The Mercury 2/6/17

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February 6, 2017

As the U.S. Court of Appeals denies an injunction to reinstate the executive order on

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UTD students affected by the ban remain in limbo

Xenophobic fliers cause outcry on campus UTD PD, Student Affairs to gather data on incident

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After President Donald Trump signed on executive order denying entry into the United States to nationals from seven majority-Muslim countries for 90 days, protests erupted in airports across the country, including DFW International Airport, on Jan. 28. UTD students were among those who protested.

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American Vanguard, a white nationalist organization, posted fliers at UTD to ‘get attention.’

CARA SANTUCCI Managing Editor

Editor’s Note: This story originally ran on The Mercury’s website. It has been updated since its original publication. The name of one source has been changed due to concerns of prosecution.

Members of the Texas branch of a white nationalist organization, American Vanguard, posted fliers around campus last week.

The incident is currently under review by the office of Student Affairs and UTD Police, among other offices on campus.

American Vanguard fliers have been put up at other campuses across the state recently, including Texas State, University of North Texas and Rice University.

The vice commander and leader of the Texas branch of American Vanguard, who requested anonymity due to concerns of prosecution, said a few of the members from the organization came onto campus and posted fliers to “get attention.”

“The ultimate goal is to get some new recruits, and just generally further the cause of the movement,” he said. “We know the If anything, a t t e n t i o n is probthis (execuably going to be bad. tive order) We kind is encourag- … of opering this kind ate under ‘There’s no of behavsuch thing ior from a as bad p u b l i c i ty’ handful of motto.” people.

Although American — Bilal Ayub, Va n g u a r d UTD Muslim Council keeps the identity of its members anonymous, he said he has received a “few” emails from people interested in the group following the flier campaign.

“A lot of our movement is made up of youth — people who do go to colleges and people that are a bit younger,” he said. “That’s kind of the target demographic.”

The flyers were posted right on the heels of President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration — something he said was not intentional, but was convenient.

“We might have done it anyway if the immigration ban didn’t happen to occur around the same time,” he said.

“Because of the content of some of our posters, I believe it amplifies the message. Makes it a bit more relevant.”

→ SEE POSTERS, PAGE 12

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 27 that denied admission to nationals from seven majority-Muslim countries for 90 days — even those who held green cards.

On Feb. 3, a federal district court in Seattle temporarily suspended the executive order nationwide. The Trump administration filed an injunction to reinstate the order, but the request was denied by the U.S. Court of Appeals on Feb. 5, as reported by The Guardian.

The legal battle over the ban is expected to continue over the coming weeks, leaving UTD students with roots in the affected countries still in limbo.

The court’s suspension of the executive order allows visa holders and green card holders — permanent residents —

that were overseas at the time of the largest country of origin for students at the university. executive order to Many Iranian return home. and Muslim stuThe application There are some people dents particularly process for green who have direct impacts are concerned about cards and visas in the action on immithese seven coun... and those individuals gration and what it tries, however, is may have to consider could portend. still halted and the changing travel plans, “A lot of peoban will continue ple are outraged to apply to those visiting families, things and they’re apwho don’t have a like that. palled that somegreen card or visa thing like this is in hand.

— Cristen Casey, even trying to be Iran is one of the seven countries Associate VP for Int’l Programs put into action,” said Bilal Ayub, a listed in the order business adminisand, according to UTD’s fall 2016 statistics, it is the sixth tration senior, on behalf of the UTD

Muslim Council, which represents the Muslim Student Association, Alpha Lambda Mu, Mu Delta Alpha and Islamic Relief at UTD. Cristen Casey, associate vice president for International Programs, said members of the UTD community have offered to house students over spring or summer break if they cannot return home.

“There are some people who have direct impacts, people from the countries listed in the executive order for example, and those individuals may have to consider changing travel plans, visiting family, things like that,” she said.

The university will not have statistics

→ SEE IMMIGRATION, PAGE 10

UTD lab to assess state of LGBT rights in Texas Staff, students work to determine where to spend money, time on LGBT causes in first state-wide effort ARIANA HADDEN Mercury Staff

A research lab on campus will conduct the first state-wide needs assessment of the LGBT community to provide sampling data for the state of Texas to determine if LBGT rights are being recognized and what the state can do to address the deficiencies.

Professors Richard Scotch and Kara Sutton were approached by the leader of Texas Pride Impact Funds in the summer because of their complementary skills in collaboration and extensive experience with needs assessments and communitybased research.

Scotch and Sutton have worked together on projects such as juvenile justice, mental health and preschool studies for 10 years. While it’s certainly not the first social science research project they have taken on, they said it’s a unique and interesting opportunity.

“It’s going to be the first (assessment) that we know of in the state of Texas, and we are modeling it after other known models of other states to some degree,” Sutton said. “It will cover the semester but will stretch into the summer. We’re looking at about nine months.”

Sociology senior Colton Hattersley said he first heard about the opportunity from Sutton and connected with the goal of the study. “The project is essentially trying to determine where in the state of Texas money is needed, time is needed

and resources are needed,” Hattersley said. “It is an organization that will be directing donors who want to donate to LGBT causes but don’t know where specifically to donate.”

While it is still early in the process, Scotch said it is important to analyze not only the common needs of the sample, but also the unique or otherwise exclusive needs as well.

“Medical programs for people with AIDS is a really important topic, but there is a substantial amount of federal dollars and local services that are available to those folks,” Scotch said. “Maybe for LGBT seniors, however, there’s not really a lot going on and they may be reaching that phase in their lives where they may need that support. Our study should help them determine not just where needs are but where unmet needs are.”

Scotch said because the survey is answered exclusively by the LGBT community he does not expect the traditionally conservative values held by Texas to show up in the data.

“The final report will include only aggregated data, so we expect that anyone choosing to participate will be honest,” he said.

Despite the goal of sampling the state of Texas, the research procedure follows most others, beginning with a review of previous research, conducting a survey and forming interest groups.

“We are beginning with a massive

EMILIO CHAVEZ | MERCURY STAFF

Professors Richard Scotch and Kara Sutton are working with Texas Pride Impact Funds to conduct a needs assessment of the LGBT community.

literature review,” Hattersley said. “We want to see what is out there academically, nonprofit based, policy organization based state of the community of Texas, what the status quo looks like.”

Applied psychology graduate student Jennera Berry said the group could possibly run into problems such as attaining an accurate representation of the population of LGBT communities in Texas.

“One of the challenges is the sheer size of the state,” she said. “In social research you want to make sure the findings you get are representative of the population.

Needs in Dallas are going to be very different from the Panhandle or the Rio Grande Valley. The research sample is representative and diverse, whether it be

→ SEE RESEARCH, PAGE 10

WHAT’S INSIDE? PAGE 4: UTD lacks language majors

PAGE 5: Body positivity through dance

PAGE 6: Women’s rugby faces hurdles

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THE MERCURY UTDMERCURY.COM Volume XXXVII No. 32

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January 20 • At 3:26 p.m., a student reported their wallet was taken from a secure locker in the McDermott library.

January 23 • Between Jan. 20 and Jan. 23 a person entered room 14.467 of the Student Services Addition and marked up two walls using an eraser from the dry erase board in the room.

• At 3:05 p.m., a student’s bike was stolen from a bike rack in Phase 4.

• A student’s car was scratched on the rear driver’s side door in front of Phase 5 at 4:19 p.m.

January 24 • At 5:39 p.m., an unaffiliated person was arrested for possession of marijuana during a traffic stop on Synergy Park Boulevard.

January 30 • A faculty member reported a ladder was stolen from the ATEC building at 3:50 p.m.

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Contributors Samee Ahmad Carolina Alvarez Ankith Averineni Donia Bosak-Barani Emilio Chavez EJ Chong Srichandrakiran Gottipati Nathan Gurgainous Ariana Hadden Logan Harless Mithra Kaushik Chris Lin Sam Lopez Anthony McNair Chiamaka Mgboji Minh Nguyen Shannon Ramirez Ian Seamans Hamid Shah Roman Soriano Matt Strack Dev Thimmisetty Kevin VanHorn Ruth Varghese Marisa Williams

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OPINION

FEB. 6, 2017 | THE MERCURY | UTDMERCURY.COM

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Dining hall needs better food, sanitation

Consistently undercooked food, bugs in salad creates need for Dining Hall West to improve quality of service MITHRA KAUSHIK COMMENTARY

Eating at Dining Hall West has not been a positive experience for every student, especially for freshmen such as myself living in University Commons.

A common fear of college freshmen, aside from failing classes or going broke, is gaining the “Freshman 15.” Unfortunately, the stereotype of not eating healthy and gaining weight in the first year of college is often more true than not. It is because of this that college dorms often require students to sign up for meal plans to encourage healthy eating.

“We offer meal plans so that students have a healthy option to go and eat, so that they are not forced to go elsewhere, such as off campus to fast food restaurants,” said Kathryn Coats, a peer advisor at UC. UTD’s dorms require students to choose a meal plan with the options of 10, 14 or 19 meals per week.

However, much to my dismay, the caveat is that only one meal exchange can be made per day at an on-campus restaurant, such as Subway, The Pub or IHOP. The remaining meals can only be used at DHW. The idea of students being forced to eat meals at the dining hall in order to inspire healthy eating is quite ironic to me, because the food doesn’t seem to me to meet all of the health standards, which could potentially have negative results.

According to the Texas Department of State Health Services’ food inspection manual, plant-based food — fruits, vegetables and grains — must be cooked at a temperature of 135 F. At this temperature, you would expect food to be cooked thoroughly. So, when I go to the dining hall to eat and find mostly raw rice soaking in water, it makes me wonder if everything is truly up to code. Kudos to those who suck it up and eat it anyway, but it definitely is unhealthy and quite disconcerting.

Even if I am willing to ignore the fact that the food is hardly ever appetizing and disregard the notion that food is supposed to be enjoyed, there are health concerns to address. Those who have eaten at the dining hall can attest to the fact that many of the entrees are not cooked properly or have questionable origins.

“The rice is never cooked. The meat is rarely cooked properly and the eggs taste like they were made from powder. I hate wasting my meals, but I don’t eat at the dining hall very often because of the food,” said Isabel Goldvarg, a speech pathology freshman living in the dorms.

In my opinion, it is hard enough being a full-time student and working two jobs.

Food shouldn’t be an added difficulty, especially when I’m spending money for meal plans in the first place.

According to DHW management, however, the ingredients are fresh with sizeable amounts of produce and other ingredients sourced from local vendors within a 250-mile radius of Dallas, in addition to larger suppliers.

“A majority of our ingredients come from Sysco Foods and Hardie’s Produce,” said Quentin Tacker, residential dining chef.

One also cannot avoid the fact there have been more than one occasion where dead bugs have been found between bites.

Personally, it was slightly disturbing finding a dead green beetle in my salad as I sat at the dining hall eating dinner. I’ve always felt the need to inspect my food before purchasing it at the grocery store, but never at places where I have already paid for it. I think it is fair to expect clean, healthy and safe food, especially on a college campus. Finding bugs in my meals was unfortunately not a one-time incident for my friends and I. Going to the dining hall has become a rarity for me because of these experiences.

The management however expressed the difficulty of spotting a single insect when trying to serve 1 million meals per year and that the proper procedures for inspections

MITHRA KAUSHIK | MERCURY STAFF

Kaushik found a bug in her lettuce while eating at Dining Hall West, a campus dining service run by Chartwells Higher Education.

are, in fact, carried out. “(Once) the foods are received, we have someone who checks it and that everything is intact and everything looks good and are stored at the right temperatures and in the right facilities,” Tacker said.

Shannon Mariani, the resident district manager, spoke about the inspections DHW receives.

“We are health compliant with the City of Richardson and we get inspected biannually but then we also do our own internal (inspections) which are a bit stricter as far as food safety and sanitation goes,” she said.

While the management takes the measures to follow health and cleanliness procedures, there are still problems that loom.

Even if there are no issues with the food, the utensils and dishware aren’t in the best of shape.

“There are often weird stains on the dishes and on the forks and spoons,” said

Diego Quezada, an information technology and systems freshman who frequents the dining hall almost every day.

I too have picked up plates, noticed stains or leftover particles and placed it back to try and find a clean one. I don’t feel like I should have to look for clean dishes to use when I come to eat at the dining hall, especially considering the amount of money that is spent for the meal plans which covers the cleanliness of utensils and dishware.

Another issue with the dining hall is the options for those who have different dietary needs are limited, if not nonexistent. Those who are vegan or vegetarian have little to no options for food, especially healthy ones Riya Patel, a biochemistry freshman and a vegetarian, shared her struggles in finding food to eat in the dining hall.

“As a vegetarian, I can say that it’s been difficult finding foods that suit my dietary

needs — which is frustrating especially because the meal plan is required and is quite expensive,” Patel said.

The issues at the dining hall are starting to escalate. What was once tolerable is becoming something to avoid entirely.

It’s a new year and it’s just as good a time as any to start changing things for the better. It would be better if those of us eating Kraft Macaroni & Cheese in our dorms could actually eat healthier at the dining hall.

The dining hall management advises students to add suggestions and comments to the wall in DHW to provide feedback and ways to improve their service for students.

It is in our hands to make a difference, starting with the food being served. Start sharing your experiences, suggestions and recipes so that current and future students can have a healthy and happy dining experience at UTD’s DHW.

Letter from the Editor The Mercury is obligated to publish campus news despite potential consequences When members of a white nationalist organization plastered posters around campus carrying messages that condemned an inclusive society and boosted the regressive idea of a “white America,” the UTD community was taken aback by the exclusionary nature of the rhetoric.

The group responsible for the fliers, known as the American Vanguard, told The Mercury the organization specifically put them up to “get attention.” In a way, our coverage of the incident played into the Vanguard’s goal, but The Mercury is obligated as a news organization to report on it, despite potentially drawing

COMET COMMENTS

more attention to the subject.

After the fliers were spotted, Facebook and Twitter feeds were immediately filled with angry responses to the racist and narrow-minded ideals expressed in them. There were also calls to action with some encouraging the posters be taken down on sight and others urging people to keep them up for police documentation.

On one hand, it was speculated whether students were responsible for the posters’ appearance, and on the other there were questions about what was being done to deal with the bigoted speech in print all over campus.

As The Mercury began its coverage of the incident in a frenzy of scouring social media, making phone calls, writing emails and sending texts, the only thing on the agenda was to inform our readership with accurate, unbiased information about the matter at hand and what was being done to address it.

As coverage progressed and interviews were conducted, we gathered more and more statements of outrage, concern and displeasure, and among those sentiments was also the idea that The Mercury was adding fuel to fire by talking about the posters.

The American Vanguard’s Twitter

page was actively documenting and responding to any media attention the group’s actions were garnering. The organization even admitted to living by the motto “There’s no such thing as bad publicity” in an interview with The Mercury, and every reaction was milked to further its agenda.

In a case like this, it’s understandable why some people thought it best to silently take down the posters and opt to not give prominence to the hateful speech. Giving it importance would only feed into the Vanguard’s goal of reaching a wider audience.

But, first and foremost, The Mercury has a duty toward the UTD community to be a reliable and informative source of news. We are responsible for keeping the campus populace in tune with its surroundings with a fair assessment of events.

For this reason, we felt it was important to publish a piece on the posters as soon as we were aware of their existence — even if that meant putting the negativity they propagated in the limelight.

- Nidhi Gotgi Editor-in-Chief

What do you think about the Texas Legislature’s proposed bathroom bill?

HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY? Students interested in writing opinions can email editor@utdmercury.com.

“I think that everyone should feel safe especially at a university and they should be able to use whatever facilities that they feel safest in.”

“Once you’ve taken the steps to change your gender and you identify as ... I don’t think the state necessarily has a right to say no that’s not okay.

Aaminah Farooq Biology senior

Jason Hutchinson Computer engineering sophomore

“I think … men should go to the men’s restroom and women should go to the women’s restroom. ... and maybe some people who are bad people – they may want to do something.”

Zhengqian Zhou Information Technology and Management

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THE MERCURY | FEB. 6, 2017

UTD lags behind in languages A&H dean: problem lies in STEM-focused students, university

NEWS

UTDMERCURY.COM

Chi Phi fraternity put on deferred suspension for

hazing MIRIAM PERCIVAL News Editor

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SRICHANDRAKIRAN GOTTIPATI | MERCURY STAFF

Dennis Kratz, the dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, said low student demand is inhibiting the growth of the language department.

DEV THIMMISETTY Mercury Staff

Despite the benefits of learning a new language, UTD students do not have the option of majoring or minoring in a foreign language.

Research from Rosetta Stone concluded that people who speak a second language make on average $10,000 more per year compared to people who only speak English.

Dennis Kratz, dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, said it is difficult for the language departments to grow when student demand is as low as it is.

The major reason behind the lack of student demand is academic orientation of UTD undergraduates, Kratz said.

“A large majority of UTD undergraduates are majoring in something with the word science, engineering or management (or) business, and none of those require language study,” he said. “UTD in its advertising and image doesn’t, at this point, emphasize the liberal arts to the extent I wish it did.”

The only degree plans that require language study are Asian Studies, Hispanic Studies, International Political Economy and Global Business.

At most, this It’s exactly involves only four semeslike a cycle. of lanBecause we ters guage classes. don’t have UTD offers classes in six language languages — majors, stuArabic, Chinese, French, dents don’t German, enroll.

Japanese and — Bei Chen, Spanish, all from beginChinese lecturer ning to advanced levels.

Japanese professor, Mariko Kline, said the option of different levels is sometimes not feasible.

“Sometimes, we cannot even make a class because not enough students signed up,” she said. “We could not continue (Advanced Japanese) this semester since only two students signed up. … It’s unfortunate, but there isn’t much we can do.”

Another issue that affected student involvement was the age of the students. Because the language courses are rarely degree requirements in degree plans, many students end up taking them as electives near the end of their undergraduate education.

“Many of our beginning students are juniors or seniors, so there is simply not enough time for them to continue,” Kline said.

Chinese lecturer, Bei Chen, said raising student involvement is not as easy as it seems.

“It’s exactly like a cycle,” she said.

“Because we don’t have language majors, students don’t enroll. When they don’t enroll, we can’t hire fulltime faculty or offer more classes or make a major for the students. It really makes it hard for us to expand.”

Often, the timing of the classes causes problems with scheduling.

“For students, their degrees and majors come first,” Kline said. “So when they have a required class that conflicts with a language class that is

→ SEE LANGUAGE, PAGE 11

he disciplinary committee and Office of Community Standards and Conduct found Chi Phi responsible for hazing that occurred at a party off campus. The fraternity has been placed on deferred suspension until 2021.

The investigation began Oct. 17, four days after the incident, and ended Jan. 11 after the disciplinary committee heard the case.

Deferred suspension means that if the fraternity fails to meet any requirement or is investigated again, the campus chapter may be shut down. The disciplinary committee consists of students and faculty who review cases of misconduct for the university. Chi Phi elected to bring their case in front of this committee after the Office of Community Standards and Conduct presented their initial punishment.

Justin Adler, the former president of Chi Phi, said the incident under review involved a fraternity member who encouraged new recruits at the social gathering to do wall-sits while reciting the creed.

This activity counts as hazing according to UTD’s definition because or exercise was involved.

Adler said this was done by a single person and does not reflect the fraternity as a whole.

“It was an act of an individual, we didn’t sanction it, but it was going to require an investigation, we understand that,” Adler said. “(The member) is going through a huge membership review and we’re actually kind of hands off. Our national office is dealing with that.”

During the investigation, which lasted four months, all official fraternity activities and

communications were put on hold.

Megan Schaedel, director of community standards and conduct, said her office conducted its investigation by collecting evidence and gathering statements from Chi Phi members.

“When we call people in, we ask people similar questions so that we can compare answers and often times you see a pattern where there is absolutely what happened,” she said. “Sometimes you can tell who may not be totally honest but it often just comes out because we are calling so many people in instead of one person.”

Once the Office of Community Standards and Conduct reviewed the evidence collected through its investigation, they recommended a decision.

“The original sanction was that we would be placed on suspension until Jan. 1, 2019,” Adler said. “No actives or alumni would be allowed to recolonize the chapter when we came off suspension. We actually (would have) had to reapply through the FSL recruitment process, we (wouldn’t have been) just immediately reinstated.”

The OCSC based its decision on similar cases reviewed in the past At this point, Chi Phi elected to bring the case to the discipline committee to dispute the charge and findings.

“We essentially compiled all of the evidence that we had showing that we had trained our brothers not to haze and that was the heart of the argument,” Adler said.

“That the organization itself didn’t haze

RUTH VARGHESE | MERCURY STAFF

Steven Larson, president of Chi Phi, said the UTD chapter is working on policies to prevent future hazing incidents.

We’re going to set up proactive ways to teach the members this is something you can say no to if it happens.

— Steven Larson, Chi Phi President

→ SEE CHI PHI, PAGE 11

Q&A: Immigration expert Wayne Cornelius is a distinguished professor emeritus of political science at UC San Diego. He is an expert on comparative immigration policy. His research has been frequently featured in news sources such as The New York Times, NPR and 60 Minutes. In 2012, the president of Mexico awarded him the Order of the Az-

Q

tec Eagle, Mexico’s highest decoration for foreign citizens, to recognize his lifetime of contributions to immigration research and bettering U.S.-Mexico relations.

The Mercury had a chance to sit down and talk with Cornelius about what he predicts for immigration during the Trump administration.

What has your research indicated about illegal crossings between the United States and Mexico?

The research that my research field work teams has done as well as government statistics on apprehensions all indicate that there has been a severe decline in new migration from Mexico since 2009, during the Great Recession. We have evidence from a variety of resources that suggest that new migration has largely dried up. There’s still a trickle and there will always be, but the great wave of undocumented migration that we experienced in the 1990s and the 2000s until the Great Recession, that wave is now over.

Q

Is that trend indicative of the efficacy of border fortification efforts?

No it is not. The official story is that it is due to the tens of millions of dollars that we have invested in border fortification that we have invested since 1993. But there’s really no evidence to support that. The focus of our most recent survey was that why so many people were opting to stay home in Mexico. And we identified five or six key factors to explain that behavior and the decision to stay home.

One was a persisting perception that jobs were still hard to come by in the United States. Second factor is the cost of migration to the United States, which is now between $3,000 to $6,000 paid to the smugglers, and nine out of 10 people hire smugglers to assist them. That is a heavy financial burden that is borne primarily by relatives based in the United States that loan them money to finance the trip.

Q

Do those facts matter to the current administration?

I know the Trump administration is interested in listening to evidence on this or many other topics. They have a base, a very broad and deep base of people who, for one reason or another, do believe investing more money in border fortification is a good idea and it is necessary among other things to prevent terrorist attacks which it was never designed to do. And he’s obviously pandering to that base and I think what he’s likely to be able to do is something that is more symbolic than is meaningful.

ANKITH AVERINENI | MERCURY STAFF

Wayne Cornelius, an expert on comparative immigration policy, came to the Davidson Auditorium on Feb. 2 to give a talk about immigration in Trump’s administration.

Q

So will the plan to invest in his border fortification wall have any significant effect on cross border apprehensions or traffic?

Highly unlikely. We already have a border wall. And people and smugglers have always found a way to go over it, under it and around it.

And they’ll continue to do the same thing with any new barrier. There will never be a continuous physical barrier between the United States and Mexico regardless of what kind it is or how high it is. And our research shows that of the people that go to the border, the undocumented people that go to the border, nine out of 10 eventually get in.

The fortification has proven it has very low efficacy as a tool of immigration control and it has all sorts of unintended consequences. Increasing fatalities at the border, enriching the smuggling industry, greatly increasing the rate of permanent settlement by ending circular migration.

So it has all these unintended consequences and then it hasn’t served its original purpose.

Q

How do you go about convincing the other side?

Trump will do what Trump always does. He changes the subject. And if the base is excited about illegal immigration it is because Trump made it his signature issue and used it to rile them up. As for the base, even parts of the base will begin to have second thoughts, if Trump is able to carry out parts of his mass deportation campaign and they see undocumented families being torn apart and they will see how hard it is to find child care workers and housecleaners and others who are directly impacted by a systematic large scale deportation campaign. The personal costs of that may come home to roost. And even parts of his base may be less enthusiastic about the administration’s approach.

LIFE&ARTS

FEB. 6, 2017 | THE MERCURY | UTDMERCURY.COM

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ON THE CUTTING EDGE Weapons enthusiast group celebrates history, techniques of combat

SRICHANDRAKIRAN GOTTIPATI | MERCURY STAFF

Psychology senior Zachary Joseph Burr (left) and ATEC senior Remone Durham practice swordplay. The Sword Arts club meets every week to discuss history, learn new techniques and showcase different weapons.

LOGAN HARLESS Mercury Staff

No Samurai ever met a knight on the field of battle, but at UTD’s Sword Arts club, katanas have met longswords. The student-run organization is a place for fans of weapons of all varieties to meet, train and pass along their experience.

“I do enjoy the camaraderie. I do enjoy the people I practice with. I also just enjoy fighting with swords,” said Fidencio Yzaguirre, a computer engineering senior and club president.

The organization’s weekly meetings exhibit a diverse set of over 50 weapons, from the Roman Gladius to the Japanese shuriken to fantasy weapons such as Batman’s “batarang.”

In order to allow battles to be fought in

a style as close to true combat as possible, make their own. They may bring these to the weapons used in club matches are foam meetings and, once the coaches have givlatex mockups. en their approval, use them in combat.

“We normally use live Mann also gave action role-play weapons I do enjoy the a price estimate because they look like camaraderie. I do for two weapons swords and you can hit frequently used in people and be safe, so enjoy the people I Sword Arts. you can actually intend practice with. I also “A short sword to take somebody out goes to about $70 or without really causing just enjoy fighting $90. ... Long swords them too much physical with swords. are about $95 to damage,” said Spencer $150,” Mann said.

Mann, head coach of — Spencer Mann, Meetings follow Sword Arts and longtime Head coach two different forweapons aficionado.

Sword Arts has mats, pure training weapons available for days and weapon members who do not have them, though showcases. Every other week, a weapon is members are encouraged to buy and even chosen for the topic, and the club goes over

its history, country of origin, the time period it was used, how it was used and any advantages or disadvantages of the weapon.

Even during weapon showcase meetings, members still find time to train. While they train, it often falls to Mann to provide some swordplay tips and basic instruction.

Despite his teaching role as head coach, Mann sees the club as a collaborative experience.

“I don’t like to say that I’m teaching people things. … We call it a collective of sword enthusiasts,” Mann said.

For students coming to the club without experience such as chemistry junior Dennis Arce, there is plenty to learn.

“I didn’t really know much of what it was going to be,” he said. “I did have kind of a general idea it would be actual fight-

ing, like you go to a boxing club you actually box.”

Even after just two hours as a member of Sword Arts, Arce was able to identify three lessons he had picked up.

“I learned you’ve got to close the distance in a fight. You can’t just block all the time and what you have to focus on is the person and not the sword,” he said.

Yzaguirre said though gaining experience in swordplay may be a major part of Sword Arts, it also introduces members to new weapons, their history, connects people interested in weapons and is simply a good time.

“I wanted to do weapon combats.

It’s fun, I mean people bring different weapons, you can get a good thrill out of it,” he said.

Dance group fosters culture of confidence

Club aims to break stigma surrounding belly dancing DONIA BOSAK-BARANI Mercury Staff

SAHER AQEEL | PHOTO EDITOR

ITS sophomore Payal Shah (left), psychology junior Sara D’Ambrosia, cognitive science junior Yesenia Morales and business administration and marketing junior Magdalena Cortez practice a routine.

CHAD AUSTIN | GRAPHICS EDITOR

Belly dancing has become a way for members of the newest dance organization on campus to become comfortable with their bodies and abilities.

Yesenia Morales, a cognitive science junior, founded the UTD Belly Dance organization in fall 2016 when she realized there wasn’t an existing community for it on campus. Her college selection process was also highly dependent on the presence of a belly

dancing group.

“When I was choosing a college, I wanted a college that included a belly dance club, but I couldn’t find one. If I did find one, it didn’t include the major I wanted, so I said, ‘I’ll go for the major and make the club eventually,’” she said.

Morales was inspired by the confidence of professional belly dancers and believed that the organization was a way that she could find that confidence in herself.

→ SEE DANCE, PAGE 8

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FEB. 6, 2017 | THE MERCURY | UTDMERCURY.COM

Baseball to fill starter vacancies Team looks to improve after eighth place ASC finish in 2016 season

SPORTS

Full contact Women’s rugby team searches for new players to join growing sport early in their college careers

SUMMER LEBEL Sports Editor

UTD’s baseball team is preparing to start the new season with a revamped starting line up.

As the team practices for its first games of the season, a double-header on Feb. 10, it’s looking to fill the starting positions left vacant by graduating seniors. Head coach Shane Shewmake only has three starters returning — the centerfielder, infielder and catcher.

“It’s exciting to have some new faces running around out there,” Shewmake said. “We’ve been practicing for a week now and we’ve seen a lot of good things from the new guys.”

The incoming freshmen are among those competing for the available starting positions. Junior outfielder Josh Covey said his new teammates are promising.

“We’re going to have a younger team, but I think that with the development of our skills and their skills, we’re going to have a pretty good team,” Covey said.

During the offseason, when the coach is not allowed to oversee the players, the team utilized the strength and conditioning program three times per week. This provided an opportunity to work with the newest players before practices started.

“That’s when the upperclassmen leaders step up and they get the younger guys in with them to go throw or hit or do any extra stuff,” Covey said.

With practices officially starting up for the season, Shewmake hasn’t changed much. The system he’s used has led the program to qualify in the ASC tournament for eight straight years.

“You really don’t reinvent the wheel in baseball,” he said.

For Shewmake, one of the best things about the start of the season has been the favorable practice conditions.

“We could be sitting in ice and snow right now and we’ve had seventy degree weather,” Shewmake said.

“We’re going to take full advantage of this great weather.”

When looking ahead to their schedule every game matters equally, Covey said.

“I’d like to pinpoint one certain game or one certain series but each one is important as long as we can win each series, win two out of three at least,” he said. “Obviously we’d love to sweep, but two out of three is fine and I think that puts us in a good position.“ The success of the fall sports at UTD, which won three out of five possible ASC championships, has been an extra motivation for the team

→ SEE BASEBALL, PAGE 7

CHRIS LIN | MERCURY STAFF

Freshman Josiah Rohne works on his pitch during an intersquad game on Feb. 3, a week before the season opens on Feb. 10. The Comets were ranked fifth in the ASC’s preseason poll after losing all but three members of the starting line up to graduation.

ROMAN SORIANO | MERCURY STAFF

Rugby player Kaitlyn Stacey practices with the rugby team at night on Jan. 31. Practices are held at the UTD soccer fields. Difficulties with finding new recruits and retaining players due to graduation have plagued the team, but it has still increased in size during each of its three seasons on campus.

ROMAN SORIANO Mercury Staff

The UTD women’s rugby team has been growing in size each year since its inception, yet it still struggles to recruit and retain players.

Assistant head coach Jonathan Holmes partially attributes this to poor timing.

“The women’s team’s retention rate is pretty low because so many people find out about it when they’re about to graduate,” Holmes said.

Despite this, head coach Tony

Wagner said the team has improved over time.

“When they started their program, it was seven or eight girls that just wanted to play,” Wagner said. “Where we’re now at about 14 girls that still just want to play rugby, but their focus is more than what it was three years ago.”

Even though the team was created three years ago, senior team captain Victoria Wobser thinks the reason for the team’s unsuccessful recruitment efforts is people’s attitude toward the sport.

“The culture of UTD is pretty academic. So we do have quite a few peo-

ple show interest, but like this semester they dropped out because they’re taking 19 credit hours and they have a job and everything,” she said.

Wobser believes that the stereotypes that come with playing rugby, a sport traditionally considered more masculine, may also be getting in the way of girls joining the team.

“It either comes in two ways, they’ll ask ‘Are you a lesbian or something?’, or it’ll be like, ‘Oh that’s cute, do you guys go out and play the guys?’” she said. “It is kind of annoying just because we’re trying to be taken seriously

as a sport, and that’s just one more hurdle we have to jump over.”

For the players that are currently on the team, the sport’s aggressive nature is part of the allure.

Geosciences graduate student Kaitlyn Stacey plays prop, which is comparable to a linebacker in football. They push in the scrums, which are a way to reset plays after minor infringements.

She enjoys the fact that rugby is a contact sport.

“Sometimes girls come and they realize

→ SEE RUGBY, PAGE 7

UTD hosts NCAA representatives Students, administrators interviewed as NCAA works on a best practices guide for Division III athletics SUMMER LEBEL Sports Editor

The NCAA visited UTD to meet with members of the athletic department as part of its effort to build a guide of best practices for Division III schools.

Six members of the NCAA national staff came to campus on Jan. 26 and 27 as a part of a new program which will help improve Division III athletic departments across the country. The NCAA sought out advice from faculty at UTD such as Athletic Director Bill Petitt as they gather information.

“We feel that it’s a real honor that they decided to come here and hopefully we’ll do a good job for them,” Petitt said. “I think it speaks really well of the department and the campus.”

When the NCAA staff members arrived on campus, they met with Petitt, assistant athletic director Angela Marin and President Richard Benson.

“They’re really excited to see Dr. Benson’s level of involvement already,” Marin said. “He’s only been here six months, but he attended the convention and he is already a great supporter of our program. We are so grateful and that really came across in the meeting. The NCAA staff were

MATT STRACK | MERCURY STAFF

really impressed with how he’s trying to promote and support athletics on this campus.”

After the meeting, the NCAA staff

members met with the rest of the athletic administration to get their points of view, asking what’s working for the department and what they’re doing on

campus to help students.

“It’s seeing how we can support our

→ SEE NCAA, PAGE 7

UTDMERCURY.COM → NCAA

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

student athletes in every aspect of their lives, not just athletically,” Marin said. “That was a unique opportunity for us.”

The NCAA staff also had a private meeting with 10 students.

“Our student athletes were so excited, one, that the national office wanted to meet with them and hear their perspective and point of view, and two, to bounce ideas and information off of them as well,” Marin said. “They were really excited and I’ve heard nothing but great things come out of that meeting.”

Lastly, they met with other members of the student-athlete welfare support system, who work to help students be successful on a day-to-day basis. Part of this includes treating the athletes as students first and ensuring they are staying academically focused.

→ RUGBY

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

the contact is too much for them.

They can’t handle it so they don’t play, but the girls who are looking for that always really enjoy it. It’s cathartic,” she said.

Freshman Kayla Kilbury, a wing player, started playing rugby last semester and plans to continue throughout her college career.

“I was going to do flag football, but rugby is different. It’s more interesting, it’s tougher,” she said.

“Contact is fun. You have to get hit, and then you get up. If you get the ball again, you get down immediately. It’s harder.”

→ BASEBALL

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

to do well.

“Obviously the bar is set high, so hopefully we’ll continue to win,” Covey said. “That’s

SPORTS

“I think one of the things that surprised the national office was that our students come to UTD first for their education and getting to play is a bonus, getting to compete at a high level is a bonus,” Marin said.

The national office is also working to show the differences between the reality of life as a student-athlete and what is shown both in fiction and in media coverage of top tier Division I schools. “(The media coverage doesn’t) represent the majority of our student-athletes at any division,” Marin said. “(We are) trying to change the perception that people have, especially our local community, of what are kids are and who they represent is a fun, unique challenge that we have.”

The NCAA also wants to change the idea that they’re hands-off and monitor the athletic departments from afar.

“One of their initiatives is to get out on more Division III campuses, so they get a holistic approach of what’s going on in Division III,” Marin said.

The NCAA is interested in UTD because it has unique aspects that make it different from the average Division III school.

According to the NCAA, only 20 percent of Division III institutions are public. The NCAA also lists the average Division III school as having an undergraduate enrollment of 2,648, with UTD as the second largest in the division.

After their visit, there will still be follow-ups with UTD as the NCAA prepares the program for implementation.

“I’m looking forward to this relationship that we have with the national office and it’s really great that they were on campus among us and among our kids,” Marin said.

Holmes said during recruitment he receives a lot of questions about safety. But he stressed that proper precautions are important and are taught to the team.

“We have so many new people coming out, safety is a concern for us. The first thing we teach you as a newcomer is how to be safe,” he said. “We’ve never really had any major serious injury, and that’s because from the beginning we teach you how to be safe.”

In order to alleviate its issues with recruitment, the team is going to make a push to advertise the club more and convince more girls to try it out.

“We’re going to plaster up a bunch of flyers soon, and talk to the assistant director of rec sports to see if we can get ads on the signs or anything,” Wobser said. “And just word of mouth is a big way that we usually recruit.”

Although the number of players on the team is low, Wagner believes that the team will continue to improve and will perform well during their spring season.

“We’re doing really well, and if we can continue this process of recruiting and bring out more and more girls, then we will get better and better,” he said.

our ultimate goal.”

For Shewmake, seeing the success of the sports that precede baseball in the school year is nothing surprising to him.

“All of our fall sports are always good,” he said. “This isn’t

the first year. They’re always putting the pressure on the spring sports, but it’s great. I love to see them have success and hopefully it does motivate our guys a little bit to do that as well.”

THE MERCURY | FEB. 6, 2017

7 MATT STRACK | MERCURY STAFF

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THE MERCURY | FEB. 6, 2017

→ DANCE

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

“I always saw belly dancers, and I always looked up to them because they portrayed a lot of confidence, and I always thought that that was something I wanted to do,” she said. “And I always heard that college is the place where nobody judges your stuff, so this was the perfect place to do this.”

After establishing the club, Morales began to become more comfortable with her body and helped others accept themselves through belly dancing.

“If you want to love your body, teach it to move in ways you never thought it could. A lot of people don’t feel confident in their own bodies and think they can’t be sexy with it, and then you show them this,” Morales said. “You don’t have to be in any specific shape or type to be able to feel this way, so that was something that helped me a lot.”

For Public Relations Officer and computer science senior Vanessa Webb, the organization provides an environment conducive to her dancing interests and goals. She transferred to UTD from Texas Tech after her sophomore year and came with prior experience from taking a belly dancing course there.

“Coming here, with a lot of free-spirited personalities, it’s helped me to open my eyes to being more open about practices and different moves,” Webb said. “I’m used to more structured lessons, but there are a lot of people here who just want to go out and dance.”

The officers and members of the organization have high hopes for their societal impact.

“I feel like there is a stigma behind belly dance. It’s like, ‘Oh, hey, let’s see the ladies dance all sexy-like,’” Webb said.

“And I feel like that should be a goal of ours, to eliminate that stigma and show that belly dance is an art form. Seeing people come to shows to see art would be awesome.”

Sara D’Ambrosia, a psychology

and child learning and development junior, believes the popular media is to blame for the stigma surrounding belly dance.

“It’s one of those things that you see in movies all the time that you don’t really see in real life,” she said.

“In the movies, it’s always there to sort of entertain the male viewers, so in the media it’s always portrayed as a sexual kind of dance. It’s hard to get past that stigma sometimes.”

However, the members have been combating misperceptions in an attempt to show others that there is nothing more to it than what it truly is: an art form. They have noticed students on campus find the organization to be out of place because of the stigma that surrounds it.

“I’m more aware of how people perceive belly dance. I’ll tell people I’m in this club, and they’ll be like, ‘At UTD? That’s weird,’” Webb said. “But then I ask, ‘How is that weird? There’s a lot of cultural dance clubs on campus,’ and then they’ll go silent.”

The organization recruits men and women alike.

“There are actually male parts in belly dancing. I’ve had to correct some assumptions of my friends,” D’Ambrosia said.

“Guys can dance it too.”

Overall, the officers of the organization just want the participants to feel confident in their bodies through dancing.

“Sometimes we’ll have to lift our shirts to see if we’re doing the moves right, and that exposure helps people get used to other people seeing their body, and themselves seeing their body,” Webb said. “I think that helps build confidence.”

Morales is looking forward to engaging more students in the practice.

“This semester we’re doing more meetings, more presentations and more performances. It’s like a reaction to all the things that are happening,” she said. “Why not dress the way you want to and dance the way you want to and still demand that respect that you deserve?

Hence, belly dancing.”

LIFE&ARTS

UTDMERCURY.COM

UPCOMING EVENTS TEA TUESDAYS Join the Women’s Center for a refreshing cup of tea.

Feb. 7, 10 AM - 4 PM, SSB 4.300 “MISS JULIE” This play, set in the 19th century, follows the life of a woman living on the estate of a Swedish count.

Feb. 9, 8 PM, University Theatre YULE BALL Experience the magical world of Harry Potter in person.

Feb. 13, 7 - 9 PM, RHW MPR INTERSECTIONALITY FORUM This discussion series explores the intersections of queer identities and other identities such as race and religion.

Feb. 14, 3 - 4:30 PM, SSA 14.510

COMICS&GAMES

LOOK AROUND

FEB. 6, 2017 | THE MERCURY

9 7

ROOMMATES

EMILIO CHAVEZ | MERCURY STAFF

FANIMALS

CAROLINA ALVAREZ | MERCURY STAFF

MEME?

KEVIN VANHORN | MERCURY STAFF

NERDS

EJ CHONG | MERCURY STAFF

WANNA HANG?

HAMID SHAH | MERCURY STAFF SHANNON RAMIREZ | MERCURY STAFF

BE NICE TO TEMOC

CHIAMAKA MGBOJI | MERCURY STAFF

DIFFERENT WORKOUTS

MATT STRACK | MERCURY STAFF ANTHONY MCNAIR | MERCURY STAFF

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THE MERCURY | FEB. 6, 2017

→ RESEARCH

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

economically, gender, where they fall on the LGBT spectrum and regionally.”

To solve this dilemma, the students are using their relationships across the state.

“We are basically trying to rely on the connections that each person in the group has and the power of social media,” Hattersley said. “I come from a small rural town, so I’m hoping to spread to south Texas.”

With the help of students and volunteers, the lab serves to provide unique research opportunities and gain visibility for social science research.

“The election is one of many reasons I wanted to get in on the project,” Hattersley said. “With the election results, our new president being inaugurated, there is a lot of fear within the

NEWS

LGBT community regarding networking so I can move into a where we’re going to stand. To be nonprofit domain.” in something that For Hattersley, is moving forward personal affiliation With the elecand the desire to in a time when things look like tion results, our make a difference they’re moving was all it took to new president back, is very fulconvince him to filling for me but get involved. being inaugualso just so impor“It is especially rated, there tant right now.” important to me is a lot of fear because I am a Berry works for a nonprofit within the LGBT gay man, I have focusing on outgay family memcommunity recome evaluations, bers, gay friends and hopes to conand transgender garding where tinue working for friends across the we're going to community who nonprofit projstand. will be impacted ects entirely. by the findings,” “I would work with both Sut- — Colton Hattersley, he said. “This is ton and Scotch Sociology senior a way not only to work for a genuntil the project eral goal but for is complete, I’m really excited to be working with something that is going to dithem,” Berry said. “I would like if rectly affect me and many peothis transitioned into some type of ple I know.”

UTDMERCURY.COM

UTD CentralTrak Artist Residency Lease Terminated Future of program unknown The UTD artist residency and gallery CentralTrak, located near Fair Park, is going to close its doors this June after the building’s landlord terminated the university’s lease.

Dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, Dean Dennis Kratz said the university was able to push the termination from Dec. 31 to late June so

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 27 that suspended entry to visa and green card holders from seven countries including Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days. As the legality of the order is being determined, the International Center at UTD is coordinating with and providing information to affected international students.

ternational artists in residence.

CentralTrak is home to four individuals who live, work and exhibit in the space. Kratz says that the university is currently attempting to keep CentralTrak or the concept of CentralTrak alive, but they can’t give more information at this time.

“It’s important — we’re trying to keep it open,” Kratz said.

— IAN SEAMANS

→ IMMIGRATION

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS| COURTESY

residents could complete their semester stay.

The residency began as an intercollegiate project at Southside and Lamar before UTD acquired the program and eventually moved it to CentralTrak’s current location seven years ago. The current iteration of the program places a Texas student alongside three national or in-

on the order’s effect on current or future enrollment for some time.

Idean Salehyan, a political science professor specializing in the politics of immigration, speculates that the university will lose students from the affected countries.

“We have students from across the region coming to study for their Ph.D.s and master’s in science and technology fields who won’t be able to come,” he said.

The International Center has worked with the Counseling Center to create a conversation group for students impacted by the order. Donnalin Constantin, the psychiatrist who facilitates the group, said it has been speaking about the executive order and its effects on the students.

“There were a couple of students who spoke directly about, for example, wanting to go home

for the summer or wanting to go home during the break and fearing that it might not be a possibility,” Constantin said. “Just imagine you being in that position,” The International Center is also currently reaching out to international student prospects, particularly those who have already committed to UTD, in order to provide information about what services they can expect from the campus. For current international students that are affected by the order they are providing information and resources.

One aspect of that information is a webpage that the International Center created in the wake of the executive order.

The page on the UTD website provides immigration resources and support as well as information about free attorney services that are available through Student Government.

“We do not know what the downstream impacts may be.

Our goal at this point is to ensure that we’re providing accurate information, transparent information, we’re letting people know as soon as we do any of the impacts so we can try to build as much certainty as possible in the current environment,” Casey said.

Several Islamic organizations on campus are looking at ways to not just support their members, but also organize the campus to combat the order and possible future government actions.

“What we really want to continue to support the student body with is awareness and plug them into other student organizations that conduct voter registration drives. That’s something we can never ever underestimate the importance of,” Ayub said.

“So little by little, it’ll take a few workshops, it’ll take continuing to do awareness on campus, but overall I’m very optimistic about the (UTD) student community in general.”

NEWS

UTDMERCURY.COM

THE MERCURY | FEB. 6, 2017

Gas delivery company serves cars on campus Booster Fuels’ partnership with UTD first of its kind for recently started company

In the effort to make themselves more available to the student body, senators will meet with the leadership of student organizations, offering the officers an opportunity to voice their concerns and needs. Invitations are currently being drafted.

All organizations will be invited to send their president or vice president to meet with senators over a catered breakfast on Feb. 24. There will be 100 spots open to organizations on campus to not only seek support from SG concerning any issues they may face, but to also speak with other student leaders who may have advice to share.

NATHAN GURGAINOUS Mercury Staff

In its first official partnership with a college campus, Booster Fuels offers students and staff alike with a unique service. Booster Fuels’ staff refuels people’s cars as they go about their day — a service that costs just as much as filling up at a gas station.

Using Booster Fuels’ official app, users can schedule for an 800-gallon fuel truck to top their cars off anytime during their operating hours, which is every weekday between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. The user determines within what time frame the service is delivered, with the normal options being 5-hour or 3-hour delivery. But Booster Fuels is now offering a 1-hour delivery option exclusive to UTD. “People have often referred to us as the Uber of gas, which is not a bad comparison,” said Ryan Leech, director of sales and campus representative from Booster Fuels.

The company’s presence can be seen everywhere on campus. From representatives setting up stands at the plinth to promote the service, to the 2-3 bright purple fuel trucks that are seen roaming the parking lots on any given day, Booster Fuels has been getting the word out.

“I love the convenience of being able to fill-up my car during classes, it’s made for one less thing I have to worry about in my day

→ LANGUAGE

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not even a requirement, they just don’t take the class, which is why student enrollment can go down.”

A solution the language professors have come up with is to offer a specialized language course that offers a pragmatic value to the students, Chen said.

“I’m planning to start offering business Chinese,” she said.

“This will be a class for students with no prior Chinese experience, and they can learn basic travel and business things, like how to communicate politely, write an appropriate email and so on.”

Cristina Gonzalez, a Spanish lecturer and the UT-PACT coordinator, teaches a similar class in medical spanish, which is designed to help pre-med students who want foreign language experience.

“A student years and years ago said we needed medical Spanish, and she proposed it to the Spanish department, and here we are,” she said. “So if the students bark loud enough, so to speak, they do listen and offer new classes, but I still have students chomping at the bit wanting to take more and more classes.”

Chen said although student

J Meet Your Senators J

v Bathroom Bill v MINH NGUYEN | MERCURY STAFF

An employee at Booster Fuels fills a car with gas in Lot B. Students can use Booster Fuels by downloading the app and requesting service any weekday between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. Ryan Leech, the campus representative from Booster Fuels said the company plans to expand its offerings to include windshield washes, tire shines and wiper replacements by mid-February.

to day,” said Nicholas Glezman, an economics sophomore.

Shivani Bhatnagar, a biochemistry junior, had a positive experience with the service her first time using it.

“I thought it was really neat, and the entire process (of using the app) was much simpler than I thought it would be,” Bhatnagar said.

Right now the only product provided by Booster Fuels is gas delivery, but it may not be long until the company expands its services.

“In mid-February, probably at the latest, there will be add-on services that you can get like a windshield wash, tire shine, wiper replacement … as well as tire check and tire replacement,” Leech said.

interest is growing, it isn’t growing fast enough to create new majors or degree plans for the foreign languages.

“Enrollment goes a little bit higher every year, but here we have to compete with many other classes,” she said.

Kratz agreed with Chen’s assessment. He said there wasn’t enough interest or demand for new language majors to demonstrate that at least 20-25 students would graduate with that major.

However, the College of Arts and Humanities is working on a proposal to modify a core requirement for undergraduates.

The proposal would allow intermediate language study to qualify for the humanities requirement in the curriculum. Kratz said that if the measure passes, it would not only benefit students personally, but also cultivate interest in language study.

“I think knowing another language is an essential component of anybody’s education,” he said. “It makes you more marketable and more appropriate to the global world of the 21st century. … The hope is that students will even take advanced courses after going through the intermediate ones.”

→ CHI PHI

Booster Fuels is also looking to expand to other colleges in Dallas and corporate campuses.

Even though the company is still in its beginning stages, its sights are set high.

“We don’t want to be a flash in the pan. What we want to work toward is the phasing out of gas stations,” Leech said.

adviser and president of the alumni association, said he views this as a learning experience for the memanyone, just an individual who was bers of the fraternity.

“Honestly you see or hear somea member of the organization.”

On Jan. 11, Chi Phi and the Of- thing like this, it makes you worry fice of Community Standards and that the organization that you Conduct presented their case to the joined and helped create as an undiscipline committee. Once both dergrad isn’t the same that was,” he sides were heard, the committee said. “But if anything, it has proven passed down the decision and ac- to me that these guys are truly upcepted the terms Chi Phi and their standing and wonderful guys.”

Steven Larson, national office crethe Chi Phi presiated together. dent, said the chap“We put together If anything, ter is creating polian alternative sancit has proven cies to help prevent tion, … then when to me that hazing from taking our national office place again. came down (they asthese guys sisted) us with the “We’re going to set are truly upsanctions. They actuup proactive ways to ally took those and teach the members standing and wrote them a little bit this is something wonderful better than we did,” you can say no to if guys.

Adler said. “We were it happens, if it hapvery happy to accept pens report it and — Nick Hinojosa, also teach the brothas a sanction … they President of Chi Phi were very manageers the consequences Alumni Assocation able requests.” of this,” he said.

If the fraternity Overall, Adler said fails to meet any of these require- he feels like the process was fair and ments or violates the code of con- wants to begin mending relations duct before 2021, they will be con- with the university. sidered for suspension or immediate “We don’t want to miss a beat, we shutdown of the chapter. want to get right back into operaNick Hinojosa, former Chi Phi tion,” he said.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4

SG Legislative Affairs Committee Leader Christian Filsouf is focusing the committee’s attention on the “bathroom bill” currently in circulation. After polling student opinions on the resolution against the “bathroom bill,” senators will begin posting the feedback they receive on the SG website. They plan do this within a week and will update as they receive more responses from state legislators.

z Tuition Freeze z A tuition freeze was brought to the floor of the Texas Senate by Sen. Kel Seliger and Sen. Jane Nelson on Jan. 19 for statefunded schools. The bill would

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place a cap on tuition costs. Increases in tuition will only be equivalent to inflation, unless there is a majority vote by the student body to raise the cost.

O Voting on Campus O SG senators are promoting the establishment of polling booths on campus. They will ideally be available by the next state election. However, Filsouf predicts it’ll most likely be by the next national election.

H UV Roofs H Due to past hailstorms and wind damage, University Village is replacing roofs in the next six months. Residents will receive updates on the project by email. There is a possibility for blocked exits and additional noise. However, workers will not enter residences.

E Email Addresses E There has been a recent effort by SG senators to promote personalized email addresses for students, rather than the typical Net ID format. The main motive is an email address with a variation of a student’s first and last name appears more professional on a resume. Students will be notified via mass email and social media of the option to create a personalized email address using netid.utdallas. edu. The Career Center is assisting in this effort.

Meet a Senator Christian Filsouf Legislative Affairs: Committee Leader Business Administration Junior

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THE MERCURY | FEB. 6, 2017

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Business administration senior Bilal Ayub, on behalf of the UTD Muslim Council, which represents the Muslim Student Association, Alpha Lambda Mu, Mu Delta Alpha and Islamic Relief at UTD, expressed shock and disgust at the fliers.

“What we’d like to see is more immediate action from the university’s administration,” he said. “We expect these individuals — students if they happen to be students — to be held accountable, for this case to be investigated.”

Because of the recent executive order, the American Vanguard fliers did not surprise Ayub or the Council.

“If anything, it’s expected,” he said. “If anything, this environment is encouraging this kind of behavior from a handful of people.”

In response, Ayub expects the student body and administration as a whole to speak out against the values reflected in the fliers.

“Unfortunately, we see this continuing to happen in small, minor cases on our campus,” he said. “And when those happen, we expect organizations to stand up, to speak out, the administration to take action … (and) hold our administration accountable for prosecuting those actions of hate speech.”

Adam Richards, a student government senator and electrical engineering senior, heard about the incident on Jan. 31 at 11 p.m., soon after the fliers were put up.

“The dialogue that’s been going on (on campus) is like, ‘We don’t want Nazis on this campus,’” he said, on behalf of Wesley at UTD. “People were very upset.”

Richards describes the

NEWS

group that put up the fliers have to be used in pursuit of as “Nazis,” despite the orga- the intent of the university,” nization calling itself a “white Zacharias said. “This is clearly nationalist” institution. outside the bounds of that. It’s “It’s an inference, but it’s an different than doing something inference that doesn’t require a on a public street or a park.” lot of inferring,” Richards said.

Subchapter E, section 46.18 B “Most neo-Nazi organizations of the UTD policies on speech don’t generally call themselves expression and assembly states neo-Nazi organizations. But, if fliers may only be posted on it looks like a duck, talks like bulletin boards or other desa duck, quacks like a duck …” ignated locations. Additionally, Offices around campus fliers posted in proper locations, — such as the UTD Police according to subchapter E, secDepartment and Student Affairs tion 46.20 C, must include — are looking into the group the “date the sign was posted or the date of responsible for the event being the fliers. advertised,” and Chief of The Univermust also list Police Larry the organization Zacharias said sity of Texas or person that he has been at Dallas was posted the sign. in touch with other universiThe rules founded on the ties in the area only apply to ideals that eduwhere the same UTD students. cation comes fliers were put No n a f f i l i a t e d up to compare groups, such from more information. as American than our facVanguard, are “It doesn’t subject to the appear this is ulty members; rules and regubeing done by it comes from lations of the any of our stuthe uniquely UT System dents, or anyB o a rd of one else affilidiverse peers we Regents. Rule ated with UT are surrounded 80104, section Dallas,” he said.

1 states unregAt press time, by. So there is istered groups UTD PD does no surprise that may not use any not see any eviour students are school’s “builddence of crimiings, facilities nal behavior, outraged ... or grounds.” such as vandalism.

Should Although — Akshitha Padigela, the department the incident SG President is not under find the identities of the official invespeople who put tigation by up the fliers and they are not UTD PD, Zacharias and his affiliated with UTD, UTD staff are reviewing the situaPD could issue criminal tres- tion and trying to glean addipass warnings, giving prece- tional information to identify dent to arrest the members “whether or not a crime has of American Vanguard if they been committed.” return to campus.

Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Amanda Smith “State law says the Board of Regents determines how our said her office is waiting for buildings can be used and they guidance from UTD PD and

the Office of General Council before it moves forward.

“I do know that we have a lot of students on campus who are upset about it,” Smith said.

“We are very concerned about the matter and we are responding to every student who brings something to our attention.”

Police at Rice University in Houston found American Vanguard fliers on campus on Jan. 27. The fliers were removed for violating Rice’s policy about soliciting.

Drew Keller, news editor at the Rice University Thresher — the campus’ student-run newspaper — covered the story.

“I think people were just generally kind of horrified,” he said.

“I think most people know that the reason these posters were posted there was to provoke a response and get attention.”

UTD SG President Akshitha Padigela released the following statement on behalf of SG: “The University of Texas at Dallas was founded on the ideals that education comes from more than our faculty members; it comes from the uniquely diverse peers we are surrounded by. So there is no surprise that our students are outraged by the offensive fliers posted on our campus.

“We cannot change the way people think. However, part of Student Government’s role is to support all of our students. Posters, such as the ones we have seen across campus, should not and will not be tolerated. As reaffirmed by President Benson’s statement on the immigration executive order, UT Dallas proudly serves the entire university community, regardless of our differences.

“As the official voice of the UT Dallas students, I am committed to working with campus administration and other campus officials to ensure that our students feel safe and their concerns are heard.”

UTDMERCURY.COM

Administration, students speak out on ‘white nationalist’ fliers BILAL AYUB

UTD Muslim Council

What we’d like to see is more immediate action from the university’s administration. We expect these individuals ... to be held accountable.

AMANDA SMITH

Associate Vice President for Student Affairs

We are very concerned about the matter and we are responding to every student who brings something to our attention.

AMERICAN VANGUARD

Vice Commander of Texas Branch

The ultimate goal is to get some new recruits, and just generally further the cause of the movement.

EXECUTIVE ORDERS from the Trump administration as of February 6, 2017

SAM LOPEZ | MERCURY STAFF