Issue 10, Volume 83

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Nola Valente, EDITOR

CRIME

Police report shows rise in sexual assault on campus

CHRISTINA SOUKIS

ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR @CHRISTINASOUKIS

The University Of Houston's annual Security and Fire Safety Report, which details crime rates at the University, revealed that sex assaults and crimes against women more than doubled in three years at UH. Violence Against Women Act, or VAWA, crimes and forcible sex offenses have tripled overall, according to the report.

VAWA crimes include dating violence, domestic violence and stalking, while forcible sex offenses include rape, sodomy, sexual assault with an object and forcible fondling.

The report does not include whether the cases were prosecuted or which of the cases, if any, were unfounded.

The VAWA crime report count went from 34 to 111 in three years, while the forcible sexual assault crime report count went from 11 to 37.

Some of the biggests increases were seen in VAWA crimes between 2015 and 2016.

Stalking reports more than tripled; dating violence reports almost doubled; and domestic violence reports went from zero to 15.

More reporting UHPD Lt. Bret Collier said the rise is due to better reporting strategies.

“Over the last few years, there has been a significant push nationwide to increase awareness of college-age sexual assaults and campaigns to encourage reporting,” Collier said. “I believe that the increase in numbers is simply an increase in reporting, which is a good thing if true.”

Collier said, however, that not all assaults are being reported.

“Consider the national statistic on sexual assault violence. Numbers vary depending on definitions and reporting methodology, but some show that one in four women will be assaulted during their college-age years, if not necessarily on campus,” he said. “Comparing that stat to the number of assaults reported to the police department, we know that the majority of assaults are not reported.”

Between 2013 and 2016, not much has changed regarding how sexual assault is reported.

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ISSUE STAFF CLOSING EDITORS

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Thomas Dwyer

Crimes listed under the Violence Against Women Act and forcible sex offenses tripled at the University of Houston in 2016, according to the Security and Fire Safety Report, which is required to be released by federal law. | File photo/The Cougar

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The most recent change came from the state legislature, which passed Senate Bill 969 on June 12.

This law protects students who report sexual assault, stalking or dating violence from being punished for other crimes such as underage drinking. But because it was recently passed, it bears no effect on the numbers reported this year.

Common factor Collier said UHPD does not focus on underage drinking when investigating sexual assault or domestic violence cases.

“Alcohol is commonly a factor in assault cases, but our goal is to get a victim the immediate assistance they need, make sure the victim

and our community is safe and investigate the assault," Collier said. "Anything else is a distraction from those goals."

Same process Between 2013 and 2016, the reporting processes for these crimes has largely stayed the same.

Victims can either call 911 or UHPD’s hotline, or they can report anonymously online through the Fraud and Non-Compliance Hotline — previously known as MySafeCampus. These systems have been in place since as early as 2005.

Chemistry senior Adelle Flores, a sexual assault survivor, said that it is unfortunate that incidents are happening despite these procedures.

“It’s very, very disheartening to think about — that students who are coming to UH to learn, to make new friends, to broaden their horizons, are having to go through horrible experiences like this that can be life-changing for someone,” she said.

While she does feel upset, she did have a good experience with UHPD in the past.

"They offered me standard protections, like if I needed classes moved or dorms moved," Flores said. "They followed up with me two weeks later, asking if I wanted to file charges. I had a positive experience. All of my concerns were addressed, and I feel like the issue was taken care of in a positive manner." news@thedailycougar.com

226% 145% 430% INCREASE in VAWA crime reports

INCREASE in forcible sex crime reports

INCREASE in stalking reports

The biggest overall increase was in VAWA crimes. There were 34 reported VAWA crimes in 2013, but the number of reports increased to 111 in 2016. VAWA crimes include dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking.

The second biggest overall increase was in forcible sex crimes. There were 11 reported forcible sex crimes in 2013, but the number of reports increased to 27 in 2016.

Forcible sex crimes include rape, sodomy, and forcible fondling.

The biggest individual increase in one specific crime was in stalking, which increased from 10 reports in 2013 to 53 in 2016. According to UHPD, stalking is defined as causing someone to feel unsafe or "emotional distressed."

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Nola Valente, EDITOR

TECHNOLOGY

UH opens new Institute for Data Science

JORDEN SMITH

ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR @THEJORDEN_SMITH

In a move that beats the University of Texas at Austin in its own game, UH announced Thursday that it has opened an Institute for Data Science.

The new research center, for which planning began in April 2016, comes just months after UT-Austin called off plans to build a campus in Houston with its own data science research center.

The institute’s initial research will focus on cyber and physical security, drug development, sustainable communities and infrastructure and accessible health care. Its scope will eventually expand to data science regarding software engineering, history and music.

“There has always been an intention to create an entity that would look after not just part of the research that is significant to data in general, but looks after the whole portfolio of the education,” said Amr Elnashai, vice president of the University's research and technology transfer.

UH already has a presence in the data science field, offering degrees with a data science component – like the

technology.

UH’s announcement comes only seven months after the University of Texas publicly canceled its plans to build a 300plus acre expansion in Houston, which may have included a data science center.

According to a presentation obtained by the Houston Chronicle, the advisory committee for the expansion recommended that UT consider a data center focused on key components of the Houston economy — energy, education and health.

'Natural location' UT canceled the expansion due to concerns from lawmakers and regents.

They said UT was not clear on how it purchased and planned to use the land.

Provost Paula Myrick Short said the University began planning the Institute for Data Science in April 2016, but a data science center has been a University goal for almost two years.

In interviews with The Cougar, UH officials denied claims that the University began planning the institute in response to the proposed UT expansion.

"We do not react to every initiative that comes out of Texas universities.

Otherwise, we would be reacting all the time. My understanding is that the data center that was proposed by UT was mostly hardware — heavy computing activity — not an education."

Amr Elnashai, vice president of research and technology transfer graduate certificate in energy data analytics – and the Center for Advanced Computing and Data Systems, or CACDS, which trains UH students and faculty in high-performance computing.

Data science is a rapidly developing field, according to IBM predictions, which expect demand for data scientists to grow up to 28 percent by 2020.

Data science has components in every sector of the economy — especially areas the Houston economy relies on most, such as energy, medicine and

"We do not react to every initiative that comes out of Texas universities. Otherwise, we would be reacting all the time," Elnashai said. "My understanding is that the data center that was proposed by UT was mostly hardware — heavy computing activity — not an education."

After more a year of work behind closed doors, the University sent out a news release announcing the institute’s immediate opening, headed by Andrea Prosperetti, the director of CACDS and

Andrea Prosperetti will lead the University of Houston's Institute for Data Science, which opened on Thursday. He was formerly the head of the UH Center for Advanced Computing and Data Sciences. | Courtesy of UH Media Relations

a mechanical engineering professor.

“Houston is a natural location for a focus on data science with its strengths in energy and health care and its substantial technology and software industries," Prosperetti said in the news release.

Endless applications Mathematics doctoral candidate and CACDS fellow Kayla Bicol said she's excited looking forward to the Institute for Data Science, as it provides new opportunities for students in research.

"I'm excited to hear that we now have an Institute for Data Science, since there's been a fascinating increase in data collection," Bicol said. "I hope to see that the institute implements several education opportunities for both undergraduate and graduate students."

The University recruited Prosperetti through the Governor’s Research Initiative Fund, which aims to bring

top-level professors to Texas universities. Prosperetti, a member of the National Academy of Engineering, was initially hired to head up CACDS. The institute will offer master's degrees before it begins to offer undergraduate degrees, Elnashai said.

The hope is to offer master’s degrees starting in Fall 2018, then gauge resources and interest before announcing further programs.

The University intends to reach out to data science scholars at Rice University, Elnashai said, but no plans to collaborate are yet in place.

Forefront of innovation With the opening of the institute, UH joins Rice as another Houston hub for the rapidly developing field of data science.

Rice recently pushed a universitywide $45 million data science initiative, focused on urban flooding, air quality and health and education policy.

"Our intention is to create a network over time to integrate the strengths not only of Houston intellectual hubs, but also Texas intellectual hubs," Elnashai said.

With the addition of the data science center, the University is also looking for partners within Texas who can utilize the research the institute will perform, including universities, community colleges and businesses.

Jesus Cruz-Garza, another CACDS fellow and doctoral candidate who studies neural engineering, believes that the institute's opening puts UH at the forefront of innovation.

"The largest organizations across the globe understand and invest in data science, given it's central importance in our very dynamic and technological world," Cruz-Garza said. "The institute will provide an great platform for the research to be augmented with high-end data science capabilities." news@thedailycougar.com

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Nola Valente, EDITOR

HEALTH

Social work school receives grant to help HIV-positive individuals MICHAEL SLATEN

SENIOR STAFF WRITER @MICHAELSLATEN

HIV-positive Houstonians may soon have more employment and housing opportunities thanks to a $900,000 grant from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration, which will fund Project Coordination of Resources and Employment.

Project CORE is a collaboration between the Graduate College of Social Work, AIDS Foundation Houston — a nonprofit that offers support services to HIVpositive people — and Avenue 360 Health and Wellness — a federally qualified health clinic that operates in medically underserved communities.

Nike Blue, chief program officer at AIDS Foundation Houston, said housing and supporting HIV-positive individuals is the project's most important goal.

“If you are HIV-positive and struggling in any of those areas, the likelihood of you being able to maintain your medication adherence decreases gravely,” Blue said. “If you’re not in medical care, the virus in your system and in your body has a very easy chance of making you sick or sicker, and it can kill you without treatment.”

Southern inhospitality Half of all new HIV infections occur in the South, and Houston has 1,200 to 1,300 new cases a year, according to a UH news release.

“There’s less resources in the South, and of course there’s a lot less health education surrounding (how) HIV is transmitted,” said Escamilla, who helped create S.M.A.R.T. Cougars, a free HIV testing program at UH. “So there’s a lack of knowledge and awareness."

Escamilla, who also serves as an administrator at Avenue 360, said that another chief aim of the grant is to help HIV-positive individuals achieve viral suppression, in which the virus is undetectable and cannot be transmitted. He said they want patients to be comfortable with their disease and be able to manage it.

“Once people learn how to empower themselves with their health, then they won’t feel so stigmatized, be-cause they know they can’t infect anyone else if their viral load is

undetectable," Escamilla said.

People with HIV are considered to have a disability, Escamilla said. Through their employment training at Project CORE, participants will teach people to advocate for themselves and receive accommodations in the workplace.

“That’s the whole thing: really educating people who are willing and want to work (and) making sure they are aware of their rights and not feel stigmatized about their HIV condition,” Escamilla said.

“Of course we want people to disclose in a safe manner, but the people should know their rights in the workforce.”

Funds will go toward providing HIV-positive individuals with employment training and coordination as well as technology development to help share data between the organizations involved, Blue said.

In the South, there is a lack of awareness for HIV, said Evelio Salnias Escamilla, the grant and reserach administrator at Avenue 360 Health and Wellness. There are 1,200 to 1,3000 new cases in Houston per year, he said. | Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Reducing stigma Blue said that the number of HIV infections in Houston has not decreased, like the virus has in other areas, due to Houston's huge square mileage and its many economically challenged communities.

“We are pretty high up,” Blue said. “A lot of that has to do with our geography. A lot of that has to do with how many people in our city have easy access to quality medical care, quality transportation and education.”

AIDS Foundation Houston estimates that 4,000 Houstonians do not know they have HIV, Blue said. She said that spreading awareness and getting tested for HIV will help end the epidemic.

“If you’re not getting tested— why? What’s the stigma related to why an individual or community isn’t get-ting tested?” Blue said.

“Having those conversations to reduce that stigma and then connecting to the re-sources that are in your community.”

The Graduate College of Social Work will conduct the evaluation component of Project CORE with assistant professor Samira Ali, Escamilla said.

He said they hope to find sustainable funding beyond the grant to con-tinue providing these services. news@thedailycougar.com

BEHIND EVERY GREAT GAME THERE’S A SOLID GAME PLAN. HAVE A SAFE RIDE HOME.

69%

of college students used a designated driver when they socialized during the last school year.

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BASEBALL

Astros return to World Series for chance at redemption FRANK CAMPOS

SPORTS EDITOR @FRANKCAMPOSJ

The Houston Astros have returned to the Fall Classic against the Los Angeles Dodgers for a shot at redemption 12 years after Roger Clemens and the Killer B's took the team to the World Series in 2005.

The Astros won the American League Championship series this year in dramatic fashion behind the bat of second baseman Jose Altuve and the arms of left-hander Dallas Keuchel and recently acquired pitcher Justin Verlander. After winning two in a row, the Astros almost let the Yankees come back but ultimately won the series 4-3 on Saturday.

Jose Altuve and Justin Verlander have been pivotal parts of the Astros' 2017 World Series journey. | Courtesy of Houston Astros

Comeback season Manager A.J. Hinch will try to do what Phil Garner and his squad couldn’t do in 2005 by winning the World Series to bring the team its first championship.

Even though Garner’s team had what is considered one of the greatest postseason rotations in baseball

history with Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte and Roy Oswalt, the 2017 team has the offense to back up its two star pitchers.

Both teams' journeys to the series could not have been more different. The 2017 Astros rolled into the playoffs with the third-best

record in baseball with 101 wins and a comfortable 20-game lead in the AL West to close out the regular season.

The 2005 team started the season 15-30 en route to second place in the National League Central before finishing with an 89-73 record and a wildcard playoff berth. That was also 2017 Hall of Fame inductee Jeff Bagwell’s last year with the Astros as first baseman and the only time he and Craig Biggio went to a World Series.

This year’s Astros team may have only a couple big names in the rotation and lack legends like Bagwell and Biggio in the lineup, but in 2017, it has more than enough star power to give the Dodgers a tough time in the series.

New leaders in the clubhouse Altuve leads the pack among hitters. He finished the regular season with a .346 batting average and 112 RBIs. More importantly, the second baseman has turned his season success into postseason magic.

After Game 7, Altuve had a .400

batting average in 11 postseason games this season, and he was a pivotal part of the World Series berth after completely dominating in the ALDS against the Boston Red Sox with a .563 batting average.

The Venezuela native continued his dominance into the ALCS and came away with key defensive plays in the series as well as a big home run in the fifth inning of Game 7.

“I’m not going to lie to you. There is a lot of emotions in that clubhouse after this crazy game,” Altuve said at a news conference after game six.“I personally love the way we play this kind of game to wake everyone up. I believe in my team.”

Altuve isn’t the only star making the most out of the playoffs.

ALCS MVP Justin Verlander couldn’t have come to the team at a better time after the Astros traded with the Detroit Tigers to acquire the six-time All-Star in September.

Verlander was lights out in both his starts in the series. The righthander struck out 13 and allowed one run in nine innings of work in Game 2, then followed that up with

seven shutout innings and eight strikeouts in Game 6.

“He’s been everything that we could have hoped for and more.

This guy prepares. He rises to the moment,” Hinch, the Astros' manager, said at a news conference.

“I’m so proud of him because I know how much it means to him. I know how much he puts into these outings. He chose to come here for games like this and beyond.”

Although the Dodgers will come into the game with the best record in baseball and a bullpen that has recorded a 0.94 ERA this month, the Astros still have a chance to win the trophy for the first time in franchise history.

“I have a great appreciation for what it takes to get to the World Series,” Hinch said. “We won a hundred-plus games in the regular season and a lot of games in the postseason so far, but it's not easy.

This is a grind, and it's awesome when you get rewarded by getting to go for a world championship.” sports@thedailycougar.com

2017 STUDENT FEES

ADVISORY COMMITTEE PRESENTATION SCHEDULE

All sessions will be held in the Senate Chamber in the Student Center North building

THURSDAY, OCT. 26, 2017

FRIDAY, OCT. 27, 2017

MONDAY, OCT. 30, 2017

THURSDAY, NOV. 2, 2017

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Committee Business Dean of Students Office Urban Experience Program Break University Career Services Public Comment Break Student Centers Children’s Learning Centers Break A.D. Bruce Religion Center Center for Fraternity and Sorority Life Center for Diversity and Inclusion LGBTQ Resource Center Adjournment

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Committee Business Center for Student Involvement Student Program Board Break Frontier Fiesta Association Homecoming Board Public Comment Break Activities Funding Board Metropolitan Volunteer Program Council for Cultural Activities Break Student Government Association Cougars in Recovery Speech and Debate Adjournment

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Committee Business DSAES IT Services Center for Student Media The Cougar Break Coog Radio CoogTV Public Comment Break Counseling and Psychological Services Campus Recreation Center for Students with DisABILITIES Break UH Wellness Health Center Adjournment

SFAC is charged with recommending funding allocations for Student Services Fees, making recommendations on behalf of all students. All presentations are open to the public, and a daily time is set aside for public comment. If you require disability accommodations, For more information visit uh.edu/sfac

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Committee Business Band/Spirit Squad Blaffer Gallery Break Intercollegiate Athletics Veteran Services Public Comment Break Business Services

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Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Services 2:00 p.m.

Process Wrap-Up Dr. Richard Walker, Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Services 2:30 p.m.

Adjournment

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SPORTS

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Frank Campos, EDITOR

BASEBALL

Sports journalist reflects on bold 2014 prediction REAGAN EARNST

ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR @REAGAN EARNST

In Major League Baseball, 100 single-season losses is perhaps the most highly dreaded milestone a team can possibly accomplish.

Reaching century-mark losses is typically the result of years of mismanagement across an entire organization, and recovering from such depths — especially to championship form — in any reasonable amount of time is a nearly impossible task.

The Houston Astros earned their title as the MLB’s laughing stock by failing to field competitive teams — sometimes intentionally — for more than a decade, including consecutive seasons from 2011 to 2013 with 106, 107 and 111 losses,respectively.

This, however, failed to stop Ben Reiter from publishing a Sports Illustrated cover story with one of the most outlandish sports predictions of all time. His June 30, 2014, cover story declared the Astros “Baseball’s Great Experiment” and proceeded to crown them “Your 2017 World Series Champs.”

What was once a pipe dream is now inching ever closer to becoming a reality. We caught up with Reiter to learn more about his curiously psychic ways.

The Cougar: The circumstances surrounding the Astros when your story was published were less than favorable. Even die-hard fans of the team likely struggled to buy what you were selling. What made you go forth with the prediction, and why was 2017 the year you thought it could happen?

Reiter: Well, the idea came about because we started wondering: What on earth is happening down in Houston?

They were so bad for so long. You go back and look at the line-by-line record – three seasons in a row losing more than 105 games, like that rarely happens. We wanted to find out what was going so terribly wrong down there, and what’re they trying to do about it?

As far as choosing 2017, it was just kind of sounding like it lined up with the team’s own internal timeline. But we essentially just looked at the ages and contracts of the players and it seemed like this would be the year; this would be the season it all came together. We actually thought we were a bit overly conservative when they made the playoffs in 2015, but obviously this is the strongest team they’ve had.

TC: As far as front offices of sports franchises are concerned, professional baseball is typically regarded as having the most

complex operations. The Astros take the complexity to another level with their implementation of analytics, which many fans don’t even attempt to understand. With that said, you were taking on a huge task in trying to document Houston’s massive rebuild. How did you approach this magnitude of a project?

Reiter: It took about a year of talking with (Astros’ management) off and on — not straight, just kind of floating the idea out to them that we wanted to do a deep dive into what they were doing down there. It was all kind of about when we were going to be able to get in there with them. We couldn’t do the story without their cooperation, at least in this case. The draft was coming up, and they had the first pick of the first round for the third straight year, so I asked about the idea of being a fly on the wall in the draft meetings and at the draft — all while being completely unobtrusive.

I think it took them a few days to decide if they were actually going to let me do this, because it’s not a normal thing for a baseball team to let you do. When they said they would allow us access, we knew we were going to have a story just based on that access. Then I went down to Houston and spent two or three days talking with everybody I could find, from the players to the front office guys. But I think what really brought this thing alive was that “in the moment” access to their internal processes.

We came away from it thinking that these guys were on to something, honestly.

Everything they were saying was making sense.

TC: Sports — especially sports media — is an industry driven by predictions and forecasts. At the time, your take was bold, to say the least. What was the overall reaction you received once your story was published? How often, if at all, did it cross your mind that you might actually end up being correct?

Reiter: This was the opposite of a hot take. I filed the story at 6000 words. It wasn’t something we were just throwing out there without having deeply considered and having at least what we thought was a deep understanding of what this team might look like in 2017.

I definitely didn’t forget about it. Now I’ve written, I think, 20 cover stories for Sports Illustrated, and this one by far made the biggest impression. From the moment it came out, it made an immediate impact in the sports world.

If you remember, people were actually really angry about it — fans and other people in sports media because a lot of them were really turned off by what

The Houston Astros sit just four wins away from becoming 2017 World Series Champions — a feat that, if accomplished, will bring this prophetic June 30, 2014, Sports Illustrated cover to fruition. | Courtesy of Sports Illustrated the Astros were doing. They thought they were kind of violating the social contract of sports, which suggests you’re supposed to try your hardest to win no matter what, which they were not doing at the time. They also just thought it was a ridiculous prediction for a team that was as bad as any team could be, could then three years later win the World Series. But three years in baseball is a lot longer than you think. A lot can happen in baseball in three years.

TC: You mentioned that in the beginning, you, like many baseball fans, were perplexed by what the Astros were trying to do. Through the seemingly unprecedented access that you were granted, you were able to learn and gain an understanding of the master plan that was unfolding. In this learning process, what fact or piece of information surprised you the most?

Reiter: A lot of the people in the front office didn’t have the best reputations

in baseball circles. They were getting a lot of criticism for just being like, I don’t know, calculators with eyes or something.

Just baseball robots who didn’t have any hearts, didn’t care about people. Just things like that.

What I was most surprised by is that these guys actually care very much about the people they’re working with and each other. They have a wide range of interests. They’re just very smart people who happen to be going about something in a different way, which isn’t traditional in baseball, because it’s not an easy thing to do and certainly not an easy thing to be accepted for doing.

They didn’t make one decision to keep up present appearances at the cost of future successes. They were certainly confident.

Some people viewed them as arrogant, but I think confident is the more proper way to put it

TC: It’s been more than three years since your prediction, but it’s never had a better chance of being correct than it does right now. So after

making it to this point, will there be any level of disappointment if the Astros can’t win it all?

Reiter: I’m Zen about it. In all honesty, we haven’t had anything to do with it. All credit goes to the Astros — the players in particular. I’m just sitting back and covering the ride as it is. Whatever happens, happens.

One thing I regret is not going to Vegas and putting money on it, because it would’ve turned out to be a pretty profitable deal. schedule this year, not only in the opponents we're facing but in the days we're playing. We'll have some shorter weeks and some longer weeks, which may seem like a benefit but they can get you out of your routine. I think our staff does a good job of communicating with our student-athletes and whenever the schedules are released, we always look at them as a positive.

sports@thedailycougar.com

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Frank Campos, EDITOR

FOOTBALL

East meets West: AAC championship predictions SPORTS STAFF

@ THECOUGARSPORTS

The Cougars are eight weeks into the season, and we can already count them out to make any kind of impact in the conference standings — unless they manage to upset a favorite in the coming weeks.

Although the championship match up is nowhere near decided, teams like Tulsa, Houston and ECU are already looking forward to a fresh start in 2018 after crashing and burning this year.

The American Athletic Conference Championship game, scheduled for Dec. 2, is still more than a month away, but The Cougar's sports staff looked at the season so far and predicted who will likely face each other and who will ultimately win.

Sports editor Frank Campos

The East should reign supreme when all is said and done in the AAC. But with two undefeated teams through Week 8, the question still remains who will represent the East division in the conference championship.

Both Central Florida and South Florida look legitimate enough to go undefeated for the rest of the season, so the eastern representative will be chosen on Nov. 24 when USF goes on the road to face UCF in their last game of the regular season.

UCF will bring its second-ranked scoring offense to face USF's seventh-ranked rushing offense in a battle that will likely produce the conference champion.

The rest of the East division is so bad that they don't stand a chance to catch up to either Florida team in time to make an impact in the standings.

The Western half of the conference is a different story.

A couple of teams have a chance to represent the West, but Memphis could hold on to the top spot with only SMU to worry about on its schedule.

SMU is next in line but will go through a lot of tough opponents to end the season, including UCF, Navy and Memphis.

Both Navy and Houston could make a splash, but they face ranked opponents before the end of the season and will be lucky to walk away without a blowout loss.

I predict the conference championship game will be between UCF and Memphis with Central Florida walking away with the trophy.

Assistant sports editor Peter Scamardo

The Memphis Tigers. Plain and simple.

All of Cougar Nation saw what coach Mike Norvell's team can do.

After struggling to an 8-5 record last year, the Tigers are 6-1 thus far.

The key factor is that the Tigers have already played the toughest teams on their schedule.

With Tulane, Tulsa, SMU and East Carolina left, the Tigers can easily reach the conference championship.

What the Tigers did against the

Cougars is exactly what they did against UCLA. The offense fought the entire game and found a way to win at the end.

It did the exact same thing against Navy, when it eeked out a three-point victory and, of course, last Thursday against Houston.

The team's one loss came against the now 6-0 UCF Knights. The Tigers will face either UCF or the South Florida Bulls in the championship.

Either match will be close, but if the Tigers' defense can force turnovers late in the game like it did Thursday night, then quarterback Riley Ferguson and the offense have a chance to put the Tigers ahead.

Assistant sports editor Reagan Earnst

With all due respect to UCF and Memphis, South Florida has the best chance of being the 2017

AAC champions.

The Bulls' roster is loaded with experience and has proven to be solid on both sides of the ball.

Senior QB Quinton Flowers has the Bulls smelling the roses and in line for a potential berth in a New Year's Six Bowl or even in the College Football Playoff.

The dual-threat QB is a challenge for even great defenses to stop, and he's come up big in important games.

Add in senior running back D'Ernest Johnson who has nearly 600 rush yards and five TDs, and the Bulls have an offense that can not only move the ball but also control the time of possession.

Although the defense isn't spectacular, multiple playmakers — specifically in the secondary — force turnovers on a routine basis.

Senior safety Devin Abraham has four interceptions already and will likely continue his career in the NFL next year.

The Bulls next take the field against the Cougars on Saturday in a game that could get ugly if Houston is not at its best.

Look for South Florida to win the AAC — and maybe more — this winter. sports@thedailycougar.com

CROSS COUNTRY

Hilly Philly will host Cougars for championship PETER SCAMARDO

ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR @PLSCAMARDO2

Hills make a cross-country course difficult, and lots of hills await the Cougars when they arrive in Philadelphia on Saturday.

The Temple Owls will host 10 men’s teams at the American Athletic Conference Championship Meet this weekend. After underperforming last year, the Cougars have improved their roster to the point where they believe they can vie for a title. Redshirt senior Brian Barraza said at the start of the season that he felt they could accomplish anything. Not much has changed.

“Every meet, every practice, every workout run that we go into, we go into knowing this is the work that’s going to get us better,” Barraza said.

“This is the work that’s going to get us to the line in shape to be in a position to do something.”

The Cougars have gotten close to a title twice before, placing third in 2014 and 2015. But in 2016, two of their top runners redshirted and

the squad was mostly composed of underclassmen, and the team struggled. Despite then-sophomore G.J. Reyna's breakout season, the team placed only eighth out of nine teams at conference.

But this year, the squad has a new look. Reyna and Barraza each have a meet-win to his name — Reyna at the Rice Invitational and Barraza at the Texas A&M Invitational. Plus, Barraza placed 10th at Pre-Nationals on Oct. 14 against 300 of the nation’s top runners.

Overall, the team has been consistent at every meet. Barraza and Reyna have led the pack, and redshirt seniors Gabe Lara, Matthew Parmley and Christopher Wallace round out the group.

“We have a lot of experience on this team, and we hope that they can show up and compete to the best of their ability,” said head coach Steve Magness. “If they put it all together on the same day, they can come away with a trophy at conference, but it’s going to take a full team effort.”

In his final conference meet with the Cougars, Brian Barraza looks to finally get the men over the hump and win a title | Thomas Dwyer/ The Cougar

Teams to watch The team on everyone’s radar going into conference is the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. Tulsa's rotation of international distance runners has won the championship in back-to-back seasons. Last year, Tulsa had four runners place in the top five, and three of those runners returned.

The Golden Hurricane will compete for its third consecutive title.

The UConn Huskies and

Temple Owls are also expected to perform well. But the Wichita State Shockers, who were only added to the AAC this season, are an intriguing team to watch. Last year, the Shockers placed second in the Missouri Valley Conference and have retained much of the talent from that squad. They could easily surprise many people in the conference.

Saturday’s meet will mark Barraza's the final conference race

as a Cougar. Since he arrived in 2013, he has been one of the top runners in the country and has provided a spark to the men’s squad in every race. The one challenge he has not overcome is winning a conference title.

If Barraza leads the Cougars to a title in one of his final races, it will be clear that he is one of the best runners to come through Houston.

Luckily, he will not have to do it alone. Reyna is the clear successor to Barraza's spot as the top runner, and there is no doubt they will leave everything on the course.

“Win or lose, if everybody just puts it out there and fights the way we’ve been fighting over the season, I don’t think we can be really disappointed with that,” Reyna said. “Meets like Pre-Nats, I thought there was a lot to take from as far as guys putting it on the line when they weren’t all 100 percent. As long as that happens Saturday, I think we’ll be alright.” sports@thedailycougar.com

Wednesday, October 25, 2017 | 9

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thedailycougar.com/sports

SPORTS

sports@thedailycougar.com

Frank Campos, EDITOR

An agonizing defeat last Thursday has left the Cougars searching for answers as they enter the late stages of the season with just nine touchdowns to 10 interceptions. | Thomas Dwyer/The Cougar

FOOTBALL

Back-to-back losses bring Cougars into unfamiliar territory REAGAN EARNST

ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR @REAGANEARNST–

A season that began with high expectations has the Cougars in danger of taking a collective step backward in 2017 and entering unfamiliar territory.

With embarrassing, unexpected losses in back-to-back weeks, the team must now scramble to find answers to keep hopes of a bowlgame invitation alive.

"We’ve all had good times, and we’ve all had bad times in our life," Applewhite said after the team's loss Saturday. "You have to ultimately accept responsibility for the way you played, coached, head coached. Whatever it is, you have to take responsibility for it and look it dead in the eye."

The Cougars are now 4-3 after finding themselves on the receiving end of an unlikely comeback by the No. 25-ranked Memphis Tigers on national television. A 17-0 halftime advantage followed by a 24-7 lead with just six minutes left in the third quarter evaporated as the Tigers rained touchdowns on the Cougars en route to a 44-38 victory.

Adding salt to the wound, Thursday's remarkable loss came just days Tulsa defeated the Cougars.

It was in Tulsa that the Cougars jumped out to an early 10-0 lead, only to surrender 38 second-half points to the American Athletic Conference West Division's worst

Major Applewhite is now 4-3 in his first season as head coach. He has had key losses against Tulsa and Memphis already. | Thomas Dwyer/The Cougar

team.

On the surface, it seems silly to criticize a team with a winning record, but the Cougars have not lost consecutive regular season games since 2012, when they lost three straight in a grueling stretch against No. 19 UCF, No. 19 Louisville and Cincinnati.

If panic is going to set in, now seems like an appropriate time.

Later this week, Houston will embark to Tampa, Florida, to take on the season's toughest opponent: the No. 17 South Florida Bulls.

“I see a physical offensive line. I see athletes that are competitive, physical players," Applewhite said about USF. "An athletic quarterback who's a good decision-maker that will make you pay if you don’t account for him. I see a lot of ath-

letes doing what they’re coached to do, and that’s play physical and competitive.”

The Bulls are the clear-cut favorite to win the AAC as they currently sit atop the standings with a 7-0 record. Don't look now, but South Florida brings the nation's longest-active winning streak of 11 games to Saturday's tilt, a game in which the Bulls will undoubtedly be a heavy favorite.

To make matters worse, South Florida is led by former UT head coach Charlie Strong, who landed with the Bulls after being run out of Austin last fall to be replaced by former UH head coach Tom Herman. Strong is a key factor in the Bulls' 2017 success, and a loss to his team Saturday would in all likelihood be another residual

effect of Herman's departure.

"This league has gotten so much better since I first got into it two years ago," Applewhite said. "It doesn’t matter who you play, but certainly in this case when playing an undefeated football team that has a lot of experience returning, playing great defense, taking the ball away, taking care of the football and scoring a lot of points.

They’re doing everything right, right now, so it grabs our attention quickly."

To be considered bowl eligible, Football Bowl Subdivision teams must win a minimum of six games, although even six wins does not necessarily guarantee team's a berth.

The Cougars' remaining four opponents – USF, Tulane, ECU and Navy – have a combined record of 17-12 this season. Houston will have its best shot at wins against Tulane and ECU, but gutting out wins at USF and against Navy would be considered great upsets.

Anything can happen, but failing to win three of the final four matchups over the next month may leave the Cougars out of bowl season for the first time since 2012 and just the fourth time since 2003.

Play at the quarterback position has been perhaps the most disappointing aspect of the 2017 Cougars.

After just three games as the starter, highly anticipated trans-

fer QB Kyle Allen was benched in favor of senior Kyle Postma, who brought tenacity to the offense at the price of added turnovers.

Together, the duo have combined for nine TDs and 10 interceptions, including a handful of lost fumbles for each. With both options struggling in their roles, it may be time to go a different direction with sophomore D'Eriq King, who played QB in high school.

King's career is off to a similar start as former QB Greg Ward Jr., who began his career as a wide receiver before making the transition to quarterback. Like King, Ward was used as a tertiary option at wideout along with taking sporadic handoffs for all of his freshman season and the early portion of his sophomore year before making the transition to starting QB. With two years left of eligibility, it may be time to let King control the offense or at least gain an increased role within it. King has already shown the ability to complete passes already in his college career For Applewhite and the Cougars, it's now or never.

"It doesn't matter who you play, there’s no off week," he said.

"There’s no team that you walk in and say, ‘This is one we’re going to get.’ It just doesn’t happen like that." sports@thedailycougar.com

10 | Wednesday, October 25, 2017

OPINION 713-743-5304

thedailycougar.com/opinion

opinion@thedailycougar.com

Dana C. Jones, EDITOR

CIVIL RIGHTS

EDITORIAL BOARD EDITOR IN CHIEF

Emily Burleson MANAGING EDITOR

Jasmine Davis

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Sonny Singh WEB EDITOR

Marialuisa Rincon NEWS EDITOR

Nola Valente CHIEF COPY EDITOR

Traynor Swanson SPORTS EDITOR

Frank Campos

COOGLIFE EDITOR

Julie Araica

PHOTO EDITOR

Thomas Dwyer OPINION EDITOR

Dana C. Jones ASSISTANT EDITORS

Christina Soukis, Jorden Smith, Reagan Earnst, Peter Scamardo, Karin KellerCuevas, Erin Davis, Mia Valdez, Jennifer Gonzalez

STAFF EDITORIAL

Kneeling has been the latest mechanism of protesting. But, when it comes to our future troops, it seems taboo for them to critize the country even though they are fighting for those very rights. These rights should not stop once you serve the country but be upheld even more for a veteran. | Dana C. Jones/The Cougar

Protests should result in reform, not ostracism K neeling during the anthem and the pledge has evolved into an iconic symbol of protest with the help of Colin Kaepernick.

It has been interpreted as unpatriotic by many, including our ANUSHEH SIDDIQUE President, but SENIOR STAFF for one high WRITER school senior, it is the most important avenue of dissent.

Former JROTC captain and high school senior, Elijah Valerio, is facing the repercussions of his choice to kneel during the pledge and anthem at Dulles High School in Sugar Land, Texas.

Valerio has been removed from JROTC dissevered family relationships, and faced social isolation as a result of his actions. The culture of a proxy military organization, such as JROTC, is one of strict discipline and intense patriotism.

This demands a proper definition for who is truly a patriot, and Valerio feels he could not claim this title until he had defended the rights of every member of this nation. This meant abandoning the comfort of his rank friends and reputation within this community and kneeling for his nation.

'Brown forever'

Elijah has attended many rallies against police brutality the Muslim ban and anti-trans and homophobic legislation, but has never faced backlash in this manner before. This is not out of the norm for high schoolers, but a bit of an anomaly for a JROTC student.

He kneeled during the pledge in his homeroom class and found himself, minutes later, in front of his commanding officer in JROTC. When presented the decision to stand and stay in ROTC or continue kneeling and be removed, he initially stayed but later chose the latter because his message was more important.

“High school is fleeting," said Valerio. "Your jobs, your relationships, your world, all has to end one day but my identity will last forever. I will be brown forever.”

This created tension in the home. Valerio’s stepmother, a Thai immigrant, responded angrily to Valerio’s particular choice of protest. “She sees America as some safe haven," Valerio said. "She thinks I’m a loser because I did this.”

She is willing to suffer the consequences of being a minority in the US, pay this 'immigrant tax' of fetichization of her native culture and forced assimilation. The heart

wrenching result of Valerio’s decision to kneel is his parent’s despondency and distance.

Race and identity cannot be separated, they are mutually exclusive concepts. Being a minority in America means facing constant injustices, being pulled out for randomized security checks every time you fly and being taught to never wear a hoodie at night or fearing the police.

When Valerio says he's “brown forever” it signifies that the shade of your skin casts a shadow of influence over every part of your life and that, to others, you are inherently unjust.

There is an image of America, a place erected in homage to freedom and liberty and founded by those persecuted for seeking fundamental rights.

These are two mutually exclusive likenesses, seen as different by people with the privilege and affluence to do so.

The dialogue must begin, and it will only be incited by the support of high school seniors, NFL quarterbacks, and political representatives cumulatively.

Sacrifices of protest

what he did because he is facing tangible consequences. Like countless patriots and freedom fighters before him, is sacrificing day to day convenience for something so much bigger.

Many look to the flag for hope refuge and assurance that this country is still the land of the free and the home of the brave.

"It has become a separation point between my family and I, but I will keep kneeling until something changes," Valerio says.

His parents, people of color, do not perceive these injustices as meriting the consequences of fighting them. This dissonance leaves this young protester suddenly alone and says feels like a“lost cause."

Valerio’s actions are beyond admirable in someone so young.

Kaepernick countless athletes and high schoolers with more courage than our president will keep kneeling until there is reform.

This country is so beautiful because it not only allows for protest, but encourages it as an avenue of advancement and evolution. Why are we hindering ourselves from this growth by not joining brave individuals like Valerio?

Valerio, however, has made a real sacrifice for something that he believes in. His protest is not superficial, it has consequences and people need to know about

Staff writer Anusheh Siddique is a political science freshman.

She can be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com.

The Staff Editorial reflects the opinions of The Cougar Editorial Board.

All other opinions, commentaries and cartoons reflect only the opinion of the writer. Opinions expressed in The Cougar do not necessarily reflect those of the University of Houston or its students as a whole.

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Wednesday, October 25, 2017 | 11

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CRIME

thedailycougar.com/opinion

OPINION

opinion@thedailycougar.com

Dana C. Jones, EDITOR

CARTOON

Society owes debt to ex-cons The Donald: He came, he saw, he conquered

A

fter prisoners pay their debts to society, society owes them a promise in return. We owe them a promise that they will not face discrimination for their criminal histories and that they will have the opportuMIA VALDEZ ASSISTANT nity to escape OPINION EDITOR scenarios in which they are likely to reoffend and go back to prison.

This debt is rarely paid, and societies are endangered by further marginalizing those who have committed crimes. The time for transformative prison legislation is long overdue, and this late fine has cost millions of people.

Felons — more than 70 million people — face a loss of employment, affordable housing and access to other forms of government assistance, like food stamps, as a result of toughon-crime policies set in the 1990s by President Bill Clinton at the height of the War on Drugs.

According to the Sentencing Project's 2016 study on felony disenfranchisement, an estimated 6.1 million people are disenfranchised due to a felony conviction — a figure that has escalated dramatically in recent decades as the population under criminal justice supervision has increased.

The study also found that one in 13 African-Americans of voting age is disenfranchised, a rate more than four times greater than that of nonAfrican-Americans.

UH educational psychology professor Augustina Reyes, a scholar of the school-to-prison pipeline in underprivileged communities, showed me the body of work by a national scholar and Harvard sociologist who studies the prison re-entry cycle, Bruce Western.

Western conducted a two-year study in Massachusetts prisons that focused on the conditions that most prisoners face upon release. Western discussed the findings of this study with the Harvard Gazette in February 2015.

"I think probably the most striking finding is that just about everyone leaves prison and enters poverty," Western said. "About 85 percent of our respondents, by the end of their first year out, enrolled in food stamps."

While significant progress has been made in getting food stamps for ex-prisoners, an 2016 article from The Marshal Project states that six states — Wyoming, West Virginia, Alaska, Mississippi, Georgia and South Carolina — still don't comply

fully with the ban.

In Mississippi, Georgia, West Virginia and South Carolina, many of these prisoners are black. Without employment opportunities, housing and food, they are some of the most vulnerable members of the population.

Ban the Box, a movement geared toward ending employment discrimination against ex-cons, received a recent rise in popularity under the endorsement of President Barack Obama and former Attorney General Eric Holder.

Job and housing applications require that applicants disclose a criminal history. According to the National Employment Law Project, just nine states have removed the box that requires this disclosure from their application forms. For ex-cons in other states, limited employment and housing opportunities, and the chance of re-offending is increased.

Though it is true that committing crime morally implicates the perpetrator, we too often fail to discuss the systemic factors that contribute to the likelihood that people will enter prison. Imprisoning Americans has become an industry, and its role as an economic system rather than a civic one, might contribute to the difficulties that ex-cons face.

In other words, the United States is creating a new class: a criminal class.

It is engineering an exploitable class of citizens who are virtually given no choice but to re-offend, fill another prison bed and pay into privateprison corporations.

As a social institution, prison is supposed to be a place where people are sent so that they can make amends and move on with their lives after they serve their time. Instead, it has been used as a tool that reinforces a social caste system.

The men and women who serve prison sentences for nonviolent crimes, like drug possession, leave with prison records that forever change their ability to vote, earn a livable wage and participate in the key aspects of life that allow people to escape the cycle of poverty and racism that has made the prison system quintuple in size in the past 50 years.

We have a civic responsibility to the people who have served their debt to society. We need to realize that welcoming them back does not make us less safe; it provides a profound moral and legal service to a disadvantaged segment of society.

Assistant opinion editor Mia Valdez is a creative writing senior. She can be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com.

Tamor Khan/The Cougar

worship DIRECTORY

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12 | Wednesday, October 25, 2017

OPINION 713-743-5304

thedailycougar.com/opinion

opinion@thedailycougar.com

Dana C. Jones, EDITOR

STAFF EDITORIAL

Awareness alone will not end sexual assaults, violence T

he latest headline-grabbing accusations of sexual assault came against Hollywood executive Harvey Weinstein. With multiple women coming out and sharing their testimonies from over the years, it reveals society's views of victims and their perpetrators.

The responsibility of preventing sexual assault and rape has always been a problem for the victim and not the criminal. You hear the excuses: What were you wearing?

Where you drunk? Why didn't you protect yourself?

Regardless of dress, inebriation or ability to protect one’s self, the absence or presence of these factors is not going to stop a sexual assaulter.

Being in college is one of the most vulnerable times to be sexually assaulted.. According to the Rape Abuse and Incest National

Network, 54 percent of women ages 18 to 34 become sexual assault victims. These statistics account only for what has been reported, so the stories we hear of people not believing victims or the crimes that are kept silent could make stats go higher. More than 90 percent of sexual assaults go unreported.

To stop this — locally and nationwide — we must shift how men view women. Women are sexually assaulted at a disproportionate rate with one in five women and one in 71 men being raped in their lifetimes.

When sexually inappropriate behavior is tolerated, we all become vulnerable to it. Though it is most likely that it will happen to a woman — that it has already happened to a woman you know — it can happen to anyone. It is

easy to distance yourself from the issue, but think about it: one in five women will go on to experience sexual assault before they die.

If one in five women have been or will be abused, then how many men have been abused? We need to wake up and face the possibility, and in some cases the likelihood, that these abusers are just as intimately involved in our lives as the men and women of whom they have taken advantage.

It is only by acknowledging the fact that sexual assault is something that we come into contact with everyday — and that we have a responsibility to stop it — that we can end this horrific cycle, which affords its victims so much shame and pain. We have a responsibility. We need to step up and speak out.

There are ways to possibly stop

this from happening at the root.

We have to look at the the criminals committing these acts against the victims.

In the case of female victims, the view is always on the woman that was assaulted. Looking at that side of issue is not a bad thing.

But solely focusing on that means leaves the perpetrator out of focus.

They don’t have to deal with the social implications or exile as much as the victim does.

Although men are far less likely to be on the receiving end of unwanted sexual advances, we must give them the space to speak out on their sexual abuse stories.

The notion that men cannot be sexually assaulted only silences the conversation more and lets more criminals get away with their deeds. Sexual assault is less about sex and more about power and

who has the right to someone’s body.

The conversation must also be looked at in the scope of the hypermarginalized groups. This would include the LGBT community.

According to the National Intimate Partner and Sexaul Violence Survey, 44 percent of lesbians 26 percent of gay men and 61 and 37 percent of bisexual women and men, respectively, have been raped or sexually assaulted.

Even more, according to the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, 64 percent of transgender people have been sexually assaulted.

We need to have greater respect for each other as individuals. Only then will the construct of sexual assault be discarded. editor@thedailycougar.com

OPINION STAFF

Roundtable: Are campus protests justified or a waste of time?

Campus protests have been happening in force since the 1960s and will continue as long as injustice exists. Universities are a mecca for young people who want their voices to be heard. Below, The Cougar's opinion staff gives its take on whether campus protesting is effective or just a waste of time.

Jackie Wostrel

Dana C. Jones

Mia Valdez

Anusheh Siddique

Alana N. Miller

Opinion Editor

Assistant Opinion Editor

Senior Staff Writer

Staff Writer

Staff Writer

Student advocacy is most important when it comes to protest or social change in any direction, whether it be on the left or right. We are the ones who are going to shape the world, and we have to deal with the country in whatever condition the older generation leaves it. Campuses are the best place to cultivate such responses because they always contain a pool of differences in opinions.

We always have to operate from an understanding that all protests are justified and necessary to the success of a free, democratic country. When people claim that protests are inconvenient, it comes off as self-righteous. The dismissal of protests as annoying displays has been used to oppress and undermine powerful protests brought necessary change.

Protests on campus strengthen the culture of universities by preserving the innate value of being American and receiving the protections of the First Amendment. A rally on campus allows the students to not only further educate themselves on an array of causes, but also contributes to the awareness that is inherent with being a true patriot.

Butler plaza is the hot spot on campus where groups gather for whatever cause. At times, people will debate with members of certain organizations, especially those that are perceived to spew hateful rhetoric.

Yeah, it can be annoying trying to get to class pushing past 50 angry people in Butler plaza, but, these protests are justified.

Protests are essential to campus culture. The exchange of ideas isn't just in classrooms. Protests are an opportunity for people to persuade and inform other students — to make changes to something they are passionate about. They are supposed to grab your attention, but that also doesn’t mean the protesters are forcing you to pay attention.

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