UTD Mercury Sept 6th Edition

Speaker advocates for wrongly convicted PAGE 9

VOLUME XXXI, NO. 12

THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF UTD

SEPTEMBER 6, 2011

Coming next issue >> Indian activist transfers to UTD and recounts the social injustices in his homeland

UTD faces ‘growing pains’ Parking, dining struggle to keep up

Surviving the sizzle

Mercury Staff

A significant spike in enrollment this fall has transformed the campus into a hub of student activity but has also created a slew of unforeseen problems for students on campus, university officials recently acknowledged.

While the participation in student organizations and groups has increased, lines in the Comet Café have grown considerably longer and open parking spots have become much harder to find.

University officials said about 18,900 students have enrolled for classes this fall representing a

see GROWTH page 5

see DEAN page 8

Features Editor

Students wait in line at the Comet Cafe and mingle with friends during peak lunch hours. University officials claim enrollment hit the 18,900 mark this fall, causing students to spend large amounts of time searching for parking and seating across campus.

ZOE WILSON

UTD will welcome the new dean of Natural Sciences on Sept. 19. Bruce Novak, a highly noted chemist, veteran and acclaimed educator hailing from North Carolina State University, has accepted the deanship.

The trajectory of Novak’s life can be traced to a beginning in the military as he put himself through school by serving in the army from 1973 to 1977. Through the G.I. bill, Novak was able to receive bachelor and master degrees from California State University at Northridge. He then moved on to the California Institute of Technology for his Ph.D., thereby taking his first steps in a very fruitful

ANWESHA BHATTACHARJEE

ALBERT RAMIREZ/STAFF

Novak named Nat Sci dean

Tweets #thingsthatlastforever

University copes with record heat

Site revives social media postings

ANWESHA BHATTACHARJEE

PAUL DANG

Features Editor

Mercury Staff

Record-breaking temperatures in Texas this summer have significantly raised electricity and water demand, but UTD officials say the university has been working hard to prevent any disruption to campus life.

While Richardson is coping with a water shortage and electricity grids are running at full capacity, other cities in the state have also faced the brunt of the blistering heat.

Texas surpassed previous high temperature records set in 1998, and officials from the National Weather Service are predicting this season will finish as the hottest summer ever in U.S. history.

According to a report released by the Energy and Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, electricity consumption demands have exceeded previous high records of demand from 2009.

ERCOT, which supplies electricity to three quarters of the state, could initiate emergency procedures such as rolling brownouts depending on how low electricity reserves dip, said ERCOT spokeswoman Dottie Roark.

“If the temperature starts spiking, so does demand,” Roark said. “We need extra reserves of electricity to balance the supply and demand an all paths of the grid. Large industrial consumers and businesses are paid to be dropped (from the grid) in emergency situations.”

These procedures have kicked off more than once this summer, as Texas energy reserves dropped below 1,500 megawatts.

Students at UTD have been equally impacted by the energy crisis, as students and faculty received “Power Watch” — energy conservation directives from ERCOT —

he perception of the Internet as some innocuous pastime where all transgressions are forgiven with a click of a Delete button prompted Bradley Griffith, an Emerging Media and Communications, or EMAC, graduate student, to create a program that would remind users of how lasting one’s actions on the Web can actually be.

Griffith’s program, aptly titled Undetweetable, sought to recover deleted Twitter posts, or “tweets,” thought to be forever erased into the technological ether and offered this service to the masses through a website of the same name.

Controversial tweets like Chris Brown’s homophobic insults towards fellow R&B singer Raz-B or career-ending indiscretions such as former Senator Anthony Weiner’s sexually explicit photos can be replayed by Undetweetable with a simple search of the person’s username.

Despite how quickly these public figures attempted to mitigate their social repercussions by removing their comments, their legacy remains chiseled into the seemingly imperceptible wall of coding that governs the Internet.

“It should be known, and was indeed the initial purpose of our site to illuminate, that our functionality is not only easy to

T

AKSHAY HARSHE/STAFF

Bradley Griffith, Emerging Media and Communications graduade student, created Undetweetable, a website dedicated to collecting and exposing deleted tweets.

implement, but also an ongoing process,” Griffith said in an email. “One’s deleted tweets are never actually deleted, and likely stored by more companies than Twitter alone. Our intention was to spotlight the practice in a sensational way in

than he had anticipated.

“It took off like a flame on the Internet,” said Dean Terry, director of the EMAC program. “We expected it to go on for several weeks before it got so popular that we had to shut it down, but it only went for like five days before it got so popular that it nearly killed our servers.”

After exposure from sources like the Washington Post and Gizmodo, Twitter caught on to Griffith’s website and immediately asked that it be order to open disshut down since UndetweetCATHRYN PLOEHN/STAFF cussion about where we able violated Twitter’s API Terms of are going as a society.”

Service. The site was discontinued without The site proved to be the sensation Griffith had hoped for, and much sooner see UNDETWEETABLE page 8

see ENERGY page 14

Dining Hall earns near-‘excellent’ rating

NADA ALASMI Mercury Staff

Students may feel more comfortable eating at UTD’s Dining Hall now that its health rating is two points away from “excellent.”

The hall received a “good” rating of 88 out of 100 after the most recent health inspection

conducted by the Richardson Health Department in May, according to the department’s website. An “excellent” score begins at 90.

May’s score is two points lower than the previous October 2010 score of 90. It is also 12 points higher than the “acceptable” 76 score the Dining Hall received December 2009.

Robert Agee, director of Dining Services,

said the health inspection tests operation standards such as keeping food at least six feet above the ground, and correctly labeling food containers and ensuring the sinks and lights are in order.

Agee added that the hall did not receive a perfect score in May 2011 because one of eight hand sinks was out of order, a label was miss-

ing on a condiment dispenser, the ice machine needed plumbing repair, condiments were not under a sneeze guard supporting the salad area and three floor drains needed cleaning.

While Agee said his goal is to receive a perfect score come October 2011’s inspection, it

see DINING HALL page 4

BEN HAWKINS/STAFF

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THE MERCURY n SEPT. 6, 2011

UTD Police scanner

Prof challenges students to go paper, not plastic JARED PICKENS Finance Professor

Cash is cool again.

We live in an age of instant gratification. We can get almost anything we want with a click of the mouse, a stroke on the keyboard, a slide of the finger on our smart phones… or the swipe of a credit card.

The pace of life moves faster and faster with every generation, and money is no different. Most of you reading this column probably purchase everything with a credit or debit card.

In fact, I’d be willing to bet that the majority of you only have cash in your wallet after Christmas and your birthday.

I’m no different. I find debit and credit cards to be so much more convenient than cash.

Let’s face it, it’s a hassle to have to stop at the ATM to withdraw cash every time you want to buy something.

Although if stopping by the ATM was our only option, maybe we’d think twice before spending money. Research actually shows that using debit or credit cards instead of cash causes us to spend more money…a lot more.

Certain studies have shown people to spend up to 47 per-

cent more when they use a credit or debit card compared to people who use cash. Why? Well, for starters, when you swipe a card you don’t FEEL like you’re spending money.

There’s a psychological impact that comes with watching your wallet get thinner, but you don’t feel that physical loss when you use plastic. Think about it. Pretend you only have a $10 bill to get yourself through the day. Would you still stop at Starbucks in the morning for that double tall, nonfat, one pump, extra hot mocha? Probably not. Using cash sets a real, tangible limit on the amount of money we spend.

Let’s look at another example. Say you go out for dinner and decide you only want to spend $20. If you take $20 in cash with you, you have set a real boundary. If your bill ends up being more than $20, you are either washing dishes or dining and dashing.

However, let’s say that instead of taking cash you set only a mental boundary of $20 and plan on using a credit card.

You have now put yourself in a position where there are no physical consequences of

see FINANCE page 5

Aug. 16 • A parent of a student was arrested for Fleeing or Attempting to Elude a Police Officer.

Aug. 20 • A non-affiliated person was issued a citation for Consumption of Alcohol by a Minor.

Aug. 21 • Two students were issued citations for Consumption of Alcohol by a Minor following a traffic stop.

Aug. 22 • Four citations were issued for Consumption of Alcohol by a Minor.

Aug. 23 • Three students were

Students settle into new Res Hall As UTD welcomes freshmen into its newest residence hall, planning has already begun for Residence Hall Three.

The upcoming hall is expected to be extremely similar to the second hall in design, said Richard Dempsey, associate vice president for Facilities Management.

One major change will be found in the hall’s rotunda, which will face southwest and deposit students onto the Loop Road.

An additional stairwell will be placed near

issued citations for Consumption fo Alcohol by a Minor and one student was issued a citation for Possession of Alcohol by a minor.

Aug. 24 • UTD Police received a report of credit card abuse.

• A student reported the theft of his laptop and bookbag from the ECS South DART bus stop.

Aug. 25 •A student reported the theft of their laptop from the Arts & Technology building.

Aug. 26 * A student was issued a citation for Consumption

of Alcohol by a Minor.

• A non-affiliated person was arrested for Family Violence Assault and Evading Arrest.

• A student drove through a parking barrier in Phase VII. • A student was issued a citation for Possession of Alcohol by a Minor.

Aug. 27 • A non-affiliated male was arrested for multiple other agency warrants and issued a criminal trespass warning for the entire campus.

Aug. 28 • UTD Police received a report of credit card abuse.

News briefs

the southeast corner of the building, which will provide students with easier access to campus, Dempsey said.

Matthew Grief, assistant vice president for Student Affairs, said that a study room with a capacity for 10-15 students is planned for the fourth floor of the hall, as is a smaller space designed for one-on-one appointments and freshman success coaching sessions.

Meanwhile, feedback on the second residence hall has been positive.

“We heard great things from our students and parents about (it),” Grief said. “They were impressed with the size of

the rooms, the furniture, the three vanities in each suite and the multiple gathering areas for hanging out and studying.”

Constructed within 11 months, Residence Hall Two received approval for furniture just in time for the newest freshman class to set up camp for fall 2011.

Dempsey said a fourth hall will be considered after the third’s completion.

— Michelle Ofiwe

Comet Cruiser offering expanded Students can now enjoy an expanded Comet Cruiser service on DART

Aug. 29 • An officer was dispached to a report of someone taking books without the owner’s permission.

• A student reported the theft of a cell phone.

• A student was arrested for Possession of Marijuana and, after a search warrant was executed, also Possession of a Controlled Substance in Penalty Group 3 and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

Aug. 30 • A student was arrested for outstanding traffic warrants and two traffic violations.

Route 883.

A third shuttle was added to the route Aug. 29 in response to an increase in ridership on the system, according to university officials.

The new bus has the same amenities and features as current Comet Cruisers but will run from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekdays.

The new shuttle also features a unique route on Friday that will take passengers to and from Walmart between 1:30 and 10:40 p.m.

With this expanded service, shuttles can be expected to arrive on campus every 15 minutes.

— Joseph Mancuso

Opinion

SEPT. 6, 2011 n THE MERCURY n WWW.UTDMERCURY.COM

Zipcar caters to car-less students

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Oh, for Namesake!

Paul Dang

Mercury Staff

ALBERT RAMIREZ/STAFF

Thea Junt, energy conservation manager, gives a student a tour of the Honda Insight Zipcar during the Cometville Carnival.

UTD steers right with rentals SHANE DAMICO Editor-in-Chief

When it came to parking this summer, I was spoiled rotten. My “mornings” consisted of me waking at the crack of noon and arriving on campus to an open field of concrete, with nearly every spot for my choosing.

Amidst a booming growth in student enrollment, I should have known I wouldn’t snag a space so easily once classes began. But even after circling the Clark Center parking lot for the hundredth time, shaking my fist like a stubborn old man, there were two spots that I was more than happy to see filled.

After what has apparently been quite a while of quiet planning, university officials made the decision to partner up with Zipcar, starting this fall. The two Zipcar branded spaces, located on the southwest corner of the CN lot, are reserved for every student without access to a car.

I spoke with the university’s energy conservation manager, Thea Junt, who

gave me the rundown on Zipcar: The service comes at no cost to the university, while students pay $8 an hour on weekdays, or $9 an hour on weekends, gas and car insurance included.

Additionally, driver’s licenses from Oregon to China are accepted, meaning out-of-state, or even international, students are good to go using Zipcar.

At the moment there are only two vehicles available, a Toyota Prius and Honda Insight, but Junt assured me the university is ready to add more — assuming the student demand is there.

From what I hear, taking the bus can be a drag, and even that option isn’t available on Sundays. Our already significant international student population continues to increase at a rapid rate, and they aren’t taking cars with them. Trips to the airport or entertainment venues across Dallas can take hours using public transportation. Zipcar remedies this.

For more info on Zipcar, see UTD TV’s coverage at www.utdtv.com

With a last name like Dang, you get to meet a lot of creative people, or at least people who like to think they’re creative.

It’s amazing how many people feel the urge to flex their pun-making muscles shortly after I introduce myself.

They get so excited when they say things like “Danggggg, Paul,” or “Dang it, Paul,” or some other permutation of these two lines as though in all the 22 years of my life they were the first ones to come up with that brilliant wordplay.

Really? You thought that up all by yourself?

Trust me, I’ve heard any and all of the clever remarks you could think up involving my name.

“Paulie wanna cracker?”

“Polly Pocket!”

These are just some of the names the prepubescent girls of first grade would pester me with, and the 6-year-old me would get so irate at these names because at that age anything that rhymed or was delivered in a sing-song rhythm was instantly justified.

More recently, thanks to that gem of American television, “Jersey Shore,” my friends — even my boss — have started calling me Pauly D. I guess I can’t be too surprised though, because it’s only common sense that our society likes to typecast people by their names.

Chuck is a redneck.

Steve and Lance are a couple.

Ashley, Britney and Jessica are

blonde.

Kim is Asian (male or female).

Achmed is a terrorist.

And Brody is a chach.

And while these attributes may or may not be true to the people that actually have these names (except for Brody — that one is probably true), we oftentimes associate an archetypal image to a name for one reason or another.

In college, I met a girl named LaShawnda Jackson.

LaShawnda Jackson was a white girl, very white.

Apparently I found this to be humorous after I confirmed that she wasn’t adopted.

Studies like the one featured in “Freakonomics” show that one’s name might determine one’s success in getting employed.

The social experiment went on to show that despite having identical credentials listed on a resume, a person with the name of say, John Smith, would be more likely to get hired than a Jamal Williams.

I smell racism (which probably smells a lot like Mel Gibson’s coffee)!

While studies of that nature usually have some additional factors to take into account, I’m certain our names shape our lives to some degree.

Numerology insists that the name you were given at birth dictates your magical destiny.

And while I’m inclined to believe that such esoteric whims are a steamy bowl of crap served to further satiate people’s hunger for self-importance, moments arise when I start to wonder.

For example, when former Senator Anthony Weiner lost all political credibility after tweeting a candid

photo of his career-ending crotch, I reevaluated my views on intelligent design.

There had to have been some higher cosmic powers at play when the universe was swayed to form a scenario where Weiner’s wiener was a matter of public attention in human affairs.

And on the eighth day, God said, “let there be penis jokes.”

When your name resembles something else, it’s not hard not to notice the similarities immediately.

Maybe pattern recognition is just too fundamental of a process in our minds to be ignored.

This is why I feel sorry for President Obama because regardless of what he does in office, his name will forever be muddled with that of our former public enemy number one: Osama.

Reporters and professors around the world make mention of President Osama and Obama Bin Laden only to quickly correct themselves and smirk at the fact that the two most contrasting figures of our time are only one consonant apart in name.

Perhaps that’s why after two presidencies of failed attempts to assassinate the world’s most infamous terrorist, Barack was the one to hold office during Bin Laden’s demise.

He was just tired of the mix up.

The reason why I’ll never assassinate anyone for associating me with the world’s biggest guido is because I understand that we never really grow out of that mentality we had in elementary school, where we jump at the slightest opportunity to find humor in any name that bears semblance to anything else.

Even I’m guilty of it.

I guess what I’m saying is, I’m not appalled.

And you shouldn’t be either.

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Given the current increase in enrollment, what issue should UTD focus on?

Editor-in-Chief Shane Damico Managing Editor Bobby Karalla Director of Sales and Promotions Jessica Melton

“More space to hang out in. It takes forever to find a place.”

“We need on-campus living for upperclassmen.”

“They need more parking. It’s a problem here.

Maybe a parking garage.”

Mirriam Laro Biochem sophomore

Teresa Tran Accounting junior

Anna Knutson Accounting junior

“Expanding freshman housing, because I wasn’t able to get a spot in the Res Hall.”

“Parking is really hectic.

I had to park in front of the police department this morning.”

“Increase the number of scholarships and financial aid funding to match the rise in students.”

Josh Johnson Biomed freshman

Ravi Kant Management senior

Muhib Chowdhury CS graduate student

Web Editor Dhamodaran Subramanian Photo Editor Albert Ramirez Features Editor Anwesha Bhattacharjee

Media Adviser Chad Thomas Staff Writers Nada Alasmi Paul Dang Staff Photographers Akshay Harshe Ben Hawkins Christopher Wang

Contributors Cara Carley Joseph Mancuso Lauren Marek Michelle Ofiwe Cathryn Ploehn Kyle Reynolds Kristen Taylor Rebecca Tull Zoe Wilson

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THE MERCURY n SEPT. 6, 2011

FSL director hired after ‘rigorous’ process

Second director search continues into Recruitment Week KRISTEN TAYLOR Mercury Staff

AKSHAY HARSHE/STAFF

FSL Assistant Director Julie Murphy came to UTD from the University of Texas at Arlington. She is the first of two new assistant directors to be hired for the new school year.

Fraternity and Sorority Life is undergoing not one but two changes in leadership following the departures of previous FSL assistant directors Zach Shirley and Briana Lemos.

Shirley left for a similar position at Texas A&M Commerce, and Lemos became Student Government’s adviser at the beginning of the semester. After what Assistant Dean of Students Kecia Baker called a “rigorous” hiring process, one of the jobs was offered to Julie Murphy, a Kappa Alpha Theta sister and former coordinator of Greek life and university events at the University of Texas at Arlington.

“Knowledge of Greek life

is extremely important (in this position),” Baker said. “I looked for a candidate who would have a great rapport with students.”

Murphy’s responsibilities will include fostering a sense of community among fraternity and sorority life, providing leadership development for members and facilitating success for individual chapters, Baker said.

As UTD’s enrollment surges, so does the number of potential FSL members:. Already, twice as many students have registered for this fall’s Recruitment Week than last year.

“The expected growth of Greek life here is a great way to create a traditional college experience on campus,” Murphy said. “I want (students) to

see me as an advocate, but also as someone who can challenge them to push hard and grow the community here.”

Murphy’s challenge to the student body is to not assume too much about Greek life based on preset notions.

“I joined (sorority life) not knowing all the things it could involve, and now I’ve come to make it my life’s work,” Murphy said. “I’d love for students to come and have those conversations (with me).”

Although the second FSL assistant director job is still unfilled, Baker said there will be little to no effect on this year’s Recruitment Week, which starts Sept. 7.

“We’re really trying to make this process as smooth as possible for our students,” Baker

UNIV 1010 lightens work load, spares wallet NADA ALASMI Mercury Staff

UTD’s freshman orientation course, previously titled RHET 1101, is now free of charge, will not affect students’ GPAs and has no projects, papers or a final exam.

The course was renamed UNIV 1010 after the Office of Undergraduate Education and the Office of the Provost changed its structure during the summer.

UNIV 1010 is divided

into three main components: once-a-week classroom discussions, online lessons to introduce students to campus and evening lectures by leading UTD faculty members, said Michael Seeligson, assistant provost and UNIV 1010 professor.

During the once-a-week classroom meetings, students will discuss topics that interest them and relate to the class section they signed up for, said Sheila Pineres, dean of Undergraduate Education.

Class sections are topical and include “Global Awareness” and “Choosing your Own Adventure,” according to UTD’s Course Book.

In addition to the meetings, evening lectures and the e-learning lessons, students will have to attend two campus events, one of which is a sports event.

Reformatting of UNIV 1010 began when the Office of Undergraduate Education designed evening lectures to expose students to faculty mem-

bers responsible for quality education and research taking place at UTD, Pineres said.

“Before, in RHET 1101 students had contact with one instructor,” she said.

“Now we are giving the freshmen a much broader exposure to faculty . . . and to the different types of research across campus.”

After the addition of lectures, the office decided to move some lessons to elearning in order to make use of the online service and insure that the materi-

al is accessible to students at any time.

Finally, the course work was reduced and the meeting times were changed from twice a week to once a week to reflect feedback from previous RHET 1101 students and faculty.

“From the feedback we got, students did not want it for a grade (as) they did not want it to affect their GPA,” Pineres said. “We agreed to make it a credit or no credit class and we decided we would not charge the students.”

FSL BY THE NUMBERS • 403 current members • 15 chapters at UTD • 71 students are currently registered for Recruitment Week • 3.048: the average GPA of FSL members

said. “It’s sort of like being a swan: On the top of the water, you (appear) graceful and you’re floating along. Nobody has to know that underneath you’re just paddling (really hard).”

DINING HALL

continued from page 1 is easier said than done in the large and busy dining hall.

“We always want to score 100 but some facilities are more likely to get it than others,” he said. “For example, it is not as complex to receive a perfect score in the Coffee Corner that serves 100 customers per day as it is in the (Dining Hall and Comet Cafe) which serve about 3,000 customers per day.”

Agee was director of Dining Services only during May’s rating. He did not comment on the ratings the hall received October 2010 and December 2009 as he was not at UTD at the time.

News

THE MERCURY n SEPT. 6, 2011

GROWTH

continued from page 1 growth of about 9.5 percent since fall 2010.

While the rapid growth has been a boon for student involvement, it has also overcrowded some academic buildings, forcing students and faculty to seek out classroom space on and off campus.

“I think we’re behind the curve — we’ve grown quicker than we’ve thought and now we have to wait for the infrastructure to catch up,” said Monica Powell, assistant dean in the School of Management. “We’re not there on housing, we’re not there on food and we’re not there on parking, but that’s part of the identity of a university that’s made it.”

The expansion in student population this fall can be attributed to the growing numbers of freshmen, graduate and transfer students, Provost Hobson Wildenthal said.

UTD received 20 percent more applications for the current semester than it did in fall 2010 and also offered admissions to 20 percent more students, Wildenthal said.

“It turns out, many more (students) than we would have expected came — we’d never expected this 20 percent increase,” he said.

The higher acceptance rates could be the byproduct of more engineering and Arts & Technology programs being offered, increased “Tier One” publicity and a campus-wide beautification process throughout the last year,

Wildenthal said.

Regardless, UTD officials said the increased enrollment was not influenced by admissions standards, which remain unchanged.

In one of her UNIV 1010 sections, Marilyn Kaplan, associate dean of Undergraduate Programs in the SOM, asked students why they decided to attend UTD. “Primarily, our competition was Baylor and (UT) Austin, which was interesting,” she said. “What students said in particular was they really liked our campus.”

Students also said they prefer UTD to larger schools because faculty here are more approachable, Powell said.

Freshmen are important to the ranking of an academic program in reports like The U.S. News and World Report or Business Week, she said. UTD’s student body traditionally has been populated by a larger number of transfer students at the undergraduate level in SOM than freshmen, which hasn’t worked favorably towards program rankings.

Rankings depend on criteria like average freshman class SAT scores, the number of freshmen living in residence halls, campus involvement and student satisfaction with on-campus dining, Powell said.

“If you’re recruiting only transfer students and they’re not living on campus, you’re not getting good information (for the surveys),” she said. “If you recruit freshmen, and they live all four years here, then

they’re going to have that rich, complete four-year experience, and so the satisfaction of their experience will count as well.”

Freshmen also create a name for the university among their peers and work environments, helping to spread the word and build a reputation for the school, Kaplan said.

Because students feel a sense of belonging to their undergraduate institution, freshmen are also more likely to give back to the university after graduating as compared to graduate or transfer students, Powell said.

Both Powell and Kaplan said they have noticed the change in the culture and attitude of incoming freshmen groups over the years.

“We have moved away from the drive-by mentality to a stop-and-stay-awhile and engage mentality,” Powell said.

In the SOM alone, the number of student organizations has grown from four to 31 in the past three years, which shows the extent to which student involvement in campus activities has increased, she said.

Unlike in the past, the campus now has many more opportunities and activities to offer its freshmen adding to their engagement on campus, Kaplan said.

However, as desirable as it may be to have more freshmen attending, UTD officials did not anticipate such a dramatic increase.

As a result, class sizes have blown up both at the undergraduate and graduate level, Powell said.

Due to a lack of classroom space in the SOM, classrooms for many graduate classes have moved to other buildings including Founders North.

Meanwhile, many freshmen have to take core courses like freshman writing in the upcoming spring semester because there aren’t enough sections being offered for all of them this semester, Kaplan said.

The SOM is dealing with full classrooms all day Monday through Saturday, requiring UTD to also offer classes at Collin College in McKinney and offering many graduate courses online.

To address the overcrowding, the university’s Board of Regents has also approved construction of an additional building for the SOM within the next three years. The new structure will sit adjacent to the existing SOM building, Powell said.

Despite all these “growing pains,” as Powell calls them, the university needs to increase its freshman intake, which at present is just equal to the graduate student enrollment, she said.

UTD’s highest goal is to grow its faculty, and a higher enrollment can help sustain a larger faculty body, Wildenthal said.

“To be optimally productive, we need to be at 25,000 to 30,000 students, and if we get there faster, — even if it is more stressful, — we’re willing to endure the stress,” he said. “We will not be able to fulfill all of our institutional goals until we’re bigger.”

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FINANCE

continued from page 2 meeting your goal. There is really nothing stopping you from spending a little more because the charismatic waiter talked you into a dessert.

After all, what’s another $7.50? And you don’t feel the consequences until much later on when you realize you’ve gone way over your budget and you’re tapping into savings to cover your credit card bills.

It is often thought that people become financially independent or “rich” because they either inherited the money or invested in some hot stock that made millions.

The truth of the matter is that most individuals become financially successful because they understand how to control their spending, pay themselves first and avoid financial mistakes.

Wealth rarely comes from the rich uncle who left his nephew or niece millions in a trust fund, nor does it come from a smart-looking individual who looks at stock charts on five computer monitors while day trading in the market.

You don’t have to completely understand investments, retirement plans or tax planning to achieve financial success.

You simply have to set some attainable goals and be wise with your money.

I’m going to try something new this month, and I challenge you to try my

5

experiment with me. Let’s take the first step towards financial success by seeing how much money we can save if we use only cash for the next month. Here’s what I want you to do: • Log onto your bank account and make a note of how much you’ve spent on credit and debit cards in the past 30 days (excluding rent, utilities, and other regular bills).

• Set a budget for yourself for the next 30 days based on how much you want to save. Personally, I’m going to aim to cut back by 30 percent.

• Come up with a plan that works for you to make sure you have cash with you when you need it.

Maybe you want to stop at the ATM once a week and take out 1/4 of your budget. Maybe you want to just keep enough cash with you for the necessities and force yourself to go to the ATM before all of your big purchases. The important thing is, do what works best for you.

Try this for a month and let me know how well this experiment worked for you.

How hard was it to only use cash? Did you save money? Is this a plan you think you’ll stick with for a while?

I wish you all (and myself ) luck with this experiment. I hope it helps us all realize how cool cash can really be.

If you have any questions or comments, or if you are interested in taking a class in personal finance, please contact the writer at jared. pickens@utdallas.edu.

6

Welcome Week

THE MERCURY n SEPT. 6, 2011 WWW.UTDMERCURY.COM

(Far right) Students take part in a real-life game of Battleship on Aug. 26. at the Phase VIII pool, where they try to sink the other team’s ship. The event started just before the Comet Luau, which featured festive food and a dancing lesson (center). Among the main attractions were a special-ordered $700 cake, which was modeled after a pig on a stake.

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Chris Wang/STAFF

AKSHAY HARSHE/STAFF

Nothing but a good thing Welcome week eases students into a new semester

(Left) students line up for a free snow cone during the Comet Cones event on Aug. 26 at the ECS courtyard. The cones provided a break from the scorching summer heat. (Above, above left) Students bring out their wild side at Rec & Wild on Aug. 25. Participants could take a free trip down a water slide.

Several hungry students participated in a watermelon-eating contest as part of the EPPS-travaganza on Aug. 29. An audience witnessed these brave Comets choke down the juicy fruit as quickly as they could.

Ben Hawkins/STAFF

Chris Wang/STAFF

Ben Hawkins/STAFF

(Series on right) Economic, Political & Policy Sciences, or EPPS, dean James Marquart splash in the dunk tank during “EPPS-trvaganza” on Aug. 29.

(Far right) Several other professors and staff were dunked, as well, including Prof Boots. The event was organized by EPPS as part of Welcome Week where students could take part in a watermelon eating contest in addition to the “Dunk the dean contest.” Aisha Noor, a political science senior, won an iPad 2 in a raffle drawing, also a part of “EPPStravaganza.”

Ben Hawkins/STAFF

Scan this with a smart phone to find more Mercury articles. Don’t have a smart phone?

The content can be found on the Web at www.utdmercury.com.

(Left) Freshman Kaushik Joshi uses chopsticks to pull glass peebles from the vase to win a prize during the Cometville Carnival on Aug. 24. (Above) Dean of Students Gene Fitch poses next to UTD police Chief Larry Zacharias for a mug shot after his arrest during Jail and Bail Aug. 24. Jail and Bail raises money for the Staff Council Endowed scholarship fund.

Albert Ramirez/STAFF

AKSHAY HARSHE/STAFF

(Above)Poker enthusiast Aron Aitchison, a finance senior, collects his winnings at the table during the poker tournament on Aug. 25. (Right) Couple Aron Allen and Karie Vieth look on as teams compete in answering questions about men an women issues during Sex Bowl in the Galaxy rooms on Aug. 24.

Lauren Marek

Albert Ramirez/STAFF

(Above) A student mounts up for a wild bull ride during the Texas Party in the SU on Aug. 27.

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THE MERCURY n SEPT. 6, 2011

DEAN

UNDETWEETABLE

continued from page 1

continued from page 1

career.

For those who specialize in a hard science such as chemistry, there exist two major career paths down which to travel: an industrial job at a major corporation or a professorate job in academia. For Novak, the proper professional route was elucidated during the employment-seeking process.

“After the first couple of interviews, it became clear that a job in industry was not for me,” Novak said. “Working at an industrial job meant concentrating on somebody else’s ideas.”

An individualist, the idea of trailblazing appealed to Novak and cemented his future as an educator and researcher.

“It became clear that I would have the freedom to explore what I wanted to do if I worked in an academic field,” Novak said. “I would be given a room and some cash to work on my ideas.”

Novak decided to accept a professorate at the University of California at Berkeley. Since the origin of his academic career, Novak said he has enjoyed an extremely productive and fulfilling career ranging over several decades and multiple universities from the University of Massachusetts Amherst to the Universite de Louvain in Belgium.

“My favorite thing is transforming organic chemistry, a subject that everybody fears and loathes, into everybody’s favorite class,” Novak said.

In fact, while working at North Carolina State, Novak received the Most Loved Professor award from MyEdu.com; an impressive feat considering the rigorous reputation of organic chemistry among any student body. Novak’s passion for his subject evidently yields remarkable results.

any resistance because its purpose was served.

“Twitter’s request to shut down Undetweetable was a badge of honor,” Griffith said. “Definitely something that I intend to print out and frame.

That is, however, almost entirely because Twitter is a large and recognizable corporation — getting their attention is, in a way, a validation of my efforts.”

Originally, the concept behind the program was just a budding idea of Terry, which would serve as a teaching tool for students to understand the brevity of the Internet.

“I wanted to have people pay more attention before they hit send on a social network. I wanted them to think more about what it means to share your information and who owns it and where it goes because I think it tends to be too casual,” Terry said.

The collaboration between teacher and student proved to be successful beyond what they had hoped for. It brought attention to the question that if university students in a research class could take one’s data for an educational project, what other entities could also gather one’s information and for what purposes?

Alex Hays, an EMAC graduate student and friend to Griffith, is no stranger to new media and the online community.

BRUCE NOVAK

Bruce Novak, new dean of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, poses with an office favorite while at NC State. Outside of work, Novak scuba dives to explore shipwrecks.

“When a student comes and makes something brand new that man has never seen before it is a great source of energy and excitement,” Novak said. “The serendipity — accidental discovery of a completely new material or concept — is tremendously exhilarating. It makes every day a new adventure in the laboratory.”

Chemistry — a science that involves drawing from convention to generate unique ideas about the world and its most basic mechanisms — suits a maverick such as Novak perfectly. His character reveals itself in one of Novak’s favorite hobbies, which amounts to scuba diving with a challenging twist. He dives off the coast of North Carolina, where thousands of sunken vessels from both World Wars and even from the Civil War lie eerily preserved.

“It’s thrilling to be able to see these vignettes of history through which few tread,” Novak said.

“These are some of the more challenging dives in the world because of the strong current and sheer depth of the water. It takes seasoning to be able to do it.”

For Novak, actively doing what he loves, day in and day out, is a gratifying philosophy that he applies not only to deep water wreck diving but also to his profession.

“I’ve been very successful in teaching,” Novak said. “I love interacting with students at all levels — undergraduate and graduate.

It has been a satisfying chapter in my career.”

As the North Carolina State chapter of Novak’s life comes to a close, his UTD chapter opens to a crisp, blank page.

“I really want to make an impact in the area of growing an institution, making UTD a great university,” Novak said. “Because the UT System has the wherewithal to innovate, UT Dallas is chalked full of opportunities to excel.”

UTD attracted Novak because of the dynamic ambition shown by the university and its faculty.

“When I search through the webpages of top universities, hundreds of schools state that they have grand aspirations for improvement,” Novak said. “In my experience, these are just hol-

low words. UT Dallas is very different, the president and provost are both very energetic and really want to grow this institution.”

Novak said he takes his newfound responsibility seriously. To achieve his goals for the university and specifically, the School of Natural Sciences, he maps out a plan for success.

“We will attract new faculty at all levels. Go after the very best faculty, grads and undergrads,” Novak said. “Students are the backbone of a university. A tremendous amount of effort will go into recruitment. We will also focus on building new and better facilities that will allow researchactive faculty to succeed in their endeavors.”

The objective-oriented Novak manages to link his personal and professional goals to achieve a larger purpose.

“We only have a short time in life and this is one way I can make a difference — I cannot think of a better way than through education,” Novak said.

In addition to being the systems-admin for Radio UTD, he also manages multiple websites and is an avid user of Facebook, Twitter and other social networks.

Hays likened the monitoring activities of social networking sites to that of a “black box,” which is a device that quietly tracks the activities of airplanes and cars in order to see how their accidents occurred. He also mentioned how big businesses and employers could make apps which could track users’ Facebook wall and perform search queries for keywords like “weed” or “alcohol.” And while such apps might be an extraneous, third-party pursuit, this tracking and monitoring is integral to how Facebook operates.

“I don’t think Facebook would exist if they didn’t do that, because that’s how they generate a lot of the ad revenue,” Hays said. “I think it’s a scary time that we’re in when that’s how it is and that’s just the de facto nature of that form — we’re the ad dollars. It’s like we’re the products, and that’s scary.”

As Undetweetable served its purpose in raising awareness to the issues of online activity that many people might not be aware of, Griffith and Terry have decided to continue their partnership in the EMAC department.

Griffith said to expect their next creation sometime this fall.

L&A

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SEPT 6, 2011 n THE MERCURY n WWW.UTDMERCURY.COM

Indie flick ‘Bellflower’ makes for cult classic gold

JOHN D. McCRARY

culture souls, and “Bellflower” is prepared to do just the same with rubber skid marks and diesel fuel.

Every couple of years, movies The film is the brainchild of come out that resist convention or newcomer and star Evan Glodell industry standards but and is about to scorch Commentary leave indelible impresthe definition of sions on the cinema American independent landscape and even on film with a functionthe culture at large. ing and unlicensed These become what flamethrower. are commonly known Glodell has manas cult classics. aged to put together There are the sothe movie with a nearbad-they’re-good films ly nonexistent budget that the Indie film foland some illegally aslowers relish like “Troll sembled props (all of Two”, “Killer Klowns from Outer which are real I might add) and Space” and “The Room”. for better or for worse as star/ There are also the films that fail writer/director/producer/editor, commercially but are too good to he takes most of the credit. be forgotten like “Bladerunner”, Similar to his impressive flame“Boondock Saints” or “The War- thrower, Glodell manages to riors”. combine a highly volatile mix of Then there are the cultural elements, and after very carefully icons like “Rocky Horror Picture ejecting them onto the screen, igShow”, “The Big Lebowski” or nites the pilot light and watches as “Scarface”. it all goes up spectacularly.

At the end of the day all these The plot centers on the fragile movies end up leaving some kind and eventually fractured psyche of of mark on our collective movie Glodell’s character Woodrow.

Mercury Staff

WWW.COLLIDER.COM

Film festival circuit standout “Bellflower” makes for a potent cocktail of romance and apocalyptic mayhem.

Along with his best friend Aiden, the two spend their free time preparing for a kind of Mad Max style apocalypse.

Between sawing off shotguns and building muscle cars that shoot fire, they’re your typical twenty-somethings who spend their nights getting drunk at

grungy bars and trying to pick up chicks.

After losing to her in a live cricket eating contest, Woodrow meets the fearless Milly and together they drive to Texas from L.A. for their first date, letting us fall in love with these funny, complex and extremely real characters.

Emotional convocation

It’s the more normal side of the duo that’s explored for the first half of the film, and it’s here that the highly inexperienced Glodell manages to get his actors — all of them talented but unknown themselves — dangerously close

see BELLFLOWER page 10

App helps Comets save cash REBECCA TULL Mercury Staff

AKSHAY HARSHE/STAFF

Exonerees Johnnie Lindsey (Left), Johnny Pinchback and Billy Smith listen to Cory Session, keynote speaker at the Convocation on Aug. 23.

The three had reached out to the Innocence Project of Texas, an organization dedicated to finding and freeing the wrongfully imprisoned

Innocence Project director relates late exoneree’s moving tale KYLE REYNOLDS Mercury Staff

This year’s University Convocation was centered on “Picking Cotton,” a book that tells the story of a man who is convicted of a crime he did not commit, based on the testimony of the victim, and who is eventually freed after DNA evidence proves he is innocent.

“Picking Cotton,” written by Ronald Cotton, Jennifer Thompson-Cannino and Erin Torneo, is not a work of fiction. Ronald Cotton really was sent to prison on the word of Jennifer Thompson-Can-

nino. His is not an isolated case, and the Innocence Project of Texas is an organization exclusively dedicated to finding and freeing those who are wrongfully imprisoned.

The Class of 2015 had the opportunity to learn firsthand about the program’s impact from Cory Session, policy director of the Innocence Project of Texas and the Convocation ceremony’s keynote speaker.

Anthony Champagne, professor of Political Science and Pre-Law adviser, introduced the speaker’s topic. So far, 44 Texans have been wrongfully convicted of crimes and then later exonerated through

the use of DNA, often after serving many years in prison for acts they did not commit, Champagne said.

Of the exonerations, 22 took place in Dallas County, more than any other county in the state.

Session came close to tears several times as he told the story of his brother, Timothy Cole, to a spellbound audience. In 1985, Cole was falsely accused of committing a series of rapes at Texas Tech University. He was tried and convicted based solely on shaky eyewitness testimony, and upon refusing to admit guilt in exchange for parole, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison, Session said. But

not even being behind bars could hamper Cole’s good nature.

“I still believe in the justice system, even though it does not believe in me,” Session said as he quoted his brother.

On Dec. 2, 1999, 13 years into serving his sentence for a crime he did not commit, Cole died of heart failure after a massive asthma attack. He was 39 years old.

Shortly before his untimely death, Cole had saved up nearly $14,000 in his prison account. In his cell, receipts were found that showed he had given every cent of it to charity, Session said.

see CONVOCATION page 10

Star Li is head of a three-person operation that is working to save students money with their Comet Card through their iPhone or Android phone using a free new application she created named Vidappe.

“This app consolidates all the programs you are a part of, and as you move around town and get close to savings, you get an alert,” Li said.

Li originally came up with the idea during her undergrad days at Cornell University, where the 23-year-old won a business plan competition.

She said the app’s need was made even more clear while working at American Express, a company that offers several discounts through its credit cards that went completely unused by most customers.

The problem, which remains Li’s motivation, is how to help individuals use discounts provided by the schools, organizations and companies of which they are a part.

Hence, she works to alleviate the issue, particularly for college students.

“I struck up partnerships with collegiate services and put together discount programs for universities and alumni programs,” she said.

Through these partnerships, including one with UTD, students, employees and members can download the application, find their state, select and subscribe

see APP page 10

Ramadan represents more than fasting, prayer NADA ALASMI Mercury Staff

Not a single morsel of food or drop of water entered my parched mouth during the daytime in the month of August. I was not observing a hunger strike or a bizarre diet; instead I was fasting for the Islamic month of Ramadan. During the month, which ended on Aug. 29, Muslims fast from food, water, smoking, sexual relations and “rude” behavior from sunrise — about 5:30 a.m. — to sunset — about 8 p.m.

On many days this Ramadan, I

slept at 6 a.m. and woke up at around watched as time refused to move.

4 p.m. And man, was While you may never fasting easy on those choose to try fasting COMMENTARY days. But on many otheven once in your life, ers, I woke up at 8 a.m., I actually look forward went to school or work, to Ramadan each year. and fasted till sunset.

Fasting is really not that Sometimes during these hard for me. Instead, long days, I barely reit’s a time when I get membered that I was to forget the rat race fasting — I told my of the world and enjoy mind there would be no a much-needed moral food and water and like and spiritual “detox.” a good brain, it did not By praying more ofremind me of them. On ten and fasting in the other days, my stomach ached and I month, I remember important val-

ues such as self-restraint, humility, calmness and kindness. Each day is a reminder of the blessings I have and of the fact that there are poor people who have none. Finally, Ramadan is a time of prayer and meditation in which I remember the values that I hold dear.

But other than its spiritual side, Ramadan is also a time when family and friends come together. Many of the after-fasting meals my family and I ate this year were with at least one of our Syrian, Palestinian, American, Moroccan or Puerto Rican friends.

At their houses, or in ours when they

visited, we sat together eagerly anticipating the clock to strike 8. When it did, we broke our fast, ate our meals, cleaned up and stayed awake till about 3 a.m. chatting.

What I enjoyed as much as Ramadan was Eid ul-Fitr (Festivity of Breaking the Fast) which started on Aug. 30. I bought a white chiffon blouse and black pants to wear on the day, nothing cultural or crazy.

But during the Eid prayer, which took place in the Dallas Convention Center early morning, I got to see a true cultural fashion show. Muslims

see RAMADAN page 10

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L&A

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CONVOCATION continued from page 9

But Cole’s story is not completely without justice. In 2007, his family received a letter. Its author, Jerry Wayne Johnson, said he could no longer stand to see someone else suffer the blame for a crime he had committed.

He admitted to being the real Texas Tech Rapist and promised to do whatever it would take to clear Cole’s name. He did not know that for Timothy Cole, it was already too late.

With this confession, and with the help of the Innocence Project of Texas, Cole’s family managed to secure his exoneration and — thanks to the opinion of Attorney General Greg Abbot — a full pardon from Governor Rick Perry.

Unfortunately, Cole’s story is not unique. Seven men who have served time for crimes they did not commit were among the distinguished guests

BELLFLOWER continued from page 9

to the line of realistic acting without crossing over into the painfully amateur.

Once the actors have effectively beguiled the viewer with their endearing and highly organic performances, the movie jumps into the second act where fractured skulls and fractured relationships brings out the punches.

at Convocation. Of these men, two were Billy Smith and Johnny Pinchback.

In 1986, Billy Smith was accused of aggravated sexual assault.

He was wrongly convicted based entirely on the account of an eyewitness.

Police never gave him the luxury of a lineup; the victim was brought to his apartment and simply pointed him out, Smith said.

He was given a life sentence and had served 19 years and 11 months of it by the time he was finally exonerated by DNA testing in 2006.

Two years later, he began working with the Innocence Project of Texas to try to help others who have been wrongfully imprisoned.

Pinchback was charged with two counts of aggravated sexual assault in 1984.

Like Smith and Cole, Pinchback was convicted solely on one eyewitness testimony. Pinchback and

another inmate reached out to the Innocence Project while in prison, Pinchback said.

He served 27 years of his 99-year sentence before he was exonerated

by DNA evidence and released May 2011.

UTD’s students are not unfamiliar with the topic of wrongful convictions, Champagne said.

He instructs a class that works closely with the Innocence Project of Texas.

Students assist the organization by examining claims filed by inmates seeking the organization’s help and finding the ones that have a chance of leading to exonerations.

Although some students enter the course under the assumption that all convicts are guilty, no one leaves the course with that perception, Champagne said.

During Convocation, Champagne announced that on Sept. 1 the Innocence Project of Texas will be moving its headquarters to the Founders Building.

The second half of the film is potent.

It’s violence on a number of different levels and while it definitely leaves its mark, Glodell holds back enough to keep it from becoming gratuitous.

He conveys plenty through some very effective photography and the blood on everybody’s hands, literal and figurative.

“Bellflower” is ultimately a movie that is

somewhere in between.

It’s somewhere between a romance and a tragedy, somewhere between realistic and delusional, somewhere between pointlessly chaotic and poignantly insightful, and about people who are somewhere between tough and tender, childhood and adulthood, endearing and terrible.

While it is a lot of different things all at once, it is definitely something worth seeing.

RAMADAN

continued from page 9 everywhere wore brand new outfits that ranged from the black suits and bowties of the Nation of Islam to large bouquet-like headgear worn

by African women.

After the prayer, I received a cash gift (a common tradition), ate pizza and Shikh Kabob for lunch at a friend’s house and spent the evening playing arcade games.

But try as I might to describe how much I enjoyed celebrating Eid and eating various forms of world cuisine at the end of each day of Ramadan, it might make no difference to you.

APP

continued from page 9 to their program and immediately begin receiving real-time updates that pinpoint their location.

Users will then be alerted of savings in the area via GPS. So, if a student is driving near a Buffalo Wild Wings, for example, an alert will pop up on his screen telling him he or she can save 15 percent on a school-sponsored promotion.

Li does not charge for the application because of its relative novelty.

“Real-time alerts is such

THE MERCURY n SEPT 6, 2011

After all, you have your own Christmas, Hanukah, Diwali, Naw-Ruz, Yule Lore or Vesak and I’m sure you have your own fun.

No matter what holiday you subscribe to, even if it’s a yearly visit to Cancun, I hope you care about Ramadan and Eid. They might help you realize that I have more in common with you than you think.

You may not celebrate Ramadan, but I’m sure you would like a friend or partner who is patient, kind and empathetic towards the poor.

And wouldn’t you enjoy a detox from the world every now and then? Eid might not be a part of your calen-

dar, but I’m sure you enjoy eating good food, spending quality time with family and friends and, may I add, wasting quarters on arcade games.

Sure, my religion and your way of life are different, I’m not denying that.

But no matter who you are, there are uncountable similarities between us.

Simple similarities that show that while we may have different hobbies and lifestyles, the things which made me smile during Eid and Ramadan may be the those that make you enjoy celebrating Christmas, Hanukah, Diwali, Naw-Ruz, Yule Lore, Vesak or your trip to Cancun.

a new concept,” she said.

“Because the concept is so new, I want to see if people are interested in using it and how many people even like using it.”

While some have compared Vidappe to Groupon because it works to save users money, Li asserts an important difference between the two.

“People ask how it is different from Groupon.

(With this application) you don’t pay for anything,” she said. “You don’t have to pay for a 50-percent-off coupon, and you don’t have restrictions.

“You can use it when-

ever you want, how many times you want,” she said.

“Groupon sends emails every morning, but with this you just receive alerts.”

For any students wishing to delve into the world of applications, entrepreneurship, or even general problem solving, Li offered some advice.

“What really helps is reaching out to the entrepreneurial community in school, speaking to teachers who work in your area and interacting with people of the same mindset who can improve the world in some way no matter how small it is,” she said.

Sports CASHED OUT

SEPT. 6, 2011 n THE MERCURY n WWW.UTDMERCURY.COM

Youth movement in XC

Starnes sets bar high for Ludwig-less runners ANDREW JOHN Mercury Staff

CATHRYN PLOEHN/STAFF

An age-long debate over whether or not to pay Division I athletes has recently been thrust back into the forefront in light of violations committed by some of the nation’s top players. Should athletes receive more than just a scholarship to play collegiate sports? Is it fair? Yes.

As times continue to change, so does need for paying D-I athletes BOBBY KARALLA Managing Editor

COMMENTARY Traditionalists will argue that student-athletes should be just that: The student comes first, the athlete second. School is the most important facet of an athlete’s journey through college.

While that mentality still reigns supreme today, it shouldn’t.

Division I schools make an obscene amount of money from their college sports, specifically football and basketball. But while school presidents, athletic directors and head coaches are bathing in $100 bills, the athletes actually playing the games can’t even pay for gas.

The idea of giving athletes free college is a good one. If Division I athletes competed exclusively to get a free education, the concept would work.

That just isn’t reality, though.

College athletes play at the D-I level to turn pro. That’s as simple as it gets.

As sad a truth as it seems to some, the times have changed and it’s getting harder and harder to take the term “student-athlete” seriously, especially when one considers the amount of money flowing in because of these amateurs.

Current NCAA rules state if any athlete receives improper benefits — already a loose term — he or she is subject to punishment. Improper benefits include any extra gifts given by a coach, program booster or a third-party member, and can come in many forms — most commonly money.

The old school argues athletes are greedy by nature and that these young spoiled college kids are just hungry for money they will earn on the next level.

Besides, the scholarship money they’re awarded is enough already. But while some athletes are practically guaranteed multi-million-dollar contracts upon leaving their institutions of higher learning, a gigantic professional salary is hardly assured.

Sixty NCAA basketball players out of more than 4,000 are drafted into the NBA each summer, and 254 football players out of north of 15,000 were drafted into the NFL in April. The odds aren’t in favor of the athlete, and a majority of those drafted into professional leagues enjoy extremely short careers relative to those in any other profession: What is considered to be a great, lengthy pro football career lasts not too much longer than 12 or 13 seasons, and basketball is the same way.

It’s important to remember that student-athletes work on college budgets but don’t have time for a paying job. Whether someone plays men’s football at UT or women’s lacrosse at Virginia Tech, athletes spend a majority of their time either at practice or in class. Players may not take on a full course load, but nine class hours on top of hours of practices, travel and games each week add up to a cramped schedule that leaves no room for a side job at Starbucks or the campus bookstore. Playing Division I sports is a full-time job; speaking strictly on an hour-for-hour basis, being a student comes second. However, these athletes receive no compensation.

And it needs to change.

How much longer can we expect these athletes to work for free, especially considering the money they bring into their schools? In fiscal year 2009, the NCAA brought in $700 million in revenue, up more than six percent from the year before, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education. The figure comes from a combination of television-rights contracts, ticket sales, membership fees and rights and royalties.

That total, though, does not take into account how much individual schools make off jersey sales or side television deals, among other things.

Notre Dame made $9 million a year on a television contract with NBC that expired in 2010, according to an ESPN.com report. Again, schools feed that money back into the programs one way or another, whether it means building better workout facilities or upgrading the locker rooms. However, the players don’t always directly benefit from these improvements.

NCAA schools, specifically those on the D-I level, have confirmed a thought that their players are replaceable. They can’t last longer than four years, and most last less, so the athletic departments are forced to capitalize on their players while they can. Huge schools will benefit from “employing” huge stars more than the star will from the school.

An example: University of Georgia wide receiver and super-prospect AJ Green sold a game-worn jersey to a sketchy former college football player for $1,000. This ex-player so happens to be a suspected agent or one who markets amateur athletes. Green made a measly grand off the jersey, but his sale was uncovered by the NCAA, and he was promptly suspended for four games — what amounts to one-third of the season — for receiving extra gifts.

see ATHLETES page 12

11

In the midst of the blistering heat this summer, the men’s cross country team is diligently preparing for the upcoming 2011 season.

This year, UTD will have to manage without its fastest runner ever, junior Daniel Ludwig.

Ludwig finished 30th out of more than 220 elite runners at the NCAA South Regional Meet last year, granting him the privilege as the first UTD cross country runner to earn NCAA All-Region honors. He was only the second Comet to ever compete in the regional meet. Despite the prestige he has gained as a Comet, Ludwig transferred this past year to Texas Christian University.

“It’s tough to lose Daniel. He was a great guy, a great teammate,” said head coach Kyle Starnes. “I wish I could say we have another guy lined up, but right now we

don’t. But at the end of the day we have to wish him the best at TCU and move forward.”

Now, Starnes is looking to invest in younger runners. This year’s team is full of eager newcomers who will most likely comprise the bulk of the team since there are only a handful of returning runners, Starnes said.

“I am very excited about the team this year. We are going to be young, but that means that we’re going to give some opportunities to some younger runners who will be able to help us out over the next four years,” Starnes said. “We have some very good runners who may not be in the type of shape that a second or third year runner may be. But there’s some very good talent coming in. I think we’re going to be a lot deeper than last year.”

Despite the team’s overall lack of experience, Starnes still aims high for his team. He hopes to have runners place in the top five at meets and feels that doing so

would build a firm foundation for the newer runners and give them that early support and experience to be able to compete for a conference championship.

In addition to that goal, Starnes also has some goals that pertain to his athletes’ health. He wants to make sure that they are all always fit and in shape.

“I want to make sure my student athletes are healthy,” Starnes said. “Cross country is a sport where it’s not so much about if you’re going to get hurt, but when, because it’s so repetitive.”

When asked about potential threats in the conference, Starnes said that UT Tyler always has a strong program but added that cross country is a very internally driven sport and that what one runner does, generally, will not affect another.

The team started off its season on Sept. 2 and is currently training for its meet at the Texas Lutheran Preview on Sept. 10.

Soccer team ready to roll

Team prepares for ASC contests ANDREW JOHN Mercury Staff

After playing two nonconference games, and with conference play around the corner, the UTD women’s soccer team looks forward to another successful season.

Each year since the team’s inception in 1997, the Lady Comets have had a successful season, progressing into at least the first round of the ASC Tournament.

They went 12-6-2 overall and 102-1 in 2010, but their season was cut short when they lost to rival UT Tyler, 2-0, in the semi-finals of the ASC Tournament. Although UTD has advanced to the semifinals of the ASC Tournament each of the past nine years, it has not been crowned champion since 2004. Head Coach John Antonisse said the team hopes to change that statistic and win the conference championship this year.

“I feel really confident with this year’s team,” he said. “We have a bunch of good returners and we have a lot of really good newcomers.”

The team lost several key seniors from last year — including starting goalkeeper Andrea Jones — who all played a significant role in the team’s success.

Among the returning players is last year’s top scorer, senior Leah Bowyer, who scored 14 goals and also led the team with 11 assists in 2010. Also returning is another leading scorer, junior Emily Hokanson, who ended last year with eight goals and seven assists of her own.

Other top contributors with experience include senior defender Katie Makanani and senior Brittany Ansel, who tallied 10 assists last season. With 13 out of 23 players

BEN HAWKINS/STAFF

The Lady Comets participating in practice drills in August. UTD opened its 2011 season at home on Sept. 2 against Soutwest Assembly of God University. The Lady Comets will travel to take on Trinity University on Sept. 9 and will open ASC play against Mississippi College on Sept. 15.

returning from last year, roughly half of this year’s team has experience playing at the college level.

Nevertheless, Antonisse has strong faith in his team that they will still do well.

“We’re basically figuring out how to fill the void (last year’s seniors) left,” Antonisse said. “I think we’ll have the right players to take their spots, we feel confident with our team.”

In order to achieve its ambitious goal of winning the conference, UTD must overcome the other skilled opponents in the conference, including the reigning ASC and national champion, Hardin-

Simmons University. The ASC preseason poll currently predicted that Hardin-Simmons will again finish first in the league, while UTD is predicted to place third, just behind UT Tyler.

UTD will play Hardin-Simmons on Sept. 22 for its third game of conference play, and then UT Tyler towards the end of the regular season on Oct. 22. The matches against these favored teams will both be played at UTD. The Lady Comets kicked off their season on Sept. 2, and they will have their first conference game on Sept. 15, away, at Mississippi College.

UTD SPORTS SCHEDULE The following is a list of upcoming times and locations of UTD sports games Sept. 6 - Sept. 19.

CROSS COUNTRY • Texas Luthern Preview - 9/10 Seguin, TX

WOMEN’S SOCCER • @ Trinity Univ. - 9/9 7 p.m.

• @ Southwestern Univ. - 9/11 2 p.m.

• @ Miss. College* - 9/15 2 p.m.

• @ Louisiana College* - 5 p.m.

MEN’S SOCCER • vs. Southwestern Univ. - 9/9 7:30 p.m.

• @ Miss. College* - 9/15 4 p.m.

• @ Louisiana College* - 9/16 7 p.m.

VOLLEYBALL • @ Mary Hardin-Baylor* - 9/13 7 p.m.

• vs. LeTourneau Univ.* - 9/16 7 p.m.

• vs. East Texas Baptist Univ.* - 9/17 5 p.m. * denotes ASC game

12

Sports

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ATHLETES

continued from page 11

— Bobby Karalla I worked at Cinemark through high school and my freshman year in college and made about $7,000 per year. Busy season was the summer, and I got most of my hours during that season.

To say I made more than one-third of my money during the summer is a fair statement, so I made roughly $2,500 in three months. An average NCAA football season lasts four months.

If the star quarterback at USC makes $2,000 during a four-month span, he would make less money

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If the star quarterback at USC makes $2,000 during a four-month span, he would make less money than I did selling popcorn.

than I did selling popcorn.

That still seems like much too little for an athlete that brings exponentially greater amounts of money into his or her school, but it’s a start.

It’s enough for any athlete to pay for groceries and to maybe even save up money during the season, then he or she could get a job outside of the season to cover the rest of their financial needs.

It could potentially be a big dent in any institutions’ bank account. But considering the NCAA is legally a nonprofit organization and subsequently receives immeasurably large tax breaks, maybe it can help cover the load. Or perhaps the schools can pay their coaches less. Or instead of building massive facilities every other year, spread out the construction over a few more years.

However, it will bring an end to arduous scandals.

Should the NCAA pay its players, a simple rule can be put in place: Any player found guilty of taking additional benefits is immediately declared ineligible for life. No more arbitrary suspensions or infinitely long inquiries into a players’ past. If they take extra money, they’re gone.

Rather than spending money on the program itself, it’s time for the NCAA and universities to pay their players.

The era of the studentathlete at college’s highest level has come to an end and — whether this is good or bad — the rules need to be changed. The system is clearly broken and desperately needs a fix.

With The Mercury

An aol.com article published shortly after the incident reported that Georgia was still selling 23 different types of Green jerseys for men, women and children even after the suspension was handed down.

While Green missed out on the chance to wow scouts, Georgia was still offering all things Green and profiting greatly from his talents.

Sure, there are cases when the athlete takes control of a program to profit.

Cam Newton, former Auburn quarterback and 2010 Heisman Trophy winner, got caught up in a payfor-play scandal with Mississippi State University in which his father allegedly demanded $180,000 from the school in order for his son’s services.

While that’s admittedly a huge chunk of change, Mississippi State surely would have still made 10 times that off Newton in his time in school, taking into consideration jersey sales, TV deals, potential large bowl victories and general buzz created about the school because of his exploits.

The only solution to stopping these under-thetable deals is to pay every single Division I athlete, no matter which sport he or she plays and no matter the school. It’s only right for the universities to give something back to their athletes for winning the school not only money but also national attention, and it will end suspensions and endless NCAA investiga-

tions.

Paying athletes will transform them from commodities into employees, a much-needed revelation in the world of college athletics.

One option — the fairest option — is to pay each athlete a flat rate over a certain period of time. For example, each player will make $2,000 throughout the course of his or her respective season. At first, the number seems huge. Take a closer look, though.

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ENERGY

continued from page 1 throughout the summer.

With the start of fall, population on campus has increased, which in turn has accelerated electricity consumption. Although the possibility of the university shutting down from a statewide energy crisis is low, UTD officials are trying to ensure efficient consumption of electricity both in the academic buildings and the residence halls, said Dorothea Junt, UTD’s energy conservation manager.

“If we see rolling brownouts, we can take down a building,” she said. “We do have the capability, but we really hate employing it.”

However, UTD’s infrastructure has been designed from the start with a goal to be energy efficient, Junt said.

The Central Energy Plant, or CEP, located across from Berkner Hall, provides air-conditioning for the campus in a much more efficient way, resulting in reduced electricity consumption and energy conservation on campus.

The CEP’s electric-powered chillers cool water to about 41 degrees that is circulated to different buildings through underground ducts, said Kelly Kinnard, director of Physical Plant Services. When outside air blows over the chilled water through the vents, it cools down to 76 degrees and provides air-conditioning to buildings on campus. “(The CEP) is still using

electricity, but it is using less electricity than if we had a separate chiller in every building,” Kinnard said.

In 2006, when the Natural Science & Engineering Research Laboratory, or NSERL, came on the electricity grid, the consumption went up by more than 12 percent. Now, because of the temperature control that the labs need, it contributes to one third of the campus’ total energy consumption, Junt said.

As the campus continues to add more square footage in terms of buildings, the CEP is quickly approaching its maximum capacity to provide sufficient cooling and heating to the entire campus, Kinnard said.

“We are maxed out but we can’t add any more (chillers or boilers) to the current plant,” he said. “If we wanted to continue building, we had to bring in another utility plant to supplement the existing one.”

Older, inefficient equipment in the CEP has been disposed of and bigger, more efficient chillers have replaced the older ones to aid the conservation process, Kinnard said. A new Satellite Utility Plant is also being built adjacent to the McDermott Library, which will take some load off the CEP, he said.

Since air-conditioning at UTD is centralized, buildings and classrooms don’t have individual temperature controls installed in them. That’s a problem many students have complained about, said Saskia Versteeg, physics senior and

president of Students for Environmental Awareness.

However, individually controlled thermostats are not as efficient as a centrally controlled unit, because each classroom will operate at different temperatures, which in turn will exert a higher load on the grid and thereby increasing electricity consumption, Junt said.

The dormitories in the residence halls are equipped with individual thermostats that can be adjusted within a fixed temperature range, she said.

“We have started looking at more energy efficient thermostats, which — instead of staying at a temperature until someone changes it — have a four- or 24-hour setback,” Junt said.

UTD President David Daniel has also approved installing digital smart meters on some of the buildings that consume more energy to be able to obtain their individual consumption figures, Junt said.

These meters will provide officials with real-time data to assess the energy efficiency of the new structures like the Student Services Building, which received a Leed Platinum rating last year for sustainability, she said.

While the university does its share to conserve electricity and reduce consumption cost, students, faculty and staff can also contribute by shutting down computers and switching off lights before leaving their offices and classrooms, Junt said.

ONCOR, a major energy distributer in Texas, helps in the energy conservation

THE MERCURY n SEPT 6, 2011

CARA CARLEY/STAFF

process by installing smart technology meters and cards on its transmission lines so that energy loss can be minimized, said Megan Wright, ONCOR spokeswoman.

ONCOR maintains its distribution lines well in advance of summer to avoid line breakdowns due to heat. Despite that step, occasional outages do occur when the temperatures stay elevated consecutively for many days, she said.

Most residential energy providers and ONCOR provide notifications to customers about ways to conserve energy in their homes, which involve simple activities like setting the thermostat to 85 degrees when going out, Wright said.

Environmental student organizations on campus, however, see the university as a major player in conserving energy in the future.

“Considering that (stu-

dents) spend 10 hours every day on campus, we can make a very big difference if we ask the university to install motion-sensor lights,” said Versteeg.

Josef Velten, graduate student and president of the Renewable Energy Club, has a different perspective, saying individual efforts don’t make a significant difference in the conservation process. Instead, he said, it is the university that bears most responsibility as it continues to grow, requiring a major influx of funds.

“How do you save energy by building a building?”

Velten said. “You cannot contribute to energy savings by building a new anything. But if a new building is absolutely necessary, then you can design to conserve as much energy as possible.”

All on-campus apartments and older buildings should be retro-fitted to make them more energy

efficient, particularly the apartments in Phase I Waterview Park apartments, Velten said.

Meanwhile, water continues to remain a problem for the university.

For the past few weeks, Richardson has been under Stage 2 Drought Restriction. Consistent with the Richardson City Council’s directives, the university has reduced its sprinkler times and increased handwatering times, in an effort to conserve water, Junt said.

“Hand-watering is insurance for our investment in landscape and trees,” she said. “Our landscape crews start work here at 4 a.m. and leave work at 2 p.m.”

There are a large number of people working in the background to keep the electricity running and the campus beautiful to ensure efficient conservation without compromising the comfort of students, Junt said.