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Monday January 31, 2011
Volume 92, No. 68 www.theshorthorn.com
Since 1919
Keep the DREAM alive
One up, one down
Student activists push for change as anti-immigration bills pop up in the Texas House, columnist says. OPINION | PAGE 5
Men’s basketball team beats Texas State at home, while the women’s team loses to them on the road. SPORTS | PAGE 3
TEAM “STOP SIX” WINS PRE-SEASON TOURNAMENT
ENGINEERING
Alumnus still on hunt for invention’s patent Michael Vickers applied for a patent for his design four and a half years ago.
INVENTIONS CREATED BY THE UTA COMMUNITY
The Shorthorn: Allyson Kaler
Two teams battle for possession Thursday during the Intramural Pre-Season Basketball Tournament at the Maverick Activities Center. Stop Six stopped all opposition in Thursday’s preseason basketball tournament. With good camaraderie, and a relentless drive, Stop Six never backed down, even for a minute, to earn a 54-42 championship victory over Sig-Ep Fundamentals to win the tournament. The final buzzer brought excitement, and championship T-shirts were presented.
ONLINE See video of the tournament and read more of the story at theshorthorn.com
GOVERNMENT
Bill moves on without college ID Accepted voter IDs will exclude student identification cards.
UNDER THE BILL Five forms of identification would be accepted, though student ID cards are not one of them. Acceptable forms of ID: • driver’s license • state ID card • military ID • concealed handgun license • passport
BY J.C. DERRICK The Shorthorn senior staff
A voter identification bill has sailed through the Texas State Senate, but student ID cards were left behind. Last week the Senate voted along party lines, 19 Republicans to 11 Democrats, to pass SB 14 and put Texas on its way to having one of the toughest election laws in the country. Although five forms of identification were approved, an amendment to add college and university student ID cards was not. Currently, only a voter registration card is needed to vote. The bill calls for voters to present a certain form of ID. Sen. Troy Fraser, RHorseshoe Bay, said the decision to not allow student ID cards was because of a lack of control. “We have a hundred
different institutions in Texas that are government institutions, so you could potentially have a hundred different ID cards,” said Fraser, who authored the bill. “Because poll workers could get confused, there is a lot of room for abuse or fraud.” Five forms of identification were approved with the bill, including a driver’s license, state ID card, military ID, concealed handgun license and passport. Fraser, a former UTA student, said he does not believe the VOTER continues on page 6
BY JOHN HARDEN The Shorthorn senior staff
Alumnus Michael Vickers is in a race that started four and a half years ago and right now, he’s unsure if he’s first. The computer science graduate applied for a patent for technology he designed to improve and expand on existing hands-free technology found in mobile devices, such as cell phones and watches. “Take an automated system where you have to press one for the first option. This is what we wanted to avoid,” he said. “Ever seen ‘Star Trek’? There you go.” Despite taking thorough care to ensure success, Vickers is still waiting for his patent’s approval. Natalia Toth, Office of Technology Management assistant director, said all inventions usually go through a rigorous approval process, and there is never really ONLINE a guarantee What do that, even if you think about UTA applies UTA’s involvefor a patent, ment in the it would be patent race? Comment on granted. B r i g i d this story at Quinn, U.S. theshorthorn. Patent Office com and let us spokeswom- know. an, said some patents take at least two years and others can take up to eight. “It really depends on how technical the invention is,” she said. “Inventions that set out to improve on an existing technology usually take the longest, because we have to make sure that there’s a significant difference in the technology.” Quinn said applying for a patent is a race against other inventors. The inventor who gets his or her invention approved first gets his or her name on the technology, she said. UTA holds many patents for several technologies, with some already used in many products. The predictive texting feature found on many cell phones was created by electrical engineering professor George Kondraske. When a member of the university develops an idea that has potential, the university offers protection by submitting a patent request, Provost Donald Bobbitt said.
CHARACTER PATTERN RECOGNITION AND COMMUNICATIONS APPARATUS (T9)
LOCATION AND TRACKING SYSTEM USING WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY
Filed Sept. 6, 1985 Approved June 16, 1987 U.S. Patent No. 4,674,112
Filed Jan. 19, 2006 Approved Sept. 22, 2009 U.S. Patent No. 7,592,909
Predictive text is a feature commonly used on cell phones. The feature allows users to type words by a single or multiple keypress for each letter. It combines the groups of letters on each phone key with a fast-access dictionary of words. It looks up in the dictionary all words corresponding to the sequence of key presses and orders them by frequency of use.
It’s a tracking system for locating one or more objects in a given area. The present invention relates to orienting and tracking one or more objects, particularly objects equipped with devices using wireless network technology. Establishments would benefit if they could locate items and personnel in their organization, regardless of where they were positioned.
The Shorthorn: Thea Blesener
PIEZOELECTRIC ENERGY HARVESTER Filled March 27, 2008 Approved Jan. 19, 2010 U.S. Patent No. 7,649,305 A technology used for capturing energy created by motion and converting it to electrical energy for use in providing emergency power to mobile, battery-powered devices. Promising applications for harvesting wasted energy include “active” sports equipment such as tennis racquets. Other applications that have been suggested include the use of aircraft engine vibrations, airflow over wings and vibrations induced by driving on a road.
HIGH PERFORMANCE LUBRICANTS AND LUBRICANT ADDITIVES FOR CRANKCASE OILS, GREASES, GEAR OILS AND TRANSMISSION OILS Filed Oct. 11, 2007 Approved July 13, 2010 U.S. Patent No. 7,754,662 High performance lubricant additives may enhance the desirable effects of oils and provide additional anti-wear protection for vehicles and other machinery that use oils. The invention is designed to reduce corrosion, friction and emissions caused by oils.
PATENTS continues on page 7
FACULTY/STAFF
LIBRARIES
Blogger battles for Miami trip
New exhibit shows realities of war
Roxanne Buil will compete against three others from across the country. BY STEPHANIE KNEFEL The Shorthorn staff
Roxanne Buil, women’s studies program administrative assistant, is in the cooking contest of a lifetime. Because of Buil’s predominantly Cuban cooking blog “The Yuca Diaries,” she has been invited to compete for a chance to be featured on the Food Network Hispanic cooking show, “Simply Delicioso.” The show is hosted by Ingrid Hoffmann in Miami. If Buil wins, she gets a
chance to reunite with her loved ones in her hometown of Miami. “I would get to see my family and friends,” she said. “If I win, I’m throwing a huge shindig. In fact, I have the backing of the Miami Police Department. One of the captains said to me, ‘Listen, we will back you up, but if you win, you better cook for the police department.’” Buil has had a passion for cooking since grade school. She grew up watching her mother and grandmother cook and quickly caught on. Because of her fascinaYUCA continues on page 8
Photos display Second Battle of Fallujah in Iraq War.
Joel Chaverri, social work graduate student.
BY TAYLOR BELL The Shorthorn staff
Courtesy: Roxanne Buil
Roxanne Buil, women’s studies program administrative assistant, could compete on a Food Network Hispanic cooking show.
From blindfolded insurgents incarcerated between loops of barbed-wire fence, to dirt-faced soldiers carrying their fallen comrades across hostile streets, a new student exhibit aims to capture the power, emotion and spirit behind the Iraq War. The exhibit, Exposure: Photos from the Second
Battle of Fallujah, opens today in the Central Library sixth floor. Marine photojournalist Joel Chaverri, social work graduate student and Iraq veteran, took all of the photos that are FALLUJAH continues on page 4