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Daily Toreador The

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 28, 2015 VOLUME 89 ■ ISSUE 65

Open carry not top priority for Senate

AUSTIN (AP) — After pledging in his campaign to fight for open carry of handguns in Texas, Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick now says it’s not a priority and doesn’t have the votes to pass.

The issue seemed to be gaining strong momentum for the 2015 session with support from Gov. Greg Abbott, Patrick and other top Republicans who swept into office in November. But Patrick doused the hopes of gun rights advocates with his remarks Tuesday at a forum hosted by the Texas Tribune.

Patrick, who has supported expanding gun rights in previous votes as a state senator, said “open carry doesn’t reach the level” of the Republican-dominated chamber’s other priorities, such as the state budget and public education.

Texas hasn’t allowed open carry of handguns since immediately after the Civil War. Several bills had been filed this session to allow open carry, ranging from requiring a license to letting anyone carry a handgun in public, also known as “constitutional carry.” While most have been filed in the House, at least two have been filed in the Senate.

Patrick’s campaign website, which is still online, notes he will “fight for open carry.”

Texas court issues reprieve for inmate HUNTSVILLE (AP) — Texas’ top criminal court called off Wednesday’s scheduled execution of a death row inmate linked to five killings in Houston, though attorneys said the court didn’t immediately explain its decision.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals issued a reprieve Tuesday afternoon to inmate Garcia White, 51, who was sentenced to death after being convicted of fatally stabbing twin 16-year-old girls at a Houston apartment where their mother also was killed. White also was tied to the deaths of a grocery store owner and a prostitute.

Another inmate is scheduled for execution Thursday for a separate crime in the nation’s busiest death-penalty state.

A copy of the court’s order was not immediately available Tuesday. It was not immediately clear whether the court would schedule a hearing on White’s appeal or send it back to a lower court.

In their appeal, White’s attorneys argued he may have been mentally impaired because of longtime cocaine use when he waived his right to an attorney during interrogations and that the courts should take that into consideration. They also said DNA evidence suggests a second person may have been involved in the triple slaying and that previously unknown factor may have affected the strategy of White’s defense team.

OPINIONS, Pg. 4

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Wreck ’n’ roll Teaching assistant relieves

stress through roller derby

By JENNIFER ROMERO Staff Writer

While professors are often seen as the adults who give homework and grade tests during the day, they often have hobbies separate from their jobs.

Leila Forouhi, a teaching assistant in the College of Media and Communication, said outside of her job at Texas Tech she is a member of the West Texas Roller Dollz with the derby name “Ghost Ride Her.” “I always liked roller skating,” she said.

“I came to practice and I liked it. I wanted to be on a team for an all-women’s sport, so that was really attractive to me.”

The West Texas Roller Dollz started competing in October 2007, according to the team’s website, and it is a member of the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association.

The team practices from 6 to 8 p.m. every Tuesday and Thursday at the Skate Ranch, and a training committee plans what the team will work on in practice.

“During our practices we practice endurance, we practice footwork skills and strategies,” Forouhi said. “So we do individual, we do pairs and we do group work.”

The team also requires its players to have one off-skate practice a week, and this allows them to be quicker when they are on roller skates.

Allison Terry, a junior electronic media and communications major from Lubbock with the derby name “Ricochet,” said she joined the team after the former captain saw her skating as a carhop at Sonic.

“I love the diversity of the sport be-

cause it’s not something cookie cutter,” she said. “We have all races and it’s all ages. It’s a big melting pot, and everyone gets to know each other very well.”

Both Forouhi and Terry are usually blockers, but sometimes they will play the position of jammer.

In roller derby, the jammer moves through a pack of blockers and on her second pass earns a point for her team when she passes a blocker from the opposing team before the two-minute jam ends.

“I like blocking because I like the teamwork of it,” Terry said. “You and your other blockers are forming a strategy to prevent the other jammer from getting through the pack while also getting your jammer through the pack. There’s a lot of higher-level strategy involved in that and teamwork.”

The West Texas Roller Dollz will start their 2015 season on March 28 with their first home bout.

There are approximately 15 girls on the team, and anyone is welcome to attend a practice and join the team.

“You should just give it a try because you don’t know if it’s for you or not,” Terry said. “You’d be surprised because there’s a lot of stereotypes about it, but it’s not like that. It’s a sport, there are rules.”

The season lasts until November, and the team will travel to Colorado in May to participate in the Mayday Mayhem tournament and compete against upper level teams.

PHOTOS BY JACOB SNOWThe Daily Toreador

ROLLER DERBY continued on Page 5 ➤➤

MEMBERS OF WEST Texas Roller Dollz participate in practice on Tuesday in the Skate Ranch.

Missing Tech student reunites with family Formerly missing Texas Tech student Gordon Fang-Wong has been reunited with his family after his father traveled to California to find him.

Hon Wong, father of Fang-Wong, said the situation is fixed and under control, and the family has no further comment to add.

Wong said he believes his son was coerced into leaving the state by a cult.

“Just let the campus know there are predators, as far as cults go, recruiting at Tech,” Wong said.

Fang-Wong was first reported missing on Jan. 18, according to a previous article

in The Daily Toreador, after he was last seen on Tech’s campus on Jan. 17.

The Lubbock Police Department closed the missing person case on Jan. 20, according to the article. FANG-WONG “Through the in- COURTESY OF FACEBOOK vestigation, detectives learned that Mr. FangWong boarded a Greyhound bus and left the city on his own free will,” Sgt. Jason Lewis said. “After speaking with the family, we are closing the case.” ➤➤@dailytoreador

SGA considers changes to internal VP role

By JONATHAN LAUREL Staff Writer

The structure of the Texas Tech Student Government Association may change in the future after a piece of legislation was proposed during Thursday’s first meeting of the new semester.

The bill suggests changing the responsibilities of the internal vice president position, an executive position elected by the Tech student body, according to the SGA website.

If changes were made, the senate would elect the internal vice president, and the power

Staff Writer

White: Tax system in need of major reform

INDEX

EDITORIAL: 806-742-3393

SGA continued on Page 3 ➤➤

Diverse dancers bring Turkish tradition to Lubbock

By JENNIFER ROMERO

Crossword.....................3 Classifieds................5 L a Vi d a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Opinions.....................4 Sports.......................6 Sudoku.......................5

of the position would be limited to the senate leadership.

The bill did not pass on Thursday because it needs a two-thirds majority, but the senate voted 51 percent for and 49 percent against.

WALDROP However, the authors of the bill — Joseph Corcoran, Jordan Shelton, Jameson Tomlin, Loren Rayburn, Lauren Shulman and Saba Nafees — said they plan to propose a similar piece of legislation in the future.

PHOTO BY EMILY DE SANTOS/The Daily Toreador

THE WHIRLING DERVISHES of Rumi perform on Tuesday in the Allen Theatre.

The event was hosted by the Intercultural Dialogue Association.

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Texas Tech is a diverse university, and students who attend it represent a variety of cultures and backgrounds.

The Dialogue Institute of the Southwest hosted the Whirling Dervishes of Rumi at 7 p.m.

Tuesday in the Allen Theatre of the Student Union building.

Atilla Hafizoglu, the regional director of the Dialogue Institute, said the Whirling Dervishes came all the way from Turkey to perform at Tech.

“We were just happy to have the Whirling Dervishes,” he said. “We had such a good crowd. It’s not easy to be a Dervish. It takes years and years.”

The Whirling Dervishes have not performed in Lubbock in 10 years, and the traditional dance is an 800-year old tradition.

Christy Martinez-Garcia, the publisher of

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Latino Lubbock Magazine and emcee of the performance, said the magazine partnered with the Dialogue Institute to plan the event.

“Sometimes I think we get comfortable in our own environment and don’t always reach out and explore other cultures,” she said. “This is such a great opportunity. I instantly fell in love with the Whirling Dervish and how symbolic it was. We jumped on board with the other folks to make this happen.”

The performance at Tech was part of a larger tour in the Texas area, which will last through the beginning of February, and Hafizoglu said the Whirling Dervishes have already performed in San Antonio and Odessa.

Mark Webb, chairman of the Department of Philosophy, made opening remarks at the beginning of the event.

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JAN. 28, 2015

NEWS

Innocence Initiative

3

Innocence organization works to change policy Innocence Project cases look to change legislation

By KAITLIN BAIN Senior reporter

The Innocence Project of Texas was founded at Texas Tech in 2006 and has helped exonerate 49 innocent people since its founding.

Jeff Blackburn, founder and chief counsel of the project, said he founded it after working on the Tulia case.

The Tulia case, according to the American Civil Liberties Union, occurred in July 1999 in Tulia. 46 people were arrested on drug charges as a result of the testimony of one officer. In April 2003, however, 38 of the convictions were thrown out because of “questionable testimony from a single undercover agent accused of racial prejudice.”

Blackburn said his time working on the case proved to him it is not enough to get people exonerated one case at a time, but instead, to use the cases to create legislative reform.

One such case is the trial of Timothy Cole, a former Tech student who was wrongly convicted of rape and later posthumously exonerated as a result of the project’s action after his death in prison, according to the project’s website.

“Our goal is to take cases, like the Tim Cole case for example, that we can translate into bigger changes that affect a lot more people above and beyond just that one case,” he said. “If you do innocence work one case at a time, at the end of it all, you’re not going to have gotten very much done. So what we try to do is apply that lesson I learned in the Tulia case where we were able to translate what happened in that little town to fairly sweeping legal changes and change the law in two or three critical respects.”

SGA↵

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

The current internal vice president, Baleigh Waldrop, said she sees the pros and cons of making changes to the executive position.

“I like this piece of legislation because it gives the senate more control over what leadership they follow,” she said. “I think it would give the Senate an opportunity to have an identity of its own.”

Waldrop said her primary concern is that it would end unification in the executive branch and ultimately limit the power of the senate.

Jennifer Mirll, case director with the project, said as a base definition, the project is a nonprofit, legal organization that works with cases after the original conviction has been made and after appeals to get a post-conviction release from an actual innocence writ.

“First of all, we’ve always had lots of innocent people convicted in Texas,” Blackburn said. “We have a broken criminal justice system that starts poorly in the criminal process by giving people bad lawyers and ends poorly in the criminal process by seeing people get very, very long sentences.”

Mirll said the project helps the convicted by taking cases in which the accused was given a “bad lawyer” and by fighting for their innocence years after the original decision was made.

During its nearly nine years of operation, the project has influenced different types of legislation as a result of those who have been found innocent through the actions of the project.

“The most important case we’ve handled to date is the Tim Cole case, which you know came out of Lubbock county and that case led to significant changes in eyewitness identification practices in the state,” Blackburn said. “We created an advisory panel that recommended four different pieces of legislation, three of which that have gotten passed all in the name of Tim Cole. That to us is a pretty classic example of what we can get done.”

Another part of the project’s operations, Blackburn said, is the inclusion of students in the ongoing investigations.

“One of the most important things we do is create the next Shelton, historian of the Senate, said changes to the position would provide a more concrete identity to the senators.

WALSH “Unity between executive branch and the senate is good and important,” he said, “though we shouldn’t have to prove our legitimacy through the executive branch.”

Shelton said he does not believe the senate should have to rely on the executive branch for validity.

The IVP’s job is to make sure

generation of criminal justice reformers,” he said. “If they can see how things can go wrong then we can teach them how to do it right in the future. I’m pretty proud of that. I think we’re helping to create a new layer of serious reform-minded people inside the criminal justice system.”

At the forefront of student research are Tech students, he said.

While the project does have

branches all over the state, the first was started at Tech.

“Texas Tech is still the backbone of the whole project,” he said. “Students from Texas Tech have historically done the most important work that we as a project do. They’ve worked on the biggest cases and they’ve been a part of the biggest changes we’ve made to law and I think folks need to be reminded of that sometimes.” ➤➤@KaitlinBainDT

that the voices of the senators are heard, he said, and some senators feel like they are being neglected because of the IVP’s executives duty.

However, Waldrop said she thinks the position is essential for SGA to have a clear message.

Other schools in the Big 12 have changed the structure of their student governments, she said, which has resulted in a clash between the executive and legislative branches.

“They spend most of their time arguing instead of working toward progress,” Waldrop said.

Waldrop is not against changes to the structure of SGA, she said,

By KAITLIN BAIN Senior reporter

The Innocence Project of Texas takes cases to prove the innocence of those who have been convicted of felonies in the state.

The project, which originated at Texas Tech, aims to set wrongly convicted individuals free as well as influence policy.

Jeff Blackburn, founder and chief counsel of The Innocence Project, said there have always been innocent people in Texas who are convicted of crimes they did not commit.

“It’s not enough to try to change the world one case at a time,” he said. “In Texas, our problem is too big for that.

The challenge here is to use these cases as examples through which you can get real reform in but she wants to see a piece of legislation that is more of a middle ground.

Daniel Walsh, a senator for the Jerry S. Rawls College of Business Administration, said the current structure is not broken and should remain the same.

“I’m against it because I believe the current system works well,” he said, “and there is no reason for it to be changed currently.”

Waldrop is proud of the senate for debating the topic, she said.

“Even though this piece failed, the senate is stronger having considered it,” Waldrop said. “I’m excited to see where this debate goes.” ➤➤jlaurel@dailytoreador.com

Judge refuses to toss Perry case on constitutional grounds AUSTIN (AP) — A Texas judge on Tuesday refused to dismiss a felony abuse-of-power case against former Gov. Rick Perry on constitutional grounds, ruling that criminal charges against the possible 2016 presidential candidate should stand.

District Judge Bert Richardson, who like Perry is a Republican, rejected calls from Perry’s defense team to toss the case because its client was acting within his rights as chief executive of America’s second-most populous state when he publicly threatened, then carried out, a 2013 veto of state funding for public corruption prosecutors.

Richardson wrote that, “Texas law clearly precludes a trial court from making a pretrial determina-

tion regarding the constitutionality of a state penal or criminal procedural statute as the statue applies to a particular defendant.”

Perry was the longest-serving governor in Texas history. He chose not to seek re-election last year and left office Jan. 20. He is seriously considering a second run for president after his 2012 White House bid flamed out, however, and says he may announce a final decision as soon as May. Perry has spent more than $1.1 million of his campaign funds on his defense — and Richard’s ruling means it will likely continue for several more months at least.

Tony Buzbee, one of Perry’s defense attorneys, said in a statement that the former governor “acted

lawfully and properly exercised his power under the law” and that his continued prosecution “is an outrage and sets a dangerous precedent in our Democracy.”

Perry was indicted in August on charges of abuse of official power and coercion of a public servant. He is accused of publicly threatening — then making good on — the veto of $7.5 million in state funding for a public corruption division within the office of Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg. That came after Lehmberg, a Democrat whose county includes Austin, rebuffed Perry’s calls to resign following her drunken driving conviction.

Texans for Public Justice, a, Austin, left-leaning watchdog

group, raised concerns that helped spark the criminal case. The group’s executive director, Craig McDonald, released a statement Tuesday saying, “The prosecutor and a grand jury have said there’s compelling evidence against Perry. That evidence should be presented in court for all to see. The chances of that happening improved today.”

In a 60-page motion in August, Perry’s attorneys had said the law being used to prosecute him is unconstitutionally vague and decried “attempts to convert inescapably political disputes into criminal complaints.”

Richardson did rule Tuesday that one of the charges against Perry was vague, but he gave the state time to correct it.

the legislature.”

Jennifer Mirll, case director of the project, said cases are generally received directly by mail from an inmate, convicted person, trial attorney or a friend or family member of the convicted individual.

The request is then reviewed, she said, and if it fits with the project’s general guidelines, a 73-question questionnaire is sent to the person who sent the request.

“At the very beginning, the main criteria is it has to be a final conviction, not trial level or appellate level,” she said.

“It has to be a state conviction, not a federal. The main thing that we’re looking for is that they’re making an actual innocence claim.”

This means the convicted cannot be claiming a constitutional violation, self-defense claim or a case about sexual assault that focuses on defining what consent is, Mirll said. The case must be an actual case of innocence.

After the questionnaire is sent back to the project, she said, they look for the existence of new medical or scientific evidence, like DNA testing.

“Then, if it’s still within the types of cases we generally work with, it will go on a waiting list and then we have to work on gathering documents,” she said.

“Most importantly, we’re going to want the trial transcripts, police reports, lab reports, anything like that.”

After the information is gathered, Mirll said, college students look through all the assembled documents, write up

reports and complete memos that detail and explain the gathered evidence.

Mirll, along with Nick Vilbas, executive director with the project, then looks over the contents of the reports and memos and decides if there is a good chance for an actual release. The case is then taken to a litigation committee and the next step is decided from there.

A unique challenge faced in cases like the ones handled by the project, she said, is the fact that while the burden in a trial is on the state to prove the accused is guilty, in an actual innocence writ, the burden is now on the person claiming actual innocence.

“The burden shifts to the person claiming actual innocence to basically prove their innocence because if you’re claiming an assault or a sexual assault never occurred,” she said, “it’s very difficult to prove that something didn’t happen.”

While it is challenging to prove someone’s innocence, according to the National Registry of Exonerations, there have been 49 exonerations in Texas and 325 in the United States.

“What we’ve tried to do in The Innocence Project of Texas is having a bigger impact by handling the right cases, like I said kind of transforming the case into an argument of change,” Blackburn said.

“That’s sort of key. We select cases and handle cases we think can make a big difference. I think we’ve been very successful at that, and we’re going to keep doing it.” ➤➤@KaitlinBainDT

POLICE BLOTTER Monday 11:55 a.m. — A Texas Tech officer investigated harassment in the Student Union building. A student received unwanted communications from another student.

5:45 p.m. — A Tech officer arrested three students for possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia in Coleman Residence Hall. The students were transported to the Lubbock County Jail.

7:09 p.m. — A Tech officer arrested two students for possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia after a traffic

stop in the Z3J parking lot. The students were transported to the Lubbock County Jail. The vehicle was impounded.

12:42 a.m. — A Tech officer arrested a student for driving while intoxicated and possession of more than one valid driver’s license in the Z5B parking lot after the investigation of a traffic accident without injuries.

The student was transported to the Lubbock County Jail. The student’s vehicle was left legally parked in the Z5B parking lot.

Information provided by B.J. Watson of the Tech Police Department.

FOR RELEASE JANUARY 28, 2015

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis

ACROSS 1 Help for Holmes 5 All hands on deck 9 Baby food, usually 14 “Can you give me a __?”

15 Bass’ red triangle, e.g.

16 Dove rival 17 Fraternal meeting place 19 Sense & Spray air freshener maker 20 “Here are the facts,” briefly 21 Garden outcast 22 Dark suit 23 Central church area 25 Pacific Northwest capital 27 “The Cask of Amontillado” writer 31 Reduced in number 32 Track tipsters 33 Train cos.

35 Yankee nickname since 2004 36 Asparagus, mostly 37 Nemesis 38 ENE or WSW 39 Set straight 40 Golfer Palmer, to fans 41 Where to read candidate endorsements 44 Much of the time 45 Kitchen add-on?

46 Yemenis’ neighbors 49 “__ been thinking ...”

50 NASA thumbsup 53 Acme’s opposite 54 Periphery ... and, literally, the periphery of 17-, 27- and 41Across 57 Most clubs in a pro’s bag 58 Scott Turow memoir 59 Vulcan mind __: Spock’s skill

1/28/15

By Jeffrey Wechsler

60 Principle 61 Superstorm response org.

62 Functions DOWN 1 “Cutthroat Kitchen” competitor 2 Easter bloom 3 Critical comment 4 Aliens, briefly 5 Prosperous, after “in” 6 Took the bus 7 Fabergé creation 8 Reason for hand-wringing 9 Sloppy farm digs 10 Tanning booth light, for short 11 Freeway, e.g.

12 Earth, to Hans 13 Windows to the soul, so they say 18 “Reading Rainbow” host Burton 22 Mattress supports 24 Matured 25 Liqueur in a fizz 26 Barnard grad

Tuesday’s Puzzle Solved

©2015 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

27 Like 27-Across’ work 28 Clothes 29 Fruity drinks 30 Bert’s buddy 31 Fleeting fashion 34 “Get it?”

36 Schedule openings 37 Sassy tyke 39 Initially 40 More fitting 42 Salt additive

1/28/15

43 Low parking garage floor 46 Bad mood 47 Bern’s river 48 Noodle bar order 49 List component 51 Gawk at 52 Classic sneakers 54 “That knocked the wind out of me!”

55 Sorbonne one 56 Aussie runner

A safe place to bring concerns and find solutions.

“Education is not filling a pail but the lighting of a fire.”

~William Butler Yeats

Page 4 Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2015

Opinions

Tax system in need of major reform Performance pay is not best solution

more and more with each passing day. And while a flat tax is clearly better than our current system, why have an income tax at all?

The 16th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified in 1913, allowing the federal government to collect direct taxes from the American people. Before this amendment, the federal government was forced to indirectly tax the citizens through the states, which only occurred at very low rates.

So how did the government obtain the money it needed in order to run? The government obtained the money it needed to run by imposing consumption taxes — for example, tariffs and customs taxes were placed on goods entering the country. Today, we would consider sales tax a form of a consumption tax. These are the only taxes expressly authorized by the original text of the Constitution.

Eventually, we should strive to return to this method of taxation.

Doing so will have three distinct benefits. The first is that people will only be taxed based on what they consume, as opposed to what they produce, which will likely help preserve some valuable resources.

The second is that high tariffs will force many large companies, which

Instead, Obama has demonstrated that he has no plans to work with the Republicans, but that he wishes to cement his legacy as one of the most liberal presidents of all time.

“

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White is a junior petroleum engineering major from Albuquerque, New Mexico. ➤➤ jwhite@dailytoreador.com

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T

here is no doubt that teachers within the public school system need a change in regard to salary rates, but performance pay is not the solution.

Performance pay is becoming somewhat of a controversy within the economics department — especially with studies demonstrating performance pay does not give employees an incentive as well as other things can. While this system may work for sales, marketing and advertising employees, this success is largely in part because t h e s e p a rticular fields have the agenda that correlates well with the idea of performance pay and bringing in money.

W h a t goals are teachers trying to achieve?

While perfection is an area that would be ideal to aim for, reaching that particular platform is not always consistently possible.

Would performance pay have a positive outcome on the public school system?

Smaller schools are continuously receiving less and less support for funding, thus making teachers heavily responsible for supplies and the basics students need in order to learn in a healthy and productive environment. In addition, students are not given the same opportuni-

“

Kendra Kimberlin ties that other schools with higher student populations are given. In time, these disadvantages will hinder the student’s overall learning experience.

Another issue to be addressed is one that families who reside around large public school areas are often faced with.

Living within a large area forces those who reside there to follow strict zone restrictions that prohibit those who want to seek their education elsewhere from doing so.

While special cases exist where students can transfer, not everyone has that opportunity. Not only does this cause strife between schools, such situations will certainly be an excuse for teachers to transfer to more promising schools, especially if one adds the issue of performance basis of pay into the equation.

Since when are teachers regarded as robots that issue scores without emotion? Will kids be confronted with a decline in role models who they can look up to?

Creativity will be lost as a result

Smaller schools are continuously receiving less and less support for funding, thus making teachers heavily responsible for supplies and the basics students need in order to learn in a healty and productive environment.

of teachers having to contribute more time toward cramming standardized test material into their lesson plans. Isn’t there already plenty of pressure associated with such tests already? Physical education, music and art will soon be considered as a diversion or break for students to refocus and continue their school day.

Creativity, not only of the students, but also of the instructors, could be compromised.

According to a Huffington Post article,“Ms. Lane, an English Language Arts (ELA) teacher in Austin, Texas, inspires her students

by Skyping with politically active young adults from across the country to talk to her class about civic engagement and the work they do.” What appraisal could these influential figures possibly be receiving?

According to the Harvard Business Review website, “Ratings by different managers, and especially those in different units, are usually incomparable.”

In such a case, one may ask, “What happens to the teacher whose students consist of those who have learning disabilities?”

Will she also be held to the same standards as the rest of the teachers in that particular grade level or will there be accommodations made?

Lastly, we all need to take political figures into consideration.

These people are the individuals who are trying to pass bills that strictly focus on statistical reports and trying to find basic ideas of less spending and better output. We, as citizens who have lawful rights, could point out that they need to be spending less and producing better outputs. These individuals could be sharing more helpful information to allow us to see how they are doing the job we elected them to do.

Kimberlin is a junior business management major from College Station. ➤➤ opinions@dailytoreador.com

US should return to gold standard to improve economy

G

old has been a force of stability and growth needed for transactions for centuries and remains as a way to secure progress. The U.S. essentially abandoned the gold standard in 1933 and completely severed ties to it 1971, which has resulted in frivolous government spending and general lack of regard to resources.

Between August 1971, when President Richard Nixon got rid of the gold reserves, and December 2014, the currency component of M1 has increased at alarming rate, from $51.6 billion to the most recent amount of $1,254.1 trillion, according to Economic Research of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. M1 refers to currency either in circulation or easily liquidated.

Printing money to fill the orders of the government is not something the Federal Reserve was intended to do. Instead, self-regulation is more along the correct duties assigned originally to the Fed. This allows money to cover the necessities, not frivolities.

The U.S. should return to the gold standard in order to maintain monetary value. Remaining away from fiat money helps understand the consequences of falling away from the guaranteed real value of money, while some things are better off on the system of arbitrary

“

Kendra Kimberlin order, such as sports matches where variables and fast pace permit judgment calls.

A few things are not OK on similar structures are money, time and measurements, just to name a few. Steve Forbes, in an article called “Golden Rule for Prosperity,” used a very interesting analogy for what the potential consequences and ramifications are going to be down the road: “A stable currency is the foundation for the literally billions of transactions and economic arrangements that make growth possible. To simplify, imagine how difficult it would be to function if the number of minutes in an hour were constantly changing. Even cooking would be problematic: If a recipe called for cake batter to bake for 45 minutes, how long exactly would that be?”

Preventing inflation could be the most vital argument for returning to the gold standard. “Inflation is a dishonest and deliberate policy and tool of politicians who do not wish to reduce their spending. The government “creates” new money

We should be restraining government from interfering with the natural rate of business enterprise ...

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John White

currently outsource their manufacturing, to return to the U.S., thus creating jobs. Finally, the government will be forced to shrink in size considerably to accommodate its inability to levy excessive taxes on American earners. We will consider each advantage in turn.

If people are taxed solely based on their consumption, as opposed to their productivity, it will change our tax system from a perverse incentive punishing producers to an incentive to save instead of consume excessively. This is what we are all taught to do from an early age, and it only makes sense to ingrain this idea in the tax code.

Furthermore, if personal income taxes were removed, it would give the government license to creatively tax the consumption of valuable natural resources, such as coal, oil and platinum, whose extraction can be damaging to the environment. It could also allow for even more effective taxation of “vice” products such as liquor, tobacco and marijuana (where it is legal), since these products can pose a danger to public health.

If the government returns to taxing imports, which it would have to should income taxes be removed, we could force large corporations to make a choice — either return their manufacturing base to the U.S., or face large financial losses for exporting to one of the largest consumer bases on the planet. This will create a multitude of American jobs, meaning that the unemployment rate will likely fall to all-time lows. Furthermore, having a strong manufacturing base will be crucial to America’s ability to defend herself going forward — remember, the North’s manufacturing base is thought to be the reason it won the Civil War. The major drawback to consider is that adding a tariff will likely cause rifts with some countries around the world. But the reality is we need to do what’s best for America, not what’s best for the world, because there are any number of countries who would be happy to see us wiped from the face of the Earth. Another drawback to consider is increased prices; however, since their income is no longer being taxed, people will be able to afford some price increase.

Finally, without income taxes the government will be unable to remain solvent financially at its current size. While it may be painful in the short term, in the long term smaller federal government is the only way America can succeed. The federal government should cede many of its current responsibilities to the states, or even phase them out entirely.

If one were to audit the federal government, he/she would find waste and abuse like never before seen.

If the budget is decreased rapidly, the government will be forced to do the dirty work of cleaning up its financial mess. Of course, if this is to be the case, before income tax is removed, the states should authorize a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution requiring the federal government to spend no more than it brings in.

As far as this plan’s viability — in the current political climate, it’s probably equally as viable as Obama’s “redistribution,” which is to say, not at all. But if someone in power seriously proposes this idea, it might start making sense to more people.

Of course, it would have to be done gradually to avoid upsetting the fragile economy, but it’s worth a shot.

Making minor fixes, or breaking the system further (as Obama has proposed), will only make it harder to do the right thing later. Our tax system is broken and the only way to fix it is to trace back to the principles of the Constitution.

“

I

n the recent State of the Union address, President Barack Obama unveiled a new tax plan. If we are being honest with ourselves, we could see there is no possible way this proposal will ever gather enough Republican support to pass. Instead, Obama has demonstrated that he has no plans to work with the Republicans, but that he wishes to cement his legacy as one of the most liberal presidents of all time.

That being said, it is clear that our tax system is in need of gross reform. The amount of paperwork currently involved in filing taxes is one indicator of that. Another is the graduated tax bracket system, which taxes people who make more money at a higher rate.

If you were to choose any five-year-old at the local kindergarten they would tell you this is unfair. If the government is to collect any income tax at all (more on this in a moment), then a flat tax proposal, in which every person pays the s a m e p e rcentage of their income, is much more equitable.

It is not logical to tax people who are more successful at a higher rate — after all, wouldn’t we want people to take risks in order to succeed financially? That’s how good ideas become new products and services.

It is also not logical to tax the savings of the “wealthy.” Again, aren’t we all taught from an early age that saving money is the key to financial health?

It is these perverse incentives that cause us to question our tax code

Box 43081 Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas 79409.

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in order to cover what it spends in excess of its income,” according to Edward W. Younkins, Professor of Accountancy and Business Administration. This is not to say the results of inflation are all in favor of government agencies, but it often looks that way.

A quote by Ron Paul sums this up well taken from gold-standard. procon.org: “Our current fiat monetary system empowers an unelected central banking committee (the Federal Reserve) to determine whether the supply of money grows or is reduced rather than allowing market forces to determine the supply of money as they would under a gold standard. Fiat dollars allow government to spend money without raising taxes, which shields them from democratic accountability. Instead, they impose the hidden tax of inflation.”

We should be restraining government from interfering with the natural rate of business enterprise as well as making sure it understands the consequences of using large quantities of money with hands on approaches, such as national debt, trade deficits, bailouts, unemployment and oil and housing markets.

These are a couple of objectives that could be slowly achieved with the return of backing money with a true value retaining substance: gold. While this is not an all in one remedy, it will alleviate issues we are currently facing and things that inevitably develop throughout the years going down this road.

Kimberlin is a junior business management major from College Station. ➤➤ opinions@dailytoreador.com guest columns. While we cannot acknowledge receipt of all columns, the authors of those selected for publication will be notified. Guest columns should be no longer than 650 words in length and on a topic of relevance to the university community. Guest columns are also edited and follow the same guidelines for letters as far as identification and submittal.

•Unsigned Editorials appearing on this page represent the opinion of The Daily Toreador. All other columns, letters and artwork represent the opinions of their authors and are not necessarily representative of the editorial board, Texas Tech University, its employees, its student body or the Board of Regents. The Daily Toreador is independent of the College of Media and Communication. Responsibility for the editorial content of the newspaper lies with the student editors.

La Vida

Page 5 Wednesday, jan. 28, 2015

Memory of student unites researchers

By JENNIFER ROMERO Staff Writer

Countless hours of work go into preparing a research paper, from the time spent in the field to running tests in the lab to writing out the results. Those who invest their time are rewarded with seeing their names in the author line of the finished paper.

Christopher Rodriguez began an undergraduate research project in 2012 through Texas Tech’s Center for the Integration of STEM Education and Research.

The research project came to a sudden halt on Oct. 3, 2012, when Rodriguez was involved in a motorcycle accident.

He suffered major injuries to his head and died three days later on Oct. 6.

Rodriguez was not wearing a helmet, and Julia Isom, the asociate director for research of the Department of Biological Sciences, said one of the tragedies for her was the fact his injuries could have been less severe if he had worn a helmet.

Dancers↵

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

“It’s a thing you just won’t see around here,” he said. “People will have heard of the Whirling Dervishes, but they won’t really know what it represents.

It’s really good for people around here to see that side of Islam and also this wonderful dance.”

The program began with “The Art of Sand” by Yakup Baris, and he also wrote names of audience members in Turkish calligraphy after the show.

A group of four musicians played Sufi Music, which is devotional music inspired

by Sufi poets such as Rumi.

“They go one in one, so it’s very important to have the music so the people can actually understand,” MartinezGarcia said. “It’s very symbolic.”

The group of three Whirling Dervishes took the stage next. They danced while the musicians continued to play the Sufi Music Odessa Hamidi, a medical student from Dallas, said she grew up listening to Rumi’s poetry at home and watching

Dylan Schwilk, an associate professor for the Department of Biological Sciences, said Rodriguez was motivated to conduct scienRODRIGUEZ tific research despite being an education major who eventually wanted to teach.

“I noticed how quick Chris was at picking stuff up,” he said. “It was so great to work with an undergraduate who was clearly going to help out these projects move forward so well. He was driven by the science more than some biology majors.”

Rodriguez’s project focused on water movement in oak resprouts, trees that grow after fire has burned the original tree, and his goal was to observe how the trees responded to drought.

Joshua Willms, a dual M.D./Ph.D. student from Los Alamos, New Mexico, said he met Rodriguez through the CISER Scholar Service Organization.

“My favorite memory with him was after class one day when another student asked us about the electromagnetic forces that prevent us from falling through the floor,” he said. “I started to talk about the physics a bit, but Chris soon took over.

It was refreshing for me to see someone so excited about helping someone else understand a difficult concept.”

Schwilk traveled to the Davis Mountains near Fort Davis with Rodriguez during the summer of 2012 to do fieldwork for the project, and Rodriguez learned how to use the necessary equipment for measuring the water stress of the resprouts during those trips.

Isom said she met Rodriguez through the research side of CISER. “He felt like the discovery piece of his curiosity could better be expanded with trying research,” Islom said. “I didn’t know him as well until he came over to the research arm. He was so cute because he would stop by the office and say, ‘I just came by for my daily hug.’ He was such a light, always full of joy.”

After the accident, Rodriguez received several visits by those who cared for him.

“There’s always that silver lining no matter how dark the storm is,” she said. “The scholars went up there to the intensive care unit and talked to him. It was just such a beautiful thing to watch.”

After Rodriguez’s death, Willms approached Schwilk to ask if he could continue the research project Rodriguez had left unfinished.

Schwilk was hesitant because the project was far from being finished and researchers need to be interested in what they are studying, but he said Willms eventually convinced him.

“Chris and I were friends for only a short period of time, and the loss for me after his death is incomparable with the loss felt by his family and closest friends,” Willms said. “My pain was from knowing that his family was going through an immense loss, and healing for me was knowing that I might be able to ease the pain of others.”

videos of the Whirling Dervishes.

“I think it’s always good, especially while you’re in college, to take advantage of this kind of environment where you get to experience different cultures and the traditions associated with them,” she said. “It’s just time to do that and let yourself grow.”

The Whirling Dervishes danced with

their right hands up to God and their left hands towards the audience, and Martinez-Garcia said this is symbolic of working in unison.

The event ended with a preview of the documentary “Love is a Verb,” which focuses on the Gulen Movement, a social movement which began in the 1960s in Turkey, and its leader Fethullah Gulen.

“It’s all about love and tolerance and learning from each other,” Hafizoglu said.

“As a person I am very against radicals in every part of the world. The philosophy behind this event was, ‘Come whoever you are.’ Our door is open to everybody.

That’s a very important sentence that we need to learn nowadays.” ➤➤@JenRomeroDT

Tailor Brown, a Biology major from Carlsbad New Mexico, joined Willms as one of the main researchers of the project, and Willms supervised other CISER scholars while they helped with the easier research procedures of the project.

The fieldwork involved many early mornings of finding specific trees in the dark and getting soaked from carrying 2-gallon water bags, but Willms said the whole project was one of the most meaningful experiences of his life.

“Chris finished what he started and he never left a stone unturned,” Isom said. “He would never have not finished that project had he had the chance. It was a good way to honor his memory.

And those things are good for all of us to have, so it was a good way to adopt those characteristics internally for all of us and to drive harder to be our best.”

Brown, Willms and Schwilk pre-

sented the completed project at the 99th Ecological Society of America Annual meeting in August in Sacramento, California.

The student who had started the project and inspired others to complete it was not present, but he was not forgotten — the name of Christopher Rodriguez is listed third on the author line next to the two students and faculty adviser who finished his work.

“I think Chris would have been so happy that his tragedy of a life lost early could have an impact that’s so positive and uplifting,” she said. “That’s a beautiful thing. This is about our love for each other and if we pull together, amazing things can happen.” ➤➤@JenRomeroDT

Today’s

su do ku

9 1 4 8 6 8 2

7 5 8 1 9 7 6 1 4 5 8 6

1

6

7

9 8 4 2

In Sudoku, all the numbers 1 to 9 must be in every row, column and 3 x 3 box. Use logic to define the answers.

Puzzles by PageFiller

Find the solution at www.dailytoreador.com

Roller Derby↵ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Forouhi currently teaches one class, and, she said, when she mentioned roller derby to her students they wanted to go see her play.

“It definitely gives me a more diverse perspective on life and meeting different people and experiences,” Forouhi said.

“It’s also a great release. You work hard all day studying and teaching and then at the end you can release that tension.”

A safe place to bring concerns and find solutions.

“An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.”

~Benjamin Franklin

➤➤@JenRomeroDT

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Page 6 Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2015

Sports

Tech looks for series sweep Tech tries to ride momentum for second Big 12 victory

By JEREMY KRAKOSKY Staff Writer

The Texas Tech women’s basketball team will take on West Virginia for the second time this season at 7 p.m. today in the United Supermarkets Arena.

The Lady Raiders defeated the Mountaineers 55-45 in Morgantown earlier this month.

Senior guard Amber Battle said the team is not taking the game for granted because West Virginia has improved since the two teams last met.

“They’re shooting the ball a lot better, so we have to be thinking about their shooters,” she said. “When we’re in zone or man, just know where they are.”

The victory against the Mountaineers snapped the Lady Raiders’ 17-game road losing streak and was Coach Candi Whitaker’s first road win at Tech.

Battle was the game high-scorer with 20 points on 7-14 shooting.

Although West Virginia has been improving of late, Battle said Tech has also found ways to get better.

“We have improved tremendously offensively and defensive,” Battle said.

“We are just being more aggressive on both ends and we have a lot more people scoring in high numbers.”

Entering the matchup, Tech’s record stands at 12-7 overall and 2-5 in conference play after dropping the last three games.

After scoring at least 64 points in the last two games, Whitaker said the team needs to continue to make shots to keep West Virginia from running on offense.

“I think when you talk about West Virginia, you have to talk about their transition game. They are probably the best transition team in our league,” Whitaker said. “So if you can make shots, if you can take care of the basketball, if you can keep them out of transition,

By DIEGO GAYTAN Staff Writer

PHOTO BY JACOB SNOW/The Daily Toreador

KANSAS GUARD LAUREN Aldridge dribbles against Texas Tech guard Rayven Brooks during Tech’s loss to Kansas 68-66 on Wednesday in the United Supermarkets Arena.

you’re putting yourself in a situation to put them in a half.”

West Virginia’s transition game is aided by the team being solid on the interior. The team is second in the Big 12 in rebounding and the leader in blocked shots per game, according to the conference website.

After losing a few games by a narrow margin, Whitaker said her team has to play efficiently for an entire game if they want to win.

“There’s something to being able to focus and execute on both ends for 40 minutes. We haven’t seen that yet,” she said. “We had lapses at Oklahoma. We had big defensive breakdowns in the last five and a half minutes.”

Junior guard Bria Holmes and senior

forward Averee Fields are the top scorers for West Virginia.

Holmes is averaging 20.2 points per game while Fields scores 14.7 points per game. They rank second and fifth, respectively, in the Big 12. Field is also one of the top rebounders and shooters, in terms of percentage, in the conference.

Freshman wing Dayo Olabode said the team’s improved defense will have to work together to stop the two highscoring players.

“The last couple weeks I honestly see the team’s biggest improvement in defense. At first, in the beginning, we weren’t as tough mentally as we are now on defense,”Olabode said. “Now we are stopping a lot of teams.” ➤➤@JeremyK_DT

After a 78-73 win against the former No. 9 Iowa State Cyclones, the Texas Tech men’s basketball team travels to Norman to take on the No. 24 Oklahoma Sooners at 6:30 p.m. today in the Lloyd Noble Center.

In its game versus Iowa State, Tech relied on a shorthanded squad after freshman center Norense Odiase sat out due to an illness and freshman forward Justin Gray was out with an injury after Tech’s away game versus Oklahoma State on Jan. 21.

An illness bug continues to linger in the Red Raider locker room as Tech head coach Tubby Smith said freshman forward Zach Smith is questionable for today’s game.

Gray, who underwent seasonending surgery due to tendinitis Monday, finished the season averaging 6.7 points per game, 2.8 rebounds and 0.5 assists.

“Justin Gray’s surgery went well,” Tubby Smith said. “He’ll be, I think, on the crutches for six weeks.”

Although Zach Smith will travel with the team, Tubby Smith said he will wait to see Zach Smith’s condition before the game.

“I’m not sure if he’s going to play or not,” Tubby Smith said. “We’ll see how his health is.”

Zach Smith recorded seven points, five rebounds and two blocks versus Iowa State.

After sitting out Tech’s game versus the Cyclones, Tubby Smith said Odiase has returned to practice.

The Red Raiders, who ended a six-game losing streak by defeating the Cyclones, face an Oklahoma team coming off of two straight losses.

Oklahoma’s most recent opponent, No. 20 Baylor, defeated the Sooners 69-58.

Oklahoma’s two-game losing streak bumped the Sooners six spots

PHOTO BY ZACK BRAME/The Daily Toreador

TEXAS TECH GUARD Keenan Evans goes up for the shot against an Iowa State defender on Saturday in the United Supermarkets Arena.

Texas Tech pulled the 78-73 upset against Iowa State, earning the team’s first Big 12 Conference win.

from their former No.19 ranking in the AP Top 25 poll to their current ranking of 24th.

The Sooners hold a 12-7 overall record and a 3-4 record versus Big 12 competition.

Junior guard Buddy Hield leads the Sooner offense, averaging 17.8 points per game, 5.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists.

Not only does Oklahoma receive help from key offensive players like Hield, its defense ranks fourth in the nation in rebounds per game with an average of 10 rebounds.

Senior guard Robert Turner,

who recorded a career-high 10 rebounds versus Iowa State, said beating the Sooners to rebounds will help Tech compete against its Big 12 opponent.

“They shoot a lot of threes, and they hit a lot of threes,” Turner said.

“When you shoot threes you have long rebounds so you have to be ready to box out and go get the rebound and limit them to one shot.”

A win against the Sooners would move the Red Raiders to a 12-9 overall record and a 2-6 Big 12 record. ➤➤@DGaytanDT

Jury convicts 2 ex-Vanderbilt players of raping woman NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A jury convicted two ex-Vanderbilt football players on Tuesday of raping a former student, rejecting claims that they were too drunk to know what they were doing and that a college culture of binge drinking and promiscuous sex should be blamed for the attack.

The jury deliberated for three hours before announcing that Brandon Vandenburg and Cory Batey were guilty of aggravated rape and aggravated sexual battery.

Batey was stoic, staring ahead and Vandenburg shook his head “no,” appearing stunned. His father

had an outburst and abruptly left the courtroom.

The victim, a 21-year-old neuroscience and economics major at the time of the June 2013 attack, cried as each guilty verdict was announced. The men face decades in prison when they are sentenced March 6.

The jury heard two weeks of dramatic testimony from a parade of witnesses, including police, former and current Vanderbilt students and the woman, who said she didn’t remember what happened that night, only that she woke up in a strange dorm room. They also saw cellphone

images from the night of the attack that Vandenburg sent to his friends as it was happening.

Despite the photos and video, and witnesses seeing the woman unconscious and at least partially naked in a dorm hallway, no one reported it.

The victim said in a statement she was hopeful the publicity from the case would lead to a discussion of how to end sexual violence on college campuses. In Nashville, where the prestigious private university is located, hundreds of college officials from across the state were meeting this week to discuss exactly that.