T H E
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T E X A S
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Monday March 21, 2011
Volume 92, No. 90 www.theshorthorn.com
Since 1919
Guns won’t help Lawmakers should listen to experts who oppose concealed carry, Virginia Tech alumnus says. OPINION | PAGE 5
Busy break
UTA Athletics had a productive week in baseball, softball, tennis, track and wheelchair basketball.
STUDENT LIFE
SPORTS | PAGE 4
STUDENT LIFE
Springfest, Block Party join forces Events are combined to increase turnout, save money, says official. BY MELANIE GRUBEN The Shorthorn staff
The Shorthorn: Andrew Buckley
Members of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity man the scaffolding Sunday night outside of the Central Library where fraternity members will be staying 24 hours a day for the rest of the week while raising money for Push America.
Staying out for a cause
In a newly combined effort, students can ease prefinal stress with free food, games and live music in the Block Party featuring Springfest. In past years, the Block Party and Springfest were two separate events held by the Residence Hall Association and University Events. However this year, to save money and increase turnout, the two events will be combined and held on April 21, with the Block Party from 6 to 8 p.m. and Springfest
ABOUT THE EVENTS Block Party 6-8 p.m. April 21 Past events have featured music, food, inflatable games and other activities. Springfest: 8-10 p.m. April 21 Will feature live music, including the winner of Friday’s Battle of the Bands competition and possibly rock band We The Kings.
from 8 to 10 p.m. “With two events, it makes it harder for students to focus on finals,” Joe Watkins, Residence Hall Association adviser said. He said that by combinPARTY continues on page 6
TEXAS
The Shorthorn: Andrew Buckley
Biology sophomore Marquise Jones donates money to Push America on Sunday night on the Central Library mall. Jones said he was interested in the philanthropic event after volunteering his time to bowl with kids at Green Oaks School and seeing how much it meant to them.
Calls for donations will be heard 24/7 this week outside of the Central Library as fraternity members brave the great outdoors for charity. Pi Kappa Phi fraternity members will be taking shifts all week to raise money for people with disabilities as part of its Push America philanthropy project. Zach Sutton, interdisciplinary studies junior and chapter president, said the goal for this semester is to raise $1,500. Last year, Pi Kappa Phi raised approxi-
mately $13,000 through their various philanthropy events. “It’s not just us asking for money, we all donate as well,” he said. Sutton said the fundraising is for a great cause and he wants the community to see the bigger meaning. “Our sacrifice for a week pales in comparison to what people with disabilities go through,” he said.
— Andrew Buckley
Legislation, issues don’t rest during spring break A House committee votes 5-3 to send a concealed carry bill to the floor. BY J.C. DERRICK The Shorthorn senior staff
As students took time off to relax before the final eight weeks of the semester, news continued to break on several fronts. Here are a few stories of interest to UTA:
UTA Budget Cuts • March 11 - President James Spaniolo told The Shorthorn he does not expect UTA to see any additional budget cuts in the current fiscal year.
“I don’t anticipate that we’re going to have to make any further reductions in our expenses for this fiscal year, but sometimes these reductions in state revenue are announced without much notice,” he said. The latest cut came last December when all state agencies were directed to cut 2.5 percent from the fiscal 2011 budget. Spaniolo said the focus is on how legislators will appropriate funds for the 2012-2013 biennium. “There’s so much uncertainty because of the daunting revenue shortfall,” he RECAP continues on page 6
SOCIAL WORK
GREEK LIFE
Youth to receive counseling from School of Social Work
Family, friends mourn students’ deaths
The entire immediate family will be involved in treatments. BY EDNA HORTON The Shorthorn staff
Families with atrisk youths will receive court ordered counseling through a new community service program offered by the School of Social Work. The Youth Offender Diversion Alternative, YODA program, will offer counseling for offenders ages 16 to 24 who have committed acts of violence against their immediate families. The cases will come from a Criminal County Court docket out of Tarrant County.
Social Work professor Catheleen Jordan said there was no other program in place for offenders of this specific crime. “Before this, they were just thrown in jail with hardened criminals or assigned to anger management programs,” she said. Jordan said the team will include a treatment specialist and a doctoral and masters student from the School of Social Work, who will counsel the youths and their families in UTA’s Community Service Center. Blaine Moore, Fort Worth Brief Therapy Center cofounder, is the treatment therapist who will work with the program.
Moore said 15 families are currently being referred to the program. The cases will begin on the court dockets next week and referrals and counseling will begin in the next few weeks. He said he will provide training to the students who will manage the clients’ cases. He said the courts will set up a docket specifically for YODA, which are cases where the offenders have committed domestic violence against immediate family members not including intimate partners. Moore said the court will rule for offenders to receive six to nine months YODA continues on page 8
250 people congregated at a memorial to remember the lives of Tadesse, Reyes.
Relatives of Tegene Tadesse come together during a candelight vigil March 11 outside of the Pi Kappa Phi house. Close friends and relatives had the opportunity to share their memories and stories about Mateo Reyes and Tegene Tadesse during the vigil.
BY JOHN HARDEN The Shorthorn Senior staff
After sunset the Friday before spring break, fraternity and sorority members began to trickle out of their respective houses to attend a candlelight vigil for two fraternity members who had died. Flags on Greek Row flew at half-mast for Tegene Tadesse, 22, and Mateo Reyes, 22, who both died in a single-car accident the morning of March 9. The two students died when the Lexus they were in crashed on the westbound side of Interstate 30 near Davis Street. The students died immediately after impact when they received fatal injuries to their spines, according to the medical examiner’s report. MEMORIAL continues on page 8
The Shorthorn: Allyson Kaler