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
Wednesday october 28, 2009 INDeX Calendar News Opinion Classifieds
2 3 4 5
volume 91, no. 39 www.theshorthorn.com
Keynote Initiative
teChNology
since 1919
Department holds its first Communication Day with panelists from different professional backgrounds. NeWs | page 2
leCture
Redesigned Architect commends Cowboys Stadium, special events center MyMav slow, fixed by vendor Structure’s design principal talks on project’s size and the planned designs of the university facility. By Chase WeBster The Shorthorn staff
The new appearance and emergency contact mandatory update question causes navigating difficulty for some, others remain optimistic.
The auditorium filled with applause as HKS architect Bryan Trubey, the Cowboys Stadium’s design principal, stood before a rendered projection of the university’s special events center, HKS’s latest project. Trubey’s arrival was met with excitement and negativity about Arlington’s monumental stadium and the universi-
By aNDrea sIlvers
ty’s future 190,000-sq.-ft. center. Many remarked on the Cowboys Stadium’s size. At the lecture’s end, Trubey showed renderings of the center. The building will be designed with Mavericks basketball in mind. “This will be the Mavericks’ first real basketball court,” Trubey said. “And we knew that it would have to be an intimidating environment.” He said the design would use structure and materials that flow visually with the campus but also make the center unique. Alex Dahm, American Institute of
Architecture Students UTA chapter president, said he’s concerned with both facilities’ infrastructure. The center creates similar problems by focusing on aesthetic appeal without traffic flow concerns, Dahm said. “If you do something iconic like the Cowboys Stadium for the events center, it becomes more of a conversation piece instead of a puzzle piece,” he said. “If it fits better down into the campus, you’ll get a more dynamic audience.” Trubey’s lecture focused primarily on the Cowboys Stadium. He said it’s architect continues on page 3
The Shorthorn staff
The MyMav system is still experiencing problems, and some students are adjusting to the navigation but like the new design. The system experienced sluggishness and outages during lunchtime Tuesday, said Michael Corwin, technology services assistant vice president. Oracle, MyMav’s vendor, provided a patch that should fix these issues, he said. “We don’t expect there to be any more problems with the system,” Corwin said. “We should be at full functionality by the end of the week.” The system displayed an incorrect message Monday morning, telling 3,600 students they had academic advising holds. The problem was fixed by noon. Business freshman Andrew Stribling said he loved the old MyMav and finds the new one difficult to navigate. “It looked great, but when you went to look for something like your grades there was a pop-up screen asking you for information,” Stribling said. “You really had to be persistent if you wanted to find things.” The pop-up is a system prompt, now appearing once a year, asking students to update their emergency contact information before they’re allowed to access the student center. “The university has had problems maintaining current contact information for many of its students,” university spokeswoman Kristin Sullivan said. “If a student gets sick or is in an accident, it’s important we know who to contact.” Students who made it past the information prompt found that the functions for browsing and class search have been combined. “Image-wise, it’s very modern, but it’s really hard to browse for classes,” broadcasting senior Ben Davis said. “You used to be able to look at the whole catalogue at once, under the new system you can just search each subject.” Aerospace engineering sophomore Leo Galvez is optimistic about the new system. “Right now I prefer the old one because that’s what I’m used to,” Galvez said. “But I’m sure in the long run this one’s going to be better.” aNDrea sIlvers news-editor.shorthorn@uta.edu
The Shorthorn: Rasy Ran
Matthew taylor buckles up his daughter Natalee in a trailer before heading to class outside their home in Arlington. His bicycle is his only transportation.
Daddy’s girl
A
lmost every morning, Natalee Taylor dresses like a princess to start her day. Tears streak across the 4-yearold’s face as coughs interrupt her yells as her dad changes her into
school clothing to go to the Young Women’s Christian Association child development center in Arlington. Psychology freshman Matthew Taylor started attending the uni-
versity after gaining custody of his daughter, Natalee, on June 12. He travels by bicycle with Natalee in an attached trailer. He plans his fatherhOOd continues on page 6
FaCIlItIes
Student gets dedicated lifetime parking Maverick Parking Garage awards time parking space at 10 a.m. today. said the space is the greatNatalie Ellis for her research work est Ellis gift she has ever received and she for innocent men’s exoneration. jumped with joy when she was told. By alI amIr mustaNsIr The Shorthorn senior staff
The sign on criminal justice junior Natalie Ellis’s new permanent parking space says “N.E. (HERO).” Ellis was the UT Arlington Innocence Network researcher behind Friday’s exoneration of Claude Alvin Simmons, Jr., 54, and Christopher Shun Scott, 39. In recognition, the Maverick Parking Garage will award her a life-
She said she is surprised by the way people keep thanking her for her work. She said she was only doing what she believed was right. “I guess when you do something like this you don’t realize how many people it affects,” Ellis said. Rusty Franklyn, Maverick Parking Garage manager, said she found out about Ellis through all of the local news sources and was impressed. She said Ellis worked selflessly to exonerate two
men who were wrongfully imprisoned. “This is such a thing that makes you cheer for humanity,” Franklin said. Franklin said she is the one who decided to give Ellis the spot. She said Ellis is a hero and deserves whatever would make her life easier. This is how she can honor Ellis for going out of her way to help others. “We wish there were more people like Natalie in the world, and I am sure those two guys [Simmons and Scott] do too,” Franklin said. Franklin said she can’t imagine parking continues on page 3
stuDeNt aCtIvItIes
performer cancels for final One Mic Stand of the year
The Shorthorn: Stephanie Goddard
a leg up oN the CompetItIoN civil engineering sophomore abdul nsengimana practices indoor soccer before refereeing a game Tuesday evening in the Maverick Activities Center.
Comedian and actress RETTA has canceled her appearance for the last episode of EXCEL Campus Activities’ One Mic Stand series on Nov. 3. Student Activities director P.K. Kelly said EXCEL decided One Mic Stand will not take place on Nov. 3 due to the time constraint of finding last-minute replacements before next week. “RETTA canceled in the afternoon on the 26th and we didn’t have
enough time to contact and advertise another performer,” he said. RETTA, also known as Retta Sirleaf, recently started a college tour with her act but can’t perform at the university due to a scheduling conflict with the television series, “Parks and Recreation” on NBC, in which she is a cast member, Kelly said in an e-mail. While RETTA’s cancelation brings One Mic Stand’s inaugural year to an end, said Angie Mack, EXCEL Cam-
pus Traditions director, they would rather have the series end on a high point from Darren Carter and Paul Varghese. “We looked into replacing her,” Mack said. “But the ones we looked at weren’t as funny and we want to bring a great quality to our events.” One Mic Stand replaced the monthly concert series, Friday Night Live, this semester and Kelly said the response was great and hopes a spring series will be proposed.
– Andrew Plock