Issue 13, Volume 82

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Issue 13, Volume 82

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The final fight A back-and-forth, contested election night saw drama on all levels of the political spectrum, from local to national.

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Emily Burleson, EDITOR

ELECTION

Students watch election across campus NEWS STAFF

@THEDAILYCOUGAR

From too early to call to too close to call, Tuesday night left everyone who hass been following the most divisive and polarizing U.S. presidential election in modern history on the edge of their seats.

Despite widespread expectations that Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton would take the Electoral College by a landslide, Republican nominee Donald Trump secured votes from several key states, including Ohio, Florida and North Carolina.

“Honestly, Obama could do another one. If he’d agree to stay, I’d be okay with amending the constitution,” philosophy senior James Hill said from a watch party on campus. “He can be the new FDR. I’m okay with that.”

Laleen Bajwa, a finance senior and Pakistani immigrant, considers herself 100 percent American. While attending an election results watch party hosted by the Department of Political Science at M.D. Anderson Library, Bajwa’s enthusiasm for Election Day was palpable.

“I don't think you guys realize it—this is my Super Bowl,”

Bajwa said. “I love politics.”

Texas State Representative Carol Alvarado, who represents District 145, stopped by the watch party, at the Rockwell Pavilion room, to extoll students there for voting and being engaged in politics.

“I think we have seen a record number of your generation coming out to vote, and I’m so happy,” said Alvarado, a Democrat who’s been in the Texas House of Representatives since 2008. “I think it’s great that you are leading a movement, you are a voice in this election, and I know that many of us that are in elected office look to you to give us guidance on the issues that you care about.”

At Axelrad Beer Garden’s election watch party, supporters of Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party let no small victory go uncelebrated.

In spite of Clinton’s dwindling chances, the victories of Harris County down-ballot progressives were particularly well received.

“Regardless of what the outcome is,” UH alum Robyn Douglas said, “I think we should be proud of the fact that we all

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ISSUE STAFF COPY EDITING

Nguyen Le CLOSING EDITORS

Trey Strange Bryce Dodds Leah Nash

At Calhoun's Rooftop, the College Republicans gathered to watch the Republican nominee capture more electoral votes than expected. | Julie Araica/The Cougar

rallied together.”

Students gathered at Lynn Eusan Park for “Color Me Houston,” a Homecoming event where live election updates from CNN were played while CoogRadio DJs blasted music from the stage.

Most students attending said they voted for Clinton, regardless of whether they identified as Democrats or Republicans.

Early in the night, many students felt Clinton would still win, despite Trump’s lead in states like Florida.

“I think Hillary Clinton is going to win,” said biology sophomore Jonathan Gomez. “It’s

ton Mayo, a UH Law student and Membership Director for Houston Stonewall Young Democrats.

“I didn’t expect that.”

In the early stages of College Republicans’ event at Calhoun’s Rooftop Bar and Grill, finance junior Antonio Cruz said that after the election many people would experience a political hangover.

“The entire thing is a coin toss,” Cruz, a Republican, said.

“All I know is that a lot of people are not gonna know what to do after today. This whole election has been like a roller coaster, and not that many people know how to get off a roller coaster.

“Honestly, Obama could do another one. If he’d agree to stay, I’d be okay with amending the constitution. He can be the new FDR. I’m okay with that.”

James Hill, philosophy senior

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going to be close, but with the media on her side and celebrities backing her up. The biggest thing is that she just needs people to go out and actually vote for her.”

At 7:30 p.m., a CNN live election update revealed a 1 percent lead by Clinton in Texas.

Only the victories of Harris County’s Kim Ogg and Ed Gonzalez received louder applause from the crowd.

“I’m flabbergasted,” said Cole-

Tomorrow will be a very brand new day.”

The watch party was attended by students, primarily Republican, and Republican Matt Murphy, who is running for the Texas House of Representatives for District 147.

Many Republicans were surprised by how close Trump and Clinton came in Texas at

WATCH PARTY

Continues on page 4

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Emily Burleson, EDITOR

Majority of UH students support Clinton in poll Our goal: To showcase who might win the presidency if all UH students, including undocumented, international and unregistered students, voted.

Members of The Cougar staff polled more than 400 students the week of Election Day to see whom UH students would elect as the U.S. president. All polling was conducted anonymously through paper ballots, and members of The Cougar staff distributed and collected in public places. Students, regardless of whether they registered to vote or are citizens of the U.S., were encouraged to vote in the survey.

The results:

Hillary Clinton

62%

Donald Trump Gary Johnson Jill Stein

13% 6% 2%

Key election results

There's more to Election Day than just the U.S. president.

Two weeks ago, we printed a voting guide for Harris County residents so The Cougar's readers could walk into the polls educated and ready to vote. Here's the results of these key election.

Find more local and state election results online at thedailycougar.com/news.

Write-Ins:

An equal number of students wrote in Bernie Sanders as voted for Jill Stein.

• • • •

Bernie Sanders (9) Renu Khator (1) Kanye West (1) Barack Obama (1)

8%

OF THOSE POLLED WROTE IN A CANDIDATE

6%

OF THOSE POLLED DO NOT BELIEVE IN VOTING

1st Court Appeals Chief Justice

Heights Alcohol Proposition

Harris County Sheriff

Harris County District Attorney

U.S. House of Representatives: Texas, District 2

U.S. House of Representatives: Texas, District 18

Steve Radack, 52.6 percent Ed Gonzalez, 52.6 percent

Ted Poe, 60.8 percent of vote

For, 64 percent of vote

Kim Ogg, 54.1 percent of vote

Sheila Jackson Lee, 73.8 percent of vote

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Emily Burleson, EDITOR

MAN ON THE STREET

What's the best case scenario for Clinton's presidency?

JULIE ARAICA

SENIOR STAFF WRITER @JULIEARAICA

"She was our best option but that’s not exactly how I want to feel about a president, but I guess that’s how everyone feels about presidents in general.

I think that since congress is still very republican, even with a democrat in the office, nothing will get done."

— ALEXIS MASSENGALE, EXPLORATORY STUDIES FRESHMAN

She definitely has her flaws, she’s had a lot of character development in her political career. As a female and a feminist, I am proud that there’s a female who has gotten to this point, but at the same time, we could have a better female president.

— KARINA POURARYAN, DIGITAL MEDIA FRESHMAN

"She’s not the best, but she’s better than Trump.

But she has already served as secretary of state, so at least she has applicable experience, which makes her more trustworthy than Trump — emails or not."

— MCKENZIE POPE, BROADCAST JOURNALISM SOPHOMORE

"She’s not a great person, but Trump makes her look like an angel. She’s definitely more of a politician and her policies seem a lot more rational. She is definitely more calm when faced with opposition, and Trump is just angry.

— GERALD UCHEGBU, CIS FRESHMAN

"She is the better, more qualified candidate for president out of the others. I’m just very surprised about how close her poll ranking to Donald Trump is and I think that really says a lot about our nation."

— DANIEL ALCARAZ, BIOMEDICAL SOPHOMORE

“

"She’s like a puppet. It’s like, everything she says sounds fake and unbelievable."

— GREGORIO ZAVARY, ARCHITECTURE SOPHOMORE

— KIMME WU, ARCHITECTURE SOPHOMORE

"I understand the email controversy, but for every single scandal she has had, Trump has had one equal or worse in every aspect.

Even though she’s not everyone’s first choice, she is the most presidential out of all of our options."

— Jack Luthy, political science freshman

WATCH PARTY

Continued from page 2

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”

"She’s kind of a liar and changes her opinion all the time."

one point and said it could be attributed to the growing Hispanic population in the historically Republican-voting state.

Accounting senior and and College Republican member, Julie Le, believe that this was a problem with the Republican candidate.

“Trump is a very polarizing candidate,” Le said. “A lot of conservatives feel as though Trump doesn't accurately represent them, so a lot of conservatives have decided to for third party.”

Hours before Florida was called for Donald Trump, students were already reacting from the watch party at the Rockwell Pavilion in the M.D. Anderson Library.

“Florida just flipped to Trump, and I feel like I’m gonna throw up,” philosophy senior James Hill said. “It looks like he’s gonna grab Florida.”

Just as it did in the 2012 election, Harris County turned blue.

Heena Kepadia, a student at the University of Houston Law Center, said this could likely be attributed to a potentially large percentage of straight-ticket voters in favor of Clinton.

“It just is a testament to the turnout of this election,” Kepadia said. “I think it means there was great early turnout in Harris County.”

As a Homecoming raveturned-watch party, Color Me Houston, unfolded at Lynn Eusan Park, students on both sides of the political spectrum expressed surprise.

Political science freshman Irina Alejandro, watching the results come in from Lynn Eusan Park, said that living in Harris County made her feel at ease about the election.

“I feel like big cities are always blue,” Alejandro said.

“Being in Houston and being surrounded by people that think the same as me is relaxing.”

Regardless of the presidential election results, none at Axelrad were ready to give up on the Democratic movement.

“Ultimately I feel there’s always going to be work to be done,” said Reyes Ramirez, a UH alum and advocate within the community. “Tonight’s just going to decide how hard I’m going to have to work.”

McRae Peavy, Julie Aracia, Rafa Farihah and Jasmine Davis contributed reporting. news@thedailycougar.com

Wednesday, November 9, 2016 | 5

MEET YOUR 2016 HOMECOMING COURT

KING

Miles Coleman Nominated by: Kappa Alpha Psi Fun Fact: I crawled backwards when I was a baby.

QUEEN Kelechi Efochi Fun Fact: I love football! I’m a huge Cowboys fan.

Sedick Iyamah Nominated by: Alpha Phi Alpha Fun Fact: I am a huge anime fan!

My favorite anime is Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood.

Jamarcus Lacy Nominated by: Alpha Sigma Phi Fun Fact: I feel that I represent the average Cougar-in which we do exceptional things!

Myles Parnell Nominated by: Student Programming Board Fun Fact: I teach Nightclub Cardio at the Recreation Center.

Christian Santillan Nominated by: Delta Upsilon Fun Fact: I was an extra in a short film called “Those Who Can.”

Monique Hall Fun Fact: I remember the song I learned in 3rd grade to name all 50 states in alphabetical order.

Betty Lulseged Nominated by: Delta Sigma Theta Fun Fact: I love trying new things!

Anthea Ojadi Nominated by: Chi Omega Fun Fact: I can eat one large box of pizza in one sitting.

Alejandra Rangel Nominated by: Phi Sigma Rho Fun Fact: My career goal is to one day become a professor at the University of Houston.

See who is crowned Homecoming King and Queen at the Homecoming football game, Nov. 12, at 2:30 p.m. at TDECU Stadium. For more about the UH 2016 Homecoming Court, visit www.uh.edu/homecoming/candidates. @uhhomecoming

@HomecomingUH

/homecoming.uh

uh.edu/homecoming

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Frank Campos, EDITOR

EDITORIAL BOARD ELECTION DAY

EDITOR IN CHIEF

Trey Strange

Hectic election adds to bizarre year that is 2016

W

hen waking up this morning you probably knew who would win this election. When we went to press last night with our print issue, we had no idea.

What went from a landslide victory turned into a horse race. Polls, predictions and guesses went out the window once FRANK the voting CAMPOS centers actuOPINION EDITOR ally began to close. Florida was the pulse of the race as it swayed back and forth and toyed with Americans all over the country.

Trump proved all night that he was a capable candidate all along. The silent majority seemed to carry him in many

states people thought he would lose in. Although there where positives all night for Trump Clinton stayed close throughout the night and even though she didn’t stomp Trump she showed that a woman can hold her own in a race that has been dominated by men.

From the World Series last week to the election last night, America seems to love keeping Americans on the edge of their seats. Now we know the results and we need to accept them.

We should move on. Being angry and resentful with the result is OK but turning those feeling into violent actions is the wrong answer. We all need to just accept what happened last night and figure out a way to make the best out of it. The future is literally at stake.

We still need to get up in the morning and go to work, school

MANAGING EDITOR

Bryce Dodds

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Leah Nash

CHIEF COPY EDITOR

Nguyen Le

NEWS EDITORS

Emily Burleson Alex Meyer Marialuisa Rincon SPORTS EDITORS

Reagan Earnst Jonathan Valadez

The election was not predicted by most media. | Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

and to take care of our responsibilities regardless of who won last night. Trump and Clinton

will go home and remain rich while we now have to deal with each other after one of the most polarizing elections in this country’s young history.

That’s right, we are all left to come together as Americans to either embrace each other or tear each other apart. Will we continue to let this election divide us now that it’s over? I hope not.

Our country is divided in opinion but absolutely not in heart. At the end of the day we still want what is best for our children, our friends, our families and our future.

Opinion editor Frank Campos is a media production senior and canbe reached at opinion@thedailycougar. com

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Frank Campos, EDITOR

STAFF EDITORIAL

The next president is here. What now?

R

egardless of who won the presidential election, Americans on both sides of the political spectrum must now accept the results and allow a peaceful transition of power.

So what if the person you voted for didn’t get elected? You still live here. Unless you have decided to move to Canada next year, you are stuck with who we have.

This election has proven that politics can get nasty, but also that people care about the future of our country. People registered in record numbers and showed up to vote in droves, shattering previous numbers for early voting in both 2008 and 2012. Texas alone boasted more than 4 million early voters.

This election might have made you cringe when the results came in, but for once, it feels like we got a good sample of what the country actually wanted.

Now we look to the future

and our next president to guide us through the next four years.

Starting in January we will lose Barack Obama and gain a new political leader. Things might not change right away, but it is good to prepare for the first big splash move within the first 100 days of a new commander-inchief.

They’ll have plans to focus on any number of new legislations, but time and Congress, will tell if they can actually accomplish anything so soon. With the difficulties already in Congress, a new, highly-polarizing president, regardless of political leanings, may run into any number of challenges in their post.

Not only do we have a new president, but we also have new positions filled at almost every level of politics. The U.S. will look different once our new president finals settles in to office, so it is best to just accept the result, suck it up and enjoy

The people have done their duty by voting in the presidential election. So what's next? | Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

your life under a semi-rational president.

If you take anything from away from this political cycle, it should be that the people want their voice heard and

are willing to show it if given the opportunity. More people feel the need to speak up and have their voice heard and represented in some way.

Do not let this only be a

2016 phenomenon. Keep the momentum, enjoy your life with a new president and a hope for the future. editor@thedailycougar.com

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Reagan Earnst, EDITOR

VOLLEYBALL

Junior juggles roles as student, athlete and cadet J.D. SMITH

SENIOR STAFF WRITER @JDSMITH_08

Being a full-time student can be a college student's time-management nightmare: With so much to do and so many places to be, it’s easy to feel like there’s not enough hours in the day.

Junior middle blocker Shelby Harper can surely relate, balancing being a full-time student, collegiate athlete and membership in UH's Air Force ROTC program.

“I really wanted to serve my country and I thought ROTC was the best way to do it,” Harper said. “I can’t see myself in a 9-to-5 job behind a desk and I thought, 'What better job is there than to serve my country?'”

'Impressed' advisers On top of studying and competing, Harper must attend three weekly physical training sessions and a two-hour leadership lab at 4 p.m. every Wednesday as a member of the ROTC program.

Cadets also have to complete community service per the program's requirements.

The number of hours gradually increases each year.

Harper's advisers lauded her for never letting the workload affect her.

“There are some things that we simply can’t make allowances for, and that’s where Harper has really impressed us,” said Capt. Merrideth Tyler Akers, assistant professor of Air Force sciences. “She’s always there, always on time or early when she needs to be. She doesn’t cut corners, whine or ask for any special treatment, and that’s what we’re looking

for in a cadet.”

The work comes with its benefits as the ROTC offers scholarships that cover up to $18,000 of tuition under the stipulation that anyone who completes the program enters the Air Force's four-year commission.

With the commission comes the rank of second lieutenant, and cadets have little downtime upon finishing college and entering the Air Force. Harper’s work ethic is preparing her for the quick turnaround.

“These cadets will have graduation ceremony and their commission ceremony within two or three days of each other,”

Now sidelined due to injury, Harper tallied 159 kills and 73 blocks while appearing in all 32 of volleyball's games last season | The Cougar/File Photo

Akers said.

Harper is adapting well to the situation, using lessons learned in ROTC to improve her volleyball game and vice versa.

The team's stalwart In an interview with Campus Connect, a program from the American Athletic Conference, head coach Kaddie Platt praised Harper’s ability to influence the team's younger members.

“She has really invested time into our freshmen, and they really look up to her because she is so organized and knows what she wants," Platt said.

"It’s a great thing for our young players to be able to see.”

Despite being unable to play this season with a nagging shoulder injury, Harper has been a pivotal member of the volleyball team in her career.

Harper started 15 games and appeared in all 32 in her first season with the Cougars after transferring from the University of Arkansas.

During this time, Harper was a force for the Cougars in the front line, totaling 159 kills and 73 blocks. She is currently rehabilitating her shoulder and looks to come back stronger next season.

Shelby Harper manages a full schedule as a student, athlete and member of the Air Force ROTC program. | Courtesy of Capt . Merrideth Tyler Akers

“If you’re going through a hard time or if you’re stressed you’ve just got to keep rolling through it,” Harper said. “It’s important to pay attention to detail and you’ve got to learn fast and go with it.”

Harper, whose parents served in the Navy, knows that what she learns while in school and the ROTC program will help her when the stakes are much greater later in life.

Her attention to detail and ability to balance the many aspects of her life has led to

praises from her superiors.

“She’s a very strong cadet in leadership, poise, maturity, physical strength,” Akers said.

“We love cadets who have a skillset like hers because we know she’s physically fit and she’s mature, intelligent, has good people skills, high emotional intelligence, leading to such a well-rounded cadet.

We’re excited to have her in our program.” sports@thedailycougar.com