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Thursday March 3, 2011
Volume 92, No. 85 www.theshorthorn.com
Since 1919
One win to get in
Body of work
Shalyn Martin scores 24 in Mavericks’ 77-73 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, putting their SLC destiny in their own hands. SPORTS | PAGE 6
Artists use people as canvasses at a body painting event Saturday in Dallas. PULSE | SECTION B TEXAS LEGISLATURE
TAKIN’ A STROLL
Fiscal 2011 cuts hit department budgets I’m concerned we may be in the hole, says History chair Robert Fairbanks. BY J.C. DERRICK The Shorthorn senior staff
This week university departments are being notified of an additional budget cut for fiscal 2011. “I was just shocked because I had not anticipated this,” said History Department chair Robert Fairbanks. Fairbanks said the College of Lib-
eral Arts was notified via e-mail on Wednesday of a cut for the current fiscal year, which ends Aug. 31, that would equate to about $2.4 million in total funds for UTA. He said the reductions are effective immediately. “It’s not the entire budget, just our operating budget,” Fairbanks said. “It has a nasty consequence on us. It’s taking significant money from our M and O [maintenance and operation] budget, Webb Lecture Series and Center for Greater Southwestern Studies.” The maintenance and operations
Business marketing sophomore Andre Horton and marketing sophomore Ben Ajaiti stroll with other Phi Beta Sigma members Wednesday outside Woolf Hall. Three other fraternities were present and represented their organizations by strolling.
budget includes things like copiers, paper and travel. Fairbanks said the faculty understands that the university is only responding to state-mandated reductions. University spokeswoman Kristin Sullivan said President James Spaniolo is in Austin and unavailable for comment. Provost Donald Bobbitt declined to comment on the issue. “Our president will communicate with the campus community about BUDGET continues on page 4
The Shorthorn: Aisha Butt
FACILITIES
WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL
College Park Center: a year in
Players picked for military games Three Movin’ Mavs players will play for the Army team, coach Doug Garner will coach. BY CHARLIE VANN The Shorthorn staff
The Shorthorn: Andrew Buckley
The College Park Center is about 30 percent complete and is on schedule to finish in December, said Bill Amendola, UT System senior project manager. Finishing touches, such as the removable wooden floor of the basketball court, will be installed in approximately October.
Exterior of the facility is set to finish by June, completion’s set for December. BY VIDWAN RAGHAVAN The Shorthorn staff
The skeleton to hold the College Park Center is ready, and the body will be built by December. The center, a venue to hold special events like commencements, basketball games and concerts, is 30 percent complete. The rest is scheduled to finish at a rate of 7 percent a month, said Bill Amendola, UT System senior project manager. The concrete frame for the center is
almost complete and the exterior should be finished by June, he said. Saturday marks one year since groundbreaking for the Special Events Center, since renamed the College Park Center. Undeclared freshman Taylor Hay said he is impressed by the speed of the construction. “I seriously remember when it was a pile of dirt,” the Arlington Hall resident said. “Now, not even a year later, it’s this big structure. And it’s growing every day. It’s just crazy.” The basic outlines of amenities like bathrooms and offices are set, Amendola said during a tour of the center’s conCENTER continues on page 4
Courtesy: UTA/HKS Architects
When completed, the College Park Center should resemble the rendering.
ONLINE See video of the construction site at theshorthorn.com.
ALUMNI
Alumnus helps celebrate Six Flags’ 50th Steven Martindale recalls his rise to president of the park and his life. BY JOEL COOLEY The Shorthorn staff
Six Flags Over Texas’ gates will open Saturday for its 50th anniversary, and a part of that history came
from UTA. Steve Martindale, Six Flags Over Texas president, began working at the park in 1973 when he was a sophomore in high school. After high school, Martindale graduated from UTA with a bachelor’s in business administration. He said he could apply something he learned at UTA to his job at Six Flags almost every day.
Martindale worked a good part of his youth before being promoted to supervisor. “The day I became a supervisor was my most memorable day,” he said. “That was the day I learned to tie a tie.” Martindale met his wife, Paula, at the park in the summer of 1977. The couple met at the canteen, a place
where workers get food and drinks after their shifts. After being shot down once, he built up the courage and asked her out to dinner again. She said yes. Martindale received a promotion to president of Six Flags Atlantis in Miami after six years of working at the Arlington park. He and his wife married a day before moving to Flor-
Movin’ Mavs coach Doug Garner and three Movin’ Mavs players have been selected to represent UTA at the 2011 Army Warrior Transition Games in May. Blake McMinn, Juan Soto and Anthony Pone have been invited to participate as members of the U.S. Army team during the tournament held at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. “To me, it’s really an opportunity for me and the university to give back to the soldiers,” Garner said. Garner was approached to coach the Army Warrior Transition Unit National team last fall after a fourday tryout held at UTA. McMinn, Pone and Soto were three out of four collegiate players picked to play for the team, Garner said. “I feel honored to be able to represent the Army at the games,” McMinn said. McMinn served with the 101st Airborne Division from Fort Campbell, Ky. from 2006 to 2008. This will be the second year for the Warrior Transition Unit Games comprising the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard. The games are put together with cooperation between the Department of Defense and U.S. Paralympics to help injured service veterans transition back into regular life through participation in sports and recreation. The warrior games also offer other events for wounded veterans to compete in, like swimming, track TEAM continues on page 5
Steve Martindale, Six Flags Over Texas president and UTA alumnus began working at Six Flags in 1973.
ida. “It was the first step on a long journey back to Texas,” he said. Paula Martindale recalls what it was like to meet Steve for the first MARTINDALE continues on page 4