T H E U N I V E R S I T Y O F T E X A S A T A R L I N G T O N

WednesdaySeptember 30, 2009

Volume 91, No. 23www.theshorthorn.com

Since 1919

BY JOAN KHALAFThe Shorthorn senior staff

University officials are looking at Ransom Hall as their first choice for a freshman success center.

By Aug. 1, 2010, the entire building would be transformed into a one-stop shop for freshman for advising, test-

ing, tutoring and most services first-year undergraduates would need. The 24-hour computer lab and UTA Com-puter Store on the first floor, and the computer labs for classes on the other two floors, would be removed, said Donald Bobbitt, provost and academic affairs vice president.

“In my office, we have this moral obligation to make sure every student is successful,” Bobbitt said.

A temporary university officials group will draft a recommendation for

President James Spaniolo, outlining the estimated renovation cost of where they choose to put the center, among other project details to be finalized.

Bobbitt said Ransom Hall’s central location, across from the University Center, made it the first choice. After monitoring the hall’s use, officials de-termined the labs were underused.

English graduate student Matt Navy said he thought a better location

Ransom Hall proposed for freshman center

STUDENT LIFE

The transformation would make the computer lab a first-year student help facility.

RANSOM continues on page 6

BY JOHNATHAN SILVERThe Shorthorn senior staff

Health Services administered more than 100 shots during its flu outreach event Tuesday in the Univer-sity Center Palo Duro Lounge.

Health Services held stations around campus this week to reduce the spread of flu and flu-like symp-toms. Another outreach event will be held for students, faculty and staff today in Davis Hall from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Shots cost $15.

More than 1,000 shots received in September

FLU

Health Services administers vaccine for $15 to combat the widespread infection in Texas.

BY JASON BOYDThe Shorthorn news editor

A Central Library elevator malfunctioned Tuesday after-noon, leaving more than 10 stu-dents stuck for about 45 minutes.

The elevator, headed for the basement, wouldn’t open and the occupants couldn’t exit. University police responded

Students trapped in library elevator for 45 minutes

SAFETY

The glitch was repaired in the Central Library and all involved escaped uninjured.

The Shorthorn: Rasy Ran

Education senior Monica Dorsey works on a science project Tuesday at Ransom Hall. The university is considering Ransom Hall to be converted into a freshman success center, slated for completion August 2010, with no finalized 24-hour computer lab site replacement in mind.

BY MICAELA TITUSThe Shorthorn staff

The university community has until Oct. 19 to comment on the proposed tobacco ban by e-mailing the Office of Human Resources.

If President James Spaniolo approves the recommendation the campus will be tobacco-free by 2011.The Tobacco Free Campus Initiative committee made the recommendation, along with three others, which fol-

lows a trend of colleges like University of Florida and Tarrant County College with tobacco-free campuses.

Music media freshman Sara Baker said it’s a good idea. Most of the smokers she knows want to quit

but they can’t. She smoked for a year and felt a health change in a short period of time after quitting.

“With this new ban, it will be too much of an effort to get off-campus to smoke,” she said. “People will be able to stop this addic-tive and unhealthy habit.”

Film freshman Haley Hinshaw said a tobacco ban would be amazing and will help the university become more popular outside Texas.

“When I tell people that I go to UT Ar-lington, they automatically think I am talk-ing about the University of Texas,” she said. “This tobacco-free ban can make UTA a major school if we are the first people in the UT systems to do it.”

Mechanical engineering sophomore Mi-chael Wallace said a ban would create a positive environment on campus. He said he doesn’t like smoke and when people are smoking on campus it catches his attention.

“This ban would show that the university is initiative,” he said. “It will shed a positive light on the university and show that they care about students’ health.”

Spanish senior Alejandra Maese said that when students are smoking 50 feet away from buildings it still bothers her when she has to walk by them.

“I have seen people try to quit and they relapse because they can’t do it on their own. This ban will help people stop,” she said.

STUDENTS VOICE THEIR OPINIONS ABOUT THE PROPOSED SMOKING BAN

“I think tobacco is disgusting and I try to avoid it, but I still breathe it in when I’m walking around campus.”

Annie Donovan, photography junior

“They should ban chewing gum if the idea is to clean up the campus.”

Harvey Ellis, Business finance junior

“I always seclude myself when I smoke so I don’t bother other people, and where will they draw the ‘off-campus line’ anyway?”

Nidal Jabri, geology senior

Education graduate student Jason Harding said if the university en-forced the rules that are in place now

then a ban wouldn’t be necessary. “When the university just starts banning

things that are legal, it makes me wonder what else will be banned,” he said.

English junior Erica Peterson said she understands that smoking is bad for her health and second-hand smoking is bad for others, but she doesn’t smoke in places where it affects non-smokers.

“I can understand the reasoning behind the ban but it favors non-smokers,” she said. “Where do smokers’ rights end and non-smokers’ rights begin. I think that smokers deserve respect too.”

Accounting senior Ghenwa Sleiman said a ban is a bad idea and smokers would stop taking advantage of campus facilities and just stay at home if they can’t smoke.

“When I am studying at the library and it’s late, I go outside to smoke and come right back into the library,” she said. “If I have to go off-campus late at night then I will just stay at home. It’s not worth coming to campus.”

Finance senior Haseeb Ramzan said that students who want to smoke will do so re-gardless of a ban.

“This ban could hurt the school,” he said. “When students are looking for a place to go they may not consider the university because of this. We need to focus on other things like getting a football team.”

FOR THE PROPOSED TOBACCO BAN AGAINST THE PROPOSED TOBACCO BAN

The Tobacco Free Campus Initiative committee made the recommendation, along with three others, which fol-lows a trend of colleges like University of Florida and Tarrant County College with tobacco-free campuses.

ducation graduate student Jason Harding said if the university en-forced the rules that are in place now

“When the university just starts banning things that are legal, it makes me wonder

English junior Erica Peterson said she understands that smoking is bad for her health and second-hand smoking is bad for others, but she doesn’t smoke in places

“I can understand the reasoning behind the ban but it favors non-smokers,” she said. “Where do smokers’ rights end and non-smokers’ rights begin. I think that

Accounting senior Ghenwa Sleiman said a ban is a bad idea and smokers would stop taking advantage of campus facilities and just stay at home if they can’t smoke.

“When I am studying at the library and it’s late, I go outside to smoke and come right back into the library,” she said. “If I have to go off-campus late at night then I will just stay at home. It’s not worth coming

Finance senior Haseeb Ramzan said that students who want to smoke will do so re-

“This ban could hurt the school,” he said. “When students are looking for a place to go they may not consider the university because of this. We need to focus on other things like getting a football team.”

AGAINST THE PROPOSED TOBACCO BAN

Health Services administered more than 100 shots during its flu outreach event Tuesday in the Univer-

Health Services held stations around campus this week to reduce the spread of flu and flu-like symp-toms. Another outreach event will be held for students, faculty and staff today in Davis Hall from 10 a.m. to

Students trapped in library elevator

Mbut they can’t. She smoked for a year and felt a health change in a short period of time after quitting.

“With this new ban, it will be too much of an effort to get off-campus to smoke,” she said. “People will be able to stop this addic-tive and unhealthy habit.”

Film freshman Haley Hinshaw said a tobacco ban would be amazing and will help the university become more popular outside Texas.

“When I tell people that I go to UT Ar-lington, they automatically think I am talk-ing about the University of Texas,” she said. “This tobacco-free ban can make UTA a major school if we are the first people in the UT systems to do it.”

Mechanical engineering sophomore Mi-chael Wallace said a ban would create a positive environment on campus. He said he doesn’t like smoke and when people are smoking on campus it catches his attention.

“This ban would show that the university is initiative,” he said. “It will shed a positive light on the university and show that they care about students’ health.”

Spanish senior Alejandra Maese said that when students are smoking 50 feet away from buildings it still bothers her when she has to walk by them.

“I have seen people try to quit and they relapse because they can’t do it on their own. This ban will help people stop,” she said.

FOR THE PROPOSED TOBACCO BAN

Smoke Out Students discuss pros and cons of proposed tobacco ban

The Shorthorn: Stephanie Goddard

Health Services registered nurse May Tam injects a patient with an immunization Tues-day afternoon in the University Center Palo Duro Lounge. Flu shots cost $15 and are available today in Davis Hall and during most business hours at Health Services.

ELEVATOR continues on page 6

FLU continues on page 3

Start Your MattressesAnnual Bed Races take place Thursday.

A New PerilInternational student comes out of coma but needs funds for treatment.

NEWS | PAGE 6 NEWS | PAGE 2

VOICE YOUR OPINIONE-mail university administration at hradministration@uta.edu

TOBACCO TALKCheck out Opinion on page 4 for more reactions to the proposed tobacco ban.

GO ONLINEVisit THE SHORTHORN .com for a video about the situation and to submit your view on the matter.

Photo Illustration: Tim Crumpton

TUESDAY

Assist AgencyCampus police assisted Arlington Po-lice Department with a sexual assault call at 1:56 a.m. at 501 Nedderman Drive. The victim said she was forced into a black truck and assaulted at an unknown location.

MONDAY

Warrant Service- MisdemeanorPolice arrested a nonstudent for out-standing Fort Worth warrants at 6:11 p.m. at 300 Cooper St.

Injured Person Medical AssistA student fell while indoor rock climb-ing at 3:42 p.m. in the Maverick Activi-ties Center and was transported to Arlington Memorial Hospital.

InvestigationA student said another student direct-ed threatening comments toward her at 12:35 p.m. at 701 Nedderman Drive.

FRIDAY

HarassmentA student reported she had received harassing text messages from an-other student at 7:14 p.m. reported at 701 Nedderman Drive.

DisturbanceA student reported an argument she had with a parking garage employee at 10:59 a.m. in the Maverick Parking Garage .

CORRECTION

TODAY

Profit 101: 8:30 a.m.-noon, ARRI, 7300 Jack Newell Blvd. S., Fort Worth. Price is $49. For information contact Jennifer Wilson at 817-272-5909 or tmacevents@uta.edu.

Art Exhibition in The Gallery at UTA: Tommy Fitzpatrick/Margo Sawyer: 10 a.m.-5 p.m., The Gallery at UTA. Free. For information contact Patricia Healy at 817-272-5658 or phealy@uta.edu.

Flu Shot Outreach - Davis Hall: 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m., in front of the Bursar Services. Shots are available for UTA students and faculty for $15. For information contact the Immunization Clinic at 817-272-2771 or healthservices@uta.edu.

Drop-in Advising and Info Table: 11 a.m.-2 p.m., University Center first floor, booth near Starbucks. Free. For information contact Blake Hart at 817-272-1120 or studyabroad@uta.edu.

Study Abroad Info Session: Noon-1 p.m. Pecos Room, UC. Free. For information contact Blake Hart at 817-272-1120 or studyabroad@uta.edu.

Green Screen: Student Films about the Environment: Noon - 1 p.m., Central Li-brary sixth floor parlor. For information contact Roxanna Latifi at 817-272-6107 or roxanna@uta.edu.

Mindful Moments: 12:15 p.m., 235 Business Building. Free. For information contact Marie Bannister at 817-272-2771 or bannister@uta.edu.

Exhibiting Artist Talk by Tommy Fitzpat-rick: 12:30-1:30 p.m., 148 Fine Arts Building. Free. For information contact Patricia Healy at 817-272-5658 or phealy@uta.edu.

Intramural Ultimate Frisbee 5 vs. 5: 6 p.m.- midnight., Campus Recreation Fields Complex, at the intersection of Fielder Road and Mitchell Street. Free.

Calendar submissions must be made by 4 p.m. two days prior to run date. To enter your event, call 817-272-3661 or log on to www.theshorthorn.com/calendar

CALENDAR

Mostly Sunny• High 89 °F • Low 72°F

Page 2 Wednesday, September 30, 2009THE SHORTHORN

PERSONAVACTION by Thea Blesener

For a crime map, visit THE SHORTHORN .com

POLICE REPORTThis is a part of the daily activity log produced by the university’s Police Department. To report a criminal incident on campus, call 817-272-3381.

The caption under Tuesday’s Oozeball photo on page 5 of participants rinsing themselves should have read: Pre-med graduate stu-dent Fahed Abdelaty, center, joins others in scrubbing away remaining mud Friday during the Oozeball tournament.

BY SHAMBHU SHARANThe Shorhorn staff

When Lijing Liu’s father asked his daughter to move her head, she moved it.

Liu, an electrical engineering graduate student, formerly in a coma, can now move her head, eyes and eyelids, recognize faces and un-derstand people talking to her. She still cannot talk. Texas Health Har-ris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth doctors took out her respiration tube and she is able to breath on her own.

After an upcoming surgery she will have to be moved, doctors said. But her parents said they can’t af-ford it.

Two blood clots in Liu’s brain ruptured and began to bleed in July, which caused her to fall into a coma. Her father, Jun Liu, said doctors will arrange Liu’s surgery on Oct. 5 to remove the last of her blood clots.

The doctors asked Liu’s parents to move her out of the hospital after the surgery and find one in China or a rehabilitation center in the Me-troplex.

“The situation in China is very hard,” Liu’s father said. “If people have no money, they can’t stay in the hospital.”

Doctors are trying to find a reha-bilitation center, which is expensive. Liu’s insurance ran out and doesn’t cover the expenses of rehabilita-tion. Liu is not a U.S. citizen and doesn’t qualify for special support programs, Liu’s father said.

Deputy Consul General Yu Boren, with the Chinese Consulate, came from Houston to meet with Liu’s family along with Wang Dong, cultural and press affairs consul, and Yu Haiying, science and tech-nology consul.

“I am worried about Liu’s major operation. Going back to China is a long trip. If she can stay here until

she recovers it would be better,” Boren said. “Liu’s family has spent all of their money. They are from an ordinary family and they need help.”

In the meantime, Liu is still con-sidered a UTA student.

“Lijing Liu has a medical reason for not being enrolled,” said Judy Young, Office of International Edu-cation executive director. “As long as there is medical reason the office can give [her] medical waiver to stay in the university.”

A medical waiver was filed for her this semester and was approved. Liu needs to file another waiver at the end of fall or beginning of the spring semester to continue keep-ing her status as a student. Young

said she hopes Liu can recover and complete her degree.

The office is keeping in touch with Friendship Association of Chi-nese Students and Scholars, the or-ganization of which Liu is a mem-ber, about her situation, Young said.

The association raised donations for her in front of the library for two weeks in September, built a Web site for her and helped shuttle her parents to and from the hospital.

If she has to go back to China, Boren said he will make sure the local government would help her.

SHAMBHU SHARANnews-editor.shorthorn@uta.edu

INTERNATIONAL

Lijing Liu ruptured blood clots in brain and has been in the hospital since this summer.

The Shorthorn: Shambhu Sharan

Lijing Liu’s father Jun, center, caresses Lijing’s head as her mother, Ling Liu, right, and physics graduate Yuebin Li look on Sunday at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth. Liu, formerly in a coma, can now move her head, eyes, recognize faces and understand speech. She is still unable to talk but is breathing on her own.

Students can competitively repre-sent their colleges or schools today in the University Center Bowling and Billiards.

The Science Constituency Council, representing the College of Science, is holding their annual Constituency Council Cup, known as C-cubed. The cup is awarded based on total num-ber of points earned in games and competitions, with each team’s par-ticipants representing their college or school.

Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to come eat free food, bowl, play billiards and sing karaoke in order to help their college or school earn points toward winning

the cup. SCC President Natalia Vargas said

it is a great way for students to come out and meet new people.

“C-cubed is a tradition that the SCC has been hosting for a while,” Vargas said. “The main goal is to unite the colleges and encourage everyone to gain some school spirit along the way.”

For example, 10 points will be awarded per team for every karaoke song completed.

Attendees are asked to support the university by wearing university-affiliated clothing, which will go

toward each individual college’s or school’s point total.

Administrators like Greg Hale, Col-lege of Science assistant dean, and Beth Wright, College of Liberal Arts dean, will be at the event.

Vargas said it’s a great way for students to meet administrators in an informal setting.

College of Engineering and College of Science had the same number of points last year, but College of Sci-ence won because it had more stu-dents in attendance.

– Vinod Srinivasan

SCIENCE

WHEN AND WHEREWhat: Constituency Council CupWhen: 6 - 9 p.m. TodayWhere: Bowling and Billiards in the University Center

GET INVOLVED

Send donations to: Lijing Liu (or Friendship Association of Chinese Students and Scholars) P.O. Box 190835 Arlington, Texas 76019

Please make checks payable to: On Behalf of Lijing Liu

To volunteer to help contact: uta_facss@yahoo.com

Web site in honor of Lijing Liu: http://soundmap.org/Lijing/

Student comes out of coma

Constituency Council hosts inter-university cup

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Editor in Chief ............................ Marissa Halleditor.shorthorn@uta.eduManaging Editor .......................... Mark Bauer

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online-editor.shorthorn@uta.eduWebmaster ........................... Troy Buchwalterwebmaster.shorthorn@uta.eduStudent Ad Manager ....................... Mike Loveadmanager@shorthorn.uta.eduMarketing Manager .................... Kevin GreenProduction Manager................ Robert Harper

FIRST COPY FREE

ADDITIONAL COPIES 25 CENTSTHE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT ARLINGTON91ST YEAR, © THE SHORTHORN 2009All rights reserved. All content is the property of The Shorthorn and may not be reproduced, published or retransmitted in any form without written permission from UTA Student Publications. The Shorthorn is the student newspaper of the University of Texas at

Arlington and is published in the UTA Office of Student Publications. Opinions expressed in The Shorthorn are not necessarily those of the university administration.

Wednesday, September 30, 2009 Page 3The ShorThorn

By Ali MustAnsirThe Shorthorn senior staff

Five people in a full lecture hall raised their hand when Pizza Inn CEO Charlie Morrison asked how many people had eaten at Pizza Inn in the past month.

Morrison, who took Pizza Inn’s reins in 2007, spoke to marketing students and American Marketing Association members Tuesday. Mor-rison called Pizza Inn a real-world challenge of re-building a forgotten brand and a work in progress. Sev-eral students raised their hands when Morrison asked who thought Pizza Inn was out of business.

Morrison said a business will fail if it does not take care of a brand and remember the things that made

it successful. Pizza Inn disconnected from the elements customers knew and it hurt the company, he said. Morrison said Pizza Inn is making efforts to re-build the company by re-introducing elements that initially made it a success, including return-ing to the original mascot and deliv-ering on customer’s expectations.

“To build a great brand you need to focus on what you do well and do it very well,” Morrison said.

AMA president Bharath Tejasvi, marketing research graduate student, worked with Morrison in his interna-tional marketing class. Tejasvi said he realized the importance of building on the brand and quality of a com-pany, which includes collecting data about customers.

“It is important to do a lot of mar-keting research on who customers are,” he said.

Marketing senior Malcholmn Lewis said he learned a lot about

repositioning a brand.“Even if you think it is time to cut

your losses and quit, there is still time to bring it back,” Lewis said.

Lewis said it was interesting to hear about the original founder sell-ing Pizza Inn to a larger company, which went bankrupt a few years later.

“It’s important to remember what made you successful and why people like you,” Lewis said.

Morrison held executive roles at Steak and Ale, Ponderosa Restau-rants, Kinko’s, Boston Market and Pizza Hut. He advises students to get experience working with a well-established brand. Companies can be good at recognizing talent and pre-senting better opportunities, he said.

“Learn to be a sponge,” Morrison said. “I learn new things everyday.”

Ali MustAnsirnews-editor.shorthorn@uta.edu

Old values can rebuild past companiesGuest lecture

Market research, original success strategies help build brand, says Pizza Inn CEO.

2010 summer classes will begin on a ThursdayStudents will have a few more days to sleep in next summer.The Undergraduate Assembly approved a change to the 2010 academic

calendar that will start classes on Thursday — as opposed to the Monday it starts on every year.

This will also mean that classes will end in the second week of December, as opposed to the first week.

Donald Bobbitt, Provost and Academic Affairs vice president, said that the Housing Office requested the extension so that they would have more time to prepare the residence halls before classes started.

Some assembly members were concerned because of lab-scheduling con-flicts. Melanie Johnson, Student Congress vice president, said she thought that students would be less likely to attend class because it starts later in the week.

Sonia Kania, Department of Modern Languages assistant professor, was the only opposing vote. Kania said she doesn’t see why school can’t start in-stead the following Monday, a week late, instead of three days late.

“I like symmetry,” she said, “and that just doesn’t make sense to me.”Economics junior Adedoyin Omidiran said the later ending date would

make final-exam time worse.“It’s just extending a hellish situation for all students,” she said.

— Joan Khalaf

AcAdeMics

For the week ending Sept. 26, the Texas Department of State Health Ser-vices classified the flu as widespread in Texas. The widespread classification is used when confirmed flu cases span across at least half the state.

“This year we especially advise stu-dents to get flu shots,” said Jason Per-alta, a Health Services administrative assistant.

Also prevalent, influenza type A

H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu, reached pandemic status last sum-mer. The Department of Health and Human Services will release the vac-cines available during the first week of October, said Kathleen Sebelius, Health and Human Services Depart-ment secretary. Peralta said it is un-known when the university will receive the vaccines.

Flu shots given at outreach events on campus won’t protect from the H1N1 virus. The health center ordered enough H1N1 virus vaccines for the entire campus, Pevalta said.

From Sept. 4 to 21, Health Ser-

vices gave 697 shots and as of Tuesday, more than 1,000.

Biochemistry freshman Jordan Benson said he got his shot in the Palo Duro Lounge because it would cost less than seeing a doctor.

“I thought it would be the smart thing to do,” he said. “I didn’t want to get sick.”

Nursing junior Dhruti Derasa-ri said she got a flu shot because it is mandatory for nursing students. Many School of Nursing students in-teract one-on-one with hospital pa-tients who may have the flu or flu-like symptoms, she said.

Oct. 15 is the deadline for nursing students to get their seasonal flu shots.

“Hospitals have their own rules [regarding vaccinations],” said Glad-

ys Maryol, School of Nursing under-graduate programs director. “We ex-pect that any [nursing student] who has contact with patients and does not have a flu shot will have to wear masks.”

Aerospace engineering senior Paul Sitler said he got his flu shot some-time last week. He suggested that all students be vaccinated before there’s a rush.

“It’s a small cost for a big benefit,” he said.

JohnAthAn silvernews-editor.shorthorn@uta.edu

Flucontinued from page 1

Nonstudent sexually assaulted near UTA Arlington Police Department and UTA Police assisted a female nonstudent

who came to campus for aid after being sexually assaulted off campus at 8 p.m. Monday. Police are looking for the suspect.

The victim was walking west on West Abram Street when a man called her by name and forced her into his vehicle. The suspect took her to an unknown off-campus location on South Cooper Street and sexually assaulted her, uni-versity spokesperson Kristin Sullivan said.

The victim escaped from the suspect’s vehicle and ran to the campus for assistance, Sullivan said.

“This is serious and we are very concerned,” Sullivan said. “The police de-partment is urging the campus community to be vigilant about their surround-ings and to be cautious about approaching vehicles.”

The victim described the suspect to police as a Hispanic male with short dark hair in his late teens to early 20s. He is between 5 feet 9 inches and 5 feet 11 inches tall and between 130 and 160 pounds with a thin build. He was wearing jeans and a blue polo with a small oval cowboy belt buckle at the time of the assault and is tattooed on his arms and face.

The vehicle is described as a black regular cab pickup with tinted windows and gray cloth interior. The victim said it might have been a Ford F-150 or a similar model. She noticed a faint air freshener hanging from the rearview mirror.

There have been six forcible sex offenses at UTA since 2005, according to campus crime statistics. Any unwanted physical contact is described as sexual assault, including forcible sex offenses.

Sexual assault and aggravated sexual assault are felony crimes and UTA considers it imperative to provide sexual assault awareness programs aimed at the prevention of such crimes, according to the UTA Police Web site.

Rape Aggression Defense is a self-defense class for women. Students can register online by contacting Ron Cook at reynolds@uta.edu or 817-272-3902.

— Nicole Hines

sAfetyThe Shorthorn: Stephanie Goddard

Pizza Inn CEO Charlie Morrison speaks to marketing students Tuesday afternoon at the Business Building. Morrison emphasized the importance of having quality products and a familiar feeling associated with one’s company.

find vAccinesSeasonal Flu:When: 10 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. TodayWhere: Davis HallSwine Flu:The first doses of vaccines for influenza type A H1N1 virus, or swine flu, will be released during the first week of October, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

www.theshorthorn.com

OPiniOnabout opinion

Cohe Bolin, opinion editoropinion-editor.shorthorn@uta.edu

Opinion is published Wednesday and Friday.

rememberThe Shorthorn invites students, university

employees and alumni to submit guestcolumns to the Opinion page.

The ShorThorn

Page 4 Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Editor-in-chiEfMarissa Hall

E-maileditor.shorthorn@uta.edu

The Shorthorn is the official student newspaper of the University of Texas at Arlington and is published four times weekly during fall and spring semesters, and twice weekly during the summer sessions. Unsigned editorials are the opinion of thE Shorthorn Editorial Board and do not necessarily reflect the opin-ions of individual student writers or editors,

Shorthorn advisers or university administration. lEttErS should be limited to 300 words. They may be edited for space, spelling, grammar and malicious or libelous statements. Letters must be the original work of the writer and must be signed. For identification purposes, letters also must include the writer’s full name, address and telephone number, although the address and tele-

phone number will not be published. Students should include their classification, major and their student iD number, which is for identifica-tion purposes. The student iD number will not be published. Signed columns and letters to the editor reflect the opinion of the writer and serve as an open forum for the expression of facts or opinions of interest to The Shorthorn’s readers.

Editorial/our viEw

Commute from Bed to the Web

With the use of Second Life, students can avoid the long drives to class

imagine if you didn’t have to drive to school, deal with traffic and parking — you could just stay at home to go to class.

This could be the future for the UT-System cam-puses, with many facets that would benefit students and faculty. This could be the next step in distance learning — a new way to conduct classes online and utilize technology.

This would be Second Life – a virtual world where an education trend is gaining traction. Sec-ond Life is a virtual world where people can make avatars, electronic images representing and manipu-lated by computer users, and take them through real-life tasks like owning businesses, buying land and meeting others.

More than 300 universities and colleges across the country are using the virtual reality world to in-teract and meet for class, according to a USA Today

article. The UT-System is the first

to start a statewide experiment with Second Life, funded by a $250,000 grant, according to Sarah Jones, Digital Library Services information architect, who is the project leader on our campus.

next week, a course in the School of nursing will have the first class at the university in Second Life. Jones said this is still a new technology but hopes more departments and colleges express interest in the program.

“i’m in the process of mak-ing contacts around the campus. There has been interest from liberal arts and distance education.” Jones said. “i hope this year is a success so that it will lead to a second year. it would be wonderful if there was participation from every school.”

The UT-System purchased islands on Second Life for classes to virtually meet, interact and collaborate with other UT-System universities. Each school has three 16-acre islands. Program objectives include increased access to courses, office hours and discus-sion.

UT-Austin senior lecturer Leslie Jarmon, Division of instructional innovation and Assessment faculty development specialist, has been working on this program for four years. She was the recipient of the grant, which is funding the first-year UT-System ex-periment with this technology.

Jarmon said nursing programs at five universities are already collaborating. Universities working to-gether, not just in nursing or medical programs, will benefit all students, she said. A group project could look a different if members would be located across Texas and meet as avatars online.

Jones said Second Life would provide different as-pects than WebCT, the current online class applica-tion. She cited issues such as driving time, fuel costs, parking issues and traffic that would be alleviated if the program were a success.

The program would be beneficial to many stu-dents and faculty on campus who commute, non-traditional students and faculty teaching several classes.

We hope the Second Life initiative will be success-ful so that the campus can explore options with the program.

— The Shorthorn editorial board is Marissa Hall, Jason Boyd, Mark Bauer, Dustin Dangli, and Cohe

Bolin

Editorial rounduPThe issue: Second Life could be the wave of the future for universities and col-leges everywhere. The university is introducing a nursing class for a test drive.

We suggest:If the class is successful, this could be a great opportunity for our cam-pus to utilize this virtual education system, pos-sibly benefiting students, faculty and staff.

Since 1919

discombobulation by Houston Hardaway

i’m between committed romances right now.

Let’s compromise! i’ll date your significant other on alternating week-ends until i find my own.

That’s fair, right? Or are you a greedy hoarder?

And another thing!We all know the country

needs more medical care, so why don’t we allow associates degrees in surgery?

i’d like to play doctor and all that medical degree jazz takes so long and is so hard!

Of course, these are ridic-ulous ideas. But they serve to illustrate the point that com-promise is not always a good thing.

Compromise works when it is volun-tary and mutually-beneficial.

Three coworkers want to have lunch together and have different ideas of where to go. One suggests a fourth op-tion that all three agree on and reach a compromise.

You plan to pay your baby sitter $8

an hour for three hours, but the sitter wants $12. You agree, if the sitter will do the dishes and laundry. if the baby sitter agrees, compromise saved the day.

Anne likes Bob’s painting hanging in his living room and offers him $100 for it. He explains that it isn’t for sale, but she throws the money on the coffee table, pulls the painting down and heads out the door. That’s theft, not compromise.

Compromise is one of the bywords of tolerance and sensi-tivity in the mainstream media and education. Another is se-mantics. Where compromise is used almost exclusively to in-

dicate a positive thing, semantics is one of the longest four-letter words some social engineers and pundits know.

The two terms are related when George Stephanopoulos, ABC pundit and former Clinton administration staffer, reads the dictionary definition of “tax” to President Barack Obama during a taped interview, and Obama

cries semantics. Obama does not refute the clear definition presented to him, but he says it is not applicable to his topic, and that Stephanopoulos was “stretching” by looking up the word in the first place.

The implication here is that seman-tics is a refusal to play nicely and com-promise on meanings of terms.

So, what is the compromise between excellence and failure? Mediocrity?

Where is the middle ground be-tween life and death? Zombies?

What is the moderate position be-tween individual freedom and enslave-ment? Citizenship in a socialist welfare state?

The antonym for inappropriate compromise is standards.

What is the compromise between metric and English measurement? A house that collapses because the pieces don’t fit.

— Cliff Hale is a columnist for The Shorthorn and an interdisciplinary studies junior

the puzzling Side of Compromise

it’s one thing to get along with neighbors, another to collaborate with enemies

cliff HalE

Tobacco a major annoyance on campus

Justin Sharp’s column starts by his assertion that smoking is a personal choice, then states studies show sec-ond-hand smoke is not harmful, which

is a contentious point based on other studies. The point he misses is to many non-smokers, tobacco smoke is a major annoyance. I like breathing clean air. I get aggravated when I leave a building and have no choice but to smoke, if even it is only second-hand.

It would be the equivalent of me

lightly pushing him every time I saw him. Since I am not causing him harm, only annoying him, it must be OK.

—J Branden Helms, City and Region-al Planning graduate student

lEttEr

i object to the campus being made tobacco-free.

“Universities across the country are moving toward tobacco-free campus poli-cies,” Jean Hood said in the university newsletter the TrailBlazer. So what? Just be-cause everyone else does it doesn’t make it right.

i n f r i n g i n g upon my right to use public space to smoke is not a debate.

A university stands for knowl-edge and free-dom. Freedom is not attained by defining it. The more we are told what we cannot do, the more freedom is taken away.

Freedom and the acqui-sition of knowledge are in-separably related. We can grow only when we are pro-vided the freedom to think what we please.

i understand the issue of second-hand smoke.

The the dangers of second-hand smoke are a matter of much debate.

The fact that smoking is harm-ful influences the public perception of tobacco in negative ways and people as-sume they have the right to control oth-ers’ use of tobacco with the attitude

of wanting to help smokers quit.

i am a smoker, not a chain smoker, not an ad-

dicted-smoker, rather a habitual smoker. i smoke on occasion because i want to. if i am with people, i ask them if i may smoke. if someone asks me to put out my cigarette, i acqui-esce. So when someone of-fers to help me quit, they are insulting my intelligence. i am fully aware of the health risks and i have made the choice to smoke.

How can they assume i want to quit?

The university’s solution would ban tobacco on cam-pus, helping all those poor, ignorant, dumb, idiotic, worthless people quit. Look at us, so concerned about everyone.

The university should create clearly-marked desig-nated smoking areas to ad-dress second-hand smoke.

My solution is a compro-mise to stop a dictator-like approach to the problem. A dictator with a smiley face is still the dictator.

The issue here is greater than smoking bans. it is that the mass seems to con-sider itself rightfully able to manipulate the individual. i strongly believe that my liberty ends where yours begins, and have therefore suggested that above solu-tion is a way to keep all the individuals happy. Whether or not the university can put in its catalog that it is committed to a tobacco-free lifestyle is not my concern. My university should not forsake me for a few PR points.

— Vidwan Raghavan is an advertising junior

Smoky IssuesSmoking is my choice, not an addiction

vidwan ragHavan

guEst column

The Shorthorn: Thea Blesener

Wednesday, September 30, 2009 Page 5

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis

ACROSS1 Used a spade4 “Look what I did!”8 Accident

14 Fertility lab eggs15 Baghdad’s

country16 Francia neighbor17 *Evil Asian

doctor in SaxRohmer novels

19 Contaminates20 Blow, as one’s

lines21 “There oughta

be __”23 South American

mountain chain24 Second largest

planet26 Scalawag28 Seek damages29 Category30 Polish Nobelist

Walesa33 Workout

aftereffects36 “We’ll always have

__”:Rick, to Ilsa,in “Casablanca”

38 “Get off the stage!”39 Satisfied laugh41 Transfers to a

central computer43 Whisperer’s target44 Smooths, as

wood46 Wetlands bird47 Compact __49 Sheet on the

road, perhaps50 Cartoonist’s frame51 Like steamy prose53 Ogden native57 Alexander of

“Seinfeld”59 Truth stretcher61 Daffy62 Thunderstruck64 Each answer to a

starred clue is atype of this

66 Wall Streetworker

67 Yemen coastalcity

68 “__-Tiki”69 Tijuana snooze70 Lean to one side,

at sea71 Lay down the

lawn

DOWN1 Tips in a

gentlemanlymanner

2 Soft palatedangler

3 Full range4 Main element in

pewter5 Mysterious6 Wonka’s creator7 Sea-life displays8 Queens

ballplayer9 Violinist Stern

10 __ cord:chiropractor’sconcern

11 *Scooter feature12 Pot starter13 Student’s

permission slip18 Maligning sort22 *Tusked mammal25 Deteriorates, as

iron27 Hop along happily31 Programmer’s

output32 Emcee33 Served perfectly34 Indian spiced tea35 *Trotter’s

footwear item

36 *Eyebrowcosmeticapplicator

37 Hard rain?40 Café lightener42 Dakota Native

American45 Point in math

class?48 Froggy chorus50 Foiled villain’s

shout52 First stage

54 Pawns55 Cold sufferer’s

outburst56 Incessantly57 Setup

punches58 Prefix with

culture60 Bavaria-based

automaker63 Musical syllable65 “The Closer” TV

station

Tuesday’s Puzzle Solved

By Chuck Deodene 9/30/09

(c)2009 Tribune Media Services, Inc. 9/30/09

Wednesday’s Puzzle Solved

(c)2009 Tribune Media Services,Inc.10/1/09

DR. RUTH Q: I’m an 18-year-old male. My girlfriend and I recently talked about the removal of pubic hair. She has been shaving hers for a few years, and she talked me into shaving mine. I like the idea but am unsure if it is a safe thing to do. I mean, it must be there for a reason! I shaved a small patch off just to see what would hap-pen, and a number of red pimples appeared. So, I was wondering if you could tell me if this is a safe thing to do, and also how to remove the hair in the safest and most convenient manner.

A: While I’m not en-couraging you to do this -- it’s entirely up to you -- the idea that it is there for a reason probably doesn’t stop you from shaving your beard, so it shouldn’t stop you from shav-ing your pubic hair. On the other hand, you’ve been shaving your face for a while, so the skin on your face has gotten accustomed to this process, but that’s not true of the area around your genitals. I don’t know much about this particular subject, but I’m sure if

you really wanted to do it, you could fi nd a safe and comfort-able way. But if you don’t want to do it -- which is perfectly fi ne -- and are using these excuses,

my advice is to just tell your girlfriend that you don’t want to do it, and leave it at that.

Q: My boyfriend en-joys lovemaking every night. Why is it that I lack the energy or stim-ulation for lovemak-ing?

A: There could be lots of reasons, includ-ing relationship issues, outside psychological pressures (problems at work, for example), inner psychological is-

sues, your level of ability to have orgasms, physical issues or even a combination of these. There’s no way that I could give you an answer unless I knew a lot more. So try thinking about this more to see if you can pinpoint the cause, and then talk about it with your boyfriend. If you’re really at a loss, then you should fi nd a therapist to speak with about this problem.

Dr. RuthSend your

questions to

Dr. Ruth Westheimer

c/o King Features

Syndicate

235 E. 45th St.,

New York, NY

10017

9 6 35 7 9

2 8 41 3 44 3

7 2 97 1 5

3 5 16 8 3

Instructions:Fill in the grid so

that every row,

every column and

every 3x3 grid

contains the digits 1

through 9 with no

repeats. That

means that no

number is repeated

in any row, column

or box.

948567132653214789712893456591346827274958361836172945427631598385729614169485273

Solution

Solutions, tips and

computer program

at www.sudoku.com

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MISCELLANEOUSFEMALE VOCALIST wanted for music album. If you are interested email me at swapnil.baral@mavs.uta.edu

UTACATHOLICS.ORG thanks Golden Chick on Cooper St. for their support of our charity fundraiser! They have friendly work-ers and great food! More Rolls!

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Page 6 Wednesday, September 30, 2009The ShorThorn

Spots still open for annual Bed RacesReady, set, go! Students still have time to prepare for the 29th annual

Bed Races that will be held on Thursday at the Maverick Stadium.The admission is free and the event will be sponsored by EXCEL Cam-

pus Activities and the Campus Recreation Department. Early registration ended at 5 p.m. Tuesday, but teams can register late

for the event up until 3 p.m. today, by returning their entry forms to the University Center lower level, Room B14. Anyone registering at this time will be charged a $50 fee, which includes a $10 late charge.

Registration is free if sign up is done through a residence hall.Angie Mack, EXCEL Campus Tradition director, said that this year stu-

dents can expect to see variety of activities.Those activities include a mechanical bull, bungee, a live disc jokey, field-

goal-kicking contest and games. Concessions and memorabilia will also be available.

Each team will consist of five members and 100 teams will be accepted for the race. If that number isn’t reached, teams will still be accepted until the start of the event.

A mandatory meeting for all team captains will take place at 6:45 p.m. and the races begin at 7 p.m.

Students will attempt to break the current Texas collegiate pillow-fight record during half-time.

Participants will race in three categories: men’s, women’s and coed. Awards will be given for a field-goal-kicking contest, most creative costume and a team wearing a costume with the most school spirit.

“It’s so much fun because all the teams are so creative with coming up with their costumes,” Mack said.

Prizes will include gift cards along with medals for the first- and second-place winners.

“It’s really fun to be out there and to see all the teams,” Mack said.

— Temicca Hunter

TradiTions

and got the occupants out, and Otis, a worldwide elevator company, put the el-evator back in working order.

An Otis employee who helped fix the elevator but wouldn’t give his name said the elevator experienced “a glitch in the system.” He compared it to a computer that needs the occasional reboot but works fine otherwise.

Marketing senior Gordon Braley, one of the occupants, said he was headed to the basement to study for an exam when the elevator malfunctioned with 12 occupants inside.

“People were starting to get a little upset in there,” he said, describing the scene.

He said people passed the time by tell-ing jokes, trying to relieve the tension. Some had to use the restroom during the stay, but couldn’t, he said.

Administrative manager Carleen Dolan said an elevator could jam anytime, any-where in the world. She said the library calls Otis to fix problems as they arise.

She said students shouldn’t worry about chronic problems with the rightmost el-evator in the lobby upon entering.

“As soon as it’s fixed, it’s fixed,” Dolan said.

She suggests students not thrust clos-ing doors open when entering elevators because it wears down the door mecha-nism.

“If you miss the elevator, just wait for another one,” she said.

Jason Boydnews-editor.shorthorn@uta.edu

Elevatorcontinued from page 1

could be considered.“I see the whole school as a freshman center

with the UC and the Maverick Activities Center,” he said.

It has yet to be determined where Ransom Hall computers would go, but Bobbitt said that they may be placed in labs or spaces may be created with casual seating arrangements and a social environment.

Spaces in Davis Hall were also considered, but offices, like the Financial Aid Office, cannot be moved.

The group is considering placing the UTA Computer Store either in the UC or partnering with the UTA Bookstore.

Computer Store manager Pam Tremaine said she would be upset if the store moved to the bookstore, since Follett owns it.

“I consider us more of a service than a busi-ness,” she said. “They’re [the bookstore] there to make money, and we’re there as a service to students.”

Nikhila Kommireddy, an Office of Informa-tion Technology employee and computer science graduate student, said she could only foresee a problem if there were no more 24/7 labs that all

students could access.Visual communication junior Mark Lari-

more, who takes a digital design class on Ran-som Hall’s second floor, said he would be for the change if his class would move to where his other classes are located — the Fine Arts Building.

“We’re very detached being over here,” he said.Senior Vice Provost Michael Moore headed

the Task Force for the First Year Experience and Undergraduate Retention, which analyzed ways to retain students, specifically freshmen. He said the first year is a critical time and the center will help struggling freshmen, instead of making them run around campus for what they need.

“I think this will be one of the biggest changes to come to UTA in a very long time,” Moore said.

Biology freshman Brent Collins said the cen-ter is a great idea.

“Being a freshman, you don’t have a feel for the campus yet or know quite where to go,” he said. “Having something like that would be nice.”

Biology freshman Laura Cardona said she would rather not have a center for freshmen, because it would increase their dependence.

“Since they’re on their own, I think they should have to go around campus and do what they have to do,” she said. “Freshmen should let go of depending on others to help them.”

Joan Khalafnews-editor.shorthorn@uta.edu

Ransomcontinued from page 1

The Shorthorn: Rasy Ran

The rightmost elevator in the lobby upon entering the Central Library reopens for normal usage after nearly an hour of downtime. A group of more than 10 people was stuck inside when the elevator around noon on Tuesday.

The Shorthorn: File Photo

UTA’s 29th annual Bed Races will kick off at 7 p.m. Thursday at Maverick Stadium with the theme Running of the Beds. Early registration for the races ended Tuesday, but teams can still sign up and pay an extra $10 late fee until 3 p.m. today.

Student Congress approved an amend-ment Tuesday to change the number of students each senator represents.

Each senator will represent 850 stu-dents instead of 750, which will remove four seats from SC. The colleges of Liberal Arts, Business, Nursing and Science will each lose a senator starting next semester. The amendment was written in anticipa-tion of further university growth after this semester’s 12 percent increase in enroll-ment.

The proposed amendment’s original version called for each senator to repre-sent 1,000 students, which some senators expressed concern for student voices being diminished. The SC chamber only has 38 physical chairs for senators to sit in and four chairs for executive board members. There are 43 members of SC and the amendment would lower it to 39. Senators were also concerned about space.

Business senator Bryan Albers said he supported the change to the proposed amendment because increasing the num-ber to 1,000 students per senator would result in less student voice and inadequate representation.

“It was a good balance between keeping the seats competitive and not closing off so many seats,” Albers said.

Liberal Arts senator Rebekah Karth said enrollment increases should be addressed as they happen.

Karth said she had been the Student Governance Association president at Mid-land College before transferring to UTA. She said her first two meetings were held in an empty room where they sat on the floor while the Student Center was remodeled.

“People were still excited,” Karth said. “They wanted to be there and were willing to sit on the floor.”

Business senator Jamilah James didn’t support 1,000 students per senator and said she felt 850 was a good compromise.

“Am I going to come in contact with 1,000 students?” James said.

Engineering senator Collins Watson was in favor of a 1,000 students per senator change, but is happy with the outcome. Watson said it is important to keep senator positions competitive.

“People work harder on things they had to fight for and that is good for the student body,” Watson said.

ali MusTansirnews-editor.shorthorn@uta.edu

SC removes seats, increases each senators constituency

sTudenT Governance

The Liberal Arts, Business and Science colleges and the School of Nursing will each lose a senator next semester.

“People were starting to get a little upset in there.”

Gordon Braleymarketing senior