66111
1Only one bill has been 
signed into law out of more 
than 6,000 filed bills during 
the 85th session of the Texas 
Legislature, which comes to a 
close May 29. 
While bills can be intro-
duced in both the House and 
Senate, they must first be 
passed by a committee and 
the full body of their chamber 
of origin before going through 
the same process in the oppo-
site chamber. Almost 1,000 
bills have been passed out of 
their chamber of origin so far, 
but only a little over 200 have 
been referred to committee in 
the opposite chamber.
Senate Bill 4This controversial bill 
would allow officers to ques-
tion an individual’s immi-
gration status when arrest-
ed or lawfully detained and 
has been passed by both 
the House and Senate and 
is awaiting approval from 
Gov. Abbott. 
Abbott named Senate Bill 
4 one of his priority pieces of 
legislation during his State of 
the State Address at the be-
ginning of the session. 
Abbott has not announced 
when he will sign the bill 
into law but indicated he was 
looking forward to it. 
“I’m getting my signing 
pen warmed up,” Abbott said 
on Twitter Wednesday.
Bathroom billsKnown as the “bathroom 
bill,” Senate Bill 6 by Sen. 
Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, 
received an all-night hearing 
at the beginning of March. 
SB 6 would require people to 
use bathrooms and chang-
ing facilities that match the 
sex on their birth certifi-
cates, which opponents say 
would discriminate against 
transgender individuals. 
After being passed by 
the committee and by the 
full Senate a week later, the 
House has yet to take action 
on the bill. 
House Bill 2899, by Rep. 
Ron Simmons, R-Carrollton, 
would prevent local munic-
ipalities from implementing 
policies that allow people to 
use the bathroom according 
to their gender identity. 
The bill has been left pend-
ing in committee since the 
middle of April.
Sexual AssaultSeveral bills this session 
have set out to address the 
issue of sexual assault on 
college campuses. A survey 
conducted by the University 
of Texas System in which 15 
percent of UT undergraduate 
women said they have been 
raped highlighted the gravity 
of this problem.
The survey revealed only 
6 percent of sexual assault 
victims at UT-Austin re-
ported their incident to the 
University while 32 percent 
told someone they trusted. 
Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, 
introduced five bills which he 
hopes will increase reporting 
of these incidents by includ-
ing anonymous reporting 
methods and providing am-
nesty for alcohol and conduct 
code violations.
The Senate has passed four 
out of the five bills.
Sen. Joan Huffman, 
R-Houston, also introduced 
a bill, SB 576, that would re-
quire University employees 
and officers of student orga-
nizations while acting in their 
official capacity to report any 
information on instances of 
sexual assault. The bill has 
faced opposition from sever-
al student groups including 
Voices Against Violence and 
Not On My Campus as well 
as Sen. Watson because they 
fear it would create a “chilling 
effect” on campuses.
Higher EducationSince the Legislature de-
regulated tuition in 2003, the 
cost of college education has 
risen by 147 percent and tu-
ition continues to increases 
annually.
Tuition would freeze at its 
current rate for the 2018-19 
and 2019-20 school years un-
der Senate Bill 19 by Sen. Kel 
Seliger, R-Amarillo.
After the 2020 school year, 
institutions would only be 
able to raise the cost of tuition 
by one percent each year if 
they meet a series of perfor-
mance standards. The Senate 
passed the bill at the begin-
ning of April, but has not re-
ceived a committee hearing 
in the House. 
Seliger’s SB 2119 was ap-
proved by a Senate commit-
tee and would decrease the 
number of students an insti-
tution has to admit under the 
Top Ten Percent rule from 75 
percent to 30 percent.
GunsUnder the current campus 
Name: 5783/West Campus Partners (The ; Width: 60p0; Depth: 2 in; Color: Process color; Ad Number: 5783QUARTERS ON CAMPUSWest campus living redefined512-531-01232222 rio grande st | austin, tx |78705quartersoncampus.com•1-4 bedrooms•2-4 blocks from campus•24hr fitness center• business center•6 locations•Swimming pool1Friday, May 5, 2017@thedailytexanfacebook.com/dailytexanServing the University of Texas at Austin community since 1900dailytexanonline.com bit.ly/dtvidA YEAR IN REVIEWRead about the university’s most important 
stories on page 2.
Major bills still await passage at CapitolSTATEWEST CAMPUSMarshall Tidrick | Daily Texan StaffDuring the 85th session of the Texas Legislature, only one bill has been signed of more than 
6,000 filed. Abbott named Senate Bill 4 one of his priority pieces for this session which ends 
May 29. 
New pizza 
shop donates 
profits to 
Brown fundBy Claire Allbright and 
Mikaela Cannizzo@claireallbright@mikaelac16By Chase Karacostas@chasekaracostasPIZZA page 2BILLS page 3
7As she sat inside her 
still-unopened pizza parlor, 
Lisa Hilo heard police sirens 
racing toward campus. Sud-
denly, the lively West Cam-
pus community she loved 
was silent from the fear and 
chaos of Monday’s on-cam-
pus stabbing.
“It was eerie,” Hilo said. “It 
was really awful. There was 
just a lifelessness — like the 
city, the whole community, 
was mourning on that day.”
The stabbing, which oc-
curred at the intersection of 
21st Street and Speedway, 
left three injured and one 
— undergraduate studies 
freshman Harrison Brown 
— dead on the scene.
Hilo’s restaurant, Pizza 
Press, sits on 26th Street, 
situated between a 7-11 and 
the Grand Marc apartment 
complex. For the parlor’s 
opening weekend, Hilo 
is donating all the restau-
rant’s profit — up to $3,000 
— to the Harrison Brown 
Memorial Fund.
A Round Rock resident, 
Hilo said she chose West 
Campus as the home for her 
new restaurant because of 
its vibrant atmosphere. But 



White faces charges Biology junior Kendrex White, the student 
facing murder charges in the May 1 on-campus stabbing that left three 
students injured and another dead on the scene, will be represented by 
defense attorneys Jacqueline Wood and Michael Watson and is scheduled 
to appear in court later this month. White is currently being held in jail 
with a bond set at $1 million. Additional assault charges are expected to be 
filed against White in relation to the three students he injured during the 
incident. Police said White may have been suffering from mental health 
issues at the time of the attack. When White was taken into custody and 
interviewed by police, he said it was possible he used a knife in a manner to 
hit someone, but that he didn’t remember, according to the arrest affidavit. 
White also told police “If I did something I don’t remember then I want to 
be told.” White is expected to appear in court on May 19. 
–Catherine Marfin3. Criner denied plea dealFollowing a DNA backlog and other delays, the trial date for Meechaiel 
Khalil Criner has been pushed back to August at the earliest by Travis County 
Judge David Wahlberg. Criner was indicted on a charge of capital murder in 
connection to the death of dance freshman Haruka Weiser by a Travis Coun-
ty grand jury last June. The two-page indictment accused Criner of sexually 
assaulting Weiser and killing her by strangulation with “a ligature, a deadly 
weapon,” as well as other offenses including attempted kidnapping and rob-
bery. Criner’s trial was originally scheduled for late March, but Criner’s at-
torneys are still awaiting DNA results. Additionally, Margaret Moore, Travis 
County district attorney, announced in March that she will not offer Criner a 
plea deal when his trial begins. If Criner is convicted, he will automatically be 
sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 40 years.
–Catherine Marfin2. Magee appears in court Daniel Magee, the 18-year-old man 
facing aggravated assault charges for shooting a security guard in the foot 
during a party at the Sigma Chi fraternity house last September, is ex-
pected to begin pretrial motions in court this summer. This pretrial court 
date, however, has been pushed back several times since January and is 
likely to be pushed back again. Magee is expected to appear in court again 
on May 31. –Catherine Marfin4. Beto challenges Cruz A low-profile Democratic congressman from 
El Paso, Texas, U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, announced in March he will challenge 
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in the 2018 primaries. Political analysts say it is a long road 
ahead for the underdog vying to take a conservative leader’s seat in the Senate, 
and O’Rourke has made stops around various cities in Texas, including Austin, 
to build up support around his campaign. –Lisa Dreher1. Daniel Magee opens fire at Sigma Chi party On Sept. 11 last fall, 
the Sigma Chi fraternity house hired Edward Leroy Earls, a 44-year-old guard with 
the Austin-based security company Specialized Worldwide Protection, for a party 
at their house. According to an arrest affidavit, 18-year-old Daniel Magee was at the 
fraternity house at 2701 Nueces St. and was forcibly removed for unruly behavior. 
Police reported that Magee, who is not a UT student or a member of the fraternity, 
threatened to return to the party with an AK-47 rifle and “shoot up the place.” At 3 
a.m., about 45 minutes later, Magee returned to the party with two of his room-
mates, pulled out a gun and fired in the direction of Earls, shooting him in the foot. 
Earls has since filed a $5 million lawsuit against the fraternity. Additionally, Liberty 
Corporate Capital, the fraternity house’s insurer, filed a lawsuit in April and is suing 
to get out of liability in protecting the Greek house in the incident.
–Catherine Marfin4. Students protest Trump Inauguration In late November, Donald 
Trump was elected as the 45th President of the United States, leading to 
protests on campus and through downtown Austin less than 12 hours after 
Trump’s announced victory. More than 300 students congregated in front of 
the Tower and marched downtown for most of the day and into the night. 
More protests followed throughout the week, and anti-Trump graffiti was 
seen on campus. Similarly, college campuses around the country protested 
Trump’s victory. On Jan. 20, Trump’s inauguration day, the J20 walkout took 
place on UT campus. The protest was led by a coalition of students and fac-
ulty called the anti-Trump J20 organizing committee, a group that emerged 
in the wake of Trump’s presidential nomination, and lasted from noon to 
1 p.m. at the Tower, after which the march moved through campus. One 
of the groups in the protest, the Revolutionary Student Front, handed out 
pamphlets describing the organization as a group of revolutionary anti-capi-
talist students who want to ensure education is in the hands of students. The 
march’s chants included, “Fuck Trump,” and “Fuck the police.”
–Kayla Meyertons5. Ellen Show makes appearance at UT On Feb. 7, hundreds of 
students participated in a Beyoncé costume competition at the Main Mall to 
win two tickets to the 2017 GRAMMYs provided by The Ellen DeGeneres 
Show. After students competed in various activites for several hours in their 
costumes, they were asked to recreate a photo from Beyoncé’s latest pho-
toshoot, in which she announced her pregnancy with twins. Collin Wang, 
human development and family sciences sophomore, won a free trip to the 
GRAMMYs with a photo of him posing underwater in the Littlefield Foun-
tain while wearing a flowy orange dress. The remaining four finalists won 
yearlong subscriptions to Hulu. UT spokesperson J.B. Bird said the Ellen 
Show crew was already in Texas for the Super Bowl and thought it would be 
fun to stop by UT-Austin. –Kayla Meyertons6. Racism surfaces in on-campus posters About a week after 
Inauguration Day, flyers appeared on kiosks and news boxes around campus 
targeting students for their political affiliations. Then on Feb. 13, anti-Muslim 
posters appeared on campus that encouraged students to imagine a “Mus-
lim-free America.” The posters, mostly posted by a white supremacy group 
called American Vanguard, were removed by the Dean of Students office. Ac-
cording to the American Vanguard website, the group’s Texas branch placed 
posters at Texas State University, the University of North Texas and the Uni-
versity of Texas at Dallas as well. Other Racist flyers titled “Ethical Lessons to 
Chinese” were found on campus April 2 detailing a “special” class for Chinese 
students to learn the integrity of intellectual property. Following the May 1 
on-campus stabbing, racist flyers were found on campus depicting a caricature 
of a black man holding a knife with the words, “Around blacks … never relax.”
–Kayla Meyertons2. Bake sale ignites free speech debate In order to protest UT’s 
policy toward affirmative action, the Young Conservatives of Texas held a 
bake sale in October that assigned the cost of baked goods to the custom-
er’s race and gender. The bake sale set off a protest of over 300 students for 
several hours on the West Mall and made national news. Student Govern-
ment wrote a resolution to disband YCT in November in response to the 
bake sale, but the group remained on campus due the opinions of several SG 
representatives who argued for YCT’s First Amendment right to freedom of 
speech, despite disagreeing with the bake sale’s message. The YCT bake sale 
remained a source of controversy throughout the spring semester, and UT’s 
affirmative action policy remains in place. –Kayla Meyertons3. Herman replaces Strong, starts ‘RevolUTion’ Charlie Strong 
left the 40 Acres with a heavy heart and unfinished business after just three 
seasons at Texas — all of which resulted in more losses than wins. New 
Texas head coach Tom Herman raucously replaced him. Though the first 
few months of Herman’s reign resembled a quiet winter coupled with an 
even quieter national signing day, the spring months have been anything 
but calm. Herman took a sledgehammer to the Texas locker room ahead of 
the program’s renovation of the football facilities, which includes a flat-
screen TV above each player’s locker. His hacking down of the locker room 
represents a much larger act of tearing up the entire program itself. Texas 
fans wanted change, and with Herman, they’re already getting it. As recruits 
continue to change their minds and commit to Herman and his staff, the 
“revolUTion” that Herman has initiated will only continue to inspire opti-
mism among Longhorn nation. –Tyler HorkaLOOKING FORWARD2NEWSFriday, May 5, 2017Main Telephone(512) 471-4591Editor-in-ChiefAlexander Chase(512) 232-2212editor@dailytexanonline.comManaging EditorAkshay Mirchandani(512) 232-2217managingeditor@
dailytexanonline.comNews Office(512) 232-2207news@dailytexanonline.comSports Officesports@dailytexanonline.comLife & Arts Office(512) 232-2209lifeandarts@dailytexanonline.
comMultimedia Office(512) 471-7835multimedia@ 
dailytexanonline.comRetail Advertising(512) 471-1865advertise@texasstudentme-
dia.comClassified Advertising(512) 471-5244classifieds@ 
dailytexanonline.comCONTACT USVolume 117, Issue 154TOMORROW’S WEATHERHighLow8959BYE Y’ALL.
COPYRIGHTCopyright 2017 Texas 
Student Media. All articles, 
photographs and graphics, 
both in the print and online 
editions, are the property 
of Texas Student Media 
and may not be reproduced 
or republished in part or 
in whole without written 
permission.
The Texan strives to present 
all information fairly, 
accurately and completely. 
If we have made an error, 
let us know about it. Call 
(512) 232-2217 or e-mail 
managingeditor@ 
dailytexanonline.com. 
Permanent StaffEditor-in-Chief Alexander ChaseAssociate Editors Michael Jensen, Janhavi Nemawarkar, Khadija Saifullah, Caleb WongManaging Editor Akshay MirchandaniAssociate Managing Editors Eva Frederick, Michelle ZhangNews Editor Ellie BreedAssociate News Editor Forrest MilburnNews Desk Editors Matthew Adams, Will Clark, Hannah Daniel, Sunny Kim, Wesley StorySenior Reporters Claire Allbright, Mikaela Cannizzo, Lisa Dreher, 
Anusha Lalani, Catherine Marfin, Kayla MeyertonsSenior Investigative Reporter Van NguyenCopy Desk Chief Kasey SalisburyAssociate Copy Desk Chiefs Jaree Campbell, Vanessa Martinez, Bella McWhorter, Colin TraverDesign Editor Elizabeth JonesAssociate Design Editor Megan McFarrenSenior Designers Liza Anderson, Sierra Garcia, Sunnie Lee, Rena LiPhoto Editor Zoe FuAssociate Photo Editor Emmanuel Briseno, Gabriel LopezSenior Photographer Juan Figueroa, Joshua Guerra, Mary Pistorius, Briana Vargas, Rachel ZeinVideo Editor Monica SilverioSenior Videographer Thomas Negrete, Faley GoyetteScience&Tech Editor Zia LyleAssociate Science&Tech Editors Julianne Hodges, Kate ThackreySenior Science&Tech Reporters Sarah Bloodworth, Angela Kang, Freya PreimesbergerForum Editors Jordan Shenhar, Emily VernonSenior Columnists Emma Bernadier, Alyssa Fernandez, Sam Groves, 
Noah M Horwitz, Josephine MacLean, G Elliott MorrisLife&Arts Editor Mae HamiltonAssociate Life&Arts Editor Daisy Wang, Morgan O’HanlonSenior Life&Arts Writers Stephen Acevedo, Acacia Coronado, Chris Duncan, Justin JonesSports Editor Tyler HorkaAssociate Sports Editor Sydney RubinSenior Sports Writers Alex Briseno, Steve Helwick,Vanessa Le, Shane LewisComics Editor Audrey McNayAssociate Comics Editor Victoria Smith, Melanie WestfallSenior Comics Artists Geovanni Casillas, Albert Lee, Bixie Mathieu, Jacky TovarSocial Media Editor Stephanie Martinez-ArndtEditorial Adviser Peter ChenTexan AdDeadlinesThe Daily Texan Mail Subscription RatesOne Semester (Fall or Spring) $60 00Two Semesters (Fall and Spring) $120 00Summer Session $40 00One Year (Fall, Spring and Summer) $150 00To charge by VISA or MasterCard, call 471-5083 Send orders and address changes to 
Texas Student Media, P O Box D, Austin, TX 78713-8904 
05/05/17This issue of The Daily Texan is valued at $1.25The Daily Texan, a student newspaper at The University of Texas at Austin, is published by Texas Student Media, 2500 Whitis 
Ave , Austin, TX 78712 The Daily Texan is published daily, Monday through Friday, during the regular academic year and is 
published once weekly during the summer semester The Daily Texan does not publish during academic breaks, most Federal 
Holidays and exam periods News contributions will be accepted by telephone (471-4591), or at the editorial office (HSM 2 120) 
Entire contents copyright 2017 Texas Student Media 
Monday Wednesday, 12 p m 
Tuesday Thursday, 12 p m 
Wednesday Friday, 12 p m 
Thursday Monday, 12 p m 
Friday Tuesday, 12 p m 
Classified Word Ads 11 a m 
(Last Business Day Prior to Publication)
Issue StaffLife&Arts Writer Matthew DouglasSports Writers Leah Vann, Drew King 
Copy Editors Kirsten Handler, Caroline Meadows, Gabe Colombo, Brittany WagnerDesigners Mingyo Lee, Andrea D’MelloComics Artists Jac Alford, Rachel TylerIllustrator Rachel TylerBusiness and Advertising(512) 471-8590 | advertise@texasstudentmedia.comDirector Gerald JohnsonBusiness/Operations Manager Frank Serpas IIIAdvertising Manager Emily CohenAssistant Advertising Manager Colten CristAccount Executives Tim Bauer, Brady Beal, Blake Gentry, Monica TaylorProduct Manager Stephen SalisburySenior Graphic Designer Amanda O’BrienProduction Zac CroffordPIZZAcontinues from page 1A YEAR IN REVIEWMonday, as she sat in a booth 
of her soon-to-be-opened 
restaurant and heard turmoil 
unfold around her, she said 
she instantly knew she had 
to help.
“As a mom, to hear of 
something so sudden and 
so unforeseen — it was 
heart wrenching,” Hilo 
said. “I couldn’t stop think-
ing about it.”
After reaching out to 
Hendrick Liaw, the business 
freshman who started the 
memorial GoFundMe, Hilo 
said she was asked to host a 
post-vigil reception Wednes-
day for the families of the 
stabbing victims. However, 
Hilo said she still felt like she 
needed to do more, so she 
decided to hold the fundrais-
er in conjunction with Pizza 
Press’ grand opening.
Marketing junior Jessica 
Wilczek said she heard about 
the fundraiser on Facebook, 
and she thought it was ex-
tremely generous of them.
“I think it’s really genuine,” 
Wilczek said. “Obviously if 
they were giving free pizzas 
away, they’re going to be 
making a ton of money their 
opening weekend, but to for-
go that and donate all of (the 
profits) really says some-
thing, and I think everybody 
appreciates it.”
Liz Schasel, Plan II and 
marketing junior, said 
she didn’t know about the 
fundraiser when she decid-
ed to go to Pizza Press, but 
she said it was a good way 
to break into West Campus.
“Their promo card 
says, ‘as your neighbor,’” 
Schasel said. “So I feel 
like they’re already trying 
to come in as a part of the 
community.”
The following is a preview of events to look for in the 
summer and fall, including court appearances and senate races. 
From left to right, Top: Photos 
by Joshua Guerra, Gabriel 
Lopez, Mary Pistorius, Chase 
Karacostas Bottom: Gabriel 
Lopez, Angel Ulloa | Daily 
Texan Staff



Name: Tim; Width: 19p4; Depth: 2 in; 
5812/Skyloft Austin; Width: 29p6; Depth: 10 in; Color: Pro-
cess color; Ad Number: 5812Name: 5782/Kunik Orthodontics; Width: 
19p4; Depth: 4 in; Color: Process color; Ad 
Number: 57827. Three new regents appointed Three new UT System regents were appointed by 
Gov. Greg Abbott Jan. 23 and confirmed by the Texas Senate Feb. 7. The new regents include 
former state Sen. Kevin Eltife, R-Tyler, McCombs Partners CEO Rad Weaver and Janiece 
Longoria, former vice chair of the UT System board. The former regents who were replaced 
include Brenda Pejovich, Alex Cranberg and Wallace Hall, with the latter attempting to pur-
sue a review of the System and its admission process during his term. Hall was denied access 
to student admission records Jan. 27 by the Texas Supreme Court, which ruled in favor of UT 
System Chancellor William McRaven. The Board of Regents held their first meeting of the se-
mester Feb. 8 and 9 and will gather May 9 and 10 for the final meeting of the spring semester. 
–Anusha Lalani9. System releases sexual assault survey The UT System released the results of a 
sexual assault survey conducted across 13 UT institutions March 24. The Cultivating Learning 
and Safe Environments survey found 15 percent of undergraduate females at UT-Austin reported 
being raped, making it the highest percentage reported across 8 UT academic institutions. UT-
San Antonio and UT Dallas had the second highest percentage at 9 percent, and UT-Tyler had 
the lowest at 6 percent. The 96-page report encompasses data from UT academic and health in-
stitutions collected during the fall of 2015 and early 2016. Across the System, 8 percent of victims 
informed a university official and 28 percent told someone they trusted. However, at UT-Austin, 
less than 6 percent of victims reported the incidents to the University while 32 percent told some-
one they trusted. In addition to the existing programs and services at each institution aimed at 
preventing sexual assault, an in-depth empirical investigation at all institutions and a four-year 
study at UT-Austin will be conducted, according to the survey’s press release. –Anusha Lalani4. from 
challenge 
road 
Senate, 
Austin, 
Guzman, Wolf win SG executive alliance The spring semester showdown for stu-
dent body president and vice president was tight this year, as the Alejandrina Guzman-Micky 
Wolf ticket came out victorious over runner-ups Isaiah Carter and Sydney O’Connell by 793 
votes in the run-off elections. The Guzman-Wolf campaign ran on a platform of representa-
tion and advocacy, whereas Carter-O’Connell were proponents for campus safety, inclusion 
and acceptance. In late February, the Carter-O’Connell campaign received a Class C violation 
for campaigning prior to the sanctioned campaign period in January. Carter and O’Connell 
sent emails three weeks before the campaign period to students they did not “personally 
and individually” know as mandated in the 2016 Election Code. A third ticket, comprising 
of Blake Burley and Robert Guerra, received a Class D violation a little over an hour be-
fore the first round of elections for failing to submit financial disclosures on time, resulting 
in disqualification. –Kayla Meyertons10. Longhorn swimmers continue winning streaks Few things are certain in Tex-
as Athletics in this era. Head coach Jerritt Elliott takes Longhorn volleyball deep into the post-
season almost every year, and head coach John Fields puts together a group of golfers that con-
sistently wins the Big 12 Championship. But this one is almost a sure-fire bet year in and year 
out: Texas winning a national championship in men’s swimming and diving under head coach 
Eddie Reese. Texas took home its national record 13th NCAA title this spring. The Longhorns 
have also won 38 straight conference championships during Reese’s reign. It’s become common-
place for Texas swimmers to appear in the summer Olympics every four years, and this current 
group of Longhorns continued that trend. Townley Haas, Joseph Schooling, Jack Conger, Clark 
Smith and former Longhorn Jimmy Feigen all swam in Rio de Janeiro last summer, and the first 
four also aided in Texas’ triumph at the 2017 national championship, too. –Tyler Horka12. Spray-painters assail Greek houses A spray-painting spree began April 17 
when the words “racist” and “rapist” were spray-painted on the stone pillars outside the Phi 
Gamma Delta (Fiji) fraternity house. The vandalism continued on several other fraternity 
houses including Kappa Alpha, Kappa Sigma and Pi Kappa Alpha for the next few days. Other 
phrases marking the buildings included “kill frat boys,” “nuke the frats,” and “off my campus.” 
President Gregory Fenves released a statement on April 19 saying the University is committed 
to working with local law enforcement and making UT a safe environment for all students. The 
graffiti sparked controversy from several students who said the focus should be on rape culture 
instead of vandalism. –Kayla Meyertons11. Vigil honors life of Nancy-Jane David The words of “Amazing Grace” soared 
through the Main Mall on the night of April 19 in honor of Nancy-Jane David. David, a youth 
and community studies junior, was killed in a head-on collision with a school bus April 17 
while driving a moped. According to a Austin Police Department press release, David was trav-
eling southbound on Manor Road when her moped began to swerve into the northbound lanes 
and struck the bus head-on. David was pronounced dead on the scene. The privately-owned 
school bus was not carrying any passengers and did not belong to any school or school district, 
according to APD. More than 300 individuals gathered for a candlelit ceremony for David 
hosted by her sorority, Chi Omega, two days after the accident. David was a devoted Christian, 
a member of Silver Spurs and an assistant new member educator in Chi Omega. 
–Kayla Meyertons13. Stabbing leaves Harrison Brown dead, three injured On May 1 at 1:46 p.m., 
the UT Police Department responded to a call about an individual attacking a student with 
a large, Bowie-style hunting knife in the Speedway Plaza. Two minutes later, UTPD had de-
tained biology junior Kendrex White. The attack left three students injured and one dead on 
the scene. The fatality victim was later identified as undergraduate studies freshman Harrison 
Brown. The three injured victims received treatment at Brackenridge Hospital. One victim, 
engineering student Stuart Bayliss, received extensive surgery for wounds he sustained during 
the attack. In the hours after the attack, rumors ran rampant on social media, many of which 
claimed White may have been targeting students with Greek life affiliations. UTPD and the 
Austin Police Department later found these rumors were not credible and that White may 
have been suffering mental health issues at the time of the attack. –Catherine MarfinLOOKING FORWARDNEWSFriday, May 5, 20173carry law, a person has to be 
21 years of age and possess a 
concealed handgun license 
before carrying on campus.
House Bill 1911, by Rep. 
James White, R-Hillister, 
would allow people over the 
age of 21 to carry handguns 
without a license. White’s 
bill was passed out of a 
House committee after critics 
were assured the bill would 
not affect current campus 
carry legislation.
However, HB 375, by Rep. 
Stickland, R-Bedford, would 
alter campus carry by allow-
ing persons over the age of 18 
to carry handguns. By elimi-
nating the licensing require-
ment, the age to carry a hand-
gun on campuses would be 
lowered to 18. The bill has not 
been passed from committee.
Rep. Donna Howard, 
D-Austin, introduced a bill 
at the beginning of the ses-
sion that would allow Tex-
as public universities to opt 
out of the current campus 
carry law. Students Against 
Campus Carry, an organiza-
tion at UT, helped Howard 
file the bill. However, the 
bill has not yet received a 
committee hearing.
BILLScontinues from page 1A IN REVIEW



Well, it’s over.
After five semesters dodging coup attempts in 
this unstable, isolated nation on the southeastern 
edge of the Texan basement, I’m out. Kind of sur-
prised it didn’t happen earlier. No one with such 
bad taste in West German discopop had ever 
stuck around this long before. Someone should 
have mutinied. Violently. Probably Emily. No, 
definitely Emily.
It all began with so much promise. After four 
years of high school journalism, I figured I’d find 
the basement at some point, but held off initially 
out of the since-justified fear that it would dis-
tract me from more pressing responsibilities like 
classwork and vitamin D absorption. Then the 
inimitable Riley Brands put me in charge of co-
ordinating student responses to the weekly col-
umn published by my boss and mentor, history 
professor Jeremi Suri — a sort of pre-evolved Fo-
rum page. As an awkward underclassman with-
out many (read: any) connections on campus, I 
wound up writing most of the responses myself.
Not much has changed since then. Well, ex-
cept that Kat taught me how to read and teach 
like a real editor, and showed me that when you 
keep working hard with the most chipper at-
titude you can muster, no amount of adversity 
can prevent you from making a difference. And 
I met Claire, who not only pushed me to chase 
after dreams I didn’t consider possible, but also 
grew into a friend without whose support and 
companionship I would have burned out many 
deadline scares ago. Can’t wait to see how many 
lives you both influence for the better going for-
ward. Count me as patient zero.
Nowadays, though, I’m old and cranky and 
preoccupied with trifles like writing a thesis and 
feigning employability, which means I wouldn’t 
have made it this far without the grudging toler-
ation of Forum teams past and present. I appre-
ciate you folks doing all the hard work so that I 
could focus on deciding which genre of foreign 
music to torment the office with.
Walker, thanks for the solidarity and the 
New York values, and for tinkering with this 
fledgling project until you found a winning 
formula that I could inherit and build upon. 
May you enjoy many fallow and miserable 
years of Yankee fandom.
Leah, your indomitable spirit and brilliant 
writing carried Forum to bolder and brighter 
places during a turbulent election cycle last fall, 
when our work was more vital than ever. I look 
forward to you conquering the world someday, 
intentionally or otherwise.
Emily, stop liking raccoons. It’s creepy. 
They’re creepy.
Alexander, you’re not exactly my hero, and 
you’re far from everything I would like to be. But 
you helped Forum fly higher than the eagle from 
“Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue.” For you 
are the beer beneath my horses.
OK, that’s enough for now. Judging by the fre-
quency with which I’m told to get out of the office 
following some Magic School Bus-caliber pun, I 
figure I’ll miss this place more than it’ll miss me. 
Sic semper tyrannis.
Shenhar is a Plan II, economics and govern-
ment senior from Westport, Connecticut.
-30-
I was never supposed to work here.
In high school, my parents sat me down 
and told me that I’d be poor and unhappy if I 
went into journalism.
I threw some garbage at them about being 
“interdisciplinary” and “having lots of op-
tions.” They bought it, I guess.
But after a few years of wandering around in 
the wilderness, I decided to be the only thing 
worse than a journalist: an opinion columnist.
I owe a lot of thanks to the people that 
made all of this possible:
Kelly Ward, for talking me into wanting to 
be a part of a newspaper, and for helping me 
handle all the stress and fear that came along 
with actually being a part of one.
My managers at Central Market, for sched-
uling me for far too many hours when the 
school year started and convincing me to quit.
Claire Smith, for letting me be a part of 
your cast of scrappy upstarts, convincing us 
that our work was worth doing and forcing 
us to watch “The Bachelor.” Your work made 
all of mine possible, and owe you more than 
I can describe.
Kat Sampson, for pressing me to improve 
my writing more than anyone else.
Davis Clark, for showing me and so many 
others how to be a great editor.
Mohammad Syed, for convincing so many 
writers with bright futures that they could 
succeed, and for chasing your own dreams.
Mary Dolan, for working harder than us, 
and for making us laugh.
Nicole Farrell and the rest of the spring 2017 
Thursday night copy crew, for pushing me to 
be a better copy editor and letting just a few of 
my more terrible headline jokes through.
Kailey Thompson, for helping me find ways 
to become a better person, and making sure 
to sing “Hamilton” as loud as you could on 
every trip to P. Terry’s.
Jackie Wang, for being a better administra-
tor than me, and running this paper in a way 
that always brought out the best in people.
Akshay Mirchandani, for pushing the Texan 
forward in dramatic and exciting ways, and for 
cleaning my vomit off of your apartment floor.
Peter Chen, for keeping me humble and 
helping me sort through an undeniably crazy 
year on staff.
Gerald Johnson, for not firing me whenev-
er I didn’t submit my board bullets.
Janhavi Nemawarkar, for taking risks to be-
come a fantastic editor and trusted voice for 
me to turn to.
Leah Kashar, for helping keep the Forum 
project alive and for leaving it to pursue cra-
zier projects of your own.
Emily Vernon, for outworking the entire 
office despite Jordan and I doing our best to 
prevent you from working.
Jordan Shenhar, for keeping this job from 
feeling like work by not doing any and instead 
being the Toby to my Willie.
Noah M. Horwitz, for generating mounds 
of hate mail, giving invaluable perspective 
and generally not being a dunderhead.
Laura Hallas, for sacrificing a moment in 
what will be a long career of serving others to 
take up the mantle after me and far outshine 
any achievements of mine.
Sonia Woiton, for dealing with my inability 
to stop working even after I did leave my office.
Many more on my staff, especially my other 
associate editors, for keeping this office run-
ning when there was soccer on, finding ways 
to challenge yourselves and continuing to 
come back in spite of me.
It’s been my job to critique and prod at ev-
ery administrative misstep on campus over 
the past two years, yet my love for the 40 
Acres has only grown stronger. What it has 
given me I cannot even hope to repay, even as 
I hope to do my best. It is all I can do.
Thanks, and hook’em.
Chase is a Plan II and economics senior 
from Royse City.
-30-
| Opinions expressed in The Daily Texan 
are those of the editor, the Editorial Board or the writer 
of the article. They are not necessarily those of the 
UT administration, the Board of Regents or the Texas 
Student Media Board of Operating Trustees.
SUBMIT A FIRING LINE | Email your Firing Lines to 
editor@dailytexanonline.com. Letters must be more 
than 100 and fewer than 300 words. The Texan 
reserves the right to edit all submissions for brevity, 
clarity and liability. 
RECYCLE | Please recycle this copy of The Daily Texan. 
Place the paper in one of the recycling bins on campus or 
back in the burnt-orange newsstand where you found it.
EDITORIAL TWITTER | Follow The Daily Texan Editorial 
Board on Twitter (@TexanEditorial) and receive updates 
on our latest editorials and columns.
4ALEXANDER CHASE, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF | @TexanEditorialFriday, May 5, 2017Editor-in-chief retires to cry into his beerBy Alexander ChaseDaily Texan Editor-in-Chief 
@alexwchaseI was once like you. I was once a nerd. 
However, if you sign up for my eight-week 
program, you will learn a writing system that 
I developed over three semesters writing for 
The Daily Texan. Need an example? Pause, 
clickity-click your way to one of my older col-
umns, then try to call me a nerd. Yeah, that’s 
what I thought. 
But I like you, kid. You seem to be a lit-
tle less pathetic than the rest of these other 
nerds, so I’m going to give you a preview of 
what to expect from my program. 
First, value quality over quantity. There’s 
a lot of people who I should thank for being 
able to rise to the ranks of a senior columnist, 
but none deserves more praise than Dmitri. 
He’s the virtual Russian assistant I’ve hired 
to write my columns at 10 cents per word. 
Dmitri comes from the top fake news writing 
farm in all of Russia, so you know he’s worth 
every penny. 
Second, remember that you are nothing 
without your fans. Since you’ll be outsourcing 
any talent you claim to have, you’ll be need-
ing frequent validation. So, kudos to the anon 
troll, “Aphatgurl”, and Michael Jensen’s dad. 
Y’all keep me young. 
Third, keep your people happy and hum-
ble. Whenever Dmitri asks me for a raise, not 
only do I remind him that he’s replaceable but 
I also remind him that he makes more than 
all the associate editors combined. 
Now, for only twelve payments of $19.99, 
you can sign up right now for my eight-
week program. Not only will I cover those 
three tips, but I will also teach you how to 
schmooze the editor-in-chief, argue with the 
associate editors and how to find a comfort-
able sitting position in that godawful couch in 
the opinion office. 
Or you could just wing it like I did. This 
place is actually kind of cool, even if y’all are 
a bunch of nerds — Thanks for letting me be 
a part of it.
Fernandez is a Spanish and rhetoric and 
writing senior from Allen.
-30-
Gabriel Lopez | Daily Texan StaffSenior columnist Alyssa Fernandez regrets that the black-and-white version of this photo does 
not show off the rose gold finish on her laptop, and nothing else.
Zoe Fu | Daily Texan StaffJordan Shenhar spent five semesters in the Opinion Department as a senior columnist, asso-
ciate editor and Forum editor. We regret the error.
By Alyssa FernandezDaily Texan Senior ColumnistSenior columnist says farewell after scamming us allForum tyrant’s khanate of terror draws to a closeBy Jordan ShenharDaily Texan Forum Editor 
@jshenharJoshua GuerraDaily Texan StaffEditor-in-Chief 
Alexander Chase 
did not have 
room to thank 
Cain and Abel’s 
for its contribu-
tions to his term 
in his -30- col-
umn, but assures 
readers that he 
has thanked 
them with a 
portion of his 
paycheck every 
week, with only 
a few regrettable 
exceptions. He 
vows not to retire 
from ordering 
a Karbach 
Weisse Versa on 
Thursday nights 
anytime soon. 
Editor’s note: A 30 column is a chance for departing permanent staff to say farewell and reflect on their time spent in The Daily Texan’s basement office. The term comes from the old typesetting 
mark (-30-) to denote the end of a line.



Near the end of “Fast Five,” 
Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto 
gathers his team before em-
barking on one last job. He 
proposes a toast. 
“Money will come and go, 
we know that,” Dom says. 
“The most important thing in 
life will always be the people 
in this room. Right here, right 
now. Salud mi familia.”
That’s how I felt walking 
into The Daily Texan office 
for our last production night 
— one last ride. The people, 
the family, will always stay 
with me. 
But this week, our last 
week, my family had to deal 
with covering an unspeak-
able tragedy on campus. We 
dropped studying for finals 
and got to work. It reaffirmed 
what the last two years taught 
me: These people are special 
and our jobs matter. 
I walked into the Texan 
newsroom as a transfer stu-
dent a few semesters ago not 
knowing a soul. It embraced 
me like I was already part of 
the family. 
Jori took a chance and hired 
an unknown transfer out of 
UNT to cover men’s basket-
ball. Ezra and Shap stood by 
me when I took over sports 
last summer. Jacob was my 
partner in crime all of last year. 
Tyler, you grew as a sports 
editor and writer before my 
eyes this year. Thank you for 
dealing with my demands, 
for the Tiffs and the trips to 
Growlers and Fat Sal’s. 
And of course, there’s 
Nick, who became a broth-
er and put up with my non-
sense. I can’t wait for our best 
man speeches. 
My family expanded to 
outside the sports depart-
ment, though. Iliana and Me-
gan are two of the most genu-
ine people I’ve ever met. Amy 
and Jackie were like mothers, 
and taught me how this man-
aging editor thing works. I 
hope I made you guys proud. 
There were people I nev-
er imagined I’d become tight 
with. Ellie, you were a rock 
all semester. I can’t wait to see 
where this takes you, and I’m 
rooting for you all the way. 
Bella and Liza, you guys made 
Wednesday nights the best 
nights. Alexander, I still don’t 
forgive you for my 21st birth-
day, but thank you for always 
being there to talk. There 
are more names, and I wish 
I could list them all. It was a 
privilege to watch passionate 
reporters, photographers and 
editors get better everyday. 
Department heads, it was 
an honor and a pleasure to 
work with all of you this se-
mester. I hope you enjoyed 
every moment of this crazy 
ride and are proud of every-
thing we accomplished. I 
know I am. 
And then there’s Eva and 
Michelle. Thank you both 
for sticking by my side — I 
couldn’t have asked for two 
better associates. We started 
the semester knowing each 
other only by name and rep-
utation. We end it as the best 
of friends, with both of you as 
my successors. The Texan is 
yours now, and I can’t wait to 
see where you take it next. 
To the actual adults in my 
life: Peter, Gerald, Kevin, R.B., 
Mom and Dad: Thank you for 
answering my questions and 
keeping me sane. I learned a 
lot from each of these people. 
I learned to lead. I learned to 
make hard choices. 
This week, I learned that 
this campus and this commu-
nity is far from OK. It needs 
help — not tomorrow, not 
next week and not next year, 
but now. But I also learned 
that there are good people 
here. People who want to 
make our community and 
our campus a better place. 
People like those of The Daily 
Texan basement. 
I learned that this job is 
more important now more 
than ever. 
This place helped take me 
to the Rio Olympics, and 
later to the bright lights of 
New York and Sports Illus-
trated. But through all the 
stories, all the battles, all the 
sleepless nights, my team was 
always there. 
Salud mi familia. 
–30–
Name: 5714/Roscoe Properties; Width: 29p6; Depth: 10 in; Color: 
Process color; Ad Number: 5714NEWS 5744/Buffalo Exchange; Width: 29p6; Depth: 5 in; Color: Pro-
cess color; Ad Number: 5744–30–Friday, May 5, 20175Managing editor drives off into the sunsetBy Akshay Mirchandani@amichandani41Gabriel Lopez 
Daily Texan 
StaffManaging 
edior Akshay 
Mirchandani 
looks into 
the middle 
distance. 
He began 
at The Daily 
Texan as a 
senior sports 
writer. He also 
worked as 
an associate 
sports editor, 
social media 
editor, and 
sports editor. 
He likes cars. 
RECYCLEyour copy of

I don’t really think anyone 
understands how intimidated 
and embarrassed I felt walking 
into The Daily Texan base-
ment for the first time. Seeing 
everyone joyously talking to 
people around them with me 
sort of hovering in between 
everyone trying to figure out 
why I decided to attend an 
info session.
A friend convinced me to 
join the Science & Technolo-
gy department. I like science 
and it was a new department 
that needed writers, so why the 
hell not?
Someone pointed me over 
to a small corner desk odd-
ly stacked up against a pillar 
with this very worn mosquito 
net draped over, but nobody 
was there. I was handed a pa-
per thinking it was for this 
department, wrote my name 
down and gave it back to Ra-
chel who turned out to be the 
photo editor.
As I turned around, Ellen 
from S&T was standing there 
also handing out a sign-up 
sheet. I realized I signed up for 
the wrong department, signed 
the newly presented sheet 
and rushed out of that dark, 
roaring basement.
I was too awkward to find 
the words explaining that I had 
not intended to apply for photo, 
so I stayed in both.
Some stories about dino-
saurs sounding more like coo-
ing chickens were written and 
some portraits of people and 
campus events were taken. Af-
ter that semester, I realized that 
I am a terrible writer and that 
I absolutely love photography.
Jump forward a few months 
and now I find myself only 
shooting photography, cap-
turing photos of future NFL 
players and living amongst 
the photo pits and red carpets 
of some big and some not-so-
big artists. Radiohead? Never 
heard of ’em.
Thanks for getting me into 
those shows, Josh. Taking me 
on as a senior last fall really 
upped my confidence in myself 
as a photographer. 
Rachel and Ellen, thanks 
for hiring me that first semes-
ter. Without you two, I never 
would have started my Tex-
an career and realized how 
much cool science there is 
on campus and how much I 
love photography.
Daulton, you made last 
semester a breeze. I always 
looked forward to editing with 
you because of how easy you 
made everything.
Zoe, when you, Daulton and 
I started hanging out, photo 
changed in my eyes. I finally felt 
like being there was more than 
just a job at the newspaper. I felt 
like I delivered for Favor with 
all the times I took you and 
Josh and Angel to get tacos.
To my old Science & Tech 
editor and current managing 
editor, Eva: Thanks for this 
past year. You really made it 
something special in more 
ways than you will ever know.
And to the rest of y’all, 
thanks for making my time at 
The Daily Texan feel like home. 
I’ve made a lifelong home and 
friends, and I really don’t know 
where I’ll nap in the middle of 
the day now.
–30–
On a cold Wednesday 
afternoon in January, Alan 
and Eve Hyatt visited the 
Lyndon B. Johnson Presi-
dential Library. They were 
from Boca Raton, Florida. 
The retired couple traveled 
to the library in their con-
tinuing effort to visit all 13 
in the United States. This 
would be their 12th one. 
I met them right outside 
LBJ. I chased them down 
after taking their photo, 
and that spiraled into the 
loveliest conversation. 
Morgan Bogart owns Glass 
Blowing Austin. Her studio is 
tucked away in the back alley 
next to a metal distributor. I 
stayed there for a few hours, 
like her shadow, taking photos 
and learning. 
These are just a few of the 
many amazing people I’ve 
met during my time in the 
Photo Department. 
Much to Peter’s dismay, 
most of my wild was shot off 
campus. Over time, I started 
loving Austin and its peo-
ple more and more. I’ve met 
artists, pets, students, and 
somehow ended up in the 
middle of a police arrest. I 
never regretted any of it. Ev-
ery week I challenged my-
self to go somewhere new to 
find interesting subjects. And 
I traveled far away to look 
for them …
When in fact they were right 
in front of me all along. There 
are so many people who were 
vital in shaping my experience 
at the Texan and as a person. 
I can’t recall how many nights 
I stayed past midnight getting 
last-minute photos and cap-
tions in, failing at ping pong, 
watching “The Bachelorette,” 
and just hanging out. 
Lauren and Amy, thank you 
for giving me the opportuni-
ty to shoot for you. I gained 
confidence in my photos week 
after week.
Daulton, I got you 
that downfield catch. 
You’re welcome. 
Rachel, Wednesday nights 
with you were the best. Thank 
you for always being support-
ive and encouraging. 
Joshua, you are a pain in the 
ass. But ILYSB, and look up to 
you. You took me under your 
wing and I am forever grateful. 
Managing editor, thank you 
for hiring me. I once told you 
I can only talk to you when 
you are drunk. I’m glad I can 
talk to you when you are sober 
now. 
My associates, thank you for 
keeping me sane when things 
got rough, for the countless 
times you’ve listened to me rant 
about everything.
Gabriel, I already have 
separation anxiety. 
Emmanuel, I call Or-
son Krennic’s starship, and 
you can keep the blan-
ket. ¿Vamos a comprar 
tacos pronto?
This semester really tested 
me. I had big shoes to fill, and 
overall I think I did a not-bad 
job. Thank you to my spring 
2017 staff for being under-
standing when I got frustrated 
and annoyed with all you. I am 
proud of the work you all have 
done and how much you’ve 
all improved. 
I’m finally leaving this 
rat-infested basement that I’ve 
called home for two years. If 
I’ve learned anything during 
my time here, it’s that home is 
where the herd is. 
–30–
Name: 5228/Trudy’s; Width: 39p8; Depth: 3 in; Color: Black; Ad Number: 5228
May 5, 2017–30–
Photo editor moo-ves onto brighter thingsBy Zoe Fu@thedailytexanEmmanuel Briseno | Daily Texan StaffZoe Fu is an avid supporter of Scottish Highland Cows. When she is not busy reading the headlines to her bovine friends, Zoe is the photo editor at The Daily 
Texan. 
Guy in Photo never intended to be, but no regretsBy Emmanuel Briseno@thedailytexan@thedailytexanFollow us for news, updates and more.
Zoe Fu | Daily Texan StaffEmmanuel Briseno was first a staffer in the Science & Tech department, but he then he discovered his love for photography. He worked as a senior photogra-
pher and is thankful for all his fellow staffers at The Daily Texan. 

It only took me a semes-
ter to find my way into 
the Daily Texan basement. 
When I did, it seemed like 
the beginning of something 
momentous — and it was. 
I was first drawn to the 
basement because I felt the 
need to represent as a mi-
nority and bring light to 
the inherent discrimination 
that marginalized students 
face. Minority students on 
campus such as myself car-
ry our political opinions 
with us as baggage every-
where we go. I don’t think 
it’s enough to be visible any-
more — we have to be vocal 
about what we believe in.
Being a part of The Daily 
Texan has been an honor. 
It has been an adventure, 
and it has been the most 
rewarding experience of 
my undergraduate career. 
Not only is The Daily Tex-
an the largest and most 
award-winning college 
publication in the nation, 
but it has also been the 
most fulfilling and en-
joyable experience of my 
college career. 
The Texan gave me a 
platform to contribute my 
voice as many events un-
folded over the past three 
years. I editorialized on 
campus tragedies, racism 
and xenophobia, Muslim 
bans, and the tuition in-
crease. The Texan made 
me feel like I was a part of 
a larger, pivotal commu-
nity on campus — and as 
a small voice among tens 
of thousands of students, 
I’m thankful to have had 
the opportunity to project 
my voice in my work again 
during some of the most 
important moments. 
What makes the Texan 
different from any other 
student publication is how 
dedicated it is to serv-
ing the student body — 
through the good and bad 
times. Every day, staffers 
work to make deadline and 
print out a new paper for 
the next day. In moments 
of shock, tragedy and fear, 
the Texan continued to 
provide news for its stu-
dents. Regardless of what 
campus faced the day be-
fore, the next morning the 
Texan was always there in 
the form of a fresh paper, 
signifying the beginning of 
a new day and a fresh start. 
When students have not re-
ceived enough information 
from either administration 
or from mainstream me-
dia, it has been the student 
newspaper that has always 
been on top of the story.
It’s safe to say that my 
time at the Texan has 
taught me a lot. I’ve learned 
that life is very fragile, and 
that time passes faster than 
we would have imagined — 
so it’s better to be apprecia-
tive right now. Thank the 
people who have invested 
in you. Thank the people 
who were kind to you when 
they had no obligation 
to be. When I reflect, the 
most profound lesson I’ve 
learned here boils down to 
three simple words: Treat 
everyone right. It’s so sim-
ple and obvious but some-
times as college graduates 
we become so obsessed 
with our careers, our diplo-
mas, our goals, and our life 
plans, that we forget how 
incredibly lucky we are to 
be here. 
Five semesters, 44 col-
umns, 12 opinion page 
designs, and two Liz Car-
penter awards later, I can’t 
believe my time at the 
Texan has ended. I look 
forward to watching from 
a distance as the Texan re-
defines itself and continues 
to provide content for our 
students in the future. 
–30–
When I first tried out for 
The Daily Texan my fresh-
man year in Spring 2013, 
I did not think I would 
get the position, as the 
only photos I took during 
the tryout process were at 
Graffiti Park of just the art 
with no people in them. 
My very first photo that 
was printed was one of 
The Flaming Lips at SXSW 
2013. I knew nothing 
about music photography 
and was clueless on how 
to shoot in low-light situ-
ations. The fall and spring 
of my sophomore year I did 
not make the staff, which 
kind of hurt me. I had sec-
ond thoughts on whether 
or not I was a good photog-
rapher and kind of stopped 
doing photography all to-
gether for quite some time 
that year.
I got back on staff and 
worked my way up to a 
senior photographer, as-
sociate photo editor and 
then ultimately photo ed-
itor in fall 2016. I would 
have never thought that I 
would be the photo editor 
at any point working for 
the Texan, but with Ra-
chel Zein telling me to be 
editor, I went for it and 
am very thankful for her 
motivating me. A lot of 
amazing people guided me 
and I learned from them. 
Amy helped by giving 
me endless opportunities 
and advice. 
I can never forget the 
SXSW memories in the 
basement at 2 a.m. or 3 
a.m., with her and Stepha-
nie letting me sleep while 
she tagged my photos and 
made the slideshows.
He may not know this, 
but Daulton helped me 
transition into photo 
editor and taught me a lot 
of things, from making 
online content to making 
slideshows to editorial de-
cisions. Serving as one of 
my associate photo editors, 
Stephanie was always there 
to talk music with me, as 
we would shoot many con-
certs and festivals together 
and learn from each other.
From getting to shoot 
two presidents, Kanye 
West, Panic! At The Disco, 
Red Hot Chili Peppers and 
my queen Ariana Grande, 
The Daily Texan has given 
me endless opportunities 
that I thought would’ve 
never happened. The trips 
to El Tacorrido and the 
Mexican bakery with Zoe, 
Emmanuel, Angel and oc-
casionally Matthew “The 
GOAT” Adams will be 
cherished forever and I will 
continue to eat barbacoa 
tacos in honor of Zoe. My 
precious young Mary, al-
ways positive and spread-
ing those vibes around the 
office, will be remembered. 
One of the greatest people 
I have met and one of my 
best friends, Angel: Thank 
you for being there forme, 
feeding me, taking me 
places and talking to me. 
It has been an amazing 
run with The Daily Texan: 
eight semesters on staff, 
amazing people, great 
times, and good mem-
ories. To the people re-
maining on staff: “Believe 
in yourselves. Dream. Try. 
Do good.”
–30–
I don’t think I knew what 
focal length or aperture 
were for the first 75 percent 
of my time on photo staff. I 
managed to keep my igno-
rance low-key enough to 
get the occasional adequate 
photo printed in my name. 
I’m also not really sure how 
I managed to take so many 
pictures without owning a 
camera. Also what the hell 
is a Wild?
Working for the Texan 
gave me access to a wealth 
of experiences. I met my 
fellow staffers, all incredible 
people. I made connections, 
encountered artists, polit-
ical figures, cried shooting 
performances by my favor-
ite musicians, and covered 
some of the most meaning-
ful events of the past years 
as they unfolded, whether 
tragic or joyful, ordinary 
or unbelievable.
Recognizing everyone by 
the distinct view of their 
backs hunched at the com-
puter on account of the 
beautiful toil of edits and 
uploads is a skill I’ll miss 
using daily post-basement-
stair-descents. I’m going 
to miss relating to Da Boi 
lying face down on the 
ground in Cano’s heavy 
boots. I’ll miss the way the 
evolving alphabet magnet 
phrases on the fridge grad-
ually get more aggressive as 
the week goes by.
Thanks to all the people 
who let me bum gear from 
them over the course of my 
time here. Josh, I still have 
your 50mm but I’m think-
ing of legally adopting 
it. It’s my most treasured 
child, (after Carlitos and 
Angel). Thank you, sweet 
Rachel, you were the first 
person here to make me 
feel welcome as a staffer. 
Zoe, thank you for letting 
this pretender infiltrate the 
senior staffer ranks with 
her pretending. Thank 
you, Peter, for not excom-
municating me the time I 
lost the SD card from my 
first paid assignment and 
for your wise encourage-
ment and critical presence 
throughout the years.
When I set foot in the 
Texan basement, I found 
an automatic focus. Things 
actually... clicked. As I say 
goodbye, I shutter to think 
of my time here coming 
to its end, but I hope I’ve 
contributed to the Canon of 
what makes The Daily Tex-
an great. Truly, the depth 
of this field has exposed me 
to more memories than can 
be contained in any 32gb. 
Bouta zoom outta what’s 
been the prime of my 
time at UT, bouta bounce 
like them equipment 
closet/studio lights.
–30–
30–Friday, May 5, 20177Emmanuel StaffZoe Photographer grateful for free concertsBy Joshua Guerra@JoshGuerra13Student successfully pretends to be photographerBy Briana Vargas@brianameliaZoe FuDaily Texan StaffJoshua Guerra 
has been at The 
Daily Texan for 
eight semesters. 
He has worked 
as an issue 
staffer, a senior 
photographer, 
associate photo 
editor and photo 
editor. He loves 
music and 
free concerts, 
especially when 
Ariana Grande is 
involved. 
Joshua GuerraDaily Texan 
StaffBriana Vargas 
started as a 
photographer 
at The Daily 
Texan with 
little expe-
rience. She 
grew during 
her time in 
the Photo 
department 
and “brought 
it” for every 
shoot. 
Assoc. editor finds platform to contribute voiceBy Khadija Saifullah@coolsorysunaoZoe FuDaily Texan 
StaffAssociate 
editor Khad-
ija Saifullah 
started at 
The Daily 
Texan to be 
more vocal 
about issues 
she saw on 
campus. 
After five 
semesters 
at the paper, 
she learned 
a lot and 
improved 
her skating 
skills. 



@thedailytexanFollow us for news, updates and more.
Four years ago, I stepped 
on to the 40 Acres with-
out a clue in the world. 
I was 2,000 miles away 
from my home in Port-
land, Oregon and I had 
no idea what I wanted to 
do with my life. In fact, I 
thought I wanted to be a 
surgeon. Yeah, right. 
Today, I can confident-
ly say I have some clarity, 
largely because of my in-
volvement with The Daily 
Texan the past few years. 
Being the associate sports 
editor and beat writer for 
Texas women’s basketball 
this year was the best thing 
that could have ever hap-
pened to me. I went to all 
of the team’s home games 
this season, got to inter-
view players and coaches 
and even traveled to Ken-
tucky for the Sweet 16. 
Having the opportunity 
to be around a group of 
strong young women and 
an honorable female coach, 
Karen Aston, was very re-
warding for me. So, I guess 
this is more of a letter 
to Karen:
Dear Karen,
I’m so thankful that you 
and your players were the 
first team I ever covered 
as a sports reporter. You’re 
doing an amazing job of 
developing your players 
on the court and building 
Texas into an elite pro-
gram. You’re also doing an 
outstanding job of help-
ing shape your athletes 
into strong women and 
leaders, which stood out 
to me above all else while 
being around your team 
this year. 
There’s a stigma that 
it’s difficult for women to 
strive in sports because 
it’s a male-dominated in-
dustry, but I think that’s 
absolutely ridiculous. 
Thank you for assuring me 
that women can strive in 
the sports world, wheth-
er it’s on the court or on 
the sidelines as a reporter. 
There were many times 
at games and press con-
ferences this year where 
I was the only female re-
porter in the room, but 
that was fine with me be-
cause I was always con-
fident I could get the job 
done. I’m proud that I got 
to learn stories about you 
and your players and share 
them with the rest of the 
Texas community. 
I’ll take what I learned 
from you, your staff, your 
players and my peers at 
The Daily Texan and con-
tinue to apply it to my life 
as I embark on a career as a 
sports reporter. 
Thank you for 
everything,
-Sydney Rubin 
–30–
I began my freshman year 
as an undeclared student 
in the College of Liberal 
Arts. Being undeclared is 
freeing to some, but at UT 
it can be stressful, espe-
cially when it has become 
more difficult to internally 
transfer. I applied multiple 
times to different colleges 
and majors but was denied 
every time, despite meeting 
the requirements. I consid-
ered transferring schools 
and even took a semes-
ter off of college. Despite 
everything, I came back 
to UT. 
At the end of my sopho-
more year, and after many 
failed attempts to leave 
COLA, I ended up choos-
ing a major off of a list of 
ones that did not require 
an application and told 
myself I would find other 
ways to do what I loved. 
I started applying to 
internships and jobs that 
sounded interesting but 
wasn’t having any luck; 
like no response, no in-
terview kind of luck. Fast 
forward to spring semester 
my junior year when I was 
scrolling through Face-
book and saw a post about 
jobs at The Daily Texan. 
I had never read an issue 
of the Texan and did not 
know the first thing about 
being a journalist, but I 
did have a background in 
photography and knew 
the basics of social media, 
so I decided to apply to 
those departments.
BLESS UP because they 
hired me. *insert praying 
hands emoji* 
In my first semester at 
The Daily Texan I learned 
so much about photo-
journalism and about the 
difference between social 
media for personal use 
and for professional use. 
I was finally doing some-
thing I loved, unlike my 
experiences in the class-
room. I felt like my work 
at the Texan was making 
an impact on campus and 
I finally felt connected to 
the University.
As the spring semester 
neared summer, it came 
time to apply for intern-
ships again but this time, 
I was getting interviews, 
and not just that, I actu-
ally GOT an internship; 
I would be lying if I said 
my experience at The Dai-
ly Texan didn’t play a part 
in that. Now in the spring 
semester of my senior year, 
I still take photos for the 
photo department and I 
oversee the social media 
department. I am positive 
my work at the Texan will 
continue to open doors 
for me and for that I am 
truly grateful. 
I encourage anyone still 
searching for their home 
on campus to consider ap-
plying to the Texan because 
it just might be where 
you belong.
–30–
ORDER TODAY!
2017 CACTUS YEARBOOKBUYTSM.COM
YOU HAVEN’TBOUGHT AYEARBOOK YET?
YOU HAVEN’TBOUGHT AYEARBOOK YET?
WHAT?!WHAT?!Name: 5773/House Ads; Width: 29p6; Depth: 10 in; Color: Black; Ad 
Number: 57738 May 5, 2017–30–
Texan opens doors for social media editorBy Stephanie 
Martinez-Arndt@stepmart_
Sports writer thanks female 
coach for being role modelBy Sydney Rubin@sydneyrrubinJuan Figueroa | Daily Texan StaffSydney Rubin found her direction in the Sports department of The Daily Texan. She worked 
as the Associate Sports editor. 
Zoe Fu 
Daily Texan 
StaffSocial Media 
editor Steph-
anie Mar-
tinez-Arndt 
began work-
ing at The 
Daily Texan 
during her 
junior year. In 
many ways, 
she found 
her home in 
the paper’s 
basement 
office. 
Fridays at 5 p.m.
Listen to The Daily Texan newscast



HORKA, SPORTS EDITOR | @texansportsFriday, May 5, 2017BASEBALLPierce, Texas set to face Horned FrogsDuring his junior year of 
high school, Alan Zapalac 
applied to work for a Texas 
Roadhouse restaurant in Wallis, 
Texas. He was told they weren’t 
hiring and went looking for 
work elsewhere.
“My dad, jack-of-all-trades, 
taught me a bunch of things,” 
Zapalac said. “Somebody said, 
‘Why don’t you try building 
stuff for people?’ I started off 
with small ideas, small picture 
frames here and there, and 
kind of evolved into bigger 
furniture pieces and a couple 
house remodels.”
Zapalac’s carpentry work has 
become immensely popular 
and has grown into a border-
line small business. He’s even 
brought his woodworking 
skills onto the track — Zapalac 
has done projects for multiple 
staff members of the Longhorn 
track and field team, includ-
ing his own field events coach, 
Ty Sevin.
“It’s definitely a strong suit for 
him,” Sevin said. “I’ve seen more 
of his metal-working stuff. We 
made a couple of things that 
we used around the track that 
came back, like (it was made by) 
a professional welder.”
Despite possessing a burly 
6-foot-6-inch frame, the red-
shirt junior often gets over-
looked. Zapalac shrugs it off, 
knowing he’ll excel in whatever 
he chooses to do.
Throughout high school, 
Zapalac juggled a trio of sports, 
lettering all four years in foot-
ball, basketball and track.
Ironically, he and his fami-
ly were die-hard fans of Texas 
A&M. Zapalac’s dream was to 
play offensive tackle for the Ag-
gies’ football team.
The offer never came.
“My senior year (of high 
school), I came here for Texas 
Relays,” Zapalac said. “I had a 
really big throw and coach Ma-
rio (head coach Marie Sategna) 
asked if I wanted to be on the 
team. No other school had of-
fered anything, so it was a pretty 
simple decision.”
It was an easy offer, too. 
“He didn’t set the world on 
fire, but that was OK,” Sategna 
said. “You look at his size and 
I’m thinking to myself, ‘How 
did this guy not end up playing 
tackle for somebody?’”
Now in his fourth year at 
Texas, Zapalac has come to 
embrace his surroundings, 
which has helped with his per-
formance on the field. Despite 
starting slow early in the sea-
son, the thrower is now in the 
midst of a hot streak, earning 
consecutive personal records in 
the discus throw at the previous 
two home meets.
“It’s kind of a tale of two sea-
sons,” Sevin said. “We’re right 
there in the hammer (throw), 
about where his PR was last year, 
and it’s been a bit of a struggle to 
make that jump in that event. 
But from the perspective of the 
discus, it’s been a really huge 
turnaround for him.”
Sategna believes it is actually 
Zapalac’s calm personality that 
has allowed him to excel during 
his recent performances.
“He’s a guy that doesn’t get 
rattled real easy,” Sategna said. 
“Not that there isn’t anxiety or 
nervousness, but just the way 
he conducts himself and his 
demeanor, you know you don’t 
have to worry about him.”
Zapalac is scheduled to par-
ticipate in the Big 12 Cham-
pionships next week, and he 
knows his background in car-
pentry will allow him to shine 
during his throwing events.
“Nothing ever goes as 
planned,” Zapalac said. “You 
can draw everything to its fin-
est details, you can practice for 
hours, but something will go 
wrong. And you just have to 
go with it and solve each prob-
lem as it comes to get to the 
final product.”
SOFTBALLLonghorns prepare for last 
series of season with Baylor“Grit” is defined as the 
perseverance and passion for 
long-term goals. 
It’s been the Longhorns’ 
motto throughout the sea-
son, and they’ll continue 
to show grit as they pre-
pare for their last three-
game series against No. 17 
Baylor before the Big 12 
postseason tournament. 
“It’s a big series for us and 
it really has big implications 
for us going into the post-
season,” head coach Connie 
Clark said. “Definitely no 
motivational speech need-
ed — it comes down to this, 
so let’s go have some fun 
with it.” 
Junior catcher Randel 
Leahy had been working 
all season to hit a homerun 
during a game, and even 
as she blasted a ball deep 
into left field against Texas 
A&M-Corpus Christi on 
Wednesday night, she re-
mained patient.
“I kind of held my breath 
a little bit to make sure it 
wasn’t a foul, because I tend 
to pull a lot of pitches,” Leahy 
said. “It was great, I caught 
myself smiling around the 
bases. It was a good feeling.”
Leahy’s first homerun of 
the season during Wednes-
day night’s game exempli-
fies the amount of grit she’s 
shown this season. Her de-
termination for improve-
ment at the plate brought 
her back into the batting 
lineup as one of the top 
hitters, leading with a .478 
average over the past 10 
games with five runs scored, 
five extra-base hits and 
nine RBIs.
The Longhorn pitching 
staff has also recently been 
reaping the benefits from 
the perseverance they’ve 
shown throughout the year. 
Texas’ pitchers are currently 
riding a four-game shutout 
streak — that’s 28.1 scoreless 
innings of dominance from 
the mound. 
Junior pitcher Erica 
Wright leads the way with 
13 shutout innings, while se-
nior Tiarra Davis has seven, 
sophomore Brooke Bolinger 
has six, and juniors Kristen 
Clark and Paige Von Spreck-
en combine for the rest. The 
last time the Longhorns had 
four straight shutouts was in 
February of 2013.
“Kansas was a big opener 
for us,” Leahy said. “We re-
ally opened up our bats and 
I think the team saw how 
good we really are when we 
put it all together. I think 
that showed us, ‘Wow, we 
can do this.’”
But it wasn’t the first time 
Texas proved that they could 
compete. On Feb. 25, Texas 
defeated No. 11 Tennessee, 
a team that currently has 
over 40 wins. Although the 
Longhorns haven’t defeated 
a ranked opponent since, 
they’ll have one more op-
portunity to build up opti-
mal confidence for the Big 
12 Tournament by winning 
a big series against No. 17 
Baylor this weekend.
“I think it would give us 
swagger going into Big 12 
tournament and regionals 
(if we won Baylor),” Leahy 
said. “I think it would just 
give us kind of a chip on 
our shoulder.”
Zapalac brings unique 
carpentry skill to fieldTRACK AND FIELDHead coach David Pierce 
knew exactly what his expec-
tations were going into his first 
year on the 40 Acres.
They’re the same as the rest of 
the Longhorn athletic program: 
win, or face the consequences. 
Former Texas football head 
coach Charlie Strong saw ex-
actly what those consequences 
were when he packed his bags 
after another 5–7 season, end-
ing his nightmarish three-year 
Longhorn campaign. 
Pierce knew this, and his 
ballclub did, too. 
“As we all know, the expecta-
tions at the University of Texas 
adds that little pressure,” Pierce 
said before his Longhorn debut 
in January. “You feel like you 
have to do something different. 
I’m just trying to constantly get 
them to trust who they are … 
We’re looking for their confi-
dence to get them to relax.”
Pierce said from day one 
that he wanted his team to be 
not only confident, but also 
level-headed, which isn’t an 
easy feat when dealing with a 
young team. 
In fact, three months later, 
that’s still a primary focus for 
his ballclub, especially with a 
three-game series against No. 9 
TCU (32–11, 12–6 Big 12) this 
weekend. But Pierce believes 
his young team will be able to 
deliver a strong performance 
against the Horned Frogs once 
they learn to calm their nerves 
in the foreign environment at 
Fort Worth. 
“I think we’re going to have 
to work on keeping their 
emotions intact,” Pierce said. 
“They’re playing great baseball 
right now, but they’re just so 
excited to keep going. Anytime 
you get the chance to play the 
team that’s leading your league, 
it’s challenging and it’s exciting 
so I think we’re just going to 
have to be business as usual in 
the next couple of days and get 
ourselves prepared.”
The Horned Frogs are com-
ing off by far their worst loss of 
the season last Sunday when 
No. 6 Texas Tech dominated 
them, 21-3. But Pierce doesn’t 
expect that to give the Long-
horns an advantage when they 
face TCU this weekend.
“What happened to them 
at Texas Tech won’t have any 
bearing to this series,” Pierce 
said. “They have veteran guys. 
They’ve been in postseasons, so 
there’s a lot of concerns, but it’s 
not really about TCU. It’s much 
more about our players and go-
ing out and being themselves.”
Pierce will feel the pressure 
from the expectations that 
come with coaching for Tex 
to the fullest extent when the 
No. 24 Longhorns (31–16, 
9–8 Big 12) face the confer-
ence-leading Horned Frogs 
this weekend. But Pierce ful-
ly accepts the challenge and 
will find comfort in his team’s 
eagerness to deliver a strong 
performance at Fort Worth in 
order be ready for everything 
the postseason has to offer for 
the Longhorns.
“When you look at the way 
our kids are responding and 
them starting to understand 
the big picture a little better 
— of what May and June po-
tentially brings to this team 
— I think that’s something 
that they’re looking forward 
to and that’s something I’m 
glad that they’re excited about,” 
Pierce said.
Juan Figueroa | Daily Texan StaffJunior catcher Randel Leahy slides into home plate at McCombs Field. Leahy recently hit 
her first home run of the season against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Wednesday night.
By Drew King@drewking0222Joshua Guerra | Daily Texan StaffHead coach David Pierce chats with the home plate umpire at UFCU Disch-Falk Field. Pierce will face the pressure of the 
high expecations that come with being a head coach at Texas when his team battles No. 9 TCU in Fort Worth this weekend.
SIDELINEMLBRANGERS
ASTROS
TODAY IN 
HISTORY1978Cincinnati Red 
Pete Rose 
becomes the 
14th player in 
MLB history to 
record 3000 hits.
“ IF you see a athlete 
walking around 
campus with slides 
and no socks? They 
are tired and almost 
on break! ”
Demarco Boyd@demarco_boydTOP TWEETTexas teams set to 
end seasons strongThe spring semester 
comes to a close today, 
but that doesn’t put an 
end to plenty of Long-
horn seasons as mul-
tiple sports have yet 
to conclude. 
Head coach David 
Pierce’s No. 24 Longhorn 
baseball squad doesn’t 
wrap up conference play 
until May 21 after a three-
game series with West 
Virginia. After the con-
ference tournament that 
follows, his team looks 
to continue the Long-
horns’ rich tradition with 
another run to Omaha. 
Texas softball wraps up 
its regular season with 
a three-game series set 
against Baylor this week-
end. Then, head coach 
Connie Clark and com-
pany are off to Oklahoma 
City to compete for the 
Big 12 Championship 
May 12 and 13. 
No. 11 Texas men’s 
tennis starts its run for 
a national title on May 
12. Should the Long-
horns advance through 
the first round, they 
could potentially play 
all the way through May 
29 as they search for 
a championship. 
On the women’s end 
of the court, Texas wom-
en’s tennis faces a similar 
schedule, with the first 
round starting on May 
12. A champion won’t be 
crowned until late May 
as well. 
On the golf course, 
head coach John Fields’ 
team hosts an NCAA Re-
gional at UT Golf Club 
from May 15 to May 17. 
If the Longhorns make 
it through their home 
regional, they’ll compete 
for an NCAA title from 
May 26 through May 31. 
The women’s golf 
team, who like the men 
captured a Big 12 title 
last month, have an op-
portunity to play for na-
tional glory over those 
same dates. 
Lastly, an outdoor 
track and field champion 
will not be crowned until 
early June. Head coach 
Mario Sategna aims to 
bring a championship 
back home to Austin. 
—Tyler HorkaSPORTS 
BRIEFLYBy Leah Vann@vanntastic_leahAlan Zapalac 
Redshirt junior throwerBy Alex Briseno & 
Vanessa Le@alexxbriseno @vanesssaleWe really opened up 
our bats and I think the 
team saw how good we 
really are when we put 
it all together.
— Randel Leahy, 
Junior catcher



I walked down the musky, 
water-logged steps that lead 
to The Daily Texan base-
ment for the last time as the 
sports editor of our storied 
publication last night. 
Wait, maybe I didn’t. 
But maybe I did — I 
don’t quite know. 
What I do know, howev-
er, is that for the first time 
since joining the Texan five 
semesters ago, I’m not cer-
tain if my future includes the 
soggy stairs and confines of 
the beloved basement. 
I joined the Texan in 
the spring semester of my 
freshman year. I still 
remember the first time 
former Texan sports ed-
itor Garrett Callahan led 
me down that all-too-fa-
miliar staircase, and I 
can say this for sure: I 
wasn’t thrilled about the 
prospect of calling that 
underground chamber 
my workplace. 
I expected the office 
of one of the largest stu-
dent newspapers in the 
nation to be a bit more 
lavish and much more, 
well, welcoming. 
Little did I know that 
I’d end up spending most 
of my nights there, and I 
couldn’t be more grateful. I 
could count the number of 
times I entered the office 
during my freshman year 
on one hand. As a junior, 
it’d be much easier to count 
the days I didn’t trot down 
the squashy steps. 
In less than two years’ 
time, I realized it’s not 
all about where someone 
works and what the build-
ing looks like. It’s more 
about who works there 
with you and what those 
people are like. And let me 
tell you — the Texan has 
some of the best people 
you’ll ever meet. 
Former sports editor 
Jori Epstein gave me my 
first big break down in 
the Sports Department. 
She told me I’d be cover-
ing women’s basketball. As 
someone who didn’t get a 
single byline in the paper 
until a few weeks prior, I 
was ecstatic. 
After a few months of 
reporting on one of the 
best women’s basketball 
teams the entire nation 
had to offer during the 
2015-2016 season, for-
mer sports editor Jacob 
Martella’s email popped 
up on my phone during 
winter break. 
“Hey Dad, I just made 
senior staff at the Texan!” I 
yelled down the stairs. The 
rest is history. 
Without the Texan, I 
wouldn’t have any “Office 
Ping Pong Tournament 
Champion” titles to my name 
(thanks for going easy on me 
Peter). Without the Texan, I 
wouldn’t be qualified for the 
many internships that might 
keep me away from the of-
fice for good if I’m to lock 
them down. 
Without the Texan, I 
wouldn’t have traveled 
to all 12 Texas football 
games last season. With-
out the Texan, I wouldn’t 
have enough people to 
share absurd amounts 
of Tiff’s Treats with af-
ter I got off my late night 
shifts. Without the Texan, 
I wouldn’t have met some 
of my best friends in this 
great life. 
Fluctuating between in-
formative mentor and com-
patible companion, Akshay 
Mirchandani has trans-
formed from just another 
co-worker to someone who 
will be there to watch my 
future bride walk down 
the aisle. 
Trenton Daeschner will 
be there too, and you’ll 
probably find us knock-
ing a few balls around a 
golf course or going head-
to-head in ping pong 
many times between now 
and then. 
No, I’m not sure if I’ll 
walk down those steps as a 
Texan employee ever again. 
But I do know that the peo-
ple I’m walking out with 
are here to stay.
–30–
The first step of the sci-
entific process is to observe 
one’s surroundings and ask 
questions. Last spring I 
went undercover as a jour-
nalist, escaping my life as 
an engineering nerd to do 
what journalists do best: 
ask and observe. 
As part of the inaugural 
group of Science & Tech-
nology staffers, I did all I 
could to make my disguise 
seem believable. I memo-
rized AP style rules, carried 
around my recorder and 
spent hours perfecting the 
“news” style of writing. I 
didn’t want anyone to ques-
tion my ability as a report-
er after finding out that I 
studied how to solve equa-
tions all day, not how to 
structure articles. 
But the engineering side 
of me was impossible to hide 
completely. I approach writ-
ing a story as I do solving a 
math or physics problem 
— laying out premises and 
equations (quotes) before 
solving the problem (telling 
the story). As I got to know 
the rest of the S&T depart-
ment, as a staffer, associate 
editor and editor, I found 
that many of my other sci-
ence-minded Texan writers 
approach writing a story the 
same way. 
It is this awareness for 
the scientific process that 
makes science writing of all 
kinds important now more 
than ever. When I joined 
the department, I wanted 
to learn more about cool 
research happening at UT. 
But over the past year, I’ve 
come to consider the de-
partment more than a place 
I can pose as a journalist. 
Under the mosquito net, my 
staffers and I write accurate 
and insightful stories, shar-
ing scientific discoveries 
with the public in an easy-to- 
understand way.
While some of the re-
search the S&T staffers re-
port on may seem out-of-
reach and unrelated to the 
everyday struggles of stu-
dents, the fact that there are 
researchers out there who 
constantly strive to save the 
planet, to save lives and to 
save facts means that we 
can have a future that per-
severes past the troubles 
of today. 
My staffers fight for sci-
ence every day, not by polit-
icizing it, but rather by do-
ing all they can to share its 
greatness and importance. 
Thanks to Ellen Airhart 
for creating this section so 
dozens of science (and en-
gineering) nerds can have a 
place to develop their writ-
ing skills. Thanks to Eva 
Frederick for bringing her 
passion to the department 
and for inspiring my love of 
bad puns and baked goods. 
To Julianne Hodges, I appre-
ciate your love of detail and 
the beauty with which you 
approach a story. To Kate 
Thackrey, I can’t think of a 
better person to carry on 
this section. You’ve kept me 
sane and taught me so much 
about the world of journal-
ism. I’ll miss you the most.
During my time at the 
Texan, I’ve written about 
bacteria that can clean up 
oil spills, empathy mir-
rors, the impact of volca-
nos on Earth’s climate and 
self-healing batteries. I’ve 
helped create special pag-
es about energy, bees, vid-
eo games and my favorite: 
Earth Day. 
From all the questions I’ve 
asked researchers and all the 
observations I’ve made, both 
about my staffers and about 
reactions to S&T stories, 
I’ve found that what matters 
most about science is not the 
way it changes, but the way 
it stays the same, continually 
giving hope. 
As I leave the cubicle 
under the mosquito net, 
this engineering nerd will 
throw off her disguise as a 
journalist. Because I know 
I leave behind a community 
of science-minded staffers 
that will do all they can to 
protect and preserve the 
beauty of science. 
–30–
May 5, 2017–30–
Sports editor: Don’t judge basement by coverBy Tyler Horka@TexasTy95Engineering nerd infiltrates Texan, brings sweetsBy Zia Lyle@ZiaLyleEmmanuel Briseno | Daily Texan StaffZia Lyle smiles from behind a mosquito net. As Science & Tech editor, she fought for science. She took some time off from being an engineering nerd to 
explore journalism at The Daily Texan. 
Zoe FuDaily Texan 
StaffTyler Hor-
ka, center, 
stuffs his 
face with 
cookies. 
Horka was 
a sports-
writer his 
freshman 
year and 
has not 
left yet. He 
is grateful 
for all the 
opportu-
nites The 
Daily Texan 
has given 
him. 



Working at The Daily 
Texan led to a lot of firsts 
for me. It was the first time 
I’d ever written for a news-
paper. I applied on a whim 
in the middle of the sum-
mer before my senior year 
because I wasn’t really do-
ing much with my summer 
at that point. It turned out 
to be one of the greatest de-
cisions I made here at UT.
It was a learning process, 
though. My journalism ex-
perience was close to zero. 
Luckily, I had great editors 
in Anusha, Audrey, Cath-
erine, Claire, Jasleen, Han-
nah, Sunny and Matthew to 
teach me the basics along 
the way. I learned to get 
rid of the oxford comma 
and Anusha explained to 
me what passive voice was 
at least 10 times. As time 
went on my mistakes dwin-
dled and I became more or 
less capable.
My fall semester as a 
reporter was full of firsts. 
From dildo-wielding pro-
testers to scandalous bake 
sales, the semester was 
never boring by any means. 
The fall was also the first 
time I really felt like the 
news department was a 
family. I covered my first 
election night and went to 
my first drag show with 
these guys. There was nev-
er a dull moment. Even our 
hour-long pitch meetings 
with Forrest speaking for 
99 percent of them were 
still really fun.
I really have to thank 
Forrest and Ellie for hiring 
me. They gave me an op-
portunity to try something 
new and I’m really proud of 
the work I did during my 
time as a senior reporter. 
Without their guidance I 
don’t think I would’ve been 
able to accomplish the 
things I did and have fun 
at the same time. The news 
department really is like 
one big family, and that’s 
all on Forrest and Ellie.
All the reporters I’ve 
worked with were amazing 
people. Paul, Katie, Will, 
Sarah, Cassi and Brianna: 
It was a pleasure to work 
with you guys during the 
fall and I know you guys 
are going to kill it in what-
ever it is you do in the 
future. (Will, remember 
me when you’re headlin-
ing ACL.) Lisa, Kayla and 
Mikaela: I didn’t get to work 
with you guys as much as I 
wanted to, but I know you 
guys are going to kill it too.
The only regret I have 
is that I joined the Texan 
so late. If this is the only 
regret I have after work-
ing here for a year, then I 
think it’s safe to say I had 
a pretty good time. I high-
ly encourage anyone read-
ing this with nothing to 
do this summer to try out. 
Even if you don’t have any 
journalism experience 
you’ll still have fun and 
learn what you need along 
the way. 
–30–
My advice to the stu-
dents at The University of 
Texas at Austin: Do not 
work for The Daily Tex-
an. You will be required 
to confine yourself to the 
basement of the commu-
nications complex for long 
periods of time. That you 
will never again feel the 
warmth of the sun on your 
skin is a very real possi-
bility. The only forms of 
sustenance you will find 
in this fluorescently-lit 
wasteland are stale cookies 
and a fun-sized candy bar. 
Your only companions are 
ancient computers and the 
office opossum. I implore 
you, count to three, take a 
breath, and walk away from 
The Daily Texan should 
you have any inclination to 
apply here. If I haven’t con-
vinced you yet, here are a 
few more reasons NOT to 
work at The Daily Texan: 
1. You are forced to spend 
your time and become 
friends with some of the 
best people in the entire 
state of Texas — looking 
at all you past and present 
Design Dogs.
2. The Texan will teach you 
valuable lifelong skills such 
as cooperation, time-man-
agement, and initiative. Yuck. 
3. You might be prone to 
laugh. A lot. It’s the worst. 
4. The Texan’s advisor will 
drive you up the wall. He 
has horrible taste in music, 
an extreme commitment 
to Staff Olympics, and an 
affinity for snapping ugly 
photos of people. 
5. Your peers will challenge 
you and there is a chance 
you could become a better 
designer, writer, photogra-
pher, artist, or all the above 
(thank you Ginny, Iliana, 
and Kelly!). 
6. Pride for what you do at 
the Texan is understand-
able and likely. After all, we 
are the award-winningest 
(is that a word?) college 
newspaper in the nation. 
7. You will be exposed to an 
eclectic work soundtrack, 
everything from DMX to 
Frank Sinatra. I would also 
like to take this opportunity 
to apologize for the count-
less hours of smooth jazz 
played in the basement. 
8. Dogs visit The Daily 
Texan office frequently. 
But really, we all know that 
puppies are unbearable. 
9. Coffee will become the 
only fluid in your body. A 
hefty “you’re welcome” to 
all campus coffee suppliers. 
10. Fun is inevitable. The 
Daily Texan staff is so di-
verse and wonderful that 
there is never, never a 
dull moment. 
In all seriousness, I 
would not trade my time 
at the Texan for anything. 
It is one of my best and 
favorite experiences at the 
University of Texas. True, 
it was not always a walk 
in the park but few good 
things ever are. I am grate-
ful for and proud of every 
designer on my staff. You 
all made it! Thank you 
to each person that ever 
made a paper with me. 
You make The Daily Texan 
what it is. 
–30–
30–Friday, May 5, 201711Design editor warns against joining TexanBy Elizabeth Jones@thedailytexanZoe FuDaily Texan 
StaffElizabeth 
Jones finds 
balancing 
rocks on 
her head 
therapeutic. 
She worked 
in the Desin 
department 
as an issue 
deisgner, 
senior de-
signer, and 
design edi-
tor, for two 
years and is 
sad to leave. 
But, hey, you 
have to go at 
some point!
System reporter stayed for the free mealsBy Van Nguyen@nguyen_vanZoe Fu | Daily Texan StaffThe Daily Texan was the first newspaper for which Van Nguyen worked. He began his career as a reporter and encountered 
many other firsts. He experienced and learned a lot during his year in the News department. 



Name: 5781/Information Security Offic; Width: 29p6; Depth: 5 in; 
Color: Process color; Ad Number: 5781Name: Crossword; Width: 29p6; Depth: 5.25 in; Color: Black; Ad 
Number: -
Advertisement12Friday, May 5, 2017COMICSToday’s solution will appear here next issueArrr matey. This scurrvy beast be today’s answerrrrrr.
Crop it out, or it’ll be the shes for ya! 
SUDOKUFORYOU 
5 4 9 8 3 7 1 2 67 1 8 4 2 6 3 9 52 6 3 5 1 9 4 8 79 3 5 1 8 2 7 6 48 7 4 3 6 5 9 1 26 2 1 9 7 4 8 5 34 8 2 7 5 1 6 3 93 9 6 2 4 8 5 7 11 5 7 6 9 3 2 4 8 
1 8 6 4 
9 4 1 2 7 
3 
6 5 8 28 5 7 2 9 3 1 
7 4 9 
8 3 5 9 
2 9 
3 2 8



in Munster.
“It’s an interesting way to 
take agency of one’s body 
and questioning the time 
and its signifiers,” Sebastian 
said. “Wrinkles and its con-
nection with age and tattoos 
with immaturity.”
Since its establishment, 
the Munster Sculpture Proj-
ect has evolved into a meet-
ing ground for artists to 
display social and political 
messages. This emphasis on 
expression has opened the 
door to genres of perfor-
mance art outside of sculpt-
ing, such as tattoos.
To Smith, performance 
art is a very open-ended 
term, because there are so 
many ways of performing to 
convey a message. He said it 
can be used to discuss sub-
jects such as identity, society 
and politics, while incorpo-
rating dance, music, images 
and other media.
“It’s kind of a catch-all 
term, a hybrid,” Smith said.
Smith has taken some-
what of a complex role in 
the art department, pro-
viding an auxiliary to oth-
er visual arts or conceptual 
classes by supplementing, 
magnifying or expanding 
upon another focus area of 
the arts.
“I teach it where there’s 
no one way of going about 
doing it,” Smith said. “The 
students sort of develop it or 
think about how to use it.”
Studio art graduate stu-
dent Ryan Hawk has been 
Smith’s teaching assistant 
for the past three years. 
Hawk said he came to UT’s 
program specifically to work 
with Smith. He said Smith’s 
take on performance art 
starkly contrasts with his 
undergraduate training.
“Mike has a way of em-
phasizing the nuances of ev-
eryday life through his work 
as well as his teaching prac-
tice, which has ultimately 
inspired me to embrace 
concepts of absurdity and 
humor in my own work and 
in unconventional ways,” 
Hawk said.
Unconventional expres-
sion is within the nature of 
performance art, and the 
Munster Sculpture Project is 
a platform for it. It’s a com-
prehensive practice that has 
taken Smith from studio art 
to tattoo design.
“The tattoos were just 
an idea I had,” Smith said. 
“A lot of my work comes 
from these concepts that I 
get. The tattoos developed 
gradually from this idea of 
looking for youth.”
The image of a somber, 
darkened tower will shine 
through the night of May 5 as 
the UT community embraces 
one another in honor of the 
216 Longhorns lost over the 
past year but never forgotten.
UT Remembers, a Univer-
sity-wide day of remembrance 
for members of the UT com-
munity who died over the past 
year, will be hosted by the UT 
Cares Committee and take 
place throughout the day, with 
events including a flag lower-
ing ceremony, grief counsel-
ing, commemorative chim-
ing of the bell tower and the 
darkening of the tower.
“It’s a way to pay tribute to 
the people who have been a 
part of what makes the cam-
pus run, whether it is some-
one in the facility services or 
someone who works in the 
president’s office,” said Doug 
Bolin, associate director for 
University Events and mem-
ber of the UT Cares commit-
tee. “The program is set up to 
honor each of them individu-
ally and on the same level.”
The event was started in 
1998 to provide an oppor-
tunity for the University to 
invite family and friends of 
those who have passed to take 
part in the day of remem-
brance for their lost loved 
ones on the last Friday of the 
spring semester. 
Psychology and neurosci-
ence senior Kevin Helgren, 
former student body presi-
dent, said the Longhorn com-
munity can really benefit from 
an event like this as they work 
together to overcome the re-
cent tragedy on campus.
“The unfortunate reality is 
that we lose members of our 
community more often than 
we’d like to,” Helgren said. “In 
fact, it is a particularly relevant 
plane just because we experi-
enced a tremendous loss three 
days ago.”
This commemoration, Hel-
gren said, will be an opportu-
nity for Longhorns not only 
to find comfort in one anoth-
er, but also to stand together 
in strength.
“There is a whole lot of 
strength in community, there 
is a whole lot of strength 
in solidarity,” Helgren said. 
“The only silver lining that 
comes with any tragedy is 
the fact that the community 
really does recognize and act 
upon the importance of com-
ing together and leaning on 
each other.”
Urban studies sophomore 
Sylvia Feghali, former room-
mate of Haruka Weiser, one of 
the lives being honored in the 
ceremony, said she feels this 
event is important because 
it allows students and loved 
ones to gather in a supportive 
environment to truly remem-
ber the people behind the list 
of names.
“It is very powerful knowing 
someone for who they were 
and not just how they passed 
or how they died or how they 
were taken,” Feghali said. “It 
means you have a deeper 
understanding for what that 
person was and the memories 
they have left behind.”
Feghali said this event 
allows people to take a mo-
ment out of the day’s busy 
schedule and mourn the loss 
of their loved ones, as well 
as reflect on the legacies of 
those honored. 
“I hope that it will be a way 
that people will not just gloss 
over the events that have hap-
pened recently or in the past,” 
Feghali said. “It is very easy on 
campus to get caught up with 
our own personal lives and put 
up blinders to everything else, 
but this is the kind of event 
that reminds us of our place 
and just the greater context of 
where we live and what we do 
every day.”
Name: Classifieds; Width: 60p0; Depth: 10 in; Color: Black; Ad Number: -
Name: 5711/Church of Scientology; Width: 
19p4; Depth: 4 in; Color: Black; Ad Num-
ber: 5711MEDICALdigest.texasstudentmedia.com 
CONDO FOR RENT$1000 1 Bd 1 Bth Gated Condo2450 Wickersham Ln 902 Austin, TX 78741Beautiful 2nd floor unit nestled in the hills of East Riverside, Austin. 
Enjoy the ambience of the peaceful Chamonix gated community 
where the tree-lined walkways and community pools provide arespite from the hustle and bustle of downtown Austin. 
Conveniently located 2 mi. from St Ed’s, 4 mi. from downtown,
5.5 mi. from UT and 7 mi. from ABIA, this condo also has easy 
access to bus routes, I35 and Hwy 71. 
Call Stephenat 512-577-5096 for an appointment.
URL: https://rent.turbotenant.comADVERTISING TERMS There are no refunds or credits. In the event of errors made in advertisement, notice must be given by 10 am the fi rst day of publication, as the publish-
ers are responsible for only ONE incorrect insertion. In consideration of The Daily Texan’s acceptance of advertising copy for publication, the agency and the advertiser will 
indemnify and save harmless, Texas Student Media and its offi cers, employees and agents against all loss, liability, damage and expense of whatsoever nature arising out 
of the copying, print-ing or publishing of its advertisement including without limitation reasonable attorney’s fees resulting from claims of suits for libel, violation of right of 
privacy, plagiarism and copyright and trademark infringement. All ad copy must be approved by the newspaper which reserves the right to request changes, reject or properly 
classify an ad. The advertiser, and not the newspaper, is responsible for the truthful content of the ad. Advertising is also subject to credit approval.
Reduce • Reuse • RecycleChurch of Scientology2200 Guadalupe | 512-474-6631Austin@Scientology.netWORRIED?
STRESSED OUT?
DEPRESSED?
There are answers in this book.
THE MODERN SCIENCE OF MENTAL HEALTHBY L. RON HUBBARDMay you never be the same again.
DIANETICSBUY AND READPRICE:$25CLASS ARTSFriday, May 5, 201713CAMPUSTATTOOcontinues from page 15panelists will inspire a 
candid environment where 
women feel comfortable to 
discuss everything from 
their disappointments and 
concerns to their success-
es and resilience. Morgan 
Susan Taylor, founder of 
the Feminine Wisdom 
Academy and one of the 
scheduled panelists for the 
event, said she is looking 
forward to promoting 
feminine pride. 
“My main focus is on 
women sexuality and fem-
inine spirituality,” Taylor 
said. “We have to know 
our own bodies first and be 
connected to ourselves first 
in order to know what we 
want to be and to fully give 
to someone else.”
Taylor said this message 
of healthy self-centering 
behavior is often over-
looked and disregarded by 
most women in today’s so-
ciety because of the sweep-
ing generalizations of being 
submissive and meek.
“It all starts with yourself 
and your own body and 
what you want, what you 
need, what you desire and 
being connected to your-
self,” Taylor said. “I special-
ize with women because we 
tend to give ourselves away 
a lot and a lot of the time we 
lose ourselves.”
Love Yourself invites 
women to come together as 
a united and encouraging 
community to be empow-
ered and educated in self-
health and betterment.
“At the end of the day, 
we are there to be cheer-
leaders for one another 
and to empower one an-
other,” Rubio said. “We are 
a group of women who 
don’t want to tear each 
other down. In fact, we 
are a group of women who 
want to inspire one another 
on a daily basis to do bet-
ter, to set higher goals and 
to remind ourselves each 
and everyone one of us is 
loved and that we should 
take care of ourselves first 
and foremost.”
By Acacia Coronado@acaciatree18WOMEN 
continues from page 15Tower goes dark, flag lowered 
as UT Remembers lost HornsChase 
KaracostasDaily Texan 
StaffThe UT 
Tower will 
remain dark 
on the night 
of May 5 for 
UT Remem-
bers, a day 
of remem-
brance 
honoring 
Longhorns 
who have 
died over the 
past year.

Name: 5726/Condor German Airlines; Width: 60p0; Depth: 20 in; Color: Process color; Ad Number: 572614 February 1, 2017

Though women in the 
workforce are often encour-
aged to abandon elements of 
the femininity in hopes of suc-
cess, some Austin professional 
women are encouraging oth-
ers like them to see their wom-
anhood as an invaluable asset.
The Young Women’s Alli-
ance is an organization that 
empowers women to reach 
their full potential in both their 
careers and personal lives. This 
Sunday, YWA is hosting Love 
Yourself, an event intended to 
inspire women to prioritize 
themselves and their health in 
their everyday lives. Stephanie 
Circhirillo, a representative 
from YWA, said they have 
been working on this event 
since December.
“With the political climate 
of today, and all of the wom-
en’s movements going on now 
in solidarity, just being a part 
of a group that is doing good 
in the world and trying to take 
care of each other is very im-
portant,” Circhirillo said. 
Though the event caters to 
individual women, Liz Rubio, 
another representative from 
YWA, said she looks forward 
to Austin’s successful wom-
en coming together to better 
themselves as a community,
“A lot of the women in the 
Young Women’s Alliance come 
from a very entrepreneurial 
background,” Rubio said. 
“What the Alliance does is cre-
ate a network of women who 
are very like-minded through 
wanting to expand their 
horizons and continue the 
learning curve.”
Rubio said she is also excit-
ed for advice and commen-
tary pertaining to feminine 
strength and excellence from 
the panelists. 
“We want to get everyone 
comfortable and talk about 
the issues we may not always 
want to talk about,” Rubio said. 
“(These issues are) so frequent 
in our everyday lives that we 
don’t often think about how 
they affect us as women.”
Rubio said she hopes the 
The first Saturday of ev-
ery May sees massive swaths 
of people flock to one of 
the least likely places for a 
crowd: comic book stores.
Initially pitched by mag-
azine columnist Joe Fields 
in 2001 as a way to reinvig-
orate the struggling comic 
book industry, Free Com-
ic Book Day provides the 
few remaining local comics 
shops with their busiest day 
of the year. It provides the 
recently re-emerging com-
ics industry with the op-
portunity to connect with 
the community.
Comic book publishers 
sell special comics made just 
for Free Comic Book Day to 
shops at a discounted price. 
Retailers then give them 
away for free, bringing in 
more customers and boost-
ing the shop’s profile.
“It’s helpful, and it real-
ly gives a wider audience,” 
said Ty Denton, employee 
at Austin Books & Comics. 
“Somebody hears ‘free com-
ics’ and they come running.”
Megan Borges, employee 
at Dragon’s Lair Comics & 
Fantasy, said she sees it as 
the perfect opportunity to 
introduce new readers to a 
new hobby.
“It can be kind of intimi-
dating to just go into a place 
and not know where to 
start,” Borges said. “But our 
distributors and publishers 
recognize that as well, and 
they will print a number 
one (issue) or a special. They 
really try to make it easy 
and accessible.”
In the late 1990s, the com-
ic book industry was taking 
a nosedive, and even indus-
try giant Marvel declared 
bankruptcy in 1997. Pub-
lishers saw the success of 
comic book films and decid-
ed to use their popularity to 
boost comic books back into 
popular culture. The first-ev-
er Free Comic Book Day 
took place on May 4, 2002, 
the day after the release of 
Marvel’s “Spider-Man.”
The initial event’s success 
led to the day becoming an 
annual event, almost always 
tied to the release of a major 
comic book film. This year 
the promotion will fall on 
the day after “Guardians of 
the Galaxy Vol. 2” premieres, 
and Marvel has a special 
comic book to tie in to 
this release.
Although special editions 
provide a perfect starting 
point for new readers, they 
can also have the unintend-
ed effect of turning away 
dedicated fans. UT alumnus 
Greg Poe, an avid comic 
book reader, has never held 
any interest in the event.
“I am not and have never 
been excited for Free Comic 
Book Day; I don’t pay atten-
tion to it,” Poe said. “It is the 
opposite of reading a com-
ic book. I don’t hate it, and 
I enjoy reading, but I don’t 
want to be in an extremely 
crowded place with a bunch 
of strangers.”
For readers like Poe, the 
idea of comics presented as 
jumping-on points have no 
appeal, so the comic book 
shops add special promo-
tions on top of the giveaways. 
Many stores discount all of 
their products, and some 
even bring in local writers, 
artists and cosplayers.
The promotion’s impact 
on the comic book industry 
is undeniable, and business 
has stabilized just 15 years 
after the initial Free Comic 
Book Day. Sales topped a bil-
lion dollars in 2015, and last 
June was the highest-gross-
ing month since 1997.
“Do I think that comic 
book stores will go out of 
business if there’s no Free 
Comic Book Day? Probably 
not,” Borges said. “It prob-
ably wouldn’t be just that. 
But it’s absolutely an import-
ant thing that encourages 
growth in the marketplace.” 
This year’s iteration of 
Free Comic Book Day is on 
Saturday, May 6. Dragon’s 
Lair and Austin Books & 
Comics are both celebrat-
ing with promotions in-
cluding cosplayers, creators, 
food and, of course, free 
comic books.
On a warm summer day, 
town elders will gather 
outside a parlor, waiting to 
have needles dot their bod-
ies with characters, images, 
commemorative messages 
and public statements. 
Studio art professor Mi-
chael Smith will take part 
in the fifth iteration of 
Munster Sculpture Proj-
ect. Established in 1977, 
the event takes place in 
Munster, Germany, only 
once every decade. This 
year from June 10 to Oct. 
1, Smith will set up a tattoo 
studio for seniors aged 65 
and up. Smith said tattoos 
are prevalent now but were 
once taboo. The result is 
placing a theme associated 
with youth, such as tattoos, 
on a canvas associated with 
age, the elderly.
“I had been working on 
the idea of finding youth, 
discovering youth,” Smith 
said. “I came to the project 
with this theme and pro-
posed the idea of a tattoo 
parlor, and then came the 
idea of targeting seniors. 
They liked that hook.”
Branching out in the con-
cepts of art is something 
Smith not only teaches and 
showcases, but a lesson he’s 
undertaken for decades. 
He started out as a formal 
painter, but in the ’70s, per-
formance art was beginning 
to gain popularity. He tried 
his hand at it and has stuck 
with it ever since. 
“I wanted a social life, and 
I knew I needed to get out of 
my studio,” Smith said. “So, 
I started looking, and then 
it took.”
One of Smith’s former 
students, studio art junior 
Vivek Sebastian, found out 
about his involvement in 
the event through word of 
mouth in the Art Building. 
She said she’s excited to see 
the tattoo designs featured 
Name: 5749/The Long Center for the Pe; Width: 29p6; Depth: 5 in; 
Color: Process color; Ad Number: 5749Name: 5658/Austin Community College; Width: 29p6; Depth: 5 in; 
Color: Process color; Ad Number: 5658L&HAMILTON, LIFE&ARTS EDITOR | @thedailytexan15Friday, May 5, 2017Fans, shops draw up plans for Free Comic Book DayEVENT PREVIEWBy Justin Jones@justjustin42By Matthew Douglas@thedailytexanWOMEN page 13By Hannah Plantowsky@thedailytexanTATTOO page 13Illustration by Rachel Tyler | Daily Texan StaffIllustration by Geo Casillas | Daily Texan StaffJoshua Guerra| Daily Texan StaffStudio art professor Michael Smith will participate in the fifth iteration of Munster Sculpture 
Project in Munster, Germany. Smith will set up a tattoo studio for senior citizens at the event.
EVENT PREVIEWCAMPUSArt professor flies to Germany 
to give senior citizens tattoosLove Yourself event inspires 
women to put themselves first



Name: 5785/Capital Metro; Width: 60p0; Depth: 20 in; Color: Process color; Ad Number: 578516 February 1, 2017