Daily Toreador The
TUESDAY, APRIL 14, 2015 VOLUME 89 ■ ISSUE 103
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8 Texas soldiers vote successfully via email
Stormy Skies
AUSTIN (AP) — Usually, a 2 percent response rate is not considered a success, but it is for a Texas pilot program that allows soldiers in combat zones to cast ballots via email. State lawmakers passed a bill in 2013 directing the secretary of state to allow one county in Texas to allow soldiers in hostile fire zones to cast email ballots. Then-Secretary of State John Steen chose Bexar County, home of San Antonio and the 50,000 enlisted military members of Joint Base San Antonio, to be the first for the program. The office of current Secretary of State Carlos Cascos said that 365 ballots were emailed to soldiers overseas for the November general election. Eight voters, who had to sign affidavits stating they were in a hostile fire zone, emailed the ballots back, said Bexar County Elections Administrator Jacquelyn Callanen. The number was nearly three times as many as were cast in the March primary, when three ballots out of the 22 sent overseas were returned via email. “I consider it a huge success,” Callanen said in a recent interview at the Texas Capitol, where she was testifying for a bill that would expand the pilot program to two military-rich counties. For years, Texas soldiers stationed overseas have been able to request a ballot electronically, but then must print them out, complete their votes and send them in via regular mail, which can take weeks. In 2009, Congress passed a law that enabled states to experiment with emerging technology and initiate pilot programs. Some 18 states now allow military voters to submit absentee ballots through email, Department of Defense spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Nate Christensen said.
Lubbock experiences rain, wind Monday
New rules proposed as oil spill anniversary nears WASHINGTON (AP) — A week shy of the fifth anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the Obama administration proposed new regulations Monday aimed at strengthening oversight of offshore oil drilling equipment and ensuring that out-of-control wells can be sealed in an emergency. The explosion of the Deepwater rig on April 20, 2010, killed 11 people and dumped as many as 172 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Federal safety investigators blamed a faulty blowout preventer for the spill and called for stronger regulations of the equipment that prevents oil and gas from rushing to the surface and triggering a spill. The proposed rule would require that blowout preventers in wells have two shear rams, which cut through the drill pipe and allow the well to be sealed in an emergency. In the Deepwater Horizon spill, a single shear ram failed to operate properly.
OPINIONS, Pg. 4
White: Practice of civic arrest forfeiture is unconstitutional
INDEX Crossword.....................5 Classifieds................5 L a Vi d a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Opinions.....................4 Sports.......................5 Sudoku.......................2 EDITORIAL: 806-742-3393
By SHASHIDHAR SASTRY Staff Writer
After a brief break from the bitter cold and a hasty glimpse at the gleaming sun, Lubbock returned to its usual harsh weather. The cloudy weekend was accompanied by rain and strong winds. The usual sunlight Lubbock residents have become accustomed to has been absent for the past several days. The rain continued most of the day Monday, according to the National Weather Service, with a 20 percent chance of precipitation today. There is a 30 percent chance of thunderstorms Wednesday night, according to the service, and a 50 percent chance of showers all day Thursday. Alex Beebe, a junior sport management major, said he experienced flooding around his house and the additional flooding of roads made travel difficult. Desirea Harris, a borrowing specialist in the interlibrary loan department, said the weather would not have been too bad if it were not for the excessive flooding. She said she has misgivings and concerns about the drainage systems in the city of Lubbock. “I think we need better drainage. Clearly, there’s a lot of flooding,” Harris said. “That probably affects the way people are driving, too.” The weather will have a brief break from rain in the afternoon today and early Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service, before
additional rainy weather takes place in the region. The state of drains in the city led to an increase in water puddles in a number of places. “I did have to walk through several ponds,” Harris said, “but thankfully I brought my rain boots.” Other people were equally unhappy about the severe winds that Lubbock had to offer, including Andre Im, a freshman computer science major from Houston, who said the winds were the worst aspect of the weather. He said he hopes the weather goes back to how peaceful it was a week ago. “The weather has been bad recently,” Im said, “but it wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t for the wind.” Andrew Curd, a sophomore business and finance dual major from Wichita Falls, said he faced problems because of both the wind and the rain. “The wind blew my hat off today,” Curd said. “It was ridiculous and I had to chase it. My shoes got wet and dirty running across the university.” The temperature dropped to lower values than people had lately become accustomed to, Wesley LoGiudice, a junior chemistry major from Austin, said. He was barely expecting this kind of weather, especially because it is the spring season, he said. “It’s super cold, it’s rainy and all my clothes are still wet,” LoGiudice said. “I left my house and I was like ‘Oh gosh.’ Just out of nowhere, the storm’s coming.” ➤➤@DailyToreador
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PHOTO BY ZACKARY BRAME/The Daily Toreador
THE ADMINISTRATION BUILDING is reflected in a puddle Monday after a weather system producing rain moved through the Lubbock area.
College students becoming less fiscally responsible By KAITLIN BAIN Senior reporter
As the cost of college student loan debt rises, college students are making less money, taking out more loans and have fewer plans to pay back those loans. According to a study conducted by Higher One and EverFi, college students today are less fiscally responsible than their counterparts were in 2012, when the survey began. Higher One is organization that works with colleges and universities to better the financial aspects of campus life, and Ever Fi is a technology education company that helps colleges and universities teach students about financial education. This study was conducted on a national scale, according to the study, and surveyed 42,000 college students with an average age of 18.6 years old, beginning in 2012.
“Along with steady increases in tuition rates, new college graduates face an unstable job market,” according to the study, “with graduates aged 21-24 having an 8.5 percent unemployment rate and 16.8 underemployment rate.” As a result of this lack of employment, according to the study, young adults today are delaying life goals, including continuing education, getting married, having children and
reaching financial independence. While there was a reported increase of students who had experience with credit cards and bank accounts in high school, according to the study, those experiences did not increase financial literacy but instead programs in school helped these students to better manage their money. FISCAL continued on Page 2 ➤➤
Tech student honored as Student Employee of the Year Every year, Texas Tech submits nominations for the National Student Employee of the Year award. Nedra Goodrich, unit coordinator for student financial aid, said the National Student Employee of the Year Association has the Student Employee of the Year contest for universities across the nation. Each university chooses an employee who meets the criteria. This criteria includes traits such as reliability, quality of work, initiative and professionalism, Goodrich said. After the university chooses a winner, he or she moves on to the regional competition and tries to advance until reaching the national level. Jose Perales, a senior accounting major from Del Rio, was honored as the Tech student employee of the year. Perales works in the Center for Education of STEM Education and Research in the Biology building. He works days, nights, weekends and breaks, he said. EMPLOYEE continued on Page 3 ➤➤ ADVERTISING: 806-742-3384
PORTRAIT BY DUNCAN STANLEY/The Daily Toreador
JOSE PERALES, A senior accounting major from Del Rio, received the Student Employee of the Year award from Texas Tech on Monday.
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Red to Black sponsors Financial Education Week Texas Tech’s Financial Education Week begins to day and offers a variety of finance-related activities for students. The Red to Black MAZZOLINI program is sponsoring the week, which continues until Friday, in order to increase awareness of financial literacy among college students, according to a Tech news release. Angela Mazzolini, program director of Red to Black, said in the release the week is designed to teach people about money management. “We hope that Red Raiders will come out to our activities, win some prizes and maybe learn some things to help them be more successful in managing their money,” Mazzolini said in the release. Students, faculty and staff can find out their credit scores between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. today in the Teaching, Learning and Professional Development Center in the library during Credit Report Review Day, according to the release. On Financial Fitness Day, representatives from Red to Black will be at the Robert H. Ewalt Student Recreation Center to host a variety of games from 3 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, according to the release. All participants will receive prizes and play games like debt dodge ball. Red to Black will host the Don’t Go for Broke Game from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday at Barnes and Noble in the Student Union building, according to the release. Prizes will be awarded to all participants. Mazzolini said there were more than 600 participants in last year’s Financial Education Week, according to the release, and all students, faculty and staff are welcome to participate. ➤➤@DailyToreador
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