THE DAILY COUGAR
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
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Issue 19, Volume 79
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ONLINE EXCLUSIVES AT THEDAILYCOUGAR.COM
CAMPUS
Center for Student Media considers big changes Zachary Burton, Laura Gillespie Staff writer, assistant news editor
The new Center for Student Media held the first meeting of the Student Media Advisory Committee at 3 p.m. Wednesday at the M.D. Anderson Memorial Library. Replacing the Student Publications Committee, SMAC brings together The Daily Cougar Editor-
in-Chief Channler K. Hill, Student Video Network President Sophia Pereira and Coog Radio Station Director Samantha Wong, along with representatives from all three organizations, the Student Government Association and local professional committees. At the meeting, each student leader presented the improvements
made by their section since the beginning of the school year. SVN has given out more promotional material and is producing new shows and reviews, while Coog Radio boasts a re-launched website, new projects and more giveaways such as free tickets to local concerts. The Daily Cougar also launched
a new website and front page design and is marketing itself more with a new slogan, promotional tables and an open house. What’s more, all three organizations are extending collaboration efforts. Several suggestions were made for the improvement of the Center, largely focused on The Daily Cougar. One of the major propositions was
a suggestion made by Center for Student Media Director Matt Dulin to transition The Daily Cougar to a more online-based publication, with only one or two print issues a week. “We surveyed students and their reading habits, we surveyed editors CHANGES continues on page 12
RESEARCH
HISTORY
UH dusts off moon for data
Former Frontiersman reignites UH tradition Kathleen Murrill Senior staff writer
Nora Olabi Staff writer
The University is joining NASA in the international effort to collect detailed information about the moon. The Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer, which was launched into space on Sept.6, will orbit the moon for 100 days to gather data that could potentially answer many long-standing questions that continue to boggle the scientific community. Questions about its surface boundary exosphere — a thin, atmospheric layer very prevalent in this solar system — lunar dust and surface conditions, like composition and global density, have yet to be fully answered. Alex Ignatiev, the director of the Center for Advanced Materials and a Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Distinguished Professor of Physics, is working on a project with his team to harvest lunar dust for the creation of solar cells. This In-Situ Resource Utilization project would create energy and fuel in space to further research and, eventually, drive down costs of deep space exploration. “Little is known about lunar dust in the lunar atmosphere, both from the scientific viewpoint and from the technological viewpoint, as the dust will affect everything that will be done on the moon in the MOON continues on page 11
The Frontiersmen organization was started in 1948 to promote the University’s school spirit before it went dormant. It was recreated in 1991 by Russell Hruska. | Justin Tijerina/The Daily Cougar
The whistles of a siren, the running of the flags and the sight of men in wranglers and tan dusters aligned along the side of the field have become synonymous with a UH football game — and to think that may have never been the case if it wasn’t for an ugly, yellow siren. Originally founded in 1948 as an on-campus organization dedicated to promoting school spirit and increasing the community’s morale, the Frontiersmen organization was filled with some of the most spirited and dedicated leaders on campus. Despite its strong beginning, however, the Frontiersmen fell dormant for years. That is, until architecture
student and Sigma Chi fraternity brother Russell Hruska saw the siren brought by former coaches Jack Pardee and John Jenkins into the football stadium to celebrate a Cougar touchdown. “I noticed right away that it wasn’t an overly attractive siren. It was yellow. I actually quoted it as a yellow piece of something or another,” Hruska said. “So I approached Coach Jenkins with the idea of creating a siren that would be more impressive. And he said, ‘Well good gosh, that sounds great.’ And he told me that they had actually ordered another siren that was coming in the next couple weeks and that now I was in charge of it, so I said, ‘OK.’” FRONTIER continues on page 7
ACADEMICS
Glacier researcher hot on climate issues’ trail Julia Davila Staff writer
A UH assistant professor is joining an international team to study the shrinking of mountain glaciers using satellite remote sensing measurements. Hyongki Lee, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, has once again found himself working with his doctoral alma mater, Ohio State University, which is leading the initiative. OSU recently received a three-year, $600,000 grant from NASA, with approximately $145,000 of that given to Lee’s part of the project. GLACIER continues on page 3
Assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering Hyongki Lee was awarded a $145,000 grant to study glacier shrinkage. | Courtesy of UH.edu