students were expected to attend the six international student orientations in August, which is a 40 percent increase over last year’s number of 959
New ATEC complex coming SHANE DAMICO Editor-in-Chief
BEN HAWKINS/STAFF
Forty special needs children attended the Lose the Training Wheels camp at UTD, hosted by the Down Syndrome Guild of Dallas, which took place Aug. 8-12.
This fall Arts & Technology students will file into one of the five classrooms available to them from sunrise until after sunset; but, as soon as fall 2013 ATEC students will have one of the largest buildings on campus to call their home. Construction has begun on a $60.5 million, 150,000-square-foot complex intended to primarily house ATEC and Visual Arts students in response to the programs’ significant growth. The new ATEC facility will cover roughly twice the real estate of the Student Services Building and will be built between the McDermott Library and School of Management building, where the on-campus bookstore was formerly located. Richard Dempsey, associate vice president for Business Affairs, said the ATEC program is an exciting development that the university is eager to highlight. “The whole program has grown
very rapidly,” Dempsey said. “But the (current ATEC) building just doesn’t work at all. Every time I (visit) there are people sitting around the halls.” Thomas Linehan, head of the ATEC program, said classes are currently scheduled from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. to compensate for the lack of classroom space, and research labs are even harder to come by. “One of the biggest problems we have is that because we consume so much of our equipment and software with classroom-based instruction it’s hard for the students to get in and work independently,” Linehan said. “We have a small lab that we call our ‘kitchen lab’ now where students can come in any time and work, but we just don’t have the resources that we need because we’re growing every single year at a pace that I’m going to need a couple more classrooms before the new building is even ready in order to survive.” Once the ATEC complex is complete, students will have access to multiple small research labs.
BY THE NUMBERS
• $60.5 million total project cost • 150,000 square feet • 1,200 seat lecture hall • Broke ground August 2011 • Estimated completion date of fall 2013 Each lab will feature a modular table and chair setup with electrical outlets installed into the floor to assist with custom layouts within the room, Linehan said. Many of the labs will include state of the art hardware and software preinstalled, he said. In addition to the smaller free-toaccess labs, larger, exclusive research space will also be built to support
see ATEC page 7
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UTD Police scanner
The following is a breakdown of key topics raised at the Aug. 16 Student Government, or SG, meeting. Full minutes of meetings can be found at www.utdallas.edu/student/sg/. Marilyn Kaplan, SG’s faculty advisor, said a few changes have been made to the university’s academic dishonesty policy. Faculty will determine a student’s punishment and then submit their case to Judicial Affairs. Following judgment, a board composed of faculty and students will review student appeals. Brittany Sharkey-Andrews, SG president and Art & Performance senior, said the Executive Committee had quite a bit of money left over in its budget, about $3,000. As a result, SG will use the extra funds to host a Welcome Week after party from 9-11 p.m. on Sept. 1. The event will include live music, a dunking booth, “pie-a-senator” and more. Other purchases made with the money were for an additional laptop — used
for voting booths, student sound offs and committee use — plaques for past and future homecoming kings and queens, Comet Textswap themed bookmarks and Executive Committee name tags. Kaitlyn West, Residential Student Affairs Committee chair and sophomore, said Thea Junt, UTD sustainability manager, informed her that more cardboard was recycled during this year’s freshman movein than any other day in UTD’s history. Kayla Klein, Academic Affairs Committee chair and undecided sophomore, said the next Comet Textswap will be from 12-2 p.m. on Aug. 29 and 30 in the Phoenix room and the SOM Town Hall will be from 4-6 p.m. on Sept. 12 in the Executive Dining Hall. Mechanical engineering freshman Saamer Mansoor was appointed to senate. The next senate meeting will take place at 5:15 p.m. on Sept. 6 in one of the Galaxy Rooms.
July 25 • A student reported his vehicle had been burglarized. July 26 • UTD Police received a report of unwanted physical contact. • A student reported their vehicle had been burglarized. July 27 • A contractor reported 12 rolls of fencing were stolen
Conference Center renamed As of mid-August the Conference Center has been officially renamed the Alexander Clark Center. The change is in response to a decision
from a construction area. • UTD Police received a report of theft of a bicycle from Phase V. July 29 • A student was cited for Consumption of Alcohol by a Minor. July 31 • Two non-affiliated persons were arrested for Possession of Marijuana Under 2 oz and
Possession of a Controlled Substance pursuant to a traffic stop. August 1 • A laptop was reported stolen. • A bicycle was reported stolen. August 10 • UTD Police officers were dispatched to the Waterview Apartments Building 4 in
News briefs
made by the UT System Board of Regents earlier this spring. The building is named in honor of Alexander Clark, former vice president of academic affairs, who passed away summer 2009, said Vice
President of Business Affairs Richard Dempsey. According to a meeting between university officials, the Clark Center will be refurnished and food and drink will be prohibited. Over the next year, certain events will
reference to criminal mischief. August 13 • A non-affiliated person was cited for criminal trespassing. August 14 • A non-affiliated person was arrested for Driving While Intoxicated and Possession of Marijuna Under 2 oz pursuant to a traffic stop.
gradually be removed from the building in an attempt to promote more formal interactions, such as guest speakers and lecture series. Dempsey said a dedication will be held later this fall. — Shane Damico
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Opinion
Common cents Beginning of the end Money tips from a finance prof JARED PICKENS Finance Professor
Welcome freshmen and returning students! I’m pleased to announce the addition of “Common Cents,” a column devoted to personal finance, for the readers of The Mercury. Whether you’re a freshman or a senior, it’s never too early or too late to start thinking about your personal finances. I know what you may be thinking — “Personal finance is not something I care about right now. I’ll worry about it when I’m out of college with a job and living on my own.” Before you stop reading, consider these statistics: • 62 percent of graduates from public universities will graduate with an average of $20,200 in student loan debt, which will take more than 10 years to pay off. • 45 percent of college students have four or more credit cards. The average student’s credit card debt is more than $3,000. • Students and graduates between ages 18 and 24 spend nearly 30 percent of their monthly income just on debt repayment. • The number of 18- to 24-yearolds declaring bankruptcy has increased by 96 percent in the past 10 years. • 50.8 percent of college-age adults agree with this statement: “I have experienced repeated, unsuccessful attempts to control, cut back or stop excessive money use.” Do you still think this column doesn’t apply to you? Consider this: The average 21-year-old in the United States — that’s you — will spend more than $2.2 million in his or her lifetime. Of that statistic, nearly 30 percent will go to debt repayment, that’s roughly $660,000. Start practicing good financial habits now and think of what you could buy with that extra $660,000! Over the course of this semester I’ll cover personal finance issues that are unique to college students. We’ll discuss tuition and financial aid, the use of student loans, credit cards, your credit score, ways to manage your spending habits and many other topics. It hasn’t been that long since I was in college and I know first-hand how important it is to begin making good financial decisions now. As the first member of my family to graduate from college, I put myself through school working 40 hours a week and attending classes full time. While I
was a student, there were times that I thought I had my finances all figured out and there were times that I struggled. I was one of those 62 percent of students who graduated with student loan debt, and after we graduated, my wife and I were among those who spent nearly 30 percent of our monthly income on debt repayment. My experiences with my own finances are what encouraged me to study financial planning and what gave me the passion to pass the financial literacy lessons that I have learned on to you. Since it wasn’t that long ago that I was right where you are, I want to conclude this column with a few personal spending tips from my own college experiences to help you get the semester started on the right foot: • Instead of buying your textbooks, consider renting or using e-books. • You don’t need a top-of-the-line computer or laptop to succeed in college. The cheaper models will do everything you need them to do and there’s always the computer lab. • Bring drinks and snacks with you to campus. You would be amazed how much you can save by not using vending machines. Similarly, set your alarm 10 minutes earlier in the morning and make your own coffee! • Use your financial aid check for educational purposes only. You are more likely to get into larger amounts of debt if you get into the habit of using that money for personal expenses. • Most importantly, don’t stress over money. Start making wise decisions now and enjoy your time in college! About the Author Jared Pickens is a senior lecturer in finance and the associate director of finance for the School of Management at UTD. He has bachelors and masters degrees in personal financial planning and is a certified financial planner™ practitioner and an accredited financial counselor. He practiced financial planning for four years and has been teaching classes in personal and corporate finance since August 2009. Throughout his career, Pickens has given more than 250 presentations and speeches discussing personal finance topics across the United States. He is also an active member of the Financial Planning Association of Dallas/Fort Worth. Pickens has been married to his wife, Kimberly, for five years, and they are expecting their first son, Cohen, in September.
Comet Comments
Advice from a senior in his final collegiate year
your professors. That page is called “brown nosing.” Teamwork in the academically I guess this is it. honest sense of the term: As imAlmost two decades of academia portant as it is to communicate culminates as I am a couple semeswith your professors, you also want ters and a few more credits away to build rapport with your fellow from graduating from this fine inclassmates. Study groups and the stitute of learnedness. sharing of notes are the only reason I have to admit that I’ve avoided academic probation. despite my initial reserWhen you go to class, look at the vations about this uniperson next to you. They’re in the versity, this school has same boat as you — help each other grown on me. out. A tip for the guys: Find a feLike an episode of male study buddy. They make more “Extreme Makeover,” informative and colorful study aids I’ve witnessed the visthan we could ever hope to. age of this campus Hard work pays off: Much like transform from beldam to belle as the workforce, the person doing the it underwent the surgical precision best gets paid more and this can’t be of construction crews. And unlike any more evident than the process that TV show, which stands as an of scholarships in college. The betexemplar for the moral bankruptcy ter your grade the more likely you’ll of our society, this university’s disreceive more tuition assistance from position has blossomed in sync with the powers that be. The student who its external radiance. puts in the most work in class will I almost feel bad that the first also tend to get the most leeway and article I ever wrote for this paper recognition from professors. That’s was written in attempt to tear the just the way it works — don’t hate school a new one, but really I only the player, hate the game. And it is a wrote it to inspire progress in the game; don’t ever forget that because areas that I felt the university was there’s no point in getting bent out lacking. Recently however, to my of shape for something that’s really discredit, progress has been the only just a simulation for the real world. thing on the agenda of this campus If you’ve noticed, these tenets as a record number of students have that I’ve mentioned can all be apenrolled here, bringing with them a plied in the job context. newfound verve that I had hoped When you commence your colthis school would someday boast on lege career, you initially learn from its campus. I’m ingesting newsprint the courses you take. As you venas we speak. ture closer and closer to the day As I play that badcaps and gowns begering Vitamin C come fashionable, you song prematurely in start to learn about Like an episode of ‘Extreme Makemy head, I can’t help your own education in over,’ I’ve witnessed the visage of this but feel old and dea more epistemological crepit at the ripe age perspective. campus transform from beldam to of 22 when I see the college belle as it underwent the surgical preci- forUltimately, incoming freshmen me was one big lession of construction crews. adorned with their son for the life I would cute little “silly banhave after college as a dz” and the convicproductive member of tion that they’ll remain BFFs with And as much as I hate to admit it, society. I might have been studying their friends from high school. the staying-awake muscles you de- English, history and science while The soon-to-be four years I’ve velop in college will be called upon failing math but in actuality I was spent in higher education have for the rest of your life. learning life skills that would stay taught me many valuable lessons — Communicating with superi- with me long after I depart this esalmost none of those were learned ors when things go wrong: People tablishment. in class since I spent the majority of make mistakes — that much is inAnyone can pick up a book and my time in class texting. I did, how- evitable. Irrespective of what you begin to learn facts by rote. Going ever, gain from attendance lessons may think, professors are also hu- to college, though, prepares you that were more important than any man and understand that to err is for the real world, and that piece lecture I could have taken notes for. to be a student. That being said, of paper you’re finally awarded Here are some of things I’ve learned communication with professors serves as a seal of approval, ensurover the years. will make the difference between a ing companies that you’re cut out Time management and the im- failing grade or an extension to the for employment because you’ve portance of priorities: How does due date of a paper. In the same way proved throughout the 18 years of one manage to shuffle between the you want to be on good terms with your education that you can put in deluge of classes, projects and ex- your managers and supervisors, you the time and effort despite the stress ams while still conserving time for want to be on the same page with you encounter. Mercury Staff
How do you manage your personal finances from month to month?
“I just try to keep my money. I don’t think about it very much.”
“I create an Excel sheet and categorize it to make basic calculations.”
“I always make sure not to buy stuff unless it’s necessary.”
Richard Green A&H senior
Anitha Kalaivanan Graduate student
Mike Larson CS freshman
“I set certain amounts for the things I spend using a calendar.”
“Open an account and keep track of my daily purchases in a notebook.”
“I mooch off my uncle — I live with him. I need to find a job soon.”
Steve Zapata ATEC freshman
Qiuhan Zhou Graduate student
Anthony Phung Physics freshman
Contributors Alison Kwong Parinitha Vedpathak Editor-in-Chief Shane Damico Managing Editor Bobby Karalla Director of Sales and Promotions Jessica Melton
friends and the recurrent episodes of substance abuse? What happens when procrastination rears its alluring head in the form of a new season of “Entourage”? All these questions and more will be answered when you enroll at your college institution of choice. There comes a time when you’ll have to make judgment calls like deciding whether you should attend your next class or cram for an impending test. These types of decisions that test your instincts will become second nature to the veteran student as he or she learns to juggle an array of flaming obligations while traversing the tightrope of sanity. Meeting a deadline in lieu of sleep: An average person needs roughly eight hours of sleep in order to be fully rested. Studies made up by my gut instinct show that the average college student gets a significantly less amount of sleep. There have been periods in my college undertaking when I’ve gotten less than a day’s recommended amount of rest for an entire week because I had to meet multiple deadlines for school and work. Fortunately, B12 and caffeine were concocted to allot more hours in the day and instigate future cardiac arrests. The war against sleep deprivation rages on and you will find that your head weighs more than your entire body during classroom PowerPoint slides.
PAUL DANG
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A few words from SG’s new leader B. SHARKEY-ANDREWS
Student Government President
When someone asks me how I think these next two semesters will pan out, I immediately think of three words: exciting, busy and fast. These words could aptly describe the tone not just of how quickly and interesting I feel my last year at UTD and with Student Government will be, but are more than adequate of the university as a whole. By the end of my first year, the flowery Student Union mall where I’d attended “Rock the Vote” in the fall was replaced with bulldozers and mud, and the field next to my apartment had a nearly complete residence hall. Year two kicked off with freshmen shaking us out of our excitement about a dining hall with the reality that the hours,
well, weren’t the most convenient, and closed with an end to the over two-decade-long battle for alcohol in The Pub. From the whirlwind that was year three, emerged the completion of the Science Learning Center, Student Services Building, a second residence hall and a visitors’ center complete with a college bookstore. Not one of these projects broke ground before I got here. Of course, the physical advancements have not gone unmatched — or unchallenged — by our ever bulging student population. Even as we threaten to tip the scale over 18,500 this fall, we remain some of the most competitive and scholastically impressive students you’ll find in the state. From Fullbright and Truman recipients to students that juggle neuroscience studies and ASC cham-
pionships, we’ve got quite a group to brag about. As exciting as the past three years have been, I have to admit that I am thrilled this is my last. Part of that thrill is knowing how impactful this final year might be and how many opportunities students will have to be a part of it, especially if they give any notice to Student Government. One of the challenges Student Government faces every year with our growing student body is simply keeping up. Forty two students to represent a few thousand is a challenge – forty two to represent several thousand growing exponentially in a short amount of time with little growing student involvement is just not feasible. For the past three years, it has too often been said, “Student Government does not represent me.” As someone who has had an exceptional experience and opportunity to change the campus for the better through years of Stu-
dent Government involvement, I personally accept the challenge. The challenge to show students that Student Government does work for them and is open to new ideas is at the forefront of conversations of change. Student Government’s role is to be the voice of the campus; however, we cannot do it alone. We need students to get involved and leave their
residence hall to come and the Texas primary election in the spring, but especially noteworthy is the opportunity students have to leave a legacy at UTD. Students serving on the Core Curriculum Committee are going to examine and determine if the core, as it is now, is what students need. The current math and science requirements of the UTD
These are changes, of course, that not all of us will be able to stick around and watch happen — but maybe it’s finally our turn to bow out and let a new, younger audience be amazed by what UTD can do in a short amount of time. marks. This year has the potential to offer countless opportunities. And sure, we are addressing the design of the fourth
core face potential cuts which would possibly alter, for good or bad, the appearance of the studious stereotype every UTD student is emblazoned
with upon acceptance. Other students volunteering with Student Government committees will find an issue ignited by passion and pursue it to the end, whether that’s another new minor, policy change, or, dear to my heart, more art installations on campus. These opportunities to get involved and leave tangible marks don’t exist with other campuses – and no other organization can help a student achieve these changes more than Student Government. These are changes, of course, that not all of us will be able to stick around and watch happen — but maybe it’s finally our turn to bow out and let a new, younger audience be amazed by what UTD can do in a short amount of time. So, how do I see these next two semesters going? As exciting as we make it, as busy as we can handle, and much faster than we’re able to realize.
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PARKING
continued from page 1 mits. After restriping is complete, parking lots Q, MNorth and the new M-West will have spaces for purple, orange, gold and green permits, and M-East will have spaces for gold and green permits only. “We (met) with Dean
Pirkul (of SOM). He wanted to reallocate the colors; he wanted everyone to be able to use each door,” Smith said. “So instead of faculty and staff coming in through the back door (from Lot Q), he would like them to have the opportunity to use the front doors.” Both the restriping of the parking lots near SOM and the construction of M-West will be complete by about
mid-September and will add an estimated 25 purple, 14 orange, 114 gold, 100 green and 10 handicap spots to campus. The SOM parking area will receive four additional motorcycle parking spaces in lot MNorth and 29 “Pay-by-Space” spots near the entrance of the SOM. “Pay-by-Space” spots will allow visitors to pay for parking by credit card at a pay station near their car.
OFFICE OF FACILITIES MANAGEMENT
ATEC
continued from page 1 sponsored projects. “UTD has been really fortunate to get major research contracts, and we’re supporting a large number of ATEC students and computer science students to work on these projects (but) we’re so congested that we’re looking for little spaces where 20 and 30 can work intensively,” Linehan said. “The prospect of this new building containing large research labs would
(better allow students to) do some of the cultural training that (they’re) currently doing for the U.S. Army and (medical sciences).” The building will also showcase a 1,200-seat lecture hall, more than twice the size of the Clark Center’s 500-seat auditorium. The hall will be used to feature guest speakers, student presentations and possibly be used for events such as freshmen orientation, Dempsey said. Visual Arts students will receive an upgrade in the form of a larger art gallery and
more space for classroom instruction, Linehan said. The current Visual Arts building, commonly known as the Art Barn, was never intended to be a long-term space, Dempsey said. The new gallery will be located at the front of the ATEC building, alongside the SU Mall, so students can view the artwork as they walk by. “The School of Arts & Humanities is a major initiative for UT Dallas,” Linehan said. “We’ve doubled the school’s (size) and we’re going to continue to (increase it).”
ENROLLMENT continued from page 1
Enrollment grew by 8.5 percent from 2009 to 2010, and by 5.6 percent from 2008 to 2009. “We are at a very good time in the history of UTD,” said James Wright, assistant vice president of Business Affairs. “At no point in its history have we as a university grown as fast, as comprehensive and with such great students
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and faculty.” Some reasons for such growth in enrollment, said Sheila Piñeres, dean of undergraduate studies, are UTD’s quality education, its Tier One initiative and its statewide and national recognition. Another reason is the economy. “So many students traditionally, 10 years ago, may have gone to a different state (university), maybe abroad, but now they can’t go,” she said. “To our ad-
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vantage they know all about us, we are not this best- kept secret anymore.” In other words, UTD offers a quality education for a low price, in part prompting enrollment growth. “I would say we have gotten our message out, all of the Tier One publicity and it’s the fact that the economy has precluded students, and I put the economy last, from going to out-of-state universities,” Pineres said.
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Fundraising, networking among alumni increase UTD witnesses record-breaking donations in consecutive years
Group connects SOM graduates
ANWESHA BHATTACHARJEE their contact information, she
ANWESHA BHATTACHARJEE
Mercury Staff
Due to a concerted effort by the university towards the development of alumni relations, 2010 was a record-breaking fundraising year for UTD with more than $40 million in donorship, UTD officials said. The university’s Office of Development and Alumni Relations currently has more than 66,000 alumni in its database, said Erin Dougherty, director of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving. Three times a year, the Office of Alumni Relations contacts alumni by phone as part of annual giving to ask for financial support and to update
said. But the alumni are not just giving back financially; they’re also giving their time through volunteerism, Dougherty said. The Office of Alumni Relations has a Regional Representative program, which is a group of UTD alumni who have moved from the Metroplex to some other region or country, she said. These individual alumni represent the university in their own community and make their information public on UTD’s alumni website so that any alumni moving to their region can contact them for help. “(Last week, Zhou ‘Joseph’
Li) the regional representative from Beijing, China, randomly stopped by my office — he was in the area … and he just came in and we started talking,” Dougherty said. “He’s been contacted by three alumni just in the last year who moved to Beijing, and he said he played a role in helping two of them find jobs.” Recently, alumni who live near the Metroplex and want to help out in events on campus have contacted Dougherty. “In terms of alumni, I think some of the biggest contributions (to the UTD community) have been how many alumni are getting involved now,” Dougherty said. “We also had
one young alumni who contacted us and she’s going to come out for Welcome Week and do face painting. She’s also interested in volunteering for other events.” The university has set up donor societies to recognize alumni who give back to the university consistently. As part of the process of appreciation for donors, the Office of Development and Alumni Relations will be organizing an event called “Celebration of Support” on Sept. 15. At the event, the university will, for the first time, award and recognize donors who have given to the university at any level in the past year, Dougherty said.
OFFICE OF DEVELOPMENT AND ALUMNI RELATIONS
Dean Dennis Kratz (center) sits with several UTD alumni during the Signature Summer Alumni Event at the Dallas Arboretum on June 2. The annual summer event is organized by the Office of Development and Alumni Relations.
Mercury Staff
As part of a move to initiate better networking among its alumni, the School of Management, or SOM, has an alumni network called “PowerGrid.” “(PowerGrid) came about because the SOM did not have its own alumni networking event that we hold regularly,” said Kyle Edgington, director of Development and Alumni Relations for SOM. “The school itself has 26,000 alumni, of which 16,000 live and work in the DFW or Dallas area. Not having an alumni event is not taking advantage of the powerful network.” The SOM is the largest school by enrollment and turns out more than 2,000 students each year, Edgington said. As the culture among alumni changes and more traditional students graduate out of the SOM, the Office of Alumni Relations hopes to tap into the younger alumni and involve them in PowerGrid, he said. The first event organized by PowerGrid was in summer 2009 and, until this year, the SOM organized a PowerGrid alumni meet each month. This year onwards, PowerGrid will meet four times a year. While the turnout at most of the events is about 60-70 alumni, the quarterly meetings have had a better turnout than the previous monthly meetings, Edgington said. The next PowerGrid event will be on Sept. 8 in the McDermott Suite where UTD President David Daniel will
give an address. Not all events have a formal setting. One of the previous meets this year was organized at a restaurant downtown owned and run by an alumna and her husband, Edgington said. PowerGrid is trying to grow its web presence to make it more viable for alumni, he said. “We also have a Linkedin network of alumni and we’re wondering whether we should fold that in to the university alumni Linkedin group or if we should keep it separate,” said Doug Eckel, associate dean of the SOM. “We’re still looking into how to use social media sites for alumni relations (although) we haven’t used it very much yet.” In an attempt to capitalize on its alumni, the university is encouraging more alumni chapters to open up, said Erin Dougherty, director of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving. Although PowerGrid is the only program specific alumni chapter that exists, it may not stay so for long. Eckel was recently approached by the Indian Student Association, or ISA, to organize an alumni event for the Indian alumni of UTD, so that current and past Indian students can start a network of professionals. “(The ISA president) came to us and said he’d like to have an Indian graduate alumni gathering and we feel that that’s really appropriate too,” Eckel said. No date has been set for this meeting yet, it will likely be scheduled in September, officials said.
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THE MERCURY n AUG. 22, 2011
A&H to drop grad Welcome Center, bookstore unveiled teaching program starting fall 2014 REBECCA DEBUTTS Mercury Staff
The School of Arts & Humanities has announced that it will drop its Masters of Arts in Teaching, or MAT from its graduate program. The reason according to Dennis Kratz, dean of the school of Arts & Humanities, is that there simply are not enough students showing interest in the program. “We did not have anywhere near the enrollment to justify the courses we had to offer and the people we had to hire,” Kratz said. “At the moment there are only two students in the MAT program.” The students currently participating in the MAT program will be allowed to finish their degrees before it is officially dropped. Kratz said the MAT will be removed from the next course catalogue.
The Masters of Arts in Humanities that is offered has been adapted to appeal to a wider range of students and has therefore, become the more popular option. There are two options for the Masters of Arts in Humanities, one catering to those interested in continuing to doctoral studies and the other for those who just want a master’s degree. Many of the professors, as well as students, preferred the MA option to the MAT for these reasons. “The MAT as a degree lost its appeal to our students when the MA became an acceptable alternative,” Kratz said. The option in the MA that does not require a thesis proved more popular than the MAT. The loss of this program, Krtaz said, does not reflect the state of the Arts & Humanities.
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The Welcome Center (bottom) opened on Aug. 1, and contains a new campus bookstore (left, above) along with a coffee shop, UTD technology store and the Visitor Center.
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THE MERCURY n AUG. 22, 2011
Sweet Home UTD A fresh start for UTD freshmen
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(Left) ATEC freshman Devin Butler carries articles to his new room as family members and student volunteers help out during movein day on Aug. 16. Below, Austin native Sophia Periar muscles a box with a friend to her room. Periar said she was excited to start a new life at UTD. AKSHAY HARSHE/STAFF
AKSHAY HARSHE/STAFF
(Top) Students and familiy members endure the heat while moving student belongings into the freshmen residence halls during Move-in Day on Aug. 16. (Above) Students and family members take a lunch break, enjoying catered food.
ALBERT RAMIREZ/STAFF
(Above) Freshman Albert Thomas, a biochemistry major, signs for his room keys a part of the last step of his in-processing to the Residence Hall during Move-in Day on Aug. 16. (Below) Neuroscience freshman Jerry Jewell settles in his room enjoying a break from a hectic day by practicing bass guitar on Aug 16.
AKSHAY HARSHE/STAFF
(Above) Student Senator Raj Shah helps a student haul belongings into the freshman residence hall during Move-in Day on Aug. 16. During this event members of student organizations are allowed to help with move-in that provides a good opportunity to meet and interact with the new freshmen class. (Right) Jessica Mazina, an ATEC major, checks that her mailbox key is in working order on Aug. 16. Students moving into the freshmen residence halls must process in by registering and signing for room and mailbox keys. ALBERT RAMIREZ/STAFF
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Craving diversity, less is more when studying overseas Culture shock in the United States provided opportunity for self-discovery ANWESHA BHATTACHARJEE
United States. Well, technically, all I recall from that day is feeling tired and grimy after It’s that time of year again when the almost 26 hours of flying trans-Atlancampus is filling back tic from India via FrankCOMMENTARY up, freshmen are movfurt. Hot wind flapped ing in and bus loads of across my face as I rode international students to campus in a volunteer’s are stepping onto Texas poorly air conditioned soil for perhaps the first car, yet at the same time time in their lives. I felt grateful for the large Watching the sun and helpful Indian presrise on another glorious ence at UTD. August morning volunComing from a counteering on one such bus try where terrorism has from the airport, with led to rigid, gated secuexcited conversation rity in the smallest of milling around me, I found myself shopping complexes, I was awestruck remembering my very first day in the by UTD’s immensely liberating open Mercury Staff
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continued from page 1 a day agreeing to house one student with them for a few days. But even if the temporary housing situation is resolved with the help of a few generous individuals, the shortage of permanent housing on campus will continue as very few new international students have been able to find on-campus apartments this year. Living off campus: Housing and safety Officials with FACSS and ISA say they are concerned that there is not enough permanent housing on campus to accommodate the growing number of graduate students. “The only places where our students have been able to find apartments are at Preston Road and Frankford Road — there are still some vacancies there,” Gao said. “But we cannot recommend these locations to our students because the 883 (bus route) does not go there.” At present the university has no plans to build more graduate or upperclassman housing, said Matt Grief, assistant vice president for Student Affairs. He said his office is working together with the International Student Services Office, or ISSO, to put up a list on the ISSO website with housing locations around campus that are on the 883, 362 or 350 DART routes. Vijayaraghavam said students are having a hard time finding off-campus apartments close to campus making it tough for the students to settle down or find on-campus jobs. Another concern that ISA has is the safety situation off campus, especially when students who don’t have cars need to take evening classes, he said. “Students living off campus have a tough time moving around on
weekends,” Vijayaraghavam said. “They cannot make use of most of the facilities the university has during weekends, especially Sundays.” Many students who need to access facilities on campus at night walk back home to their off-campus apartments alone, which is when isolated incidents can happen, he said. “We suggest our new students not to go out alone in the evenings and try to take the bus or to go out with other students,” Gao said. The ISSO and UTD Police Department are working together to increase safety awareness among international students. “We’re working with (UTD Police Chief Larry Zacharias) to provide a seminar in the fall about safety on campus,” said Cristen Casey, director of ISSO. “He comes to all of our new student orientations, he speaks to us there — we’re really encouraging students, when they have safety concerns, to report it so that he can be more aware when there are problems, and can address it in a more systematic way.” International population growth trends Casey and Grief agreed that despite the pressure on campus resources due to more international students, university officials are excited about the growth in enrollment at UTD. Of the new students that are coming in, the number of Chinese students attending UTD has gone up drastically in the past couple of years, Casey said. “In my opinion (the increase in numbers is because) the School of Management does a lot of promotion all over China,” said Liu. “They give scholarships to Chinese students and the tuition here is relatively cheaper than other universities and the living expense is less
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Summer night sing
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Emily Elbert performs at the Comet Night Summer Concert hosted by SUAAB and Radio UTD on Aug. 17. Elbert was one of two acts who performed in the Student Union Mall.
campus. For Indians, coming to UTD is like stepping into a mini-India. One out of every 10 students is Indian, almost the entire crowd on the 883 bus is Indian and the same can be said for the majority of student workers in the Comet Café. UTD felt so much like India that when I saw the orange, green and white balloons at the international student orientation, I thought they were in honor of the Indian flag which has those three colors on it. Within one day of my overseas adventure I had already met more than 100 of my countrymen. We were all learning together to smile at random passersby — Texas style — holding
doors open for others behind us, waiting in line for our turn and walking on sidewalks. We were also learning that the 883 wasn’t our average overcrowded Indian city bus, and you didn’t have to stand up before the bus came to a stop because you didn’t have to elbow your way out. We were still converting the American dollar to 50 Indian Rupees and trying not to drive on the wrong side of the road. When university officials spoke about experiencing culture shock at the International Students Orientation, I was grinning, thinking I had already blended in. I wasn’t lonely and culture shock symptoms really did not seem to apply to me. Typically this feeling of excitement
is, indeed, the first symptom of culture shock. Many international students don’t realize they’re in culture shock until stage two, when they have bursts of loneliness for their homeland, get depressed at the lack of familiar cuisine, language and environment — even entertainment. For me, culture shock came, but not in its usual form. I wasn’t missing my city, my friends or my language. I was, however, adjusting to an unexpected sensation of claustrophobia amongst the overwhelming number of Indians on campus. Having more people who shared the same country as me wasn’t helping me
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Moving forward Chess coach’s journey to UTD JESSICA MELTON Mercury Staff
In the midst of war-torn Yugoslavia Rade Milovanovic was faced with a decision: leave his parents, well-established law career and home behind, or try to save his daughter. Marina, Milovanovic’s teenage daughter, was waging her own war with Friedreich’s ataxia: a rare disorder that can cause the body to breakdown while the mind stays intact. The United States offered not only safety from the war but the necessary disability services and health care that couldn’t be found in Yugoslavia. “(My wife and I) noticed (problems) when Marina was six. She was very healthy, then suddenly something (changed),” Milovanovic said. “So we decided we were going to the United States. It didn’t matter (what we did) as long as we helped her.” Although he knew he would no longer be able to practice law into the States, Milovanovic said it didn’t matter. And though he had formerly been on track to move from his International chess master title to grand master, he said it didn’t matter. He and his family filed for refugee status and were able to live anywhere in the States, but they had to start over from scratch. The family asked to live somewhere with warm weather to aid ALBERT RAMIREZ/STAFF their daughter’s health problems, and Rade Milovanovic, international chess master, joined the UTD staff as chess Dallas was where they were placed. coach after leaving his country of Yugoslavia during its war. That was 10 Milovanovic remembers arriving years ago, and while much has changed Milovanovic’s love of chess has not. near the end of the summer in the middle of the day, and he could barely ined turning his hobby into a profes- benefits from his openness to new believe a place could get that hot. sion, but he is pleased with the way it ideas and even appreciates his quirks. Once the family got into Dallas, worked out. “If you tell him about (one) thing Milovanovic gave chess lessons when Everything seemed to be going well it usually reminds him of something he could while his wife worked at for the Milovanovics until Marina else,” Hughes said. “He tells a lot of Target. They did whatever they could passed away at the age of 28. Two years stories.” to make ends meet while still seeking later, the loss still hurts Milovanovic Hughes is a molecular biology sehealth care for Marina. deeply. When he talks about Marina, nior and a self-acclaimed perfection“I didn’t care what I was going to do, his stern exterior fades away and a ist. While in school his perfectionism I only (cared to) help my daughter. So softer side emerges. serves him well, but in chess he has it was the decision that we made and I “This is the main reason we decided “time trouble,” meaning he doesn’t (don’t) regret it,” Milovanovic said. “I to come to (America), because here manage the clock well in a chess think if you’re a parent you have to do medicine is very good. She was happy match, which can often lead to runeverything to help your kids — (no) when she was alive,” he said. “I am still ning out of time and result in losses. matter what.” “I remember talking to Shorty after the famRade about (time trouble) It was the decision that we made and ily got their bearings and he told me perfecin Dallas, Milovanovic tion is good in academI (don’t) regret it,” Milovanovic said. began searching for a ics, but on the chessboard “I think if you’re a parent you have to local chess circuit. One you have to be practical,” day he was told about a Hughes remembered with do everything to help your kids. (No) tournament, and by coa smile. “I had a great matter what. incidence he ended up tournament after that.” at an individual match — Rade Milovanovic Through all the good that took place at the and the bad, Milovanovic same time and same says he’s happy. His career hotel UTD’s chess team was playing. emotional. I try to overcome (it). She has seen little but success and his other That was the day Milovanovic made was happy and she lived because (we daughter, Kristina, received her mashis first connection with UTD. About came here).” ter’s degree from UTD in 2009 and a year later he was hired as the team Teaching chess is still a passion for this July she married the roommate of coach. Since that time UTD’s chess Milovanovic, which shows through his a former chess player. team has become one of the best in the team’s winning record and respect for “This UTD stuff (just happened), nation. him. but you know, you have to try to do In the time he has been coach, the “You want to win for him. You (your) best, to put a lot of love (into team has travelled across the world for definitely want to do your best for everything), to say ‘OK, I did everycompetitions, winning titles in state- your school and for Rade,” said Tyler thing I could, I do not regret anywide, national and international com- Hughes, two-year chess team member. thing,’” Milovanovic said. “I am very petitions. Hughes describes Milovanovic as thankful to this country for everyMilovanovic said he never imag- gruff, yet warm, and says the team thing.”
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continued from page 13 learn more or to diversify my outlook or attitude. I was still uber-conscious of how my put-on accent would be ridiculed by my friends, how men would stare at me if I tried experimenting with new clothes, makeup or hairstyle. The more time I spent on campus, the more I felt as though I needed to change my outer self to blend in better in this country, but couldn’t for fear of being judged by my own countrymen. This dilem-
ma made me over-sensitive and uncomfortable with myself, an issue the confident me of before had never faced. Around October, my worst fears were coming true. I was losing my assertiveness in my academics, at work and with my friends. I was stuck in a massive warp of self-discovery, or so I thought, then. By the time winter rolled over into spring, I was at an all-time low on confidence, and school wasn’t a success story for me anymore. In India, you don’t get to observe spring much because
it’s more like a cusp of winter and summer, with strong winds that grow progressively warmer and a sun that glares down stronger each day. Here though, spring is a separate season altogether. It isn’t so much a harbinger of hot summers as it is a time of bloom, fresh colors and coming out of hibernation. Every time I felt the spring breeze graze my cheek and swish by, it was like an elixir that brought me to life again — I understood who I was within and regained the confidence to just be me. I realized that while having
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continued from page 13 than in other cities like New York or Chicago.” Another reason is that the Chinese economy is booming and a lot of parents can afford to send their child abroad for higher education, Gao said. There is also a popular website — www. chasedream.com — which most students follow that provides information about how to come to the United States, she said. More international students means more research productivity for UTD and takes the university a step closer to becoming world class, Casey said. “There are people who go to school here who’ve never travelled outside of Texas and by being in classes with people from all around the world, they have an opportunity that’s almost like going on a foreign study trip,” Casey said. “One of UTD’s commitments is to become a world class institution that involves engaging with diverse groups of people and being able to think outside the box, and I think international students bring that to our campus.”
AKSHAY HARSHE/STAFF
Luojun Wang, Accounting & Information Management graduate student, steps off the bus that took her from the airport to her new home after a 28-hour flight from Shanghai, China, Aug. 5.
people who share your heritage and country matter, what matters more is that you are with people who understand you and your opinion just as you understand them. Language, religion and culture differences are rarely barriers to thought sharing, and living in a cosmopolitan nation like the United States allows you to appreciate not just other people and cultures but also your own so much more. I finally figured that no matter how I speak or dress, people at work were going to respect my opinion, as long as I spoke meaningfully. I also
THE MERCURY n AUG. 22, 2011
realized that here, it isn’t who you are initially that matters but who you’ve become over time. If you’re working, and if you take criticism positively, you can only do well. People in this country don’t care if you’re a die-hard romance fan or an obsessive Mavs fan as long as you’re sincere in your passion. And in this entire process of breaking out of my make belief cocoon, I found that I didn’t have to change myself after all. I’ve spent a little more than a year in this country, and I’ve traveled to India twice in be-
tween. In just this time, I have learned to define individuals by their quirks and quaintness. I don’t judge those who are unlike me anymore, neither do I build castles of hatred around pre-conceived notions. I don’t try to map or rank people and nations. My acceptance of diversity has taught me to enjoy my homeland afresh every time I go back. A year back I thought India would always be my home and the United States my learning ground. Today, I have a tough time deciding which is which.
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Faces of change: from inmates to students Dean of EPPS shares anecdotes from his time working in Texas correctional facilities ANWESHA BHATTACHARJEE Mercury Staff
Delivering flowers, supervising prisoners, teaching criminology and now serving as dean to one of UTD’s academic programs — this man has done it all. James Marquart, dean of School of Economics, Political & Policy Sciences, or EPPS, said growing up he didn’t know he was going to be a dean, or even be in academia. Marquart grew up in Chicago and went to Western Illinois University for his undergraduate degree. As part of his degree program, he was required to do an internship and said it was through this internship that he became interested in research in criminology and prison systems. “As an undergraduate I did an internship at a state school for boys and girls,” Marquart said. “These were kids that had committed felonies so they were serious — you can’t call them criminals, simply adjudicated delinquents — but they had committed murder, manslaughter.” Marquart went on to complete his master’s degree from Kansas State University in sociology and had applied for a job with the Federal Bureau of Prisons but when he received a teaching assistantship from Texas A&M University he saw it as opportunity for research and moved to Texas for his Ph.D degree instead.
AKSHAY HARSHE/STAFF
Dean James Marquart oversees the School of Economics, Political & Policy Sciences. Prior to coming to UTD, he worked as a correctional officer in Texas for two years.
His first summer with the Ph.D program, he worked with correctional officers as part of a research project. Marquart visited the correctional facilities at Ellis, Eastham and Ferguson to see how they operated and to meet the inmates. During the last two years of his Ph.D, Marquart worked as a correctional officer at the Eastham Unit of the Texas Department of Corrections.
“I think I became attached to some of (the convicts)...” he said. “The officers were great but it was the inmates who really helped me to understand how these places were managed.” After receiving his Ph.D, Marquart’s first academic position was at Mississippi State University, but after a few years he moved back to Texas to teach at Sam Houston State University. One of the reasons
for moving back to Texas was because his wife is from Texas, he said. However, Texas was also a good place to study the changes taking place in the prison systems, he said. In 2005, Marquart came to UTD to lead the criminology program in EPPS. He was also appointed associate provost in 2008, and finally as dean of EPPS in 2010. Among the people who played a defining role in Marquart’s life was former executive director of the prison system in Texas, George Betl. Marquart met Betl during his first summer in Texas in 1979, when his adviser asked him to take two classes taught by Betl at Sam Houston State University. It was Betl who got him interested in research on the death penalty. Betl encouraged him to look at issues that no one had worked on before. One such issue that they looked at was the state of prisoners on death row during and after the moratorium of 1965 to 1972. “He just had a great mind and good ideas,” Marquart said. “He was instrumental in opening doors for people, trying to help people take a look at some (research) issues that others had not really looked at.” For research purposes, Marquart continued visiting the correctional units. The facilities were going through desegregation at the time so that inmates would
no longer be assigned to cells by race, but randomly. Marquart said he witnessed these changes first hand and wrote a book on it called “First Available Cell: Racial Desegregation and the Erosion of the Color Line in the Texas Prison System.” “I was on hand to see history occur,” Marquart said. “I chanced to see a lot of those old ways break down — it was fascinating.”
“The most exciting thing to me is to make this a destination point for students at the undergraduate and the graduate level, and then add, attract and retain the best qualified faculty we can to deliver the best education experience we can for them, so it’s an exciting time,” Marquart said. Marquart said he believes keeping students motivated to study is the biggest challenge for educators today.
These were kids that had committed felonies so they were serious — you can’t call them criminals, simply adjudicated delinquents, but they had committed murder, man-slaughter. Marquart said he never felt threatened moving around among inmates, even in buildings as violent as Ellis. However, there were numerous killings within units at the time, as the big gangs were coming in then. His visits to these units and the changes that he witnessed led Marquart to research legal changes in prison organizations and the potential impact of court rulings on the administration and management of these places. When he first came to UTD, he chaired the criminology program here. He worked to expand the already thriving undergraduate program into a graduate one, Marquart said.
“Back then it was just going to the classroom, deliver the thing and we were done but today the pace of change is global, all of this is just a confluence and we’re not going to be able to be inoculated from that,” he said. “I think everybody (is) having to deal with the scope and pace of change — it’s just enormous.” As dean of EPPS, Marquart said he wants to help the program grow and improve by adding more resources and helping foster research in issues that are relevant today. “I’m trying to do the same thing that other people did for me,” he said. “(Betl) opened up doors and people here opened up doors, and I think that’s all you try to do.”
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AUG. 22, 2011
Sports
Coach brings passion, knowledge to program Posner’s past successes make future promising
BY THE NUMBERS
BOBBY KARALLA
• 436-130-2 record as assistant at Cortland Univ.
Managing Editor
• 8 trips to NCAA D-III National Tournament • 11 of his 12 seasons, team hit .300 or better • 5-time D-III Northeast Region Coaching Staff of the Year
BEN HAWKINS/STAFF
Comets to face new ASC foe D-I school joins UTD’s athletics division in 2011 BOBBY KARALLA Managing Editor
UTD will gain a new conference adversary this fall, after the American Southwest Conference, added Centenary College of Louisiana to the East Division. Centenary, a private liberal arts college in Shreveport, La., competed in The Summit League at the Division I level in all sports until officially joining the ASC on July 1. The school announced its intention to leave Division I in July 2009 and was accepted into the ASC in April 2010, according to the ASC’s website. Centenary’s four-year transition into Division III began in Sept. 2010. Although Centenary will not be able to compete in postseason play in any of its 13 athletic programs for its first three seasons in the conference, UTD head volleyball coach Marci Sanders said wins and losses against the “Gents” and “Ladies” of Centenary will count in the standings. With just 887 undergraduates, Centenary was among the smallest of all Division I members. David Rowe, the school’s president, announced the college would phase out 22 of its majors during the next few years — amounting to half the majors, according to ABC TV affiliate KTBS in Shreveport. Rowe said in his interview with the news station that Centenary has been “spreading (its) resources quite thin.” Since it was announced that the private United Methodist school would drop down two rungs in the NCAA ladder, athletic director Tom Tallach and head basketball coach Greg Gary have departed, according to reports by The Shreveport Times, which also reported that since the transition was announced, several important athletes transferred to other D-I programs, leaving Centenary with rosters largely made up of D-III recruits playing at the highest level of collegiate athletics. This proved to be a huge setback for the basketball program last season, as the Gents posted a measly 1-29 record in 2010-11. The move expands the ASC to a 16-team conference while McMurry attempts to reclassify to Division II. During the process, McMurry will still compete in the ASC, according to the conference’s website.
Brad Posner has been a coach his entire life. Softball may be his passion, but teaching is his calling. Posner was named UTD’s head softball coach July 5. For Posner, it is yet another opportunity in his career to influence minds and leave his mark on young adults’ lives, the first of which came at too young an age in a stressful situation. Born in Suffern, N.Y., a town near New York City, Posner had a love for baseball. His father was the assistant district attorney in the Bronx, with an office overlooking right-center field at the old Yankee Stadium. Posner said he caught games all the time, whether it was looking out his dad’s office window or sitting in the bleachers after police officers let him in. He earned acceptance into the University of Buffalo, but tragedy struck early in his life when his father passed away during Posner’s freshman year. His mother took on two jobs to make ends meet and Posner was forced to move home
and take care of his younger brother. Posner said he assumed a parental role while raising his brother and did a fair job at it — his brother received an academic scholarship to Cornell University, his late father’s alma mater. His brother is now a financial planner in New York City. Rather than immediately going back to school, Posner took a job at a juvenile delinquent rehabilitation facility, where he could further his teaching interest. At night when the delinquent kids would go to bed, Posner would take online courses and in 2008 graduated with a bachelor’s in psychology with honors. Though academics was a huge part of his life, Posner still had a yearning to coach. His first softball coaching gig came when a friend started a softball program at a low-budget, urban school. He and Posner built the team from the junior high level to the varsity level in three years. Posner said at the time he took the job, most of the girls did not even have a glove, let alone any knowledge of softball. His new team lost
nearly every game against wealthier, more experienced travel teams, but Posner said the lone win during his last season there was an incredibly happy and memorable experience not just for the players, but also for him. He’d discovered his career. “I coach softball and get to work with phenomenal, talented athletes and students who are just great people,” he said. “I get to go recruiting on the weekends to watch younger players play… It’s a great job. Yeah, there’s paperwork and other stuff that goes along with the territory, but at the end of the day I just really love what I do. I wish everyone could find that.” Posner visited Cortland University in the late ’90s and visited with head coach Julie Lenhart — one of few D-III softball coaches with more than 600 wins. Lenhart had heard of what Posner did at the high school and suggested he stay and help out with the team. Two days later, Posner signed a volunteer
see POSNER page 18
Volleyball seeks out sixth title
Women begin season Sept. 1 at U. of Dallas BOBBY KARALLA Managing Editor
The Lady Comets volleyball team will set out for another division title Sept. 1 when they take on the University of Dallas Crusaders. UTD has won four consecutive outright division titles under head coach Marci Sanders, after sharing one in 2006. In that span, the Lady Comets have won at least 21 games each season and have taken home two American Southwest Conference championships. In 2010, UTD finished 24-6 MERCURY FILE PHOTO overall and won 16 of 17 conferComing off a 24-6 2010, the Lady Comets volleyball team will begin its 2011 season on Sept. 1 against the ence games. The lone loss came to University of Dallas. Its home opener will be Sept. 16 against LeTourneau at the Activity Center at 7 p.m. Hardin-Simmons, the same school to knock the Lady Comets out of the conference semi-finals. votes, according to the conference’s we get to host our tournament, but we four-year starters last season, includASC coaches and sports informa- website. Sanders, however, said five just got to get these kids to come to- ing Amber Wetz, Jessica Nassau and tion directors have tabbed UTD the in a row is not the main goal for this gether early because they’re so young,” All-American setter Niki Calverley. preseason favorites to win the divi- year’s squad. she said, referring to her roster. sion, garnering 11 of 14 first-place “Hopefully (we’ll be No.) 1, so that The Lady Comets graduated three
see VOLLEYBALL page 18
Soccer set to kick off 2011 run
Returning core gives head coach luxury to adjust, experiment with starting lineup
BOBBY KARALLA Managing Editor
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UTD’s men’s soccer team finished 12-5-2 in 2010 before losing in the ASC Semi-Finals. The Comets return five of their top six scorers from last year’s team. Their first exhibition match is Sept. 1 against NE Texas CC at 7 p.m., and their first official match is Sept. 3 at 6 p.m.
The UTD men’s soccer team has begun preparations for what head coach Jack Peel hopes to be the program’s fourteenth consecutive winning season. Coming off a 12-5-2 mark and a run to the conference semi-finals in 2010, the Comets look poised to make another strong run their 2011 campaign, which kicks off Sept. 1 in an exhibition match against Northeast Texas Community College. UTD’s first official game comes two days later against the University of LaVerne. A majority of the starters will return to Peel’s team this season, including five of the six top scorers from last season’s squad. The Comets lost a few important leaders to graduation, including goalkeeper Bailey Williams — whose six clean sheets were fourthmost in the American Southwest Conference — and defender Jorge Morales — whose on-field presence will be missed, Peel said. “Jorge was the inspirational leader of the team,” he said. “He was that
tough guy that when things got nasty and kind of ugly, he was there to take care of it. It’ll be tough… replacing him.” Notable returners include forward Michael Darrow, who gained valuable experience with a local club at a national tournament, Peel said. Darrow scored four goals and tallied three assists last season. Also returning is workhorse Eric Holland — who logged the second-most minutes among Comet outfielders in 2010, and last season’s leading goal-scorers Ryan Courson and Brian Bienhoff. Peel said experience will be the strength of this year’s squad. Twenty of last year’s 30 roster members played at least 400 minutes. Peel said he tries to use his team’s depth to keep everyone fresh through the warmer months and to avoid wearing out the players before the conference tournament. In 2010, UTD outscored its opponents by a modest 9-6 margin in the first half of games, but improved
see SOCCER page 18
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POSNER
continued from page 16 contract and was bound to help out for a year. Within a few seasons, he became a full-time assistant. He worked his way up the assistant coaching chain and eventually became the team’s hitting coach, also helping out with outfield defense, pitching and teaching catchers game-calling strategy. While at Cortland, Posner was named to the AllNortheast Region Coaching Staff five times and oversaw his offense hit .300 or better in 11 of his 12 seasons — the team hit .299 one year. While Posner is considered a skilled, knowledgeable hitting coach by colleagues on all levels of NCAA softball, he emphasized that maintaining strong relationships with the players is the most important step in developing a talented team. “Our coaching recognition is really the benefit of having great teams,” he said, and later added, “It’s a byproduct of having great players.” Posner said the most important lesson he learned from Lenhart while at Cortland is that coaching isn’t just about chalk talk and strategy, but it is about how you treat players. “It’s not about the X’s and O’s, it’s about the Jills and the Joes,” he said, referring to one of Lenhart’s adages. “It’s saying you’re the most important person right now. What can I do for you?” he continued. “… You have to care about the big picture of the person, not just how
they can get you to win a softball game.” Though he learned several valuable lessons and techniques while establishing himself as a highly desired assistant coach, Posner wasn’t done with his education. He received a master’s degree at Cortland and is still finishing up his 150-page thesis on the intentionality of camp programming. Though only 60 pages in, Posner plans on finishing “as soon as possible,” he said with a chuckle. The monster essay sits on a shelf in his new office, alongside a squash racket — he is new to the sport, but all the coaches at UTD play it — and a few boxes and miscellaneous papers. He is still acclimating himself with Dallas. “It’s a change, but change isn’t always bad,” he said. While Dallas is noticeably warmer than chilly New York, Posner insists he’s a warm-weather guy. He said New York rarely gets above 90 degrees and said with a laugh that 105 beats minus-17 and two feet of snow. To combat the cold weather at Cortland, the school built an $18 million indoor football complex complete with indoor basketball courts, a full track, softball field and locker rooms. While UTD is far newer than the athletic programs at Cortland and the athletic program may not have millions to throw around on facilities, Posner is excited about the academically focused UTD. “You say new, I say opportunity,” Posner said, and later added, “On the field
we’re going to give everything we have… But, the fact that there is an importance put on academics, I’m a big fan. I like that aspect of UTD.” While the softball program hasn’t had a winning season since 2006, win totals have increased each of the past two seasons. Posner called the American Southwest Conference the deepest, most challenging conference in softball, but he is excited at the thought of flying under the radar against four teams ranked in the top 20 in 2011. “That’s what we’re up against — not easy — maybe we’ll take the role of underdog this year,” he said. Changing the mentality of the program is one of his highest priorities. He said belief and confidence are important qualities, and never utters the word “slump.” Squaring off against top competition everyday requires a combination of skill, focus and attitude. “I don’t care if you hit 10 home runs in a row or if you’ve struck out 10 times in a row,” he said. “When you get to your next at-bat, you can go 1-1 or you can go 0-1. Those are your two options.” That optimistic-yet-realistic outlook has taken Posner from honorary parent to head softball coach at the NCAA level. Posner’s genuine passion for the game and for teaching has led him to this stage in his career, and his determination to succeed makes it seem highly likely that UTD can join the ranks of the ASC elite. After all, he hasn’t failed yet.
VOLLEYBALL
continued from page 16 To fill the void, Sanders has added 10 new players to the team, making this year’s roster her biggest ever. “In order for us to be as good as we need to be at the end, we’re going to have to get more kids playing early,” she said. More than half the lineup will be made up of new players. This year’s batch of freshmen is made up almost exclusively of high school graduates with All-District and All-State talent, and two JUCO transfers, one of which won a National Championship at Brookhaven College. Calverley’s national success in 2010 makes her shoes the biggest to fill. The setter averaged the second-most assists per set in all of D-III last season and was also the leader of the team on and off the court. Sanders said Calverley would stay on as a student assistant this year, which will be beneficial to freshmen Hayden Higgins and Chelsea McHenry, both recruited to fill the void left by one of the country’s pre-
SOCCER
continued from page 16 that differential to 19-9 after the intermission. The Comets also allowed less shots and took more in the second half, and they committed fewer fouls. Peel attributes the second half strength to his players’ smarts and fitness. “The majority of the players were younger guys,” he said. “You’ve got to let them know what’s happening. You make
THE MERCURY n AUG. 22, 2011
mier setters. Of all the freshmen in the class, Sanders’ highest hopes rest with Higgins. The Boerne native collected All-Area and AllState honors in high school and was named district MVP once. Sanders praised Higgins’ work ethic and said the freshman is eager to learn from Calverley. “If I had to go out on a limb right now, I’d say she’s probably going to be the best setter in the conference,” Sanders said. In addition to the roster’s youth, Sanders said this year’s Lady Comets team will be the tallest she’s had at UTD, which she hopes will turn blocking into a strength rather than a weakness. Last season, UTD finished third in the conference in blocks, its lowest in any major statistical category. Sanders said aside from the internal changes to the program including team youth and height, the ASC East will be vastly different this season. UT Tyler, Mary HardinBaylor and LeTourneau all hired new head coaches in the offseason. The two latter schools were picked to finish sixth and seventh in the division respectively, but UT Tyler
was chosen by coaches to place third in the East. New coaches bring new systems to the program, which Sanders said could make adjustments tough for opponents. She also said each of the three new coaches have been aggressive on the recruiting trail, which will make the conference deeper and more challenging. In addition to the new head coaches, Centenary College of Louisiana will also be joining the division. Centenary won just three matches last season and dropped a match to LeTourneau, but Sanders said the school still has D-I talent. The “Ladies” were chosen fourth in the division for 2011. The Lady Comets begin their 2011 campaign Sept. 1 in an exhibition match against the University of Dallas, before heading to St. Louis for four matches, including one against host Washington University in St. Louis, a program which has won two national championships in the past four seasons. Following those matches, UTD will begin its conference schedule Sept. 13 at Mary HardinBaylor. Its first home match is Sept. 16 against LeTourneau.
those adjustments that need to be made and hopefully they come out and perform.” While a young, smart roster allows for team-wide development, Peel said monitoring players’ progress in the offseason is difficult due to NCAA restrictions. The only contact coaches can have with players regarding the sport is sending them workout programs. As a result, he said player improvement is largely based on self-motivation. Peel said he hopes to advance further in the ASC Tournament
this season, after a 3-0 loss in the semi-finals to Mississippi College. The two teams will meet for the first time since that match on Sept. 15 in Clinton. Other prominent matches on the schedule include a trip to Belton to take on last year’s other semi-final runner-up, MaryHardin Baylor, on Oct. 1, and ASC Champion UT Tyler will pay the Comets a visit on Oct. 22, the third game in a stretch of four games in eight days heading into the ASC Championship Tournament.
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Comics
AUG. 22, 2011 n THE MERCURY n WWW.UTDMERCURY.COM
College definitions: ‘Stuffed’
Flight plan
by Dane Shamico
by Dhamodaran Subramanian
Too much of a good thing by Parinitha Vedpathak
Short term comittment by Alison Kwong
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