THE DAILY COUGAR
T H E
O F F I C I A L
S T U D E N T
Issue 26, Volume 79
N E W S PA P E R
O F
T H E
U N I V E R S I T Y
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
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H O U S T O N
S I N C E
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ONLINE EXCLUSIVES AT THEDAILYCOUGAR.COM
MAINTENANCE
Power outage turns up heat on campus Mary Dahdouh News editor
Although power has been fully restored to campus after being swept by a power outage Monday morning, some students still have to deal with the unpleasant lack of air conditioning as repairs are being made. According to a UH press release, two campus main electrical feeders, identified as Cougar 1 and Cougar 3, were affected by a lightning strike, causing the majority of campus to experience a momentary electrical outage. “A lot of students were complaining about the power being out,” said English senior Kathryn Diaz, who lives
in Cougar Village 1. “When I asked around, I found out that it had gone off really early and other buildings had issues. I found it strange that we received no notification about it.” The Facilities Management electrical team began repairs to Cougar 1 on Monday. Once the repairs are completed, the team will work to balance the distribution of the electrical load across campus and discuss repairs for the Cougar 3 feeder. According to the University, the repairs on Cougar 3 may require a planned outage, which will be scheduled at a time that will minimize any inconveniences across campus. But electricity being fully functional again does not mean the air
conditioning is working in every building. “As repairs continue to be made, we are keeping our Central Plant equipment load very low so we can have power to the campus and not take risks with tripping or overwhelming the current feeder,” said Richard Bonnin, interim associate vice president for marketing and communication. Buildings will continue to be precooled to avoid any further issues until power problems have been resolved, Bonnin said. Students have noticed that busy areas, such as the University Center
Doors propped open by chairs have been the tell-tale sign of no air conditioning in busy buildings like the University Center Satellite as the campus recuperates from power outages caused by lightning. | Justin Tijerina/The Daily Cougar
POWER continues on page 3
PHILANTHROPY
Khators contribute $100,000 to Tier One Zachary Burton Staff writer
Though concussions forced redshirt junior quarterback David Piland (center) to end his career, he will still participate in meetings and travel on road trips to help the team without playing. | Justin Tijerina/The Daily Cougar
FOOTBALL
The next phase begins After multiple concussions, Piland decides to end collegiate football career Christopher Shelton Sports editor
Part of David Piland’s life has regained a sense of normalcy. After suffering a concussion on Sept. 7, the redshirt junior quarterback has returned to class and is again attending team meetings, observing practices and traveling to road contests.
On the field, however, his life will never be the same. After advisement from the UH concussion management team, Piland has decided to end his football career. There is no definite number of concussions he has endured since he began playing football, but Piland has suffered at least two during his UH career.
He said it was a tough decision to hang up his cleats. “It was not easy to hear that I can no longer play the game that I love, but I know that our medical staff has my best interests in mind,” Piland said in a statement. “I will always cherish my time on the field and my time at PILAND continues on page 5
In their continuing efforts to push UH forward, President Renu Khator and her husband Suresh, associate dean of the Cullen College of Engineering, have given more than $100,000 to create the Renu and Suresh Khator UH Tier One Scholarship Endowment. Combined with matched funding, this donation gave $200,000 to the Tier One Scholarship Program. “The University of Houston offers more than $150 million in aid and scholarship(s) each year to freshmen and transfer students. Most of it is need-based, but a few, including Tier One Scholarships, are based on merit,” Khator said. “Offering scholarships to freshmen, whether need-based or meritbased, encourages them to attend college, and more specifically, to choose UH.” The Tier One Scholarship program admits students who have a combined math and critical reading SAT score of at least 1300, were ranked in the top 10 percent of their class and were admitted to the University in the fall semester following their high school graduation, in accordance with the guidelines from the Tier One website. With the recent donation, the program will be able to offer as many
as 200 more merit-based scholarships to noteworthy freshmen. According to the Tier One Scholarship website, recipients are offered $39,600 for tuition and fees for four years, $18,000 for two years of room and board and an additional $1,000 for research and $2,000 to study abroad. “I think it’s a good thing that they’re giving these opportunities if you’ve made a 1300 or above. It’s more of an incentive for students to try to come to this school, to this campus,” said print journalism senior Michelle Iracheta. “There are a lot of competing schools ... in the state and in the country where students can go to, and not only are they offering the incentive of getting into the school, but they’re also offering these extra added things like studying abroad. They’re being more competitive.” The program’s history dates back to 2009, when an anonymous donation of $7 million spurred Khator to challenge the UH community to match donations and create a scholarship program for high-achieving students. The program began the next year and has featured Texas Scholars and high school valedictorians since then. “Student success is my top SCHOLARS continues on page 3