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September 28, 2011 Issue 22, Volume 77
STUDENT GOVERNMENT
Universities unite for green initiative UH joins forces with other educational institutions to reduce carbon footprint Joshua Mann
THE DAILY COUGAR SGA President Michael Harding met with the student government presidents of several area universities to introduce a plan to reduce the carbon footprint of Houston. The program would include UH, UH Clear Lake, Rice, Texas State University and Houston Baptist University.
It would involve a month of recycling initiatives, followed by a meet-up event with all of the participating universities. “The event would be a going green program that would take place on our campuses simultaneously,” Harding said. “Then we would all re-convene at Discovery Green and announce our numbers; how much we recycled as each campus and how much we recycled as the city of Houston.” The program will be similar to RecycleMania, a contest that tracks recycling data on college campuses and then ranks the
schools according to several categories. The program would broaden its focus to encompass the Houston area as a whole. “The goal of the program will be to reduce the city of Houston’s carbon footprint while also raising awareness about recycling at different universities and hopefully within the community,” Harding said. “We can be activists when it comes to reducing the city’s carbon footprint.” The universities are aiming for the start of the program to be in the spring semester, with the final
event in Discovery Green taking place sometime in February. Harding said this is hopefully only the beginning. “We’re hoping to make this an annual event,” said Harding. “Not only making it an annual event, but expanding it as well. We talked a lot about getting other universities involved. All of us are really excited about the potential for this program.” Additional bills gain approval The Student Government Association also got several pieces of legislation passed over the summer as well as at the start of the
fall, Academic Affairs Committee Chair Mike Nguyen said. During the summer the SGA passed the Academic Bill of Rights, that will provide students with an alert system informing them if they have any holds or stops on their academic accounts. A task force was created that will be working on a system that will enable students to rate and review the performance of academic advisors. The Academic Bill of Rights gives guidelines to professors on the use of syllabuses and ensures, RECYCLING continues on page 10
CAMPUS
ATHLETICS
UH sports unveils hands-on virtual guide program for fans The Athletics Department at UH revealed a new and improved form of the fan experience this week. Cougar fans will enjoy a virtual hands-on experience through the new 2011-2012 Houston Athletics Virtual Guide, which features a virtual layout of UH’s 16 sports programs. Virtual tours through athletic facilities, videos from head coaches and the history of each team’s accomplishments — on field and off field — are available with the simple click of a mouse. Fans can find a list of the links to each team’s social media page by visiting http://bit.ly/rbohVO. — Jennifer Postel
Moderator Neimon James helped facilitate the discussion by asking panelists questions about their political beliefs. | Yulia Kutsenkova/The Daily Cougar
BLAFFER
Student opinions clash at NAACP political debate
UH art museum opens latest exhibit at architecture school With the Blaffer Art Museum’s main campus site closed for major renovations, the art museum is holding a major exhibition off site. Opening on Friday at the UH Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture Gallery is an exhibit titled WORKac: all cultural. WORKac will exhibit seven designs by Work Architecture Company, the firm in charge of the Blaffer renovations. WORKac: all cultural will run through Oct. 30. Admission is free and open to the public. — Jennifer Postel
Sale satifies sweet tooth
T
he UH chapter of the A merican Student
Dental Alliance hosted a bake sale Tuesday to raise money for their trip to Amarillo. There, the group will participate in the Texas Mission of Mercy program, a nonprofit that offers free dental care to uninsured patients. | Brianna Leigh Morrison/The Daily Cougar
“Obama v. Perry” talk challenges panelists with opposing views Ryan Rockett
THE DAILY COUGAR Amid increasingly incendiary Republican debates in the race to choose the next presidential candidate, UH students made a stand to argue their own beliefs on issues facing American voters Tuesday in the University Center
Tejas room. Dubbed “Obama vs. Perry,” the event, hosted by the nonpartisan UH NAACP, invited a four-person panel of students and alumni to engage the audience of about 40 and discuss issues such as immigration reform, education and unemployment. “We just hope people understand the importance of being politically active,” said UH NAACP President Lindsay Gary. “We DEBATE continues on page 3