The Mercury 2/22/2016

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February 22, 2016

School mourns loss of longtime professors Faculty members in Interdisciplinary Studies remembered for passion, care for students ESTEBAN BUSTILLOS

after graduating with a Ph.D. in anthropology from Yale University, focused mainly on the Healthcare Studies and American Studies programs.

George Fair, dean of the School of Interdisciplinary Studies, said Cong was well liked among students and faculty.

“He was just a real friend to students and a real person that helped students as much as he could, and was always available to students for counseling and whatever needs they had,” Fair said.

Cong, who was born in China in 1950, earned his bachelor’s degree from Shaanxi Normal University in

Editor-in-Chief

THE MERCURY | UTDMERCURY.COM

ASC TOURNEY PREVIEWS

Faculty, staff and students in the School of Interdisciplinary Studies are in mourning after the loss of two of their colleagues and mentors within the past month.

Dachang Cong, associate dean for undergraduate studies in IS, died on Jan. 21 at the age of 65. Just a few weeks later, John Phillip Allen, a longtime professor in the Teacher Development Center, died from a heart attack at a family gathering in Santa Fe, N.M. on Feb. 11. He was 74.

Cong, who started working at UTD in 1991

→ SEE PROFESSORS, PAGE 13

CONG

ALLEN

Dachang Cong, the associate dean for undergraduate studies in IS, died on Jan. 21 at the age of 65.

Phillip Allen, who taught in the Teacher Development Center, died just a few weeks later on Feb. 11. He was 74.

LOVE STORY Arranged marriage leads to happy ending for master’s student MIRIAM PERCIVAL Mercury Staff

W

hen Atif Mendha dropped down onto one knee, Nina Rafiq’s eyes widened as she realized that she might spend the rest of her life with this man she had only met once before.

A year ago on Feb. 13, Rafiq, a master’s student, met her future husband Mendha, an alumnus, for the first time.

At a younger age, Rafiq said she didn’t worry about marriage. She instead focused on her schooling and her dream of going into the medical field.

“My parents are really big on education so the topic didn’t come up for a while,” she said.

However, when Rafiq saw her cousin — who had no father and a sick uncle — struggle with the arranged marriage process, she realized that she needed to get married soon. ***

PG. 9 JAMMIN’ AT THE FARMER’S MARKET

Rafiq described arranged marriage as being similar to modern dating. “(I) see it as a blind date — people set you up, but no one is going to force you to go on that second date,” she said.

Rafiq and her family began looking for a husband by asking family friends and people at their mosque. She asked her father to sort through all of the proposals for her. Once he gave his approval, she would meet with the suitor in person.

When Mendha expressed interest in marriage, Rafiq’s father had to make made sure he was worthy of his daughter.

Religion was the most important aspect for Rafiq’s parents. They wanted her husband to belong to the same sect of Islam — Hanafi — so their religious holidays and other practices would align.

Rafiq also said that she preferred someone from a Pakistani background like her so her children wouldn’t be raised in a conflicting household.

It was also equally important to her that her future husband could stay close to her family and let her continue her education.

Her father approved of Mendha, and Rafiq decided where to go to UTD to be with him. She then agreed to meet him for the first time at Café Brazil. Despite talking online before, Rafiq remembers they were both anxious to meet in person.

“He was so nervous and he didn’t know what to say,” she said. “I’m a lot more talkative than him and he’s really shy.”

After ordering their food and sitting down at their table, Mendha’s nerves got the best of him.

“He gets his coffee and I think he was trying to move closer, because we were super far apart from each other, and in the process he spilt his coffee,” she said.

She recalled doubting whether or not she wanted to marry Mendha after meeting him. While the situation was embarrassing, the coffee didn’t end up staining Mendha’s chances.

Soon after, Rafiq prayed and sought God to help make her decision to marry Mendha.

→ SEE MARRIAGE, PAGE 13 PG. 7 SUBURBAN BLUES

YASH MUSALGAONKAR | MERCURY STAFF

Nina Rafiq, a master’s student in the School of Management, met her fiancé, alumnus Atif Mendha, through family connections last year. She described arranged marriage as being similar to a blind date.

Students campaign for presidential hopefuls Democrat, Republican candidates get help from members of UTD community in 2016 race BHARGAV ARIMILLI Mercury Staff

As televised debates continue to air and primaries begin to open across the nation, presidential candidates have intensified campaign activities in an attempt to attract voters. Students have volunteered their time on campaigns to help elect their preferred candidates and to encourage political participation.

“I feel that it’s our civic duty as citizens of the United States to take interest in the decisions that will shape the government,” said Vihan Saraf, a finance and economics freshman who volunteers with the Bernie Sanders campaign. “That’s the main reason I became involved in politics.”

A friend’s roommate introduced Saraf to the Sanders campaign when he invited him to a rally on Jan. 24 in Dallas. Saraf followed the candidate in the news for some time but had never attended a political rally before. He said he was surprised when he arrived at the event.

“I grew up in Austin, which is a liberal pocket in conservative Texas, and thought Dallas (would be) very, very conservative,” he said. “Walking into a room full of Bernie Sanders supporters who gave

PG. 5

→ SEE CAMPAIGNING, PAGE 13

CHRIS LIN | MERCURY STAFF

Finance and computer science freshman Sesha Dasari (left) and finance and economics freshman Vihan Saraf have both volunteered their time to the Bernie Sanders campaign.

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NEWS

THE MERCURY | FEB. 22, 2016

SOURCE: PEW RESEARCH CENTER

-Corrections-

In the last issue of The Mercury, in the story titled “UTD Reaches Tier One ... but not really,� the Association of American Universities was referred to inaccurately.

Also, in the story titled “SG hosts weekly voter registration,�

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick was incorrectly stated as being scheduled to visit UTD in February. In fact, no date has been set and Patrick’s office is considering a possible visit to campus before the November election.

The Mercury regrets these errors.

OPINION

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FEB. 22, 2016 | THE MERCURY | UTDMERCURY.COM

Zika shines light on reproductive rights Women in Latin American countries told to abstain from pregnancy without access to contraception or reproductive education

TIM SHIRLEY | MERCURY STAFF

The governments of some Latin American countries, like El Salvador, are recommending women abstain from having children in the next couple years to avoid giving birth to infants with microcephaly, a disease that causes abnormalities in head size. This disease has been linked to the Zika virus, which is rampant in those Latin American countries and where women don’t have proper access to contraception and reproductive education to avoid pregnancy.

NIVI SUKUMAR COMMENTARY

The Zika virus is sweeping across our planet and it has quickly become the cover story of every newspaper within Central and South America. Even though the symptoms of the virus are relatively minor, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has noted that there has been a distinct increase in newborn babies born with microcephaly in Brazil where the Zika virus is centralized. Shockingly, this simple virus that has existed for 70 years has been declared a global epidemic by the World Health Organization.

Latin American countries are desperately scrambling to instill basic health practices to curb the impending long-term effects of the epidemic. The Minister of Health in El Salvador stated that women should abstain from pregnancy until the year 2018. However, endorsing such a burdensome recommendation is entirely unfair because women in these Latin American countries have little or no access to reproductive education and contraception.

According to the CDC, the symptoms of the Zika virus are fever, rash, joint pain and conjunctivitis — or red eyes — which all last for a week. No one has ever died from a Zika virus infection. However, microcephaly — a disease in which a newborn’s head is much smaller than expected — can cause more serious repercussions. Microcephaly runs on a spectrum

COMET COMMENTS

where mild cases have almost no side effects, while in clamoring for women to ward off pregnancy — even when more serious cases, the baby suffers from an underde- contraception and sex education aren’t readily available. veloped brain, causing seizures, developmental delays, “The majority of pregnancies in any place are feeding problems, not planned to hearing and vision begin with, and loss and a varied also we know amount of intellecwomen in those tual disability. countries don’t have access to Seema Yasmin, contraception,” a public health Yasmin said. professor in the “They can’t make School of Interdisdecisions about ciplinary Sciences their reproducand journalis for tive health.”

The Dallas Morning News, said it is So the next important to find question is, what the truth about the measures can these link between Zika women take to and microcephaly. prevent their un“We haven’t planned pregnangot any scientific cies? They could evidence right now obviously be easily that the Zika virus avoided through causes microceph— Seema Yasmin emergency contraaly,” she said. “All Public Health Professor ceptive pills. Howwe know is that ever, access to these an outbreak of the emergency contraZika virus is going ceptives is minimal on in Brazil and, at at most due to the the same time, officulture. cials are reporting that there might be an increase in “In many of the Latin American cultures, religion the number of babies with a birth defect.” is a huge influence,” said global health professor JilUnfortunately, governments in South America are still lian Duquaine-Watson. “In a cultural context where

The majority of pregnancies in any place are not planned to begin with, and also we know women in those countries don’t have access to contraception. They can’t make decisions about their reproductive health.

Catholicism plays such a huge role in Christianity, people have complicated feelings about birth control, so it’s a difficult proposition to make.”

In El Salvador, there is an abortion ban with extremely serious consequences for those women who try to obtain one, with prison sentences up to 40 years for those convicted.

Women in these countries have almost no access to any form of contraception, and they are not aware of the benefits of contraception. On top of that, abortion is illegal. So how exactly are women supposed to avoid pregnancy for two years?

The government’s request for abstinence from pregnancy is utterly ridiculous with the lack of resources present in these Latin American countries.

Furthermore, it must be understood that women alone cannot resolve this issue. This epidemic must be tackled more effectively without transferring the entire burden on women.

The Zika virus can almost be called a blessing in disguise because it has shed some light on the underlying public health issues that these Latin American countries are facing. Obviously, the virus has taken a toll on healthcare systems globally, but it has definitely unlocked some doors.

The Minister of Health in El Salvador should not have asked for chastity as the first line of defense against the upcoming unrest this virus may cause because it is not feasible, nor is it considerate. Culture is a valuable foundation for growth, so it cannot be ignored in these countries. Better reproductive education and access to contraception throughout these nations may help alleviate some of the more serious consequences of the Zika virus.

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THE MERCURY | FEB. 22, 2016

NEWS

UTDMERCURY.COM

Waves of change Q&A: Julian Castro

Detection of gravitational waves impacts educational institutions

Cabinet member comments on tuition, 2016 presidential race

CHRIS LIN | MERCURY STAFF

Michael Kesden, an assistant professor of physics, discusses the effects of the discovery of gravitational waves on research and the physics department at UTD. Michael Kesden, a member of the Cosmology and Astrophysics Group at UTD with research interests in black holes and gravitational waves, shares his views on the new scientific discovery.

Q: What was your initial reaction to the news that gravitational waves had been detected?

university is growing at a tremendous rate. We expect the Physics department to hire 10 faculty in the next five years and potentially more people in the area of gravitational waves.

Personally, I currently have two graduate students, one of whom is working in the area of binary black holes and gravitational waves. I expect to have another student or two work with me in these areas.

We offer a graduate course in general relativity which has been offered every three years or so. I would actually like to teach an undergraduate course in general relativity. To offer an undergraduate class, you have to have 10 or more students. Hopefully, this exciting discovery will develop student interest.

A: I was very excited. There had been rumors for months that there had been indications of a binary black hole system. I was a graduate student at Cal Tech, which is one of the two headquarters for the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory lab. LIGO had been a big deal back from 2000, when I started graduate school. Even in the early ’90s, the projQ: Will scientists be able to reproduce this discovery ect had been getting support from the National Science with easier methods?

Foundation. This project had been in the works for over 20 years.

A: Much of the efforts go The expectation was the first detecFunding for sciinto designing and constructtions would be in 2017 or 2018. What ence oscillates, ing LIGO facilities. Right actually happened was that the detecnow LIGO is made up of two tion actually happened on September so it’s important facilities. One of them is in 14, 2015, five days before the official to keep the pubLivingston, La. and the other science run. They were fortunate that one is in Hanford, Wash. There even before they started they got this lic appreciative are a variety of reasons for havvery large signal. That was really excitof the exciting ing two facilities. The biggest ing and surprising to me. one is that because the strain of discoveries we’re gravitational waves that we’re Q: How does this discovery impact making. measuring is so tiny, there are institutions of higher education, espemany different sources of noise cially those centered on research like that could contribute at such UTD? —Michael Kesden, a level. The sensitivity is treA: The LIGO collaboration is assistant professor mendous — they’re sensitive to trucks driving by. So if a made up of something like a thouof physics truck drives by the Louisiana sand people. It’s an international facility, the Washington one collaboration made up of many (which) is 2,000 miles away institutions in the United States and abroad. Most immediately, it impacts people whose won’t be affected. Gravitational waves are just passwork is focused on black holes and gravitational ing through the Earth and are going to affect both waves like mine is. Science research in this country facilities.

There’s another facility called Virgo in Italy that’s is reliant on funding from the federal government and the federal government is ultimately answer- going to go online later this year. Shortly after, there able to Congress and the public. Keeping the public will be another facility in Japan and then there are informed and excited about our progress in scientific plans for one in India as well. Later this decade, the research is a crucial step in maintaining support for hope is to expand from two facilities to five faciliscience. Funding for science oscillates, so it’s impor- ties. This means more sensitivity, so we’ll become tant to keep the public appreciative of the exciting sensitive to black holes farther away and there will be higher event rates. discoveries we’re making.

LIGO, with only two facilities in Louisiana and There are students here at UTD and students at all these institutions that are involved in every aspect of Washington, has very poor sensitivity to direction. analyzing the data, constructing the instruments and We know lots of interesting properties about these exploring theoretical implications. This is also providing black holes, but we have poor constraints on where more educational and research opportunities for students. in the sky they actually are. Having more antennas means we can kind of triangulate the signal. These Q: What changes can we expect in the Physics depart- new facilities will improve directional capability and sensitivity. The fact that we’ve already seen a ment at UTD? discovery before we even started our first run tells A: I expect there to be more interest in general us that later this decade, we could be seeing dozens relativity, gravitational waves and black holes. The of events per year, even hundreds of events per year.

YASH MUSALGAONKAR | MERCURY STAFF

Julian Castro, answers questions about the upcoming election, being a minority in politics and his plans for the future during a Q&A session in JSOM on Feb. 12 moderated international political economy junior Danielle Edmonds.

On Feb. 12, Julian Castro, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, came to campus to talk about diversity in leadership. The Mercury had a chance to talk to Castro about the election, his job and his plans for the future.

Editor’ sNote: An earlier version of this story ran on The Mercury’ s website.

Q: What is your opinion on the drive in the upcoming election to subsidize tuition?

A: My hope is that we will see greater efforts to keep tuition costs down — whether it’s in public universities or private universities through some of the traditional tools like Stafford loans and Pell Grants and Federal Work Study. We have a generation of students who are graduating with way too much debt, and that’s limiting their ability to buy a house, it’s limiting their ability to reach their dreams and to be able to provide for their families.

We need to change that, and so I’m glad that some of the candidates running for office this year have put forward proposals to either completely make college tuition-free, or to achieve it so it’s at least debt-free for students.

Q: Is there any weight to the rumor you’d be Hillary Clinton’s pick for Vice Presidential nominee if she wins the election?

A: I fully expect to be back in Texas this year at the end of this administration. I’ve said that I don’t believe that’s going to happen and I’m just trying to do a great job at (Housing and Urban Development) right now.

Q: Do you think being a minority has helped or hindered your career in politics?

A: My hope is that I’ve been able to represent folks with my perspective and to be meaningful to folks who are growing up like I did, who are Latino, but also to represent everybody. And so at the end of the day, my hope is that it’s been a positive in the right ways but also not gotten in the way of me being able to represent everybody.

Q: How do you think growing up in Texas shaped your political outlook?

A: Texas is a very special place and San Antonio is a unique city. I think that, in Texas, the best way I can describe it is people want things to be on the level. They want things to be basically fair and straightforward and I think I carry that perspective with me, even now as I serve in Washington D.C. at HUD. There is a certain ethos here that has followed me.

Q: How did you decide to accept the secretary position at Housing and Urban Development?

A: More than anything else, I felt like it was a great opportunity to have a broader impact. As satisfying as being mayor of my hometown was —

and it really was a thrill (and) I intend to get back there as soon as I can — I felt like I could make a broader impact in this role. The other thing that I thought about — and I had this thought the other day when we were at the National Prayer Breakfast and I was watching the president give his speech — is that it would be something I’d be able to tell my kids and my grandkids, that I served Barack Obama in his administration. And as cantankerous as the debate is, I really believe basically in 20 years, 30 years, folks are going to see Obama in the way Republicans try to hail Reagan. That he’s going to be, I think, even broader than Reagan has become and that it will be very honorable to say that you got to serve under this president.

Q: What led you to support Clinton for president over other candidates?

A: I really believe that Secretary Clinton is somebody who, number one, is progressive. And so I share that viewpoint. Secondly, (she) can get done what she said she’s going to get done. And you can tell in these debates, whether it was before O’Malley left or now one-on-one, there’s not really a comparison in terms of knowledge base there.

Of all of the political figures that I’ve seen, she has a command of the issues and an understanding of them. I also believe that her presidency would be groundbreaking. When my daughter was 3 or 4, we were … getting her ready in the morning and we had “Good Morning America” or one of the morning shows on and an image of the president came up and … I told her, “Oh look, there’s the president.” And I said, “You could be president one day,” and she said, “Oh, that’s for boys.” She actually said that. Now as a dad, you start to (think), “Where in the world does a kid that young get that idea already?” I look forward to November of this year and she and I can watch TV and Secretary Clinton gets elected, and I can tell her, “It’s for you, too.”

Q: How has your relationship with activism developed from your upbringing in an activist household to working for the government?

A: What we’re talking about is how people are treated. Let’s just take an example of the issue of policing of communities and all of the bad actors and institutional problems and the wrong approaches that we’re seeing some local police departments take over time. I believe, for instance, that in too many police departments, even though I agree with folks saying the majority of police officers (do) the right thing and they are good officers, that a lesser value has been put on the lives of African Americans.

What practically can you do to combat those kinds of issues? So, first of all, try to (get) a more diverse police force, training folks better, ensuring that they understand the community more, that more police officers come from those communities in the first place. In other words, I think that when you start to break down a lot of these challenges, they’re inveterate and they’re very tough, but they’re not something that we can’t do or address.

LIFE&ARTS

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FEB. 22, 2016 | THE MERCURY | UTDMERCURY.COM

SUBURBAN DECAY

Q&A: Musicians

Chloé Trevor, Jeff Lankov

Harsh drama ”subUrbia“ opens in University Theatre after weeks of preparation by cast, crew

SAHER AQEEL | MERCURY STAFF

Speech pathology and audiology freshman Lauren Massey (left) — who plays Sooze — shares a kiss with art and peformance freshman Bridge Coffman — who plays Jeff — onstage in a scene from “subUrbia.” The play portrays a group of people in their 20s discussing the disappointments of suburban life.

SURAIYA RAHMETULLA Mercury Staff

“subUrbia,” Eric Bogosian’s 1994 play, is making its way to UTD’s stage this month. The play depicts the adventures of characters in their 20s in an American suburban town and their struggles to fit into society.

Adjunct faculty member and director Brad Hennigan said while the play’s theme of dark satire poses a unique test for the cast and crew, he firmly believes the team is ready for the task.

“We first started discussing this season’s choices in the fall of 2014, so it’s a long process. We talk about it well in advance, we try to put together a set of shows that is going to be beneficial both for the theater-going audience and for, obviously, the students that we know (are) involved in the program,” he said. “We definitely felt like this one, with its strong acting requirements, most definitely it would be a challenge for the students that we have, but we felt like we could pull it off.”

Hennigan has over 25 years of professional theater, film and television experience accumulated both in Dallas and Los Angeles. He selected “subUrbia,” which he has coined as a “hyper-realistic play,” to contrast the problems that are portrayed in the ’80s setting of the play with similar problems society is facing today.

“I don’t think we have ever gotten out of the problems that were beginning to surface in the ’80s, and the choices we have made in America have simply exacerbated the same problems,” he said. “I think it’s very important that we use theater for what it is. Theater is a mirror of society, and we need to turn that mirror on ourselves and look a little bit at some of the ugliness that exists out there.”

Intrigued by the intensity of the play, speech pa-

Theater is a mirror of society and we need to turn that mirror on ourselves and look ... at some of the ugliness.

— Brad Hennigan, director thology and audiology freshman Lauren Massey auditioned for Sooze, a character filled with intelligence and focus, but surrounded by friends who are not quite as driven.

“I wanted more than anything to challenge myself with this play, and I’ve definitely had my work cut out for me,” Massey said. “Peeling back these lay-

ers and figuring out how to portray them onstage has been a fantastic learning experience. (Sooze is) very different from all the other characters I’ve ever played on stage. She’s very smart and powerful and wants to shock people out of their passivity. More than anything, she wants people to realize that you can't go through life with tunnel vision.”

The play also questions certain notions, such as academic expectations, that are now considered prerequisites to success in the real world. “(It’s) a harsh play. The language is harsh, the ideas expressed by these individuals are harsh and this exists in our society,” Hennigan said.

Rehearsals have taken weeks of thorough preparation. The cast and crew have worked collectively to not only gain a learning experience, but to also understand what is expected in the professional world of theater.

“In academia, it’s a two-pronged approach. You do everything that a director in the professional world does, but you’re also an educator,” Hennigan said. “A great deal of what I do during the rehearsal process is teaching these young actors how to do what they need to do to get to a solid performance, and also what the professional expectation is.”

Hennigan said he hopes the audience interprets their own distinctive message from “subUrbia.”

→ SEE SUBURBIA, PAGE 8

HOUSES OF THE HOLY: HINDUISM Student finds connection to faith through teaching next generation of students at mission center

Chloé Trevor, left, and Jeff Lankov, right, rehearse in Jonsson Performance Hall for their Feb. 19 performance, “Music of Today.”

On Feb. 19, violinist Chloé Trevor and pianist Jeff Lankov performed in the “Music of Today” show in the Jonsson Performance Hall sponsored by the School of Arts and Humanities. The show saw the world premiere of Chair of Art and Aesthetic Studies Robert Rodriguez’s new piece, “Xochiquetzal.”

Q: When did you begin playing your instrument?

Lankov: I began playing the piano when I was about 8 years old, which is actually fairly late for somebody who makes a career in music. I went to a friend’s house and they had a grand piano and I was just drawn to it. The neighborhood kids taught me a few songs, which I learned pretty quickly, and then I begged my parents for piano lessons for quite a while — which I think is different from how a lot of people got into music where their parents more or less forced them to take lessons. For me, it was a hunger. It was just something that I wanted to do instinctively. My parents very often had to tell me to stop practicing and go outside and play soccer.

Trevor: I don’t have any exact time, honestly. My mom is a violinist in the Dallas Symphony and my dad is a conductor, so after I was born they were always kind of looking for little violins for me because I apparently would sit and be entranced while watching my mom practice. When I was 18 months, my dad found a real 32nd size violin that my mom started helping me play a little bit. I just kind of always had it and played on it a lot. But as far as actual lessons starting, I’m not really sure. I was around 2.

Q: How many hours would you estimate you’ve spent playing?

Lankov: Thousands and thousands of hours.

These days, I practice regularly seven, eight, nine hours a day — some days more — but it’s something I do every day. It’s just a lifestyle. Whereas most people might sit in front of a desk or a computer, my desk is actually sitting in front of the piano and practicing. Of course, there’s another aspect to it — studying music, studying performance practice, studying history and music theory and whatnot. It’s an all day, every day event.

NIDHI GOTGI

Managing Editor

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

Dressed in simple, traditional Indian clothing, Prachiti Dhamankar stands in front of a dry erase board trying to get the attention of her class. The biology and business administration sophomore teaches the tenets of Hinduism at the Chinmaya Mission center — a Hindu spiritual organization — in Dallas every Sunday.

For Dhamankar, teaching the principles of Hinduism and their real-life applications brings her closer to the faith than attending temple regularly does.

“The best way to learn something is to teach it,” she said.

For the millennial Hindus who grew up in America, Dhamankar said, the best way to connect to the religion is in a classroom setting.

“I think (the classroom is) very well-oriented towards kids our age and our generation because we learn through logical facts,” she said. “We learn through this education school system, so learning Hinduism in that similar way allows us to be more familiar with it.”

Dhamankar’s class is from 4:30 to 6 p.m. every Sunday, but she also prays in the temple area of the Mission every week.

Her parents and grandparents learned about and practiced Hinduism by observing their surroundings in India. She said there were plenty of mandirs, or temples, to choose from and rituals happened often.

“When you step out of the house, you see a mandir across the street in India (or) you see processions in

YASH MUSALGAONKAR | MERCURY STAFF

Q: Were you ever tempted to pursue a different career?

SAHER AQEEL | MERCURY STAFF

Biology and business administration sophomore Prachiti Dhamankar sits in front of the Chinmaya Mission. Dhamankar teaches her students the prinicples of Hinduism while volunteering at the center.

Lankov: Music is such a hard career, just because there are not concrete hours. I don’t get to go home at 5 o’clock and relax. Very often at the end of a long day of practicing, there’s still more studying to do and there’s always more practicing to do. I think that if I could possibly be happy doing something anything else, I would. But from a pretty early age, I just felt like this is what I’ve been born to do. This is what I need to do to be happy.

Trevor: There was never a question in my mind that I was going to do anything else. I remember when I was around 5 I was always saying … I wanted to play violin in the Dallas Symphony with my mom.

Q: What advice would you give to other young musicians?

the roads,” she said. “Here, being in America, you don’t see that. I think, with them, it was more observation and with us, (to) sit down and teach really helps because it’s more systematic in that way, and we’re just more used to that type of method.”

Her religious education started when her parents

enrolled her in Chinmaya Mission classes when she was in kindergarten. She said being active in her religious community helped her transition to college life without difficulty.

→ SEE HINDUISM, PAGE 8

Lankov: I would tell young musicians to find the music that interests them. We’re living in a really exciting time right now technologically. We can sit

→ SEE MUSICIANS, PAGE 8

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THE MERCURY | FEB. 22, 2016

YASH MUSALGAONKAR | MERCURY STAFF

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

A Celebration of Culture

UTDMERCURY.COM

ANDREW GALLEGOS | PHOTO EDITOR

Spotlight Series: Ain’t Nothing But A Party Y’all - On Thursday, Feb. 11, students came together in The Pub to celebrate historically sigfor the show with her band The Kats. The event

Ed Mabrey on Monday, Feb. 15. Freshman Sebastian performance.

Town Hall Discussion: #WhoMatters? - On

Africa Night -

show that included dancing and fashion.

YASH MUSALGAONKAR | MERCURY STAFF

RACHEL KYES | MERCURY STAFF

YASH MUSALGAONKAR | MERCURY STAFF

YASH MUSALGAONKAR | MERCURY STAFF

YASH MUSALGAONKAR | MERCURY STAFF

YASH MUSALGAONKAR | MERCURY STAFF

LIFE&ARTS

UTDMERCURY.COM

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THE MERCURY | FEB. 22, 2016

FAMILY BUSINESS Locally made goods sold at Four Seasons Farmer’s Market in Richardson CARA SANTUCCI News Editor

Every Saturday at 9 a.m., dozens of tents pop up and form a snaking U shape in a large parking lot on the corner of Floyd Drive and Campbell Road, just five minutes away from campus.

Customers pull up in the parking lot and hop out of cars, eager to begin meandering through stands chock-full of locally made goods.

The marketplace smells of freshly made tamales.

The tents selling inedible goods are covered with splashes of color from homemade quilts and jewelry and clothes. Somewhere, a man’s voice booms out, pushing a customer to take advantage of his two-forone deal on pastries.

The Four Seasons Farmer’s Market opens for business as local vendors hang signs, arrange tables and prepare to greet visitors with smiles and free samples.

The Cowgirl Whey

farm and raising dairy goats is a change of pace from her previous job, Daniels said she feels satisfied with her decision to switch.

“It’s crazy, but it’s good,” she said. “I feel … very busy, but very fulfilled because I feel like we’re making a quality product that’s locally made without chemicals or hormones or added preservatives. I feel good about it.”

Praline and Oatmeal Bars, with flavors ranging from chocolate to pumpkin to cayenne.

Evil Cowboy Hot Sauce Kurt Riddlesperger’s company, Evil Cowboy Hot Sauce, is also a family affair. His grandfather used to run a meat market and his old recipe for cooking sauce is the base of Riddlesperger’s product. His father grew up selling the hotdogs cooked in the sauce at rodeos. And now, Riddlesperger and his brother have been selling the family product commercially for seven months.

“It’s been fun,” he said. “We’ve entered in a lot of competitions.

We’ve won some awards in the hot sauce world. And then we wanted to start here at the farmer’s market so we could meet our customers and talk to them and let them try it.”

Although Riddlesperger said running Evil Cowboy Hot Sauce is time consuming, he still works full time at an investment company in Addison.

“It’s work. It’s definitely work (to manage both).

You have to prioritize your time,” he said. “I had to make sure I had permission to do it from my company. It’s really just prioritization and taking one day at a time.”

One thing he said he loves about running his side business is getting to connect with the whole family.

“Our nephews are involved, our nieces are involved, so it’s brought our family closer together and then it’s been fun,” Riddlesperger said. “We’ve been able to take something we enjoy and share it with

We’ve been able to take something we enjoy and share it with everybody else.

Jennifer Daniels runs The Cowgirl Whey with the help of her husband and two daughters. They sell “chevre” — or goat cheese — and goat milk soap. The family has been running its business now for seven years.

“It started with my daughter. I got her a pony for her birthday and she said, ‘Oh, how cute, but can I trade it for a goat?’” Daniels said. “So I knew I was in trouble then on many different levels.”

Pretty soon, the Daniels family went from owning two goats to seven, until finally they ended up with 40.

Ideally, Daniels said, she likes to make cheese the same day she milks. All the Daniels’ dairy goats are milked twice a day. Then, Daniels low dip pasteurizes the milk, cultures it and lets it hang in a muslin bag for two to four days.

Although her husband works off the farm, Daniels said running The Cowgirl Whey is more than a full time job.

Before starting the family business, Daniels used to be a guidance counselor. Even though working on a

Eileen’s Pralines:

— Kurt Riddlesperger, Evil Cowboy Hot Sauce

→ SEE FAMILY, PAGE 8

SAHER AQEEL | MERCURY STAFF

Eileen and Jack Scheib run Eileen's Pralines together after their son suggested starting a business selling her homemade praline bars.

The Cowgirl Whey: Goat cheese, or chevre, with plain, dill or kickin’ cowboy flavoring.

SAHER AQEEL | MERCURY STAFF

Jennifer Daniels (right) and her daughter Cambrie pass a sample of goat cheese to a customer. The Daniels family keeps 40 goats on its farm.

Evil Cowboy Hot Sauce: Hot Sauce, salsas and queso, ranging from mild to spicy.

SAHER AQEEL | MERCURY STAFF

Kyle (left) and Kurt Riddlesperger manage Evil Cowboy Hot Sauce with the help of their whole extended family.

PINPOSSIBLE

Layered Brownies LINDA NGUYEN | MERCURY STAFF

Difficulty One of the best things about Valentine’s day being over is that all the sweets gets marked on deep discount — all the truffles, fruit and caramel filled chocolate, plus the giant solid pieces of chocolate. In the spirit of leftover holiday candy, I wanted to choose a project that could integrate some of this leftover chocolate because otherwise, it might just all sit there. I will preface this by saying that Valentine’s candy doesn’t get as cheap as Halloween candy, so maybe the other option here is to just use the candy given to you by your significant other. I also wanted this project to be a relatively easy project since last project’s truffles did require some talent — or maybe just buying candy coating rather than chocolate chips. These seem to be an easy, unique dessert to bring to a party or into the office one morning.

WHAT YOU NEED

- 1 pound of cookie dough - 1 box of brownie mix - 1 package of oreos - leftover chocolate or Valentines candy chopped up

Cost

Taste

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Spread the cookie dough out on the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch pan.

3. Layer oreos on top of the cookie dough.

4. Make the brownie mix according to the directions on the package.

5. Intersperse the chopped up candy in the cookie layer or mix it into the brownie mix.

6. Pour the brownie mix over the oreos and candy.

7. Bake for 40 minutes. Test it with a toothpick, and if it doesn't come out clean, bake for another 10 minutes.

8. Let it cool for half an hour.

Again, it’s a pretty easy project, but it yields a dessert that’s the right mix of chocolate chip cookie, Oreo and brownie. There have been several variations of this, so it's easily customizable to whatever you have in your kitchen. You could also make your own cookie dough and brownies from scratch, which makes the project slightly harder, but when you’re craving something sweet, why work harder than you absolutely need to?

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.

8

THE MERCURY | FEB. 22, 2016

→ SUBURBIA

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

“Different people are going to get different things out of this play. Because this play offers a slice of life and has different characters who are experiencing different things during this 24-hour period, different people are going to relate to different characters within

→ HINDUISM

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

“Whenever I was younger, it didn’t really make a difference to me,” Dhamankar said. “I was just doing what they told me to do and I was just obeying whatever they wanted me to do in terms of attending sessions and learning my mother tongue. Getting all these values, it helped me (to be) independent being here in college and making the right choices.”

She began teaching four years ago, serving as a teacher’s assistant for the classes at the Chinmaya Mission branch in Beaumont, Texas, where Dhamankar is from. She taught 10th graders last year and will be in charge of 2nd graders this year.

She said the larger size of the Mission in Dallas —

→ MUSICIANS

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

down in front of our computer and instantly have access to any kind of music that is going on in any corner of the world.

Q: What’s different about playing with another musician as opposed to playing alone?

There's something really exciting to be said about ... making two voices meld into one single, cohesive performance.

— Jeff Lankov, pianist Lankov: For me, it’s important that I have a balance in my musical life. In other words, I love playing the solo piano repertoire. I think it’s interesting to expose myself to the challenges of just playing by myself. It can get a little solitary and that’s why I like to mix it up playing with other musicians. There’s something really exciting to be said about collaborating with somebody else, listening to their ideas (and) their opinions and making two voices meld into one single, cohesive performance.

Trevor: When you’re playing with a pianist, there’s a much more collegial or chamber music-type feel-

→ FAMILY

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7

everybody else.”

Eileen’s Pralines Eileen Scheib has been making her praline bars for 40 years. She and her husband went into business selling them about five years ago.

“Our younger son suggested it a few years ago after the boys were out of the house out of college.

He said, ‘Mom, everybody loves those bars that you make, why don’t you think about making a business?’” Scheib said.

With the help of her husband running the business end, she decided to give it a try. She said having her husband’s years of experience running his own business — which he still does alongside helping with Eileen’s Pralines — has made it easier.

LIFE&ARTS

that time and are going to pull messages out of this show that are very, very different from each other,” Hennigan said. “To put out there, ‘This is what the message of the play is,’ before anybody comes to see the play does, to the audience, a disservice.” “subUrbia” opened on Feb. 18. Tickets are available for the upcoming shows, which will be on Feb. 25 and 27.

as compared to the Beaumont location — drew her to the facility.

“I think the scale itself stood out to me because it’s all volunteer based like many religious institutions,” Dhamankar said. “So there was this massive number of people trying to instill these really good values in their kids, trying to keep in contact with their culture. It was just really moving.”

She prays at home more than at the temple, but the burgeoning classroom setting at the Mission strengthens her connection to Hinduism the most.

“It’s been 25 years (since the Mission started),” Dhamankar said. “(The Dallas location) started in somebody’s garage or living room or something and it evolved to over a thousand kids (who) go on Sundays. It’s just a good feeling to be a part of that.”

ing when you’re playing because it’s just the two of you there and you’re giving and taking. There’s all this information being passed silently between the two of you. Playing with a pianist, I would say there’s a bit more freedom, especially if you happen to get along with who you’re playing with. Jeff and I work real well together, so it’s been a real pleasure to work with him and I think we have very similar musical tastes and ideas, so we’re very compatible in that sense.

Q: What is your involvement in the “Xochiquetzal” show you are playing in at UTD? Trevor: Akardy Fomin … ran the string orchestra at UTD from 1975 basically until 2014 when he passed away. 1975 was the same year that Robert (Rodriguez) came to UTD, so they were doing a lot of things together. Mr. Fomin premiered a lot of Robert’s pieces for violin and they worked together all the time. In addition to their friendship that they had, Mr. Fomin was also one of my dad’s first real supporters in Dallas. They became close friends. I started studying violin with him when I was about 9 and he became a real mentor, fatherfigure type person to me. He is the most influential person to me, musically for sure, but also just in general. All these things (tied) together when Robert started working on “Xochiquetzal.” Mr. Fomin was actually working on the violin part with him … but around March 2014 he was too sick to continue working on the piece with him so he told Robert to get in touch with me and finish working on the piece with me. So we went through the remaining movements together.

“It takes a lot of time because we really do everything ourselves,” she said. “We do the baking.

We do the packaging. We do the marketing.”

Scheib said the most difficult part of starting this business for her was getting used to selling her bars instead of giving them away. She also said having to work with her husband, to whom she’s been married for 35 years, can sometimes be hard to navigate.

“For the most part, it’s fine (to work and live with him),” she said. “Like any married couple, you’re going to get on each other’s nerves and that happens. But we have similar values and our goals are the same. We just make it work.”

Although working together provides ample opportunity to butt heads, Scheib said she still appreciates the time they spend together.

“It’s fun,” she said. “It’s different to be doing something together and so it is fun and, for me, one of the big pleasures is when people like them.”

UTDMERCURY.COM

CHAD AUSTIN | ASSISTANT GRAPHICS EDITOR

SPORTS

9

FEB. 22, 2016 | THE MERCURY | UTDMERCURY.COM

post-season blueprint Basketball teams make final adjustments as ASC tournament approaches

Men’s squad looks to be Women’s team heads into key player in ASC tourney tournament expectation free Comets finish second in ASC East, headed to 13th straight ASC tournament after taking on best of conference teams

Team finishes on a three game skid after difficult regular season campaign, will face Howard Payne in opening round

ANDREW GALLEGOS | PHOTO EDITOR

Sophomore point guard Caleb Banks drives to the hoop in a 71-60 home game loss against Louisiana College on Feb. 11. The Comets will begin ASC tournament play on Feb. 25 against Hardin Simmons University in Alpine, Texas.

PABLO JUAREZ Sports Editor

Firmly positioned at second place in the ASC East standings, the men’s basketball team (17-8, 9-6) is poised for a deep playoff run.

On Feb. 4, the Comets traveled to Mary Hardin-Baylor and secured an ASC playoff bid with an 84-78 win against the Cru. The Comets will be making their 13th straight ASC tournament appearance.

Despite having the conference’s second best overall winning percentage, the Comets find themselves in unfavorable territory and will be looking to rewrite history. Each of the last four times the team has entered the ASC tournament as merely a qualifier — instead of a division champion — it has been bounced from tournament play in the first round.

Although they won’t be adding another ASC East title this season, the Comets are not lacking in confidence after edging out division-leading, defending ASC champions East Texas Baptist (20-5, 12-3) to the tune of 69-68 on Feb. 13.

“I feel pretty solid about where we are headed, especially after beating the No. 1 team in the conference,” said sophomore point guard Caleb Banks. “We’re all riding high on confidence. (Now) it’s just all about us coming together and playing hard.”

The Comets held the Tigers six points below their season average. UTD was in a defensive battle all night long, but were able to survive two potential game-winning lay-ups in the closing seconds.

However, Banks said the key to the victory was not due to any specific game adjustments, but in the manner the team approached the contest.

“We just played hard and together,” he said. “Whenever we play like that, we’re pretty tough to beat. I’m very confident that if we play like that throughout the tournament, we will win.”

The Comets split their final four games of the season. Head coach Terry Butterfield said success in the ASC tournament is dependent on a team’s play heading into the game.

“The thing about going into any tournament play is you need to build momentum before you get there,” Butterfield said. “If your team’s not playing well or they’re being out competed, that not a good sign.”

Butterfield said he believes that the tournament host this season in particular has a distinct advantage than in prior years. Sul Ross State will be hosting the ASC tournament this season in Alpine, Texas.

“Most of the teams are not able to get lodging in Alpine because of a convention,” he said. “A lot of us are having to stay 70 miles away in Fort Stockton. I think having to drive 70 miles everyday to play on top

ESTEBAN BUSTILLOS | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Sophomore guard McKenzie Petty scouts the defense in a 64-49 home game victory against Louisiana College on Feb. 11. The Comets will travel to Tyler, Texas to face Howard Payne in the first round of the ASC tournament on Feb. 25. The team went 0-1 in head-to-head matches against the Yellowjackets this season.

ESTEBAN BUSTILLOS Editor-in-Chief

After a season filled with young players and growing pains, the women’s basketball team qualified for the ASC tournament, which will be held at UT Tyler starting Feb. 25, for the tenth season in a row. To win it, however, the Comets will have to leap over a number of hurdles — including what may be the best team in conference history.

Last year, the Comets took home the ASC crown after hosting the conference tournament and knocking out rival UT Tyler in the championship game. Led by a senior heavy roster, UTD finished with a 26-5 record, the best in program history, and advanced all the way to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament.

This year, the team has had to take a step back. With just three players who saw major minutes in last year’s campaign returning for the season, UTD is sneaking into the tournament as the fourth seed in the Eastern division with a 14-11 record.

Head coach Polly Thomason said rebuilding after having so much success hasn’t been easy.

“We thought we could just come right in and it’s just changing of the guard and we’ll do the same thing,” she said. “The adjustment is realizing, with just six returners, it was just a lot more difficult than we thought it was going to be.”

Thomason said she was still pleased with the experience and playing time younger teammates have been able to get as a result of the lack of upperclassmen.

“I think, moving forward, there’s a lot of really good talent here and there’s a lot of really hard work-

→ SEE MEN’S BBALL, PAGE 10

→ SEE WOMEN’S BBALL, PAGE 10

NBA head coaching position less strong

Recent mid-season terminations of NBA head coaches brings to light millennial culture problem of instant gratification PABLO JUAREZ COMMENTARY

The average shelf life of a typical NBA head coach is no longer what it used to be a decade ago. This is evidenced by an unprecedented number of firings during the season this year.

Jeff Hornacek, Lionel Hollins and Derek Fisher are a few of the names that reached their expiration date.

Perhaps the two most puzzling firings were those of Kevin McHale and David Blatt — two coaches that took their respective teams into deep playoff runs just a season prior.

Kevin McHale coached the Houston Rockets all the way to the Western Conference Finals, but eventually fell to the NBA championship-winning Golden State Warriors. He was given the boot 11 games into the season after a 4-7 start.

It seemed that McHale lost control of his players in less than five

months. The firing left people wondering whether the Rockets’ playeronly meeting a few days prior ultimately contributed to the decision.

“The team was not responding to Kevin,” said Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey in an ESPN report. “There is no time in the West.”

NBA coaches are given all of the blame but rarely receive any of the credit.

While this was surprising, the firing that left people scratching their heads and looking for concrete answers was when the Cleveland Cavaliers decided to let second year head coach David Blatt go, despite

having a 30-11 record and owning the No. 1 seed in the East.

Blatt was only a second year coach by NBA standards, but he had over twenty years of head coaching experience, an Olympic medal and a Euroleague championship on his resume.

He wasn’t your typical ‘rookie’ head coach, but that didn’t change his players’ perception of him — especially LeBron James.

NBA coaches did not hold back their comments regarding Blatt’s firing.

“It’s embarrassing for the league, it really is,” said Detroit Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy to the The Washington Post. “David Blatt had injuries this year and everything else. We all know. Nobody cares about that. You’re supposed to win and he did. He did and now he’s still getting fired. It’s hard to figure out what it’s all about anymore.”

Unfortunately, the way the league is currently constructed, coaches are always the first — and easiest — targets to blame for a team’s misfortunes. Owners can’t fire themselves, general managers are not easily replaceable and star players enjoy greater leverage than your typical

→ SEE NBA, PAGE 10

10

SPORTS

THE MERCURY | FEB. 22, 2016

→ MEN’S BBALL

NUMBERS ON THE BOARD

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

of being away is a big advantage for (Sul Ross State).”

In order to be successful in their bid for an ASC title, Butterfield said the team must protect the ball and have a balanced shot selection. He said the team can sometimes get trigger happy from behind the threepoint arc and that is something that still needs fine-tuning.

“Shot selection has been an issue for us this year,” he said. “It’s something that we’ve had to work very hard to understand the difference between a good shot and a bad shot. If you go back and look at our losses, you’ll see that we shot a very poor percentage in those games.

When we shoot a poor percentage, it usually means we’re taking bad shots.”

W i t h — Terry Butterfield, games in the head coach postseason becoming a slower, more half-court style of game, Banks — who is currently averaging 12.7 points and 5.5 assists per game — said that this benefits the team greatly.

“I’ve become very comfortable in the half-court,” Banks said. “With our playing style, sometimes it’s easier to score in a half-court set.”

In order to survive games, Butterfield said UTD has to be a team that can hold their own defensively.

“The foundation of who we have to be is (to have) great defense and solid rebounding,” he said. “If we’re going to be good and we’re to be successful, we have to be a team that holds people in the low 60s.”

If we’re going to be good and we’re to be successful, we have to be a team that holds opponents in the low 60s

UTDMERCURY.COM

POINTS

→ NBA

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

NBA head coach.

NBA coaches are given all of the blame but rarely receive any of the credit.

The reason for these firings is a twofold. On one side of the equation, owners ask head coaches for immediate, unrealistic results, while the other problem lies in a lack of player accountability.

In today’s society, most importantly in the business world, instant gratification is at the forefront. The slower business owners are to see results, the more impatient they get.

The problem isn’t the necessarily the desire for instant results, but rather the unrealistic expectations behind them.

NBA coaches are held on a short leash, limited on team decisions, yet are required to go out and win a championship.

In the short-run, firing a head coach may put owners, fans, players and even the media at ease, but those organizations that take a ride on the coaching carousal seldom get off of it.

There is an imbalance of power between a head coach and the team’s players. This difference in hierarchy severely hinders a head coach in exercising all options he or she deems worthy of exploring in order to reach preset goals.

NBA coaches are set up for failure in the long-term. Long gone are the days of tenured coaches like Phil Jackson, Jerry Sloan, Gregg Popovich and Rick Carlisle.

Players possess too much organizational control. This directly relates to today’s millennial problem of wanting one’s own way — regardless of who suffers during the ride.

There doesn’t seem to be an immediate end to this trend.

Unfortunately, it ends up tarnishing the game as a whole.

POINTS

CHAD AUSTIN | ASSISTANT GRAPHICS EDITOR

→ WOMEN’S BBALL

changed in a positive way.”

Although the field of opponents for UTD is unclear after the first ers and good kids that want to be successful. And now that they have round, one thing is almost certain — all roads to the ASC title will go experience and now that they’ve gone through a season where maybe through fifth-ranked UT Tyler.

The Patriots enter the tournament as only the second team in conferwe don’t win 20 games … they’ll be able to use that as motivation ence history to finish the season with no losses to Eastern for their future — like a couple of teams in the past Division opponents. With a 24-1 record, the team is headhave here,” Thomason said. ing into the postseason as the heavy favorites to win the title.

Heading into the tournament, the team will be I just want my Thomason said for UTD to have a chance to upset facing off against Howard Payne University, the No. team to play for those expectations, the Comets will have to do three things: 1 seed in the ASC West. This year, HPU went 16-9, 40 minutes and defend, rebound and maintain possession of the ball. including a 68-57 win over the Comets when the two “If you’re going to play three games in a row, that third teams met on Jan. 2. make it a comgame in three games your shots might not be falling. You Thomason said for the team to have a chance to win plete game. might have dead legs, you might need to really rely on your its first round game, it will have to shut down HPU defense and your rebounding,” she said. “I feel confident guard Danyel Bradley, who is averaging 19.8 points per that we can do those things, that we have the foundation. game and shooting nearly 50 percent from the field.

Polly Thomason, It’s just going to be up to us on if we can do them or not.”

“She can do anything,” Thomason said. “She head coach As the team gears up to play in that first game, can shoot the three, attack off the dribble, I Thomason said she is unsure of her expectations. think that’s going to be our number one prior“I just want my team to play hard for 40 minutes ity — being able to contain her and limiting her and make it a complete game,” she said. “Play each possession one touches and limiting her good looks and open looks.”

Thomason also emphasized the need for the defense to step up to at a time and then play each quarter one at a time. Not have a bad quarter, not have consecutive bad possessions, but really try and give UTD a shot to advance.

Senior guard Jasmine Lopez, who transferred this year from UT put four solid quarters together and let’s see where we’re at at the Tyler and is the team’s third-highest active scorer, said the team has end of the game. We’ve only been able to do that two or three times this year and we’ve won those games handedly, but it’s the games regrouped since its loss to Howard Payne earlier this year.

“Looking back then, we aren’t the same team even though it was where we just have one bad quarter that have cost us. … I just need like a couple of months ago,” she said. “It’s crazy how our team has us to play four strong quarters and give ourselves a chance to play.”

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

COMICS&GAMES

GRAPHICS PEEP OF THE MONTH

FEB. 22, 2016 | THE MERCURY

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Xi’an, China in 1976 before moving to the United States in 1981.

Cong’s son, Yale, said his father moved to the United States to better his education after being caught up in the Cultural Revolution. When Cong arrived in the country, Yale said he did everything he could to learn English — including watching episode after episode of “Three’s Company.”

Once he finished mastering English, Cong moved on to studying Japanese, Korean and Russian. Yale said he also had a passion for reading, with books always filling his places of work.

“If you ever saw his office or our home, it was just bookshelves upon bookshelves of mostly nonfiction,” he said. “Stuff about technology, history, globalization — things like that.”

Yale also described his father as an avid traveler, with trips to national parks across the country being a norm in the family. He said when Cong first got to the United States, he even took trips by himself to cities to learn more about America.

“When he was a student, during the various academic breaks, he would just hop on random Greyhounds and just go to different U.S. cities by himself,” Yale said. “(He’d) have strangers take pictures of him with all the different monuments.”

Yale said Cong loved UTD during his quarter century of service at the university.

“Especially in this day and age, when everyone switches jobs pretty frequently, I guess to stay at one place for 20 years is telling of the respect he had for his colleagues and his students,” he said.

Fair, who grew to know Cong well and worked with him on an almost daily basis, said they were very close.

“All I can say is that he had my greatest respect and I thought of him as a very strong, academic person,” Fair said.

While Cong worked on American and Healthcare Studies, Allen’s focus in IS was on training teachers how to prepare for the workforce. Twenty of the 40 required field-training hours students in the Teacher Development Center required to graduate from the program were associated with Allen’s course “American Public School.”

Barbara Ashmore, an assistant director for the Teacher Development Center, said Allen was a tough teacher with high expectations, but he was always

there to support his students.

“One of the things he always did is he always arrived an hour early before class and he would sit out in the lobby. And students would come out and just sit and chat with him because he wanted to get to know them and he wanted them to get to know him,” she said.

Allen, who grew up poor in Louisiana and was the first member in his family to attend college, graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern State College of Louisiana in 1963 before obtaining his master’s from Louisiana Tech University in 1967.

After working in public schools in his home state for about 10 years, Allen moved to Dallas and worked for over 30 years in the Dallas Independent School District.

His wife, Rose Marie, said Allen had to work odd jobs in chicken slaughterhouses, a cafeteria and a tire shop just to make ends meet to get through college. She said his desire to help others is what drove him to overcome those obstacles.

“He actually started the disciplinary alternative schools in Dallas, which really were for children who had been expelled or suspended from school for disciplinary problems,” she said. “He actually started the first elementary alternative education program in the state, and there was a lot of school districts that would come to look at that program because it was so good.”

Rose Marie explained that Allen began working at UTD because he was motivated to show aspiring teachers how to excel.

“He had an absolute passion for teaching and he wanted to inspire people to be good teachers … but also (for them) to recognize that there was nothing more important to children than a single caring adult, and that for so many children — particularly in urban school districts — they didn’t have that. And that if a teacher, a good teacher, could be that for them, then there was nothing they couldn’t overcome,” she said.

Fair said Allen earned the respect of his students from his years of work in the field.

“He really was the kind of person that could bring reality to talk about his experience and talk about the kind of experiences he has had as a teacher and as a principal and as an administrator in a school district,” he said.

Fair said the school has temporary replacements to fill in for Cong and Allen while it searches for long-term professors to take their place.

“We’re just going to make sure that students don’t suffer a disadvantage because of their passing, even though that’s hard to do,” he said.

We’re just going to make sure that students don't suffer a disadvantage because of their passing, even though that’s hard to do.

—George Fair, Dean of School of Interdisciplinary Studies

THE MERCURY | FEB. 22, 2016

NEWS → MARRIAGE

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

“In Islam, it is written that you have your soul mate written, and if it is the right person then God will guide you,” she said. “You may not know it at the time, but God is the best of planners.” *** On Mar. 13, Mendha’s and Rafiq’s families met for the first time. After eating dinner, Mendha’s mother asked Rafiq if she loved her son. Once Rafiq said yes, the unexpected happened.

“He pulled out his mom’s ring at that moment and asked,” she said. “My sister was freaking out.”

She stepped aside for a few moments to consider the proposal. She spoke with her family about whether or not it was the right decision.

After praying and considering the proposal, Rafiq said yes that night.

“I see what my dad sees,” she said. “(Mendha)

→ CAMPAIGNING

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

up their time and energy to come together and support him made me feel happy — it made me feel like I was part of something bigger.”

In light of the upcoming Texas primary on Mar. 1, Saraf said the local Sanders campaign plans to focus on canvassing and phone banking to increase candidate name recognition. After the primary, the campaign intends to start distributing flyers and implementing other modes of raising awareness.

Sanders’ campaign has gained popularity among millennials, particularly among college students, with the senator from New Hampshire leading Hillary Clinton by 41 percentage points among college students in a recent poll by Chegg.

Sesha Dasari, a finance and computer science freshman, said she was compelled to join Sanders’ campaign because of his push to make college education free.

“So many of us didn’t get the opportunity to go to other schools that we got into because we couldn’t pay the tuition,” she said.

Dasari first heard about the Sanders campaign through a Facebook event for a rally. After her roommate convinced her to attend, Dasari called the local campaign team to ask about volunteering opportunities. Since then, she has worked on promoting Sanders through social media.

“I support him on Facebook — I share quotes and pictures and I like his posts,” Dasari said. “Social media is a really important part of any campaign.”

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really wanted to make this work, and he was very supportive during the whole thing.”

She is also happy that Mendha shares her values and supports her career goals.

“Atif is absolutely amazing and the sweetest person ever,” Rafiq said. “I think part of the benefit was that he never had a relationship before so he really cherishes what we have now and we are getting to grow together.”

She also said she valued her parents’ opinions and decisions during the process, because they were looking for someone who would be good for her in the long run.

“I’m glad I left it to my parents because they’ve been in a relationship. They’ve done an arranged thing.

They know what qualities are needed,” Rafiq said.

Rafiq and Mendha’s wedding ceremony is set for August. Rafiq said planning a wedding while also attending school full-time is difficult, but she is looking forward to being married to her fiancé.

Even though she trusts her parents’ decision, she said the process can still be scary.

“It is nerve wracking,” Rafiq said “But I think we had enough faith in our parents to do the right thing.”

In addition to social media, academic experiences also play a role in promoting student involvement in election campaigns. History and political science senior Robby Dube joined Greg Abbott’s 2014 campaign for Texas governor for a class assignment. He has since volunteered for Pete Sessions’ congressional campaign and Jeb Bush’s presidential campaign.

Dube learned about an opening for a UTD student leader position at Bush’s campaign while spending last spring in Washington, DC as an Archer Fellow.

“People aren’t aware of the fact that joining a campaign is exceptionally easy — you can just email someone and say, ‘Hey, I’d like to volunteer on the campaign,’” Dube said. “They’re open because they need people desperately.”

Dasari encouraged student involvement in the presidential election, saying politics and policies will play a critical role in the future — especially for millennials.

“Stay involved by being aware of what’s happening,” Dasari said. “Join clubs, go on Facebook pages, listen to speeches and get to know more about each candidate before making a decision.

This opportunity doesn’t come around (very) often.”

Saraf agreed with these sentiments. He said it’s easy for college students in today’s world to be overwhelmed with information. Making the effort to join a campaign, he said, allowed him to break free of that constraint and formulate his own opinions.

“As students, it feels like we’re being pushed one way and then pushed the other way. Just having the opportunity to be a part of something you choose for yourself and being surrounded by similar, likeminded people is a very liberating experience,” Saraf said. “It’s something you can look back on in 15 or 20 years and say, ‘I was part of history.’”

Just having the opportunity to be a part of something you choose for yourself and being surrounded by similar, like minded people is a very liberating experience.

— Vihan Saraf, Sanders campaign volunteer

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THE MERCURY | FEB. 22, 2016

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