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April 27, 2015

WHAT'S BELOW // RICHARDSON MAYOR UNDER INVESTIGATION

NONCOMPLIANT?

THE MERCURY | UTDMERCURY.COM

Former student indicted for gun in dorm room Shotgun found under bed, seized by campus police last September CARA SANTUCCI Mercury Staff

A former student is set to appear in court on May 7, eight months after UTD police say it found a shotgun in his Res Hall South dorm room.

According to Collin County sheriff’s office arrest records, Natas Centner Hastings, who also went

by Jason Tate, was arrested on September 21 by UTD police and charged with having a weapon in a prohibited place. Hasting’s attorney, Vanita Parker, declined to comment at this HASTINGS time.

The affidavit states that Hastings’ foster mother had seen him post photos of a shotgun in his dorm room on Facebook and contacted the police, wanting to know if weapons were allowed on campus.

UTD Chief of Police Larry Zacharias said officers went to Hastings’ room and received no response.

Citing safety issues, officers decided to enter the

→ SEE HASTINGS, PAGE 14

Richardson mayor focus of ethics investigation

ATEC revising doctoral program after complaint, third party investigation

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY MIGUEL PEREZ & ARUN PRASATH | MERCURY STAFF

ANWESHA BHATTACHARJEE Web Editor

T

he Southern Association of Colleges and Schools reviewed, starting in 2013, UTD and the Arts and Technology program after accusations were made by a student that the program was not up to academic standards.

While the ATEC program was cleared on all counts as of June 2014,

the university awaits a decision on two counts of compliance.

The review was initiated after a former ATEC doctoral student, Leslie McMillin, filed a complaint in 2013 with SACS, the accrediting institution for UTD, alleging lack of discursive rigor in the ATEC Ph.D. program.

There were various complaints: claims that masters and doctoral students were required to take classes together; faculty teaching masters classes

that they were not qualified to instruct and that the program only had two core courses and far too many independent study courses, McMillin said.

While the structure of the program at the time McMillin attended the ATEC doctoral program (2010 – 2012) allowed a student to take many independent study courses, there were no discrepancies in regard to faculty

Mercury Staff

City determining if code was violated in development project ANWESHA BHATTACHARJEE Web Editor

Richardson city council is being investigated for a potential ethics violation after Mayor Laura Maczka resigned from her position and took a job with a company that was granted a major city contract during her tenure.

Fort Worth attorney George Staples is investigating the issue and the report is due April 28.

In 2013-14, JP Realty Partners applied for a rezoning for a vacant land lot next to Canyon Creek to build a complex with offices, retail spaces and apartments. The project, now MACZKA known as Palisades Villages, is currently under construction.

→ SEE MACZKA, PAGE 16

PLUS +

A recent amendment to the Texas state budget has proposed a $3 million cut from HIV and STD prevention programs and diverts the funding to abstinence education.

In 2013, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that Texas had approximately $40 million in HIV/AIDS funding and approximately $8 million in STD programs.

That money went toward the Texas State Health Department, as well as prevention and testing programs. Texas in particular has the third highest number of HIV diagnoses in the country.

Christine Mann, the press officer for the Texas Department of State Health Services, said it was too early to tell what kind of impact the amendment will have on the agency, which funds over 70 programs at various institutions in the state.

The bill, authored by Republican Representative Stuart Spitzer, passed 97-47 in the Texas House on March 31. The amendment will now go through the Texas Senate.

According to the CDC, most diagnoses of HIV occur between the ages of 20 and 24.

The rate is even higher for gay and bisexual men in that age range.

The Student Wellness Center offers free HIV testing once a month with the help of the Aids Healthcare Foundation, a global organization that provides medicine and advocacy regardless of a patient’s ability to pay.

Kacey Sebeniecher, the wellness coordina-

Club sports claim big victories // PG 12

tor at the center, expects the reduction in funding to manifest itself in the HIV diagnosis rate.

“In my professional opinion, I would say that we are probably going to see an increase in HIV among what we already have (in Texas), which is high,” Sebeniecher said. “They cut this funding, I would imagine those rates would continue to go up.”

Since the Wellness Center is funded through the university rather than through the state, the amendment should not have an effect on its finances, Sebeniecher said.

Bret Camp, the Texas Regional Director of AHF, is working with the foundation’s advocacy programs to kill the legislation before it comes to the Senate.

“Texas has got some of the highest rates of HIV in the nation, yet we have got a very conservative legislation and while abstinence is a very good method of preventing HIV and STDs, it’s also the method that fails the most often,” Camp said.

→ SEE STD, PAGE 5

Student details life with HIV CARA SANTUCCI Mercury Staff

Nobel laureate Amartya Sen visits campus // PG 7

// see pg. 16 for more

State proposes budget cuts for STD prevention programs CARA SANTUCCI

The site of the Palisades project. Mayor Maczka took a job with the project's developer in April.

SACS placed UTD under review for eight out of 93 principles in June 2013.

→ SEE ATEC, PAGE 16

Texas House calls for $3 million reduction in funding

ANDREW GALLEGOS | ASST. PHOTO EDITOR

SACS REPORT

Austin Mordahl vividly remembers the exact moment he was notified he tested positive for HIV. “It was like a scary movie,” Mordahl said.

“I got a letter in the mail stamped confidential from Carter Blood Services. It was absolutely terrifying.”

Mordahl, a software engineering freshman, received the news after trying to donate blood

in August of 2014. He was then referred to the Health Service of North Texas, a nonprofit organization with an HIV program that refers patients to the appropriate doctor to begin treatment. His insurance covers his prescription medication, which, according to Mordahl, can run about $2,500 for a thirtyday supply.

“Every three months, I have to go in and

→ SEE AUSTIN, PAGE 5

cases of HIV in Texas for 2013 graphic by Miguel Perez

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THE MERCURY UTDMERCURY.COM Volume XXXV No. 8 Editor-in-Chief Miguel Perez

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Mailing Address 800 West Campbell Road, SU 24 Richardson, TX 75080-0688 Newsroom Student Union, Student Media Suite SU 1.601 FIRST COPY FREE NEXT COPY 25 CENTS The Mercury is published on Mondays, at two-week intervals during the long term of The University of Texas at Dallas, except holidays and exam periods, and once every four weeks during the summer term.

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NEWS

THE MERCURY | APRIL 27, 2015

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UTDPD Blotter April 13 t " TUVEFOU SFQPSUFE UIBU IJT CJLF XBT taken in Phase 1 at 11:46 a.m. t " TUVEFOU SFQPSUFE UIBU IFS CJLF XBT stolen in Res Hall West at 12:04 p.m.

April 15 t " TUVEFOU SFQPSUFE UIF UIFGU PG IJT bicycle at the School of Management at 12:02 p.m. t " TUVEFOU SFQPSUFE UIF UIFGU PG IFS cell phone at the McDermott Library at 10:56 p.m.

April 16 t " TUVEFOU SFQPSUFE UIBU GSBVE IBE been committed against them at 4:37 p.m.

April 17 t " TUVEFOU SFQPSUFE UIBU B 65% WFhicle struck her left side with the passenger side view mirror at the Green Center at 2:28 p.m.

April 20 t " TUVEFOU SFQPSUFE UIBU TIF XBT CFing harassed by a male student through phone calls and texts.

April 22 t " TUVEFOU SFQPSUFE XJUOFTTJOH B WFhicle striking an unattended vehicle and leaving the scene at Parking Structure III at 9:39 a.m.

April 23 t " TUVEFOU SFQPSUFE UIBU IJT CJDZDMF was stolen from Res Hall West between April 13 and April 22.

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APRIL 27, 2015 | THE MERCURY | UTDMERCURY.COM

Homeless youth face uphill fight

Misunderstanding of struggles young adults face when living through homelessness leads to stigmatization, scapegoating PABLO ARAUZ COMMENTARY

Jose is having a bad day. He can’t concentrate at his job because of the crushing stress that constantly eats at him and will leave him emotionally unstable for years to come. He graduated college last spring, but he lives on a friend’s couch not far from work.

Although that friend might as well be a stranger, the two met at a party, and the only thing they have in a common is their taste in music and frequent use of alcohol.

Jose doesn’t really like to drink. He only does it to forget about how his family became so broke in the aftermath of the Great Recession that they can’t afford to take care of him, so as of late, he doesn’t have a place to call home. Homeless meaning he sleeps on couches, sometimes in his car and occasionally sleeps outside.

Jose is lucky that he graduated last spring and made it this far, but he doesn’t have the experience to get a better job. School ate up his time. He tries to save money, but he doesn’t make enough at his minimum wage job. He has to pay for gas for his car, food to eat and other necessities. There’s barely enough to save up at the end of the week.

Sometimes his grandfather helps him with money, but Jose doesn’t feel right asking him for help because he has his own problems.

At work, Jose doesn’t have many friends. Most of them think he’s just dirty and lazy. Most days, he’s just tired from working late shifts. Other days, he doesn’t even bother showing up, even if it costs him money. While nothing catastrophic happened today, he only partly feels like he can make it to tomorrow. It’ll be a miracle if he does.

One might say that all he needs to do is get his

JUSTIN THOMPSON | MERCURY STAFF

priorities straight, stop drinking and work harder, even though that’s shortsighted and much easier said than done. He’s struggled to get to this point and continues to work hard to stay there. No matter what other people think, Jose’s condition is not his fault. *** Jose isn’t a real person, but his story resonates with the lives of some American millennials still dealing with the blowback of the Great Recession and its impact on the economic well being of communities and families like his. Although, his case is a very specific one, most young and homeless adults can’t go to college for one reason or another.

Even in 2015, while the economy is in a debatable “full recovery”, people like Jose have to live their

lives hand-to-mouth.

According to the 2013 data in “The Age and Structure of Contemporary Homelessness: Evidence and Implications for Public Policy,” people in their twenties make up roughly 25 percent of the homeless population. This is a high rate compared to previous generations and much of this is due to the high unemployment rate.

In a 2014 report published by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, 19 out of every 10,000 people living in the United States are homeless. The same data shows that there are roughly 600,000 homeless living America, including people with families, young adults and veterans.

There’s indisputable evidence that this generation has faced some hard times and will continue to

do so if the right actions aren’t taken. According to a 2013 report from the Pew Research Center, millennials have seen higher unemployment than previous generations of the past 50 years, and the housing bubble, rising debt and bad banking practices have contributed to this problem.

In a country where politicians blame people like Jose for being entitled while they pander to their constituencies for votes by promising improvements in the economy, homelessness is still an ever-present problem. It’s cruel and unusual to blame a victim who’s stuck in a hole and then tell him to get a job.

Yet it’s comforting for them to blame a scapegoat for some of the country’s economic problems – a homeless peon in the eyes of a politician. Many people — such as Jose’s classmates — buy that rhetoric.

I know people like Jose. I’ve even been on the verge myself and I don’t think the blame should be entirely cast on millenials for their faults. Some are there to escape an abusive household, others come from economically privileged families but their conditions are influenced by intrinsic factors, such as their identity or life view, that don’t fit the conventional status quo. Others even get kicked out for their belief system. Meanwhile, the LGBTQI community is grossly affected by rampant homelessness. Jose’s story is not a specific case but it can happen to anyone.

In order to take action, I think the community should support initiatives that raise awareness on the modern issues of homelessness. On the national level, voters should elect politicians that are making efforts to combat the policies that influence homelessness.

If you or someone you know is in a situation like Jose’s, don’t be afraid to speak up or lend a hand by giving them a place to stay or even giving them a ride. You can also reach out to your local church or community center to volunteer and help combat the general problem of homelessness.

EDITOR SIGNING OFF This is the last issue of The Mercury until June, when a new management team will take the reins. To our readers; thank you for giving us your time and consideration. To my staff; your work is appreciated, and it was truly a pleasure working with all of you. To our advisors and Darla; thank you for your support. Good luck to all our graduating seniors in Student Media.

— Miguel Perez, Editor-in-Chief

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COMET COMMENTS

“What features would you like to see added to Northside at UTD?”

Tell us what you think about Northside at UTD and answer our poll at www.utdmercury.com.

“I know it’s a little bit “Two things that I would like are a bar “It would be nice to have childish, but a park, because that’s always nice type of place to just an Italian restaurant like to have. Something to chill and grab a beer a bistro, maybe. I think hang out around and or some sort of boba that would be really relieve stress and probor tea shop because cute.” ably a nice coffee house most of them are around there, too.” currently inaccessible unless you have a car.”

Alex Charles Austin Schmidt Andrew John Biomedical engineering Psychology senior Biology senior freshman

RESULTS FROM LAST ISSUE Do you think businesses should have the right to deny service to groups of people based on their religous beliefs?

87% No

13% Yes

The online poll was open from April 13 to April 26 and had 31 participants.

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THE MERCURY | APRIL 27, 2015

IN THE AFTERMATH Armenian Heritage Club remembers genocide victims with lecture

NEWS

UTDMERCURY.COM

GENOCIDE IN THE 20TH CENTURY Genocide became a crime in 1948 when the United Nations approved the Convention of the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. This included acts “meant to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.”

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE Parties that do not recognize the genocide: Turkey, the United States, the European Commission, the United Kingdom and the United Nations.

COURTNEY GINGER Mercury Staff

In 1915, 1.5 million Armenians were slaughtered at the hands of the Ottoman Empire.

Barely 30 years later, 11 million perished in the Holocaust.

In 1994, about 800,000 people died in Rwanda.

Throughout time, genocide has left an enduring impact on history.

The Armenian Heritage Club hosted the second lecture on April 16 in a series dedicated to raising awareness about the Armenian Genocide and its role in the upstart of the Holocaust.

Professor for Holocaust Studies David Patterson said that Adolf Hitler used the systematic massacre of Armenian Christians by the leaders of the Ottoman Empire as a model for the Holocaust.

“Hitler saw the First World War as the camouflage for the mass murder of the Armenians,” Patterson said, “Hitler later referred to the Second World War as the camouflage for the extermination of the Jews”.

Patterson said that those who deny an ethical obligation to care for each other are the very people that perpetuate and encourage genocides to happen to this day.

“One of the most basic things about the Holocaust and any genocide really is the question of what makes the life of another human being matter — about what imparts value onto another human being,” he said.

April is designated as Genocide Awareness and Prevention Month; it is meant to recognize all genocides and aims to take action against present and possible massacres.

“A genocide unrecognized begets another genocide,” said Shant Aghyarian, founder of the Armenian Heritage Club and biomedical engineering graduate student.

Aghyarian said in raising awareness for the millions of people slaughtered around the world, the Armenian Heritage Club hopes to put an end to genocide violence.

April 24th is Remembrance Day for the Armenian Genocide as it marks the conventional starting date of the genocide in 1915. From April 20 to April 24 students organized a Genocide Memorial exhibit at the Plinth.

“As an Armenian, it’s kind of led me to think that there’s more to life than just being successful. It’s about knowing that because we had to suffer maybe someone in the future won’t have to suffer quite as much,” said Lena Ohanian, EMAC sophomore and president of the Armenian Heritage Club.

Ohanian said accepting that genocides have happened, as a part of human history doesn’t mean that they have to continue into the future. She said that Genocide Awareness month is meant to get people talking about past pain for a better tomorrow.

Patterson stated that more than the mass murder, genocide is patricide, matricide and infanticide.

“The world didn’t say anything about the Armenian Genocide,“ Patterson said. “The world’s been silent through every genocide… so say something and be something and don’t get lost in a labyrinth of despair when you look at this darkness.”

THE HOLOCAUST Approximately six million Jewish people were killed by the Nazi regime across Europe during World War II, and five million non-Jewish victims perished including Poles, communists, homosexual people and the mentally and physically disabled.

RWANDAN GENOCIDE Approximately 800,000 people were killed in ethnic violence between Hutus and Tutsis.

= 100,000 DEATHS SOURCE: UNITED HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL, ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HUMAN RIGHTS

UTDMERCURY.COM

NEWS

News anchor graduates from doctoral program WFAA-TV’s John McCaa finishes with Ph.D. in History of Ideas MICHAEL GORDON Mercury Staff

Known for his straightforward broadcasting on WFAA’s nightly newscast, John McCaa isn’t a typical student.

McCaa graduated from UTD with his Ph.D. from the History of Ideas program last month.

It took him seven years, but he said it was a wonderful experience.

McCaa said making the decision to come back to school wasn’t easy. Finding the right balance in his MCCAA life could be challenging at times, he said.

As conventional media outlets are making the transition to a focus on digital techniques of providing news, McCaa said he felt a drive to continue his education.

“Journalism is changing, and we have to learn to embrace the world in a different way,” McCaa said. “It was perfect for me. I wanted to broaden my own mind on where we came from and where we are going.”

Daniel Wickberg, associate professor in American studies, served as McCaa’s dissertation adviser throughout his time in the program “I think he really had to push himself and learn an entirely new set of skills that went beyond his journalistic background and training, but he was always eager to do so,” Wickberg said. “I am thoroughly impressed by his character, humility and intellectual openness.”

McCaa met with professors from the school of arts and humanities to collaborate on his dissertation papers, including Dean Terry, associate professor and director of the EMAC program.

“They were all great; Dean Terry, professor Towner, Dr. Wickberg, Dr. Channell and professor Nils,” McCaa said.

McCaa — who has covered stories ranging from the terrorist attacks on 9/11 to the John F. Kennedy Jr. plane crash — first got interested in broadcasting as a high school student in Madrid, Spain, where his father was stationed on an Air Force base.

His fascination with the radio quickly turned

into a passion for communication. As a senior, he worked as an intern at American Forces Network Spain, the only available radio station.

“My time working in the internship at the station peaked my fascination and is what sparked my passion for broadcasting,” he said.

He went on to receive his undergraduate degree in journalism and mass communications from Creighton University and a Master’s in political science from the University of Dallas.

Now, McCaa is more interested in balancing school and life.

“The History of Ideas program fascinated me and also gave me the flexibility to write my dissertations while keeping my life in harmony,” McCaa said.

As a local public figure, McCaa said it was important to him to maintain a low profile.

“I made an attempt to dress like a graduate student as much as possible,” McCaa said Although McCaa tried to stay inconspicuous on campus, when approached he would engage students on intellectual topics and his knowledge of broadcasting.

“If the students wanted to talk about television or the news, I’m happy to share,” McCaa said.

He said he felt the pressure of any other college student to focus on grades.

“If I’m talking to a student about getting the best grade, I will tell them, ‘If this teacher is giving out one A, you are going to have to fight me to get it,’” McCaa said.

During lectures, discussions of historical events like the Vietnam War allowed McCaa to bring firsthand knowledge to the class, having lived through it.

McCaa said he has seen the campus grow exponentially since enrolling in 2008 with the number of students doubling.

“It’s a whole new campus,” McCaa said. “It really makes you feel like you are part of this exciting vision for the future” Juggling a full-time broadcasting job, a family and school, McCaa said finding moments of solitude was an around-the-clock endeavor.

“This is actually the first weekend since 2008 that my wife and I haven’t had anything schoolrelated that I had to worry about,” McCaa said.

As for the future, he said he sees himself lecturing at universities on the changes of media in society.

THE MERCURY | APRIL 27, 2015

→ STD

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

“We need to continue to support all forms of sexual health practices to reduce HIV and STDs.” The AHF, along with several other advocacy groups across the state, is focusing its energy on advocating for the dismissal of this amendment.

The foundation has taken several different actions, from talking to Texas legislators to sending representatives to Austin.

“I would like to think that the advocacy efforts will have an effect on keeping this from becoming anything more than an amendment right now, but we will remain on top of it,” Camp said.

Ashley Gentry, a literary studies sophomore, will be the vice president of Pride, a student organization supporting LGBTQ students, next year. Gentry sees the budget amendment as a danger to the health of sexually active individuals.

“This bill is basically ignoring the problem,” Gentry said. “People with HIV need those ser-

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vices to survive. We need to teach people how to be safe in sexual situations to avoid new cases and to help people conduct themselves in a way that will keep them safe.”

College students at risk of HIV and STDs often rely on community programs to keep themselves informed and safe, Camp said.

He said students who are on their parents’ insurance plans are more likely to seek out sexual health services that could be offered through state funding so their parents will not find out.

“I would expect that this (amendment) would put a strain on already thin and valuable resources,” Camp said.

Although the budget amendment is far from being finalized, Camp recalls the first HIV outbreaks in the U.S. in the ’80s and expressed concern about the future with this bill.

“So many of my friends lost their lives to HIV and AIDS,” Camp said. “That’s something that the college generation in 2015 never saw and I don’t want them to see it. It’s important to learn from our errors in the ’80s and ’90s so that we can get to a time when HIV is eradicated.”

MIGUEL PEREZ | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

→ AUSTIN

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

get a full panel of tests done and the insurance doesn’t fully cover that,” Mordahl said. “Even if you do have your medicine fully covered, it’s still very expensive and inconvenient.”

If Mordahl were to have a lapse in his insurance policy, HSNT would work with him to get on state programs to be covered for medicine, the funding for which would be impacted by the budget amendment.

Mordahl believes the solution to Texas’ high rates of HIV and STDs lies in an improved education curriculum.

“We need to educate students. Tell them how (STDs) can be transmitted and how they can’t be transmitted,” Mordahl said. “Even more important than that is what you do if you test positive,

because that is one of the most scary things that can happen to you.”

Although his health is good and his treatment is managed, Mordahl still faces regular discrimination when informing others of his condition.

“I think the worst thing about having HIV is just the social stigma,” Mordahl said. “I’m essentially not a risk to anyone else. As soon as you tell people (about being HIV positive), they don’t want anything to do with you.”

Mordahl expressed concern about the future of those at risk of catching HIV if the proposed budget amendment passes in the Texas Senate.

“Unless you want to relegate yourself to that subhuman status that so many people like me have had to deal with, then you need to care about this bill,” Mordahl said. “If it’s not you (that’s affected), it might be somebody that you love.”

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THE MERCURY | APRIL 27, 2015

NEWS

UTDMERCURY.COM

Profs discuss impact of religious freedom law Indiana’s religious freedom law fuels talks as campaigns begin, Supreme Court inches toward ruling on same-sex marriage NIDHI GOTGI

business-oriented Republicans.

Pence is considering running for president in the 2016 campaign and his chances are affected by the enA month after Indiana Gov. Mike Pence passed an actment of this law, Lowry said. amendment protecting LGBTQ citizens from discrimi“This did not help his chances,” Lowery said. “He apnation in the state’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act, proved the original law, and if you listened to the interest the law’s implementation could have an effect on an groups that supported it, they were supporting exactly upcoming Supreme Court ruling and the presidential what the critics were against.” elections.

Champagne said he believes the IRFRA won’t Pence approved the amendment to the have an effect on the presidential election.

Champagn y IRFRA on April 2. The original act passed “I can see this becoming an issue if the n caused controversy over whether it it simSupreme Court decides the way I think it will...,” Champagne said. “But I’m not ply gave people more leeway to practice sure this is a big enough issue to have legs the mandates of their religion or if it alto continue into the presidential election lowed businesses to discriminate against absent that Supreme Court decision.” customers.

There are two implications to this law.

Before the amendment, the act gave busiOne, it’s not limited to Indiana because a similar nesses a strong defense if they denied service to cusresponse was heard for an identical law in Arkansas. tomers of the LGBTQ community by allowing them to “The other thing — the more important thing — use their religious beliefs to justify their actions.

After receiving backlash for signing the law, Pence is the extraordinarily negative reaction by the business community,” Champagne said. “I think that that has made a statement before approving the amendments.

“I called upon the Indiana General Assembly to clarify been quite remarkable; where the business community that this new judicial standard would not create a license has basically said, ‘We don’t want this law. It’s bad for the to discriminate or to deny services to any individual as its state’s reputation, it’s bad for business and we’re opposed to this law.’” critics have alleged,” Pence said in the statement.

Supporters of LGBTQ rights and corporations such The political context within which it was passed inas Angie’s List, Apple Inc. and the NCAA procreases its controversial impact. On April 28, the Supreme Court will begin to hear oral argutested the original law’s approval. owry, EPPS There are two things that make the IRments about whether or not laws against tL same sex marriage are a violation of the FRA especially controversial, Champagne equal protection clause. said. First, the IRFRA had no provision “Many people, including myself, belike Texas’s does where the RFRA doesn’t supersede civil rights laws. lieve that the Supreme Court will hold The standard held over the past 50 years that laws against same-sex marriage violate is that those involved in commerce need to the equal protection clause,” said political sciserve all the public, Lowry said. Government has ence professor Anthony Champagne. “I think the perception of the Indiana law is (that) it is so close in to consider that if it let’s people use religion as a basis to time to this Supreme Court case that this was a way of justify their actions, it becomes a convenient excuse that providing a legal justification to discriminate against could cover the real reasons.

“My first reaction was, ‘Why do we need the law at what will soon be legal same-sex marriage.”

This law, which will be enacted on July 1, will have an all?’,” Lowry said. “Although, I tend to agree with the effect on the Republican primaries, said Robert Lowry, way the federal law has it — which is government acprofessor and program head in the School of Economic, tions that interfere with religious practices require a Political and Policy Sciences. He also thinks it will deepen the divide between Republican social conservatives, → SEE RFRA, PAGE 16 who are aligned with thereligious right, and mainstream,

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Activists protesting SB 101, Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration bill, at the Indiana State Capital.

THE RELIGIOUS FREEDOM LAW FEDERAL

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SO WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE? The federal religious freedom law protects businesses from government actions that threaten their religious freedom and doesn’t apply to disputes between private parties. Indiana’s original bill shielded businesses by allowing it to use religion as a defense to justify their actions.

“ “

A second difference is that the federal act and most of the other state acts apply to actions that substantially infringe on religious freedom, whereas the language in the Indiana law said ‘likely to substantially infringe’ so that seems to make it more speculative, Lowry said.

The Supreme Court said where you have a general law where the purpose and effect of the law is neither to advance nor to hinder religion, any incidental effect that the law has on the free exercise of religion is allowed, Champagne said. So, what the RFRAs passed by these states have basically tried to do is change that standard. That standard is called the secular rule.

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THE MERCURY | APRIL 27, 2015

LIFE&ARTS

THE MEANING OF LAUGHTER

UTDMERCURY.COM

Nobel laureate in economics discusses gender

ALBERT RAMIREZ | STAFF

Amartya Sen, recipient of the 1998 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, visited campus April 25 to speak about his work.

PRIYANKA HARDIKAR Mercury Staff

ALL PHOTOS BY RANJIT SREENIVAS | MERCURY STAFF

Senior lecturer Kathy Lingo performs with her Improv students during their comedy show on April 15 in the Jonsson Performance Hall.

Improv course, professor encourages personal growth through art of comedy PRIYANKA HARDIKAR Mercury Staff

For an hour every Monday and Wednesday, Kathy Lingo welcomes her improv classes into the state of crazy – as she calls it – a place that bursts with energy and expression, frees the brain and liberates the soul and heart.

“The way we condense our world now is we go to class, have meetings, have our jobs and go home, but when do we get to explore that part of our brain that the real humor or spirit of life comes from?” Lingo said.

“We need that mental release.”

Improv, the form of theater where almost all of what is performed is created at the spur of the moment goes back centuries. Before people began writing scripts, they were telling stories by acting them out.

Lingo, who has been teaching improv classes that are open to all majors since 2008, says that no one skit is alike because nothing is ever scripted.

“The reason why improv is so important to me is because of the way that it stimulates the creative brain,” Lingo said.

On April 15, Lingo’s Improv I and II classes hosted a comedy show at the Jonsson Performance Hall, where the students performed their favorite improv scenes from class.

“The only thing I can promise is if we didn’t offend you, please sign a card out front, so we make sure we get you next time,” Lingo said.

And the students will keep their clothes on, Lingo reassured the crowd.

She introduced the topics, followed by an “and scene,” and the show took off. Improv I performed first with the topics “theft: jewelry store,” “children: Lost Boys,” “conflict,” “geriatric” and “silent crime.”

An Improv I student, senior Emily Joyce, por-

trayed three characters during the show. The arts and performance student brought to life the characters of Mickey Mouse, the Road Runner and a bad cop who likes donuts a little too much.

An important part of developing these characters was mastering the voice, Joyce said. While growing up, Mickey Mouse, the Road Runner and Alvin and the Chipmunks were all characters she enjoyed watching and imitating.

“For Mickey, I made sure to have a funny looking walk, something that says ‘character’ to the audience and makes them laugh,” Joyce said. “But the voice is the key to playing him.”

The Basics of Improv In the first six weeks of Improv I, Lingo teaches the fundamentals of improv, including the 14 rules students learn and channel.

The first rule is to never say no to what other actors are saying but to just go with it. Other important rules include listening to what other members are saying without speaking over them, projecting vocally and avoiding the blocking of others while performing.

Each class, Lingo assigns a different topic.

The topic can be anything, as long as it can be used to create a good story.

Lingo said it is important to know what constructs a story, the environment, conflict and since it is a comedy, the bigger conflict.

“We have these perceptions of the way the world is supposed to be, and improv is about breaking what we expect to happen and so we laugh,” Lingo said.

Improv has always pushed Joyce to take a dif-

ferent, less predictable path.

After college, Joyce has many dreams she hopes to achieve, but nothing is fixed, she said, and that is the beauty of it. She started performing at the age of 10, after her mom took her to plays as a child.

One of her dreams is to try out for The Groundlings, an improvisation and sketch comedy theatre in Los Angeles, and to start doing improv with the professionals on SNL. “Dreams make us reach for the unattainable and strive to attain it, but often leave us with the horrible sense that we have no direction in life,” Joyce said. “The truth is we have many different options open to us and it is perfectly okay — a little bit frightening but okay — that I have absolutely no idea what I am doing after college.”

But the uncertainties in the future and even in the upcoming skit topics are all a part of what set apart improv from other theatre forms. Not knowing the topics makes it more important to just live in the moment and truly listen to what the other person is saying, Lingo said.

One class was dedicated to “elderly day,” where everyone takes up a role that is 65 years or older.

Another class was “children’s day,” where the focus falls on achieving a unique childlike quality and playfulness.

At the beginning of the course, Lingo spends time with students observing people, but not to criticize them, she said.

They look at people to love them and to identify what makes them different.

The Brooklyn cop Joyce portrayed during the show was inspired by her visit to New York, when she spoke with a heavilyaccented Brooklyn police officer. Since their encounter, Joyce has been working to perfect that accent.

→ SEE IMPROV, PAGE 10

million – more than the casualties Gender inequality takes on many from World War I and World War faces, Nobel laureate Amartya Sen II put together, according to the Gendercide Awareness Project said.

Sen said although his primary It can be seen the moment culfocus lies in southeast Asia, some tural perceptions push a parent to desire a baby boy instead of a baby of the issues he addresses do have a girl. But when that parent decides claim globally.

For example, modern Japan has to turn to sex-selective abortion as a result of the gender inequality, the no particular gender bias in school global phenomenon becomes gen- or healthcare, yet Japanese women dercide — the killing of a specific seem to have relative difficulty in gender as a result of human choice securing high leadership positions in science and technology, Sen said. and behavior.

Some biases often form at an exSen, who was awarded the 1998 Nobel Memorial Prize for his con- tremely young age — a time when tributions to welfare economics and social factors and patterns greatly is now a professor at Harvard, ad- influence the minds of children, he dressed gendercide and the survival said.

“The upbringing in family is esand empowerment of women at the ATEC building sential, but the on April 24. upbringing in the Unless you Sen said the society in which desire to change you go is even have a certain the world isn’t out more essential,” kind of optiof the ordinary, Sen said. “Edumism, you will but is a thought cating you has that inevitably never be able to the effect for you passes through to meet people do anything of every child’s mind of different backsometime in his or grounds. No one significance. her lifetime. person follows the “I can’t think same practice.” of a point when Rape is an— Amartya Sen I didn’t want to other issue Sen bring a change in concentrates on. the world, nor can I think of a point In 2010, the rate of recorded rapes when my classmates didn’t lecture per 100,000 people was 1.8 in India me on how they wanted to change – one of the lowest in the world, acthe world,” Sen said. cording to the United Nations. Sen Sen is the author of almost 50 said this rate does not reflect reality, books and hundreds of essays that as a majority of rapes committed fail have been translated into more than to get reported. thirty languages across the world.

He said there is a rate of 2.8 rapes He created the first model for mea- per 100,000 people in Delhi alone, suring gendercide in a paper pub- one of the highest in the country.

“It is remarkable that Delhi has lished in 1990 and discovered that 100 million women were missing a recorded rate that is nine times as a result of discriminatory actions. worse than Kolkata’s,” Sen said. “No Other forms of gendercide in- matter how unfriendly to women clude female infanticide, gross ne- Indian society may or may not be, glect of girls, maternal death that there is no reason why Delhi cannot is indefinitely preventable and the even come close to making the capiinability of older women to access tal of India as safe as the other cities food and shelter, he said. of India already are.”

Now the estimated number of → SEE SEN, PAGE 10 missing women has risen to 117

Student government VP tackles homelessness Sophomore to publish book raising awareness for destitute teens NIDHI GOTGI Mercury Staff

Nancy Fairbank sat in a dimly lit, narrow room on a solitary couch with a homeless teenager.

She was interviewing them for a school project, but this encounter inspired her to do more to raise awareness on teenage homelessness.

A political science sophomore and current Student Government vice president, Fairbank is now working on a book called “Throw Away Youth: Stories of Springfield’s Homeless Teens” to bring attention to the issue.

It is due to be published in May. During her junior year of high school, Fairbank filmed a short documentary for her broadcast journalism class on The Rare Breed — a local drop-in needs center for homeless teens in Springfield, Mo., Fairbank’s hometown.

By conducting interviews, Fairbank learned that The Rare Breed offered transitional living programs, where participants would be assigned apartments and different levels of assistance

to try and help them get back on their own feet. Fairbank talked personally to homeless teens and learned about the reasons behind their struggle.

“My first emotion was shock,” Fairbank said. “Every stereotype about homeless people was being broken down by these stories and they were just good kids in bad situations.”

Loni Brewer, program director for The Rare Breed, used the short documentary as a promotional tool to spread awareness about the issue and posted it on the center’s website.

Even though the video helped, Fairbank still wanted to do more about the issue.

“I knew that more awareness work needed to be done,” she said. “I didn’t understand why we weren’t up in arms as a community about the fact that we have 13 year olds sleeping on the streets.”

Fairbank started by creating a volunteer program through her high school, Central High, called Teen to Teen. Students who were involved clocked a total of 600 hours of service at The Rare Breed and raised a few

thousand dollars in donation.

Volunteers also hosted a talent show production and art auction at the high school. The money raised at the auction was used to help create a scholarship for teens at the shelter.

“Unfortunately, after I left Central there were a new group of officers in charge and they didn’t really put a lot into it,” Fairbank said. “It went very well for about a year until I was there but then dropped off after that.”

Apart from starting this volunteer initiative, Fairbank also began to work on a project of her own in 2012 to raise awareness about the issue.

“So the stereotypes are all like they’re drug addicts, they’re bad kids, they just don’t want to listen to their parents, and I really wanted to address these misconceptions,” Fairbanks said.

“A lack of awareness was also a huge problem; there weren’t enough resources for these teens. It’s often called the invisible problem because when you see a teenager on the street you’re not going to assume they’re homeless, while adult homelessness in comparison is very visceral, very visual.”

YANG XI | MERCURY STAFF

Political science sophomore Nancy Fairbank has been working with homeless teens ever since a high school project introduced her to the issue. Her book, “Throw Away Youth...”, is due to be published in May.

Fairbank began to work on a book that highlighted the different policies that could be changed and what people could do to alleviate teen homelessness. She approached local and national publishing companies while still in Springfield, but they didn’t accept her manuscript because she didn’t have the credentials to present it in an analytical framework.

One day, Fairbank spoke at the lo-

cal rotary club in Springfield about the issue and caught the attention of James Baumlin, a creative nonfiction professor at Missouri State University and the editor of Moon City Press.

It took more than a year of working together in an independent study setting and giving criticism for Fairbank to submit a revision that was at a professional level, Baumlin said.

“She never questioned any advice,”

Baumlin said. “She sees the dignity in all people and knows how to talk to everyone. She treats a professional and a homeless teen the same way — with respect.”

He agreed to publish her work and guided her in presenting the book from a narrative standpoint, which was achieved by transcribing the

→ SEE FAIRBANK, PAGE 10

10

THE MERCURY | APRIL 27, 2015

LIFE&ARTS

Drama wastes interesting premise

UTDMERCURY.COM

DANGEROUS LIAISONS

SCHOOL OF ARTS & HUMANITIES | COURTESY FOX SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES | COURTESY

Journalist Michael Finkel (Jonah Hill) interviews Christian Longo (James Franco) in a scene of “True Story.” Directed by Rubert Goold, the film is based on Finkel’s 2005 memoir of the same name.

SHYAM VEDANTAM COMMENTARY

“True Story,” based on Michael Finkel’s memoir of the same name, fails to be as interesting as the true story.

Finkel’s stories were on multiple covers of The New York Times until it was revealed a piece he wrote on modern slavery in Africa was partially fictionalized with the use of composite characters. While he tries to recover from the incident, Finkel (Jonah Hill) gets word of an unbelievable character; a man named Christian Longo (James Franco) has been pretending to be Finkel while on the run after being accused of murdering his wife and children in Oregon.

The film is mostly a two-hander, with Finkel interviewing Longo in a jail conference center. Longo admits to impersonating Finkel because he’s a fan of his work and agrees to be interviewed by him on the condition that the results be published after the trial. As the trial approaches, it’s unclear who has the upperhand and what Longo’s intentions really are.

Yet, none of that inherent drama is present here. Other characters in the film keep referencing Longo’s creepy calm and that he must have a plan, but this doesn’t come across at the end of the film. Longo is no Hannibal Lecter — it doesn’t feel like he is always a step ahead and he’s smarter than everyone in the room. It feels more like he was making it up as he went along and was easily suggestible, completely willing to contradict himself. It’s hard to tell if the character was lost in the performance by Franco or not, but it doesn’t feel like the script was helping.

Likewise, Hill as Finkel isn’t as impressive as Jodie Foster as Clarice Sterling was in “The Silence of the Lambs” either. He’s stiff and he doesn’t come off as competent as someone whose pieces covered The New York Times should be. Felicity Jones, as Hill’s partner Jill, is mostly on the sidelines in the film, but her confrontation with Longo is easily the bright spot of the film.

This is director Rupert Goold’s first feature film. He’s working on a screenplay he co-wrote with David Kajganich that is based on Finkel’s novel. That last tidbit seems to be the problem with the film.

Finkel’s real-life obsession with

→ IMPROV

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7

Lingo goes over how human beings walk and how to act out varying body configurations. On-stage, the role of nobody won’t cut it, Joyce said.

Quirks, ticks or body isolations can add character, whether they are limps or the pelvis thrusting all the time.

Like in a regular conversation, it is important to take a “beat” or a one to two second pause before producing the character’s response during improv, Joyce said.

“You think ‘easy enough,’ but then you get up on-stage in front of an audience and there is a certain adrenaline and energy that comes to you, which makes you believe everything you are doing at this moment in time is at a snail’s pace,” Joyce said.

But after many performances, Joyce said she knows the snail’s pace is in reality a relatively normal speed that she must fight to stay at.

Every skit is dissected and Lingo models the walks, the voices and the timings, demonstrating the different ways they could have performed each part.

In delivering lines, timing is everything, Lingo said.

“If you’re two seconds too soon or two seconds too late, you’ll lose the audience and you’ll lose the laugh,” Lingo said.

Improv II

As the students move to Improv II, they take what they have learned in Improv I to a completely new level, said arts and performance major senior Tyler Anglim. He said Improv II centers on creating complex stories.

“I like the scenes where people feed off of each other,”Anglim said. “I’m all about working with other people.”

In the future, Anglim said he plans on working at improv nightclubs, while theater major senior Chinweolu Greer hopes to become a stage director and work in community theater with kids.

As a kid, Greer was very shy and had a speech impediment. Her speech instructor had her speak in front of people, which essentially helped her build confidence and gain the ability to communicate well.

The first semester Greer started working, she sat in on Lingo’s improv class.

“Kathy threw me in the circle to start playing around and improv has been my guilty pleasure ever since,” Greer said.

Working as an event coordinator for the school of Arts and Humanities serves as some of Greer’s inspiration during improv class.

“I have a bank of conversations of interesting people that have left a weird imprint on me that I can pull up,” Greer said. “Sometimes it’s funny, and sometimes it’s not, but at least I tried it.”

→ FAIRBANK

→ SEN

interviews of eight homeless teens where they shared their stories.

“She is a natural born debater and I had to turn her into a storyteller,” Baumlin said. “She was capable of telling the stories of homeless teens in a way that gave a human face to them, and that is a quality of a professional writer.”

The book was accepted for publication in December 2014 through The College of Arts and Letters at Missouri State University. Any profits the book garners will go to The Rare Breed.

Sen said India’s problem lies in the lack of public policy and preventative planning regarding rape.

As of now, rape isn’t a seriously monitored and addressed issue in India unless media coverage brings it into the limelight, as in the case of the 2012 gang rape of Jyoti Singh in Delhi.

But a lot of crimes on women’s security never catch the media’s attention. Sexual trafficking of young women is one example. The reason it is less publicized, Sen said, is because the victims of sexual trafficking typi-

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7

and inability to comprehend Longo is present in “True Story.” The film spends the first ten or fifteen minutes attempting to sympathize the audience with Finkel. “True Story” seems like his half-baked explanation for the last decade of his life.

While some might say that the film circumvents classical Hollywood mode by having an ambiguous ending, it seems more appropriate to argue that “True Story” isn’t articulating its message well. Goold doesn’t know what the point of this film should be or where to focus the film. Perhaps, something got lost in translation from novel to film.

When films are based on true stories, it’s disappointing when the more interesting part of the story is described in the end titles. This happens here, and while it won’t be spoiled in this interview, “True Story” would have been better if it had included more of that.

The recent success of the HBO show “The Jinx” and the Serial podcast proves that audiences are hungry for this type of content, but in the end, “True Story” seems like a wasted opportunity to capitalize on an interesting contemporary story.

Greer and Anglim were a part of the Improv II comedy show. Their segment included scenes revolving around the topics “check-out line,” “children and superheroes,” which resulted in Pokémon, and “pick up.” After intermission, students continued with the topics “safety: CPR,” “Noah,” “superheroes: Captain Allergen,” “easy rider,” “hand sale/sell” and “Subway.”

After the show ended, anyone from the audience was invited to come on stage and give improv a try.

The end goal of the class aims at eventually developing trust with team members. More than that, Greer said it is to enjoy this hour to let go, live in the moment and laugh with each other.

“The hardest thing about improv is letting your guard down but be okay with playing and looking silly because I guarantee you there are four people who look sillier than you,” Greer said.

In the final scene “Subway,” Improv I joined Improv II on the stage, as everyone chimed in to create music.

This is a human band, Lingo said, one where everyone carries a tune in his or her soul.

There was one person on the Subway who brought in a cacophony of sounds. He didn’t harmonize the way the others did. The rest of the Subway civilians noticed, but invited him into the center of their musical group.

“Everyone has a place,” Lingo said at the end of the scene.

cally come from poorer families.

It is like these women belong to a different and unknown universe altogether, and media takes less interest in their lives than in the fate of a young, middle-class medical student like Jyoti because of that social status contrast, Sen said.

There is a lot to do based on what is known and a lot to research, Sen said, but he is hopeful for the future of women’s equality.

“Unless you have a certain kind of optimism, you will never be able to do anything of significance,” Sen said. “You have to begin with that optimism that you can make a difference in the world.”

Le Vicomte de Valmont, played by arts and performance sophomore Zach Lair, duels with Le Chevalier Danceny, played by Leo Thomasian, in UTD’s production of “Les Liaisons Dangereuses.”

Student actors put on performance of 18th century French novel CARA SANTUCCI Mercury Staff

In the first few moments of the “Les Liaisons Dangereuses”, Marquise de Mertueil claims that “Love is something you use, not something you fall into like quicksand,” setting the tone for the crafty, complex play that follows.

“Les Liaisons Dangereuses” ran from April 9-18 at the University Theater.

The story, adapted from a 1782 novel written by Pierre Choderlos de Lacios, focuses on the schemes of the Marquise de Merteuil and the Vitcomte de Valmont as they conspire to use sex as a weapon of revenge.

After being abandoned by a partner, Merteuil enlists the help of Valmont to deflower the future wife of Merteuil’s former lover, Cecile, in order to make a fool of him. After initial resistance, Valmont agrees to help, while also pursuing the married Madame de Tourvel.

The relationships between characters become increasingly complicated as Merteuil takes Danceny, Cecile’s romantic interest, as a lover, while simultaneously forcing Cecile and Danceny to engage in an affair.

Running a little over two hours, the play ends Johnny Cash’s “Hurt.” The music builds after the final line of dialogue is spoken with Cash singing: “I focus on the pain, the only thing that’s real.”

Director Brad Baker, a lecturer in the School of Arts and Humanities and a professor of theatre at the Collin Theatre Center, said he focused primarily on the flow of the play while directing.

“Everything that I direct has a flow to it. It has a cinematic quality, merging from one scene to the next,” Baker said. “This shoves the play forward and puts the

agenda of the characters front and forward.”

The result is a show that is fast-paced in spite of its slow, drawing-room nature. Set changes and lighting shifts occur during scenes, adding to the rapid-fire style of the play.

Baker said the flow he developed cut about forty minutes from the run time of the show. One consequence is that main character Velmont, played by psychology sophomore Zach Lair, almost never leaves the stage.

The show has multiple sex scenes, as well as a rape scene.

Jennifer Quiors, an arts and performance and speech pathology and audiology junior, played Madame de Tourvel, a character involved in one of the more risqué scenes in the play. “(The director) was extremely respectful,” Quiros said.

“It was very much about feeling comfortable with Zach to be very intimate with him, and the audiences have been fantastic about being very serious and mature about the content.”

Baker said that he approached the sensitive material with a sense of delicacy, focusing on the comfort level of his actors. Tahesin Asgar, an EMAC freshman, plays Cecile Volanges, who is the victim of the rape scene in the play.

“It’s hard to do something that’s so personal and try to do it so fast,” Asgar said. “I just made sure that every time we had to do something new we would take a minute and talk it through first.”

The actors all agreed that communication was essential to handling the sexual material in the drama. Baker views it as a plot device to reveal the meaning of the play, rather than the real focus.

“Sexuality, ironically, doesn’t play into (it) at all. Sex is part of a game,” Baker said. “At the very end of the play, my take on the entire play is summed up in the song that plays in the final moment.”

SPORTS

APRIL 27, 2015 | THE MERCURY | UTDMERCURY.COM

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THE MERCURY | APRIL 27, 2015

UTDMERCURY.COM

CLUBS FIND SUCCESS IN THE WATER...

Swimming, gymnastics, table tennis teams compete in national championships, bring home team, individual titles despite obstacles

ARUN PRASATH | MERCURY STAFF

Colin Campbell (center) and members of swim teams from the Southwest Swim League compete at the championship meet held on April 11 at UTD. UTD’s men’s team finished in first place and the women’s team finished in second, despite having only five members. The swim team, along with the gymnastics team and the table tennis team, all qualified to go to national tournaments this year.

ESTEBAN BUSTILLOS Managing Editor

Despite having only a few members, the swim team has had a historic year.

It finished 45 out of 75 at the club nationals in Atlanta, Ga., on April 10-12. The team also finished the year as league champions, with the men’s team coming in first and the women’s team coming in second at the league meet on April 18.

At nationals, the team also set school records in the 800 freestyle relay, the 400 freestyle relay, the 200 freestyle relay and the women’s 400 individual medley.

The team is part of the Southwest Swim League, which competes against club teams from schools like Baylor, UNT

and Texas State. Because the team faces competition from such large schools, it’s hard for new swimmers to catch up to the rest of the team.

Business administration senior and club president Austin Mullins said it’s difficult to get new brand new swimmers acclimated to the team’s training regimen.

He said team members swim anywhere from 2,500 to 4,000 yards four times a week during training.

He said going nationals last year paid dividends for the team this year and helped it gain valuable experience.

Mullins said he hopes the success the team had will help to bring in more swimmers next year.

“Hopefully telling (recruits) about breaking the school records and this is how fast we are, we can get some more

fast people over the summer,” he said.

One of the biggest advantages the team has had this year is its volunteer coach, graduate student Alejandro Jacobo. During his career, he swam at Texas A&M and was a member of the Mexican national team, where he had the chance to compete against world-class swimmers like Michael Phelps.

He holds the 500-meter and 200-meter breaststroke records for Mexico and is the first Mexican in history to swim the 100-meter breaststroke in under one minute.

He joined the UTD swim team when he saw an opening for a coaching position. The year before he started, the club was coached by club president Renee Jay who had to run the club, form all of the workouts and compete in her own events.

Jacobo has helped alleviate this burden by bringing

ESTEBAN BUSTILLOS Managing Editor

MATHEMATICS SENIOR TOMMY TROMPETER

. .in the the

AIR

KENNETH HAU | MERCURY STAFF

Tommy Trompeter started gymnastics when his parents enrolled him and his siblings in classes as babies to help them develop motor skills. As his family members branched off into other sports, the mathematics senior and gymnastics club president decided to stick with what he knew best.

“When I was six, seven, eight, I played some soccer,” he said.

“I played baseball until I was twelve. I did some swimming, too.

Whenever it came time to make a decision between one or the other, gymnastics was always top of the list.”

That commitment to the sport paid off for Trompteter when he was named as the national champion in the All-Around along with gaining individual championships in the high bars and rings at the National Association of Intercollegiate Gymnastics Clubs nationals in Philadelphia on April 9-10.

He said it was amazing when he was named the champion in these events.

“It’s an experience that I’m never gonna forget,” he said. “Just to know that all those hours paid off, that I was finally able to get it done at the highest level, for me at least, it’s an amazing feeling.”

Trompeter, who has been competing since he was six years old, said there are hours of preparation that go into getting ready for a competition. He said one of the hardest events for him — the pommel

...and on LAND ESTEBAN BUSTILLOS Managing Editor

The table tennis club finished seventh overall in the Coed/Men’s category and had two players finish in the top 10 individually at the club national championship in Eau Claire, WI., on April 10-12.

The club went up against teams from Harvard, USC, Duke and Princeton, among others. Computer science junior Kevin Tsai said many of these teams had never even heard of UTD. Electrical engineering graduate Chandrasekhar Malladi said even though they didn’t have a lot of experience, the goal was to get to the championship.

“Right from the beginning, our target was to get to the nationals,” he said. “We didn’t expect such a good performance at the nationals.”

Accounting graduate Lin Hong finished in the top eight for the women’s bracket and information technology and management graduate Sai Vemuri finished in the top 32 for the men’s bracket.

Hong, who has been playing since she was 9 years old, said it was very difficult to finish that high in the bracket.

“I think top eight is very good,” she said. “Moving from the top 16 to eight is very tough.”

At the tournament, the group faced USC, Harvard and Michigan in its first matches.

Even though the team lost 2-3 to third-ranked USC in doubles, they managed to upset Harvard and ninth-ranked Michigan to move on to the next round.

Tsai said the team’s experience in the southern region, which is one of the toughest in the nation, and its large group of international players helped it find success against more experienced competitors.

The team has several players from India and China, where the game is more popular than in the United States. Computer science graduate Anukulkumar Thandra, who is

in his experience as a swimmer and working with the team at practices.

“He shows up to at least two practices a week and then he’s usually at our swim meets as long as they’re in town or in the DFW area,” Mullins said. “He tries to work with us one-on-one. He gives us sets for basically all of our practices. I’m a breaststroker and that’s what he did was the breaststroke, so his insight to my improvement has been invaluable.”

Jacobo said one of the key differences that makes swimming stand out from other sports is the amount of time swimmers will put in for just one meet.

He said unlike other sports where there are multiple quarters for athletes to bounce back from, swimmers only have one race to prove themselves in.

→ SEE SWIMMING, PAGE 13

horse — is one of the most difficult to master.

He said the hand placement for this event has to be absolutely perfect or the competitor will fail.

“Even if you watch the Olympics, that’s the one where you see the most falls, the most things like that,” he said. “But when you do it right, it looks like a piece of cake. But the moment something’s slightly off, it’s over.”

He said the practice that goes into preparing for this and other events are not understood by many outside of the sport. When he was younger he would put in 15 to 20 hours a week practicing.

Still, that was a conservative work schedule for many in the gymnastics circle. He said he had many friends who were either homeschooled or went to academies that allowed them to have even more practice time, sometimes as much as 40 hours a week.

Trompeter also said the mental side of the sport is often misunderstood. He said it can be tough for a gymnast to recover when he or she falls in the middle of a routine and has to get back up to finish.

“It happened at nationals two years ago when I was on the high bar,” he said. “I was doing a scale and missed, my hand went up with a little bit of a wrong angle and splat! Right on the mat.”

This year, the club only sent five members to nationals. The skill and experience level varied for the teammates, with some having competed as long as Trumpeter had and others having gotten into the sport

→ SEE GYMNAST, PAGE 13

ACCOUNTING GRADUATE STUDENT LIN HONG

from India, said the game is garnering more attention in his home country.

“A lot of people do play ping pong,” he said. “We didn’t have that much credit before, but now a lot of (Indians) are shining at the international level, so it’s a growing game in India.”

The game is even bigger in China, where it is considered the national sport.

Malladi said the amount of work the international players did overseas helped them adjust to the U.S. game.

“After coming here, the training we underwent over there — we took a lot of training as we were kids — it all comes into play,” he said.

Team members said their success in the tournament helped put the team on the map and let other universities know that UTD is a competitive force in the world of collegiate table tennis.

Malladi said the game is the third fastest racquet sport in the world and has earned the nickname of “lightning-fast chess” because of the speed and mental fortitude that is required of players.

“You have seconds of time,” he said. “In chess, you have time to make a move. You don’t have time to make a move (in table tennis.)”

He said players only have seconds to take breaks between serves and much of the game is played off of

→ SEE TABLE TENNIS, PAGE 13

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→ SWIMMING

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“You train your butt off for months, and I’m talking about five months or more,” he said. “And your goal is to work as much as you can, put in as much effort and literally almost overtrain your body so that when you start resting and you go for that one opportunity and that one moment, you just go and swim as fast of you can.”

Even though he has brought a lot of experience to the team, Jacobo credited the success of the team to the work ethic of its swimmers.

“Some of my experience through swimming, I’m sure it had an impact on them, but I’m not going to say it’s all me” he said. “It’s definitely the team that came together that we’ve got and the willingness of these swimmers to show up to practice even when they were busy with school.”

Jacobo said the highlight of the year was the league championship. He said the meet came down to the last few races between UTD and Texas State.

“It was a thriller —kind of like a movie,” he said.

“It was very cool.”

Jacobo, who will be graduating at the end of the year to work with his startup company, said it was rewarding to see the success the team had, but it was more rewarding to see members break past their own barriers.

“That’s the reason I was volunteering,” he said. “I was wanting to tell people that the past does not dictate your future. It’s a reference, but that reference, either you use it to help you or to use as a hindrance.

So that was something very rewarding.”

ALEJANDRO JACOBO | COURTESY

Jacobo, pictured here during his time with the Mexican national team, holds the Mexican national records for the 200-meter and 500-meter breaststroke.

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reaction and spontaneity because of this.

Players said the level of fitness that is required of players is another aspect that many underestimate. Vemuri said it can be very intense at the higher levels of the sport.

“When you take it professionally, you have to see the intensity, how they move and all that, so that you need to keep your fitness level up,” he said.

Team members said they want the club to grow and get more funding so they can play in more tournaments, which will help them get experience and a better rating moving individual players. Tsai said they also need new tables to play on since some of the ones they have right now are broken.

Even with these obstacles, Malladi said the club achieved the goal it was seeking when it entered the tournament to become more recognized.

“We wanted to show that we exist as a sport,” he said. “Even now, it’s a recreational sport. We are performing at the elite level. We have seen a lot of teams at the nationals that were being funded for the tournament. We were not given our travel expenses, we had to bear our own expenses, but we thought

→ GYMNAST

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during high school.

He said the largest goal for the team going in was to be able to qualify for team finals. Even though the team fell short, coming in seventh overall in its individual session, Trompeter’s performance as an individual was enough to gain UTD recognition.

Computer science senior Suhrud Kulkarni, who also competed at the nationals, said it was amazing to watch Trompeter’s performance.

“We were there for him all the way,” he said. “He’s put in a lot of work this year. He’s practicing every day, almost. He’s been mentally preparing. He was there. He was prepared. He peaked at his best in his last year and, hopefully, I would like to be there next year in my last year.”

Now that his career at UTD is coming to a close, Trompeter said he may consider trying out for the USA Gymnastics senior national team. If he can make it, he may have to opportunity to try out for the Olympic team.

He still plans to be involved in the sport, even if he’s not actively competing. He coaches the men’s competitive team part-time at Eagles Wings Athletics

SOURCE: MLIVE.COM

SPORTS QUICK HITS

By Esteban Bustillos

TENNIS COMES TO A CLOSE YANG XI | MERCURY STAFF

Information technology management graduate Sai Vemuri (left) and electrical engineering graduate Chandrasekhar Malladi (right) competed in doubles at the club national tournament.

this was the opportunity to show we exist.”

in Allen and he said he’s considering coaching the UTD team in future.

“It’s a little bit of a different environment where it’s definitely geared toward developing the individual,” he said. “Of course you are a team, you compete as a team a lot, but in the end it comes down to you on the event and coaching that is a little bit different that baseball or basketball.”

Greg Schram, the boy’s director and the coach for the men’s team at Eagles Wings, has worked with Trompeter for several years. He said he often had to pry the information about Trompeter’s success out of him because of his humility.

“He would ask me my opinion and I would definitely help him out where I could,” he said. “But it was mostly him coaching himself, and I would just help out a little here and there. Being that he’s so humble, he would hardly ever tell me how great he did at a meet, and I would have to pull it out of him.”

Trompeter said he hopes to see the club continue to grow and be more successful. He said the ultimate goal is for the team to win a national championship. Another goal the team has is to build up the women’s team.

“I think that just getting a little bit of awareness out by having some success will go a long ways towards helping with that,” he said.

The men’s and women’s tennis teams had an early exit from the ASC tournament held at UT Tyler on April 23-25. The men (5-9) were ousted in the quarterfinals with a 5-1 loss to Ozarks. The women’s team (5-8) were able to advance to the semifinals, where it lost 5-1 to eventual champion UT Tyler.

WOMEN’S GOLF HAS HISTORIC FINISH The women’s golf team closed the ASC tournament on April 21 with a fourth-place finish, the best in program history. The team was led by freshman Hailey Hollas, who placed 15th with a two-round total of 162.

Before this year, the highest finish the team had was sixth place. The men’s team finished in sixth place.

BASEBALL PREPARES FOR PLAYOFFS After having a slow start, the baseball team has closed off its season with a strong finish. The team is currently 23-14 and will close off the regular season with a three-game series at Hardin-Simmons. The softball team (16-19), on the other hand, saw its season come to a close with an 11-2 win against Ozarks on April 25.

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In March, Maczka filed a conflict of interest form with the city after she accepted a job with JP Realty Partners and stepped down as mayor. The revelation of a business relationship between JP Realty’s president Mark Jordan and Maczka triggered investigation proceedings.

Staples will look into the series of events that led to the approval of a zoning request for Palisades project in 2014 to determine if the council was in a violation of the city’s ethics code and if the mayor had a business relationship with JP Realty at the time the project was approved, a city council press release stated.

He will also investigate if Maczka’s intended declination to serve as mayor for 2015-17 was motivated by a desire to allow remaining council members to select a new mayor, the release stated.

“Whenever you don’t have relationships with folks in city hall and you actually don’t know from the outside looking in, it definitely looks like there could be some conflict of interest,” said Jeremy Thomason, board member and former president of the Canyon Creek Home Owners Association. “(That) is why I think it was appropriate for the city to go through investigation and to hire an outside investigator so that they could really get to the bottom of this with complete transparency and that’s

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compelling justification and should be the least restrictive way of doing it.”

The concepts of free exercise of religion and the separation of church and state are two entirely different things. They overlap in the sense that if an exception is carved for the free exercise of one religion, it could seem as if the government is favoring that religion over others, making it an issue in-

NEWS

what I wanted as a resident.”

Thomason was president of the homeowners association in 2013 when JP Realty applied for the rezoning. The developers wanted to use the land for mix-used development including building retail and office spaces along with 600 apartments.

The homeowners association originally approved of the project as long as the developers agreed to certain conditions, but later realized that they didn’t like the direction the development was taking, Thomason said. He said residents feared that the apartments would slide into poor maintenance and with cheap rents and low security, lead to more crime in the neighborhood.

“Our concern all along with (the rezoning) is that we knew that there was something going to be developed there,” Thomason said.

“We knew that it already had entitlements and included multifamily units and so our HOA board really studied it quite extensively and we said, ‘Our view of this is that the worst case scenario is that something that is a bad development gets built there.’ So we really tried to see, as best as we (could), that if something was to be developed then how it could be successfully built there.”

Despite the opposition, the city council passed the zoning change request 5 -2.

If the investigation finds that Maczka and Jordan had a business

relationship at the time the vote was cast, the outgoing mayor could be facing a trial in the near future.

Maczka could not be reached for comment. Staples is unable to comment on the progress of the investigation until the report is released to the city, he said. The city manager’s office declined to comment on the investigation.

“The part of it that’s so hard for me to understand from the folks that are calling for action is that the vote was 5 – 2,” Thomason, who knows Maczka and has worked with her, said. “If Laura had voted against it, it would still have passed 4 – 3.”

Thomason said he personally believes Maczka is innocent and that he hopes the council will come out clean after the investigation. Richardson, as a city, has a AAA rating for its transparency standards and incidents such as these put the city’s reputation at risk, he said.

Meanwhile, Maczka has announced that she will not be taking oath as mayor after the city council elections May 9 although she was running unopposed.

According to the city charters, if she declines to take office after the elections, one of the council members will be appointed as interim mayor. The council will then appoint one of the newly elected council members as mayor protempor, who will then become defacto mayor. The council will fill its vacant position by appointment.

volving the separation of church and state.

“There’s always been this big dispute about exactly what the separation of church and state means,” Lowery said. “Does it mean just that, a brick wall, no connection, no involvement between the government and religion? Or does it mean that the government has to be even handed in the way it treats all religions.”

William Rehnquist, who served as Chief Justice from 1986 to 2005, wrote about these two separate constitutional concepts and how they

overlapped through what he called “play in the joints,” that in deciding one way on one of these issues you’re creating problems regarding the other, Champagne said.

“My own view is that the whole idea of carving out exceptions to allow for free exercise is probably a mistake,” Champagne said.

“I wouldn’t even have RFRAs, I would maintain the secular rule.

The RFRAs in general have been used very little since they’ve been passed and I think that’s some indication that the secular rule were correctly decided.”

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premises without a search warrant, Zacharias said. According to the affidavit, the officers located a Remington 12 gauge shotgun under his bed.

Upon discovering the firearm, the police obtained a warrant for Hasting’s arrest. Police said he returned to the res hall at 4:19 p.m., at which time, Zacharias said, he went to the police station and was

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qualifications, said ATEC Ph.D. advisor Frank Dufour. Masters and doctoral students were often required to take classes together in the nacent years of the program, although Ph.D. students had to submit additional research deliverables, he said.

“And that was expected. The program was in its first year and we did not have the faculty members to teach a whole series of organized courses and we did not have the student population to justify that,” Dufour said. “That is the reality of beginning a doctoral program.”

There weren’t enough resources available to provide organized courses but the faculty did their best by offering independent study courses.

In a program such as ATEC, independent studies allow for more flexibility and in many parts of the world, doctoral programs are comprised entirely of them, he said.

Sherri Segovia, who will be ATEC’s first doctoral graduate this spring, said the requirement of two core courses paired with the independent studies helped her create a custom structure for her course.

Segovia, who had some classes with McMillin, joined the program even before the Ph.D. program was officially instated in 2007. She already had a Master of Fine Arts in dance and knew she wanted to combine dance and technology in her dissertation, she said.

“I approached it when I came in knowing that no one here was going to be able to provide the dance angle,” Segovia said. “I already knew I was going to have to define for myself my own trajectory.”

In addition to the two core courses, students had to take seven electives which could be chosen from a wide selection of classes, Segovia said. Students in the program are also required to take four free electives that are organized classes.

The fact that ATEC draws students from a variety of backgrounds including fine arts and technology makes it very difficult to tailor the program to suit everyone, Segovia said.

“How could they create a template that could be applicable to so many of us?” she said.

McMillin, however, said she felt that the quality of education was lowered by mixing masters and doctoral students together.

She also said that the syllabi of some undergraduate and graduate courses were identical and the additional requirements for graduate students were not very rigorous, such as turning in a five-page research paper.

Segovia said the doctoral courses require more discursive rigor and she too shared classes with MFA students, but that there was still much to learn from the other doctoral colleagues in those classes.

UTDMERCURY.COM taken into custody.

The possession of firearms on the grounds of an educational institution is a third degree felony.

The affidavit stated that Hastings admitted to owning the gun and claimed he had it to go deer hunting.

UTD police Lt. Ken MacKenzie stated in his report that it was not deer hunting season at the time and it is unusual to use a shotgun for that purpose.

According to the affidavit, Hastings had a history of emo-

McMillin said the admission policies for ATEC doctoral students weren’t rigorous at the time and the stipend for teaching assistants was also low compared to other schools. Segovia said she agreed the stipend wasn’t enough.

“I couldn’t live on my TA salary, I’ve had to supplement it,” she said. “I’m not as inclined to be an activist about it because I don’t have time.”

One doctoral class in McMillin’s concentration was canceled in fall 2012 because it did not meet the minimum enrollment requirement of five students, McMillin said.

Although the class was reinstated after Dufour found two other students to enroll in it, the incident ultimately made McMillin question the administration on academic policies.

McMillin spoke up on the issues with the program director and other top faculty members several times during her time at UTD. “If no one stands up and does anything it’s never going to get better,” she said.

She filed a complaint first at the university level with the Provost’s office in fall 2012 and then with the Texas Higher Education Coordination Board which forwarded her complaint to SACS for review in 2013.

SACS asked UTD for materials on eight separate issues and cleared two of them during the Board of Trustees meeting in December 2013.

Dufour was in charge of preparing documentation for SACS and realized the shortcomings of the program during the process, he said.

“We had to acknowledge that yes, we were in a program in its infancy and we did our best to comply with the requirements,” Dufour said. “But (with) some of them, yes, we failed. We failed at offering a large selection of graduate courses every semester.

Yes, we failed at having large enrollment in seven thousand-level courses.”

However, he said that these are common problems to run into the first few years after a new doctoral program is launched.

Several of these issues have been remedied already, and Ph.D. students in the program now take four core courses, a requirement that is set to change again this fall, he said. Starting fall 2015, teaching assistants will also receive a higher stipend.

More faculty have been hired since and the leadership and faculty within the program are all engaged toward improving the quality of education which is what matters, Dufour said.

“Basically SACS said what everyone else says— “Yes, you’ve made mistakes,” he said. “I have made mistakes and here they are and I made them because there were no other possibilities and if it was wrong then that’s just the way it is. But I know exactly what happened and we know that we’re working toward avoiding that in the future.”

tional and psychological problems. The affidavit stated he also expressed strong anti-government sentiments.

The registrar’s office verified that Hastings is no longer enrolled, but it is unclear when he left UTD and under what circumstances.

Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Gene Fitch, citing student privacy laws, could not comment on whether or not Hastings was expelled.

SACS REPORT PRINCIPLE 3.1.1 Institutional Effectiveness: Educational programs Requirements: For each program, faculty members come up with learning outcomes and metrics to measure whether students meet these outcomes or not. Universities have to demonstrate, using data collected over at least three years, that the programs are improving over time.

Level: Institutional and ATEC Issues: UTD used to have a three-year reporting cycle for learning outcomes, so that every three years the university would receive data from each program. However, three years was too long a time to touch base with faculty in a fast growing school, said assistant provost Serenity King. At the time of review, UTD had just switched to an annual cycle and did not have sufficient data to prove a continual improvement in its programs, she said.

It was also not sufficient for the university to incorporate improvements at the time.

Resolution: Two years of data have already been submitted to SACS. Cleared on: ATEC cleared but UTD awaiting decision PRINCIPLE 3.4.6 Practices for awarding credit Requirements: Organized consistent structure for number of credit hours to be awarded to courses.

Level: Institutional and ATEC Issues: Some course listings, such as independent studies, appeared several times on the transcripts.

Resolution: Adding subtitles to independent study courses on transcripts to indicate the different topics covered in each.

Cleared on: June 2014 PRINCIPLE 3.6.1 Post-baccalaureate rigor Requirements: Standards to ensure graduate level courses have higher level of discourse over undergraduate courses.

Level: ATEC program only Issues: Classes with the same titles in undergraduate and graduate levels had the same syllabus and discourse level.

Resolution: They did not have the same syllabi or requirements. Graduate level courses were more detailed.

Cleared on: June 2014 PRINCIPLE 3.7.1. Faculty competence Requirements: Faculty should have a terminal degree in their field to be able to teach a graduate level class.

Level: ATEC program only Issues: Some faculty members were UTD students that had received their masters through the fast track program.

Their transcripts did not list the graduate courses they took as an undergraduate.

Resolution: Repeat the graduate level courses taken during undergraduate years in both undergraduate and graduate transcripts.

Cleared on: June 2014 The board will meet June 9 – 11 to review the second monitoring report submitted on April 1. visit www.utdmercury.com for the complete report.