• 14 ORIENTATION EDITION
July 8-10, 2013
Proposition 1 for UT-Austin medical school passes
by Jordan Rudner
Emily Watson | Daily Texan Staff
State Sen. Kirk Watson delivers a speech at Driskill Hotel. According to Watson, Prop. 1will improve health care in Travis County,
UT moved one step closer to establishing a medical school after voters approved a ballot initiative Nov. 6 that will increase property taxes to partially fund a proposed UT medical school and teaching hospital. Fifty-five percent of Travis County voters approved
How do you say “Austin”? by Katie Dickerson | Special editions staff
Austin has seen many cultures that are reflected in the naming of its streets, buildings and surrounding areas. However, in true Austin fashion, the pronunciation of these names can be weird. Here we have your guide to pronouncing these places like a true Austinite. Guadalupe Street (gwahduh-loop) Commonly known as the Drag, this is the first main street west of campus. Here you will find the University Co-Op, and a variety of shopping and good eats only steps from campus. Need a new outfit? Tyler’s, Urban Outfitters and several boutiques dot the street. You can find practically whatever you’re craving along this street, from Chipotle and Mellow Mushroom, to Kerbey Lane and Amy’s Ice Cream a bit further north. Manor Road (MAY-ner) West of Interstate 35, and winding all the way to Interstate 183, this is the main feeder route to East Campus. The UT Facilities Services Complex is located along this route, as well as the Child Development Center and UT Micro Farm. Don’t forget to check out famed coffee spot Thunderbird Coffee, and eatery Eastside Café where they grow their own veggies! Koenig Lane (KAY-nig) You can find another Thunderbird Coffee or try out Checko’s Mexican Restaurant
and Bar on this street north of the Intramural Fields. Manchaca Road (MANshack) Nerd out at Tribe Comics and Games, or check out some fresh foods at Sprouts Farmers Market on Manchaca in south Austin. Nueces Street (New-aces) Located in West Campus south of Guadalupe and continuing south into the city, this street has a lot of Greek and residential housing. Try out the burgers at Dirty Martin’s on the corner of Nueces and Guadalupe. Whitis (Wit-is or White-is, both used) Whitis Ave runs from MLK through campus and up to 27th street. Whitis Court is a Residence Hall area located between Dean Keaton St. and 27th Street. Perry Castañeda Library (Perry Cast-an-yeda) Abbreviate to PCL in everyday use The main library on campus, open 24-hours and the perfect place to study whether you prefer working solo or in a group.
“One of the reasons I chose to attend The University of Texas at Austin was the Harry Ransom Center.”
increasing property taxes collected by Central Health, Travis County’s hospital district, from 7.89 cents to 12.9 cents per $100 of assessed property value. 45 percent voted against the tax increase. 176,755 voted in favor of the increase and 148,375 voted against.
The increase will contribute an estimated $35 million annually toward operations at the teaching hospital and purchase medical services there. State Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, said the proposed medical school would improve health care services in Travis County and provide a growing base of resident physicians who graduate from the school. “People understood that this would benefit them and their families and their neighbors,” Watson said. For the past six years, Watson has coordinated with the University and other local governmental bodies to bring the medical school and teaching hospital to Austin.
Establishing the school and hospital are two components of Watson’s “10 Goals in 10 Years” plan. In a statement, UT President William Powers Jr. said the University aims to complete the medical school and teaching hospital by 2015. Powers said he and Steven Leslie, UT executive vice president and provost, will now appoint a committee of faculty members and health care officials to help recruit a dean and choose a location for the school. “Now that the vote is over, the hard work of building a medical school begins,” Powers said. Travis County Taxpayers Union, a political action committee that opposes Proposi-
tion 1, sued Central Health, alleging that the proposition’s ballot language violates the U.S. Voting Rights Act of 1965 by misleading voters and expressing advocacy for the proposition. In May 2012 the UT System Board of Regents pledged $30 million a year for eight years and $25 million per year after that for the medical school. The Seton Healthcare Family pledged $250 million toward the teaching hospital in April 2012. The proposed medical school would join six UT health institutions located in Dallas, Houston, Tyler, San Antonio and Galveston, some of which partner with local hospitals funded partially by property taxes in their areas.
Texas Parents aid transitioning students by Christine Imperatore | Special editions staff It’s no secret that parents often have trouble when it comes time for their “babies” to flee the nest and enter the grownup world of college. Luckily for the moms and dads of Longhorns, there’s Texas Parents, an organization that helps UT parents with that transition their children make into adulthood. Texas Parents works with parents to find a happy medium for them to stay in touch with and help their student without hindering his or her college experience. The resources the group provides ultimately help to establish a healthy communication between Longhorns and their parents. In 1948, a group of UT dads got together and formed an organization to help UT students and their parents. In the past 64 years, the Dads Association has become Texas Parents and continues to follow their mission to “help parents help their
students.” The goal of Texas Parents is not to insert themselves into the daily lives of each student and report back to students’ parents, but rather to help parents stay in their students’ lives while keeping boundaries and allowing them to act like the adults they now are. The group serves parents and students on multiple levels. Through the money they raise by parents joining as members, ,Texas Parents is able to award grants to registered student organizations for campus activities and community service projects such as Hope Week and Forty Acres Fest. Grants have also helped areas within the Division of Student Affairs such as Student Emergency Services, University Health Services and the Counseling and Mental Health Center. Additionally, Texas Parents provides valuable information and advice to its members.
Texas Parents Director Susie Smith offers helpful hints like, “when your student is having trouble in a class or with a professor, please, please DON’T call or email the professor on your student’s behalf.” The organization emphasizes the importance of letting students be responsible for themselves and their academics, but also letting them know that their parents are still there when they need them. Texas Parents even provides a monthly enewsletter highlighting important news, dates, deadlines and event information. This is a great alternative to parents having to hound their students for up-to-theminute coverage or relevant details. Sometimes it helps to have your parents be notified of important deadlines (i.e. tuition payment), so you can be sure they’re not missed. Texas Parents also helps parents learn about
the various resources available to students when they need academic, physical, social or emotional support. By being aware of these resources, parents can be better equipped to help their students when they can’t physically be there themselves. Joining Texas Parents is just as beneficial to the students as it is to the parents. Parents will have the tools and tips to let their students be adults and learn for themselves what it means to be responsible; and students will have even stronger support from their parents when they need it. Every May, Texas Parents produces and mails out the New Parent Guide that includes information to help students and their families get off to a good start on the next four years as Longhorns. Look for yours in the mail! For more information about Texas Parents, visit texasparents.org.
WE HAVE NEWS WE HAVE SPORTS WE HAVE THAT VIDEOGAME SHOW 15 DORM, 16 CABLE, 29.1 ANTENNA www.texasstudenttv.com
–Sonia Desai, undergraduate
FEW UNIVERSITIES CAN OFFER WHAT The University of Texas at Austin provides undergraduates through the Harry Ransom Center, a humanities research library and museum on campus. Visit www.hrc.utexas.edu/undergraduate to learn how to become involved: • Visit exhibitions • Attend programs • Study the collections • Apply for an internship, volunteer, or work-study position • Become a member 21st and Guadalupe Streets The University of Texas at Austin Free admission www.hrc.utexas.edu/undergraduate 512-471-8944
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter
Please recycle this paper.