October 5, 2015
facebook.com/theutdmercury | @utdmercury
THE MERCURY | UTDMERCURY.COM
A SURVIVOR REMEMBERS
SENIOR BEATS ACL TEAR
AUTUMN IS COMING
PAGE 6
PAGE 8
PAGE 11
WHY CARRY ?
CHL holders detail reasons for supporting law allowing concealed handguns in campus buildings MIRIAM PERCIVAL Mercury Staff
For political science sophomore Will Perkins, his concealed handgun is like an extension of his body. The 35-year-old, who served four years in the Army and whose father was a Marine, has spent most of his life around guns. When he wakes up, the first thing he does is put his gun on his hip. “My gun is with me at all times,” he said. “If my gun is in my house, it is on my hip.” When the Texas Legislature passed SB11 — the bill that would allow concealed handguns to be carried in buildings on public campuses across the state — Perkins became one of about 240,000 CHL holders in the state who will be eligible to bring their concealed handguns onto campus starting next August. Although the logistics of how the law will be implemented have yet to be finalized, the issue has become a hot topic on public campuses in Texas. For college CHL holders like Perkins, it’s an issue that hits close to home. ******** Dennis Mccuistion, an accounting professor in the Jindal School of Management, has carried a concealed handgun license for the past two years. He said campus carry deters people who might try to come onto campus and harm others. “In my opinion, it’s all about trying to keep people from thinking that they can come on this campus and start shooting,” he said. “It’s just a question of protecting primarily the students (and), to some extent, the faculty and staff.” He doesn’t yet know if he will carry his handgun on him once the law goes into effect, but he does carry the gun with him in his car. Other CHL holders like Mccuistion have a similar opinion of the campus carry law. Dylan Orgeron, an ATEC senior, received his CHL this year as soon as he turned 21. Although he doesn’t carry it on him every day, he said he still believes that campus carry is an important aspect of safety on college campuses. “Honestly, (preventing) a CHL holder from carrying his weapon on campus isn’t going to prevent somebody from carrying a weapon who intends to
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ANDREW GALLEGOS AND ESTEBAN BUSTILLOS | MERCURY STAFF
A CHL holder, whose identity has been protected, displays their handgun in their car off campus. Earlier this year SB11, a bill in the Texas Legislature that will allow concealed handguns into campus buildings in public universities in Texas, was passed. The bill will go into effect next fall.
do harm,” Orgeron said. “I think that it’s just going to prevent someone who has submitted to the background check and has gone through the process from carrying his weapon on campus.” The process to receive a CHL for citizens in Texas who are 21 and olders is an all-day event. Along with the application, which includes a background check, it involves sitting in a five-hour lecture to learn key topics, such as use of force, non-violent dispute resolution, handgun use and safe and proper storage of handguns and ammunition. The students must then take a comprehensive exam and score an 85 or higher. The second part of this program is the “practical,” where potential CHL holders must demonstrate they
know how to shoot a gun. After all of these parts are complete, they become CHL holders. On Sept. 22, UTD held a town hall meeting to discuss the implementation of SB11, particularly potential exclusionary zones where CHL holders will be prohibited from bringing their firearms. Both Mccuistion and Orgeron attended this event to learn more about the zones. “I am against the exclusion zones in general, (but) there may be something specific I have not heard,” Mccuistion said. “But, in general, once you start putting in exclusion zones, those become the target zones for people who want to do harm.” Orgeron also raised a similar concern about the
exclusionary zones, expressing that even though they may be instituted, there is not an easy way to keep guns out of the zones. “Somebody in the meeting raised the point of ‘Should teachers be allowed to declare their classroom or their office gun free?’ and I don’t see any way to enforce that,” he said. “I mean, obviously you can say, ‘Don’t bring a gun in here,’ but does that really stop anyone from bringing a gun?” Although Mccuistion and Orgeron are in favor of campus carry starting next fall, other students, faculty and staff have concerns about the increased
→ SEE CHL, PAGE 12
Golden child
LGBTQ conference coming to campus
Volleyball team befriends girl battling to stay in remission from Leukemia
Speakers include actors, politicians, Navy SEALS
ESTEBAN BUSTILLOS
NINI TRUONG
Applause rained down from the Activity Center’s stands as Kaitlyn Renee Johnson took the floor during the second and third periods of the volleyball team’s tight conference matchup against UT Tyler on Sept. 29. It was the moment everyone in the gym had been waiting for all night. Outfitted in gold and black, the fiveyear-old and her squad of diminutive cheerleaders from Royce City entertained the crowd with an upbeat routine that featured dancing, tiny pom poms and chants that were sometimes hard to understand. Still, everyone in attendance gave Johnson and her teammates a standing ovation as they left the floor. After the routine was over, Johnson cheered from the sidelines as the Comets held on to beat the Patriots 3-2 and remain undefeated in the ASC. After the lights were turned off and the stands had finally been cleared, both teams would go home that night and resume their lives as normal. Johnson, however, would go home and continue her fight to stay in remission from Leukemia.
To aid LGBTQ students’ transitions into the workforce, Out for Work — a California-based company — will be coming to campus on Oct. 9 to hold workshops and teach skills that will later help LGBTQ students in their careers. “Out for Work functions as a complementary component to the total education of LGBTQ students,” founder Riley Folds said. “The program provides various career plans and opportunities, and is the only all-industry inclusive career program for LGBTQA students.” The event, which is co-sponsored by the FOLDS Women’s Center and the Career Center, will start at 9 a.m. on Oct. 9 and end at 9 p.m. on Oct. 11. Out for Work will showcase a plethora of companies and fields LGBTQ students can enter, including Fortune 500 companies, non-profit companies and government agencies. “We work with companies like PeaceCorps, Teach For America, government agencies such as the NSA, Verizon, Texas Instruments, Toyota and many others,” Folds said. He said the Out for Work conference includes sessions on industry-specific fields, such as STEM careers, evaluating job offers, creating a personal brand and finding fulfillment in a career. There is also a workshop aimed at transgender students’ transitions in the workplace. “The conference has many workshops and sessions that are all-encompassing and includes plenty of career assessments,” he continued. “It’s important for LGBTQ students know whether or not to be out in a resume or an interview and how to combat discrimination on the job.” Not only will there be workshops available for students to attend, but keynote speakers such as Kristen Beck, a former Navy SEAL, Brian Sims, a state representative from Pennsylvania, Donna Rose, a transgender rights activist and Tituss Burgess, an actor known for his role on “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” will be present. “On Sunday, after everything has finished, the conference ends with a career fair where students can look for job opportunities and internships,” Folds said. “The career fair is open to all students.”
Editor-in-Chief
******* When Johnson’s mother, Mandy, noticed small dots all over her daughter’s body at 18 months old, she called the doctor to get her checked. When they got to the doctor’s office on Nov. 11, 2011, the physicians performed
Mercury Staff
CHRIS LIN | MERCURY STAFF
Kaitlyn Johnson dances on the sidelines during the volleyball team’s game against UT Tyler on Sept. 29. When Johnson was 18 months old, she was diagnosed with Leukemia.
standard tests and drew her blood. While they were waiting for the results, Johnson went up to her mother. That’s when Mandy felt the heat radiating off of her daughter’s body. “All of a sudden she just crawls up in my lap and lays her head down on me and she is burning up,” she said. “She had a 103 degree fever. So I had stepped out to grab the nurse and the nurse was just about to give her some Motrin and the doctor came in and said, ‘No. Do not give that child Motrin. They’re going to Children’s Medical Center.’ She said, ‘Your daughter
is showing signs of Leukemia.’” The rest of that day is a blur for Mandy. They drove to the emergency room at Children’s Medical and were admitted to the cancer floor at 2:30 p.m. The next day, Johnson had her first round of chemotherapy. During her therapy, she couldn’t leave the house because of how weak her immune system was. Mandy would only dust or vacuum if Johnson was in another room. For Mandy, though, the worst part was
→ SEE JOHNSON, PAGE 9