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
Monday April 25, 2011
Volume 92, No. 109 www.theshorthorn.com
Since 1919
Love of the Game
State attacks women’s rights
Graduate student Rick Eiland hits home runs in class, on intramural softball team. SPORTS | PAGE 3
Letter: If passed, bill before lawmakers would wrongly force women considering abortions to have sonograms. OPINION | PAGE 5
CRIME
Student suspected in murder The Arlington Police Department is investigating a murder-suicide of a UTA mental health counselor’s hus-
RENOVATIONS
Sullivan said university records have an Antonio Garcia, born Nov. 29, 1988, who transferred to UTA from Dallas County Community College in fall 2009. Garcia was a business senior. McIntosh was an executive at Belo Corp., the parent company to media organizations like WFAA and Texas
Randol Mill Road
Site of shooting
Cooper Street
Texas, the husband of a university counselor, picked up his 3-year-old daughter and shortly after he left, they heard gunshots. After finding McIntosh, and Antonio Garcia, 22, Arlington, dead they retrieved the girl who was not injured and brought her back in the building with them. University spokeswoman Kristin
Davis Drive
BY MONICA S. NAGY The Shorthorn news editor
band and a student. Police were dispatched to Country Day School Montessori in Arlington, located at 1105 W. Randol Mill Road, at about 5:45 p.m. Friday,after receiving a call from employees who saw two men dead on the parking lot outside the building. The school’s employees reported that Steve McIntosh, 42, Colleyville,
Fielder Road
Police say student shot Steve McIntosh, self outside Country Day School Montessori on Friday.
N
Division Street
Abram Street UTA
SHOOTING continues on page 8
The Shorthorn: Marissa Hall
STUDENT LIFE
Central Library revamp scheduled The second floor renovations include more electrical panels and new, modern furniture. BY JOEL COOLEY The Shorthorn staff
The Office of Facilities Management will start renovating the Central Library second floor to upgrade the existing electrical systems and aesthetics of the library at the beginning of the summer intersession. The scheduled maintenance will take place from May 16 to Aug. 12, and will block off the entire second floor. The renovation will replace existing light fixtures, ceiling tiles, sprinkler heads, carpet and re-paint the walls. During the past few summers, the library has been renovating the library one floor at a time. The renovations have cost about $500,000 per floor. The approximate price of renovating the second floor is $700,000. The office also plans on replacing the second floor’s electrical panels so LIBRARY continues on page 8
ENGINEERING
Candidate seeks focus, specialized programs Generating funds for engineering will help bring in faculty and highquality students, candidate says. BY JOHN HARDEN The Shorthorn senior staff
Generating financial support from outside sources, such as alumni and local corporations, is UTA’s biggest obstacle preventing it from reaching Tier One, the third engineering dean candidate said Thursday. Theodore Bergman’s, University of Connecticut mechanical engineering professor, message echoed the first two dean can- Theodore Bergman, didates who spoke University of Conearlier this month. necticut mechaniEach candidate said cal engineering receiving funding professor from sources other than the state during budget cuts is a challenge. Bergman is one of four engineering dean candidates, one of whom will replace Engineering Dean Bill Carroll after he steps down this FORUM continues on page 6
The Shorthorn: Aisha Butt
Travis Clark, We The Kings lead vocalist and guitarist, performed “Skyway Avenue” during Springfest on the University Center mall Thursday. At the end of We The Kings’ performance, the band members threw out the guitar picks and drumsticks they performed with.
Students dance, shout, play at Springfest, Block Party University Events director says he estimates 1,200 to 1,500 students attended.
Block Party helps students block out the tension of upcoming final exams.
BY BIANCA MONTES
BY VALLARI GUPTE
The Shorthorn senior staff
The Shorthorn staff
From the moment We the Kings lead singer, Travis Clack, screamed into his microphone, “Texas, are you ready to party?” students were jumping, screaming, singing and even fist pumping along to every song played. EXCEL Campus Activities treated students to the free concert on the University Center mall for Springfest, an annual concert on campus to kick off the end of the semester, Thursday night. Information systems senior Vijetha Bobba said she had no idea what Springfest was or that there would be a concert on campus. “I didn’t even know about it
Accounting freshman Tyler Peschka seized the opportunity to show his UTA pride by making a blue wax hand model of the Maverick sign. Students made different colored and shaped wax hand models at the Block Party, an annual event where students play games and unwind before finals, on the University Center mall Thursday. The event happens before Springfest, a decade-long tradition where live bands perform on campus. The events are a combined effort by EXCEL and the Residence Hall Association. “I want to show my Maverick pride,” Peschka said. Students listened to music,
SPRINGFEST continues on page 3
The Shorthorn: Sandy Kurtzman
Business management sophomore Alyssa Grooms throws a pie at kinesiology freshman Jessica Liu at the 14th annual Block Party Thursday.
MORE COVERAGE • To see photos from the event and to submit your own, visit theshorthorn.com. • Hear the bands and see them in a video at theshorthorn.com. • For more photos and upcoming concerts by the Springfest bands, see page 3.
PARTY continues on page 3
LEGISLATURE
Texas Senate committee approves 2-year budget plan The plan taps into the Rainy Day Fund and makes less cuts than the House version. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUSTIN — A Texas Senate committee on Thursday approved
the use of $3 billion from the state’s Rainy Day Fund to help bring into balance the $176 billion state budget proposal for the next two years. In all funds, the Senate plan would still make about $11 billion in cuts, compared to the current budget. But the cuts are much
less severe than those in the barebones House version. Bracing for a fight, Republican Sen. Steve Ogden said he’s prepared to defend the legislation to get it to the governor’s desk. “This bill keeps Texas government functioning and essential services available to Texans with-
out doing harm to the private sector,” he said, shortly after the bill was approved. “It doesn’t generously meet the essential needs of Texas, but I think it’s adequate and I think in these circumstances adequate is a pretty big deal.” SENATE continues on page 8