The Mercury 9/5/17

facebook.com/theutdmercury | @utdmercury

September 5, 2017

THE MERCURY | UTDMERCURY.COM

WHAT’S INSIDE? VANDHAHA VICTOR | COURTESY

Floodwaters from Hurricane Harvey affected neuroscience senior Vandhana Victor’s home in Katy, Texas where her father stayed until the overflowing reservoirs required a mandatory evacuation of all residents in the area.

‘It was like an ocean’ Hurricane Harvey floods Houston area affecting UTD students, families

STORY BY: ANJALI SUNDARAM | MERCURY STAFF

page 11

Q&A with T.J. Miller

Rain from Hurricane Harvey flooded the streets of Houston shutting down communities and businesses and dislocating thousands of families, including those of UTD students.

Hurricane Harvey broke records as one of the most devastating natural disasters, according to the Harris County Flood Control District. As of Aug. 28, 30,000 people need shelter and 450,000 might relocate because of the hurricane, FEMA Director Brock Long said at a press conference.

The storm brought significant damage to several Houston-area homes, including that of speech language pathology sophomore Bella Goldvarg. When she first heard about the flood, Goldvarg said she was concerned about her family. However, her mother didn’t tell her all the information in an effort to keep Goldvarg from worrying.

“I am a very big pessimist, so the first thing I thought of was, ‘Oh my God I am four hours away from my family right now, what if something, God forbid, happens?’” Goldvarg said.

“My mom was just really trying to sugarcoat everything, and I was like, ‘What do you mean?

Is it that bad?’”

The floods created electrical outages throughout the city, putting Goldvarg’s grandfather at risk, as he depends on electricity for life support.

“We need to get to him,” Goldvarg said. “I have Russian grandparents and they are extremely stubborn and do not want to leave their house. Somehow, we are going to have to get my grandfather, his nine-month-old pup and two cats and my grandmother, who is also

JOSEPH MANCUSO | COURTESY

→ SEE HURRICANE, PAGE 16

Alumnus Joseph Mancuso was deployed to south Texas with his Texas Army National Guard unit to rescue and provide aid to victims of Hurricane Harvey.

Students create campus emergency response team Newly created medical group will reduce response time on campus, provide experience for student volunteers BHARGAV ARIMILLI Life & Arts Editor

page 12

New cricket field opens

page 5

Comet Cakes opens in DHW

Two students launched a campus-based emergency medical response group this semester in an effort to decrease emergency response time and provide a platform for students to gain practical experience in the medical field.

The group, called University Emergency Medical Response, is the first of its kind in the University of Texas System.

UEMR provides emergency medical services free of charge to any member or group of the UTD community. As the result of a partnership between UTD, the city of Richardson, UT Southwestern Medical Center and Parkland Hospital, UEMR operates as a nonprofit organization under the sponsorship of UTD’s police department.

Biology junior Umer Nadir and biochemistry junior Nidhish Lokesh serve as UEMR’s chief and administrative lieutenant, respectively. Nadir and Lokesh, both certified emergency medical technicians, said they realized there weren’t many opportunities for EMT-licensed students to put their skills to use.

“This organization is all about patient care. It’s not about shadowing, it’s not about watching someone else give the care,” Nadir said. “It’s a lot more hands on. We’re treating people at the scene. We are the first responders and we are responsible for the health of the patients there.”

Nadir and Lokesh approached Calvin Jamison, vice president of administration, with the idea for a campus-based emergency medical response group last summer, and said they quickly realized that the process would take much longer than anticipated.

“We came in with that naive mindset, that we’re going to talk to the right people, we’re going to get this pushed through in a few months,” Lokesh said. “Every semester we were like, ‘Alright, this is the semester we’re going to have it ready to go.’ And then we were like, ‘Okay, no.’ A lot of the problem was the legal issues.”

Nadir and Lokesh consulted attorneys regarding healthcare liability issues, look-

UTD NEWS CENTER | COURTESY

University Emergency Medical Response Chief Umer Nadir (left) and Administrative Lt. Nidhish Lokesh talk with UTD students during an orientation fair where they volunteered as medical responders.

ing to existing EMR programs at Rice University and Duke University for reference. UEMR completed negotiations in August and signed three separate contracts with UTD, the city of Richardson and UT Southwestern–Parkland Hospital.

The organization receives funding from the Office of Administration on an annual basis, which primarily covers equipment costs. Student EMTs work as volunteers.

UTD police chief Larry Zacharias, who serves as UEMR’s advisor, said the group’s free-of-charge services would reduce costs for the university.

“Housing would always hire EMTs to be on site during move in. This year, for the first (time), they didn’t have to hire anyone,” Zacharias said. “Every year, when our teams make the playoffs, NCAA requires that there be EMTs on site. UT Dallas always had to pay EMTs. UEMR will do that and save the budget.”

Gilberto Salazar, an emergency physician at UT Southwestern, serves as the medical director of UEMR and oversees the statemandated continuing education for UEMR

personnel, which requires that EMTs and paramedics complete a certain number of clinical hours to maintain proficiency.

“We’re going to make sure that each and every provider is up to date with the latest medical technology,” Salazar said.

UEMR also integrated its services with BioTel, a UT Southwestern-led system providing pre-hospital emergency care throughout Dallas county and directs ambulances to hospitals based on emergency room availability.

Under the current protocols, a 911 call for a medical emergency on campus is routed to Richardson’s dispatch center, which sends an ambulance to campus.

The call is then forwarded to UTD’s dispatch center. With the launch of UEMR, UTD’s dispatch center will then dispatch on-campus UEMR personnel to initiate emergency care while the Richardson ambulance travels to the scene, decreasing the time between the phone call and the initial medical response.

“The value to us being there is that we can do the small and tedious things

a paramedic has to do in the back of an ambulance with an unstable patient — writing down insurance, writing down his name, getting his address,” Nadir said.

“We could get that information for them and have the patient prepped, so all they need to do is just take that patient and go.”

UEMR membership is open to students who have already received national or state accredited EMT Basic certification. At present, 25 EMT-certified students have joined the group. Nadir said UEMR will focus on providing EMR services for specific events during the fall semester and plans to transition to a 24/7 on-call system by the spring semester. The 24/7 on-call system will give members of the UTD community access to emergency care after business hours, when providers such as the Student Health Center are closed.

“If we could get to the patient first, we’d be able to cut down on response time,” Lokesh said. “In pre-hospital care, seconds matter. Seconds will save lives.”

2

THE MERCURY UTDMERCURY.COM Volume XXXVIII No. 13

NEWS

THE MERCURY | SEPT. 5, 2017

UTDMERCURY.COM

UTDPD Blotter

Editor-in-Chief Miriam Percival

editor@utdmercury.com (972) 883-2294

Managing Editor Ariana Hadden managingeditor @utdmercury.com (972) 883-2287

Ad Sales Representatives Eeshan Pandey ads@utdmercury.com (972) 883-2210

Graphics Editor Chad Austin

graphics@utdmercury.com

Photo Editor Saher Aqeel

photo@utdmercury.com

News Editor Ruth Varghese

news@utdmercury.com

Sports Editor Summer LeBel

sports@utdmercury.com

Aug. 23 • At 3:48 p.m., an unknown person stole a thermal imaging camera from UTD PD.

A

Aug. 23 • At 9:57 p.m., an unknown person damaged a student’s vehicle in Phase 7.

B

Aug. 24 • An unknown person stole a student’s laptop at 3:53 p.m. from the Visitor’s Center.

C

Aug. 25 • At 1:45 p.m., an unknown person stole $300 worth of electronics and gift cards from a Student Union office.

Aug. 25 • An unknown person stole an employee’s iPhone 6 from JSOM at 8:40 p.m.

A

B D D

E

Life & Arts Editor Bhargav Arimilli life@utdmercury.com

C

Web Editor Bharat Arimilli

E

web@utdmercury.com

Contributors Srikar Sudarsan Baskara Emilio Chavez Jenna Cherrey EJ Chong Kolton Coats Deepak Godavarthi Srichandrakiran Gottipati Saumya Jagata Christina Jiav Mithra Kaushik William Legrone Sam Lopez Chiamaka Mgboji Keaton Nations Nadine Omeis Valerie Perez Shannon Ramirez Bianca Del Rio Ian Seamans Yannis Shafi Roman Soriano Meha Srivastav Matt Strack Anjali Sundaram Marisa Willaims Dev Thimmisetty Noah Whitehead Media Adviser Chad Thomas

chadthomas@utdallas.edu (972) 883-2286

Mailing Address 800 West Campbell Road, SU 24 Richardson, TX 75080-0688 Newsroom Student Union, Student Media Suite SU 1.601

The Mercury is published on Mondays, at two-week intervals during the long term of The University of Texas at Dallas, except holidays and exam periods, and once every four weeks during the summer term.

Advertising is accepted by The Mercury on the basis that there is no discrimination by the advertiser in the offering of goods or services to any person, on any basis prohibited by applicable law.

The publication of advertising in The Mercury does not constitute an endorsement of products or services by the newspaper, or the UTD administration.

Opinions expressed in The Mercury are those of the editor, the editorial board or the writer of the article. They are not necessarily the view of the UTD administration, the Board of Regents or the Student Media Operating Board.

The Mercury’s editors retain the right to refuse or edit any submission based on libel, malice, spelling, grammar and style, and violations of Section 54.23 (f ) (1-6) of UTD policy.

Copyright © 2017, The University of Texas at Dallas. All articles, photographs and graphic assets, whether in print or online, may not be reproduced or republished in part or in whole without express written permission.

The Mercury is a proud member of both the Associated Collegiate Press and the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association.

LEGEND VEHICULAR INCIDENT

THEFT

DRUGS & ALCOHOL OTHER MAP: UTD | COURTESY

In a previous edition of The Mercury, the opinion piece is mistated in the affordability ranking of UTD’s tuition.

UTDMERCURY.COM

NEWS

THE MERCURY | SEPT. 5, 2017

Peer mentors obtain certification New qualification process allows students to relate knowledge, tutoring skills through differing depth levels

3

City council calls for Confederate monument removal Task-force enabled to gather public consensus

SAHER AQEEL | PHOTO EDITOR

Going over her chemistry lesson, biochemistry senior Anusha Bontha guides freshmen as an executive First Year Leader. She thinks the program has helped her to do more.

MITHRA KAUSHIK MERCURY STAFF

Starting this fall, a globally-recognized certification for peer mentors is available for students through UTD’s Institute for Peer Mentorship.

The qualification process equips students with the skills and teaches them how to apply mentoring knowledge to become a better mentor.

Kimshi Hickman, the associate dean of undergraduate education, who oversees the Student Success Center, said how useful this is for UTD’s peer mentors across campus.

“It’s a really good training because

a combination of training and experience hours where you work face-toface with students,” Hickman said.

The program is not only available to peer mentors in the SSC, but also to other mentor groups and programs across campus. While peer mentoring groups at UTD each have their own trainings in the past, this program will unify these teachings. Students will gain skills that they can carry with them to any role, rather than a specific one at UTD. “We have been granted grant funding through UT system to create the Institute for Peer Mentoring, and that way, we can take this mentoring pro-

gram and offer it campus wide,” Hickman said.

Established this fall, the Institute for Peer Mentoring currently operates through the SSC. In addition to the SSC, the First Year Leaders and freshmen and transfer mentors also joined the Institute of Peer Mentoring in order to obtain the globally-recognized endorsement.

“I think it’s really good that we are going through that kind of certification process because it kind of pushes us to do more ... I think that it is really helpful, doing these kinds of certifications and it’s always a learning experience,” said Anusha Bontha, an execu-

tive FYL and a biochemistry senior.

Students must complete at least the first level to receive the certificate and then may pursue the consecutive levels. The three levels are certified, advanced and master. The Institute for Peer Mentorship is currently offering the first two levels. This is a free resource for students and is offered throughout the year, allowing students to complete it at a self-paced course.

“They do additional training hours that go a little deeper with some of the workshops and additional hours with students and they can earn level two and up to level three,” Hickman said.

→ SEE CERTIFICATION, PAGE 4

Greek life obtains new commons in SU The Ritual Room now available to all Greek life as designated space for meetings, events ANJALI SUNDARAM MERCURY STAFF

In an effort to encourage fraternity and sorority life on campus, a newlyrenovated room is now available for Greek organizations.

Fraternity and Sorority Life’s need for growth resulted in the expansion of the Ritual Room, a space for students part of Greek life organizations to study and hold meetings.

On Aug. 17, Chief Education Officer of Kappa Alpha Theta Anjali James, conducted meetings in the Ritual Room.

“Knowing that people can be comfortable in that room was really nice to know,” James said. “Seeing it was like, ‘Wow, this is such a tangible sight for Greek life expanding on campus.’”

Before the expansion, James said it was hard to fit students in the room comfortably. However, this new design helps solve that problem.

“Obviously, when you pack a lot of people in the room it gets kind of hot, so having this bigger room really does help out,” James said. “That allows our members to be present at the meetings and to be more involved in all the things we do there.”

James said the space is where Greeks can complete their rituals, but more importantly, it is where FSL can complete their initiations.

The newly-expanded room allows for more students to come to meetings because the larger space can accommodate more people than in past years.

“For me, Greek Life showed me that this was the way to make someone of yourself here at UTD,” James said. “Greeks ran the campus when I came here — they were vice president of everything, president of Student Government and they were in SUAAB. Everywhere you saw there was a Greek person. It completely changes your

SRIKAR SUDARSAN BASKARA| MERCURY STAFF

Only open to Greek life, the new Ritual Room is a place for fraternities and sororities to host meetings, events or come together to celebrate Greek life. The room is on the bottom floor of the Student Union.

perspective of what the movies and the media show you.”

Student Union director Dan Goodwin was one of the people who collaborated on the project.

“Our Greek organizations don’t have many places on campus to hold some of their meetings or some of their more formal processes,” Goodwin said. “As our chapters grow and the organizations become more involved in other areas on campus, they need an adequate area, and that space as it existed before no longer was adequate for their needs.”

Goodwin was directly involved in the expansion, helping pick the carpet

designs and other factors in the room.

“The most exciting thing for me was taking an existing building that we have and really reimagining it in small and large ways,” Goodwin said. “In this case we had an opportunity to do something really impactful. Working with our partners in Student Affairs like FSL, it is always great to take in the feedback on what their needs are and really the concept of the room and the pictures that people have seen and the finished product.”

Goodwin also worked with UTD’s design team at Facilities Management, along with architects to help bring the

Ritual Room together.

“We repurpose space time to time, and those are always fun, more so than maybe building something brand new,” he said. “Repurposing something takes some creativity and imagining and anytime you can breathe life into a space is great.”

Goodwin said he and his team did struggle with the time limit. His goal was to complete the room before students came back for recruitment or chapter orientation and also before school started.

→ SEE ROOM, PAGE 4

VALERIE PEREZ | MERCURY STAFF

The Robert E. Lee statue located at Robert E. Lee park is one of the few confederate statues left in Texas.

IAN SEAMANS MERCURY STAFF

Student political organizations and the Dallas city council agree that Dallas’ Confederate memorials, such as the Robert E. Lee statue, should be removed.

Even though the council unanimously supports removing the Confederate monuments, Mayor Mike Rawlings and Councilman Philip Kingston disagreed over the timing of the removal and whether there should be a discussion that includes keeping them.

In the end, Rawlings succeeded and the council put together a task-force of 21 people appointed by the majority of councilpersons and himself.

Despite the fact that the mayor has the authority to remove such monuments, he has declined to use it. Instead, the council is using Rawling’s taskforce to gather opinions, collect research and gain public consensus before moving forward.

Matthew Waller, president of the UTD College Republicans, said his club agreed with the decision.

“As a group, we are more in favor of creating a taskforce and working together with the community to figure out a solution that everyone can come together on,” Waller said.

The Dallas Morning News reported there are rumblings of debate in the taskforce over whether or not to remove the monuments, despite the council being united on the issue.

This could prove problematic for the council if the taskforce provides a report that endorses keeping the monuments, even though it’s a small possibility.

In Rawling’s plan, the task-force will report its findings on Oct. 23, the council will base its actions off of that information by Nov. 8. Meanwhile, councilman Kingston wanted the council to vote on Sept. 27 to remove the monuments and rename city property commemorating Confederates.

“I’m more so in favor of councilman Kingston’s idea of removing (Dallas’ statue of Robert E. Lee) immediately, and perhaps then the committee can meet and figure out a more appropriate space for it,” said UTD College Democrats President Fawaz Anwar.

There are currently six pieces of city property that are either a Confederate monument or a building named after a member of the Confederacy. Those pieces are a statue, a park and four elementary schools.

While the issue of Confederate monuments seems settled, the issue of Confederate imagery in Texas is not. There are currently at least 180 symbols of the Confederacy on public property according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, and nearly

→ SEE MONUMENTS, PAGE 4

4

NEWS

THE MERCURY | SEPT. 5, 2017

UTDMERCURY.COM

Apartment catches fire Accidental SUV fire spread causing damage to building at McCallum Meadows RUTH VARGHESE NEWS EDITOR

Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article ran on the web.

A fire burned through part of a building in the McCallum Meadows Apartments.

Out of a total of 24 units, only a few were damaged by the fire.

In an email interview with the Dallas Fire Department, the fire started when a tree transferred the flames from a burning car to the apartment building on Aug. 22.

The cause of the fire is considered accidental, and only one apartment received the majority of the damage.

“There were no reported injuries to any of the residents; however, two firefighters had to be evaluated for heat exhaustion; while only one of them had to be taken to the hospital for further evaluation, they are both expected to be okay,” according to the press release.

Chaynika Wahi, an information and technology management graduate student, noticed a car on fire while she was outside her friend’s apartment nearby.

“We were just watching, the car was burning, and it was fierce. Thank God it didn’t get explode or something, but it was having a few small blasts, like firecrackers or something,” she said.

Hamilton Lee, a Ph.D. candidate, lives in the McCallum complex and witnessed the aftermath of the fire.

“As I was driving back after a long day in lab … I turned onto McCallum Blvd after sitting in traffic, and I saw a really long line of fire trucks and police cars and I was

→ CERTIFICATION

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

In level one, mentors are required to complete fifteen training hours and fifty experience hours, covering topics such as do’s and don’ts, roles of the peer mentor and professional ethics. In the consecutive levels, additional trainings cover more in-depth skills, including conflict

wondering ‘What was going on?’” he said.

“So as I made my way into the apartment complex and parked my car, I noticed that, as I got out of my car, there was basically the smell of incinerated fabric and furniture lingered throughout the air.”

The McCallum office couldn’t give Lee

any details about the fire. He “could see some of the fragments and ashes floating out through the air,” but because his apartment building was not the one on fire, he said everything remained normal for him.

“This does make you wonder about the value of renter’s insurance,” he said.

HAMILTON LEE| COURTESY

Yellow tape ropes off the SUV that caught fire and spread to the nearby building and through a tree on Aug. 22. No residents were injured during the fire, but property and several apartment units were damaged.

SRICHANDRAKIRAN GOTTIPATI | MERCURY STAFF

The fire spread to a tree which carried the flames up the building, damaging several apartment units.

resolution, mentoring boundaries and cultural awareness.

While this certification is not currently open to individual students at this time, students looking to obtain it can join the several programs that offer it.

“This is the first time we have been able to offer it campus wide ... and I am really excited.” Hickman said.

→ ROOM

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

Along with administration, FSL students and council presidents worked on the expansion, which Anjali James said is a positive aspect.

“I think, knowing that UTD is willing to spend that kind of money on us goes to show a lot of support,” James

HAMILTON LEE | COURTESY

After the Dallas Fire Department extinguished the fire, the remnants of the SUV reveal significant damage.

said. “Knowing that we will have a space to plan our philanthropy meeting or to plan something that can better our UTD community shows that we have so many resources and UTD is behind us.”

→ MONUMENTS

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

all of those are outside of the Dallas council’s jurisdiction. Although students and councilpersons seem united in the decommissioning of memorials, it is not certain what the state government’s position will be.

LIFE&ARTS

5

SEPT. 5, 2017 | THE MERCURY | UTDMERCURY.COM

Full-service bakery opens in Dining Hall West ‘Comet Cakes’ addition offers customizable desserts, part of ongoing expansion to improve DHW’s food options

SRIKAR SUDARSAN BASKARA | MERCURY STAFF

Comet Cakes, a new on-campus bakery service, opened on the first day of classes and is located in Dining Hall West. Customers can place orders for dessert items in person or over the phone.

MEHA SRIVASTAV Mercury Staff

Students and faculty will now be able to purchase customized desserts on campus thanks to a new bakery service at UTD called Comet Cakes, which opened in Dining Hall West on Aug. 21.

The Comet Cakes menu includes cupcakes, cake pops and tiered, round or sheet cakes. All of the desserts can be ordered and delivered to customers from Dining Hall West.

Shawna Bass, director of residential dining, and Carrie Chutes, director of dining services, came up with the idea for the on-campus bakery. The dining directors wanted to provide students and faculty with a convenient “onestop shop” to purchase bakery goods.

“We spent some time during the summer looking for upgrades for the dining hall, and a lightbulb went off in our head,” Bass said. “Since we have some chefs who are talented bakers and cake decorators, we thought, ‘Why don’t we be like other boutique cupcake places and do our own?’”

Designed at first as a service targeted for freshmen, Bass and Chutes expanded the idea to include all students and faculty.

“Since the majority of meal memberships are for freshmen, we thought it would be a great way (for them) to celebrate each other in the residence halls, order cakes for birthdays or for their peer advisers,” Chutes said. “But then we realized that people would even love to do that in their offices or bring a cupcake to their meeting. It’s an exciting and cre-

ative way to create new traditions.”

Chutes and Bass said they hope that the new bakery service will provide the university with additional convenience in dining, as people will no longer have to go off campus and purchase a cake.

Briana Thomas, an international political economy freshman, said she is eager to use the “quick and convenient” service.

“We have a tradition of picking out and cutting a unique cake for each of my family members’ birthdays, so the fact that (a bakery service) is available here, it’s pretty great,” Thomas said. “It will really tailor to people’s busy college schedules.”

Biology freshman Meghna Pinnaka said she looks forward to ordering a cake from the bakery service. Although she is a commuter, Pinnaka said she believes the service will be useful to her.

“It’s cool for people living on campus, since it will be really convenient,” Pinnaka said. “But even for me, if it’s my friend’s birthday or a special event, I can easily get a cake instead of having to go out somewhere and get one.”

The Comet Cakes bakery is one of several new additions coming to Dining Hall West this year. Chutes and Bass said that on-campus diners can anticipate facilities including a tortilla machine, a smoker for meats to be cooked fresh in-house, a rotisserie and custom dispensers for condiments and utensils built around columns in the hall.

“These types of facilities are what set us apart,” Chutes said. “The dining hall is not just a cafeteria — it’s an experience. We have so much more to the program, along with our green

certification, vegan and vegetarian options for students, gluten-free station and food and recovery program.

Chutes said the main goal of these amenities is to “improve and enhance everyone’s experience” in the dining hall.

“We are at a university and it’s an extension of education that we’re doing. It’s nice to have something you enjoy eating at the dining hall, and because of Comet Cakes, you can take it home with you now.”

Prices range from $15 for a dozen cupcakes to $60 for a sheet cake serving 96 people, varying based on design preference. Most cakes require only a 24hour notice; cakes with a monogram, logo or picture require 48 hours. Customers can call the dining hall to order a cake or place an order with the cashier.

Sonic release refreshes gameplay Latest version of popular franchise improves on old level design, controls KOLTON COATS COMMENTARY

SEGA GAMES | COURTESY

Sega Games released Sonic Mania worldwide on Aug. 15 to generally favorable reviews and features similarities to the franchise’s original design.

On the surface, Sonic Mania looks like a continuation of where the first three games left off. However, the overall design adds new experiences while remaining true to its origin.

Long-time fans have endured the different reinventions of Sonic throughout recent years, but Mania takes a step back

and lets players fall in love with the classic series all over again.

Mania is a 2-D side-scrolling platformer developed by Christian Whitehead, Headcannon and PagodaWest Games, and published by Sega Games Co. LTD. Priced at $19.99 for the Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch and PC, Mania brings the iconic hedgehog back to his roots in this action-packed mix of remastered and newly created zones.

While Sonic Unleashed and Sonic Boom bogged down gameplay with clunky combat and bizarre control map-

ping, Mania focuses on the classic jumping and rolling of the original Sonic trilogy. The classic control scheme helps create a sense of familiarity for older players, as well as a refreshingly simplified experience for players newer to the series.

For nostalgic fans, Mania creates new versions of levels (remixes), by combining the best aspects of older fan favorites with improved combinations of puzzles and platforms. Classic zones such as Green Hill, Lava Reef and Chemical Plant have

→ SEE SONIC, PAGE 6

New restaurant wows with flavor Mediterranean spot satisfies with fresh ingredients, despite pricey menu MARISA WILLIAMS COMMENTARY

Za’tar Eastern Mediterranean Cuisine serves naturally delicious ingredients and perfectly balanced seasoning with the authenticity of Mediterranean food conveniently located in the Comet Cafe.

The Student Union opened Za’tar on Aug. 21 in place of the crEATe salad bar.

If you choose to order a wrap, you must pick a base and a meat with six toppings and a sauce. The pita bread and lamb, topped with red and green peppers, feta cheese, cilantro, tomatoes, mushrooms and cilantro mint sauce was a little over seven dollars.

It is more expensive in comparison to Chick-fil-A or Panda Express, but given that they offer halal meat, it is a

great choice for individuals who have dietary restrictions.

The meat is sliced off a horizontal post that’s spun slowly alongside the stove. The lamb tastes like it’s been freshly charred on wood chips and is just thick enough without being too stubborn to eat. The pita bread is incredibly soft. The texture of the flour on the exterior of the pita bread adds to the tongue-tingling texture.

The peppers are crisp and the tomatoes aren’t overly soft. The flavors of the other ingredients aren’t overwhelming, but the wrap tastes like eating a roomtemperature salad on pita bread. However, the toppings allow the cilantro mint sauce to shine and further emphasize the charred flavor of the lamb.

Za’tar is a great choice if you’re feeling adventurous but still want to have familiar ingredients. The range of unique

sauces compliment the simple toppings well. Specifically, the zesty cilantro sauce was spicy without being too overwhelming, and I immediately picked out the signature flavor of eastern Mediterranean food, while playing it safe with chicken and fresh toppings such as lettuce, tomatoes and mushrooms.

Any meal isn’t complete without some sort of sweet goodness. The baklava was incredibly satisfying and intricate in its various textures. The flakiness of the dough and the gooey consistency of the sweet filling, with the nut topping and strong cinnamon flavor throughout were not what I expected, as someone who had never tried baklava before. I would drop by Za’tar to pick up a piece of baklava on a day my sweet tooth is hyperactive. It was that life-changing and only for 1.99.

I give Za’tar 4 out of 5 stars. Al-

SRICHANDRAKIRAN GOTTIPATI | MERCURY STAFF

Za’tar Eastern Mediterranean Cuisine is located on the upper level of the Student Union in the Comet Cafe, opening in time for the start of the fall semester.

though the menu options are limited, Za’tar is a perfect option for those with dietary restrictions, as well as reserved and adventurous foodies alike.

Even though it is more on the expensive side in comparison to some of the other food locations across campus, it works if you are feeling something

different and would rather not leave campus or spend more than $10.

The restuarant accepts meal swipes and students have a choice between pita with falafel or pita with the Meat of the Day with a fountain drink or a “build your own” salad with one protein and up to six toppings or sauces.

6

LIFE&ARTS

THE MERCURY | SEPT. 5, 2017

UTDMERCURY.COM

Dessert bar impresses with ambience Establishment offers original takes on dessert staples despite falling short on flavor

Located a few minutes away from campus on Campbell Road, the dessert bar Sweet Daze serves up several Instagram-worthy treats — but not all of them taste as good as they look.

The cafe opened in March and primarily sells soft-serve ice cream, donuts and teas.

Their soft-serve ice cream comes in ube (a purple yam), fruity pebbles, dole whip and black velvet. I got an ube and fruity pebbles mix with a mochi topping. Ube is often used for its sweet taste and vivid color. The ice cream was actually much more satisfying than I thought it would be. It was very soft, creamy and delicious.

While there are only four flavors, all of which are a little unorthodox, there are 28 different toppings that you can

add for 50 cents each.

One of Sweet Daze’s specialties is a glazed donut piled high with ice cream. I tried this with black velvet ice cream, and while it looked appealing, I didn’t like either the ice cream or the donut. The black velvet ice cream tasted almost like chocolate, except for a weird aftertaste, and the donut was dry and unexceptional.

The ice cream prices are fairly reasonable — the smallest portion is $3.25, and the largest portion, with the glazed donut, is $5.50. On the other hand, the designer donuts were about $4 a piece.

The donuts are one of the most striking options available at Sweet Daze. They are specially decorated with intricate patterns and come in every shade of the color wheel with varying levels of sprinkles, glitter and even cereal bits.

The cashier’s recommendation was the galaxy donut, which has some starry sprinkles draped over a crimson

be completed in roughly three to four hours. The developers compensated for this short playtime by adding multiplayer versus features and time attack modes, but the primary campaign loses replay-ability after the third or fourth completion.

However, even with its faults, Sonic Mania vastly improves on the diversity of the boss battles.

Older players will recognize bosses from the original games, as well as a reference to the infamous Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine throughout their playthroughs. These recreations take the iconic boss fights and turn them on their side with new

playstyles, strategies and character designs.

Mania provides a wonderful throwback to the Sonic games of old. Critics of the older generation of games will find more of the same difficulties found in the first three games.

However, for fans of the classic series, Sonic Mania is a reasonably priced, fan-focused game that’ll appeal to the sense of nostalgia lacking in many recent Sonic iterations. Overall, Sonic Mania’s gameplay and level design outweigh the flaws in storytelling and controls, earning it a four and a half out of five stars.

DEV THIMMISETTY COMMENTARY

SAHER AQEEL | PHOTO EDITOR

Sweet Daze opened in Richardson in March and features items like soft-serve ice cream, topped doughnuts and boba tea.

→ SONIC

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

improved graphics, layouts and soundtracks. On top of these recognizable zones, the development team also included four new stages, hidden bonus levels and easter eggs. However, Mania’s dedication to preserving previous mechanics also create the primary issues for the game.

Mania’s level design and controls improve on the classic games expertly, but this leads to the same crazy, out-of-control feeling frequently mentioned by critics of the series. For newer players, the 2-D side-scrolling point of

view may present difficulties not seen in the series’ 3-D platformers that have dominated console releases since the early 2000’s.

Another issue is the stunted storytelling that leaves the game with little play value during a player’s first pass. Although the development team tried to stray away from Sonic the Hedgehog (2006)’s mistake of narrative over gameplay, the story falls short for any players who have become accustomed to the more recent narrative-driven Sonic games. Even with the added playtime of having levels designed for multiple playable characters, the main game can

WHERE

FRESH & FAST MEET

™

WE DELIVER! VISIT JIMMYJOHNS.COM TO FIND A LOCATION NEAR YOU

and purple icing. Based on the donut and ice cream combo I tasted earlier, I was prepared to taste another dry, overly sweet donut, but the galaxy donut was quite good. It was fluffy and the icing was a nice complement. Of course, the design was also an aesthetic plus. Although the price is a little high for just one donut, if you’re only going to order one thing from Sweet Daze, you should order one of their gourmet donuts. The dessert bar also makes custom donuts, provided at least two dozen are ordered, but these are at prices based on the design.

The black milk tea with tapioca (boba) and mixed fruit jelly was at a standard price point of $4, which is normal at many boba tea houses. Unfortunately, I added the mixed fruit jelly which completely overwhelmed the entire flavor of the drink and made it taste like fake fruit syrup.

However, the boba was chewy and the milk tea was pleasant. Neither was amazing, but both were a good, de-

cent quality.

Perhaps the most noticeable aspect of Sweet Daze is that it seems to be almost designed for Instagrammers.

The interior design has a minimalist feel because almost everything is white, except for the black chairs. The donuts and ice cream are all colorful and served in cute little trays or cups, and there is even a free selfie machine, which takes filtered pictures for you and your friends. Personally, I didn’t like the ambience too much, but I did appreciate the peppy, hipster vibe it gave off — especially with the K-pop playing in the background.

Overall, I would definitely recommend giving this place a try, especially for their unique donuts. The softserve was enjoyable, and I think the milk tea would have been great as well if there was no mixed fruit jelly. Even if you end up deciding that the items on the menu are too sugary, you can at least get some likable pictures for social media.

UTDMERCURY.COM

LIFE&ARTS

JSOM offers new beer class Graduate course designed to teach students about Texas’ growing beer industry

DEEPAK GODAVARTHI | MERCURY STAFF

Geoffrey Westapher, one of the course’s guest lecturers, speaks about his experience in the beer industry and his work as an industry consultant.

SAUMYA JAGATA Mercury Staff

A new craft brewing course is now available at UTD, offering students a unique insight into the beer industry.

Graduate student Rachel Johnson’s husband, who enjoys home brewing, introduced her to the industry. Taking this class, Johnson said, would help her know more about craft beer, and at the same time, help her network with contacts for her husband.

“I understood from another professor that special topic classes are rare, they don’t come up real often. Also, it is something different,” Johnson said. “I hope that it will be a more in-depth perspective on ‘How do you turn passion into business?’ because a lot of people have it just as a side hobby but the craft-brewing industry has just exploded.”

Richard Harrison, an associate

professor in management, strategy and international management, initiated the course and holds a class for nearly 20 students every Tuesday evening. While the class focuses on the beer industry, it also covers general organization principles of financing, logistics and operations that are effective across organizations.

“I was surprised to know what a big business it was. In Texas, it accounts for nearly $4 billion of the economy and that’s why I decided to create this course,” Harrison said. “I thought there would be sufficient economic relevance and sufficient local interest that it would be worth a course.”

While students are learning about the craft-brewing industry, drinking in class is prohibited, according to UTD regulations. Harrison said this also limits brewery site visits for the students, as it would be unfair to take students to a brewery and not let them taste the beer.

“I teach another course called managing organizations, and in that course, we talk about a lot of different industries,” Harrison said. “I have one week where we talk about the beer industry and that’s always been something students have really enjoyed.

There has been so much interest in that part of the course that it would be nice to expand that.”

Graduate student Alison Ayrea said this course is a nice break to her otherwise hectic schedule.

“For me, it seemed like an interesting course and seemed to be a good opportunity. I have been interested in wine law and so I thought there will probably be a lot of similarities with beer law and more craft beer-based startups,” Ayrea said. “I (expect) to have more in-depth appreciation for this startup and into entrepreneurial business generally.”

Harrison has 11 guest speakers currently lined up for the course.

Three of them are UTD graduates

who own craft breweries and will share their experiences of beginning brewery businesses.

Other speakers include brewery consultants, a craft beer journalist, the president of a craft beer distribution company and the owner of a beer bar.

The class had its first guestspeaker with Geoffrey Westapher, who has more than 50 years of experience in the industry and currently works as a beer industry consultant.

“The craft beer side of the beer industry is very dynamic and a growing industry and access to market and access to getting into the business is relatively easy,” Westapher said.

“The model today is a good business model. All (business) schools have studied all forms of industry, and they have concluded that being in the beer industry has the least risk of failure. So, it makes good sense to get into it.”

THE MERCURY | SEPT. 5, 2017

7

8

WELCOME WEEK

THE MERCURY | SEPT. 5, 2017

N

A

e m o c l e W f o s k e e W 7 1 20

DEEPAK GODAVARTHI | MERCURY STAFF

C

C

A

C

D E F G

SRICHANDRAKIRAN GOTTIPATI| MERCURY STAFF

D

D

SRICHANDRAKIRAN GOTTIPATI| MERCURY STAFF

E

DEEPAK GODAVARTHI | MERCURY STAFF

NOAH WHITEHEAD| MERCURY STAFF

B

SRIKAR SUDARSAN BASKARA | MERCURY STAFF

N

A

NOAH WHITEHEAD| MERCURY STAFF

B

9

UTDMERCURY.COM

H

I J

K L

M

N

M

SRIKAR SUDARSAN BASKARA | MERCURY STAFF

Cometville On Aug. 23, eager students learned about different student organizations through games and giveaways. Cometville offered valuable information regarding requirements of student organizations as well as what they do.

Volunteer Expo Held in the VCB Atrium on Aug. 24, the Volunteer Expo was a way for students to see what volunteer opportunities the campus had to offer.

BookCon Located in the Eugene McDermott Library, BookCon was a cosplay event where students could dress up like their favorite comic book characters and participate in contests or prizes. The event took place on Aug. 22.

Rec N’ Wild Held at the intramural softball field on Aug. 24, people joined their classmates in water activities, games and treats.

Senior Breakfast Senior students recieved breakfast at the Ann & Jack Graves Ballroom, Davidson-Gundy Alumni Center on Aug. 23.

MGC and NPHC Showcase On Aug. 31, students gathered to learn about the values and traditions of Greek organizations.

Global Grad Social Held in the SU dining hall on Aug. 30, graduate students came together for a multicultural mixer including food and prizes.

Comedy Show As the opening act for the T.J. Miller comedy show on Aug. 30, Nick Vatterott warmed up the audience with a few jokes and comedy stories.

Fitness Blast Students assembled in the Activity Center main gym to sample group fitness classes on Aug. 24.

Grocery Bingo Students celebrated their bingo win with prizes.

Grocery bingo prizes composed of bundles of groceries for any participant who won the game. The event took place on Aug. 30.

T-Shirt Swap Students exchanged university t-shirts for UTD t-shirts at the Plinth on Aug. 30.

Sex Bowl The annual Sex Bowl Trivia event took place in the Activity Center main gym on Aug. 22 where students grouped together to test their sexual knowledge for prizes.

Taco Tuesday The School of Interdisciplinary Studies served breakfast tacos in Hoblitzelle Hall during ‘It IS Taco Tuesday’ on Aug. 22.

Brain Freeze Just outside of Green Hall, anyone could cool down and enjoy a frozen treat from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Aug. 29.

L

NOAH WHITEHEAD| MERCURY STAFF

K

DEEPAK GODAVARTHI | MERCURY STAFF

J

NADINE OMEIS| MERCURY STAFF

I

G

SRICHANDRAKIRAN GOTTIPATI| MERCURY STAFF SRIKAR SUDARSAN BASKARA | MERCURY STAFF

D F

DEEPAK GODAVARTHI | MERCURY STAFF

H

H

NADINE OMEIS| MERCURY STAFF

Check out the TJ Miller Q&A and Comedy Show photos on pg. 11 SRICHANDRAKIRAN GOTTIPATI| MERCURY STAFF

SRICHANDRAKIRAN GOTTIPATI| MERCURY STAFF

DEEPAK GODAVARTHI | MERCURY STAFF

SAHER AQEEL | PHOTO EDITOR

SAHER AQEEL | PHOTO EDITOR

10

THE MERCURY | SEPT. 5, 2017

LIFE&ARTS

UTDMERCURY.COM

Professor retires after 42 years JSOM professor leaves behind legacy of inclusion, excellence

RUTH VARGHESE | NEWS EDITOR

David Ford, a professor in the School of Management who specializing in organizational behavior, retired from his position on Aug. 31. Ford began his career at UTD in 1975, shortly after the school was founded.

MARISA WILLIAMS Mercury Staff

A longtime professor retired on Aug. 31 after serving 42 years as a UTD faculty member.

David Ford aided in UTD’s growth by aiding in accreditation and development of an undergraduate and graduate program within JSOM. His experiences before his career contribute to the way Ford approaches his occupational goals, as well as the way he interacts with others. Between 1959 and 1962, Ford attended a segregated high school in Fort Worth and graduated at the top of his class. He said moving from a segregated high school to an integrated college was a culture shock for him, as well

as other students who attended Iowa State.

“One of the things I was a very good beneficiary of was college preparation. I had some excellent teachers at my high school and I thought I was very well prepared for college. I just had to kind of get used to the environment,” he said.

Ford has one particularly vivid memory of his freshman orientation. He got there early and sat in the front row of a large auditorium that he said sat about 1,000 students.

“A professor came in and looked around and he looked at me and saw me sitting there and saw some of his early statements were, ‘Welcome. Glad you’re here, but I got some bad news

for most of you, and that is a lot of you won’t graduate from Iowa State with an engineering degree,’ and when he said that, he was looking dead at me and then he said, ‘You’re probably going to be among those who won’t be getting a degree,’” Ford said.

He said this moment lit a fire under him and motivated him to succeed during college. Although he struggled to adjust during his first semester, he improved his academic performance and was accepted into an honor society.

When Ford came to UTD he said he was always impressed by how motivated his students were and how easy it was to start up a discussion with them during lecture. With commuters primarily populating UTD, the majority

of Ford’s students were individuals who came from their day jobs to take classes at night.

“They were all highly motivated. Unlike the undergraduates I taught at Purdue, few, if any, had any work experience.

All of them had work experience here … I think it made for much livelier and richer classroom environment,” he said.

Ford said recent events in Charlottesville are painful for him to see, but basic human decency and dignity always wins the day if it’s allowed to.

“Like I said, I give people the benefit of the doubt and try and encourage my students to do the same,” he said.

One common practice Ford uses in his classes is group proj-

ects, with the hope of allowing his students the opportunity to interact and work closely with individuals who may be from different backgrounds. He also hopes his students will learn to understand and appreciate cultural differences.

“The reality is that if you go out in the workplace and you want to be successful, you’re going to meet people, many of whom are different from you and you’ve got to be comfortable in your own skin and interacting with them and being engaged and so forth,” Ford said.

Ford said in the professional and business organizations he’s been a part of, he has always been the first or only person of color.

He has used this, instead, to help

better those who will follow him.

Upon his retirement, Ford received a letter from one of his former students, Angie Chen Button, District 112 State Representative. It read: “I want you to know that I really appreciate your kindness when I needed it the most as a poor and lonely foreign student back in 1980. Some people are very special. You are the one who will stay in my heart forever.”

Ford said this is proof that when students, both foreign and domestic, are shown kindness, it does stick with them.

“It’s very heartwarming and I’ve had a hand in that happening for some people. It’s very gratifying,” he said.

LIFE&ARTS

UTDMERCURY.COM

THE MERCURY | SEPT. 5, 2017

11

PHOTOS BY: SAHER AQEEL | PHOTO EDITOR

Q & A WITH

T.J. MILLER Comedian from ”Silicon Valley,” “Deadpool” and “The Emoji Movie” speaks on his success and preperation for his Aug. 30 show for SUAAB’s Weeks of Welcome.

Q: How did you get your start in the enter-

tainment industry?

Well, I think I have a modicum of talent. I just worked harder than anyone else. I was really lucky that in college I was part of a comedy group that did sketch and improv, you know, not standup, but video. We did all kinds of components in comedy, and that taught me early on to work as hard as you can. We would rehearse from 10 o’clock to midnight four nights a week, which is huge in college. So because we would do that, I just started to understand that the harder you worked, the more you would solidify the fact that you were successful.

Then — and this has obviously served me very well — I also got to a point where I realized the more discipline you engage in, the more likely you are to find success statistically. So I got really into doing sketch, stand up, voiceover, actinv lessons, coaching improv and the list goes on and on.

Q: When did it occur to you that you made it in the entertainment industry?

Q: Is there any particular goal you have for the Q: What’s your process for getting ready for a future? show, such as the UTD Comedy Show?

Well I don’t know if that’s come yet. There’s not really a moment where I’ve felt like “Whelp, I made it.” People are always like, “What was your big break?” Everybody’s been saying my big break is whatever I am doing at the time since I don’t know when. “Transformers 4,” they were like “This is your big break,” after that “Deadpool”, they said “This is your big break,” then “Silicon Valley,” they said “This is your big break.”

I’m slowly in New York building new material that is strong enough, I’m not going to do my HBO special. You know? I’m mixing strong stuff from that (HBO Show) with new stuff that’s strong enough so people are like “Ah, yeah this is great!” and it’s not just the same material.

I think lately, in the last year or two, I really understood that I am becoming very famous. And it’s been weird to feel like my wife and I can’t have certain conversations in public, if I go outdoors I just have to know that I am going to be approached.

So I am at a level where fame is very intrusive and difficult to navigate. I am very thankful for all the success, of course.

So it’s just honing everything that I’m going to present and hoping that it’s great, and also going with how everybody feels that night. I’m trying to really make it about that night so there will be a lot of improvising, and I will know a lot about the school beforehand.

I don’t spend much time thinking about any one particular goal, that makes it easier to achieve (laughs). What I’d like to do is standup while at the same time writing movies I star in, that would be my idea. I have this series of films I want do called “The Nihilist,” about this character named Niles that’s a nihilist, I think that would be really fun. Otherwise, I kind of did everything. I was in “Yogi Bear 3-D,” I’ve done “The Emoji Movie.” I’m kind of done, you know? I’d love to just keep making comedy people are really excited by, so yeah!

I’d love to do what you and I just did and everybody in college does, which is the whole “What’s your major?” question. I understand because (students are) really kind of bumbling and bumping around in their young adult life trying to figure out what they’re going to do. It’s the weird, funny time where you’re not at home, and you need to talk to your parents for Q: What did you study in college before you money — it’s strange. knew where you’d be today?

So things like what it’s like to be a college student I studied psychology with a concentration in per- and asking people about their major to keep it insuasion theory and social influence, and I had a teractive with the crowd. I think I’ll have questions minor in theater. I knew I wasn’t going to be a the- about Texas in general as well. I’ve got a pretty ater actor, so to have a theater major would be sort funny joke right now about Texas I might close with, but they might tar and feather me and run me out of a waste. on a rail.

Accompanying T.J. Miller in a campfire story, a UTD student plays a vibraslab, a rattling instrument, to immitate a “rattler” in certain moments throughout the act.

Invited onto the stage due to his unique laughter, ATEC senior Hamid “Hammy” Shah laughs as T.J. Miller prank calls one of his friends.

12 7

SEPT. 5, 2017 | THE MERCURY | UTDMERCURY.COM

SPORTS

New cricket field solves woes UTD sports community reinvigorated after new facility drives high athlete involvement to start season, play in games

ROMAN SORIANO | MERCURY STAFF

Senior accounting major Jagpreet Singh practices his swing on the new cricket field in preparation for the upcoming games. He is the team president and said he anticipates what the season has to offer.

ROMAN SORIANO Mercury Staff

A new field built for the UTD cricket team opened at the beginning of the semester after the team’s old field closed.

The cricket team spent the past year without a proper facility and was unable to practice many of the core skills necessary for cricket. The new field is located south of Lot U. The team lost its field due to construction of the Canyon Creek Heights apartments. They were only able to practice on a soccer field, which is not suitable to practice batting. The team could only practice fielding and run drills.

Graduate student and team captain Pratik Dengle said that this new arena is more professional than their previous

one, and the grass is also better.

“Having played competitive level of cricket, national level back in India, this can easily pass off as a first-class field,” Dengle said.

Accounting senior Jagpreet Singh said having a poor field poses a threat to the player’s safety, as bumpy, uneven ground can injure players.

“Cricket requires a lot of agility, so by fielding you have to dive around. Here we know that we won’t be injured unless you do some technically wrong stuff,” he said.

The new range also helped bolster the turnout for the team’s first practice. On their first day, they had more people attend practice than last year.

“We have around 20-25 people here, last practices … there were only about four to five people showing up,” Singh said. “That’s all because of the ground.

They know they’re going to actually get to hit the ball.”

In previous years, the cricket team composed of mostly graduate students, but this year, about half the team is made up of undergraduate students.

“We’ve just been lucky this season that we got more young people coming in,” Dengle said. “I suppose it’s just word of mouth that we’ve got the young talent that we have this season.”

Of these incoming members, one student, finance freshman Karthik Gattepalli, stands out. This summer, he played on the USA Cricket team for the International Cricket Council Under 19 World Cup Qualifier.

Gattepalli said the experience of that tournament will help him guide the rest of the club.

“Playing for the national team is a big

push in the team, it’s probably going to motivate the team,” Gattepalli says. “I think my job more than anything is to help these guys, really show them what the right path is.”

Despite the large growth in the organization, they want to continue expanding and want more students to join.

“We’re looking for somebody not from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the people we know play cricket,” Singh said. “We’re looking for some people who have no idea about cricket, but want to learn. We will be more than happy to actually teach them.”

The cricket team performed well in tournaments since its creation, even going as far as the semifinals at nationals last semester, despite not having a proper facility.

Dengle said he wants the team to

continue gaining recognition to help the sport grow.

“We’ve been doing well at the national level. I think all the players should get the sense of appreciation and be known,” Dengle said. “We want to expand our wings (and) teach people from other continents and other cultures the game, and have fun while playing.”

The team aims to utilize their new field to better prepare for regional and national tournaments.

“In the three years I’ve been here at UTD, this is the first time that we’ve got such a big turnout on the first day of practice, so I don’t think there’s anything more to ask for,” Dengle said.

“We’ve got a new field, bunch of new players, I think we’re going to give our best and try to win.”

Thinking outside of The Box Athletic department offers rentable tailgating location in effort to increase student engagement YANNIS SHAFI Mercury Staff

The UTD Athletics Department added a venue for students to tailgate and watch various outdoor sporting events with new levels of viewing entertainment.

The Box’s goal is to provide students with the ultimate fan experience through tailgating and fan engagement. In addition to this, Valerie Hoops, the athletic marketing coordinator, said she hopes that The Box will encourage people who never attended athletic events to get together with their friends and enjoy watching the Comets compete on the playing field.

According to utdcomets.com, season attendance for both men’s and women’s soccer teams in 2016 averaged about 6,000 spectators. One of the ways Hoops said she wants to recruit new fans is by showcasing a “group of the game.”

“It’s something that they can find pride in and promote their organization at an athletic event,” she said. “It’s a way for them to just have fun as a group and have a good time at an athletic event.”

Hoops was one of the faculty members involved with bringing The Box to campus. With the addition, spectators can engage with the sports teams on campus. “(Students) would have full use of The Box before, during and after the game,” Hoops said. “It’s an eye-catcher and it’s definitely something exciting.”

The new feature comes with a variety of amenities including a leather sofa, a television, a microwave, a refrigerator and a putMATT STRACK | MERCURY STAFF

WILLIAM LEGRONE | MERCURY STAFF

Students and parents gather at The Box during a soccer match on Sept. 1. This was one of the first uses of the venue.

ting green on the second floor of the facility.

The women’s team coach, Kanute Drugan, said he believes the fans will enjoy the amenities of the venue during the soccer games.

“For sports events, having a thing like that is definitely a plus,” Drugan said.

“Our administration has put in a lot of money, time, preparation and planning in wanting to make this a good thing for the

student body.”

Jason Hirsch, head coach of the men’s soccer team said he believes players feed off the support from the crowd and helps them stay motivated throughout the games.

“It’s something that is going to be an extra attraction for any spectators that want to come out and check out the games,” Hirsch said. “I think it’s awesome.”

The Box is available to students for

both men’s and women’s soccer games throughout the season. Fans are able to register their groups for it by filling out a form on utdcomets.com. At the time of the game, students will receive a free shirt and a gift in addition to using The Box. “It’s been one of our favorite purchases so far,” Hoops said. “You can tell it’s something exciting and it displays Comet pride.”

SPORTS

UTDMERCURY.COM

THE MERCURY | SEPT. 5, 2017

13

k e e W e h t f o e Gam First soccer games of the season, strong start for women’s team

PHOTOS BY : WILLIAM LEGRONE | MERCURY STAFF

A

B

C A Following a goal kick, Robin Mainah (#13), sopho-

more midfielder, contests the ball with a header.

B Jesse Ardila (#33), freshman midfielder, dribbles

the ball around repeated tackle attempts made by defender.

C Melissa Fulfer (#9), junior forward, kicks off an at-

tacking play.

D Kasden Williams (#20), junior midfielder, pushes

past a sliding tackle to keep the ball in play.

E Halting Austin Colleges’ momentum, Hunter Williams

(#23), junior midfielder, performs a sliding tackle.

F Jacquie Kaufman (#7), junior forward, challenges

another player for the ball. Womens soccer won their first game against Grove City on Sept. 1, with a score of 2-1.

G Mason Anderson (#19), sophomore midfielder, plays

D

F

defense against the opposing team. Mens soccer lost their first game against Austin College on Sept.

1, with a score of 2-1.

E

G

14 7 STICKER DILEMMA

SEPT. 5, 2017 | THE MERCURY

COMICS&GAMES BAD ROOMMATE

EJ CHONG | MERCURY STAFF

CREEPY CLUBS

JENNA CHERREY | MERCURY STAFF

WHO NEEDS SKILLS

CHIAMAKA MGBOJI | MERCURY STAFF

FANDOM MENACE

KEATON NATIONS | MERCURY STAFF

WELCOME WEEK

BIANCA DEL RIO | MERCURY STAFF EMILIO CHAVEZ | MERCURY STAFF

NEVER ENOUGH SLEEP

...LIKE A PLASTIC BAG

CHRISTINA JIAV | MERCURY STAFF

SHANNON RAMIREZ | MERCURY STAFF MATT STRACK | MERCURY STAFF

OPINION

15

SEPT. 5, 2017 | THE MERCURY | UTDMERCURY.COM

Students call for end to nuclear testing In light of recent international events, campus group urges community to support nuclear test detection program classmates at UT Dallas agree.

In December of 2016, eight fearless CARLOS RODRIGUEZ Comets hopped on a plane bound for OP-ED Vienna, Austria. These students came together through an independent research project at UT Dallas called The Folks, our UT Dallas community is CTBT in Action. Armed with thick at a crossroads. Your voice is going to winter coats, they ventured overseas for the adventure of a lifetime — an oppordetermine where we go from here.

On Aug. 29, the United Nations, tunity to meet with the international along with thousands of people across diplomats at the center of global discusthe world, commemorated the Inter- sions about nuclear testing. Their misnational Day Against Nuclear Testing. sion: to find out how the international Here at UT Dallas, I took a moment community monitors the world for to reflect on the impact that nuclear signs of clandestine nuclear tests. testing has Over the on our comcourse of three munity. weeks, those Where we go from here defearless Comets Earlier pends on you. It’s up to us to met with over this month, 27 nuclear seour presifinish what our elected reprecurity profesdent thrust sentatives started in 1996. sionals, includnuclear setwo UN curity into — Carlos Rodriguez ing Ambassadors. the national During those limelight when he promised to unleash “fire and meetings, they learned about one of fury” upon North Korea if it sent mis- the most important treaties in nusiles flying our way. Since early August, clear security — the Comprehensive the situation has gotten worse. The Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). discussions have gotten to the point This piece of international law, crewhere former Secretary of Defense ated in 1996, set up a network of over William Perry, during a New York 300 monitoring stations placed on all Times interview, predicted that we’d seven continents that would monitor end up in a conflict with North Korea the world for signs of nuclear tests. if we continue in this direction. Sec- According to the BBC, the CTBT’s retary Perry was once in charge of ne- International Monitoring System has gotiating an end to the North Korean detected all four North Korean nuclear tests. Its success remains a shining nuclear program.

It doesn’t have to be like this. The example of the power of international good news is that quite a few of our scientific cooperation.

COMET COMMENTS

UTD students met with Ambassador Laura Holgate at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in Vienna in January 2017. Prior to serving in Vienna, Ambassador Holgate was the Senior Director for Weapons of Mass Destruction at the National Security Council and Special Assistant to President Obama.

After learning about the CTBT, UT Dallas students ramped up their involvement in bringing an end to nuclear tests. In February, a second group of UT Dallas students conducted a videoconference with the ambassadors of Japan and Kazakhstan to discuss the CTBT. A separate group of Comets followed up in June by participating in the CTBTO’s Science and Technology 2017 conference in Vienna, discussing the CTBT and its role in the

nuclear security framework. The message they heard in meeting after meeting was the same — the CTBT works, and it needs to become a law.

Today, the ball is in our court. Last Tuesday, United Nations SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres issued an urgent request that we ratify the CTBT “to ensure that no state can conduct another (nuclear) test.” Where we go from here depends on you. It’s up to us to finish what our elected represen-

tatives started in 1996.

Here’s how you can help — take a class next semester about the CTBT and nuclear security, get involved with the CTBTO Youth Group on campus or write to Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn asking them to support CTBT ratification. As we commemorate the International Day Against Nuclear Testing, let’s join together to end nuclear tests once and for all.

Recently, Gov. Gregg Abbott signed a bill that bans texting and driving in the state of Texas. Will this change the way you drive on campus?

Eric Beights Mechanical Engineering Freshman

“No, it won’t change. I don’t really text and drive. The most I’ll do is look at my phone if I’m at a stop light, but not while I’m driving.”

CARLOS RODRIGUEZ | COURTESY

Sophia Marin Healthcare Studies Junior

Nathaniel Pierce Neuroscience Junior

“I mean, I didn’t “I think it would really do that to change the way I begin with, so I drive on campus just don’t think so. But because ... in generI didn’t know that al, if I text and drive (about the bill being it is just for commupassed).” nication purposes ...

If I’m running late it helps out ...That’s the biggest way it would change.”

HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY?

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Students interested in writing opinions for The Mercury can email editor@utdmercury. com.

Letters must be 250 words or less. Students should include their full name, major and year. Faculty, staff and administrators should include their full name and title.

Email letters to editor@utdmercury.com.

Although electronic copies are preferred, a hard copy can be dropped off at the reception desk of the Student Media suite (SU 1.601). Please include a headshot.

Authors may only have one letter printed per edition of The Mercury.

Ruth Bennett Mechanical Engineering Freshman

Will Stuberfield Electrical Engineering Junior

“No. I mean, texting and driving is dumb.”

“Uh, not really. I don’t usually use my phone that much while driving. I tend to only use it to GPS and for my music, but texting and driving and looking at social media is not really my thing.”

OP-EDS

Apart from your name and photo, personal info will not be published.

We reserve the right to reject submissions, and we cannot be responsible for their return.

We reserve the right to edit for clarity, brevity, good taste, accuracy and to prevent libel.

16

THE MERCURY | SEPT. 5, 2017

NEWS

UTDMERCURY.COM

→ HURRICANE

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

very sick at the moment, to go to my house to get oxygen.

That’s the main thing I am worried about.”

Vandhana Victor, a neuroscience senior, said she felt devastated seeing her childhood home flooded.

“I felt a loss,” Victor said. “I didn’t want to focus on some of those emotions but I know that the house will never be the same again. It is weird because I was just there ten days ago and now I know that, what was there is not there anymore. You feel like that was taken away from you.”

Harvey took Victor by surprise, as she never thought the hurricane would hit near her family.

“Thinking about how far Houston and where I live, Katy (is) I thought that there was no way that this destruction could reach there,” Victor said. “After Friday, moving into Saturday, I started to get more worried because at this point my mom couldn’t go home and the area around her was flooded. She said that when she looked at the window, it was like an ocean surrounding her.”

Victor’s mother, a manager at Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital in Houston, remained until she could find a replacement.

While she was stuck inside the hospital, Victor’s father stayed at their house even though their neighbors had already evacuated.

“My dad was still there, he thought that he could just brave it out,” Victor said. “Once my neighbors left I felt like he should leave because … if something bad happened to him there would be no one that I could contact or check in on him. But later that evening, because of that reservoir problem over there, they did a mandatory evacuation.”

SAHER AQEEL | PHOTO EDITOR

On the left baseball player Rodney Corbin and Assistant Althetic Director Angela Martin collect donations of food and supplies on the Plinth to help the victims of Hurricane Harvey.

Due to the evacuation, Vic- home, Victor said her main concern was her tor’s father evenfather’s well-betually had to It really hits ing. leave his home.

“I was scared, Because her fahome when not because of ther had sealed the people you the furniture, I the door to preare helping was scared bevent water from cause my dad coming in, the really are your was alone,” Vicpolice were unneighbors tor said. “He able to open the had to deal with door, forcing — Joseph Mancuso this. To be honthem to break Alumnus est, I didn’t really it down, subsecare much about quently flooding the house at that the house.

Despite the damage to her point, I just wanted him to be

in a safe place.”

Alumnus Joseph Mancuso, Texas Army National Guard reservist, is with his unit in south Texas providing aid and rescue to people affected by the hurricane.

“It’s the first natural disaster I have been called to respond to,” Mancuso said. “As a Texas Army National Guard unit, we work two jobs as both citizens and soldiers. Soldiers had to find people to look after their kids and families, readied their equipment and prepared to set out. We don’t know when we’ll

be coming home, but we are ready to help whoever we can.”

Mancuso received the call and had to take a few weeks off from work in order to help.

“It wasn’t romantic, it was just sudden. But the exciting thing is that you get to do your job and get to help people,” Mancuso said. “But at the same time, you are scared because you don’t know how bad it is going to get for these people.”

Hurricane Harvey hit Manvel, Texas, where Mancuso lives.

“I got to be honest, the drive down here was pretty

emotional,” he said. “I drove past my high school, my junior high. I saw my house, my friend’s house’s was underwater, it really hits home when the people you are helping really are your neighbors, your friends, your family.”

Vandhana Victor’s hope is that the community will come together after the storm.

“It is going to be hard to move on from this; nobody prepared for it,” she said. “Just stay positive and rebuild everything together.”