05-07-09 by The Daily Texan

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The Daily Texan Thursday, May 7, 2009

Serving the University of Texas at Austin community since 1900

Grad exec pay at UT ranks high in Big 12 This is the second in a three-part series on pay for elected students. By Amy Bingham Daily Texan Staff As the elected representative of UT’s 12,000 graduate students, the Graduate Student Assembly president receives a $6,630 stipend during his yearlong term, making him one of the highest-paid graduate student officers in the Big 12 conference. 4 Of the eight schools surveyed, Texas A&M University’s Graduate Student Council president receives the highest compensation — about $19,200 during the 2008-2009 academic year. But unlike UT’s graduate student officers, A&M’s are not paid with student fees. “Our administration and our students see a need to have graduate student interests represented, and they are willing to invest the necessary resources to ensure that this happens,” said Daniel Spikes, UT’s Graduate Student Assembly president, in an e-mail. At A&M, the academic department in which the graduate president is enrolled provides the stipend, which is equivalent to what graduate research assistants in the same department earn. Tracey Wellington, the school’s outgoing graduate president, said she receives her stipend from the Department of Physics, in which she is working toward a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering. Wellington said she participated in nearly 30 committees during her term, represented about 9,000 graduate and professional students and worked more than 20 hours per week. “If the Graduate Student Council president was not paid for the position, they probably could not do it,” she said. “That’s what you live on.” Officer stipends composed half of the UT assembly’s $60,839 budget in 2008 and 2009. “Our budget adequately reflects where we place our emphasis — on ensuring that we have quality officers who can devote time to meet student needs,” Spikes said. In UT’s assembly, 10 paid executive positions, excluding the president’s, range in pay from $707 to $4,335. The president and two vice presidents also receive a free parking pass. “I don’t think you can ever compensate [us] enough, but it’s the kind of thing I would do even without any pay, just for my resume and experience,” said Paul Gavaza, UT’s graduate assembly vice president for external affairs, who receives $4,335 per year. Bradley Carpenter, a former UT assembly president, said he worked about 40 hours per week. He said he was appreciative of his stipend but gave it little thought.

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University nixes some faculty-led programs in Mexico due to flu

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By Mohini Madgavkar Daily Texan Staff University officials announced Wednesday that several faculty-led study-abroad programs to Mexico will be canceled because of the swine flu outbreak. UT Vice Provost Terri Givens said a marine-life study program usually held in Akumal, Mexico, will likely be moved to a lab in Puerto Rico, but that two Guadalajara-based programs for nurs-

ing and health care students will be canceled altogether. Those students will have the option of taking the same courses at UT this summer and will receive a full refund of program fees. Students would be responsible for the cost of their own airfare, but Givens said several airlines are refunding fares to Mexico because of the threat of the virus. The College of Natural Sciences

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Illustration by Janie Shaw | Daily Texan Staff

McCracken’s alleged rule breaking stirs debate City looking to lawyers to help settle dispute over campaign finance

Lara Haase | Daily Texan Staff

Austin mayoral candidate Lee Leffingwell, left, has accused opponent Brewster McCracken’s campaign of violating city campaign finance rules by raising money for a runoff election that has not been declared.

Pipe-bomb scare leads to evacuation of courthouse

Sara Young | Daily Texan Staff

Evacuees gather outside the Travis County Courthouse on Wednesday afternoon. Police evacuated the building for about an hour after a passerby mistook a car part for a pipe bomb.

The Travis County Courthouse was evacuated for about an hour Wednesday after a passerby mistook a broken car part on the sidewalk for a pipe bomb. Ambulances, a bomb squad and police responded to the call at about 10:50 a.m., said Roger Wade, a spokesman for the Travis County Sheriff’s Office. “Literally hundreds” of people were moved a safe distance from the building, Wade said. By about noon, the car part had been cleared of suspicion and “everything was back to normal,” Wade said. Wade defended the multi-agency response and evacuation as an abundance of caution. “From a layman’s perspective, you just can’t tell,” he said. “Everyone did the appropriate thing here. The person reported it to [security] like they should have. All the agencies responded like clockwork. Luckily, it wasn’t an explosive.” — Avi Selk

By Pierre Bertrand Daily Texan Staff The debate surrounding the criminal charges filed against mayoral candidate Brewster McCracken over a possible breach of the city’s charter continues into its fourth day as Saturday’s municipal election approaches. Attorneys with the city’s law department are looking for legal guidance from lawyers outside city government to help settle a dispute between mayoral candidates Lee Leffingwell and McCracken over campaign fundraising limits stipulated in the city’s charter.

Under the charter, a candidate may not collect more than $30,000 per election from individuals living outside the city limits. In the case of a runoff election, the candidates can raise an additional $20,000 from outsiders. In campaign finance reports submitted Friday, McCracken reported collecting about $41,525 from contributors outside the city. On Sunday, Leffingwell’s campaign issued a written complaint, and on Monday, Leffingwell issued criminal charges in municipal court. “This is an absolutely legitimate debate in political opinion,” said Colin Rowan, McCracken’s press secretary. But any attempt to settle the disagreement between the two

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Photographer of feet has drawn complaints for years By Avi Selk Daily Texan Staff Keep your socks on — a mysterious photographer of women’s feet has been prowling campus for years, according to witnesses and police. Since at least 2006, a man in his 50s or 60s has periodically approached female students and asked to take pictures of their bare feet or hands, said UT police Officer Darrell Halstead. A student who said she had allowed the man to photograph her foot in October alerted police after she spotted him again in late April walking away from a woman who was rolling up her sock near Littlefield Fountain. After asking around, the student told UTPD the man had requested modeling services from

several women in the area that day, including a few members of her sorority. UTPD has received seven or eight similar complaints in the last several years, said Halstead, who believes he spotted the photographer about two years ago when he saw a man of the same description snapping photos of women’s feet at 24th and Guadalupe streets. The photographer, who seems to be most active during the spring semesters, is a white, middle-aged bald man who usually presents himself as an art student, according to police. Though his requests have disturbed several students, police say he has committed no crime because he doesn’t photograph without subjects’ permission.

COMiNg tOMOrrOW — As the end of the school year nears, the Texan takes a look back

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From page 1 Still, Halstead urged anyone who encounters the man and is uncomfortable with his requests to simply walk away from him and immediately contact police. Ambitious foot photographers are not unique to UT. A UT history senior, a student at New York University and another at a college in Connecticut have all reported receiving nearly identical e-mails requesting pictures of their bare feet in the last several months. “I am somebody from school, but I wish to remain anonymous,” read a November email to the history senior, who didn’t want her name printed. “I am doing an art project using pictures of bare feet, and I have always thought yours were nice.” “If you have any interest, just send me a few pictures of the tops and or bottoms of your bare feet to this e-mail,” the message continued. It is unknown how many other students received similar e-mails or whether the messages are connected to the campus photographer.

Retail Advertising: (512) 471-1865 joanw@mail.utexas.edu Classified Advertising: (512) 471-5244 classifieds@dailytexanonline.com The Texan strives to present all information fairly, accurately and completely. If we have made an error, let us know about it. Call (512) 232-2217 or e-mail managingeditor@dailytexanonline.com.

COPYRIGHT Copyright 2009 Texas Student Media. All articles, photographs and graphics, both in the print and online editions, are the property of Texas Student Media and may not be reproduced or republished in part or in whole without written permission.

Andrew Rogers | Daily Texan Staff

Meredith Clark, a Spanish literature doctoral student, reads a poem by Pablo Neruda on Wednesday as part of the Surrealism in Latin American Poetry event celebrating the Harry Ransom Center’s acquisition of Frida Kahlo’s famous self-portrait. Students and faculty listened as associate Spanish professor Enrique Fierro read aloud Vicente Huidobro’s poem “El Espejo de Agua” at the Harry Ransom Center on Wednesday afternoon. The center hosted Poetry on the Plaza to celebrate Latin American surrealist poetry and present Frida Kahlo’s 1940 “Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird.” Kahlo’s self-portrait is a well-known work that has been loaned to museums around the world.

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Today’s weather There’a a white box invading Mexico! Good luck on your finals, everyone!

Meredith Clark, Sean Manning and Francisco Plata, Hispanic literature graduate students, read the poetry of different Latin American surrealists, including Octavio Paz and Pablo Neruda. Fierro said Latin American poetry provides a new view on verse. “Latin American poetry is pure sound in the language of the future,” Fierro said. “The poetry is the deriding of literary history using techniques of modernism, creationism and surrealism.” — Priscilla Pelli

MeXiCo: Students enrolled in non-faculty-led programs must appeal to University

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Compensation paid by student fees: University of Texas University of Missouri Oklahoma State University of Oklahoma Iowa State University

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Kansas Missouri Okla. State State

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campaigns is gone due to the pending criminal charges, Rowan said. “Brewster had ample time to correct the situation,” Leffingwell said. “Instead, he is trying to defend the practice.” The McCracken campaign’s defense against the charges reflects a different interpretation of the contribution clause. The clause, Rowan said, permits McCracken to raise funds for a potential runoff election, but not spend them. The city charter does not stipulate explicit moments when candidates can or cannot raise funds for elections, Rowan said. McCracken can raise the money but cannot spend it yet, Rowan said. “The intent of the law is to restrict the influence of outsiders in an election,” Rowan said. “The influence of outsiders is in the spending of money, not in the collection.” Former Austin mayor Gus Garcia said the charter’s language is sufficiently clear enough to outline what is and what is not permitted. Mc-

Cracken’s defense is not applicable in regards to that specific clause in the charter, McCracken said. “That section has nothing do with spending,” Garcia said. “It has to do with collection. ‘In the event of a runoff election’ — those are the key words. If there is a run-off election, then you can go get $20,000.” Leffingwell said he filed the charges to uphold the city’s charter rather than gain the upper hand in the close mayoral race. The consistent interpretation of the charter since 1997 is that the limitations apply from election to election, he said. One cannot raise or collect funds for one election if it has not yet been declared, he said. Garcia, who was mayor from 2001 to 2003 and served on the City Council from 1991 to 1997, said that if he was put in McCracken’s position, he would return the money immediately to clear his name and preserve his campaign’s legitimacy. “I would not want the mayor’s race clouded by a city charter controversy,” Garcia said.

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Permanent Staff

Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Leah Finnegan Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vikram Swaruup Associate Managing Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stephen Keller, Gabrielle Muñoz Associate Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Audrey Campbell, Josh Haney, Abhinav Kumar, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jillian Sheridan, Abby Terrell, Mary Tuma News Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lauren Winchester Associate News Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sean Beherec, Katie Flores, Lee Ann Holman Senior Reporters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Viviana Aldous, Pierre Bertrand, Amy Bingham . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mohini Madgavkar, Erin Mulvaney, Avi Selk Copy Desk Chief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . David Muto Associate Copy Desk Chiefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Robert Green, Austin Litzler, Vikkey Packard Design Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Janie Shaw Senior Designers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Marissa Edwards, Shatha Hussein, Lindsey Morgan, Emily Watkins Photo Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Peter Franklin Associate Photo Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kim Espinosa, May-Ying Lam Senior Photographers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Paul Chouy, Bryant Haertlein, Emily Kinsolving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Andrew Rogers, Jordan Smothermon Life&Arts Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ana McKenzie Associate Life&Arts Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Andy O'Connor, Leigh Patterson, Raquel Villarreal Senior Life&Arts Writers . . . . . . . . . . . Roxanna Asgarian, Mary Lingwall, Rachel Meador, Robert Rich, JJ Velasquez Sports Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .David R. Henry Associate Sports Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anup Shah, Colby White Senior Sports Writers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Will Anderson, Blake Hurtik, Laken Litman, Austin Talbert Comics Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Carolynn Calabrese Web Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Erik Reyna Multimedia Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Priscilla Villarreal Associate Multimedia Editors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jenny Baxter, Juan Elizondo Editorial Adviser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Richard A. Finnell

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two years, so hopefully in 2011 we’ll be back.” Dunton said that in some ways, the change may actually benefit students. “I’m very optimistic,” Dunton said. “I think it’s going to be an excellent experience. The quality is going to be superb because stu-

dents will work at a research institution around 15 other faculty members, whereas in Mexico it will just be me.” The University is still deliberating the future of a faculty-led program to Xalapa, Mexico, for Spanish students. Officials say a decision will be reached by Monday. Mexico has been easing restrictions developed to prevent the virus’ spread, including a five-day shutdown in Mexico City. By Monday, universities, elementary schools, museums and churches should be back to normal. Officials now say 42 Mexican citizens have died due to the virus.

The Daily Texan

This newspaper was printed with pride by The Daily Texan press crew members, who will be laid off in May.

defends fundraising practice

— Candice Durante, nursing senior

President

SAN FRANCISCO — Prepare to be awed by Odd Day. For the mathematically challenged, Thursday’s date, 5/7/09, is one of only six this century that will feature three consecutive odd numbers. Numbers lovers say the rare occurrence is an excuse to celebrate.

funds: McCracken campaign

“That pisses me off, actually.”

Two execs

Painting the town odd: Get paid to celebrate rare dates

“The previous stretch of six dates like this started with 1/3/1905 — 13 months after the Wright Brothers’ flight,” said Ron Gordon, the Redwood City teacher who enthusiastically promotes these numerical holidays, like Square Root Day on 3/3/09. Gordon is offering a prize of $579 to those who celebrate the date with the most zeal or who get the most people involved in an Odd Celebration. — The Associated Press

cia declined to comment. Marine science professor Kenneth Dunton said all 15 of the natural sciences students who planned on spending a Maymester in Akumal have confirmed they will go to Puerto Rico instead. Dunton, who has led the program since it began in 1988, said the change would interrupt several years of monitoring marine plants’ reactions to increased nutrient inputs caused by development along the coast of the Yucátan Peninsula. “I’m a little concerned,” Dunton said. “Yes, it is an interruption, but hopefully only in time, not in the program. … We do this every

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going to be a lot of fun,” Durante said. “It’s a much better way to learn Spanish than in Austin.” Durante said the University’s decision to cancel the program was overly cautious. “That pisses me off, actually,” Durante said, adding that she didn’t think the virus was a significant threat. Nursing junior Kelly Easley, who had also planned on participating in the program, also said she was upset by the decision. “I don’t know what to think. I mean, it sucks,” Easley said. “I think [the threat] is overblown.” Program leader Alexandra Gar-

Vice president

will pay to change plane tickets from Mexico to Puerto Rico for students in the marine-life program. Students planning on studying abroad in Mexico this summer via non-faculty-led programs will be required to appeal their plans to the University. Givens said the appeals process would likely not prevent students from going to Mexico but that they would ensure that students are aware of the risks involved and take the necessary precautions. The Nursing in Guadalajara and Health Care in Mexico pro-

grams teach students Spanish and clinical skills in public health and hospital settings. Givens said students working in health care facilities that might be treating swine flu cases could be particularly vulnerable to the H1N1 virus. “We’re not so much worried about the broad spreading of the influenza,” Givens said. “But since students will be in health care facilities, there’s a question of increased risk.” Nursing senior Candice Durante said she had been looking forward to spending the summer in Guadalajara. “[The program] seems like it’s

President

From page 1

Iowa Texas State A&M

stiPend: Some graduate officers

receive less than undergraduates From page 1 “I ran unknowing we were even paid,” Carpenter said. “I was more excited about the parking pass in the Brazos Garage than the stipend.” Alaine Arnott, president of the University of Missouri’s Graduate Professional Council, said she earns $4,376 per year for working about 40 hours per week, during which she attends meetings with administrators, works on council legislation and organizes graduate student events. Missouri’s graduate student president is paid $2,693 less than the school’s student body president. Arnott said this may be attributable to the fact that as graduate student president, she represents only one-fourth of the student population. “The great thing about the graduate and professional students is we pick our battles very wisely,” Arnott said. “We have a different frame of mind about life and what will influence the university. The undergrads will pick a battle just to pick a battle.” At Kansas State University, Graduate Student Council

presidents are paid $2,000 during their year in office, while the three other top executives receive $1,000, said council President Kara Dillard. Dillard said she works 15 to 20 hours per week attending council meetings and planning events for the school’s 4,500 graduate students. “Certainly for the amount of work we do for graduate students, we aren’t compensated what we should be,” Dillard said. “But I guess I should be thankful that we get something.” Dillard also works as a teaching assistant and a graduate research assistant, and she said each job requires her to put in 20 hours of work per week in exchange for a monthly stipend and tuition waiver. Aaron Gross, president of Iowa State’s Graduate and Professional Student Senate, said he is paid about $3,000 per year — about half the cost of his tuition — and that he works about five hours per week. “Everyone wants to make more money, but I believe stealing from the poor [students] is not the best way to go about this,” he said.

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World&NatioN

Wire Editor: Lindsey Estes www.dailytexanonline.com

Thursday, May 7, 2009

T he Daily Texan

NATION BRIEFLY Wal-Mart escapes criminal charges with safety changes MINEOLA, N.Y. — Wal-Mart agreed Wednesday to pay nearly $2 million and improve safety at its 92 New York stores as part of a deal with prosecutors that avoids criminal charges in the trampling death of a temporary worker last year. Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice said that if she had brought criminal charges against the retailer in the worker’s death, the company would have been subject to only a $10,000 fine if convicted. Instead, she said, the company has agreed to implement an improved crowd-management plan for post-Thanksgiving Day sales, set up a $400,000 victims’ compensation and remuneration fund and give $1.5 million to Nassau County social services programs and nonprofit groups. The agreement included no admission of guilt by Wal-Mart.

Nazi death camp guard requests to not be deported to Germany

Gerald Herbert | Associated Press

President Barack Obama makes remarks in the Grand Foyer of the White House in Washington on Wednesday after meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, left, and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari. The leaders discussed their commitments to fighting the Taliban and al-Qaida militants in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Obama obtains agreement to fight Taliban By Matthew Lee The Associated Press WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama declared he got the commitments he wanted Wednesday from the leaders of Pakistan and Afghanistan to more aggressively fight Taliban and al-Qaida militants who are gaining power and sowing violence in their countries. The presidents of the two countries stood at his side after a day of joint meetings. Obama is sending 21,000 fresh U.S. troops into Afghanistan to help with the anti-terror war. The high-stakes diplomacy had Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistan’s Asif Ali Zardari meeting with U.S. officials separately and together, first at the State Department and then at the White House. Looming over the sessions was a bombing on Monday in Afghanistan that officials

there said killed dozens of civilians and for which the Obama administration apologized. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told Karzai that the Obama administration “deeply, deeply” regretted the loss of civilian lives. When Obama went before the cameras, he pledged his administration would “make every effort to avoid civilian casualties” in both Afghanistan and Pakistan, where U.S. airstrikes have stoked anti-American sentiment. In Afghanistan, the U.S. forces commander said it wasn’t a certainty that the deaths happened as a result of U.S. military action. Gen. David McKiernan said American forces came to the aid of Afghans who may have been ambushed by the Taliban in Farah province on Sunday. Gathering the three leaders together at one table, along with lower-level officials from

the three countries, “reflects the kind of concrete cooperation and detail that is going to ultimately make a difference in improving opportunity and democracy and stability in Pakistan and in Afghanistan,” Obama said. “We have learned time and again that our security is shared,” the president said. “It is a lesson that we learned most painfully on 9/11, and it is a lesson that we will not forget.” The president said all three governments must cooperate in fighting insurgents who control parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan and must “deny them the space” to threaten local residents — or Americans. Earlier in the day, Clinton told reporters that Karzai and Zardari made specific commitments of how they would increase the fight against militants. She wouldn’t name their promises yet, but said the talks were

“producing some very promising early signs” of greater cooperation. Pakistan launched an offensive against the Taliban in the region after the collapse of a peace deal that had seen the extremists expand their territory toward the capital. Taliban forces recently have alarmed the U.S. and its allies by striking out from strongholds on the Pakistani-Afghan border to areas closer to the capital of Islamabad. It is the broader struggle against terrorism, with forces led by the United States often fighting shadowy enemies on ill-defined battlefields, that got Karzai and Zardari invited here in the first place. The pair responded positively Wednesday to the call for greater cooperation, saying they, too, were committed to the struggle against the “common threat” posed by the Taliban and other

militants. As for the bombing, Karzai ordered a probe into allegations by local officials that more than 30 civilians were killed by U.S.led troops battling militants in western Afghanistan. The International Committee of the Red Cross said a team it had sent to the area saw “dozens of bodies in each of the two locations,” including women and children. The U.S. has sent a brigadier general to investigate. Obama wanted a renewed commitment by Karzai to better coordinate operations with Pakistan and the U.S., which will expand its military presence in Afghanistan under the president’s revised war strategy against the Taliban. The U.S. also wanted assurances from Zardari that his country’s atomic weapons were secure.

Rapid flooding in Brazil prompts air, land rescue By Alan Clendenning The Associated Press SAO PAULO — Brazil rushed aid Wednesday by air, over land and through rapidly rising waters to scores of cities and towns isolated by floods that have killed at least 32 and left nearly 200,000 homeless. But in an ominous sign that worried officials, rain continued to fall across a vast region stretching from the Amazon jungle to the northeastern Atlantic coast and meteorologists predicted the bad weather could last for weeks.

Isolated looting was reported in communities cut off by flooding, and some areas experienced their heaviest rainfall in two decades, officials said. In three Amazon states, at least 3,000 Indians near rivers that overflowed fled to higher ground or into the jungle after seeing their crops of manioc, bananas and potatoes destroyed, said Sebastiao Haji Manchiner, executive secretary of the Brazilian Amazon Indigenous Organization. In the hardest-hit state of Maranhao, some rivers were rising

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as much as 1 foot per day, destroying bridges and making it too dangerous for relief workers to navigate waterways. The unusually heavy rains that have slammed the region for two months are now affecting 10 of Brazil’s 26 states in a zone three times the size of Alaska. It stretches from the normally wet jungle to coastal states known for lengthy droughts, though not all parts of the states have been affected. Most victims drowned or were killed when mudslides swept apart ramshackle homes,

but authorities feared the situation could get much worse because some areas have been isolated for days without shipments of food or water. Civil defense workers used army helicopters to airlift supplies to some places. Trucks laden with emergency shipments of food and water were forced to stop at highway washouts so aid workers could transfer the goods onto boats for delivery, said Abner Ferreira, a spokesman for Maranhao’s civil defense department. In the Para state city of Al-

tamira, more rain fell in three hours than the jungle city of 90,000 normally gets in two months, Mayor Odileida Sampaio told the state-run Agencia Brasil news agency. Meteorologists blamed the rains on an Atlantic weather system that typically moves on by April but has remained longer this year. Meanwhile southern Brazil is in the midst of a severe drought blamed on the La Nina weather phenomenon, which lowers water temperatures in the Pacific Ocean.

CLEVELAND — John Demjanjuk, branded a Nazi death camp guard by the U.S. government asked for the Supreme Court on Wednesday to stop his deportation to Germany where an arrest warrant accusing him of 29,000 counts of accessory to murder during World War II waits. A federal appeals court in Ohio has cleared the way to deport him. The 89-year-old retired autoworker, his family and his lawyer say he’s in poor health and too frail to be sent overseas. The Supreme Court didn’t say when or if it would rule. The appeal goes first to Justice John Paul Stevens, who will decide the request on his own or refer it to the full court. The arrest warrant in Germany accuses Demjanjuk of being a guard at the Sobibor camp in Nazi-occupied Poland in 1943. Demjanjuk, a native Ukrainian, maintains he was a prisoner of war, not a camp guard. Evidence the U.S. government has used against him includes a Nazi document: an identification card placing him at a training camp and then at various death or forced-labor camps, including Sobibor. A German court on Wednesday rejected an attempt to block his deportation, saying the issue would have to be decided by American courts.

Two New England states move toward legalizing gay marriage AUGUSTA, Maine — New England states signaled an increasing willingness to sanction gay marriage on Wednesday as Maine legalized the practice and the New Hampshire Legislature voted to do the same. If New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch signs the bill or lets it become law without his signature, his state would become the sixth overall to allow gay marriage. Maine Gov. John Baldacci, a Democrat who hadn’t indicated how he would handle his state’s bill, signed it shortly after the legislation passed the Senate on a vote of 21-13 — a margin not large enough to override a veto. “In the past, I opposed gay marriage while supporting the idea of civil unions,” Baldacci said in a statement read in his office. “I have come to believe that this is a question of fairness and of equal protection under the law, and that a civil union is not equal to civil marriage.” Compiled from Associated Press reports

OpiniOn

4 Thursday, May 7, 2009

T he Daily Texan

Editor in Chief: Leah Finnegan Phone: (512) 232-2212 E-mail: editor@dailytexanonline.com Associate Editors: Audrey Campbell Josh Haney Jillian Sheridan Abby Terrell Mary Tuma

gallERY

VIEWPOINT

Slimy machine Political appointments grease the wheels of the Texas political machine. Often, they are shamelessly quid pro quo and are used to reward loyal political insiders. While this may be inherent to the appointment process, several considered appointees in the upper echelons of Texas’ government have made it clear that this systemic flaw must be dealt with. Yesterday, a seemingly innocuous meeting was held in the Texas Senate. The Senate nominations committee met and rubber-stamped Gov. Rick Perry’s nominations to a handful of government boards, councils, commissions and authorities. The appointments are now waiting for approval by the majority-Republican Senate. But one of these appointments, namely Shanda Perkins for the Texas Board of Pardons and Parole, is obviously politically motivated and unmerited. According to a press release from the governor’s office, Perkins’ past positions include: banking executive, member of the United Way of Johnson County Board of Directors and Burleson Lions Club, director of the Johnson County Chamber Summit and member and past ambassador of the Burleson Chamber of Commerce. By Perry’s own admission, Perkins possesses no professional experience in the criminal justice system. As far as we can tell, her only exposure to the courts’ inner workings is the moral crusade she led in 2004 against a Burleson woman who sold sex toys. The woman ended up serving jail time, while the law used to prosecute her was later overturned in federal court. The Texas Constitution stipulates that the Board of Pardons and Paroles is responsible for determining which prisoners are released on parole and the conditions and revocation of parole and making recommendations for clemency decisions made by the governor. While her career experience is reason enough to question her nomination, we think that an individual so quick to publicly condemn others is not a wise choice for one of Texas’ chief arbiters of mercy. Also, as reported by the blog Capitol Annex, Lynne Cheney, the wife of former vice president Dick Cheney, joins an increasingly controversial list of considerations for the State Board of Education’s social studies board. Cheney, who has a Ph.D. in 19th-century British literature, spent the much of the ‘90s trying to rewrite national history curricula. She felt that most courses of study at the time focused too heavily on embarrassing elements of American history, such as the Ku Klux Klan and McCarthyism. Now, 10 years after her efforts failed, she is set to join other divisive figures like the Rev. Peter Marshall, who hinted that Hurricane Katrina was God’s punishment for the “wickedness and decadence” of New Orleans, to work on Texas’ curricula. Hoping for perfect meritocracy in governmental appointments and nominations might be overly idealistic, but minimal experience in the field relevant to the position should be mandatory for all nominees. The Texas political machine might actually benefit the state’s citizens if it was not run by people whose only qualification is their ideological loyalty to those in power. — Josh Haney for the editorial board

THE FIRINg lINE How sweet it isn’t In response to the May 5 Firing Line by Audrae Erickson of the Corn Refiners Association (“In defense of high fructose corn syrup), I’m afraid I have to call BS on her claims that high fructose corn syrup has the same effects on the body as regular sugar. High fructose corn syrup is in fact metabolized by the body differently than regular sugar. Regular sugar is called sucrose and is made up of two simpler sugars: fructose and glucose in a 1-1 ratio. High fructose corn syrup, on the other hand, is made up primarily of fructose, with a ratio of fructose to glucose sometimes as high as 9-1. Fructose is metabolized by the body differently from glucose. The by-products of fructose are glyceraldehyde and dihydroxyacetone phosphate. Glyceraldehyde can be converted to a normal glucose by-product, but it can also be converted to a product that is used to make fat by the body. In addition, fructose bypasses normal glucose metabolic checkpoints in the body, which leads to a greater production of fat. Hopefully that explanation wasn’t too confusing, but, basically, fructose leads to greater fat production by the body than glucose does. And since high fructose corn syrup contains a higher ratio of fructose to glucose than regular sugar does, high fructose corn syrup can lead to greater fat production by the body than normal sugar would. So no, high fructose corn syrup does not have the same effects on the body that regular sugar does, and there has been growing concern over the years that the use of high fructose corn syrup is partialy responsible for the high rates of obesity in America. Who knew biochemistry could be so useful? (Source: “Essential Biochemistry” by Charlotte Pratt and Kathleen Cornely) William Warshauer Nutrition junior

UHs mishandled swine flu case I want to thank University Health Services at the University of Texas at Austin for putting our lives at risk. A student possibly suffering

from H1N1, commonly known as swine flu, visited UHS last week and was given Tamiflu and told to stay home. Now that he has recovered and wasn’t on campus during his contagious period, all is supposed to be well and good (“Possible swine flu case found at UT,” May 6). But is it? The scary thing about H1N1 is that we know so little about it. It is possible for someone to be a carrier without having any symptoms and be able to infect another person (possibly someone with a weaker immune system). UHS’s handling of the H1N1 case is lazy and irresponsible. Governments in places like Hong Kong and China are going to great lengths to prevent the propagation of flu. They have quarantined hundreds of persons for a single suspected case. Perhaps UHS and the Austin Health Department do not have the measures or the will to impose a quarantine. However, the least they can do is find out who else the infected person was in contact with during his contagious period: the friends he met, the people working at the supermarket. All of them could be carriers and are possibly passing H1N1 to the greater Austin community. Most scientists agree that it is not a matter of “if” but a matter of “when” a pandemic will occur. The handling of this case demonstrates that Austin is not the least bit prepared to handle a pandemic. UHS and the Austin Health Department better get their acts together before it is too late. Nalini Belaramani Computer sciences graduate student

sUBMIT a FIRINg lINE E-mail your Firing Lines to firingline@dailytexanonline.com. The Texan reserves the right to edit letters for brevity, clarity and liability.

lEgalEsE Opinions expressed in The Daily Texan are those of the editor, the editorial board or the writer of the article. They are not necessarily those of the UT administration, the Board of Regents or the Texas Student Media Board of Operating Trustees.

Illustration by Pavel Nitchovski

The reality of plus/minus grading By Jeremy Burchard Daily Texan Columnist Ready or not, here it comes — If you’re an undergrad and plan to stick around for at least another semester, prepare to change your GPA calculation skills. To the displeasure of many students, the University will begin employing a plus/minus grading scale this fall. According to a recently released Senate of College Councils information sheet titled “What you need to know about Plus/Minus Grading,” the plus/minus issue has a history at the University dating back to 1979. Most recently, the issue popped up in February of 2007 and escalated toward its imminent implementation. The University lists a number of reasons for using the scale, most notably that 11 of its peer institutions use it and that the detailed nature of the scale will more accurately reflect a student’s academic performance. The scale will make it harder for students to earn 4.0 gradepoints. Instead, many students will find themselves receiving A minuses, worth 3.67 gradepoints. However, a student who earns a high B will receive 3.33 gradepoints per hour, instead of just three. I may not catch too many high fives for saying this, but the move to the new scale is practical and smart — if colleges can amend some GPA-specific requirements. Much of the case for plus/minus grading makes sense. The new scale makes room for greater accuracy in GPA calculation and better represents a student’s performance. Some students miss an A or B by a few tenths of a point; they will be happy to receive more credit than before. On the other hand, some students barely squeak out the A or B. They won’t be as happy when the new system steals away a third of a point. Regardless of where your grades fall on the line between C, B or A, the new number will be more precise than rounding up or down to two, three or four credits. But that doesn’t assuage much student discontent. Most students disapprove of plus/minus grading because they feel it will inevitably lower their GPAs. After all, many students who receive an A in a class actually receive a low A. Next year that grade will translate into less than the usual four credits per hour. There is

also no A plus on the scale to help students balance out A minuses, making the esteemed 4.0 GPA much harder to reach. I say, so what? It’s just a number. Some employers take GPA into account, but they rarely consider it the deciding factor between two prospects (one of whom, if he or she didn’t attend UT, was graded on a variant of the plus/minus scale anyway). The number is only a number — unless it determines a student’s status in a college or school within the University. If the University seriously intends for the plus/minus grading scale to be beneficial, it should encourage colleges to amend GPA restrictions for certain programs. Many honors programs require students to maintain GPAs as high as 3.5 if they wish to stay in the program. But achieving those types of grades will be much harder under the new system. Potentially, a student could get an A minus in every course and still be kicked out of the program. The same type of duplicity applies in some engineering classes, where 54 out of 100 points is often the class average and a 65 is considered a B. Now, just differentiating between a C and a B won’t cut it. Instructors must create very specific lines between plus and minus, to the point where a student’s future in the major teeters on one-tenth of a point. Because the average GPA will undoubtedly decrease, colleges need to reevaluate GPA-specific requirements. If they don’t, the University will see a lot more student frustration, not to mention a decrease in honors program enrollment, across campus. So yes, a potential (read: probable) drop in that little number we like to judge so much by seems like a bit of a blow to the self-esteem. And yes, breaking up credits into thirds makes it harder to keep up and do the math in your head. And yes, the University saying “well, everybody else is doing it!” makes GPA calculation seem like a pissing contest. And yes, all of that will be tough to deal with at first. But plus/minus grading is a very logical strategy, at least in theory. It’s also a delicate topic among students. If the administration wants this system to benefit students, it needs to carefully monitor how the new scale affects students’ academic eligibility and adjust requirements accordingly. Burchard is a liberal arts honors, rhetoric and writing, and radio-television-film sophomore.

The diseases we should be worrying about By Laura Covarrubias Daily Texan Columnist While we temporarily overreact to swine flu, the developing world is being ravaged by many more-serious diseases. While we allow our unfounded fears to envelop us, donning our surgical masks and protecting our stores of Tamiflu with National Guard troops, millions die from preventable diseases, such as AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. Last year, an estimated 2 million people died of AIDS while an additional 2.7 million were infected with HIV, and today at least 33.6 million people live with HIV/AIDS. Meanwhile, 11.7 million orphans who lost their parents to AIDS live in Africa alone, and three-fourths of those who die from AIDS live in the sub-Saharan Africa. While millions of dollars have gone toward preventing and treating the disease, bureaucratic problems plague these efforts, leaving millions without access to testing or treatment facilities. Too often these statistics have a numbing effect on us, and we invariably fail to think of each fatality as the tragic end to another human being’s life. Stephanie Nolan’s book “28 Stories of AIDS in Africa” works to combat this paradox, with 28 individual stories of AIDS to represent the 28 million living with HIV/AIDS at the time of publication. One story is that of Prisca Mhlolo of Zimbabwe, who learned of her status only after her chronically ill 1-yearold daughter Agnes was diagnosed with HIV. Agnes lived just past her eighth birthday, and, shortly after her death, Mhlolo’s husband also died of AIDS. Prisca’s family accused her of causing the deaths of her daughter and husband, physically attacking her and taking away her remaining children. Soon afterwards her second-oldest son killed himself with pesticide because he believed he was also infected with HIV and did not want to endure the same excruciating death he watched his sister and father undergo. Although Prisca eventually became a positive symbol of hope after AIDS, her story is all too common — but not commonly spoken of. Meanwhile, malaria and tuberculosis also threaten the lives of those in developing nations. Each year there are anywhere from 350 million to 500 million cases of malaria in the world, with 1-3 million

deaths, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2004, there were an estimated 14.6 million cases of chronic active tuberculosis with 1.6 million deaths, and in some African countries up to 80 percent of the population tests positive for the disease. Whereas HIV and AIDS can be managed with antiretroviral treatment, both malaria and tuberculosis are curable. But the muchneeded medications come at a price. Although only a few dollars each month can pay for treatments, those typically affected by these diseases are impoverished, and the money provided by non-governmental organizations is often misused and unreliable. To combat these needless deaths, we must communicate more effectively with those living in the affected communities, allowing them to take the reins in grassroots efforts that are free from government intervention. One can get invovled with or give to reputable organizations on campus as well. The UT chapter of FACE AIDS, which has a nearpermanent presence on the West Mall, has raised $25,000 through the sale of pins and T-shirts. The money goes to Partners in Health, a nonprofit that provides healthcare to AIDS sufferers in Africa. Nonprofit organizations like UNICEF make giving money simple, and even though you may not have much to give, a small amount of money — what you might use to buy a cup of coffee or a pack of gum on any other day — can make an impact. Most importantly, we must learn to care about the plights of those affected by these diseases. The effect of a lifetime of media exposure to images of AIDS is similar to the numbing nature of statistics. Since HIV/AIDS has been around for the entirety of most of our lives, many of us fail to understand the gravity of the disease. Because we live in a nation that is geographically immune to malaria and separated from the vast majority of tuberculosis cases, we forget their existence. But each day millions of children must face these realities, many of them dying from these diseases or being orphaned by them. We must remember that each of these children has a name, a face and — if we can help give them one — a future. Covarrubias is a radio-television-film and sociology junior.

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Kindle DX release stirs electronic book debate Amazon’s latest wireless reading device designed to replace text on paper By Samantha Deavin Daily Texan Staff As the spring semester comes to a close and students look forward to putting away their textbooks, the unveiling of Amazon’s latest Kindle wireless reading device Wednesday again raised questions about replacing traditional textbooks. Amazon first released the Kindle, a wireless reading device for e-books, in 2007. The Kindle DX, unveiled Wednesday, has a screen 2.5 times larger that of its predecessor and was specifically designed for the easy reading of textbooks or newspapers. Amazon announced at the product’s launch that five universities — Arizona State University, Case Western Reserve University, Princeton University, the University of Virginia and Pace University — have agreed to test the Kindle DX with their students. Kevin Hegarty, UT’s vice president and chief financial officer, said he would have liked UT to have been included in the testing. At the beginning of this semester, Hegarty, in partnership with a publishing firm, initiated a research project at UT in which roughly 1,000 students in eight classes were given free electronic textbooks. “I was interested in finding out what the level of interest was and how effective textbooks might be, considering that students have historically not embraced them,” Hegarty said. The success of the project, and the extent to which students and teachers embraced the electronic material, will be evaluated in the coming weeks, when student and staff surveys are compiled. Chad Stith, director of course materials at the University Co-op, said only 0.5 percent of the potential sales of the 200 e-book titles were made during this semester. Andrew Dillon, dean of UT’s School of Information, said the psychological attachment to paper books is an important factor in explaining this slow uptake of electronic textbooks. “The tangibility and human compatibility of paper and books is important to us,” Dillon said. About the Kindle DX, Dillon said, “We may have actually made enough progress for this to be a landmark device, but the caveat that humans have proven is that they are resistant to change. Fighting 700 years of human familiarity with paper is a huge challenge.” But Michael Granof, professor of accounting and chairman of the Co-op, said the advantage of electronic readers such as the Kindle DX lies in its potential to change to keep up with the material. “The real advantage [is] in the flexibility. When teaching math or calculus, you can show figures rotating and changing. It has the potential to change the learning experience,” Granoff said. The Kindle DX entered the market today at $489. Finance junior Janine Lipman said she is more likely to buy expensive textbooks than invest in a Kindle DX. “In theory it’s a great idea, but I personally need an earmarked book to find my way through my course,” Lipman said. “There would have to be a psychological shift because right now I expect to pay a lot for my textbooks.”

NEWS BRIEFLY Austin dog returns to owner 8 years after running away A pup named Dancer that scampered away from home in Austin is all grown up now and mysteriously back after eight years.

Shelley Neuman | Daily Texan Staff

Jere Locke, director of the Texas Climate Emergency Campaign, discussed the government’s role in curbing carbon dioxide emissions at MonkeyWrench Books on Wednesday.

Activist urges Congress to regulate carbon dioxide By Priscilla Pelli Daily Texan Staff Congress should pass a bill that will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 20 percent, said a local climate change expert Wednesday night at Monkey Wrench Books. Jere Locke, director of the Texas Climate Emergency Campaign, said the federal government should step in to put a

stop to rising carbon dioxide emissions. “Everything hinges on a bill passed by the United States,” he said. “The rest of the world has been looking at us as an example for a very long time.” The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has warned of the dangers of global temperatures exceeding 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial-car-

Robot soccer team wins cup

Peter Franklin | Daily Texan Staff

Peter Stone, an associate computer sciences professor, has been using a fellowship fund to research programming for robotic soccer. The UT robot soccer team traveled to Maine this weekend and defeated the University of Pennsylvania to receive the 2009 RoboCup U.S. Open. The team will now travel to Graz, Austria, for the RoboCup World Championship. UT’s robot soccer team, Austin Villa, clenched the 2009 RoboCup U.S. Open after defeating the University of Pennsylvania 3-2 in the finals. The U.S. RoboCup Open, held at Bowdoin University in Maine over the weekend, is part of an annual competition in which programmed humanoid robots play soccer against one another. The competition aims to develop a team of fully autonomous humanoid robots capable of defeating a human world soccer champion team by 2050. The robots used this year, the two-legged Alderbaran Nao, were an improvement from last year’s four-legged competitors. Four UT faculty members and computer sciences students make up the Austin Villa team, which took second place at last year’s competition. Team member Todd Hester, a computer sciences graduate student, explained how the robots operate on the field without any external computer or human controlling. “The robots are programmed before they play,” Hester said. “They have a camera in their head, and we program them to figure out what they see and react to it. We just have to hope that when they see a ball coming to them they know what to do.” Hester is optimistic that robots will be able to defeat a human world championship soccer team by 2050. “Forty years is a long time,” he said. “Think about computers 40 years ago and where they are today. Robots can hardly walk now, but there’s a good chance they can get there by 2050.” UT’s Austin Villa will travel to Graz, Austria, to compete in the RoboCup World Championship from June 29 to July 5. — Samantha Deavin

Owner Alison Murphy says obedience school is the next stop for her newly recovered pet. Murphy isn’t sure where Dancer has been. KVUE-TV reports the friendly brown and white creature was left last week at the Humane Society in New Braunfels, about 45 miles away. A musician found the dog in his neighborhood, and took the

well-kept looking animal to the humane society and few days later to see if it had a microchip implant. Dancer did. Murphy says Dancer’s teeth “are in great shape,” and the dog is “still the same old girl.” The only difference is that the dog now answers to the name: Fern. — The Associated Press

bon-dioxide levels. Exceeding that temperature may create a drastic climate change, according to the panel. Studies also show that if temperatures exceed the 2-degree threshold by 2012, the world will lose 20 percent of its oxygen even as carbon dioxide continues to be released into the air. Campaign member Alys-

sa Burgin said the organization aims to end the influence of large corporations on the Senate Energy and Commerce Committee. “The large corporations are affecting a lot of people who sit on that committee,” Burgin said. “There are going to be pollution allowances sold. If you want to pollute above a certain level, you can buy a pollution

allowance. It’s wrong.” The campaign pushed for the legislators to pass a strong science-based bill that follows or exceeds the climate change panel’s recommendations and regulations. The organization hopes that the passing of a new bill will be a signal to United Nations negotiators to an agreement that can succeed the previous Kyoto Protocol.

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Thursday, May 7, 2009

Sports Editor: David R. Henry E-mail: sports@dailytexanonline.com Phone: (512) 232-2210 www.dailytexanonline.com

T he Daily Texan

Softball seniors reflect on success at Texas By Lena Price Daily Texan Staff During the opening ceremony of the Big 12 Conference championship tournament four years ago, senior center fielder Kacie Gaskin remembers the Longhorn softball team doing something a little unexpected — dancing. “I remember how much more fun we seemed to have than a lot of the other teams,” Gaskin said. “And I loved that. It was a very good memory for me because we could have a good time and still get the job done.” Texas definitely got the job done in 2006. That year, Texas all-star pitcher Cat Osterman led the Longhorns to a 15-2 conference record, a firstplace finish in the Big 12 and an appearance in the Women’s College World Series. “Cat automatically brought a lot of support and a huge fan base,” Gaskin said. “I was just very proud to be a part of the group.” This weekend will mark the last Big 12 championship appearance for Gaskin and three other graduating seniors — first baseman Desiree Williams, second baseman Kelly Melone and left fielder Crystal Saenz. The Longhorns went 11-7 in conference this season and earned the fourth seed in the tournament. They play Nebraska on Saturday. They’re not where they were when the seniors first joined the team, but Saenz is confident. “I hope that the underclassmen will get to experience making it to the World Series,” Saenz said. “Because we know what that feels, and it’s great.” Regardless of what happens this weekend, Saenz said the best part of the season was sweeping conference champions Oklahoma at home. “Granted they took conference this year,” Saenz said. “But we run-ruled them.” Beating Missouri in the conference opener was a highlight for Melone. “At the start of Big 12, we split with Missouri, who was supposed to be at the top,” Melone said. “That really pumped us up and got us going. It helped our team mesh together really well.” Between the four of them, the women have almost 50 years of softball-playing experience. They all started playing in elementary school and stuck with it through college. Williams came close to quitting after her first little league game. “I couldn’t throw strikes, so I just hit everybody,” Williams said. “My team lost every single league game the first time I played.” The fifth-year senior has come a long way since her days in little league. Williams leads Texas in home runs, stolen bases and games started. She majored in corporate communication, but softball was an important part of her education. “I think learning how to conduct yourself in different situations that might not be ideal has helped me the most,” Williams said. “When you get interviewed, you don’t always get the questions about how great you are. You have to learn how to project yourself in a way that will still get your answer out there.” After the end of the postseason, all of the seniors will be heading in different directions. But they are all ready to play in Oklahoma one last time. “Even the year we went 0-2, my experiences in Oklahoma have always been very rewarding,” Williams said. “Just because it’s the stadium where the World Series is held. It’s going to be great to go and compete and be a part of the stadium one last time.”

Photos by Paul Chouy and Jacqueline Gilles | Daily Texan Staff

Top left, Crystal Saenz works her defensive magic as she did for four years at Red and Charline McCombs Field. Top right, Kacie Gaskin gets ready to take off. Bottom Left, Senior Kelly Melone runs the bases. Bottom Right, Desiree Williams, one of the best hitters to come through Texas, shows her speed on the basepaths.

BaSEBaLL

Texas 7, Texas Southern University 3

Pitching sees more success in Texas’ 7-3 win over TSU By austin Talbert Daily Texan Staff Texas may have found another pitcher. Not that it needed one. The Longhorns (34-11-1) came into Wednesday’s game against Texas Southern (20-26) with the NCAA’s lowest ERA at 2.48. After their 7-3 win over the Tigers, the Horns had found themTexas junior Kendal Carrillo pitches against TSu on Wednesday Carrillo’s pitching didn’t allow a run in relief. Tamir Kalifa Daily Texan Staff

selves another reliable arm. Stayton Thomas earned his third win of the season pitching five innings while allowing seven hits and three runs. Four of the hits and all three runs came in the sixth, an inning that Thomas started but failed to get an out in before being re-

BASEBALL continues on page 7

CLuB PRoFiLE

Eyeing nationals, wrestling club bounces back Group’s president revived organization; returning members hope for title By Jonathan Babin Daily Texan Staff When Justin Belle became president of UT wrestling in his sophomore year, there wasn’t much of a club left. But Belle was determined to revive the team. And with more than 25 members now on the team, that’s exactly what he did. “We started up the club again my sophomore year, and it was only me and a few other guys in the beginning,” Belle said. “It’s definitely a good feeling seeing it grow. Now, you can count on guys being at practice each week.” As the club has grown, it has attracted experienced wrestlers who have had a major impact on the program. Club member Doug Rivas was named an All-American this past season in the National Collegiate Wrestling Association and placed eighth at nationals. “I chose not to wrestle in col-

lege and came to UT for academics,” Rivas said. “The club has given me a chance to compete. If they didn’t have the club, there would be no other chance for me to wrestle here.” Reflecting on his success this season, Rivas described the level of sacrifice necessary to be successful in an individual sport. “I had to work hard all season, and it was great to achieve that [All-American] title,” he said. “Going to nationals was a big trip. I had to sacrifice spring break for wrestling, and it was the biggest tournament I’ve wrestled in since I started in seventh grade.” Rivas, who is finishing his junior year, has lofty goals for his final campaign next season as a wrestler at UT. “Next season, personally I would like to go undefeated and win the national championship,” he said. With Rivas and other key members of this year’s team returning, next year’s squad will try to make its first-ever trip to nationals. “Looking forward, we have a lot of guys coming back,” Belle said. “Everyone has been work-

Nancy Rosenthal | Daily Texan Staff

Nick Gebhart and Terrance Wickman hit the mats during uT wrestling clubs off-season practice in Belmont Hall on Monday night. ing hard in the offseason, and I think the team has a lot of potential.” For Terrance Wickman, a senior on the team, feels the same way. “Getting to see the club grow has been inspiring,” he said. “It’s hard to get away from the sport because it’s so intense.” Wickman said he has benefited from the wrestling club and that

the team was a source of motivation and stability for him. “The club has given me a regimen to follow, and that has allowed me to plan my days out and stay productive,” he said. “I’ve done better in school because of the routine.” The team will continue to train during the offseason and prepare for another run in 2009-2010.

CLASS/SPTS P7

SportS

Thursday, May 7, 2009

WoMeN’S GoLF

Longhorn seniors head into what could be their final weekend By Matt Hohner Daily Texan Staff It’s that time of the year again. The madness of May begins. The Texas women’s golf team will compete in the NCAA West Regional Championship today in Tempe, Ariz. The Longhorns will vie for a top-eight finish in a field of 21 teams. The top eight teams from each of the four regional sites will advance to Owings Mills, Md., for the NCAA championships. The competitive field will be a test for the women in burnt orange as the Horns take on teams that have carded low scores this season, such as Arizona State, Southern California, Pepperdine, Nevada-Las Vegas and Texas A&M. The West Regional, hosted by Arizona State, will be held at the ASU Karsten Golf Course. The Sun Devils will have a big advantage off the tee box, playing on their home course. The Longhorns had this same opportunity last year, when Texas hosted the NCAA Central Regional

Texas junior Shanon Fish eyes a putt at a tourney earlier this season. The Longhorns will advance to the NCAAs this weekend.

Sara Young Daily Texan Staff

Championship. Senior Kelley Louth feels that the course is for the team’s taking because it is a good fit for everyone. She and the other seniors have played on the course before, and they know how to attack the fairways and approach the greens. Historically, the Longhorns have found success at the ASU Golf Course. The team held a school record of 285 at the 2003 PING/ASU Invitational, taking second place. Caney Hines shot a career low of 68 in the same tournament in 2006. The players are not alone in finding success in Tempe — head coach Martha Richards has as well. The former Stanford Cardinal was awarded the individual medal at the 1993 PING/ASU Invitational. Richards will play a lineup including Louth, Caney Hines, Kristin Walla, Shannon Fish and Nicole Vandermade. For seniors like Louth, it may be their last opportunity to wear the Longhorn across their chests, as

the season might come to a close over the weekend. Louth doesn’t look at it that way, though she has demonstrated some senior leadership in the clubhouse. “Go out and play your best,” Louth said. “We’ve spent some time together and told each other we can do this. We’re building each other up and letting each other know that we’ll do well.” The team has struggled with not carding low scores on the same day. The team will try to put together a string of scores to advance to the NCAA championship. “One of those things I feel like, we haven’t played to our potential all year,” Louth said. “We’re seeded at something start of day, have what it takes, matter of putting scores together.” Louth has played outstandingly over the spring semester, leading the Longhorns as the top finisher in three straight tournament appearances. Vandermade has also concluded the first chapter of her Longhorn career on a high note. The fresh-

WHAT: NCAA West Regional Championships WHERE: ASU Karsten Golf Course (Tempe, Ariz.) WHEN: Thursday through Saturday man received All Big 12 Women’s Honors, the 13th player to receive the accolade in Longhorn history. “It’s an honor [for] this award to come,” Vandermade said. “Its nice to look back and get rewarded for the hard work I’ve put in.” Vandermade was awarded All Tournament team honors at the Big 12 championship a couple of weeks ago for placing in the top 10 of the individual standings. Yet all of her individual accomplishments mean nothing to her if her team doesn’t come out on top this weekend. “My goals are set on higher things,” Vandermade said. “We’re all focused and ready to play our best. We all know how good we are, and the rankings don’t really reflect that.”

BASEBALL: Thomas pitches solid outing; Belt powers offense Texas State game I had a big confidence boost. I just realized you can’t overpower everyone on this level. You have to hit spots.” For the first five innings, Thomas was hitting every spot. “We wanted him to pitch four to five innings, and he pitched brilliant in four to five innings,” Texas head coach Augie Garrido said. “We violated the plan by sending him out there in the sixth, and that usually doesn’t work out well. We tried to squeeze another inning out of him.” After the hiccup, Carrillo shut down the Tigers, allowing only one hit in his three innings of relief. Freshman Austin Dicharry, who began the season starting mid-week games before moving into a middle relief role on the

From page 6 placed by Kendal Carrillo. Not bad for his first start as a Longhorn — a start he didn’t know he would be making until he arrived at UFCU Disch-Falk Field on Wednesday afternoon. “It definitely was exciting,” Thomas said. “I didn’t find out I was starting till I got to the ballpark this afternoon, and then the butterflies were going all over the place. But after the first pitch I really settled down.” With three straight strong outings, Thomas has been slowly building up confidence. On Wednesday, his confidence took a big leap. “I have just been trying to work hard,” Thomas said. “After the

weekends, came in to close down Texas Southern and threw a perfect ninth inning, striking out one Tiger. Thomas may be working toward a role similar to Dicharry’s. “[Thomas] is building toward a middle relief role,” Garrido said. “With the breaking ball his has and with the location he has right now, he can get a lot of hitters out.”

In a midweek game squeezed between Texas’ final two Big 12 series — including this weekend’s showdown with rival Texas A&M that will likely decide if Texas wins a Big 12 championship — it would be easy to fall asleep Wednesday, or not even show up, as the majority of Texas1 fans did. “We played a lot like a professional team,” Garrido said.

CLASSIFIEDS THE DAILY TEXAN

uns ad irne for onl

E! E R F ad s

— Augie Garrido, head coach

Cubs overpower Astros 6-3 as Harden tops Hampton Rich Harden pitched into the eighth inning and Reed Johnson hit a bases-loaded triple Wednesday to lead the Chicago Cubs to victory over the Houston Astros 6-3. Aramis Ramirez added a solo home run for the Cubs, who have won five of their last six games. Harden (3-1) allowed his first run with two outs in the fourth before retiring the next 10 batters. Harden didn’t give up another hit until Michael Bourn singled in the eighth, and Lance Berkman followed with a home run. Johnson, who entered the game with one RBI this season, put the Cubs ahead in the first against Mike Hampton (1-3). Johnson scored on a passed ball by Ivan Rodriguez to make it 4-0. — The Associated Press

Classifieds

day, month day, 2008

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“We wanted [Stayton Thomas] to pitch four to five innings, and he pitched brilliant in four to five innings.”

“Not a high level of emotion but we played with a high level of fundamentals.” Texas was even out-hit by Texas Southern 8-7. “It isn’t just about hitting, if that was the case they would have beat us,” Garrido said. “Our throwing was good, our fielding was good, we had good rhythm and timing.” Of Texas’ seven runs, three were unearned, the result of three Tiger errors. Texas, which has committed 11 errors in 30 home games all season, continued to play strong defense on the slow FieldTurf at UFCU Disch-Falk Field. Brandon Belt lead the offense with two hits and two RBI. Belt leads the team in batting with a .346 average.

SPORTS BRIEFLY

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The New York Times Syndication Sales Corporation 500 Seventh Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10018 For Information Call: 1-800-972-3550 For Release Thursday, May 7, 2009

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61 Bit of â&#x20AC;&#x153;hardwareâ&#x20AC;?

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64 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Road to ___â&#x20AC;? (1947 flick)

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Thursday, May 7, 2009

ENT P9

Life&Arts

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Save: Dollar store

Guiding light

offers good deals on basic products From page 10

Tamir Kalifa | Daily Texan Staff

Radio-television-film senior Fatima Carbajal tests a lighting project for her video installation course in the stairwell of the William Randolph Hearst Building on Wednesday.

buy a pair of reading glasses, Friday’s brand potato chips, a 25-ounce bottle of antibacterial soap, a frozen pizza or a pregnancy test for, yes, $1 each. Dollar Tree offers the usual dollar store fare as well: candy bars, miniature porcelain ballerina figurines, multicolored leis and other strange or silly items that aren’t worth 99 cents. But I was impressed by its selection of surprisingly useful items, particularly in the frozen food and cleaning supply categories. Microwaveable burritos are microwaveable burritos, and dish soap is dish soap, so why pay more than $1 for either? Dollar stores offer discounts on many everyday necessities, but you should keep certain precautions in mind. Many dollar stores, like Dollar Deals near the Fiesta grocery store on I-35, do not actually sell every product for $1. If you don’t pay attention to the prices, you may not be getting a deal at all. Dollar Tree sticks to its promised price but sit is easy to get carried away with a false sense of frugality. Dollar stores lure you in with legitimate deals on toothpaste and Tupperware, but they overcharge you on snack crackers and paper streamers or trick you into buying things you don’t really need (in my case, a gold “scrunchy” hair tie) But if you stick to necessities and don’t get sucked into the “it’s just a dollar” mindset, visiting the dollar store can be exciting again.

KURTISS: Accused murderer found not guilty, resumes boxing From page 10 murder is punishable by death. Desperate and still on his knees, he talked to God. “If it’s your will, when I get out of this, I’ll remember this and never come back. But right now I’m dead. I’m dead to the world.” Bleary-eyed from crying and severely sleep-deprived, he ripped a staple out of a booklet that he received in his mental-health class and carved into his right big toe. He watched a drop of blood splatter on the concrete floor. The bright crimson cut was in the shape of a toe tag. He may as well have been in a morgue. But not long after he started having strange dreams — epiphanies, he calls them. Kurtiss didn’t get much sleep in his jail cell. He averaged four hours of sleep a night in prison, where he lay in a rock-solid concrete bed cushioned only by one body-length pillow. But that night he slept for eight hours. It was a good sleep. And his dream: “Will the defendant please rise?” “We find the defendant Kurtiss Colvin not guilty.” Kurtiss woke up at 5 a.m. that morning. He had breakfast at 6 a.m. He smiled, recalling the good

flIghT: Tickets

sold out at top price for show From page 10

on iTunes after each week’s episode. These songs include “You Don’t Have to be a Prostitute” and “We’re Both in Love With a Sexy Lady.” If you’re lucky, Jemaine will swoon the ladies with his confidence — “I see you girls checkin’ out my trunks / I see you girls checkin’ out the front of my trunks” — and Bret will offer date and relationship advice — “Then on our next date / Well you could bring your roommate / I don’t know if Stu is keen to / But maybe we could double-team you” — but you’ll have to be there to see. Tickets for the show ranged from $47 to 155 on Craigslist on Wednesday night as scalpers, scammers and legitimate sellers doled-out tickets to lastminute fans. If you’ve seen the show or even just the band’s clips on YouTube, it might be worth not eating for a couple of days to invest in seeing two of New Zealand’s best laying it down.

omen from the night before. Months later he was no longer deemed a security risk and moved from solitary confinement into the general population, where he was allowed more time out of his cell. One day a commercial caught his attention. It was an ad for Agape Christian Ministries. The flat-screen TV projected an image of a boxer as the announcer of the commercial plugged the ministry’s boxing classes. Kurtiss missed being in the ring. “If I ever get out of here,” Kurtiss said. “I promise I’m gonna go there and see what it’s all about.” Kurtiss began his athletic career in high school. His track prowess at McCallum eventually earned him a scholarship to the University of Kansas. He was flashy, confident, even cocky. In 2006, he switched sports. He left Lawrence, Kan., to begin an amateur boxing career. He found quick success, winning the middleweight title in the novice division of the regional Golden Gloves tournament. Not long after, he was turning down pro contract offers. They called him “King Cobra” in the ring for his snappy but cerebral style. Outside the ring, Kurtiss was upbeat and talkative, remembers Rick Cantu, a sportswriter for the Austin American-

Statesman who covered Kurtiss’ track career. Kurtiss remembers talking a lot about his Air Jordan and Air Force One sneakers. He had 15 pairs, most of which he lost when he went to prison. Kurtiss had a knack for details. He remembers the night of June 19, 2007, lucidly. It was Juneteenth, the annual commemoration of the day Texas slaves learned of their emancipation. Kurtiss was sitting at home when he got a call from Jervis Taylor, the younger brother of his girlfriend, Rajeanea Thomas. Jervis and his friend Sammy Byrd had gotten into an argument in East Austin, Kurtiss said. He met up with them and put an end to their fight. As he was leaving, a 1976 candyapple red droptop pulled up. The driver, Willie Warren, and his passengers, Charles Bernard Davis and Brandon Cleveland, told him to hop in. They rolled through the crowded streets with music blasting. They pulled up to Thompson Street in East Austin, where Kurtiss exited the car. A couple of girls ran up to Kurtiss and shouted, “Mikey’s been hit.” He arrived to a scene where he found Mikey, a toddler, prostrate on the ground. The boy had been struck by a driver who was weaving through pedestrians celebrat-

ing Juneteenth. Kurtiss initially thought Mikey was dead. He approached the driver of the car, Victor Medel, whom he told to wait for the cops. David Morales, a resident of a nearby apartment complex, came to Medel’s defense and implored Kurtiss, along with a group of five to 20 others, to let him go. “You need to chill. You need to tell your partner to give us the keys,” Kurtiss told Morales. Meanwhile, a group of teenagers kicked and pounded on Medel’s car. One of the teens thought Morales was reaching for a gun. “Man, what you reaching for?” Kurtiss remembers asking. Morales issued another warning, and the teenagers began to beat the driver’s car furiously. When Morales reached for something in his back pocket, Kurtiss grabbed his right hand and struck him with an open fist, pushing him to the floor and causing both to stumble. Kurtiss was afraid Morales would come up shooting, so he fled immediately. It’s likely that a band of attackers beat Morales to death that night; his autopsy report revealed “several abrasions, a rib fracture, contusions, and a skull fracture.” A gun was not found on his person, according to an arrest affidavit, but

it was later revealed he was carrying a large razor-like weapon. Twelve days after the incident, Kurtiss was taken into custody. They held him on charges of manslaughter, theft and assault. The first charge stemmed from the blow he had delivered. He was also accused of rummaging through Morales’ wallet. For 15 months, Kurtiss’ life hung in the balance. He didn’t know if he’d ever get out of jail, step in the ring again or see his daughter Kamari — who had been born, said her first word and took her first steps while he was in prison. On Oct. 22, 2008, he awaited his sentencing. It was the scariest moment of his life, he said. As he stood before the judge, he quivered and teared up. He was found not guilty of manslaughter but received 10 years probation for assault. Byrd, who had argued with Kurtiss’ brother-in-law earlier that Juneteenth night, later pleaded “true,” the equivalent of a guilty plea in a juvenile court, to delivering the fatal blow. He received eight years probation for manslaughter. Despite this, the court held Kurtiss responsible for paying the Morales family more than $15,000 for the cost of his death. But he had his freedom back. The night he was released he

called Rajeanea and asked if he could see his daughter. When he arrived, 15-month-old Kamari lay asleep in her mother’s bed, her mouth slightly open. He crept close to her and whispered, “Daddy’s back, and I ain’t going nowhere. I’m sorry for leaving.” Two days later, he kept the promise he made in prison and trekked to Agape Christian Ministries on Manchaca Lane. He had no gear and went in street clothes: a red muscle shirt, black basketball shorts and a pair of Air Jordan sneakers. From November to March, Kurtiss focused on boxing with the help of Agape Christian Ministries trainer Ed Tijerina. In March, Kurtiss won the highest amateur boxing award in the state: the Golden Gloves title, awarded to the best amateur boxer by tournament. This week he is competing for the national title. So far, he has won his bout against the titleholder from Iowa, Matt Schuh. He’s set to be ranked nationally, but Kurtiss aspires to be the world champion. Kurtiss’ sneakers now conceal the scarred toe tag he once carved into his skin, but he chooses not to focus on that grim reminder of his dark days. In fact, a few week ago, Kurtiss got a new tattoo: Etched in black ink on his left bicep are the words “Justice Served.”

ENT P10

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Life&Arts

Life&Arts Editor: Ana McKenzie E-mail: lifeandarts@dailytexanonline.com Phone: (512) 232-2209 www.dailytexanonline.com

T he Daily Texan

At dollar stores, frugality and frivolity

Lara Haase | Daily Texan Staff

Dollar stores, notorious for their uniform pricing and questionable quality, are expanding the variety and caliber of their goods at the same low price.

In times of economic hardship, finding useful items at discount shops becoming easier By Mia Avramescu Daily Texan Staff When I was young, my family took frequent vacations to our hometown of Montreal to visit relatives. The most exciting part of every trip, without fail, was when my aunt would take me to the dollar store. I did not notice that the troll dolls were off-brand or that

the Barbies’ packages were damaged. All I knew was that I was allowed to pick out one thing, anything in the whole store, and my aunt would buy it for me. The dollar store was heaven. But when I outgrew plastic dolls, I outgrew the dollar store as well. I came to view it as a sad, dirty place that people entered only out of frivoli-

ty or desperation. Now, dollar stores are among the few businesses booming. Our shrinking wallets have renewed America’s love for these one-pricefits-all markets, and they are not just for teddy bears and coloring books anymore. It is no secret that much of what

lines dollar store shelves is of questionable quality and utility, but as these stores are becoming more popular, they are offering more and better merchandise at the promised $1 price. Currently, at Dollar Tree located at 5431 N. Interstate 35, you can buy a

SAVE continues on page 9

Boxing champion out of jail, in the ring By JJ Velasquez Daily Texan Staff Kurtiss Colvin is on his way to becoming a nationally ranked amateur boxing champion this week. He still remembers when he was nicknamed Lucky. It was a name that eventually proved ironic. In high school, the moniker suited Kurtiss, a charmed kid and McCallum High School star athlete who was on his way to boxing glory. But behind bars the nickname got old quickly. There, they called him Boxer. Kurtiss, cramped into a 9-by-7foot jail cell for most of 2007 and 2008, didn’t know who he was anymore. But he knew he wasn’t a killer. Kurtiss spent the time on 23hour lockdown, only allowed to leave his cell to shower. The shame, the fear and the sleepless nights drove him stir-crazy. He had just returned from a counseling session to quell emotional and anger-management issues that his stay in prison had worsened. Suddenly, a news report blared from a television in the day room. Kurtiss, kneeling at his bedside, listened from his cell. New charges had been brought against him. There had been new developments in the case surrounding the beating death of an Austin man, a voice announced. He had been charged with capital murder stemming from the death of David Morales. Kurtiss burst into tears. Capital

KURTISS continues on page 9

Courtesy of the Flight of the Conchords

Flight of the Conchords, the folk duo of small-screen fame, will be performing tonight at Bass Concert Hall. Tickets for the concert sold out in minutes in February.

Folk duo of HBO fame to play songs from eponymous show By Sean Beherec Daily Texan Staff New Zealand’s fourth-mostpopular comedy duo — Flight of the Conchords — will make a stop in Austin tonight to perform its signature sub pop set at the newly renovated Bass Concert Hall for those who were lucky enough to snag a ticket in the few minutes before they sold out. The visit is part of an international tour following the completion of Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie’s sec-

ond season of HBO’s “Flight of the Conchords” and the upcoming release of their second album through Sub Pop Records. Flight of the Conchords — as if you haven’t heard of the duo — has slowly taken over the states and left infectious songs like “Mutha’uckas” and “The Prince of Parties” echoing in listeners’ brains. Their imaginative lyrics put to shame the famous comedic artists of old such as Weird Al Yankovic and Cheech and Chong.

FoTC covers subjects we care about, from hitting on the best-looking girl in a room — “You’re so beautiful / You could be a part-time model” — to struggling to pay the bills — “You know you’re not in high finance / Considering secondhand underpants.” In addition to the duo’s more well-known songs, concert-goers may hear hits from the second season that were sold

FLIGHT continues on page 9

DT WEEKEND May 7, 2009

Editor’s Note

4 4 A Little R&R: Travel reading for the summer by roxanna asgarian and rachel meador

A quick escape is only a page away music 5 It’s Korn season by jacob payne

Vocalist Jonathan Davis divulges details about exbandmates, tour life and s new album 6 Punk Paradise by ben cox

Hardcore musical festival expans to a full five days 7 Songstress’s heartbreak rakes in record sales by valerie lai

Erin McCarley balances tour life while writing passionate ballads food 10 Prolific pub houses best beer selection in Texas

my 6-year-old brother just lost his first tooth. It’s a maxillary central incisor in dental terms, but he simply calls it “my front toof ” without shame. I remember that when I started losing teeth, my parents blatantly led me to believe that if I put my teeth under my pillows, I’d be rewarded by a tooth fairy. I usually got a couple of dollar bills. As I got older, I started to realize $3 a tooth wasn’t going to cut it — tooth selling could be a very lucrative business, and I wanted to be the Andrew Carnegie of teeth. Then someone at school told me the tooth fairy wasn’t real. It was a doubt I’d harbored all along, something that gnawed at me without restraint. And when I got home from school, I looked in the jewelry cabinet my mother prohibited me from looking at and saw it. A disgusting mound of molars, canines and cuspids, each wrapped in the note I had addressed to “ToOtH FaiRy.” I thought my parents were sick. But I soon realized they were the source of the mysterious tooth fairy money. The next time I lost a tooth, I passive-aggressively bemoaned the meager $4 I found under my pillow. “Mom, is the tooth fairy poor? Why did I only get $4? Does the tooth fairy need to put the tooth on layaway at Wal-Mart?” The exasperated sigh she gave me in return was a sign that I was winning. For the next molar I lost, I got $5, but then I pushed it too far one day and got nothing when I lost a lateral incisor. My parents said maybe the tooth fairy thought I was “a damn spoiled brat.” But talking to my little brother over a phone line stretching hundreds of miles away, I wished I could go back to that time when everything was still so mysterious. The harsh realities of life kick in just when you’re enchanted enough with the world to think everything’s OK. This summer, I’ll be in constant search of the hidden mysteries I forgot about as I matured, and I hope to grow from it. I hope you’ll grow, too. I also hope my brother got more money for his front tooth than I did, if only because of inflation. See you next semester,

by amira jensen

Fion offers an array of affordable booze options 11 Street vendors titillate tastebuds by jacquelyn newell

Summer brings back Austin’s most beloved street treats

arts 12 The thin line between art and design

editor art director

by francisco marin

photo editor

Fine arts seniors exhibit final design pieces after months of preparation

copy editors writers

14 Ears, Eyes + Feet by korri kezar

Showcase provides much-needed comic relief in tough times film 15 Summer films sure to dazzle and disappoint by mandy spivey

From spine-chilling horror to eye-rolling comedy Cover illustration by Brandon Gamm e-mail dtweekend@dailytexanonline.com

phone 512.232.2209

web sites www.dtweekend.com

photographers

Francisco Marin Brandon Gamm Caleb Miller Rachel Greene David Muto Roxanna Asgarian Ben Cox Amira Jensen Korri Kezar Valerie Lai Rachel Meador Jacquelyn Newell Jacob Payne Mandy Spivey Tamir Kalifa Sheila Neuman Liz Muskowitz Jordan Smothermon

www.dailytexanonline.com

recommendations 3

Summer Recommendations by Francisco Marin School’s Out, Let’s House Friday, 8 p.m. U.S. Art Authority (next to Spider House)

I can’t think of a more perfect way to cap off a long semester than with the Hype Headz collective. With DJs Yayyay and Shook Nite (among others) at the decks on the inside stage and the endearingly cute glaminspired Tummy Toast playing the outside stage, Let’s House is the place to be this Friday night.

Glass Candy Saturday, 10 p.m. The Mohawk

Italodisco darlings Glass Candy hail from Portland but are more reminiscent of underground 1980s European electronica than Americana (think “More, More, More” by Andrea True Connection if it were sung by haunted ghosts). With an obscene amount of blog love built up through the last few years and an increasingly diverse repetoire of music, I think it’s safe to bet Glass Candy is the tastiest treat you’ll have all weekend.

Her Space Holiday May 13, 10 p.m. The Mohawk

Beautiful music, droll lyrics. The last time Holiday rolled into ATX, friends of mine were disappointed in the show. It’s difficult to like a one-man band tap away at a laptop after listening to Holiday’s gorgeously composed electronic pop albums. But if overall aesthetic appeals to you more than the live experience, I suggest you show up and groove out anyway.

The Field & Juan Maclean May 29, 8 p.m. The Mohawk photo courtesy of the field

Come visit us at 24th and Guadalupe for a FREE Horn Dog or Austin’s Classic with the purchase of a combo. Also try a FREE SAMPLE !

www.austinschicagodog.com

From Here We Go Sublime, The Field’s debut

photo courtesy of her space holiday

album, was on the top of many critics’ 2007 best-of lists, not necessarily because it was innovative or groundbreaking but because it was catchy and refreshing. While The Field makes chill, technoinspired electronica, Juan Maclean’s bombastic music is the perfect soundtrack to a night of sweaty dancing and regretful decisions. This show is not to be missed.

4 food

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Even Cowgirls Get the Bluesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Tom Robbins weaves deep philosophical questions into the tale of Sissy Hankshaw, a girl whose extraordinary thumbs make her quite possibly the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best hitchhiker. The book was popular among the hippie counterculture in the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;70s for its honest look at homosexuality and drug use.

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;On The Roadâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

This is the classic, must read coming-of-age novel. Kerouacâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s account of his travels through the U.S. and Mexico set him at the forefront of the stream-ofconsciousness narrative style, but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s as relevant now as it was when it was published in 1957.

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Fear and Loathing in Las Vegasâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

A Little

R&R

Hunter S. Thompson takes a trunk full of drugs to Vegas in a big red Chevy convertible. How is that not epic? This firsthand account merges storytelling and real life in a way that no one has done before or since. photo by caleb miller

Travel reading for the summer

Millions of songs. One little price.

summer is travel time, especially for students. We were planning a righteous adventure to wherever, but then we realized that summer school was about as far out as we were going to make it. If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re in the same boat, you might try traveling through some of our favorite books.

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The Poisonwood Bibleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Barbara Kingsolver parallels the turbulent journey of a missionary Baptist family moving to the Belgian Congo with the villagersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; transition into post-colonial Congo in 1959. The novel is told through the pastorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wife and daughters as they come to realize personal and universal truths.

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music 5

It’s Korn season in Central Texas

thinking of all the professions in the world, the life of a rock star has got to top the list as the most glamorous, romantic and sought-after position for anyone to hold. I got to sit down with Jonathon Davis, the vocalist for Korn, earlier this week to discuss his band’s past, the new album it is working on and what he feels the future holds for them. “When I had the opportunity to actually go in and cut up dead bodies, I thought that was really cool,” Davis said about a previous job as a mortician’s assistant. “I was 16 or 17. So I did it, then I totally fell in love with it and started getting serious about it.” Davis has been a vocalist since a year before he joined Korn. “All of us have been doing music since we were kids,” Davis said. “I think it’s just how God made us. We love playing music. Yeah, we’ve gotten all the success and stuff like that, but it doesn’t change the fact that I just have to keep creating, or else I’ll go crazy.” Longtime guitarist Brian “Head” Welch left the band a few months before the release of See You On The Other Side, rejecting stardom to become a born-again Christian. “I haven’t talked to him since he left,” Davis said. “The way he left the band and everything was kind of jacked up, so I had a grudge over that. I love the guy and he’s happy, and that’s what counts.” Former drummer David Silveria, who took an indefinite hiatus before Untitled, is not coming back, Davis said. “We played with different drummers,” Davis said. “We did tryouts, and some drummers just didn’t fit or don’t get it, and we got lucky with Ray [Luzier]; he just fell into our laps.” But Davis still dreams to one day share a stage again with the five original members of his band. “I’d love to see that,” Davis said. “It’d be cool, but it is what it is right now, so we’ve just gotta deal with it. I know there’ll be a day when you see the four of us.” On the Back to Basics tour a few years ago, Korn allowed fans to vote on which songs they wanted in their setlist, and al-

photo by jordan smothermon

though “Daddy,” likely the most emotionally charged song in the band’s catalogue, topped the list, Davis declined to perform it live. “I don’t play that song live because it’s just magic,” Davis said. “If I play that song over and over every night, it’d lose its meaning. I don’t want people to expect me to freak out like I did on that. That was what happened in that point in time, and that magic was captured, and I don’t want to fuck with it.” Davis admitted the truth in the song’s lyrics but declined to go into further details on the matter. “That’s what happens when you play songs over and over and over again,” Davis said. “We’ve played that song maybe three times in its entirety. It’s just a special song. If you wanna

hear it, listen to it on the CD.” But lyric-writing and vocals are not his only passion. “If I’m learning instruments it challenges me, so there’s a challenge there,” Davis said. “With my voice, I just open my mouth and this came out. Around the Untouchables era, that’s when I started getting vocal coaches and all that shit. My favorite vocalist of all time is Robert Plant. That’s the guy I look up to as a singer. He’s the shit.” Korn will tour Europe later this year with Metallica, though the band and Davis would most like to tour with shouldn’t surprise. “Rage Against the Machine,” Davis said without pause. “Korn and Rage would be amazing. We did that in Germany at a tour called Rock Am Ring where we opened for them. It was awesome. So we did two shows; it

was fucking so insane. Different vibes but everyone gets it.” Korn recently announced it would take part in this year’s Download Festival among a plethora of others. “There’re a lot of good bands we’re up against,” Davis said. “We’re up against a lot of competition. It really pushes us. It’s good, a good thing.” Currently, the band is on the Escape from the Studio tour, taking a break from the creation process. “Haven’t heard it, but the guys say it’s going great,” Davis said. “They’ve just been writing riffs and songs, compiling them with [music producer] Ross [Robinson]. They’re doing it with Ross again, who did the first two records. Once they get that all compiled and put into songs, that’s when I’ll come in and do my shit.”

The new Korn album is only in the beginning stages, but it should drop by the end of the year, Davis said. “Right now the writing process is really different,” Davis said. “It’s Fieldy, Munky and Ray in a room. I took myself out of it purposefully because I always found myself telling everybody, ‘Try this melody over this part,’ or ‘Do this over that.’ It kind of screwed me when it came to my parts, I’d have to come up with other melodies. [Ross and I] talked about that, plus I’ve been working on my solo record, too, so it just works out. I’m really excited.” — jacob payne

Korn

Saturday, noon Pizza Hut Park @ Frisco Sunday, noon Mitchell Pavilion @ The Woodlands

6 music

Punk paradise in past years, crust punk and hardcore kids have converged on Emo’s late in May for Chaos in Tejas, a festival featuring both new punk bands and elders of the scene. This year, however, the Chaos will spread and sink its claws even deeper into downtown Austin. The festival has expanded to five days and six venues and will offer a selection of underground rock ranging from amped-up indie pop to the dreariest sludge metal. Here are some of best acts Chaos in Tejas has to offer. — ben cox

Teenage Cool Kids Red 7 Kickoff Party, May 20

Much media ink has been spilled over local up-and-comers Harlem, also on this show’s bill. Equally exciting is this group whose press releases name-drop Built to Spill but whose sound screams early90s Lookout! Records, albeit with less of an aversion to breaking the three-minute mark on songs. Teenage Cool Kids hail from the prolific punk scene of Denton and has recently run into some legal trouble with the rap group that shares two-thirds of its moniker, but the band can deliver infectious music by any other name.

Drunkdriver

Beerland, May 22, Emo’s Outside, May 23 Sound on Sound Records, May 24

Chaos in Tejas still abounds with hardcore bands, but New York’s Drunkdriver stands out from a sea of tempo-pushing clones. Drunkdriver’s music — dirge-like, industrial-influenced hardcore — bears more resemblance to the dissonance of Scratch Acid and the barely held-together riffing of Flipper than Black Flag and its innumerable spawn.

Pierced Arrows Emo’s Outside, May 23

Fred and Toody Cole are no strangers to Chaos in Tejas. The husband and wife duo played the festival in 2006 as part of Dead Moon and has been performing together in various bands for nearly 30 years. Fred Cole has been making music since

photo courtesy of eyehategod

the first wave of garage rock in the mid-’60s and has consistently delivered straightforward rock songs that often take on a sinister bent under Cole’s paranoid-warble singing style.

wonder, The Strange Boys, should need no further introduction. XYX and Ratas del Vaticano are two exciting bands out of Monterrey, Mexico, a city currently redrawing the lines of traditional punk.

Times New Viking, Nodzzz, The Strange Boys, XYX, Ratas del Vaticano

Eyehategod

Emo’s Inside, May 23

Times New Viking, Columbus’ foremost practitioners of blownout lo-fi pop, headline what may be the most solid bill of the entire festival. Nodzzz delivers a brand of simple high-pitched pop tunes that make one wonder if they took to heart the Ramones’ advice on sniffing glue. Austin’s blues garage

Emo’s Outside, May 24

True elder statesmen of sludge, the members of Eyehategod have served up Sabbath worship for over 20 years now. The band hails from New Orleans, but its brand of the blues is far removed from French Quarter tourist traps. Repetitive, down-tuned riffs surround the listener in an aura of dread reflected by the band’s bleak choice of album titles, such as In the Name of Suffering and Confederacy of Ruined Lives.

photo courtesy of times new viking

music 7

Songstress’s heartbreak rakes in record sales erin mccarley underestimated the mass appeal of her achingly personal songs. Before her album even debuted, her music was being used to capture peak moments of young-adult angst and sorrow in “One Tree Hill,” “Grey’s Anatomy” and “He’s Just Not That Into You.” McCarley is set to play with Matt Nathanson and Jack’s Mannequin in Austin this weekend. Love, Save the Empty, the indie songstress’s debut album, was released Jan. 6, the same day she performed on David Letterman. “I was freaked out and so nervous and excited at the same time,” McCarley said. “It was definitely a career peak because my record came out that day, and I had a record release party that night, so Letterman was in the middle of all that. It was a crazy day in New York.” Her album is a seamlessly produced set of 11 songs, chronicling the self-realization of a woman who has been in the depths of love and tossed back out. They range from heartrending and stirring (“Pitiful”) to quirky and cynical (“Blue Suitcase”), representing the dual personality of McCarley. The songs mostly stem from eye-opening experiences and an abundance of heartache. Growing up in a very happy, stable household in Garland, Texas, McCarley constructed a false sense of reality that ultimately shattered when she left her hometown. “Once you get out of the house and school, you start becoming your own adult and figuring out your own passions and ideals. It all sets in,” she said. “I had a lot of really serious relationships at a young age, so a lot of songs come from being so emotionally attached at such a young age and the ideals of love, of what they were then and what they are now. This record was drawing from the past and present.” McCarley moved to San Diego after college — being surrounded by musicians there helped her discover her passion for songwriting. She began seeking a producer who possessed the right balance of professionalism and creativity, but none fit the criteria until she met producer/writer/ keyboardist Jamie Kenney. “I went through a handful of producers — it was like a dating process,” McCarley said. “When

I met Jamie, I played a few songs for him, and we bounced off back and forth so easily. He had almost the exact vision in his head of what was in my mine for me.” Kenney suggested they try it out for a week in Nashville, no strings attached, to see what could happen. The weeklong effort resulted in two tracks, “Pony (It’s Ok)” and “Sleepwalking,” as well as a musical partnership — Kenny ended up producing and co-writing the album. And so her career took off. She spent the majority of last year on the road and joined the Hotel Café Tour with Meiko, Ingrid Michaelson, Priscilla Ahn and other female artists. At shows, various people approached McCarley and confessed that her songs affected them deeply. It’s not surprising, as McCarley has a way of connecting with her fans at shows. “When I was writing the album, I didn’t necessarily know if anyone would even connect to it,” McCarley said. “I wasn’t writing it for it to be massively heard, but once I started making the record, I felt like it was relatable.” As a teenager, McCarley dreamt of being a dancer in a music video, but the video she ended up starring in was her own. For her single “Love, Save the Empty,” she roams the streets of Paris holding a gold-

photo courtesy of erin mccarley

fish in a jar. McCarley recounted the incident: “Twenty minutes before I went to perform on Leno, my manager called and asked, ‘Do you want to go to Paris and shoot the video?’ The last thing I wanted to do was make another video that’s just my face singing to the camera, but they were pretty adamant about doing it. I had to do some-

thing quirky, so they suggested holding a goldfish. There were five of us who did it from 8 a.m. until 2 a.m. It was freezing cold and hysterical because none of us knew French or had been to Paris, but I think the outcome is pretty incredible.” For now, McCarley is focused on touring and trying to write songs for her next record. “It’s definitely something I’m learn-

ing right now, being on the road. Before I had no schedule — I could write whenever I wanted to. Now I’m around people constantly, and I never have time to myself.” — valerie lai

Erin McCarley Sunday, 7 p.m. Stubb’s BBQ

10 food

Prolific pub houses best beer selection in Texas upon walking into Fion Wine Pub’s new location on Bee Caves Road, you may not expect it to house 700 types of beer and 900 different wines. The first impression is where retail liquor store meets neighborhood pub hybrid — wine racks line the aisles in one room, while secluded booths offset a dimly lit bar in the other room. But beyond this unassuming layout, an endless amount of exotic alcohol awaits discovery. Fion Wine Pub proudly boasts the largest selection of beer in the state, ranging from Belgian abbey brews and rare Lambic ales to every Texas beer one can possibly imagine. Many of the more obscure sudsy delights are housed in the Beer Cave, a walkin freezer stocked from floor to ceiling with rare imports and microbrews from across the land. While these are available only for single purchase, Fion offers a create-your-own-six-pack option

for their remaining bottled beers. With prices ranging from $6.99 to $8.99, this option gives customers a chance to try new beers without spending much more than they would for an average six pack at the grocery store. Fion also keeps 46 beers on tap, with selections that are frequently rotated to maximize diversity and placards that describe the flavor and origin of each beer. Where Fion really makes its name, however, is with its staggering selection of wine. With more than 900 to pick from, the choices can be overwhelming, but the menu offers detailed explanations of some of the more popular options of each type of wine. If you’re still having trouble deciding between this or that Riesling or pinot noir, you can take a “flight,” a predetermined set of three wines of a certain grape. Since I’m preferential to Shiraz, I tried the Shiraz flight — for $10, I had

a small glass each of Four Sisters Shiraz, Spellbound Petite Sirah and Boom Boom Syrah. Each wine explored the flavors of the syrah grape in a different way so that I never felt as if I were drinking three glasses of the same wine. I coupled my wine flight with one of Fion’s cheese plates — my choice was the Doux de Montagre, a Havarti-like cheese from France. The cheese menu suggests pairings of wine and beer, and each plate comes attractively accentuated with crackers, walnuts, pecans, dried currants, apricots and cranberries. Each cheese costs between $3.50 and $4.50, with $2 tacked on per person for the nuts and fruit. There are also selections of fudge — cookies ’n’ cream, peanut butter and turtle — that are prepared by one of the members of the staff. A 3-ounce slab runs for $4, but the sheer deliciousness of the stuff makes it worth the splurge.

photo by sheila neuman

Fion is unique in that it offers a bar and booths for in-store consumption while also maintaining retail store prices. You won’t spend typical wine pub money here. In addition, the staff is exceptionally friendly, helpful and knowledgeable, making any ignorant question welcome. Though Fion Wine

Pub is quite a drive from campus, the wide-ranging selections and generally cheap prices make it worth the journey. — amira jensen

Fion Wine Pub

11715 FM 2244, Suite 100 512.263.7988

food 11

Street vendors titillate tastebuds we’ve made it through the April rain to the bright months of summer, and the Texas sun has already begun to bring the laid-back atmosphere we’ve all missed. Anticipating the return to casual clothes and daily agendas, Austin’s street food is back in full force and better than ever. Here are the top three Austin treats you just can’t miss. — jacquelyn newell

Lucky J’s

5703 Burnet Road 512.296.9914

The newly opened trailer’s slogan, “Chicken for strength, waffles for speed,” hardly seems fitting when you realize that after you eat a large, syrupy portion of chicken and waffles, the only thing you’ll want to do is take a nap. And then eat some more. Go with a friend and try “The Deal,” which includes two waffles with butter and syrup and half of a fried chicken, all for under $8. In the coming month, Lucky J’s promises to add outdoor seating as they complete plans to expand the “dining room” to the adjacent building.

Casey’s New Orleans Snowballs

Corner of Airport Boulevard and 51st Street

One thing’s for sure: These aren’t your average snow cones.

photo by tamir kalifa

Casey’s, a little-known Austin favorite with a cult following, serves up cups of freshly shaved ice New Orleans-style with “cream,” or sweetened condensed milk. They have traditional flavors like cherry and watermelon, or try one of the house concoctions, which utilize the condensed milk to make flavors like dreamsicle and Boston cream pie. Casey’s is only open

during the summer months, generally from late March to October, so get your fix now.

Flip Happy Crepes 400 Jessie St. 512.552.9034

Featured on Food Network’s “Throwdown with Bobby Flay,” this hidden trailer is the snobby Ivy League sister of Austin street food. The menu boasts a long list

of both savory and sweet crepes sure to please any palate. If you’re looking for lunch, try the smoked-salmon crepe with herbed cream cheese, spinach and tomato or the roasted chicken crepe, topped with mushrooms, white cheddar and caramelized onions. For dessert, the fruit crepe with Nutella, a creamy, Italian chocolate hazelnut spread, is a perfect choice.

12 arts

Design Show to Show Design With design showing design, who will design the design?

photos by elizabeth moskowitz

The thin line between art and design Fine arts seniors exhibit final design pieces after months of preparation as the sun was setting, the last few rays of light sparkled off the brilliant pink and purple hair windswept into her face. Delicately scrawling a number “2” into my reporter’s notebook with an art pen, Sarah Hood described why she was so fascinated with typography. “I fell in love with ITC Tiffany Heavy,” Hood said while sketching the number in her favorite font with careful trepidation. “For me, everything needs to be as ornate as possible. My whole senior project and thesis was about stimulation. I need something that’s constantly stimulating — bright lights, color, crazy noises. So simple, clean, sleek fonts — they’re lovely and well-designed — but they can’t keep my attention for very long.

Where to draw the line?

Hood, who will soon graduate with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in design, is among 17 seniors exhibiting their work this weekend at the Creative Research Lab. The program itself, Design in Conversation, is an attempt to transform the works of these design students into personto-person dialogue. The CRL, normally reserved for art exhibitions, will have a dedicated space for design students’ work — but don’t call the designers “artists.” “Oh no,” Hood said, “Don’t ever call a designer an artist. That’s a huge debate in the design community right now: Where do we draw the line between artist and designer?” Yet Hood’s work in the exhibit seems

to border on the abstract. In one piece, a video shows the process of melting ice cream, Bomb Pops popsicles and whipped cream, with each medium shaped in the form of a font. Hood said the aim of her work was to stimulate an almost perverse perspective for people watching the video. “I melted Bomb Pops down into molds, re-froze them and videotaped them melting,” Hood said, grinning with enthusiasm. “It’s making you sit down and watch the melting process from beginning to end, and it’s kind of masochistic and sadistic. You rush home from the grocery store because you don’t want your ice cream to melt, for example, but sitting down and watching a video of

the process, you’re like, ‘Oh no no don’t melt.’ It’s enjoying to watch, like a kid with a magnifying glass on ants.”

Cult typography

As she finished scrawling the “2,” Hood described why she is drawn to psychological stimulation in her design pieces. “I need something to distract me and keep me busy,” Hood said. “I was always the one in class who didn’t do everything black and white, sleek, minimal — I’m so the opposite of that. As I got more into typography, it helped me realize how I want to design — to be mature but with more personality.” At a South by Southwest screening of the horror film “A Haunting In Connecticut,”

arts 13 audiences were ecstatic and genuinely frightened. A movie that would have probably received a standing ovation ended with credits typed in Papyrus font — causing audience members to groan and scoff in disapproval. One man, who had previously been jumping in fright at quick cutscenes throughout the film, called out “amateur!” when the credits rolled. That kind of impact, Hood affirms, is why she was drawn to typography in the first place. “There are whole cults behind fonts, like huge petitions to ban Comic Sans,” Hood said with a laugh. “There’s always typography drama. Like, if a design student goes to the mall and sees a business sign in a bad font, they wonder who would pay money to see that.”

Designers get ready

Rachel Tepper, exhibit committee head for the program, said the goal of the show is to inspire discussion about the designers’ work. “We spend the entire semester preparing for the show,” Tepper said. “I think it’s important to know that our program is a liberal-arts approach to design, so we take design theory and history classes and ground our work in thinking, not just design. We took action words like ‘provoke’ and ‘explore’ and grouped our work under these categories to trigger conversations, to make people think about why does this provoke or how does this explore.” Tepper, a designer herself, also focused on typography but was more interested in the history behind fonts. Her work centers on revisiting and updating a font originally created by Elizabeth Friedlander, a Holocaust refugee who was forced to leave Germany in the 1930s. Friedlander never received credit for the typeface she created, so Tepper decided to pay homage to her legacy by transforming the font into Sans Friedlander, a sans serif font. “I like to create pieces that are very thorough, with a light, soft touch,” Tepper said while averting her eyes and smiling. “I think that I design well that way because it kind of reflects my shyness. It’s understated.” — francisco marin

Design in Conversation

Opening reception: Saturday, 6 p.m. Exhibit: May 9-May 30; noon-5 p.m. Creative Research Lab 2832 E. MLK Blvd.

14 arts

in a collaborative effort between UT’s School of Music and Department of Theatre and Dance, undergraduates and graduates will present their work in this year’s Ears, Eyes + Feet. Ears, Eyes + Feet is an annual showcase of projects presented in segments by choreographers, composers and video students. Each performance includes dance, music and video. The segments in this year’s program include “Repurpose, Retool,” a performance about recycling; “Experience,” which examines different types of relationships; “Fathom,” about depth and understanding; “The Blue Jar,” based on a short story by Isak Dinesen about a woman and a sailor who spend nine days on a boat together; and “Duet,” a video based on interactions with a wall, foam tube, camera and dancing body. Others include

Eyes, Ears + Feet “TBD” and “Shattered.” “The showcase is one of UT’s best-kept secrets,” said composer Ian Dicke. “It is a wonderful opportunity for young composers, video artists and choreographers to collaborate and showcase their work within a professional environment.” Dicke works with “Get Rich Quick,” a piece in the program about the dysfunction on Wall Street. It includes parts for piano, electronic media and six dancers, and it seeks to disrupt traditional thoughts about money and greed, Dicke said. “Get Rich Quick” illustrates the savagery of the stock market and alludes to the financial hardships that have hit Americans. “Audiences should expect a fastpaced roller coaster ride, featuring a virtuosic pianist and six talented dancers who are all accompanied by an electronic soundtrack filled

with sound bites of self-proclaimed financial gurus,” Dicke said. The piece promises to be a “therapy session” that makes audiences laugh at the economic chaos they have experienced. “It’s an invitation for those of us who have been affected by the current economic downturn to laugh at the absurdity of it all,” Dicke said. Another performance is “Sketches,” a piece inspired by the sounds of paper and pencil and the lines and shapes they make. Many hours went into creating the sevenminute piece, including costume design, auditions and casting, light design, choreography and rehearsals. The result is a collection of textured movement that is left to the audience to interpret. “[It’s] a simple abstraction of sketching through aural-spatialkinesthetic design, and [audiences] should feel free to interpret what-

ever moves them,” said Charlotte Griffin, a Master of Fine Arts candidate and “Sketches” choreographer. Overall, Ears, Eyes + Feet is a presentation of mixed mediums coming together in the creative process of making a performance with many elements. All are

courtesy of j elissa marshall

invited to see the showcase to interpret the works of several MFA students and faculty. — korri kezar

Ears, Eyes + Feet

B. Iden Payne Theater, in Winship Drama Building Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m. Free admission

film 15

Summer films sure to dazzle and disappoint with the summer months so close you can almost taste the cherry snowcones, there are a few aspects of life that students can catch up on during the midyear slump. This year’s summer movie schedule is both aweinspiring and so bad the phrase “straight-to-DVD” never seemed so ominous. With the good comes the bad, and summer is the time to waste both time and money relishing both to the fullest extent. — mandy spivey

Best

‘The Brothers Bloom’ The Bloom brothers are some of the world’s most prolific conmen. Near the end of their dishonest career, they decide to take one last job and doublecross a beautiful and spirited heiress, taking with them her millions and dignity. As the main character, played by Rachel Weisz, stands to lose her fortune, the story heightens as the brothers find out their work is cut out for them. The plan goes awry when the heiress begins to catch onto the brothers’ devious plan. Hilarity ensues as their pitiful façade starts to melt faster than ice cream left on a summer sidewalk. ‘Up 3-D’ Straight from Disney and Pixar comes a heartwarming tale of the determined and energetic Carl Fredricksen, a 78-year-old who, after decades of living within his own safety, decides to finally see the world for himself. In this visually striking film that focuses on the will of the common man and just how much life there still is yet to give, his ingenious experiment to free himself of life’s restraints is further complicated when a young boy becomes stranded on his man-made traveling house. The two must find a way to travel together and make the most out of their misadventure while it still holds air. ‘Drag Me To Hell’ Returning to the horror genre, Sam Raimi and his brother Ivan give audiences the terrorizing film that questions the goodness of human nature and what can come when we turn our backs on each other for per-

photo courtesy of drag me to hell

sonal gain. Christine Brown, a Los Angeles loan officer, is anxiously awaiting a promotion at the expense of her boss’s biased judgment. When the eerie Mrs. Ganush visits her office to ask for an extension on the loan for her house, Christine is faced with the disheartening decision to fulfill the woman’s need or to deny her extension to impress her boss. With certain decisions come dire consequences, and soon events are set into motion that threaten her own life. Clay Dalton, played by Justin Long, serves to ground Christine in her own suspicions and misinterprets the literal hell that his girlfriend is falling into. With the alarming fear that she could be cast into hell forever, she must fight against all odds to find a way to reverse the spell.

Worst

‘Night At The Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian’ Ben Stiller is at it again. The unnecessary sequel to a movie that received mixed reviews at best, this addition serves as a follow-up to the nightly adventure in the mysterious museum, filled with the likes of Teddy Roosevelt, Octavius and Napoleon. The plot in the second rendition is thickened when Larry Daley, the secondguessing night guard played by Stiller, has to gain access to the Smithsonian Institute to save several of his “friends” who were shipped there by mistake. This is one sure way to make a trip to the museum seem lively, even if it is a last grasp at a fading script. ‘Dance Flick’ Marlon Wayans proves to be

photo courtesy of dance flick

playing off the tried-and-true movie structure that worked in previous films such as “Scary Movie” and “White Chicks.” As long as there is a continuous flow of movie reels in Hollywood, there will be plenty of scripts

and scenes to spoof and much cheap laughter to be had. “Dance Flick” plays off the recent movie themes since Wayans’ last major release of “Little Man,” with no storyline spared. If life imitates art, life just got much scarier.