T H E
U N I V E R S I T Y
O F
T E X A S
A T
A R L I N G T O N
Tuesday September 15, 2009
Volume 91, No. 14 www.theshorthorn.com
Since 1919
Slow Progress Despite losses, volleyball team’s performance improves. SPORTS | PAGE 3
Topping Off
Grad student makes UTA hats and spreads school spirit. SCENE | PAGE 6
SAFETY
ENROLLMENT
Excessive rain becoming a nuisance all across campus
Weakened economy puts more students in classes
The amount of water causes a ceiling collapse in a University Hall classroom, forcing students to relocate for classes.
A year after a financial meltdown in the US, more are returning to school.
BY JOHNATHAN SILVER The Shorthorn senior staff
The university got hit with excessive rain beginning last week, resulting in leaks, soggy clothes and nearly 2,000 relocated students after part of a University Hall classroom’s ceiling collapsed. Liberal Arts instructors and administrators canceled classes in 108 University Hall on Monday. Water on the roof seeped through a crack in the drain line due to the continuous rain throughout the weekend, according to Jeff Johnson, Building Operations associate director. Johnson said he hoped repairs would be complete by Tuesday RELOCATED CLASSES but all classes in the room, which These classes were seats nearly 300, moved to the Rosebud are relocated Theatre due to ceiling colto the Rosebud lapse in 108 University Hall Theatre in the University CenMonday-Wednesday-Friday ter from Tuesday classes to Thursday. United State History History of Jazz Finding a Music Appreciation place to relocate that early in the Tuesday-Thursday classes day is difficult, Human Sexuality said Eric BolState and Local Governsterli, Liberal ment Arts assistant dean. Source: Eric Bolsterli, Lib“The 8 o’clock eral Arts assistant dean class clearly couldn’t continue. It would have been a safety hazard,” Bolsterli said. “We don’t want students in the classroom if the roof is just falling in. It just doesn’t make sense.” Business freshman Santana Herrera went to class and discovered it was canceled. He used the extra time to revise an essay for another class. “I wasn’t too disappointed,” Herrera said. “The teacher wasn’t going to show up anyway. Two graduate students were supposed to teach the class today.” Business freshman Christina Safeek also went to the partially-damaged classroom, but found yellow tape bordering the site where part of the ceiling gave way. A crowd gathered to sneak a peek inside. “It’s very inconvenient,” she said. In addition to the hole in the ceiling, small leaks were reported in Nedderman Hall, the Geoscience Building, the Life Science Building and the Architecture Building. A waterproofing company is on campus to look for leaks and a roofing company is available to do repairs if needed, Johnson said. LEAK continues on page 4
BY JOHN HARDEN The Shorthorn staff
The Shorthorn: Chris Hudson
Materials science graduate student Chien-Wen Huang rides his bike while attempting to stay dry Monday afternoon on the corner of UTA Boulevard and Cooper Street. Arlington was under a flash flood watch until 7 p.m. Monday.
On Sept. 14, 2008, the world’s financial system seemed to be slowly recovering from a yearlong recession, but a day later, that all changed. Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history, signaling the continuation of a long recession in U.S. history, according to Nasdaq. The Lehman Brothers collapse triggered a domino effect, paralyzing the financial market and causing many banks to stumble and collapse, including Ameribank and Washington Mutual. Today, the world is in the process of recovering once more from the financial meltdown of Wall Street, according to Nasdaq’s Web site. Many companies are showing signs of growth and reporting billions in profit. However, thousands are still losing their jobs every month and many are continuing to witness the effects of the bad economy. “Fortunately, I haven’t seen much change in my life. Texas has been pretty fortunate,” said information systems junior Kevin Bentley. “But I work at a law firm and I’ve gradually seen less and less people pay their legal fees this past year. I guess it’s their way to save money in hard times.” The result of this past year has many wanting to save as much as they can when jobs are shaky, Bentley said. The massive change in the economy has also impacted enrollment at colleges and universities such as The University of North Texas, Tarrant County College and UTA, which have all witnessed record enrollment. Enrollment in the Master’s in Business Administration ECONOMY continues on page 4
STUDENT LIFE
FACILITIES
Nepali cultural night rocks the Rosebud
Commuters could get common area by 2010
Event highlights included folk singing, a Nepalese rapper and skirt dancing.
Plans for program to help off-campus students’ school acclimation are in progress.
BY TEMICCA HUNTER The Shorthorn staff
The weekend was filled with rain outside, but the energy still flowed in the Rosebud Theater as guests celebrated the Nepali culture. The lights went dim and then the fast Nepalese musical beats echoed throughout the theater. With the colorful traditional outfits and jewelry, the audience slowly traveled to Nepal though the performers’ songs and dances. The Nepalese Student Association presented the Nepali Cultural Night on Saturday night. The event started at about 8 p.m. and went on past midnight. Event coordinator Binaya Shrestha said the event was held to raise money for computer labs in the Nepalese rural villages. Several popular names in Nepali culture performed such as legendary folk and modern singer Meera
BY ARIONNE WELLS The Shorthorn staff
The Shorthorn: Michael Rivera
Attendees of the Nepali Cultural Night cheer on Nepali pop-star Deepak Bajracharya as he performs. The Nepali Cultural Night brought students as well as other guest from nearby campuses on Saturday evening to the University Center Rosebud Theater.
Rana, rapper Girish Khatiwada, guitarist and singer Phiroj Shyangden and pop-star Deepak Bajracharya. Shrestha’s friend, Dikchhya
Bhatta, who helped coordinate the event, choreographed several of the dance performances. NEPALI continues on page 4
Student commuters could have a place to hang out between classes by fall 2010. While there hasn’t been funding or space designated for the OffCampus Mavericks room yet, administration has high hopes that the program will gain steam, said Frank Lamas, student affairs vice president. The program would focus on new students choosing to live off campus during first semester. The area would double as an office for advisers to assist students and as a lounging area where commuters could regroup between classes and activities. Sometimes commuter students miss out by not living on campus, and these staff members would point
YOUR VIEW What do you think about the commuter common area idea? Comment on this story at THE SHORTHORN .com.
them in the right direction before it’s too late, Lamas said. “I’d love something like that,” said undecided sophomore Jasmine Jones, who lives off campus. “Because sometimes I need somewhere to recharge between classes, and I don’t always feel like going to the library or sitting in the UC.” Other universities across the nation use programs with similar structure to help new students’ social and academic progress. According to its Web site, Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., assigns a faculty member and an upperclassman as a peer adviser to each student inPLAN continues on page 4