September 8, 2014
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BROTHERS ON THE PITCH Senior, freshman play side by side on men's soccer team → Sports, page 10
THE MERCURY | UTDMERCURY.COM
YANG XI | STAFF
Students left out of gubernatorial candidate's visit LINDA NGUYEN Staff Writer
Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott spoke Sept. 2 at the McDermott Library about his higher education campaign.
ABBOTT Students were surprised to find out about his appearance because they were neither notified about the speech nor permitted entrance to the event. Student Government President Brooke Knudtson said she found out about Abbott’s visit after a student asked her if she knew about his speech in the McDermott suite. She called Amanda Rockow, vice president of public affairs, to confirm Abbott’s appearance. “When I called (Rockow), she did confirm that he was on campus, but she also apologized because she said, ‘I wish we could have had student be involved, but it was his decision to not include the students,’” Knudtson said. The Abbott campaign could not be reached for comment. Knudtson said SG has made several attempts to contact both candidates to see if they would come to campus to speak. Although SG did not hear anything from democratic gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis’ campaign, Knudston was in corre-
spondence with a representative from Abbott’s campaign. She said she received an email on July 29 from a member of Abbott’s campaign saying that the attorney general’s schedule would be booked from September to October. SG persisted and sent the campaign another email asking it to visit campus. With a student body of around 20,000 potential voters, Knudtson said it was unfortunate Abbott did not choose to include students in his appearance, but she said hopefully he will make another effort to come to campus and meet with students. “I was disappointed in the fact that we reached out to them, and they didn’t want to allow student involvement,” she said. “Hopefully things turn up for them, Greg Abbott and Wendy Davis, and they can come to campus another time.” Abbott’s higher education platform calls for Massive Online Open Courses to count for college credit, a statewide AP credit policy that would grant credit at Texas public universities to any student who scores a 3 or above on the AP exam and encouraging community colleges to utilize block schedules to allow students more flexibility to work. Rosalyn Huff, president of UTD’s chapter of Turning Point USA and an international political economy senior, said there are two sides to the story, and she doesn’t think the blame falls solely on Abbott and his campaign.
→ SEE ABBOTT, PAGE 5
NO PARKING ZONE
Exchange of residential parking passes confirmed fraudulent CONNIE CHENG | PHOTO EDITOR
DUNCAN GALLAGHER Staff Writer
Although it’s been a matter long unspoken of, the exchange of parking permits among students has been confirmed to be both against university policy and a crime. According to UTDPD’s Lt. Ken MacKenzie, there were instances of students breaking into vehicles and stealing permits the first week of classes this year. Regardless of break-ins, purchasing a permit using someone else's vehicle infor-
mation is a crime. “When you buy a sticker, that sticker goes with your car,” MacKenzie said. “Buying a permit for a car under your name that is not your car is considered filing fraudulent information, and that is a crime.” The lower price, closer proximity to campus and more convenient access to available parking has created a type of black market where commuting students can purchase residential parking permits from UV residents.
UV lots have become coveted by commuting students wishing to pay less for more accessible parking. Some UV residents have turned this into an opportunity to make a profit by purchasing residential parking permits for their peers and charging them a larger amount of money than they paid to acquire the permit online. Signs advertising the sale of residential
→ SEE BLACK MARKET, PAGE 5
Library schedule extending to 24 hrs LINDA NGUYEN Staff Writer
MIGUEL PEREZ | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Following a push from Student Government, the university administration has approved a proposal that will extend library hours. The hours have not been finalized, but the library is expected to be open 24 hours on some days, said Provost Hobson Wildenthal. Since the beginning of her term, SG Vice President Nancy Fairbank has been working with Ellen Safley, dean of McDermott Library, and Wildenthal to extend library hours. “We have just heard a lot of feedback from students, not just last year, but with the last several student governments,” Fairbank said. Wildenthal said the team is moving forward with their plan to have a 24-hour schedule during the week and longer hours on weekends and most university holidays. This is an issue student government has
had on its radar based on student input. Fairbank said the library conducted a poll of 415 students for their thoughts on library hours, and SG also conducted its own, smaller study consisting of 20 students. She said it was evident students wanted the library to be open longer in both studies. “The vast majority of students surveyed want a 24-7 or 24-5 library,” Fairbank said. “There is a significant portion of students who want earlier or later hours on weekends.” Wildenthal said Safley has been given the authority to increase her budget and to hire new staff members. The library will begin its extended hours after hiring is completed and the library staff works out what the exact schedule, safety and other similar issues. The library will be open as much as, if not more than, other universities in Texas, but he does not know at this time what areas
→ SEE LIBRARY, PAGE 5
Did you make it into our Welcome Week photo spread?
GET INTO THE GROOVE MARCELO YATES | STAFF
→ SEE PAGE 6