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u n i v e r s i T y
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T e x a s
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a r l i n g T o n
Wednesday september 29, 2010
volume 92, no. 20 www.theshorthorn.com
since 1919
Assault on UT-Austin campus Austin and community respond to UT-Austin student Colton Tooley’s shooting incident on the campus. By NoLaN hickS The Daily Texan
The Daily Texan: Tamir Kalifa
austin police prepare to enter Calhoun Hall on the south mall of the UT-Austin campus. A gunman opened fire inside the Perry-Castañeda Library, then fatally shot himself. Police searched for a possible second suspect, but they determined there wasn’t one.
AUSTIN — The UT-Austin campus was on lockdown for about four hours Tuesday after a shooting incident that ended when the gunman, armed with an AK-47 assault rifle, took his own life after unleashing a barrage of bullets and being cornered by police on the Perry-Casteñeda Library sixth floor. Officials said no other students were injured during the shooting, but a couple of students were mildly hurt during the evacuation process. Campus administrators identified the gunman as UT-Austin mathematics sophomore Colton Tooley. Law enforcement agencies, including the Austin Police Department, UT-Austin police, the Department of Public Safety and the Austin Independent School District Police Department, responded to the shooting and its aftermath. “I am grateful to our campus community for the way it responded to the emergency that took place at the Perry-Castañeda Library,” UT-Austin President Bill Powers said. “I extend my sympathy to the family, friends and classmates of the young student who took his life.” The lockdown was lifted at 12:15 p.m. The university was then closed to all non-essential personnel for the remainder of Tuesday. UT-Austin shuttle bus routes ran, but only the outbound direction so students and staff could get home, UT-Austin police spokeswoman Rhonda Weldon said. Scott Parks, UT-Austin Student Government president, said the shooting incident was a scary moment for everyone. shooting continues on page 5
Safety
UTA prepared for campus-wide emergencies Police training and the Mav Alert system would be two keys to on-campus safety. By Sarah Lutz The Shorthorn senior staff
UTA has a specific protocol for emergency events, like when a student stepped onto the UT-Austin campus Tuesday with an AK-47 as-
sault rifle. In Austin, a UT student brought an automatic rifle onto campus and ended up shooting and killing himself after briefly firing rounds at no apparent targets. No faculty or students were injured during the scare, but such incidents are a good reminder for staff and students at UTA to update their Mav Alert accounts, university spokeswoman Kristin
Sullivan said. In the event of an emergency, the first thing would be to assess if it was a life-threatening situation, Sullivan said. She said the emergency management plan spells out multiple methods for contacting and alerting the campus. Assistant Police Chief Rick Gomez said it would not take long for the university police to contact
faculty, staff and students. “It would just be a matter of as soon as we were able to confirm a situation like that, our dispatch has the capability of making those announcements,” he said. Gomez said campus police have received active shooter training, which deals with how to respond to a person carrying a firearm. He said police would respond to stop the
threat immediately, but also contact Arlington police if more assistance or SWAT assistance were necessary. “We, the university police department, have a mutual aid agreement with the Arlington Police Department,” he said. “In a situation like this, it would just take a phone call to their dispatch and they would be emergency continues on page 5
reSearch
uNiverSity eveNtS
Study: Men care less about looks in online dating
Bed Races celebrates 30th birthday with ’80s style
Sharie Vance interviewed 51 people about their thoughts on attractiveness on the web. By racheL SNyder The Shorthorn staff
Interdisciplinary studies senior Sharie Vance found that physical attraction appears to be more important to women than men when it comes to online dating. According to Vance’s study, traditional dating differs from online dating because online dating doesn’t allow for traditional flirting and courtship, which could contribute to her finding that women are more likely to judge based on the photo. Honesty can also be a factor in online dating. Vance did research on online dating and physical attraction for McNair Scholars during the summer, a program that helps prepare students for graduate school through a research project among other things. She said she chose the interpersonal attractiveness in online dating topic for research due to her interest in it as it relates to sociology. She said she had subjects look at fictitious profiles from ads on various online dating sites and rate them for attractiveness based on their photos and written descriptions. Vance used 51 participants for her study and each participant re-
ceived five of 10 fictional profiles to rate. 54.2 percent of men and 22 percent of women replied “yes” after seeing a photo, which means they would date the person in the photo. “I wanted to see if the first written impression was stronger than the photo,” Vance said. The study also investigated the extent to which the subject’s self confidence affects who the subject chose to date. She found that people who perceive themselves to be attractive typically chose partners who are also perceived to be attractive. Vance was surprised to find that women appeared to be more selective based on looks than men because it wasn’t the typical finding in past studies. Vance was a McNair Scholarship award recipient from Friends of the Library, a group of anyone interested in helping the library grow. The scholarship judges projects based on their findings and means of research. Linda Rouse, sociology and anthropology associate professor, was Vance’s faculty mentor for the project. Rouse said Vance’s research is part of a line of study in social psychology that deals with the importance of attraction when choosing partners. She said Vance’s presentation was lively, interesting and thought out. dating continues on page 3
Grab your parachute pants, high tops and head for the stadium. By tayLor cammack The Shorthorn staff
Strap on a helmet and cling to the sheets. The 30th anniversary of Bed Races is coming up fast. The races, hosted by EXCEL Campus Activities and Campus Recreation, will take place at 7 p.m. Oct. 7 in Maverick Stadium. A bed racing team is comprised of five members. Four people push a bed on wheels, while the fifth File Photo: Andrew Buckley member rides. Two teams race a team Beta theta Pi streaks down the field during its first run at Bed Races in Febdistance of 50 yards with the faster ruary at Maverick Stadium. Beta Theta Pi won second place in the men’s division. team advancing in the tournament. Women, men and co-ed teams
regiStratioN The registration cost for the event is $40 per team. The $40 registration fee is waived for students living in an on-campus apartment or residence hall who sign up through their apartment or hall. Registration for the event ends Oct. 5. Late registrations will be accepted the following day with a $10 late fee. Team registration forms can be found at http://www.uta.edu/studentaffairs/stuact/excel/, and they can either be submitted online or printed and turned into the EXCEL offices in the University Center lower level. races continues on page 3
File Photo: Andrew Buckley
then-political science junior aaron smith holds on tight as Team Sigma Chi speeds down the field during the 29th Annual Bed Races Feb. 3 at Maverick Stadium. Team Sigma Chi won third place in the men’s division, but were not present to accept the award at the end.