Daily Toreador The
TUESDAY, FEB. 19, 2013 VOLUME 87 ■ ISSUE 93
Senate committee OKs Board of Education chairwoman, Cargill AUSTIN (AP) — Barbara Cargill’s nomination for a second term as chairwoman of the State Board of Education is headed to the full Texas Senate for consideration. Gov. Rick Perry appointed Cargill in 2011, but the Senate wasn’t in session. Now Perry has reappointed her, and the Nomination Committee voted Monday to refer it to the full chamber. The Senate voted to reject board chairs in 2007 and 2009. But Monday’s vote makes Cargill’s confirmation more likely. A Republican from The Woodlands and ex-biology teacher, Cargill has voted to require that “weaknesses” in the theory of evolution be taught in Texas schools.
Funds for sex predator cases clear obstacle AUSTIN (AP) — Lawmakers have approved a measure that would pay for more expert testimony to help keep violent sex offenders off the streets. The proposal gained support from a House Appropriations Sub-committee on Monday and would provide $128,000 to hire a second expert witness in complex cases. Lawmakers were told that each year the Judiciary Section of the Comptroller’s Department seeks the civil commitment of approximately 50 sex offenders after their prison sentences expire. The funds would provide a second witness in about 17 of those cases. Budget analysts said for example that both a psychologist and a psychiatrist could be called to testify. The subcommittee chairman, Democratic Rep. Sylvester Turner turned down a raft of other proposals to increase funds for staffing at criminal justice agencies.
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Serving the Texas Tech University community since 1925
Public Art Program receives $1.9M By EMILY GARDNER STAFF WRITER
The Texas Tech University System announced a $1.9 million investment in the Public Art Program for 2013 Monday. The public art program is in the Facilities Planning and Construction department, said Erin Vaden, public art manager. One percent of the funds from new construction projects is allocated for public art. “We have to use that money for the purchase of public art,” she said. “That $1.9 million total is basically the 1 percent budget from 10 different projects.” Out of the 10 projects, Angelo State will receive three of the pieces, and Tech will receive the other seven, Vaden said. “We’re looking at primarily sculpture,” she said. “We’re looking at all different media. We’ve got some works in steel,
some works in glass, some works in bronze, and even mosaic.” Angelo State’s first public art on campus will include a sculpture to be installed at the Center for Human Performance titled “Kinesis” by Joaquin Gasgonia Palencia, Vaden said. The university also will install artwork titled “Solar Helix” by Roger White Stoller at the Plaza Verde Residence Hall and a mosaic piece by Julie Richey to a bench at the Porter Henderson Library entrance. The artwork being installed on the Tech campus, she said, is comprised of a sculpture, created by BC Sculpture, to be put in the south courtyard of the Rawls College of Business Administration building; a piece titled “The Messengers”, by David Hickman, to be installed at the College of Media and Communication; four seven-foot faces titled “Four Faces” by Michael Stutz at the J.T. and Margaret Talkington Residence Hall; a hand-painted window by Corinne Ulmann
in the Burkhart Center for Autism Education and Research; custom stonework at Jones AT&T Stadium North End Zone; benches built using engineering motifs titled “Biometric Benches” by Robert Tully as part of Bledsoe Residence Hall improvement; and banners by Old Hat Creative at Rip Griffin Park. The banners should be installed by the next home series, March 1-3, Vaden said. “They’re big vinyl banners — like, 10 by 15 feet — depicting different photographic images of the baseball — sort of, baseball program’s history,” she said. “Some are vintage, some are more current.” The places for public art distribution were chosen based on current construction projects, Vaden said. ART continued on Page 2 ➤➤
Student loan debt rises, Red to Black offers coaching By MATT DOTRAY STAFF WRITER
While the amount of student loan debt continues to reach new highs, the Red to Black program at Texas Tech offers financial coaching for students. In 2011, two-thirds of college graduates had student loan debt, which averaged $26,000 per person, according to The Project on Student Debt. The same year, unemployment for college graduates reached 8.8 percent. Angela Mazzolini, the assistant director of Red to Black, said the system is getting out of control. “The same jobs that were available with a high school degree are now going to people who have college degrees, like a bachelor’s degree or a master’s degree,” Mazzolini said. “So you can’t even find a job if you don’t have a degree. But, to get a degree, it costs money, and then you have to pay back the money. It’s a nasty cycle.” Because unemployment continues to remain higher than normal, Mazzolini said college graduates are having a harder time managing a budget to start making
payments for their loans. “With the downturn of the economy,” Mazzolini said, “a lot of people went back to school and got loans to do that. Now, they are graduating and they are getting out into the job market, but there are not the same kinds of jobs that were available before.” Once a student graduates, most types of loans start the repayment process six months after graduation. According to a study by Fair Isaac Corporation Labs, a company that analyzes credit scores, the student-loan delinquency rate has risen from 12.4 percent to 15.1 percent in the last three years. If a student is unable to make payments, Mazzolini said there are two main options, which are a deferment or forbearance. Both options include postponing monthly payments for a limited period of time. Debt resulting from student loans has overtaken credit card purchases as the No. 1 cause of debt, Mazzolini said. Most of the loans are taken from the federal government, but they also can be borrowed from private companies that charge higher rates of
interest, she said. International students and freshmen are more likely to have private loans, she said, because they have more difficulties finding a job off-campus and receive smaller financial aid packages. “If you have tuition, fees and room and board that your regular financial aid package doesn’t cover, you’ll have to get the money somewhere else,” Mazzolini said. One of the problems that students have when applying for financial aid, she said, is knowing the amount of money they will need. When a student applies for financial aid, they have the capability of accepting more money than what is actually needed for tuition and other expenses, Mazzolini said. “Just because it’s offered doesn’t mean you have to accept it all,” she said. “If you do take it all, you’re going to have to end up paying extra. You’re not just paying the principle back, but also the interest.” DEBT continued on Page 3 ➤➤
Texas Tech participates in National Engineers Week
OPINIONS, Pg. 4
By RAECHEL DAVIS
tunity to get a hands-on building experience with LEGOs at the GEAR event, in the hope that it will increase their interests in science. Texas Tech will celebrate National Engineers “We are really trying to promote engineerWeek, Feb. 17-23 with fairs, dinners and activities. ing and trying to have a better understanding of Engineers Week, according to the National engineering and the things that you would need Engineers Week website, is a call to action for to do to prepare to come into the college,” said engineers to inspire youth, inform the public and Jamie Perez, student services assistant director. promote achievement and collaboration. The goal of Engineers Week is to promote Tech kicked off Engineers Week at 8 a.m. outreach to younger students, as well as highlight Monday by reaching out to students at Idalou the ethics and integrity of what it means to be an High School. engineer, Perez said. The Edward E. Whitacre College of EngineerThe Order of Engineering ceremony also is ing will continue its outreach with presentations known as the iron ring ceremony, she said. and activities Tuesday The ceremony will and Wednesday by visitfocus on discipline and ing Shallowater Middle students can take an oath School Wheatley Elto uphold devotion to ementary, and Nimitz the standards and digHigh, according to the nity of the engineering Engineers Week schedprofession, according to ule. the Order of Engineering Other activities inwebsite. clude the Pink EngineerStudents will be given ing dinner for women at a ring to wear on their the McKenzie-Merket pinky finger that will act Alumni Center on as a reminder of the ethical Wednesday, a student promise made, Perez said. organization fair at the Women also will be Frazier Alumni Pavilion, celebrated with a free and Order of the Engidinner service, which is JAMIE PEREZ neer Ceremony at the intended to unify women STUDENT SERVICES Allen Theatre on Friday. and help them connect. ASSISTANT DIRECTOR A mobile app-build“At Texas Tech, (Pink ing competition will beDinner) has become a gin Friday and end at 7 p.m. Saturday. This is the tradition where we celebrate the females in first mobile app contest at Tech and the contest is engineering,” Perez said, “and all females, faculty, between the College of Media and Communica- staff and engineering students are invited to the tion and the College of Engineering. dinner.” Students are encouraged to build an app for The College of Engineering participates in the Human vs. Zombies game, according to the National Engineers Week every year, and performs App-a-Thon website. community outreach as well as provides opportuOn Saturday, the Get Excited About Robotics nities to find out more information on campus to event will be in the Biology building. Elementary promote the profession. and middle school students will have the oppor- ➤➤rdavis@dailytoreador.com STAFF WRITER
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY BRADLEY TOLLEFSON/The Daily Toreador
MARLON WILLIAMS, A former Texas Tech football player, is a cast member on MTV’s The Real World: Portland.”
Former Tech football player to star in ‘The Real World: Portland’ By PAIGE SKINNER LA VIDA EDITOR
Tech student wins rodeo queen title -- LA VIDA, Page 5
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On Monday, the official trailer for “The Real World: Portland” premiered on MTV. And Texas Tech fans might have recognized a familiar face. A former Tech football player and rapper, Marlon Williams, has had his tough points in life and is ready to share it with the world. Growing up as a child of parents in the military, Williams calls Las Vegas home. While attending high school in Austin, Williams was offered a scholarship to play football at Tech. “It was the best time of my life, yo,” he said. “Like, being around (Mike) Leach because he’s such a character, being around Ruffin McNeill because he’s, like, one of
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those real, like, ‘for the players’ kind of guy, it was great. And then I came into a class with Michael Crabtree and Baron Batch, a lot of those guys. It was just fun because we had a real family vibe and bonded through football, and it was cool.” With about a year left before graduating, Williams stepped away from pursuing an industrial engineering degree and decided to play football for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in Canada, but then stopped. “Things didn’t really work out,” he said, “and it was kind of a bad time in my life. You just got to regroup.” Then one day, while scanning the MTV website, Williams saw a pop-up advertisement looking for people with an interesting story. WILLIAMS continued on Page 6 ➤➤
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At Texas Tech, (Pink Dinner) has become a tradition where we celebrate the females in engineering...
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