life+arts
Punxsutawney Phil shows his face
Cougars look to dominate softball
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t h e o f f i c i a l s t u d e n t n e w s pa p e r o f t h e u n i v e r s i t y o f h o u s to n s i n c e 1 9 3 4
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Students encouraged to serve community at volunteer expo The Bauer College of Business is hosting a volunteer expo from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. today in Melcher Hall. The event will have 20 different nonprofit organizations that will provide students with information about their organizations and ways to serve the community. “We have a lot of connections with nonprofit organizations through the various companies or other programs,” Stephanie Krauss, director of business student activities, said. “This is an opportunity for the organizations to come and showcase all their volunteer opportunities and tell students how to get involved.” This is the second year that Bauer is hosting the event. — Miguel Cortina/The Daily Cougar
SGA to hold session for students interested in running for election The Student Government Association is holding an information session at 7:30 p.m. today in the Rockwell Pavilion for students interested in running for election this year. The filing period for running in the student election started on Feb. 2. As representatives of the student body, the SGA can provide input on policies that make the University run. General information about what SGA does and the election procedure will be discussed at the meeting. “Run for the SGA elections,” Jeff Syptak, the executive chief of staff, said. “If you win, you will not regret the information and experiences you gain from serving.” For more information about running in the election, visit uh.edu/sga or contact the election commission at sgaelectioncommission@uh.edu. — Julian Jimenez/The Daily Cougar
CORRECTIONS !!
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EVENTS Research Career Information Fair A day of potential research opportunities, internships, summer and academic programs and career paths. The event will be held at the UC Houston Room from 2:30 to 6 p.m. Tokyo Police Club The indie artist will be headlining at Warehouse live with a lineup that includes Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin and Roky Moon & BOLT. Doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets range from $15 and up..
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Issue 86, Volume 76
Thursday ®
February 3, 2011 Read. Recycle. Repeat daily.
IRS provides free filing Informal survey shows many students still trying to understand tax forms, laws Elize Najm
THE DAILY COUGAR With tax season in full swing, the Internal Revenue Service announced its ninth year of free online tax preparation services for taxpayers making less than $58,000 a year, which should apply to the majority of the student body. The IRS partnered with a group of tax software companies to form the Free File Alliance to offer low-to-moderate income taxpayers access to online software.
In an informal survey of the UH student body conducted by the Daily Cougar, 50 percent felt they had a general understanding of federal and state tax laws, with 23 percent stating they would be able to successfully file taxes without help. Recent architecture graduate Melvalean McLemore looked over her paperwork three times before filing. “Why did I spend so much money and time on an education, yet I find myself clueless when it comes to the most universal aspect of living in America — paying taxes?” McLemore said. The Job Creation Act of 2010 installed a number of unemployment aids but also established new tax credits, like the Earned Income Tax Credit and the American
Opportunity Tax Credit, both of which are intended to alleviate the burden for working families and students with college tuition. “The payroll tax cut will benefit any working student who receives wages and thus pays Social Security taxes,” US Treasury Spokewoman Sandra Salstrom said in an e-mail. The informal survey of 60 UH students found that 75 percent of those surveyed, which included recent graduates, reported that they live on their own and are selfsupporting, with 87 percent reporting that they work either full- or part-time. “Those student workers will see more money in their paychecks this year,” FREE FILE continues on page 3
CONSTRUCTION
Building to house research cluster Neal Dasgupta
THE DAILY COUGAR Construction is underway for the new Health and Biomedical Sciences Center building that will be located next to the J. Armistead College of Optometry. According to a UH news release, the center has been designed to facilitate collaboration across many colleges at UH. “The new facility has been designed for delivery of state-ofthe-art patient eye care and research to strengthen the current services provided at the University,” UH Executive Director of Media Relations Richard Bonnin said. The building plan includes an ambulatory surgical center, the laser center, specialized research laboratories, animal care facilities, clinical facilities, along with labs, offices and classrooms, Bonnin said, adding that the new facility will provide great improvements for research. “The Complex Systems Supercluster, a new research institute at UH, will include vision scientists, neuroscientists, biomedical engineers, computer scientists, and cognitive, developmental and physiological psychologists,” Bonnin said. The Supercluster program will bring researchers from across CENTER continues on page 3
Elementary school students from across the US came to the University Saturday to plan a mission to Mars, including building a prototype Mars Rover. | Brianna Leigh Morrison/The Daily Cougar
CAMPUS EVENT
Rovers bring schoolchildren over Engineering competition in its ninth year aims to promote science literacy, excitement Julian Jimenez
THE DAILY COUGAR The next generation of astronauts and engineers converged on UH Saturday as children from around the country gathered for the ninth annual Mars Rover Celebration. The competition, aimed at elementary and middle school kids, tasks students with creating a mission to Mars. “If you go in there and look around, you’re looking at Cougars 10 years from now,” physics professor Edgar Bering said. “As far as we have contacts, every student who participated in the first Mars Rover Celebration has gone to college.” Bering is the sole remaining member of the committee that created the Mars Rover
Celebration nine years ago. He said that one of the main goals of the event is to promote scientific literacy and interest among youth. He credits the competition as the kick-in! Bering the-pants that motivates many participants to pursue careers in engineering later in life. For the competition, students must plan an expedition, decide upon a mission goal and build a concept model rover to be used for the trip to the red planet. The team presents its plan to judges at the competition, who select winners based on how well the students have prepared for the trip. Six hundred and twenty students participated in the event this year, and the competition included entrants from Texas, ROVERS continues on page 3