April 24, 2017
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EcoReps educate students about sustainability
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UTD cheer places fourth at national competition
Professors add to health care debate
THE MERCURY | UTDMERCURY.COM
Students involved in local elections Alum faces tough election to oust incumbent
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EARTH WEEK AT UTD
Res Hall North closed to all upperclassmen Growing class sizes, on-campus housing options prompts change
SRICHANDRAKIRAN GOTTIPATI | MERCURY STAFF
All 384 beds in Res Hall North will be exclusively open to incoming freshmen next semester.
SRICHANDRAKIRAN GOTTIPATI | MERCURY STAFF
Tepou Helu (left) is running for mayor of Euless and UTD student Vera Layton is supporting her mother in the election.
DONIA BOSAK-BARANI Mercury Staff
Starting next semester, Residence Hall North will be open exclusively to freshmen. As one of five residence halls on campus, North was the only one to offer beds to older students. Currently, upperclassmen occupy 187 of the 384 beds housed in North, said Ryan White, the assistant vice president for Residential Life. White said the freshman class increases in number every year, and the growing number of UTD students has prompted Residential Life to make this decision. Between University Village and the new Canyon Creek Heights — formerly known as Phase 6 and 7 — which offers 800 beds, there will be enough space for existing students to live on campus if they so desire, White said. “When we made the decision to take North and set that aside for our incoming freshmen students, we felt good about the opportunities that still persisted for those residents in North to still live on campus,” he said. “There’s still availability there now for students who didn’t apply or didn’t go through sign up. Certainly, there’s an option taken away, but there’s still an opportunity for students to live on campus who want to.” Keely Keeny, an undeclared freshman, planned on living in North next year. When she found out she wasn’t allowed
DEV THIMMISETTY Mercury Staff
Alumnus Nicholas St. John said he always felt it was his duty and calling to bridge the gap between the local government and general public. In his quest to do so, St. John is now running for city council in Fort Worth. The current city councilman for district six has a large financial advantage over St. John, and there are also two other challengers running against him. However, St. John has a plan. “The incumbent had $100,000 in his account before the campaign season even began, so it’s going to be tough to run against that,” he said. “My goal is to get 30 percent of the vote.” St. John’s strategy is to force the incumbent to receive less than 50 percent of the vote. Without the majority vote, the two candidates with the most votes would proceed to a runoff, where St. John hopes he can win with the help of his challengers. “We made an agreement where whoever goes against the incumbent in the runoff will be supported by the remaining challengers so hopefully we can get one of us to win,” he said. St. John decided to run this year because of the rise of liberal political groups in Fort Worth, he said. “With the most recent election of President (Donald) Trump, a lot of progressives are fired up. This is the first time that all the city council seats have challengers. I saw the opportunity to get behind the movement I already supported and make change,” he said. St. John isn’t the only UTD student or alumnus to get involved in politics. Political science junior Vera Layton planned to run for city council in Euless, but ended up dropping out due to work pressure and academic responsibilities. Nonetheless, she is an avid supporter of her mother, Tepou Helu, who is running for mayor of Euless. Helu, a Tongan and the first minority to run for mayor, decided to get involved in order to combat what she called the complacency of Euless. “Right now, people in Euless are comfortable where they are. They don’t really want anything to change, and we want to fix that,” Layton said. For Helu, that attitude is an obstacle to Euless becoming a big city. “We want people to get off the airport and think, ‘Wow, I should head to Euless,’’’ Helu said. “However, the complacency from a lot of people means a lack of growth. We want to build Euless into a brand, like New York and Los Angeles, etcetera.” The mother-daughter duo believes that growth in Euless should begin by making proper investments. One current city project is looking to build a riverwalk off of U.S. Highway 121. Helu’s platform is based on allocating finances towards small businesses
→ SEE ELECTIONS, PAGE 12
→ SEE HOUSING, PAGE 12
SRIKAR SUDARSAN BASKARA | MERCURY STAFF
Ethical Hackers raise money to help repeal bill reducing internet privacy
New hacking organization donates all proceeds from fundraiser to American Civil Liberties Union RUTH VARGHESE Mercury Staff
A UTD group called Ethical Hackers is donating the profits from its first annual fundraiser to protest a federal bill overturning previous Federal Communications Commission regulations protecting consumer privacy. On April 19, Christopher Franson, an information technology and systems junior and president of Ethical Hackers, raised $66 at the organization’s fundraiser
for the American Civil Liberties Union. “What’s happening with Joint Resolution 86 is it allows internet service providers to go ahead and sell anything and everything you touch, type, do, whatever you view on the internet to companies,” Franson said. The resolution still has several steps to go before it can become a law. Franson said this legislation would violate consumer privacy. “It’s kind of like telling a friend a secret and hoping that in giving them
RUTH VARGHESE| MERCURY STAFF
History junior Wania Uddin (left) and biology sophomore Hira Ali speak with Christopher Franson, the president of Ethical Hackers, at the organization's first fundraiser
“I think a big part of it is just to all the power and let them completely look at you and decide whether they change the perception of hacking. want to tell people or not, all the se- There’s a lot of a negative connotation crets,” he said. “But (if the) legisla- with it. It’s really not like that,” Perez tion is passed, it’s allowing that per- said. “It’s just good to know the way to son that you told all those things to protect yourself against things out there just sell that information to whoever and just how to use computers in a very strategic way.” they want.” Ethical Hackers Although H.J. 86 (The bill) allows teaches its memhas not been passed, a bers how to protect companion bill in the internet service themselves through Senate which had simiproviders to go hacking and wants to lar contents regarding ahead and sell any- make others aware of consumer privacy was how to deal with the signed into law April 3. thing and everyproposed legislation. Ethical Hackers was thing you touch. Franson said while founded in January waiting for the H.J. 2017. Franson said he — Christopher Franson, Res 86 to be passed or and a friend liked to ITS junior not, it is important to meet up to learn how inform people about to hack. After realizing the bill and how to that what they were doing is illegal, they decided they wanted to fight it and protect their privacy. If the create a group where they could hack le- bill does not pass, the ACLU will still use the funds for legal fees. gally and ethically. Privacy is important and this legisla“The more we got into it, it was kind of like a game of Monopoly, there was a lot of tion potentially takes that away, Perez different pieces and you have to learn how said. A future employer could see what to play it, there’s little red hotels, green someone has ever searched on the inhouses, there’s money. You can go to jail, ternet and if he or she disagrees with it, the employer may not hire the peryou can get in trouble,” Franson said. Lauren Perez, an information technol- son. Perez said people can contact their ogy and systems sophomore, and an of- internet service providers to opt-out of ficer for Ethical Hackers, said hacking can → SEE HACKERS, PAGE 12 be used as a way to protect yourself.