Daily Toreador The
FRIDAY, SEPT. 27, 2013 VOLUME 88 ■ ISSUE 24
UN reaches resolution on Syria weapons UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The five permanent members of the deeply divided U.N. Security Council reached agreement Thursday on a resolution to eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons, a major step in taking the most controversial weapon off the battlefield of the world’s deadliest current conflict. Senior U.S., Russian, British and French diplomats confirmed the agreement, which also includes China. Britain’s U.N. Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant said he would introduce the text to the Security Council’s 10 nonpermanent members Thursday night. A vote on the resolution still depends on how the full council responds to the draft, and on how soon an international group that oversees the global treaty on chemical weapons can adopt a plan for securing and destroying Syria’s stockpile. Diplomats said the earliest the Security Council could vote would be late Friday.
Pedal Pushing
Fraternity cycles for philanthropy
OPINIONS, Pg. 4
Sigler: Texas schools should not teach creationism
Tech shows first raw play, Vicarious Playboys — LA VIDA, Page 3
INDEX Crossword.....................5 Classifieds................7 L a Vi d a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Opinions.....................4 Sports.......................6 Sudoku.......................2 EDITORIAL: 806-742-3393
PHOTO BY LAUREN PAPE/The Daily Toreador
By TYLER DORNER Staff Writer
He was visibly sweating in the shade of the Student Union Building, but had a smile on his face as he spoke about Pedals for Push. “Push is a good philanthropy as part of our fraternity,” Hunter McIntosh, a senior criminology major from Fredericksburg, said, “and I just want to help raise awareness any way I can.” Fraternity Pi Kappa Phi organized Pedals for Push on Thursday in the Free Speech Area to raise awareness for people with disabilities. Members of the fraternity volunteered to ride stationary bikes from noon to 7 p.m. McIntosh said he got to the event as soon as he finished class to help his fraternity and was not feeling the effects of the heat and the exercise but vowed to stay on the bicycles for as long as he could. “I plan on going as long as I can,” he said. Push America is the organization working with Pi Kappa Phi. According to its website, Push America is a nonprofit organization founded in 1977 as the national philanthropy of Pi Kappa Phi fraternities in the country. Push America’s vision statement is to change the way society views both people with disabilities and fraternities, according to its website. Push America has fundraised more than $15 million for organizations dedicated to helping people with disabilities, according to the website. PEDAL continued on Page 2 ➤➤
WEATHER continued on Page 2 ➤➤
Staff Writer
DYLAN REID, A junior journalism major from Dallas, Jay Pecheux, a sophomore mechanical engineering major from Sugar Land, and Joseph Ureste, a sophomore mechanical engineering major from Victoria, ride stationary bikes to raise money for Pi Kappa Phi’s Push America charity Thursday outside the Student Union Building. Members of the fraternity rode for seven hours and donated money to people with physical and mental disabilities.
Tech pairs with NWS to increase weather safety
Whether on the intramural fields or at Jones AT&T Stadium, new lightning guidelines will try to ensure safety for everyone. Texas Tech worked with the National Weather Service in Lubbock to add the lightning safety toolkit, which is guidelines and procedures for what to do in case of a lightning storm. The main areas of focus were intramural fields, the Leisure Pool and the football stadium. “This year we decided to go the extra step and just enhance some lighting safety across the campus,” said Jody James, the warning coordination meteorologist for the NWS in Lubbock. She said Tech took the extra steps after being named StormReady in 2007. StormReady is a program NWS started in the late 1990s and is a set of practices and guidelines that once communities accomplish, are recognized by the NWS, he said. Ronald Phillips, the university’s management coordinator and a University Council member, said the new lightning awareness program has policies in place in case of bad weather, specifically lightning. He said the guidelines focus on the entire campus, but had an emphasis on the Leisure Pool, football stadium and intramural fields. When a storm is coming toward the Leisure Pool, the NWS will have policies in place and personnel at the pool who have information on approaching weather, Phillips said. If the weather is too severe, the pool will be closed until the storm passes. The guidelines were put in place to keep people safe in large venues, James said. The guidelines center around communication, Phillips said, and different groups on campus will be aware of and have information on the weather that is approaching.
By MIKAEL GONZALES
Panel backs easing electronic use on planes WASHINGTON (AP) — Industry officials say an advisory committee is urging the Federal Aviation Administration to relax its restrictions on airline passenger use of smartphones and other personal electronic devices during takeoffs and landings. Officials said the committee agreed on the recommendations during a meeting Thursday. The officials asked not to be identified because the FAA has urged committee members not to discuss the recommendations. Passengers are currently required to turn off phones, music players, e-readers, etc. while planes are below 10,000 feet to prevent interference with sensitive cockpit equipment. Takeoffs and landings are the most critical portions of flight. But new planes are equipped to prevent electronic interference. Under the recommendations, passengers would now be able to use most devices, although some would have to be switched to airplane mode.
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Fall Graduation Fair offers Tech students essentials to walk stage By KATY HOLLIFIELD Staff Writer
The Texas Tech Alumni Association sponsored its Fall Graduation Fair from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday at the Frazier Alumni Pavilion. The three-day event featured booths from various on- and off-campus organizations to assist prospective fall and spring graduates. Mandy Wiley, the director of affinity merchandise with the Alumni Association, said the graduation fair is a convenient place for graduates to take care of all their graduation needs. She said graduates could order their class rings, buy announcements, get sized for their cap and gown and get professional pictures taken. “It’s so hectic for, you know, graduates when they get to this point and have so much going on, so we just thought it’d be cool if they could get everything done in one stop,” Wiley said. Eligible students who are not seniors could purchase class rings, she said. Annette Bush, a representative for the Oak Hall Cap and Gown Company, measured graduates to make sure the correct gown size and length were ordered. She said the company offers packages for bachelor graduates, as well as master’s, doctoral and law school graduates. Bush said she encouraged students to come to the fair to get information and to make sure their cap and gown were sized correctly. “Just like a ring, if you do it over the phone or anywhere else, you can look at it in your email, but you really need to see that it fits well in person,” Bush said to students ordering caps and gowns. There was no charge for the professional ADVERTISING: 806-742-3384
pictures offered, she said. Kaplan, a test preparation company, offered graduates programs to help students study for different graduate school acceptance tests. A representative for Kaplan, Nick Daniel, said they offered test prep for the MCAT, LSAT, GRE, DHE, OHE and GMAT acceptance tests. “Med school, law school, grad school — you name it, we do it,” Daniel said. Kaplan programs help graduates study better for acceptance tests, he said, by providing them with books, study materials and prep courses on campus for exams. Daniel said he encouraged students to do their research, start early, figure out what their plans are and take a practice test for the graduate school they plan on entering. He said Kaplan offers the practice tests both online and on campus. Shannon Samson, a representative with the Tech Graduate School, said it was hard to tell how many students continued on to graduate school because many students take time off or intern for companies. There are about 5,600 students enrolled in the graduate school, she said. “A lot of the time graduate students aren’t really aware of the options that are available for them for graduate study here at Tech,” Samson said. The graduate school, she said, offers more than 150 master’s and doctoral programs, as well as several graduate certificate programs. Students also can take graduate temporary courses, which allow students to take up to 12 hours of graduate level courses without being admitted into a graduate program, Samson said. Students can’t receive financial aid for temporary courses, however. FAIR continued on Page 2 ➤➤
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PHOTO BY LAUREN PAPE/The Daily Toreador
ANDREW FETSCH, A senior mechanical engineering major from Hereford, tries on Balfour class rings at the Fall Graduation Fair on Wednesday at the Frazier Alumni Pavilion. At the event, students also could recieve information about graduating and take photos in a cap and gown.
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