Daily Toreador The
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 20, 2013 VOLUME 87 ■ ISSUE 94
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Allen retirement opens Europe command slot WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is looking for a new candidate to lead American and allied forces in Europe after his first choice, Marine Gen. John Allen, bowed out Tuesday and announced his intention to retire for what he called personal reasons. The move further clouds the picture for Obama as he repositions key figures on his national security team and in key military leadership roles. The White House is fighting for Senate confirmation of Chuck Hagel as defense secretary; a confirmation vote was stalled last week by Republicans but is expected to happen next week. Obama also is switching commanders at Central Command, which is responsible for U.S. military operations throughout the greater Middle East, and Africa Command.
Texas lawmakers seek to block federal gun control AUSTIN (AP) — Police officers could be charged with a crime for enforcing new federal gun control laws in Texas under a proposal by a lawmaker who acknowledges the measure likely would end up in the U.S. Supreme Court. Rep. Steve Toth, a newly elected Republican from the Woodlands, said his proposal would prevent officers from carrying out any future federal orders to confiscate assault rifles and ammunition magazines. “There’s a federal law, there’s a 30-round magazine right in front of you - what do I do?” Toth said in an interview. The measure known as the Firearm Protection Act “answers that question in spades,” he said. It moved Tuesday to the House Committee on Federalism. President Barack Obama has proposed federal laws banning such weapons, but no such laws currently exist.
School of Law hosts fair for May graduation By CAROLYN HECK STAFF WRITER
The Texas Tech Alumni Center hosted its Spring 2013 law school graduation fair at the School of Law on Tuesday, where law students could go to get their big day in order. The fair was a joint effort between the center and Barnes and Noble at Tech, lasting from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Forum Room. The event featured booths and vendors that helped students rent caps and gowns, pick out rings and buy diploma frames and graduation announcements. For some students, the big day cannot come soon enough. Austin Hartley, a third-year law student from Dallas, said he is excited to move on and start his life. “I’m excited to be done with school and get out there and start working,” he said. Hartley came to Tech for its law school because of Tech’s cost efficiency and because he would have friends nearby. He said it turned out to be a good fit. “It’s been great,” he said. “I’ve en-
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joyed it a lot. It’s definitely the right place for me to be.” When he graduates, Hartley said he plans to go into transactional business planning and Austin Hartley Law student business litigation. Other students, like Paula Perez, are not too eager to go, seeing a long road ahead of them. Perez, a third-year law student from San Antonio, said she was both excited and nervous because she knows there is work to be done even after graduation. “Just because, I mean, after graduation, we still have to take the bar in May,” she said, “and then you still have to find a job. I mean, you don’t get your bar results until November, so it’s kind of not done when you graduate.” Perez also came to Tech for its law school, but was surprised to find how different Lubbock is from her hometown. Despite the differences, she said she found Tech to be a great school. When she graduates, Perez said she hopes to practice law in one of Texas’
It’s been great. I’ve enjoyed it a lot. It’s definitely the right place for me to be.”
Classifieds................7 Crossword..............7 Opinions.....................4 L a Vi d a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Sports........................5 Sudoku.......................2 EDITORIAL: 806-742-3393
major cities, like Dallas, Austin, Houston or San Antonio. The graduation fair was designed to accommodate graduating seniors like Perez and Hartley, according to a news
STAFF WRITER
PHOTO BY BRAD TOLLEFSON/The Daily Toreador
INDEX
PAULA PEREZ, A third-year law student from San Antonio, discusses ring options with Jerry Summers, a Balfour representative from Lubbock, on Tuesday in the Forum of the law school.
By EMILY GARDNER
THE MARCH OF Dimes Stork’s Nest Program hosted an open house Tuesday at their new location in No. 5 Briercroft Office Park near 57th Street and Avenue P.
Tech students participate in “Harlem Shake” video -- LA VIDA, Page 3
PHOTO BY WILLIAM ROBIN/The Daily Toreador
release from the law school, and strove to help students find everything they may need in one place. LAW continued on Page 2 ➤➤
Engineering students to host spring cleanup, gather donations
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Orange: Shonda Rhimes: prominent proponent for diversity
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Stork’s Nest moves to new location, hosts open house By EMILY GARDNER STAFF WRITER
Stork’s Nest hosted an open house to showcase its new location in No. 5 Briercroft Office Park at 57th Street and Avenue P on Tuesday afternoon. At the open house, cookies and juice were offered in the classroom and tours were given of the new facility. Kim Atkins, community relations coordinator for the Volunteer Center of Lubbock, said she attended the open house after a staff member had read about it in a newspaper, and came because the volunteer center is interested in how different organizations contribute and help the community. “We at the Volunteer Center are really interested in ways that organizations build up the community,” she said. “So, that’s why we came out to see Stork’s Nest and get a tour of the facilities, and hear about the ways that they are boosting prenatal care for women and babies.” Serena Sanchez, coordinator for Stork’s Nest, said the center moved locations in December 2012 because of size constraints in the old building. The center hosts its prenatal classes in the classroom on the first floor, Michelle Hunter, project manager, said, and houses office space and the Stork’s Nest store on the second floor.
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The new location is in a building named Family Guidance Center of Lubbock. Stork’s Nest is in the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center School of Nursing’s Larry Combest Community Health and Wellness Center, Hunter said. The program, started in 2000, is a cooperative program affiliated with March of Dimes and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., and offers prenatal classes and pregnancy tests, Sanchez said. “Our goal and March of Dimes’ goal is to ensure that moms get early and regular prenatal care,” she said. The program offers a nine-session course Wednesdays from noon to 1:30 p.m. or from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., six times a year, Sanchez said. The classes are confidential and geared toward 16to 35-year-old pregnant women. Each class is open for 20 to 40 people to attend, including 10 to 20 mothers, she said. Because the new location just opened, however, six couples come to the noon session and 10 couples attend the evening session. Samantha Yianitsas, an intern at the center and a senior human development and family studies major from Industry, said the only qualification someone must have to take part in a session is they must be pregnant. STORK’S NEST continued on Page 2 ➤➤
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The American Institute of Chemical Engineers at Texas Tech will host a spring cleanup March 2 and donate proceeds to the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center Stroke Aphasia Recovery (STAR) Program. The event will be from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. and will be broken up into morning, afternoon and all-day shifts, said Kimberly Davis, treasurer of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AICHE). A bad weather make-up day is scheduled for April 6. The cleanup occurs during both the fall and spring semesters and has been offered for the past six years, the senior chemical engineering and math major from San Antonio said. “For many years now, we’ve been doing a charity event where we team up with the STAR Program at the Health Sciences Center,” Davis said, “and basically, they help us find houses, in other words, donors that are willing to donate money to their program in exchange for yard work or sometimes housework.”
The donors include Lubbock citizens and professors at Tech, she said. The students work for donations, said Melinda Corwin, director of the STAR program, and whatever donations are gathered are donated to the program once a year. “They’ve given us anywhere from, like, $2500 all the way up to $6000 per year,” she said, “and it just kind of varies based on what they make on these workday donations.” The funding the STAR program receives from the organization, Corwin said, pays for speech therapy costs for stroke survivors who need therapy but have run out of money. The reason behind the partnership, she said, came from Corwin’s next door neighbor. “My next-door neighbor was the faculty adviser for AICHE, and they were looking for a philanthropy project,” Corwin said, “ … I suggested the STAR program to them and they started doing the workdays … (T)hey’ve just continued to do it ever since, and we’re very grateful.” CLEANUP continued on Page 2 ➤➤
Tech track and field prepares for Big 12 Championships By ELLEN CHAPPELL STAFF WRITER
The Texas Tech track and field team is ready to travel to Ames, Iowa to compete in the Big 12 Championships this weekend in Lied Recreation Center. The competition begins at 10 a.m. Friday and continues competition all day Saturday, with the awards ceremony scheduled for 6 p.m Saturday. The men’s track and field team moved ahead two places in week five, placing them at fourth overall in the national standings. Tech is the highestranked team in the nation within the Big 12 conference. The second-highest nationally ranked Big 12 team is Oklahoma State at sixth in the nation, followed by Texas at eighth. “It’s exciting to see us move up in the polls,” Tech coach Wes Kittley said. “It’s great for our athletes to gain some confidence heading into the conference meet and the national meet. I’m very proud of how our team has progressed through the
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indoor season.” With seven athletes and two relay teams now in the top 20 qualifying list, the team is under pressure this weekend to increase the number of Tech athletes ranked in the top 16 nationally to be sent to the national competition. “Everyone is having their conference meets — the SEC, the Big 12, everyone’s is this weekend, so it’s pretty important how we do,” Kittley said. Tech senior distance runner Kennedy Kithuka is ranked No. 1 nationally, as well as first in the Big 12 in the 5,000-meter run. Tech junior pole vaulter Kyal Meyers and Tech senior jumper Bryce Lamb also are first in their events in the Big 12 going into the competition this weekend. Tech’s seven athletes in the top 20 also are ranked in the top five of the Big 12. Those athletes are hoping to make the top 16 nationally, which would send them to the national competition.
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TRACK continued on Page 7 ➤➤
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