The Mercury 02/08/16

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Februrary 8, 2016

DIAMOND DANCING: BASEBALL/SOFTBALL GEAR UP FOR SEASONS

THE ROAD TO BLACK HISTORY MONTH

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UT Regents reveal UTD reaches Tier presidential finalist One ... but not really Dean of Engineering from Virginia Tech to head university MIRIAM PERCIVAL Mercury Staff

Editor’s note: This story originally appeared on The Mercury’s website. It has been updated since its original publication.

After months of searching, the UT System Board of Regents have found a finalist for the UTD presidency vacancy.

On Jan. 25, the UT System Board of Regents announced Richard Benson as the sole finalist for the presidency of UTD. Benson will succeed former President David Daniel and President Ad Interim Hobson Wildenthal.

The announcement came after the Advisory Board conducted rounds of interviews and vetted several potential candidates.

Benson earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engi-

neering from the University of California, Berkley in 1977. After moving from the University of Rochester, he became the head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Pennsylvania State in 1995.

BENSON Since 2005, he has served as the dean of Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering. During his time there, he helped to build the program’s research reputation and funding.

Dean of Engineering and Computer Science Mark Spong served on the Advisory Board and represented the eight schools at UT Dallas. Spong

→ SEE PRESIDENT, PAGE 11

Article leads to confusion about university’s quest for research status ESTEBAN BUSTILLOS Editor-in-Chief

Editor’s note: This story originally appeared on The Mercury’s website. It has been updated since its original publication.

UTD reached Tier One status earlier last week — though not the Tier One status the administration has been pushing for.

On Feb. 2, UTD — along with Texas Tech University, the University of North Texas and the University of Texas at Arlington, was named to the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. This categorization, which is commonly referred to as “Carnegie Tier One,” lists the top 115 schools in the nation in terms of the amount of research done.

→ SEE TIER ONE, PAGE 11

Although there isn’t a standard definition of “Tier One,” it usually involves membership in the American Association of Universities.

KEVIN VANHORN | MERCURY STAFF

Couples use technology to find each other, communicate in modern age

CHRIS LIN | MERCURY STAFF

SAMANTHA SERIO | COURTESY

Ryan and Ashley Sutherland (left) spend date nights playing their favorite video games side by side. The Sutherlands met playing the online game “Evony.” Samantha Serio (right) calls or Skypes her boyfriend, Clayton Bradley, every day while he is stationed with the Army in North Carolina. The two have had a long distance relationship for two years.

CARA SANTUCCI News Editor

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ccounting junior Ashley Sutherland and her future husband Ryan first crossed paths when they were members of the same 30-person alliance in the online game “Evony.”

The two quickly bonded over music and anime as they became friends on Facebook, Skype and Xbox Live.

Sutherland and Ryan maintained their friendship for five months back in 2010, until one day their relationship blossomed into something more romantic. There was only one problem: they had never met in person.

After nine months of dating, they decided to move in together.

Sutherland boarded a plane and traveled 650 miles to be with Ryan. She lived in Albuquerque. He lived in Dallas.

“I was like, you know, ‘Might as well take a chance,’” Sutherland said. “It was really the best thing I ever did.”

The Game of Love Sutherland’s connection through online gaming is just one example of how dating has evolved along with technology.

The beginning of Sutherland’s relationship with Ryan was all long distance.

“We would call each other, and we were just constantly talking on the phone all the time,” she said. “And

when we weren’t on the phone, we were on Skype or playing video games together. … It actually wasn’t that hard to do.”

When they finally closed the distance and moved in together, Sutherland wasn’t able to meet Ryan for another three days upon settling down in his parents’ house in Dallas because he was out of town on business.

Ryan said while his parents knew about his relationship, they didn’t really understand it.

“My dad didn’t get it. I’m pretty sure he was confused the entire time we had our long distance relationship before she moved here. I don’t think either of them really took it seriously,” Ryan said. “I asked them to help me get her here and it was like a light switch went on for them. They were like, ‘Oh, maybe he is serious about this.’ And as soon as that happened, they were 100 percent supportive and wanted to help me in any way.”

Eventually, they tied the knot and will have been married for three years in May. Although the Sutherlands have had to explain their unconventional relationship to those in their lives who found it confusing, Ryan said it’s becoming increasingly common for people to meet online like they did.

“It’s amazing how much just dating in general has changed since we met,” Ryan said. “Before you would say, ‘Oh, I’m dating someone online,’ and people would think it was weird. They’d kind of freak out about it, but now it’s such a common thing that no one really blinks at it. … It’s become more widely accepted.”

He said technology is what facilitated this change.

“There’s so many ways to be connected now that it’s easy to spend time with someone that’s hundreds of miles away,” he said.

→ SEE CONNECTIONS, PAGE 12

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FEB. 8, 2016 | THE MERCURY | UTDMERCURY.COM

Media inflates Zika Flint crisis reveals true presence in country government priorities Lack of understanding of virus leads to frenzy, sense of panic Officials prioritized saving money over health of residents of Flint

GOOGLE IMAGES | COURTESY

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder switched Flint’s water supply from Lake Huron to Flint River, pictured here in the ’70s. in 2014. The Flint River is heavily polluted and contains a high level of lead.

GOOGLE IMAGES | COURTESY

WILLIAM VILOUDAKI

The mosquito is the primary carrier of the Zika virus. Panic about Zika transmission in the United States is focused on the mosquito, although the first case in Dallas was transmitted by sexual contact.

ESTEBAN BUSTILLOS COMMENTARY

The recent spread of the Zika virus has caused the World Health Organization to declare it a global threat and has led to a media field day. Ordinary citizens are now left asking if they’re safe from this new, exotic disease.

What people may not realize is that whenever a new sickness, like Zika, emerges, people shouldn’t really be scared of the fever and rashes. Fear is often the worst symptom.

Zika, which was first identified in humans in the 1950s, started to make waves last year when cases began popping up in Brazil. Not long after, the virus was linked to babies being born with microcephaly, where the shape of the head is deformed and shrunken. This can lead to irreversible brain damage and a lifetime of struggle for victims.

What is important to note, however, is that this is simply a correlation. A definite link between Zika and the children born with these deformities has not been identified yet. While there is strong evidence to link the two together and there is a reason to be concerned for pregnant women, the threat to others isn’t that widespread.

While a certain amount of caution is needed and the need for proactive steps to combat Zika can’t be downplayed, there is a level of frenzy and confusion that has accompanied this virus. Confused people are incredibly scared that this virus can lead to death, when only 1 in 5 people who actually get the virus even exhibit symptoms, and very few are ever killed by it.

The fact that there are currently no cures or medical treatments for Zika is one of the main reasons there is so much alarm. Turn on any news station or read any publication and you’re bound to find panicked programming and articles cashing in on this frenzy as people are clamoring for any information on this new menace. It’s fear mongering at its worst — and the scariest part is that it’s all part of a vicious cycle.

When the first case of the Ebola virus in the Unit-

ed States broke out in late 2014, I remember just how scared some of my colleagues in the newsroom were. I remember one person even saying how they were considering leaving the country to get out of the vicinity of the virus. For a brief moment, the group of journalists around me, who were supposed to be the guardians of rationality, let their emotions get the best of them.

Instead of thinking about just how unlikely any of us were to get Ebola, we let fear overcome us.

That’s dangerous for the people who are supposed to objectively report on facts and let people know exactly what’s going on.

Eventually, the Ebola craze passed and everyone moved on with their lives. Evidently, though, we still haven’t learned the lessons from that scare and begun to really understand how useless running around with half-truths about matters of public health is.

When people become scared, they grow paranoid and take brash actions, just like the ones taken when the Ebola scare hit. It began to look eerily similar to how people reacted to the AIDS crisis in the ’80s. People began to show outright bigotry to those who had the virus and created a stigma that lasts to this day for people with HIV. Although it may not be so severe this time around, the potential to make the same mistakes is still there. If we’re not careful, we will let this virus — which is unlikely to have the same impact in the U.S. as it has had in countries like Brazil — become the new Ebola and AIDS. In the countries where Zika has made the biggest impact, basic commodities like mosquito nets and spraying for mosquitoes are still underdeveloped and not widespread. Here, we don’t have those same problems. Even in the first case found locally in Dallas, the virus was spread by sexual contact, not by a mosquito.

If everyone took a second to step back and realize what it is we’re actually dealing with, we would conclude that Zika, like Ebola, will probably fade away and become just another epidemiological fad that rustles feathers and will eventually enter obscurity.

COMMENTARY

The Flint Water Crisis has shocked millions as its story unfolded over the past month, yet awareness has come far too late for many of the citizens affected.

In April 2014, Gov. Rick Snyder switched the Flint water supply from Lake Huron, one of the largest freshwater lakes in the world, to the heavily polluted Flint River. Since then, the 102,000 residents of Flint, Mich. have been exposed to extremely high levels of lead in their water supply, all while being told it was perfectly safe to drink. Now 9,000 children under the age of 6 are at high risk of lead poisoning, which has devastating effects on brain and motor functions. Although these facts are undeniable, there still seems to be no end to the perfidy of this story.

In young children, lead poisoning is a life-changing condition. As it develops, small changes in behavior slowly become more noticeable. The child starts crawling off balance. He or she may stop making eye contact or suffer from migraines. Often the victim will become irritable and act impulsively or violently. Lead poisoning is commonly misdiagnosed as autism, since both have comparable symptoms. Every child in Flint is at risk of permanent brain damage of this level.

Now these children could be permanently affected with brain damage at untold cost and suffering for their families and communities. And what purpose did it all serve? Michael Moore reported that Gov. Snyder cut public services along with welfare, education and pensions in Michigan to pass a multibillion dollar tax break for the elite. In order to maximize his profits, he installed an emergency manager to run Flint who passed the switch to river water, saving him $15 million. An anti-corrosive additive to prevent lead from seeping into the water could have been added for merely $9,000.

Gov. Snyder denied awareness of high lead levels in Flint’s water up until October 2015. Yet in January, the government started shipping clean water to Flint’s state buildings while telling those outside the bureaucracy the tainted water was perfectly safe. General Motors stopped using the water since it was too corrosive for their auto parts at the factory. Gov. Snyder owed GM a

favor, so the administration hooked up water from Lake Huron to the GM factory for $440,000, while children in Flint had to drink the same poisonous water that was too damaging for a two-ton steel car.

Before the crisis was finally acknowledged, EPA officials reported tests had been skewed to underreport lead levels, doctors warned of elevated levels of lead in children’s blood and citizens issued dozens of complaints. These concerns were dismissed as trivial, challenged for sowing hysteria and denied outright. For over a year, officials downplayed this crisis and later denied their own culpability in the grievous crimes.

Flint is a prime example of the many normalized tragedies inflicted upon the lower class and black populations in America. Every preference and protection was given to the companies and local administration — those who the government has a vested interest in — while the lower classes were lied to, deceived and told to drink the water which has now damaged thousands of lives.

This crisis is not without precedent in the U.S. In fact, such administrative and structural failures often follow a similar course of denial, uncertainty and downplaying of danger. Native American tribes have fought to raise awareness of their own contaminated water supplies for decades. The U.S. relocated the Navajo to the Sanders, Ariz. area in 1979, fully aware that radiation from a nearby uranium spill would poison their water supply.

The bureaucracy favors corporations and its own self-interest over its citizens, and so these tragedies will never stop. The Flint Water Crisis is far from an isolated instance or one that could be dismissed as the gross inaction of a single governor. It is rather part of a system that silently promotes structural violence in the interest of corporations, and that remains complicit in such crimes against humanity.

Chances are Gov. Snyder will resign, as several other officials in the Michigan government have done. Water will continue to be distributed by a few volunteers in Flint, the infrastructure may be partially repaired and this incident will slowly be forgotten as time passes. Yet it is highly unlikely that the families will ever receive reparations, or that any reparations proposed could even begin to amend the damage wrought upon the developing brains of Flint’s children. And as long as the U.S. values corporations more than people, maintains this low water line for the worth of human life and refuses to help those who need its help the most, this incidence will happen again.

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THE MERCURY | FEB. 8, 2016

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SG hosts weekly voter registration Legislative Affairs Committee hosts drive in effort to make students more engaged in civic life, interested in elections BHARGAV ARIMILLI Mercury Staff

In light of the upcoming presidential election, Student Government’s Legislative Affairs Committee is hosting a weekly voter registration drive to register Collin County-based students and encourage political participation. The drive happens every Thursday between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. in the Student Union through the end of the semester.

“The voter registration drive is part of Student Government’s and the Legislative Affairs Committee’s commitment to improving civic engagement on campus,” said Nyemike Okonkwo, an interdisciplinary studies senior and committee member. “We want students to know they have the ability to change things within their community.”

The committee began planning a voter registration drive at the beginning of the fall semester.

“We decided right off the bat that one of our goals this year was to increase student involvement and student participation in the political process,” said Christian Filsouf, a business administration junior

and chair of the Legislative Affairs Committee.

The proposal for this initiative was submitted and approved in early November.

Though only Collin County residents can currently register to vote through this event, Filsouf said the committee is in the process of obtaining the authority to register those who live in Dallas County. Once this is complete, over 90 percent of the student body will be eligible for registration through the drive.

“We’ll only be able to register students with residency in Collin County or Dallas County, but we can certainly direct students without residency to a means to register,” Okonkwo said.

After students fill out voting cards, committee representatives hand deliver the cards to the local election office. After three days, the committee confirms with the election office that all interested students have been successfully registered.

To support the voter registration initiative, SG will be co-sponsoring two major events this semester. On Feb. 25, Lieutenant Governor of Texas Dan Patrick is scheduled to give a speech on campus. Following his speech, SG will host a reception with a voter registra-

tion booth. In addition, SG is currently collaborating with College Democrats and College Republicans to host an on-campus debate, which will also feature voter registration booths.

“By sponsoring these events, we can engage students who are otherwise unfamiliar with the political process and give them a real, tangible feel for how the political process works,” Filsouf said.

He said he hopes this drive will help change student attitudes towards the political system, citing the fact that younger generations — particularly millennials — tend to have the lowest voting turnout rates.

“We always hear the same thing, ‘We’re so fed up with Washington and it’s always the same people getting elected,’” he said. “But (when) looking at voting data, the majority of people going out to the polls are older individuals in their 50s or 60s.”

Okonkwo agreed, stressing the importance of student body involvement in the political process.

“We want to make this campus a little bit more aware and a little less apathetic,” he said. “One voice might be difficult, but a hundred voices is much, much better.”

JENNIFER CHI | MERCURY STAFF

Legislative Affairs Committee member Nyemike Okonkwo (left) helps a student fill out a voter registration form in the Student Union.

Game library reopens Students bring back gaming space after year of inactivity NINI TRUONG Mercury Staff

After a year away, a library for students to rent and play games has returned to campus.

The Game Library, which re-opened last semester, is a place where students can come to check out or play console and computer games with their friends.

The library was run by Games Studies professor Monica Evans through her office before she was forced to give up her collection when she went on maternity leave. After a year of inactivity, students decided to bring the library back in the fall semester, asking ATEC Professor Michael Breault to be the sponsor.

“It’s just a cool thing to offer students,” he said.

“It’s a place where they can come to play games.

Sometimes (students) have financial concerns and

E.J. CHONG | MERCURY STAFF TIM SHIRLEY | MERCURY STAFF

they can’t buy all these cool games, so we have a whole bunch of Steam (computer) games, console games that students can come and play. It’s also a resource where students can come borrow games from us.”

Breault said the library is quite popular already, particularly among ATEC students. Approximately 100 students and faculty members visit the library every week. While a majority of the students come to challenge their friends on the available console games, some are beginning to check out the games as well.

With the growing popularity of the library, students have formed the Games and Media Association to formally rent rooms to have game nights, host charitable events and properly advertise for the Game Library.

“The fall (semester) was (the organization’s) soft launch and it kind of spread by word-of-mouth,”

→ SEE LIBRARY, PAGE 11

SAHER AQEEL | MERCURY STAFF

Students gather in the Game Library on the third floor of the ATEC building to play games and check them out for rental. The library was reopened this semester after being closed for a year.

LIFE&ARTS

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FEB. 8, 2016 | THE MERCURY | UTDMERCURY.COM

HOUSES OF THE HOLY: ISLAM

Valentine’s Dinner Spots The best places around campus to take that special someone on a romantic date

Student rediscovers bond with Islam after losing connection to mosque in middle school

CHAD AUSTIN | ASSISTANT GRAPHICS EDITOR

Six restaurants perfect for a Valentine’s Day date night sit within a 20 minute radius of UTD’s campus.

RAMAH JARADAT Commentary

SAHER AQEEL | MERCURY STAFF

Yaseen Ahmed (above), a biology and business administration junior, said his favorite mosque is the IACC Masjid — otherwise known as the Plano Masjid — even though he grew up attending the IANT Masjid. Ahmed visits a mosque, like the one pictured above, two or three times a day.

NIDHI GOTGI

Managing Editor

Editor’s note: This is the second part of a five-part series on places of worship that members of the UTD community attend.

It’s just before 6:30 a.m. Yaseen Ahmed makes his way into the musallah, or prayer hall, at the mosque near his house. Although getting up early is a struggle for him, he enters the room wide-awake and follows the Imam’s, or mosque leader’s, recitation of the morning prayer.

“Being aware that there is reward in praying, you wake up,” the biology and business administration junior said. “The morning prayer makes me realize how long a day I have and (that) there is so much to accomplish. It really helps establish my day. I feel like I’m more blessed for that day.”

His daily routine consists of waking up at 6:00 a.m., performing wudu — a purification ritual to cleanse the hands, mouth, nose, face, arms, hair and feet — reciting the Sunnah prayer — a precursor to the morning prayer — and heading to the mosque.

He says Arabic invocations to himself on the way, and after the second Iqamah, or call to prayer, the congregation begins the morning prayer at 6:30 a.m.

His parents instilled in him the routine of attending mosque when he was young. He attended elementary school at the Islamic Association of North

Texas Masjid, which developed his connection with his religion.

However, after 6th grade, he began attending public school and didn’t have daily exposure to his place of worship, so his bond with Islam dwindled.

In Ahmed’s freshman year of college, he started going to the mosque independently and realized that there were several aspects about his religion that he had yet to discover.

“I just felt like there was so much that I (didn’t) know,” he said. “That void — I wanted to fill it in. It motivated me a lot that there’s so much out there that I need to know and I want to know.”

During his elementary education, he had memorized all 604 pages of the Quran, the Islamic holy text, in Arabic.

Unfortunately, he didn’t know Arabic, so he didn’t understand what it meant.

He explained that since Arabic had fundamental roots in Islam, learning the language would strengthen his relationship with the religion. He took his sophomore year off to attend an Arabic institute called Bayyinah in Irving.

“A lot of gems just came into my life,” he said. “It really resonated with me. I feel really good whenever I am learning about Islam. Arabic was a key that spiritually (connected) me. Now when I (pray), I understand more.”

Once Ahmed had a better understanding of what his prayers meant, his spiritual connection to his religion grew stronger.

I just felt like there was so much that I (didn’t) know. That void — I wanted to fill it in. It motivated me a lot that there’s so much out there that I need to know and I want to know.

“The purpose of Islam — I think what it comes down to is building a connection with God and seeking His pleasure,” he said. “There’s so much to it, but at the end of the day what we look forward to is finding that right path to God.” He attends IANT Masjid two to three times a day, making a particular effort to catch the morning, or obligatory, prayer and the evening prayer at the mosque itself. He completes the rest of the five mandatory daily prayers at school. “(If ) we’re at home and prayer time comes in, it is much better in reward and in seeking the pleasure of God to go to the mosque and pray there instead of praying at home,” he said.

For Ahmed, attending prayers at a mosque puts him in a different mindset. He said the Prophet Muhammad, the messenger of God in Islam, said that praying at a mosque provides 27 times more benefit to the individual than praying in any other setting.

“There’s a bigger spiritual connection just because of the environment. (It’s like) home schooling versus going to school. Environment makes a big difference,” he said.

Although Ahmed grew up attending the IANT Masjid, his favorite mosque is the Islamic Association of Collin County, commonly known as Plano Masjid.

The people that make up Plano Masjid’s congregation, the Imam and resident scholar there and the mosque’s extensive library serve to make IACC a second home for Ahmed.

SYMBOLS OF ISLAM

— Yaseen Ahmed,

biology and business administration junior KEVIN VANHORN| STAFF

Valentine’s Day is approaching, which means a slew of restaurants will be accepting reservations for couples seeking romantic dinners. Out of all the restaurants that exist within the Dallas and Richardson areas, it can be hard to pinpoint exactly which is the ideal setting for your evening. I have a few recommendations for restaurants that I was impressed with, and they happen to have special Valentine’s Day menus to celebrate the holiday.

Seasons 52 is located at the Shops at Legacy and at the NorthPark Center, so it is pretty close to UTD. The unique thing about this restaurant is the core menu changes four times a year for every season. I have been to both locations and was very impressed with the service. The servers were always smiling and friendly, the setting is sophisticated with a hint of casual and the food is high quality. Seasons 52 is also offering a Valentine’s Day menu — although it has not been released yet. There are a variety of different menus, including normal lunch and dinner options, a lactose and dairy-sensitive list, a sodiumfriendly assortment, gluten-conscious choices and a vegetarian and vegan menu. The restaurant also offers a wine menu. My favorite dishes there are the variety of flatbreads they offer — which make great appetizers — as well as the oak-grilled filet mignon.

Brio Tuscan Grille in Watters Creek boasts upscale, yet laidback, Italian cuisine and is not far away from UTD. The servers bring out amazing bread and butter before you order. The atmosphere is very sophisticated, with dim lighting and beautiful interior decorating, which is perfect for any date. The service is excellent and out of all the times I have been there, I've never been disappointed.

One of my favorite menu items to order at Brio is its chopped salad and its Ravioli di Bello — Brio's mushroom ravioli.

For all the meat lovers out there, Texas de Brazil is my recommendation. There is one close to UTD in Addison — about 21 minutes away. The restaurant has a salad bar that includes soups and appetizers.

You are also given a card with a green side and a red side. When you flip the card to the green side, servers with various meats come to your table asking if you would like some. The restaurant is great for indecisive people, because you don’t have to stick to just one dish. There are many different options coming to and from your table to please every kind of meat lover.

The Cheesecake Factory is always going to be a classic. I recommend this place because the interior design is just magnificent. The food is really delicious and they have a light menu. Of course, the place is famous for their vast majority of cheesecakes, so that would make a perfect ending to a date. There is a location in Allen just 20 minutes away, so it is close and convenient. The bread and butter they bring out at the beginning is always amazing, and their shrimp and chicken gumbo, Cajun chicken littles and fish tacos are some of my favorite dishes there.

Maggiano’s Little Italy is located in NorthPark Center. It is a beautiful Italian restaurant with a lunch, dinner, dessert, family-style and beverage menu. It also has banquet halls on the top floor where people can host private events. I thought the food was amazing when I went, and they have released a Valentine’s Day menu that will be available from Feb. 10 to 16. The cost is $79 for two people and includes dishes like lobster ravioli, stuffed mushroom appetizers and chopped side salads. The menu also offers two different types of wines and various dessert options.

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LIFE&ARTS

THE MERCURY | FEB. 8, 2016

UTDMERCURY.COM

CHAD AUSTIN | ASSISTANT GRAPHICS EDITOR

PINPOSSIBLE LINDA NGUYEN | MERCURY STAFF There’s an old saying that goes the quickest way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. In the spirit of that saying, I decided to go with a foodbased Pin Possible for our Valentine’s themed issue. Truffles can be made using many different techniques. There are the cake ball truffles that are cake-based and the chocolate truffles which are pretty much chocolate covered in chocolate. These are a creative way to give your Valentine a personalized and delicious treat. I experimented with five different types of truffles covered in a variety of chocolate and concluded that, next time, I’ll leave the truffle-making to the experts.

Red Velvet Truffles What you’ll need: - 1 box of red velvet cake mix (with the necessary ingredients on the box) - 4 ounce cream cheese - 12 ounce white chocolate to coat Instructions: 1. Bake the red velvet cake according to the directions on the box.

2. Let it cool completely to room temperature.

3. Crumble the cake and mix in the cream cheese.

4. Shape into 1 inch balls, cover and refrigerate for at least an hour.

5. Using a double boiler or microwave, melt the white chocolate.

6. Using a fork and/or spoon, cover the balls in chocolate and refrigerate for another hour.

Brownie Truffles What you’ll need: - 1 box of brownie mix - 12 ounce milk chocolate to coat

Valentine's Truffles Instructions: 1. Bake the brownie mix according to the directions on the box.

2. Let it cool completely to room temperature.

3. Crumble and shape into 1 inch balls.

4. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour.

5. Melt the chocolate using a double boiler or microwave.

6. Cover the cake balls with the melted chocolate and refrigerate for another hour.

OreoTruffles What you’ll need: - 24 oreo cookies - 8 ounce cream cheese - 12 ounce white chocolate Instructions: 1. Using a food processor or blender, finely crush the oreo cookies.

2. Mix in the cream cheese using your hands or a strong spoon.

3. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

4. Shape into 1 inch balls and refrigerate for another hour.

5. Melt the chocolate using a double boiler or microwave.

6. Cover the cake balls with the melted chocolate and refrigerate for another hour.

Mocha Truffles What you’ll need: - 12 ounce semi-sweet chocolate - 4 ounce softened cream cheese - 2 teaspoons instant coffee - 1 teaspoon water - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract - 12 ounce dark chocolate

Instructions: 1. Melt the semi-sweet chocolate over a double boiler or microwave.

2. In a small bowl, combine the instant coffee, water and vanilla.

3. Stir the coffee mixture and cream cheese into the chocolate.

4. Refrigerate for an hour until firm enough to shape.

5. Roll the chocolate into 1 inch balls and refrigerate for another hour.

6. Melt the dark chocolate in a double boiler or microwave.

7. Cover the balls with the melted chocolate and refrigerate.

Cappuccino Truffles What you’ll need: - 12 ounce white chocolate - 1/2 cup of heavy cream - 1 teaspoon instant coffee - Pinch of salt - 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract - 4 tablespoons of butter (about half a stick) - 12 ounce milk chocolate Instructions: 1. Melt the white chocolate using a double boiler or microwave.

2. Combine the cream, salt, instant coffee and vanilla extract in a small saucepan over mediumhigh heat, but do not let it boil.

3. Poor the cream mixture over the chocolate and combine.

4. Add the butter and whisk until smooth.

5. Refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours.

6. Shape into 1 inch balls.

7. Refrigerate for an hour so it can firm up.

8. Melt the milk chocolate using a double boiler

or microwave.

9. Cover the balls with the milk chocolate.

In theory, this project was not supposed to be as time consuming and difficult as it ended up being. Maybe part of it was because I was juggling five different batches of truffles, or maybe there’s just some secret to making cake balls that I know nothing about. I have no idea.

It was pretty easy besides the part where you cover the balls with chocolate. That part was an epic fail.

With the first batch, I melted the white chocolate and added milk to the mixture. This ended up making the melted chocolate fairly opaque and difficult to smoothly cover over the cake balls.

Maybe it would have worked better with a little less milk, but I scrapped it as a fail.

On the next batch of chocolate, I tried to melt in the microwave. The pesky thing about chocolate, though, is once it scorches, it’s hard to recover it. So I essentially wasted an entire bag because it got too hot and I couldn’t cover anything with it.

At this point, I realized that my makeshift double boiler was the way to go. It was a boiling pot of water with a pot sitting on top of it. And I realized that using just pure chocolate or pure chocolate with milk was not going to cut it, so I looked to the ever-faithful Google. I found that you could either add solid shortening or vegetable oil to the chocolate to give it a finer consistency.

I made the last several batches using a drizzle of oil on top of the chocolate, and it worked wonderfully aside from me burning the chocolate a couple more times.

Like I said earlier, I think I’m going to leave the cake ball and truffle making to the experts, and I’ll stick to baking full-sized cakes. But it's not a super difficult way to make something sweet and personalized for your Valentine.

Every issue, The Mercury’s craft connoisseur will scour Pinterest and craft blogs in search of the best and worst DIY projects. Show us your results on social media using #pinpossible and @utdmercury.

SPORTS

FEB. 8, 2016 | THE MERCURY | UTDMERCURY.COM

7

DISC JOCKS

Ultimate team members bring passion to new sport

YASH MUSALGAONKAR | MERCURY STAFF

Members of the women’s ultimate team throw a Frisbee during a practice. The women’s team formed after players found an interest among women who wanted to join a team but didn’t have a squad to play with. Since then, both the men’s and women’s teams have been competing on campus.

PABLO JUAREZ Sports Editor

For ITSS junior Steven Borik, there’s nothing quite like seeing a Frisbee glide through the air, travel 60 or 70 yards and witnessing two people going up and fighting for it.

Borik currently plays on the men’s ultimate team. He joined the team during his first semester at UTD. However, he experienced some rough patches during his transition to the competitive sport.

“I remember I came to the first practice, which are usually three hours long, and I was super excited,” he said. “It was a grueling three hours for me. I was so out of shape I was like, ‘I don’t think I want to do this anymore,’ but I told myself, ‘I’m going to give myself one week to get

back into shape — if I don’t like it, I’ll quit.’”

Borik currently serves as a captain and is the club’s president. He said ultimate’s uniqueness lies in how it draws in key elements from a wide variety of other sports. He believes that’s what intrigues newcomers, along with the accepting ultimate community.

“The ultimate community is a little weird, but at the same time everyone is super nice and friendly,” he said.

During her freshman year, biochemistry senior Madison Tomasek played on the men’s ultimate team, but she quickly decided that a women’s team needed to be established.

Prior efforts had been made to start a women’s team, but none were successful. Tomasek learned from the mistakes of others and with the help of some mentors, founded the women’s team during her sopho-

more year. She now serves as a team captain and club president.

“The second semester on the guy’s team I started to recruit,” she said.

“Previous girls had tried to start a women’s team, but they didn’t organize as well, so knowing that I tried to cover a lot of different grounds — posting flyers and having recruiting events.”

Tomasek picked up the sport during her sophomore year of high school. Initially, she had been torn between starting a women’s ultimate or lacrosse team upon coming to college.

“The guy’s lacrosse team was just getting started, so that would have been hard,” she said. “It’s much easier if you have an established team and then branch off of that.”

Tomasek believes that ultimate is unlike any other sport, particularly

→ SEE ULTIMATE, PAGE 8

Baseball team has Softball looks to bounce eyes set on ASC crown back with new coach

Team determined after falling short in league title game last year Program head brings nine years of experience at Division I school

CHRIS LIN | MERCURY STAFF

Senior outfielder Haden Johnson hits a ball during batting practice. Johnson is one of several starters and upperclassmen from last year’s team that will be returning for the Comets. The team is looking to get another chance at the ASC championship after falling just one game short of the trophy.

PABLO JUAREZ Sports Editor

Losing 6-5 in last year’s ASC championship game against the 24th ranked UT Tyler Patriots left a bitter taste in the mouths of members of UTD’s baseball team.

Now the Comets use that loss to add more fuel to the fire in hopes of redeeming themselves this season.

“Coming up short in the end … just wasn’t enough for us,” said senior infielder Brandon George.

“Getting to the championship and not winning it (was) definitely one of the biggest factors in how hard we worked this off-season.”

Currently plastered on the back of the team’s practice shirts is a quote reading, “Deserve to win.”

“It’s pretty much saying if you want to win you have to earn it,” said senior infielder Jimmy Norris.

“You have to earn it with every rep in the weight room, every foul ball and every swing. We have to earn the right to win.”

The team is currently comprised of a mix of upper-classmen and returning key players from last

season’s ASC runner-up team.

“I think it’s going to be a really fun year,” George said. “We have a lot of guys who now have played together for two or three seasons. In college, you don’t get to spend that much time with guys. We know each other really well. We’re very comfortable with each other.”

George, a two time first-team All-ASC member, has firmly positioned himself as one of the leaders on this year’s squad.

“I’d like to think that I can help lead this team,” he said. “I don’t think I can do it all alone. There are other guys on the team that can help lead us.

I’m not really a motivational type of speaker … I tend to do things by action.”

Norris on the other hand, does not hesitate to get vocal with his teammates.

“I’m the one that’s trying to positively motivate everyone — rile everybody up, make sure everybody is hustling and paying attention,” he said.

“The only way we’re going to get better is if everybody is going after the same goal.”

→ SEE BASEBALL, PAGE 8

FARRIS KHAMMASH | MERCURY STAFF

Freshman Infielder Raven Wilson throws the ball during a practice with the team. The team is under the guidance of new head coach Rich Wieligman, who helped send Oklahoma State University’s softball team to a College World Series.

ESTEBAN BUSTILLOS Editor-in-Chief

After a lackluster season that saw the softball team miss out on the ASC tournament, the Comets are looking to bounce back under the direction of a new head coach.

Following a 16-19 season, Brad Posner, who had coached the team since 2012, left the program. In his place is now Rich Wieligman, who spent the past nine years as the head softball coach at Oklahoma State University — a Division I university.

While at OSU, Wieligman led the Cowgirls to three NCAA tournament appearances and a trip to the 2011 Women’s College World Series.

For Wieligman, the decision to come to UTD was influenced by his family.

“I was looking for a position and I have a daughter in this area, and with this job opening up, I was definitely interested in staying,” he said. “This was a great opportunity for me to continue coaching and staying close to my family.”

Although Wieligman has been coaching for 20 years, he said there are still challenges in adjusting

to the move to a Division III school like UTD — the biggest ones being the lack of athletes on scholarship and a more flexible schedule for the players. Still, he expressed an eagerness to face the task.

“I think it’s enjoyable because these kids want to play softball, so they’re bought in out here,” he said. “They want to play and get a great education.

Sometimes the difference is the priority (of ) school more than softball, which I get. It gives the studentathlete a lot better college experience from that standpoint versus a Division I program.”

Even though it is still early in his career at UTD, Wieligman is focused on bringing about changes in the program. One of these is utilizing Jami Clinton, UTD’s strength and conditioning coach, to help the players become stronger during the season.

He’s also emphasizing the use of players’ quickness to help them score more runs.

“We’ve got some good speed,” he said. “I think that’s one thing that we have I’m hoping to take advantage of. If we can get them on first, we’ll be able to steal some bases and be able to use that speed … I

→ SEE SOFTBALL, PAGE 8

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THE MERCURY | FEB. 8, 2016

→ ULTIMATE

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7

in the manner that it’s played.

“Well, it’s self-refereed, which is the biggest thing,” she said. “Ultimate has the entire sports aspect, but it also has respect and spirit of the game tied into it heavily. The end goal is maybe to win, but a lot of people work on respecting (others) and being able to communicate. It’s more about discussing, learning and collaborating.”

As with any other sport, Borik said ultimate takes time commitment. He said having refined time management skills is essential in order to balance schoolwork and extracurricular activities.

“The only time it can become particularly problematic is when we go out of state or to a place that we have to rent a hotel for because we have to make a lot of reservations beforehand,” he said.

“That whole — Steven Borik, weekend, you’re Club President playing 90 minute games, eight games (in total).

You’re absolutely exhausted, so no homework is getting done at these tournaments.”

As Tomasek passes on the torch this semester, she hopes to see the team and the sport as a whole grow on campus. Some of her fondest memories are ones where she isn’t even on the field.

“I personally get really excited when I’m not playing and we score, because for the last couple of years I’ve basically been at the center (of it all),” she said. “When they can do it without me, even if we don’t score, but the chemistry is obvious, I know that it’s eventually going to come together.”

The ultimate community is a little weird, but at the same time, everyone is super nice and friendly.

SPORTS

→ SOFTBALL

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7

think the thing that sticks out with our team is we’ve got some pretty fast kids.”

Along with these changes, players on the team said Wieligman has created more of a foundation for the Comets than has existed in past years. Senior outfielder Taylor Ervin — who hit .315 last year, was 7-for-7 on stolen bases and was listed as an ASC Preseason Player to Watch — said there were problems from the bottom to the top of the program last year. She said there is a better structure this year.

“We always have a plan and we’re always following something that he says to do,” she said. “He just knows the game really well, which is a huge difference.”

Freshman outfielder Melissa Livermore, who was recruited by Posner, said even though she is new, she has seen the changes as well.

“Just from what I’ve heard about seasons in the past compared to now, I would say — even though I didn’t know personally — I would say it’s a night and day difference,” she said. “All the girls are completely bought in 100 percent to do what’s best for the team.”

Heading into the season, the Comets have been tabbed to finish seventh in the ASC. In their first two games of the season on Jan. 30, they lost 1-3 and 1-2 to Texas Lutheran.

Even though the games ended in the losing column, Ervin said the team played much better than in season openers of years past.

“Usually the beginning of the season, our first

UTDMERCURY.COM

games don't go very well and these games were completely different,” she said. “Our team was different. On the field, hitting, just the mentality — everybody’s mentalities completely changed, which is an awesome change.”

With the rest of the season in front of the team, UTD will have to be on the lookout for UT Tyler and ETBU, who had the best records in the league last year and have been picked to finish first and second, respectively, in the ASC. Last year, the Comets went 0-6 combined against these two squads.

Ervin said this year the team is looking to turn that around.

“In the past, it hasn’t been pretty, but I think the games are going to be really close and they could go either way,” she said. “I think (they’re) going to be good competition (games).”

Despite the shadows of past losses and changes looming over the program, Wieligman expressed a desire for success the upcoming season.

“I want us to win,” he said. “I go into every year expecting to win and expecting them to get better.

I think the big key is where do we start and where do we finish? Do we continue to improve and get better? And that’s the thing that I want to see — for us to keep getting better and better.”

For the players on the team, the goal is to find a way back into the win column and to earn a trip to the post-season. For Ervin, the adjustments Wieligman has brought have already made those goals attainable.

“It’s a complete 100 percent change and it’s probably the best change that could have happened to the program,” she said.

SPORTS QUICK HITS WOMEN’S BASKETBALL COACH REACHES 200 WINS Women’s basketball coach Polly Thomason reached a new milestone in her career with UTD when she won her 200th game with the Comets in a 70-55 win against Belhaven on Feb. 7. Thomason, who has been coaching the Comets since 2005, now has a 200-90 overall record as the head of the program. During Thomason’s time at UTD, the Comets have qualified for postseason play all but one year and have been crowned ASC champions twice, as well as receiving two invitations to play in the NCAA tournament.

Thomason is now the ASC’s active leader in both seasons and victories.

NUMBERS ON THE BOARD

→ BASEBALL

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7

The team has been tabbed to finish third in the ASC behind UT Tyler and Concordia.

George’s confidence in his teammates, however, remains unwavering.

“We have tons of all-conference players,” he said. “If you look on the field, I think probably seven out of nine of us are all-conference players.

Probably, I would say, by the end of the (season), we’ll have nine out of nine. If you look through our line-up, you can find a senior that can get the job done.”

This season will also be unique as the team welcomes its youngest player ever — 9-year-old Hamilton Grant.

Grant, who is in remission, will be the second cancer patient to join a UTD athletic program.

Late last fall, Kaitlyn Renee Johnson joined the volleyball team.

“It’s going to feel good for him to be in the dugout to play with us and be a part of the team,” Norris said. “For us, it gives us a better perspective of life. We have to understand that we’re fortunate to play this game and that not everyone that wants to can. Obviously he’s going to want us to win and we’re going to want to win for him.”

The ultimate goal for the team is to add some hardware come May. “As a senior, this is my last go around,” George said. “This is kind of it. I’ve played in many games, played some big games and have a lot of memories, but hopefully (this season) tops all of those.”

CHAD AUSTIN | ASSISTANT GRAPHICS EDITOR

COMICS&GAMES

FEB. 8, 2016 | THE MERCURY

9

FANIMALS

KYLE KRUSEKOPF| MERCURY STAFF

KEVIN VANHORN | MERCURY STAFF

LIFE OF TEMOC

UTD TLC

BRYAR BENNETT | MERCURY STAFF

LUNCH LINE BLUES

ALVIN NGUYENLY | MERCURY STAFF

JENNA BASTIAN | MERCURY STAFF

MODERN ROMANCE

TEENAGE LOVE STORY

EMILIO CHAVEZ | MERCURY STAFF

THE PERFECT DATE

TIM SHIRLEY | MERCURY STAFF

ALVIN NGUYENLY | MERCURY STAFF

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BLACK HISTORY MONTH

THE MERCURY | FEB. 8, 2016

UTDMERCURY.COM

Making History The story of Black History Month

1915:

Association for the Study of African American Life and History founded

Carter G. Woodson, a Harvard-trained historian, and Jesse E. Moorland, found the the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, a group that focuses on promoting Black Americans. The group was later renamed the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, or ASALH. GOOGLE IMAGES | COURTESY

WOODSON

1926:

First celebration of “Negro History Week” Week” on the second week of February to mark the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. The celebration inspires similar events nationwide.

GOOGLE IMAGES | COURTESY

Early 1970s:

First recognition of Black History Month on college campuses across U.S.

After the spread of “Negro History Week” across the country, multiple colleges begin to recognize Black History Month on their campues, with Kent State having one of the MICHIGAN STATE ARCHIVES | COURTESY

1976:

Month sitting president to observe Black History Month.

Since then, every president has recognized the month-long celebration has been picked up by the United Kingdom, which started celebrating it in Month is “Hallowed Grounds: Sites of African American Memories.”

FORD

GOOGLE IMAGES | COURTESY

NEWS

UTDMERCURY.COM

THE MERCURY | FEB. 8, 2016

11

UPCOMING EVENTS Visit the Galerstein Women’s Center for refreshing tea and conversation.

Watch the men’s and women’s teams take on ETBU in ASC play. Free admission with Comet Card.

Join SUAAB and the Multicultural Center for a night of music, poetry and cultural awareness with Ed Mabrey, the current World Poetry Slam Champion.

All non-STEM majors can meet with over 250 organizations to discuss career opportunities. Comet Card required.

→ PRESIDENT

→ TIER ONE

said he thinks Benson will serve UT Dallas well because of his experience with engineering.

“In the end, I think the Regents made the right choice. Dr. Benson’s technical background and vision are well aligned with the UTD mission and culture,” he said.

During the 10 years Benson served as a dean at Virginia Tech, he implemented several innovative programs such as his “Hands-On, Minds-On” approach to student learning. This encourages students to apply what they learn in the classroom to real life situations.

Benson also comes from a Tier One university with a strong engineering background. Spong said he hopes that Benson will help UT Dallas achieve the same designation.

“He knows what it takes to reach Tier One status and he has a strong record of accomplishment as a researcher, scholar and academic leader,” Spong said. “I think he is the right person to take UTD to the next level.”

Daniel also expressed confidence in Benson’s ability to get UTD to Tier One status.

“Dr. Benson is imminently well qualified to lead UT Dallas to toptier research university status,” he said. “He not only knows research but also has great respect and appreciation for the arts and humanities. At every stage of his career, he has risen to an even higher level of achievement. He knows in his bones what it takes to be the very best and how to achieve excellence in a collaborative manner. He’s going to make a magnificent president for UT Dallas.”

In an email to The Mercury, Benson expressed excitement for starting at UTD. “I am thrilled at being named as the sole finalist for UT Dallas president,” he said. “As I pursued this opportunity, I grew increasingly impressed with faculty, staff and students of UTD. My only regret is that I could not do my ‘homework’ while walking the campus and meeting people face-to-face. The trajectory of advancement that the university is on is astounding, and I know that I will have to work very hard to continue the momentum of President Daniel’s decade of leadership.”

He also said he is looking forward to becoming part of the UTD community.

“I am eager to get to know the faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends who make up the university,” he said. “I am also one who likes to connect with his community, so I also look forward to getting settled in Richardson and learning more about life in the ‘Telecom Corridor.’”

Before the announcement, the only schools in Texas that were part of the group were the University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University, Rice University and the University of Houston.

Although the ranking places UTD among some of the top research schools in the nation, it is not the same Tier One administration officials have been campaigning for in the past few years.

The actual definition of what Tier One means varies, but it generally involves bringing in at least $100 million a year in research grants and membership in the American Association of Universities, an invitation only group that judges its members based on the quality and quantity of research they do. Currently, only 62 universities in the United States and Canada — including UT Austin, Texas A&M and Rice — are on this list.

As news of the announcement spread, a number of students were confused as to what the Carnegie Tier One classification meant.

Numerous students shared links to The Texas Tribune article that first broke news of the announcement with comments about how big of an accomplishment it was for UTD. SG President Caitlynn Fortner said people began to realize what the news meant as they read more into the article.

“Across the board, I think people at first were like, ‘Wow, we did it!’ and then realized it wasn’t the case,” she said. “So I guess it’s sort of like a roller coaster, but I haven’t met anyone who, once they read the article, didn’t understand the distinction.”

President Ad Interim Hobson Wildenthal said while acceptance to

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→ LIBRARY

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Breault said. “But I don’t know if it has gone beyond ATEC students, so we’d like to reach out to the university as a whole. (The library) is open to any student or any staff member.”

Students can donate to the library as well. A majority of the items currently available were donated. Similarly, Breault would also like to move the Game Library to another room on the first floor of the ATEC building.

“We sometimes get up to 16 people in the room and it can turn into quite the sweatbox,” he said. “There’s a room on the first floor that’s usually empty and much bigger that I’d like to get. We’ve been looking to get Dance Dance Revolution set up, but our current room is too small.”

The Game Library is located on the third floor in the ATEC building and is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Carnegie’s list was a great honor, there is still a long way for UTD to go to reach its goals.

“We’re happy that we’ve been reclassified into the biggest classification along with North Texas, Tech and UT Arlington,” he said. “It’s good, but we’re still moving upward.”

Across the board, I think people were first like, ‘Wow, we did it!’ and then realized it wasn’t the case. So I guess it’s sort of like a roller coaster, but I haven’t met anyone who, once they read the article, didn’t understand the distinction.

— Caitlynn Fortner, SG President

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NEWS

THE MERCURY | FEB. 8, 2016

→ CONNECTIONS

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Fighting the Distance

Samantha Serio, a mathematics sophomore, is also involved in a long distance relationship. Unlike the Sutherlands, however, Serio began dating her boyfriend Clayton Bradley in high school, where they both lived in the same city in Maryland.

Serio and Bradley started going out about three and a half years ago. The two have had to keep their relationship long distance for the past two years ever since Bradley joined the Army. He is currently stationed in North Carolina.

She said making long distance relationships work is a matter of personality.

“I think for long distance, you have to be the type of person that’s willing to be away from them,” she said. “You’re willing to make sacrifices in your relationship that a normal face-to-face relationship wouldn’t have.”

Serio said it’s important for her and Bradley to have verbal communication every day whenever his work schedule permits it. “(Skype’s) made my relationship something that it probably couldn’t have been prior to that being invented,” Serio said. “Having technology, having texting, Skype, all those new, modern inventions are definitely, like, they aid in our relationship and make it more modern.”

Another element that Serio said makes her relationship modern is what she wants out of it.

“Now I think a lot of people — they still want love and they still want a family out of a relationship — but they’re more focused on meeting their own personal goals,” she said. “A lot of girls still want to have a family, but I don’t think it’s at the top of their list anymore.”

Swipe Left, Swipe Right

Tyler Leadbeater, a political science sophomore, plays the game of love a little differently. He’s been using Tinder to make connections for almost two years now.

Tinder is a popular dating app developed in 2012 that allows users in a similar location who show interest in one another to chat and potentially meet up.

“It kind of almost ruins real-life dating because, for example, if you are just walking through campus or something and you see someone you think is cute, you don’t know if they have a boyfriend or girlfriend.

You don’t know if they’re even interested in talking to you. So there’s a bit more of a risk,” Leadbeater said.

“Whereas if you’re on Tinder, you know that they’re there (because) they swiped right on you (and) that they’re interested in you, obviously. So there’s a lot less of a risk of starting a conversation.”

Leadbeater said he is trying to wean himself off of using Tinder because of his newfound reluctance to talk to women in real life. The app has also caused issues of jealousy for Leadbeater in some of his relationships.

“It’s definitely addictive,” he said. “I have gotten into relationships since I’ve started using Tinder and that has been an issue in relationships because, like I said, it’s addicting. It’s hard to stop.”

Although he is leaning away from relying so much on the app to meet people, Leadbeater said he has learned valuable lessons about dating while using Tinder.

“It’s kind of given me a lot of experience into the dating world, because in high school I had a handful of relationships, but I didn’t really ever have anything too serious,” he said. “Going on Tinder definitely allowed me to kind of experience a little bit more different types of dating.”

Face-to-Face

Unlike Leadbeater and the Sutherlands, Alexis Manyrath, a physics freshman, met her boyfriend Ari in a more traditional way.

Manyrath and Ari began flirting after becoming fast friends in Residence Hall South. Even though the pair met in an organic environment, they keep in touch throughout the day in ways that would’ve been impossible just 10 years ago.

Manyrath and her boyfriend Facebook message, text and Snapchat one another throughout their busy days in order to stay in touch. However, the ease of communication that comes with technology hasn’t been all positive.

“I think some of the difficulties we have are very technological. Sometimes he’ll be on his phone and not paying attention to me and that really bothers me,” she said. “Sometimes it feels like I’m in competition with technology for people’s attention.”

She said she knows she will occasionally do the same to Ari. Manyrath said these difficulties are common now because the technology is so new, but as the methods mature and people get more used to it, it will get easier. They navigate the problem by setting aside time to just focus on one another — without the distraction of their phones.

Although technology can cause troubles and drive a wedge in relationships, Manyrath said she doesn’t think getting rid of it is the solution. Since they live on opposite sides of the country, they have an easier time communicating over breaks when they go home to Oregon and Massachusetts because of the advantages of technology.

“Older people sometimes don’t really understand how useful it is to be able to be connected like that,” she said. “I think it’s an important part of relationships nowadays to be able to use technology for the benefit of your relationship, rather than letting it drive you apart.”

UTDMERCURY.COM