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March 7, 2016
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TITLE IX CONFUSION Students, faculty express uncertainty about UTD’s sexual assault policy ESTEBAN BUSTILLOS Editor-in-Chief
Editor’s note: This story contains mentions of sexual assault and rape. Disagreements between faculty and Student Government and the Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance on UTD’s Title IX policy are resulting in a division between the two sides on how the university should handle sexual assault cases. Various faculty members are claiming James Dockery — UTD’s Title IX coordinator in the OIEC — is mishandling the presentation of the university’s policy and overstepping the boundaries of the law by forcing them to report any incidence of a possible sexual assault, even if it is not confirmed. Dockery was hired last year when UTD’s administration wanted to designate a specific office to handle Title IX complaints, which include those of sexual harassment, sexual assault and discrimination. Before, an employee in the Human Resources office was handling these complaints on a part-time basis. Background
THE KEY PLAYERS
→ SEE TITLE IX, PAGE 134
JAMES DOCKERY James Dockery was hired last year as UTD’s Title IX coordinator. He oversees the operations of the Title IX office and acts in a more administrative role.
SAHER AQEEL | MERCURY STAFF
Brandy Davis is UTD’s deputy Title IX coordinator. She focuses on the day-to-day operations of the Title IX office and is the one conducting investigations into allegations of sexual assault, harassment and other violations.
Members in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers have spent the last year working on their fuel-efficient car . RAMAH JARADAT Mercury Staff
A BREAKDOWN OF THE TITLE IX POLICY → PAGE 134 THE MERCURY’S TAKE ON TITLE IX → PAGE 34
Game Lab fosters innovation Students in ATEC course help produce video games, learn real world skills such as teamwork BHARGAV ARIMILLI Mercury Staff
→ SEE GAME LAB, PAGE 12
Group of engineers looks to improve on last year’s vehicle
BRANDY DAVIS
After he was hired, Dockery — along with Brandy Davis, UTD’s deputy Title IX coordinator — helped to implement UTD’s policy after the UT System’s Office of General Council instituted a new Title IX policy to meet standards set by the Office of Civil Rights for all member schools to adopt last spring. Additionally, last summer the Texas Legislature passed a law requiring all state universities to adopt a Title IX policy. Dockery and his office weren’t solely responsible for the creation of that policy, however. He said a committee made up of faculty, counselors, campus police, student leaders and others helped to vet the policy before it was implemented on campus. The faculty then signed off on the policy unanimously. Under Title IX, any incident of sexual assault told to a “responsible employee” must be reported by that employee to the university so it can investigate. Last semester, the OIEC started to conduct training for responsible employees, which according to Section 3.2 of UTD’s Prohibited Discrimination and Sexual Harassment Sexual Misconduct Policy, includes faculty, staff, and anyone who can be reasonably construed as having the responsibility to report a sexual assault. That’s when problems started to arise. “(Dockery) is interpreting (the law) as saying, ‘Whenever a faculty member hears about what might be an instance, they must report it to him,” said Murray Leaf, a professor in the School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences and the former speaker of the Academic Senate. “Including if a student comes in just to ask a question about something they’re not sure of. And the faculty rejects that.” Leaf said the faculty wants to be able to talk to students to determine if there is substantial evidence that an incident has occurred and then see if the student feels they want to report. He said Dockery is telling faculty anything that could be inferred as alluding to a sexual assault must be reported. “The federal mandate is you should report incidences, actual occurrences,” he said. “That’s not the same as reporting anything you’ve heard that might be an occurrence. What he’s saying is we don’t have the authority, right or latitude to determine if it’s a real incident and we disagree.” He said that the faculty as a whole agrees they should be able to use their own judgement on being able to look into if an incident occured. Denise Boots, an associate professor in EPPS, said another problem is
A creative director mimics running in slow motion as artists around him take notes, brainstorming ideas for character movement. Executive producers meet with the engineering team in the corner, reviewing the latest software build. Level designers in another room sketch the many environments to be included in the game. This is a typical day for students enrolled in the Game Production Lab course — more commonly known as Game Lab. The course, which has been offered since 2008, serves as a hub for collaboration and creativity while giving students the opportunity to see what it’s like to have a profession in gaming. “Most, if not all, of the students in Game Lab want to go into the game industry and are considering that as a career,” said Michael Breault, a clinical professor in Computer Game Design and co-teacher of the course.
Team builds eco-car
GAME LAB | COURTESY
“Push and Pull,” one of the games that was developed in the Game Lab, focuses on moving objects with the power of magnetism to achieve goals.
Students in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers are finding innovative ways to create fuel-efficient vehicles to compete in the annual Shell Eco-Marathon Americas. After competing for the first time and placing third in the Marathon last year in Detroit, the students in ASME are tweaking the interior of their vehicle in hopes of increasing their chances of winning. The competition is held worldwide, with a division in almost every continent. If the team gets second place this year, they will be able to go to London to compete in July. Within each division are two categories to compete in — Prototype and UrbanConcept. Prototype doesn’t have many restrictions, and the team builds a smaller model of a car where the driver lays flat. UrbanConcept — what UTD ASME is competing in — is where a mix between a go-kart and a car must be built. The rules for UrbanConcept are stricter because there must be more safety features and the interior must be similar to that of a car. “We started design work in the spring semester of 2014,” said mechanical engineering sophomore Aaron Quigge. “We didn’t actually start building until 2015 fall. This is where we started laying up the body.” In 2014, ASME officers heard about the competition from a YouTube web series about motor vehicles called “Jay Leno’s Garage.” The officers looked into it, and — as more people expressed interest in the competition as a good project for the organization — the member count grew from 10 people to 15 people and the team started designing for the 2015 competition. “The competition is just fun in general,” said mechanical engineering sophomore Alec Stuchell. “Mostly I like to work on the design.” Though the group began preparations for the competition early on, they are still overcoming hurdles in their processes. “The team structure does need a little more work, which is on me entirely,” Quigge said. “We haven’t laid out a way to get everyone up to date constantly because we’re constantly working. But that’s also a strength in the fact that we are always working. Students don’t have to be in the lab to be involved — they can do computer designing or researching.” Last year, ASME members reached a fuel efficiency of 138.9 mpg. This year, they are striving to accomplish 500-600 mpg. The students are keeping the body of the vehicle created last year, but are making everything on the inside more efficient and fixing any imperfections. The team has a chance of winning $2,000 in prize money if they win. “The whole point of this project isn’t about winning,” Quigge said. “It’s about getting everyone educated. It’s giving everyone a chance to do engineering work without having to go do an internship or a job. We do everything from design,
→ SEE CAR, PAGE 12
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THE MERCURY UTDMERCURY.COM Volume XXXVI No. 16
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February 22 • A student and an unaffiliated person were cited for possession of drug paraphernalia at 2:37 a.m. on W. Campbell Road. • An unaffiliated male was arrested for driving while intoxicated at 2:03 a.m. on Waterview Parkway. February 26 • A student reported his wallet stolen at 11:06 a.m. in Phase 8. • A student reported her cell phone stolen from the Activity Center at 1:42 p.m. • An unaffiliated person was arrested for outstanding traffic warrants and driving with an invalid license on Floyd Road at 4:33 p.m. March 2 • A student reported his vehicle broken into at 8:00 a.m. in Lot T. March 3 • An unaffiliated male was arrested for driving while intoxicated and driving without a driver’s license at 11:34 p.m. on W. Campbell Road.
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OPINION
MARCH 7, 2016 | THE MERCURY | UTDMERCURY.COM
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Editorial Board More education, discussion needed on sexual assault UTD established an office last year to deal with reports of sexual discrimination, including sexual assault and harassment, in a way that complies with Title IX policy. However, since the office has been on campus, issues have arisen that point to a lack of clear communication between groups such as Student Government, faculty and staff, university administration and the Title IX office itself. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is a federal mandate that protects against discrimination based on sex at schools that have federal funding. It has since been amended to also protect against sexual harassment, among other types of discrimination. Responsible employees — such as faculty, staff, peer advisors and anybody who could reasonably be assumed to have the responsibility to report sexual harassment — are required to report any
mentions of sexual assault since the Title IX office has been active, whether they have substantial proof or not. Although faculty and staff have been informed of the requirements of the federal law since, there are still students who don’t realize that when they approach responsible employees to talk about any occurrences of sexual assault, that faculty member must report the incident to the Title IX office. A more comprehensive information roll out campaign would be beneficial for the entire campus community regarding this issue. Thankfully, the Title IX coordinators are making strides to improve communication about the policy by drafting answers to frequently asked questions, making the regulations apparent in student syllabi and exposing students to it through freshman seminar classes. The Mercury’s editorial board feels the paper can
serve as a tool for communication as well. We recommend drafting an easy-to-follow flowchart indicating the transfer of information in an incident of reporting sexual assault. We also believe that town halls hosted by each of the separate schools on campus would be effective in addressing any miscellaneous questions students may have, such as who would be exempt from reporting. Getting student leaders involved to facilitate communication between students and regulators of university policy would be another step towards improving communication across the board. Even though SG has been presenting information about Title IX policy to students and attending meetings with the Title IX office coordinators, there needs to be more direct interaction between personnel from the Title IX office and the student body. Student leaders in Student Media as well as SG can organize this with
their respective contacts. Making the Title IX office staff more visible on campus by conducting introductions of James Dockery, UTD’s Title IX coordinator, and Brandy Davis, UTD’s deputy Title IX coordinator, would make a difference in helping clear communication issues. Students need to know they can reach out to the heads of the Title IX office if they are unsure about any part of the policy. Most importantly, people need to become more educated on the topics of sexual assault, what is and isn’t consent and what to do in an event if you or a loved one are a victim of an attack. Sexual violence is a problem that requires the entire university to address. If we are going to do that effectively, the fight doesn’t need to start in the Title IX office. It needs to start within ourselves.
Trump’s candidacy must be taken seriously People need to unite to stop one of the nation’s most controversial presidential candidates in recent memory from taking Oval Office ESTEBAN BUSTILLOS COMMENTARY
As the nation recovers from its Super Tuesday hangover, one thing has become frighteningly clear — Donald Trump is a serious contender for the presidency of the United States. And if we want to do something to prevent that, we can’t just sweep the problem under the rug and hope for it to go away anymore. When Trump’s candidacy was originally announced, it was common for people to write him off as a mere joke. A business mogul who was better known for his reality TV antics rather than his boardroom savvy didn’t seem like someone who people could vote for to be the leader of the whole free world. Trump’s fiery, xenophobic rhetoric on the campaign trail didn’t help. Saying everything from claiming Mexicans are rapists and criminals to calling for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the country convinced pundits around the country the electorate
would not vote for this man. They couldn’t have been more wrong. Not only has Trump — who is the current frontrunner in the Republican race for the party nomination — created a significant gap in the delegate count between himself and the other candidates, he’s also been a driving force behind some of the largest Republican turnouts in primary history. On Super Tuesday, every state that held a Republican primary set a new record for voter participation in those contests. In Texas, where Trump ultimately lost to Ted Cruz, 2.7 million people came out to vote in the Republican primary — 1.2 million more than in 2012’s contest. Out of the 10 other recordsetting contests held that day, Trump ended up winning seven. When the day was over and a triumphant Trump took the stage at his campaign headquarters that night, he seemed a bit more reserved than usual, but still filled to the brim with confidence. This should scare people. He’s already looking to November and preparing to appeal to the common voter. He knows he has to start toning himself down at least a little bit. But that doesn’t mean Trump is progressing. It
only means he’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing that’s taking advantage of his weak competition. Cruz is too similar to Trump without having the flamboyant personality that makes him recognizable to the casual voter. Marco Rubio, on the other hand, has resorted to becoming a cheap stand-up comic in a pathetic attempt to derail Trump from the front-runner spot. Alternatively, John Kasich is poised, polished and has a common sense approach to his conservative politics — which automatically disqualifies him from running as a modern Republican. Looking at the other side of the aisle, it’s not a lock that any of the Democratic candidates are a shoo-in to beat Trump. Bernie Sanders’ campaign already looks like a losing effort and Hillary Clinton may or may not be about to be indicted for treason. The closer it gets to November, the more it looks like a total toss up on who will win. If Trump does end up winning, the scariest aspect isn’t what he will do, but rather how people will act. Trump won’t be able to pull off most of his halfbaked ideas, even as the president. But people all around the country, who have already demonstrated a lack of trust in the powers that be, will lose even more faith.
The presence of protestors at Trump’s rallies and the often-violent reactions they have drawn from attendees and security shows just how volatile his presidency will be. Ferguson and Baltimore will become pleasant memories compared to the civil unrest Trump could bring about. The only way to stop all of this is to get involved. Trump can’t win if young people get out and vote. The only way to stop Trump’s supporters is to beat them at their own game and create record-breaking turnouts for someone people with common sense can get behind. And if everyone’s worst fears come true and Trump one day takes the oath of office, the solution isn’t to run to Canada or Europe. The only option is to stay and fight harder than ever before for what really matters. One of the best aspects of America is the ability of its people to come together, fix problems and unite when times get dark. The prospect of a Trump presidency shouldn’t divide Americans. Rather, it should unite everyone in an effort to continue searching for a way to keep people like him far away from the country’s most important offices.
“Love” article presents one-sided story
Tale of student who went through process of getting arranged marriage fails to represent entire scope of Muslim matrimony AMEER SHAKOUR OP-ED
Last week, I read “Love Story” on the front page of The Mercury and, I will be honest about it, I wasn’t really moved or touched by it. In fact, I cringed a bit after reading it and found myself confused and perplexed. The article stated that Nina Rafiq’s parents wanted her future husband to belong to the same “sect” of Islam, Hanafism. Therein lies the first problem. Hanafi, Shafi, Hanbali and Maliki are four schools of thought, named after their respective eponymous figures, but have
COMET COMMENTS
never been defined as sects because of the differences among them. Furthermore, according to Nina, the justification behind marrying someone from the same school means that her husband would celebrate holidays at the same time. That too is incorrect because the two holidays in Sunni Islam, Eid al-adha and Eid al-Fitr, have direct relation to moon sighting and not the schools of thought. The differences among Muslims celebrating these two holidays on different days has more to do with the local community leaders. At times, mosques separated by less than a mile have celebrated Eid on separate days, causing much grief and confusion for their congregations. My other issue with the article is that I do not see how anyone would find “conflicts” marrying some-
one who is not from within their culture or does not share their own nationality. I personally have over a dozen Muslim friends who have married someone that belongs to a different culture, school of thought and nationality. In fact, had I — a Pakistani-Muslim American — not met my amazing wife, who is an Indian American born in the United States, I would not have been opposed to marrying a Mexican Muslim, African Muslim or an Arab Muslim. I, like countless Muslims across the world, understand marrying someone who doesn’t follow the same school of thought, nationality or culture is exactly what our world needs. How can one not overlook minor differences when choosing a spouse? Why are we still so scared of the “otherness,” especially when we live in a country that
takes prides in itself for being a microcosm of the rest of the world? I was taught that conflicts are in the minds of those who have difficulty digesting the diversity that God has put on this earth for us. My advice is to base your decision in the selection of your spouse not in backward and ill-advised cultural prejudices, but instead on the character of the person you choose to spend your life with. Verse 49:13 in the Koran clears up any issues we may have: “O mankind, we have created you male and female, and appointed you races and tribes, that you may know one another. Surely the noblest among you in the sight of God is the most god- fearing of you. God is All-knowing, All-aware.”
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Sanders supporters start club Democratic Socialists join UTD’s political landscape after receiving approval from the Student Organization Center in February CARA SANTUCCI News Editor
After spending the fall semester advertising and gathering supporters, the Democratic Socialists club has been approved to join the UTD community. Nicolas St. John, the president and founder of the Democratic Socialists and a physics junior, first heard the term used in a Bernie Sanders rally in Dallas in July of 2015. “I heard (Sanders) say that that’s what he was and I heard his speech and I agreed with every single thing that he said during his speech,” Nicolas St. John said. After that moment, he decided to begin aligning himself with democratic socialism. Inspired by the political ideology, Nicolas St. John began drumming up interest last semester to see if he could find enough students to start a club. His goal was to find five members before applying with the Student Organization Center. After hanging flyers and meeting unofficially with interested students, he came to the SOC at the beginning of the semester with 10 members and the club was approved. One of the first members of the club was the founder’s brother, Joel St. John. The biology sophomore serves as the treasurer of the club. Like his brother, Joel St. John found out about democratic socialism through the same Bernie Sanders rally. However, just because the two brothers both identify as democratic socialists doesn’t mean they share identical viewpoints. Nicolas St. John said there were two different sides to the ideology — the side that views it as a stepping stone to total socialism and the side that sees it as a way to humanize capitalism. He falls on the latter side. Joel St. John, on the other hand, is a proponent of socialism for the country.
YASH MUSALGAONKAR |MERCURY STAFF
Nicholas St. John (right-center) and his brother Joel St. John founded the Democratic Socialists club after attending a Bernie Sanders rally. Although they approach the political ideology in different ways, their goal as officers of the club is to encourage college students to be more involved in politics.
socialism is the best thing for the country at the moment. Their club seeks to help spread information about both Bernie Sanders and the political affiliation in general. Right now, in the early stages of the club, Nicolas St. John said they are focusing on running a booth in the Student Union. As a deputy registrar for both Collin and Dallas County, he has been helping people register for the primaries and the general election. In addition to informing the public, the club also helps out with the Sanders campaign on a national level. Chelsea Ellison, the vice president of the club
“To me, democratic socialism is a nice step because it’s really, really hard to just change everything over night. You need a process,” he said. “It’s a really good process to socialism.” Nicolas St. John said he is a democratic socialist as defined by Bernie Sanders. During Sanders’ speech, his points about making college tuition free resonated with Nicolas St. John. “I’ve personally struggled with the fact that I have to work and go to college,” he said. “I know my grades would improve substantially if I could not work and go to college.” Both of the brothers agree that democratic
BEHIND ZOOTOPIA Q&A with Rich Moore and Byron Howard
DISNEY | COURTESY
Characters Judy Hopps (left), Nick Wilde and Flash are played by Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman and Raymond S. Persi, respectively.
On Feb. 29, Rich Moore and Byron Howard, the directors of Disney’s new animated film “Zootopia,” came to campus to discuss the movie. The Mercury had the chance to sit down with the two directors for an interview. One of the protagonists that most college students can relate to in “Zootopia” is Officer Judy, a bunny trying to prove her worth as the first of her kind in the world of law. How did the team choose the different characters and casting in the movie? Moore: The story has a pretty deep theme that involves the predator and the prey in the animal world. We found that it’s best represented by the mammal world because you can put just about every species of mammals into either predator or prey. We found that if we tried to include reptiles and amphibians and birds and fish, the predator-prey dynamic is more about whoever is bigger. This kind of changes animal to animal, so we stuck with the world of mammals to tell the story because it worked
thematically. We are telling a buddy story — so we wanted one from the predator and one from the prey. Our main character is Judy — she’s a rabbit who passionately wants to become a police officer in “Zootopia” and she’s a prey animal. In choosing her co-star, we wanted the natural enemy to a rabbit, and we found that just about everywhere there’re rabbits, there are foxes that prey on them. So that’s how Nick arrived. It could have been a bear … Howard: It could have been a tiger … Moore: Or something like that, but we really wanted two animals from the same world, not an exotic predator. We wanted woodland-like creatures. Also, the two of them together, they are about the same size. Nick is a little bit bigger, but he’s still a very small predator. Them as a duo makes them an underdog duo when they’re up against big animals like bears and lions and tigers and stuff like that. In “Zootopia,” there appears to be both classic humor and a new, imaginative setting that is sure
→ SEE ZOOTOPIA, PAGE 12
YASH MUSALGAONKAR | MERCURY STAFF
Byron Howard (left) and Rich Moore, the directors of “Zootopia,” talked about casting for the movie, the plot’s complexity and their careers in animation and direction when they visited campus on Feb. 29.
and a cognitive science senior, said they have been working with the College Democrats on campus to do phone banking. Rather than trying to convince people to try to vote for Sanders, the club gathers information about how people are voting in the upcoming election and sends the data to the campaign. Another goal of the club is to find a way to get college-aged students excited about voting. Ellison said involvement in the political process is crucial. “This is really important no matter what field or major you’re in,” she said. “This is about all of us and we all have a responsibility.”
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STUDY YOUR CANDIDATE Get to know the Democratic and Republican frontrunners’ platforms
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MARCH 7, 2016 | THE MERCURY | UTDMERCURY.COM
LIFE&ARTS
Rally attendees HOUSES OF THE HOLY: “Feel the Bern”
BAHA’I
Mercury staff writer recounts sights, sounds of candidate’s stop in Dallas
Sophomore finds family-like community, happiness within faith
JENNIFER CHI | MERCURY STAFF
A group within the Baha’i community gathers at a devotional, one of the four core activities observed by followers of the Baha’i faith, at the house of a member.
and God, people of the Baha’i faith engage in core activities like devotionals, children’s classes, junior Managing Editor youth groups and study circles to promote inclusivity Editor’s note: This is the fourth part in a five-part for Baha’is and non-Baha’is alike. “There’s people that aren’t Baha’i that help faciliseries. tate these different things,” she said. “It’s not like it’s Maha Ighanifard’s family climbed 19 terraces to pushed for them to become Baha’i, but it’s these four reach the top of Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. activities (that) promote the spiritual capacity of the The city stretched in front of them as far as the community that they’re in.” Ighanifard attended Sunday school for 10 years eye could see and the Mediterranean Sea lay calmly at the Plano Baha’i Center. The promotion of core beyond that. They had made it to the shrine of the Bab — the activities used to be centralized when Ighanifard messenger in the Baha’i faith that informed people was younger, but the Universal House of Justice has of the arrival of the Prophet Baha’u’lla — at the since recommended that a community should only fund a Baha’i center if one doesn’t already exist in Baha’i World Center. “It was just so beautiful because you were sur- the near vicinity. This was to encourage non-Baha’is to partake in rounded by so much life,” said Ighanifard, a biomedical engineering and neuroscience sophomore. the activities of the faith and encourage unity among people of different faiths. Ac“It was just another feeling. I tivities are now primarily held can’t even describe it. It brought in people’s homes you so much joy.” You’re surrounded “The way it is now is there’s The Baha’i faith was founded by so many kind a lot more children’s classes in 1844 in Iran after growing and junior youth groups to faout of the Shiite branch of Islam. people that you cilitate their growth,” IghaniThere are currently 7.3 million feel like your best fard said. “But it’s more difollowers of the faith worldwide. qualities are brought verse which helps a lot. When The compilation of texts written it used to be centralized, we by the Prophet Baha’u’lla and his out when you’re at would have, let’s say for Colpredecessor, the Bab, are called pilgrimage. lin County, one Sunday school the Divine Revelation. every week (and there’d be) six Mount Carmel was the location that Abdul-Baha — the son — Maha Ighanifard classes for different grade levof the Prophet Baha’u’lla — had Biomedical engineering and els. Now… there are probably announced as the final destinaneuroscience sophomore 30 children’s classes within different local communities.” tion for the World Center to be Ighanifard explained that the built. Although Ighanifard visited the Center when she was 12 years old, she still transition toward decentralized circles of activity was not easy. remembers how the atmosphere made her feel. “It was a really hard adjustment,” she said. “No one “It was just a bare mountain and now it’s this huge fruitful place,” she said. “Being close to that understood the wisdom in decentralizing the chiljust makes you feel so much closer to God. You’re dren’s classes, but it caused a lot of growth and inclusurrounded by so many kind people that you feel sivity instead of just (an) exclusive feel. That was kind like your best qualities are brought out when you’re of the mindset, but then we realized that’s not the point of our faith — it’s for unity, not for exclusivity.” at pilgrimage.” For Ighanifard, praying in different locations — The World Center is home to the Universal House of Justice, a body of nine members that whether it’s at home or at a devotional — has differguide the international Baha’i community in ob- ent effects on her. At home, she usually prays in complete darkness to serving the faith and helping its constituency grow. “The Baha’i faith is about peace, love and unity,” concentrate on those her prayers will benefit. “I put other people in my thoughts,” she said. Ighanifard said. She said that although praying is a solitary activ→ SEE BAHA’I, PAGE 7 ity to help build a connection between the devotee NIDHI GOTGI
SURAIYA RAHMETULLA | MERCURY STAFF
Bernie Sanders took the stage at the Verizon Theatre in Grand Prairie on Feb. 27. Sanders mentioned corporate greed and the plight of the working class, among other things, during his speech. Sanders came in second to Clinton in Texas on Super Tuesday, three days after the rally.
Sanders finally entered the stage with his wife, Jane O'Meara Sanders, who came along to support him on the campaign trail. After standing next to SandThe crowd applauded thunderously as the candi- ers for a brief moment, Jane left the stage and he date walked onto the stage. They waved posters and began his speech. As Sanders spoke about corporate greed, the craned their necks hoping for a distant glimpse of the plight of the working American and various potential presidential nominee. On Feb. 27, Bernie Sanders spoke at the Verizon other social and economic problems, the crowd Theatre in Grand Prairie. He came to Texas the week- listened intently. Some leaned forward in their seats trying to end before Super Tuesday, hoping to garner support among democratic voters. According to news reports, catch every word he spoke while others nearly burst with excitement and cheered when they over 6,000 people attended the rally. Hours before the doors were scheduled to open, agreed with what he said. Occasionally, the a line wrapped around the theater. People waited in crowd interrupted Sanders’ speech with chantthe heat for a chance to hear Sanders speak in person. ing, causing him to pause and wait for the crowd Even though the line moved slowly, the excite- to settle down. After speaking ment in the air for nearly an hour, didn’t wilt unSanders said goodder the hot sun. Even if Clinton does win the demobye to the crowd Strangers with a cratic nomination, Sanders has still so he could make common interest significantly shaped this presidential his next campaign in Sanders began stop in Oklahoma making friends race. that evening. The and discussing political ideologies. — Miriam Percival crowd left the stadium feeling opTheir chatting timistic for Super helped to pass the Tuesday results. time while the line inched slowly forward. Although Sanders didn’t do as well as expected Once inside, the auditorium filled up quickly. Those standing at the back of the line were relieved on Super Tuesday, his campaign is far from over. to find a seat. To pass the time, the crowd began There are dozens of other northern states where doing the wave and chanting, “Feel the Bern” over Sanders can take the lead against Clinton in the the loud, upbeat music playing through the speak- coming months. News outlets are also prematurely ers. A group of enthusiastic Sanders supporters held reporting pledged delegates rather than the actual up LED letters spelling out his name, much to the delegates each candidate has. This inflates the lead Clinton has on Sanders, swaying potential voters delight of the crowd. To quell the crowd’s restlessness, speakers and sing- toward Clinton so they ‘don’t waste their vote.’ Even if Clinton does win the democratic nomiers came on stage to endorse Sanders. Kicking off the rally was Jessie Frye, a young singer from Denton. nation, Sanders has still significantly shaped this She sang several vaguely politically related songs and presidential race and future ones. His campaign has urged the crowd to vote for Sanders. After her, other grown tremendously over the last several months, politicians spoke, including former Rep. Domingo setting a precedent for the Democratic Party to Garcia and former Texas Agricultural Commissioner follow. No matter what happens, Sanders’ success shows that the American people are ready for a new Jim Hightower. The crowd erupted with cheering and yelling as kind of president. MIRIAM PERCIVAL Commentary
The Dirty Nil’s new album doesn’t disappoint Band’s newly-released “Higher Power” is group’s first album despite decade-long tenure in music world IAN CAMPO Commentary
The Dirty Nil / Higher Power Release Date: February 26th, 2016 Rating: 7.5/10 RiYL: PUP, FIDLAR, Single Mothers Canadian rock trio The Dirty Nil have finally brought their debut LP into the world after a decade of being a band and it has come out kicking and screaming. “Higher Power” is an aggressive album that sees the band mesh rock and punk into massive hooks and tasty guitar riffs. At its essence, it’s a rock record that defines what The Dirty Nil have set out to achieve. Listeners are immediately reeled in to the opener track and lead single “No Weaknesses,” and it’s a wild ride
from start to finish. from there. However, with the album’s impressive threeThe opener segues to “Zombie Eyed” and “Wrestle Yü To Husker Dü” — two re-recorded hits from song start, it’s hard for it to live up to this segment their vault that are the highlights of the album, and in its latter half. Perhaps this is its only fault, and they make it clear there was definitely more em- even so, it doesn’t take long into “Friends In The Sky” and “Know Your Rophasis on dent” to forget about evproducerything and focus on the tion than You're well aware of the beating immediate presence that in previous you've received and of its brevity, these songs deliver. projects. which ... gets you to replay the album The album is also surprisGuitar, ingly short, with the majorbass and from the beginning. ity of the songs never reachdrums are ing the three-minute mark. collectively Thus, ‘Higher Power’ is an turned up a notch while vocals remain the focal point and do action packed jam that can be listened to in about justice to singer Luke Bentham’s charismatic voice. 30 minutes. By the time you’ve reached “Bury Me The result, as a whole, is a sequence of killer bangers → SEE ALBUM, PAGE 7
THE DIRTY NIL
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→ ALBUM
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At The Rodeo” — an anthemic closer that provides a sort of relief from the pace of the album as
→ BAHA’I
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“I’ll say, ‘This prayer is for this person’ if I know someone is going through a hard time (and) if they wanted prayers.” At devotionals, Ighanifard emphasized the group setting and how engaging in prayer together strengthens the bond of those involved. “Whenever you’re singing and praying with other people, it brings you closer to them,” she said.
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a whole — you’re well aware of the beating you’ve received and of its brevity, which is exactly what gets you to replay the album from the beginning. Best Tracks: “No Weaknesses,” “Zombie Eyed,” “Wrestle Yü To Hesker Dü,” “Bury Me At The Rodeo”
Group activities aren’t limited to the four core activities. The 19-Day Feast — a celebration in which people discuss the growth of the core activities in their community and consult about guidance from the national center — served to bring people together and validate the pillar of unity in the Baha’i faith, Ighanifard said. “It makes it more of a family,” she said. “Those feasts (are) always at someone’s home. It just makes it feel like more of a community.”
PINPOSSIBLE
LINDA NGUYEN | MERCURY STAFF
T
he weather is finally warming up, but before we kiss the colder weather away for good, I wanted to do one more fall weatherinspired project: a blanket scarf. I love blanket scarves because I’m one of those people who’s perpetually cold. In fact, I have two blankets in the office for situations where I get cold at work, so the best thing about this project is the duality: it can be a cute accessory when I’m getting ready for my day, and then transform into a much needed blanket if I’m dealing with cold weather in class. The cherry on top is that it’s super easy.
WHAT YOU NEED - 2 yards of flannel fabric
- scissors - a lot of patience
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Trim and straighten the edges of the fabric. 2. Using your fingers, tug at the the bottommost loose thread until it comes out. 3. Take the next thread and, again, tug it until it comes out. 4. As you continue pulling threads out of the fabric, you’ll begin to see it fray. Continue fraying the fabric until you’re happy with it. 5. Repeat on the other three sides. And there it is. I will say that fraying the edges of the flannel will take awhile. I think mine took
Blanket Scarf
me a couple hours, but it’s the perfect complement to a nice quiet night in — or maybe just a Netflix binge with friends. The materials themselves are relatively cheap. Craft stores such as Joann’s usually have sales or coupons that can be used on fabrics. I bought 2.5 yards of fabric for about $15. Overall, though, a very simple blanket scarf. The great thing about these scarves is that you can wrap it around your neck in a variety of ways or, if you’re feeling adventurous, incorporate it as a vest or something in your outfit. There is a lot of inspiration and advice for wearing blanket scarves online, or you could just be like me and pack it on the off chance you get too cold. It also makes a very cute throw blanket for a couch.
Difficulty Cost Durability
Every issue, The Mercury’s craft connoisseur will scour Pinterest and craft blogs in search of the best and worst DIY projects. Show us your results on social media using #pinpossible and @utdmercury.
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MARCH 7, 2016 | THE MERCURY | UTDMERCURY.COM
SPORTS
Behind the scenes Athletic training staff builds relationships with student-athletes, creates sense of trust PABLO JUAREZ Sports Editor
When injured athletes make their long-awaited comeback, fans only see the polished end product. What often goes unnoticed is the work that happens behind the scenes — in particular, that of the athletic training staff. The work life of an athletic trainer isn’t a typical nine to five desk job. “That’s the best thing I love about this job — there’s no typical day,” said UTD’s Assistant Athletic Trainer Tracy Lott. “Every day is different because athletes’ injuries are different.” During the spring season, Lott opens up shop between 9 and 10 a.m. and leaves between 6 and 7 p.m., depending on the athletes. “When I first come in, I get notes done or practice set-ups (done). … Then I have athletes start coming in around their class schedules,” Lott said. “They’ll come in for treatment. Depending on how they feel that day, we could do massages … (and) all kinds of soft tissue manipulations.” Lott said her most memorable experiences while working at UTD so far are the times she has been able to bond with the athletic teams while on the road. Her primary sports are women’s basketball and softball, and men’s and women’s cross-country. When she travels with the women’s basketball team, they connect over games. “This last week, we played Minute To Win It and so sometimes I join in with the team,” she said. “That relationship and trust that we’re able to build really helps with being able to treat them. They’re able to come and really confide in me.” Lott said balancing her workload and her personal life can sometimes be difficult. “With working in athletics where school comes first — especially here at UTD — and athletics is second … these kids want to be great in the classroom but they want to be great on the field too,” she said. “That may mean they’re not free until 6 p.m., so that means I need to be free at 6 p.m. to where we can do treatments. (You) also have to be able to say no. You have to be able to say, ‘You need a day off and I need a day off.’” For Head Athletic Trainer Tom Monagan, coming to work everyday isn’t a chore because of the people he works with and the environment they cultivate. “The favorite part about my job is (our) diverse
SAHER AQEEL | MERCURY STAFF
Assistant athletic trainer Tracy Lott gives treament to junior infielder Kendall Moore on March 4. Lott joined the UTD athletic training staff in 2014 after spending six years at Campbellsville University.
staff that brings different (expertise) to the student athletes that we serve,” he said. “I’ve hired all three of them that are here right now. It’s enjoyable to come to work every day.” Monagan said relaying information to injured athletes on the severity of their injury is one of hardest parts about his job. Monagan believes that providing athletes with the most information possible concerning their specific
injury is the proper course of action to take. “I’ll take (athletes) into my office and show him on the computer diagrams and videos … so they get an understanding of it,” he said. “The more information you give them about (the injury) so they’re not guessing, the better off you’re going to be. If you put a positive light into the situation, we’ll have a better outlook of things.” Monagan said one of the most rewarding
aspects of being an athletic trainer is finally seeing athletes return to the field after long periods of rehabilitation. “I think you could ask any athletic trainer — one of the most enjoyable things is when you’re working with (an athlete) and you get them back and watch them be successful,” he said. “It gives you a good sense of accomplishment that they’re doing well and that you’ve done your job well.”
LIVING A DOUBLE LIFE Student-athletes balance academics, sports in everyday lives
PABLO JUAREZ Sports Editor
The leaves wait for the beaming sunlight to shine on them. The barren roads and sidewalks patiently anticipate oncoming traffic — both by cars and by people. Before the sun rises, one early commuter, senior setter Kayla Jordan, is up and running to begin her training. While in season, her life as a collegiate volleyball setter begins from the moment her alarm sounds at 5:30 a.m. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she heads towards the Activity Center for the team’s scheduled 7 a.m. practices. Once practice ends at 9 a.m., Jordan begins her life as a computer science major. “I usually try to schedule my classes right after practice so I can just stay here,” Jordan said. “Then I come home and probably take a nap because I’m tired at that point. I have to wake up and do all my homework that’s due, start studying and then do scouting for volleyball and watch videos.” The cycle repeats itself the next day. Game days, however, are a whole different animal. “It’s hard when we’re traveling because sometimes I can’t even go to class,” Jordan said. “So I have to tell my professors I can’t be there and work it out with them. On the bus, half of us are doing homework because we need to and the rest are just chilling. After the game, it’s back to homework and then sleeping.” The volleyball team has study hall every Wednesday from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. instead of regularly scheduled practice. “All the freshman have to go, and if your GPA is lower than a 3.0, then you have to go, too,” Jordan said. “When midterms are released, if you have a C, then you have to go as well.” For junior biomedical engineering major and cornerback for the men’s soccer team Samuel Konstanty, his days during the season begin in a similar fashion. “It’s definitely difficult,” he said. “I wake up at 8 a.m. (and) get ready for practice. At 8:45 a.m., we have to be in the locker room. We train from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., and what makes that difficult is that we’re tired by the time our academic day starts.” Konstanty said he has to find the right balance
CHAD AUSTIN | ASST. GRAPHICS EDITOR
Student-athletes have to find a way to balance the demands of their athletic schedules with the pressure of staying on top of their academics. In Division III sports, no athletic scholarships are handed out.
between his academic and athletic requirements. “Soccer definitely takes up about three hours each day,” he said. “That makes it difficult to study both for the time requirement and the mental and physical exhaustion. It seems like a cycle exhaustion most days.” Freshman health care studies major and forward for the women’s soccer team Jacqueline Kaufman is up early in the morning for classes. Kaufman is able to confide in her older teammates who have already taken some of the classes she is currently enrolled in.
“All the older girls are like, ‘If you need help with something, you can have our notes or if you have questions, come ask,’” she said. “I know we have two girls who are in some upper-level math classes and I’ve had them help me with my math homework a couple of times on the buses.” Men’s soccer head coach Jason Hirsch emphasizes to his players the various avenues accessible to students to help them in their curriculum. “We encourage our players to go to the student success center or talk to teaching assistants or professors if they have any questions or issues,”
Hirsch said. Hirsch said he understands the importance of academics, especially being a former studentathlete himself. “I tell my (players) all the time that it’s about being proactive,” he said. “If you’re studying for a test last minute, then you’re approaching it the wrong way. We tell our guys all the time that there’s 24 hours in a day and we’re only asking for about 2 hours each day. The other hours of the day is the time you need to be studying, preparing for exams and quizzes. It’s challenging, but it’s about time management.”
SPORTS
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NUMBERS ON THE BOARD
BASKETBALL TEAMS FALL IN ASC TOURNEY FIRST ROUND The men’s and women’s basketball teams made early exits in the ASC tournament this year, with both teams falling in the first round. The men’s squad fell 82-68 to Hardin-Simmons on Feb. 25. The Comets were led by junior forward Kyle Coulter, who was 4-for-5 from three-point range and finished the game with 20 points. Meanwhile, the women’s team was bested by Howard Payne 80-73 the same day. Despite the loss, junior forward Micaela Gonzalez scored a career-high 28 points and pulled down 13 rebounds to finish with her ninth double-double of the season.
: MEN'S BBALL
BASEBALL/SOFTBALL IN FULL SWING
The baseball and softball teams are back in the thick of action after starting conference play. The softball team is off to a 10-7 start, including a 7-2 record against ASC teams. The baseball team has had a rougher time in the early part of its season, going 5-6 so far and posting a 0-3 record against ASC competition.
CHAD AUSTIN | ASST. GRAPHICS EDITOR
UPCOMING GAMES BASEBALL
SOFTBALL
03/08-UNIVERSITY OF DALLAS
03/08-UMHB
03/11-@ETBU
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03/18-@ETBU
03/15-@HENDRIX
03/19-@ETBU (DH)
03/16-@HENDRIX
03/22-UNIVERSITY OF DALLAS
03/18-UT TYLER
03/22-UT TYLER
03/19-UT TYLER (DH)
03/22-UT TYLER (DH)
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to stick with the movie-watchers for a long time. How did the team work to achieve that level of complexity? Howard: We usually start with one or two people in the room when we have an idea and then, instead of diving into the story, we usually do a nine-month or a 10-month deep dive into the world that we’re trying to learn about. For instance, Rich became an expert in videogames to create “Wreck-It-Ralph.” Moore: I had a head start (laughter). It started at 10 … Howard: Little did he know that all those quarters … Moore: My mom said that I was wasting my life, but I put them to good use! Howard: All that change, all those spare coins went into research for “Wreck-It-Ralph.” So for this movie, we did about a year of research into animals and into sociology — how cities are born — and we put it all together. We even took a team to Africa — to Kenya — and that was amazing. And that was one of the big ideas of where our movie came from. Fifteen of our leaders — the head of animation, head of look, art director — and us all camped out at the edge of watering hole and we watched all these animals come in and drink. (We saw) a herd of wildebeest, then gazelles and then zebras. Funny thing was that lions were
→ GAME LAB
NEWS
coming in too and they were drinking right next to the animals that they normally eat — which is like gazelles and zebras — but they weren’t attacking them. They would look at each other and just drink and go away. And we thought this whole predator-prey thing is very much like human cities — different groups of people who don’t necessarily all get along or see eye to eye, but they need something in common. Cities are about coming together to survive or to work or to live and flourish. Moore: It’s about the essentials. Howard: Yes, exactly. They need to find a way to live together and get along, and that led to this whole predator-prey idea that really fit into the deeper themes of the movie. Do you have any advice for students who want to pursue a career in animation? Can you also share some significant moments in your careers? Moore: (laughter) I’m from Oxnard in Southern California, and there are no animators from Oxnard, and so they said, “There are no animators from Oxnard! So you’re going to go out there and be an animator and work in this business? Right.” You know people were concerned. They wanted the best for me, but they weren’t creative people sometimes and they don’t know the right advice to give. But as someone who works in this business, and no one was born into the position they were in. As I said, I came from a little city where no one ever understood animation, but it’s plausible to do. I had dreams of what I was going to do, and they came true and beyond! No matter what the students are
For example, Michael Stewart — a recent ATEC graduate — helped create a game called “Push and Pull” during Game Lab’s spring 2015 semester and later received offers to publish it, The course, which is one of the highest-level pro- prompting him and his team members to continue duction courses offered to undergraduate and gradu- developing the game. Stewart and his partner, Dean Soeder, came up ate students, operates on a semester-by-semester basis. Around 50 game projects are pitched to Breault with the idea for “Push and Pull,” a game about creatures who use the power of magnetism to move and a handful of other faculty. From this pool, eight are chosen for live pitches. objects, during the fall of 2014. After several rounds Then, two are developed during the following semes- of bug testing and polishing, they presented their ter. Typically, 20 undergraduates and 10 graduates prototype to Scott Swearingen, another faculty memare chosen for the course. For Breault, who helped ber leading the course, who then suggested pitching develop the successful “Dungeons & Dragons” board the project to Game Lab for full production. In addigame, the Game Lab’s team-based environment is an tion to successfully lobbying the idea, Stewart and Soeder managed to convince the faculty to have all especially important component of the course. “The students get to work with all these different 30 students in the lab work on their project, rather people — not just people who have different special- than splitting the students between two projects. “I was the lead director, which meant I was ties, but different personalities,” he said. “It’s very different from developing a project on your own or with (involved) with every aspect of the game,” Stewart said. “I was building a bridge of your friends, because there are communication between all the people you may not get along different teams.” with. You have to work with Part of the challenge for them and make sure everybody’s Game Lab is one Stewart was ensuring that his pulling in the same direction. It for the game was conbecomes a very honest appraisal of the ways in which vision sistent with the visions of his of how much these students like all of our students team members. the game industry.” “The first thing I did with Monica Evans, who received the can come together my team was making sure that first ever Ph.D. from the ATEC and make someeveryone felt like this game was program and went on to estabtheirs, not just mine,” he said. lish the Game Lab course when thing spectacular. For Stewart, there are excitshe returned as a faculty member, ing opportunities ahead in the pointed out the student driven world of gaming. He is currentnature of the course. ly working towards obtaining “The games that come through are pitched by the — Monica Evans, ATEC Faculty his MFA from the ATEC program, is serving as a teaching students, and are developed by assistant for the undergraduate the students,” Evans said. Students are placed on one of two projects for the Game Design I class and is collaborating with the semester and serve as directors, producers, engineers, Perot Museum to develop educational games for artists, animators and narrative designers. After eight children. In addition, “Push and Pull” was recently weeks of initial development, there is a public pre- featured at PAX South, a popular gaming consentation in which the creators put their game on vention that took place in San Antonio this year. Stewart said he attributes part of his success to the computers so anyone in the university can play it. A survey is provided so the creators can receive skills he gained in Game Lab. “It allowed me to sharpen my soft skills, espefeedback. At the end of the next eight weeks, the components of the game are finalized and the team cially in terms of working with people,” he said. “I learned how to work on a team and lead a team begins to polish and debug the game. “It very much mimics the stages a real game goes at the same time.” For Evans, who created the course, Game Lab through,” Breault said. Because of the amount of effort that students has evolved to become one of the highlights of put into the course, Evans noted students become the ATEC program. “It’s one of the things I’m proudest of,” she extremely invested in their work. “Most of the games (created) in the last few years said. “Game Lab is one of the ways in which of Game Lab have gone on to be in production out- all of our students can come together and make something spectacular.” side of the classroom as well,” she said. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
UTDMERCURY.COM imagining that they’d love to (do), it’s like, they are absolutely possible. They can come true if you stick in the game and keep working at it, and sometimes they don’t come true over night. You might get there and find that it works a little different than you think. I certainly did. You know, everyone that comes out of college goes through an angry year of thinking that the rest of the industry is dumb… Howard: They’re thinking, “Oh, I’m going to show them.” Moore: Yeah, “I’m going to show them!” But I learned so much. You have to accept that the world might not exactly be what you think it is and be able to move with it when it takes you different places. And accept life on life’s terms and not on your own terms. And you can achieve those things that you dream of. It’s all possible. Howard: Anything you see that you want to accomplish is also learnable. Like, a lot of people would say that a person is talented or not talented, and some people go, “Oh, I’m not talented at that and I can’t really do that,” and I don’t know if that’s true. Anything that you can see, whether it is music or film, can be picked apart and broken down into simpler elements where you can learn to understand why you like something. I think why you have a passion for something is because you like something. You may not know why you are drawn to a film or a piece of music, but I think if you take the time to be voracious and absorb all the stuff and ask yourself, “Why do you like this? Why do I like that film? What does that scene make me feel?” Once you take the pieces apart, you go, “Oh, I get it. I could do this. I can put it back together.”
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fabrication, tests and redesign. It allows them insight on what they’re going to be experiencing in the real world.” The way the cars are powered isn’t necessarily what makes them efficient — it’s their design. From when the team first started redesigning in the fall, they meet regularly on Wednesdays for two hours for any updates, and Saturdays to do design work — which can range from five hours to all day. However, as times cut close to the competition,
members will spend almost all their time in the lab working to finish the car. “(Last year), it was the weekend before the competition, the car wasn’t done yet, and we spent 100 hours from Friday until Tuesday finishing the car,” Stuchell said. Currently, the members of ASME are already thinking ahead for next year’s competition while simultaneously finishing up this year’s car. “Depending on how this year goes, we are looking at keeping this car and expanding and starting designing on a new car this summer,” Quigge said. “Hopefully, we will be competing with two cars next year, not just one.”
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the potential for students from different cultures how students from different cultures deal with the possible consequences of a sexual assault investigaiton. “I have students who would be killed if their families knew they had been a victim of sexual assault,” she said. “When they get back to their home country, they would be stoned to death or they would be disowned. And if their brother is a student here and they run in an ethnic group where there’s an investigation, part of my concern is how can you guarantee their safety and their anonymity? And the answer is you can’t.” Behind the policy Dockery and Davis, however, ensured they take every possible measure to protect students’ identities whenever an investigation occurs. They said whenever investigations happen, the information about the specifics of the case is only passed on to those who need to know, and investigations only occur with the cooperation of the students involved. “The policy does allow for (forced investigations) in circumstances where a threat to the campus outweighs the student’s request that we not investigate,” Davis said. “So if we’ve got some facts that suggest that we’ve got somebody out there that the fact of them being there is a danger to other students and employees, that is the only time we could possibly go forward and investigate. That hasn’t occurred.” In response to faculty concerns over reporting possible incidents, Dockery pointed to a 2015 investigation where the Office of Civil Rights found that the University of Virginia had violated provisions of Title IX by not properly investigating possible violations of the law. He said that if a faculty member is in doubt, they should talk to him to see what steps should be taken next.
NEWS
“I don’t think it would be prudent or wise … to give a bright line series of examples. Report this, don’t report that,” he said. “Report it under this circumstance, report under that circumstance. I believe to do so would so narrowly focus the discussion. … So what happens in that instant when you have a bright line determination to report this and not report that, but you get it wrong? You get it incorrect and it actually should have been reported.” Dockery said the faculty has brought up the issue of confidentiality during their training. While Dockery was sympathetic to the need for trust in a professor-student relationship, he said the need for safety on campus takes priority in the case of a possible sexual assault. “A number of faculty members said that, ‘Well, I’ve got to keep that confidential because of the relationship that I have with the student,’” he said. “I get that. But what if the alleged perpetrator is seated two or three chairs away? And you take a look and you see the perpetrator — also at the same time in your class — what do you tell that next person? What do you tell the parent of the next person that this alleged perpetrator assaults?” He also pointed out that under the policy, students can go to certain employees such as counselors and on-campus clergy of their choosing and report a sexual assault without it going to his office. Another issue that has been raised is confusion about faculty and member’s responsibility to tell students they must report any incidents of sexual assault. Part of the federal government’s mandate on Title IX reporting is requiring responsible employees to tell students they have to take students’ reports to the Title IX office, but Student Government leaders said that isn’t happening in certain cases. Caitlynn Fortner and Grant Branam, SG’s president and vice president, respectively, have helped to draft a formal resolution by SG to re-emphasize the
THE MERCURY | MARCH 7, 2016
importance of faculty meeting those requirements and to ensure they are, in fact, telling students of their obligations to report. Also, Branam said students have had trouble understanding what the policy actually means. “We’ve received a lot of complaints that students don’t know what sexual assault is defined as — they don’t know what Title IX is,” he said. “The presentations given, people left more confused than they came. A lot of students are really shocked with how staff are being trained and that they don’t know who they can go to. Some students that have gone to staff and faculty have said, ‘I had no idea that they were taking this information from me and they were going somewhere else from it, and if I had known that then I would have gone a different way.’” Davis said when SG reached out to them about two weeks ago to let them know about these complaints, she was caught off guard since both Branam and Fortner have worked with the Title IX office before. Going forward Still, Davis expressed a willingness to work with SG to improve the situation and better educate students on what the policy means for them. “(The complaints) were kind of surprising just because it was being communicated from someone who (had) been coming to our monthly meetings and had been serving and we didn’t realize that there was (a) need there that wasn’t being met,” she said. “But right away, I started looking at the website … One of the questions seems to be coming back to this responsible employee/mandatory reporting issue, so I’m actually, right now, working on a frequently asked questions type document to add to the website for people who would rather look at it that way, rather than try to understand the policy.” One of the changes that is being made to help
address this is the inclusion of a disclaimer on all syllabi starting next semester that faculty members and responsible employees must disclose revelations of sexual assault to Dockery. Along with the presentations they give during new student orientations, Dockery said he and Davis have been working with groups on campus like the Women’s Center and the International Students Center to address specific needs there. Davis said she is also working on putting together Title IX sexual assault prevention curriculum to be put in freshman 1010 classes this fall. On the faculty side, Leaf said the Academic Senate is planning to offer a “sense of the Senate” at their next meeting that will formulate guidance on what they out of the policy so the administration will be made aware of the faculty’s concerns. Boots said she wants to see more of a drive to educate students about the implications of the policy and what it means for students. “We have to give students an opportunity to learn,” she said. “Maybe scenario based training where we say, ‘Here’s a scenario.’ I don’t have any doubt the administration is truly wanting to protect students, not just be compliant. I’m not sure the transparency if fully there yet. I think we have some work to do.” Moving forward, Dockery said the two people who are most aware of Title IX and its implications are he and Davis and they should be the ones answering the difficult questions about sexual assault to the campus community. “We really want to get the message out that we’re open for business — that anybody, from A to Z, if they have any questions whatsoever about Title IX, any concerns about Title IX, we want to be able to answer those questions for them and we will be able to answer those questions for them and we will make ourselves available to answer those questions to an individual, to a group. Be that any size or any organization,” he said.
SOURCE: ONE IN FOUR. ORG
SOURCE: UTD TITLE IX POLICY
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ESTEBAN BUSTILLLOS | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
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THE MERCURY | MARCH 7, 2016
NEWS
CHRIS LIN | MERCURY STAFF
Neuroscience sophomore Seun Omoba (left) and Interdisciplinary Studies sophomore Victoria Williams prepare a dance for the International Mother Language Day Luncheon held in the Galaxy rooms on Thursday, March 3.
YASH MUSALGAONKAR | MERCURY STAFF
The 15th Annual Texas Guitar Competition and Festival started on March 4. Four finalists competed in the International Concert Guitarist Competition. Ian Tuski (top right), a doctoral candidate at UT Austin, was one of the four finalists. The festival ended on Saturday with performances by Jérémy Jouve (top left) and the Oklahoma City University Guitar Ensemble.
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