For a select group of San Antonio stu- dents, one of the cheapest four-year degrees in America is now available at Texas A&M University-San Antonio. The “Affordable Degree,” a $10,000 bache- lors degree in applied arts and sciences with emphasis on information technology, was an- nounced last month by Maria Hernandez Fer- rier, president of TAMSA. The degree is only available to San Antonio-area students who begin early by taking college courses in their junior year of high school. The students can then have most of their course requirements completed in high school, free of the tuition they would be paying for the same classes in college, said TAMSA communications specialist Jillian Reddish. “This program is bringing in a pretty high cal- iber of students who are already thinking about their future plans,” Reddish said. “The potential was there already.” The program also requires each student to 1The Daily TexanServing the University of Texas at Austin community since 1900Monday, April 9, 2012>> Breaking news, blogs and more: www.dailytexanonline.com@thedailytexanfacebook.com/dailytexanSpend a relaxing evening at Henri’s, a new wine, cheese and charcuterie shopSPORTS PAGE 7Longhorns lose two at home against MissouriLIFE&ARTS PAGE 12TODAYScience Study Break talks diseaseIn conjunction with the 2012 Disease Detective public health conference, Dr. Richard Taylor discusses public health and infectious disease topics depicted in scenes from “12 Monkeys,” “The Walking Dead,” “Numb3rs” and “Contagion.” The event will be from 6-7:30 p.m. in the SAC Auditorium. Professor covers intervention in AfricaDr. Alan J. Kuperman discusses civil war, genocide and humanitarian intervention in Africa. The talk will be from 4-5:30 in the Fine Arts Library Reading Room. THE WEEK AHEAD TUESDAYWEDNESDAY Doctor discuss- es crisis in high- er educationDr. Richard Tapia, 2011 National Medal of Science winner, speaks about the Texas crisis in higher education as part of the Dean’s Scholars Distinguished Lecture Series. The talk is from 5-6 p.m. in the ACE Avayla Auditorium. THURSDAY“Hot Coffee” screeningSeinfeld mocked it. Letterman ranked it in his Top Ten list. Everyone knows the McDonald’s coffee case. “Hot Coffee” reveals what really happened to Stella Liebeck, the woman who spilled coffee on herself and sued McDonald’s. The screening will from 5:30- 8 p.m. in the School of Law Francis Auditorium. FRIDAY“Mary Poppins” comes to Bass Concert Hall “Mary Poppins” features the irresistible story and unforgettable songs from one of the most popular Disney films of all time, as well as brand-new dance numbers and spectacular stagecraft. The show will be from 8-11 p.m. at Bass Concert Hall and tickets range from $30-90 depending on seating.‘‘ — Kathy SetzerCo-owner of Heywood hotelLife&ARTS PAGe 12Quote to noteWith dreams of wild burros roam- ing safely in West Texas, residents traveled halfway across the state to protest at the Capitol. The Wild Burro Protection League organized the “March for Mercy,” in which residents marched on Satur- day alongside several burros down San Jacinto Street, around the gov- ernor’s mansion and to the Capi- tol in protest of burros being shot in Big Bend Ranch State Park. Accord- ing to The Associated Press, 130 bur- ros have been killed by park rangers since 2007. Marjorie Farabee, The Wild Burro Protection League found- er, said the march was necessary be- cause a petition delivered to the Capi- tol on Jan. 18 with 108,000 signatures was ignored. She said there are fewer than 400 wild burros left in Texas. “I don’t want to tell my grand- kids there used to be an animal called the wild burro that lived here,” Commissioned to investigate ra- cial and discriminatory incidents on campus, the Campus Climate and Response Team is the new liaison between the University community and the administration. The CCRT was publicly launched last week as the latest unit of the Campus Diversity and Strategic Ini- tiatives as a University-wide resource team that will develop and facilitate appropriate responses to address “biased incidents” that may impact the stability of the community, said Ryan Miller, CCRT associate direc- tor for CDSI. The team was created at the re- quest of President William Powers Jr. after a report was issued by the Cam- pus Climate Response Work Group. The work group worked with the Diversity and Equity Student Advi- sory Council and other student lead- ers to develop the team. Council member Shannon All- port, biology senior and senior stu- dent associate for the Office of the Vice President for Diversity, said the CCRT is answering the call from students who asked for more direct attention of discriminatory offenses. “Quite frankly, there has histor- ically been a number of discrim- ination and harassment incidents on the UT campus,” Allport said. “There is a significant disconnect between learning about diversity in the classroom and appreciating di- versity while practicing equality in social and professional settings out- side the classroom.” The response team was created last year, but the Division of Diversi- ty and Community Engagement de- cided on the public launch this year. Miller said they wanted to encour- age the community to learn more about the team and are promoting it as the program individuals can go to for assistance with their concerns about discrimination. “The response team will help connect the dots across campus when racial and discriminatory bi- ases arise,” he said. “It will allow for On a regular day, the Alamo Drafthouse on Sixth Street is the venue to catch the latest box office releases. However on Sunday, the Drafthouse was home to the open- ing of Christian Family Church Austin, a new endeavor by pastors Andrew and Reneé Fox. As a self-described alternative church, the Fox’s said they want- ed to engage members in a new way. With approximately 20 at- tending, the sermon strongly en- courages questions, and con- cludes with a question period. In addition, members from the San Antonio Christian band Ampli- fy performed at the beginning of the service. Using a favored mode of com- munication among today’s youth, attendees can text their ques- Just as professors ask stu- dents to fill out course sur- veys, the University of Texas Po- lice Department is giving the UT community the opportuni- ty to answer questions about the department’s performance. Through April 13, UTPD is hosting an online survey asking for feedback regarding its perfor- mance as a unit. The survey, which can be found on the UTPD web- site, poses questions regarding how safe people feel on campus, if they have had any encounters with UTPD and whether those experi- ences were positive or negative. Lt. Amber Calvert, UTPD Ac- creditation Manager, said this is the first survey the department has conducted since 2008, and that it is used to measure how effective the department is. “We want to know if we’re do- ing okay, and if we’re not, we want to know where we need to tweak things,” Calvert said. “We can’t just go with what we think is right.” Calvert said while the survey is meant to help UTPD, which has jurisdiction over all UT proper- ty, it also lets students know their opinion matters. “They’re the ones who are out there that know what’s going on, and we want to be as transparent as we can,” Calvert said. Officer Darrell Halstead, a member of UTPD’s crime preven- tion unit, said the survey is part of A&M-San Antonio creates affordable degree UTPD to use online survey to improve performanceAlternative church opens on Sixth Street Team to investigate discriminatory events launches on campusMarisa Vasquez | Daily Texan Staff Preston Williams listens to pastor Andrew fox’s sermon in the Alamo Drafthouse on Sixth Street Sunday afternoon. The venue provided a laidback environment for the Christian family Church’s first service which included discussion about hipsters, Whitney Houston and nightlife in Austin. Marisa Vasquez | Daily Texan Staff Above: As part of the “March for Mercy” organized by The Wild Burro Protection League, Gayle-Suzanne Barron walks past the Capitol with Sir Buckaroo Bonzai Banjo Saturday afternoon. Below: Juan Macias, a member of the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe of Texas, blesses a white donkey before the march began Downtown Saturday afternoon. Texans protest burro endangermentBy Andrew MessamoreDaily Texan StaffBy David LefflerDaily Texan StaffBy Kayla JonssonDaily Texan StaffBy Alexa UraDaily Texan StaffBy Shreya BanerjeeDaily Texan StaffUTPD continues on PAGE 2BURRO continues on PAGE 2 CHURCH continues on PAGE 2CLIMATE continues on PAGE 2TAMSA continues on PAGE 2“The dream was to be living more of the Austin experience rather than having the desk job where we sit around all day.” OPENBooks of Value Bought and Sold6009 Burnet Road / 512-275-6430www.blueawningbooks.comThe Daily TexanVolume 112, Number 150 Main Telephone: (512) 471-4591Editor: Viviana Aldous(512) 232-2212editor@dailytexanonline.comManaging Editor: Audrey White(512) 232-2217managingeditor@ dailytexanonline.comNews Office: (512) 232-2207news@dailytexanonline.comMultimedia Office: (512) 471-7835dailytexanmultimedia@gmail.comSports Office: (512) 232-2210sports@dailytexanonline.comLife & Arts Office: (512) 232-2209dailytexan@gmail.comPhoto Office: (512) 471-8618photo@dailytexanonline.comComics Office: (512) 232-4386dailytexancomics@gmail.comRetail Advertising: (512) 471-1865joanw@mail.utexas.eduClassified Advertising: (512) 471-5244classifieds@dailytexanonline.comCONTACT USTOMORROW’S WEATHERHighLow8563Hello! It’s Simo! COPYRIGHTCopyright 2012 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. 2 Monday, April 9, 2012NEWSFarabee said. “The burros need to be found innocent of the crimes they are being falsely ac- cused of without any research to justify it. The only animal com- mitting a crime in West Texas is man. They are the only ones tru- ly hurting the environment.” Farabee said burros are being shot in masses because of false claims that they are detrimental to the environment and overpopu- lated. She said the burros help the environment by reducing flamma- ble brush, fertilizing soil and bol- stering the food chain. “They are caring, gentle, fam- ily animals,” Farabee said. “They live together in groups and don’t spook the way horses do. When one is shot, the others don’t run away. They go over to the one that is down and nudge him and try to help him get up. Because of that, the rest are easy targets, and it’s just horrible. I don’t see how anyone can think shooting innocent creatures is right.” Adrienne Evans is a resident of Terlingua, between Big Bend Na- tional Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park, who said she made the trip to Austin to represent the res- idents of the area who could not be there to speak. She read state- ments from West Texas residents on the steps of the Capitol. “Burros are twice as smart as horses, live twice as long and their vet bills are half as cheap,” Evans said. “They are great pets and it’s proven they will work hard. If it weren’t for burros, Tex- as would not be the same place. They have helped us through history, in every war and every Texas settlement, and they still help us today but you never hear about it.” Juan Mancias, member of the Native American Carrizo/Come- crudo Tribe, said burros are neces- sary to keep balance in creation. “There is this mentality of kill- ing the weak in today’s society,” Mancias said. “People always feel like they need to be mak- ing room for something else. These burros don’t have a voice, and none of this makes sense to them. We need to be that voice for them.” UTPD’s effort to reach out to the community and establish a positive relationship. “Before, we used to be close- guarded and not let a lot of people outside of the depart- ment or friends get to know who we were,” Halstead said. “We kept that facade. Since 2005, we’ve been working to crack that facade so that peo- ple can see that we are real people — living, breathing hu- man beings.” Halstead said this strength- ened relationship between the UT community and UTPD has lead to better communication. “Basically, what we try to do is put the human element back into law enforcement,” he said. “What that does is bolster confidence from students in our department.” John Horton, government ju- nior and president of the Uni- versity Future First Respond- ers, said despite many nega- tive perceptions, UTPD holds the utmost respect for students. Horton said the UTPD survey is proof of that. “The major misconception is they’re just out there to get you,” Horton said. “In reality, that’s probably one of the least amount of things they do. The worst crime on campus is theft — it’s not underage drinking — and they have a number of pro- grams that lessen the amount of theft on campus.” Horton said many students’ views of UTPD were improved by how effectively they han- dled the 2010 death by suicide of Colton Tooley. A lot of campus perceptions were changed when they saw how quick UTPD’s response was,” Horton said. “They had everything shut down quick- ly, cleared everyone out of the area and made sure everybody was safe.” However, not all students share Horton’s opinion of the campus law enforcement. Mechanical engineering ju- nior Charles Andrew Dickson III said he had a negative ex- perience with UTPD last year when they entered his dorm room and woke him up sever- al hours after he arrived home from a party. After asking Dickson several questions, they wrote him a ticket for consum- ing alcohol as a minor, which he feels was an invasion of his privacy. “That dorm room was my privacy and place of residence,” Dickson said. “I do not believe that they had the right to just come in and deliver me my only black mark on my record.” Dickson said this experience diminished his trust in UTPD as a helpful organization. “This sends a message that when trouble actually does arise, do not look to UTPD for help,” Dickson said. “They are more interested in delivering tickets than ensuring the safe- ty of students and keeping the peace at UT.” Dickson said he hopes the survey will change the way UTPD handles things. “I hope it does so the po- lice learn to protect the stu- dents instead of harass them,” Dickson said. representatives from across the Uni- versity to share resources in dealing with these incidents.” The CCRT will focus on in- vestigating specific reported in- cidents and provide support ser- vices for the individuals involved, Miller said. Other core functions include providing education on similar incidents and evaluating the response process to improve crisis management. Sherri Sanders, associate vice president for campus diversity and strategic initiatives, said CCRT will play a role in creating a more inclusive campus culture while also looking at patterns of reports that impact individuals within the community. Miller said he believes the pro- gram will create a baseline to com- pare incident reports and statistics in the future. He said tracking these numbers will allow for a more com- prehensive and accurate sense of the campus climate and what can be done to improve it. Psychology junior Ashley Hall, co-director of queer activist student organization StandOut, said a pro- gram like the CCRT is long overdue whether or not discriminatory inci- dents are on the rise. “While the current state of diver- sity and equality at UT is the best it’s ever been, there are still issues with racist, sexist and homophobic com- mentary from professors and stu- dent organizations,” Hall said. “It seems the program was created to address issues and incidents that have been ongoing but not well-ad- dressed before now.” Members of the response team include staff from the Division of Diversity and Community Engage- ment, the Division of Student Af- fairs and University Operations. Miller said the response team will take more of a reactive approach rather than a proactive one for the time being. “Our focus is to establish the best response to reported incidents, in- cluding help from our represen- tatives across campus that are en- gaged in diversity education,” he said. “We are tailoring our efforts to improve the campus climate as a re- sponse team, but we will eventual- ly initiate our own efforts to contin- ue promoting an inclusive environ- ment at the University.” tions anonymously and have them displayed on the main screen for the pastor to answer during his or her speech. Although there were technical difficulties with display- ing texts on the screen on Sunday, the Foxes plan to make it work for future services. “We believe you have to be able to ask questions and contemplate some- thing in that manner in order to learn and understand it,” Reneé Fox said. Another way that CFC-ATX differs from other churches is its location at the Alamo Drafthouse. Attendees can order food and drinks during the ser- vice and the movie theater setting is smaller and more intimate, which can be beneficial in teaching the word, Andrew Fox said. “I’m used to bigger services, but it was nice how Andrew knew the names of the audience members,” said international relations fresh- man Morgan May. “It made it more comfortable and more personal. The straightforward manner in which the issues were addressed was definitely very different.” The sermon on Sunday did not fo- cus on the traditional Easter story, but on the idea of “be-become-do,” a philosophy in which people become something before they can carry out actions. Andrew used the examples of Amy Winehouse and other famous celebrities who died of drug overdos- es. He said the examples show how al- though those people “became” some- thing, their actions were far from what God intended them to do with their talents. “I focused on the be-become- do idea this Sunday because every- body knows the Easter story,” An- drew said. “I’m trying to start some- thing long-term at CFC-ATX and I want to do that by building up char- acter and ideas for the people here in- stead of telling people what they al- ready know.” Andrew also focused on the effect culture has on the spread of Christi- anity. He said churches in America seem to make people feel as if they have to look and act all the same in order to fit in at church. He brought up slides of the different “tribes” or types of people, such as the “hipster musicians” who live in Austin. He said churches often shy away from welcoming alternative groups into their communities. “When you start treating people like a project, you demoralize them and the workings of Jesus inside of them,” Andrew said. Andrew and Reneé moved to America 13 years ago and served as pastors in different regions of the country. They said they realized that the method in which churches are set up does not always focus on the best interests of the attendees. Andrew and Reneé set out to open CFC-ATX as a church that would involve more interactions between the pastors and their attendees. “We want this church to spread by word of mouth and not by ad- vertising,” Reneé said. “We want people to hear about CFC-ATX, recognize something that speaks to them and then attend for that rea- son so that we can bring in all kinds of people.” The next CFC-ATX event will be on Sunday, May 6 at 12:30 p.m. at the Alamo Drafthouse on Sixth Street and will be an interview ses- sion between Andrew and human development sophomore Kalie Kubes. Kubes has had cancer three times in her life and is deaf as a re- sult of her cancer treatment. The in- terview session will focus on Kubes’ battle with cancer, how she was la- beled as a “sinner” by her church because of it and how these expe- riences have affected her life and view of her faith. Marisa Vasquez | Daily Texan Staff Worship singer Brittney Luna and audience member raise their hands during the beginning of the Christian Family Church Easter services Sunday afternoon. TAMSA continues from PAGE 1BURRO continues from PAGE 1CLIMATE continues from PAGE 1take two years of classes with the Alamo Colleges, allowing TAM- SA to increase cooperation with the San Antonio community col- lege system, said TAMSA spokes- woman Marilu Reyna. “The community college option will be an essential partnership for those in higher education,” Reyna said. “We hope this program gets families talking with their chil- dren at an early age about college and tuition.” The degree was partly an answer to the call of Gov. Rick Perry at his last State of the State address, when he asked for a $10,000 degree that in- cluded tuition and books in its cost. “This degree option comes in at under $10,000, so it does answer Perry’s call,” Reyna said. “[It is] an answer for affordable degree op- tions during these tough econom- ic times.” TAMSA is looking for ways to ex- pand the program into other areas that guarantee jobs for San Antonio students, Reyna said. “We will look at the various pro- grams we have in place to see how we can partner with community col- leges to make more degree options available,” Reyna said. “We will then concentrate on areas of study that yield our graduates with job oppor- tunities when they graduate.” San Antonio College, the com- munity college TAMSA is partner- ing with, specializes in information technology. San Antonio has a large market for technology jobs, an ex- panding area of the “silicon valley” that has grown in Central Texas, Reddish said. “Because we have such a high demand in San Antonio for tech- nology jobs, many of the schools here have laid groundwork to cre- ate well-qualified graduates in these sectors,” Reddish said. “It’s a cyclical process, and you can’t have one without the other.” Victoria Sertich, a 3D animation student in the Alamo Colleges sys- tem who hopes to transfer to TAM- SA, said she was very happy to hear about a degree that was cheap, of quality and useful. Sertich said while the degree was good for students entering the mar- ket right now, once jobs begin to fill up from the high volume of gradu- ates, the degree could become less applicable in the future. “At first, people who need spots are going to be able to find jobs, but of course [the job market] is going to get saturated,” Sertich said. “In the future it might be a little shaky, although there will probably be a new demand by then.” TAMSA is a new university and is willing to experiment with differ- ent kinds of degree programs, Ser- tich said, while more prestigious universities will not be willing to drastically lower their tuition fees. UT spokeswoman Tara Doolittle said the University is not official- ly considering such a program, al- though President William Powers Jr. has previously mentioned intro- ducing this type of degree. “We’re always looking at effi- ciency and ways to contain costs,” Doolittle said. “While we don’t of- fer a $10,000 degree, a quarter of our freshmen only pay $2,500 a year out-of-pocket. This is certain- ly in play, although it may not be a formal degree plan like the one in San Antonio.” CHURCHcontinues from PAGE 1UTPDcontinues from PAGE 1The community college option will be an essential partnership for those in higher education. We hope this program gets families talking with their children at an early age about college and tuition. — Marilu Reyna, TAMSA spokeswomanTexan AdDeadlinesMonday .............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) THE DAILY TEXANThe 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, or to TSM Building C3.200, or call 471-5083. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Daily Texan, P.O. 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Christine ImperatoreThis newspaper was printed with pride by The Daily Texan and Texas Student Media. The Daily Texan (USPS 146-440), a student newspaper at The University of Texas at Austin, is published by Texas Student Media, 2500 Whitis Ave., Austin, TX 78705. The Daily Texan is published daily, Monday through Friday, during the regular academic year and is published twice weekly during the summer semester. The Daily Texan does not publish during aca- demic breaks and most Federal Holidays. and exam periods. Periodical Postage Paid at Austin, TX 78710. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: The Daily Texan, P.O. Box D, Austin, TX 78713. News contributions will be accepted by tele- phone (471-4591), or at the editorial office (Texas Student Media Building 2.122). For local and national display advertising, call 471-1865. classified display advertising, call 471-1865. For classified word advertising, call 471-5244. Entire contents copyright 2012 Texas Student Media. Permanent StaffEditor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Viviana AldousAssociate Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Matthew Daley, Samantha Katsounas, Shabab Siddiqui, Susannah JacobManaging Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Audrey WhiteAssociate Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aleksander ChanNews Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jillian BlissAssociate News Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 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The Buys of TexasFacebook posts, anonymous tip brings arrest for Tulsa shootingsTULSA, Okla. — Acting on a tip and shadowed by a helicopter, po- lice arrested two men early Sunday in a series of shootings that terror- ized Tulsa’s black community and left three people dead and two oth- ers critically wounded. Police spokesman Jason Willing- ham said the two men were arrested at a home just north of Tulsa about 2 a.m. Sunday and were expected to be charged with three counts of first-degree murder and two counts of shooting with intent to kill in the spate of shootings early Friday. While police identified the men as white and all the victims are black, authori- ties have not described the shootings as racially motivated and declined to discuss that issue Sunday. However, Willingham confirmed police are looking at a Facebook page in which it appears one of the men, 19-year-old Jake England, ex- presses anger over his father being shot and killed by a black man. A Thursday update on the Facebook page noted it has been two years since England’s father died and “it’s hard not to go off” between that anniversary and the death of his fi- ancée earlier this year. Community leaders have ex- pressed concern about the moti- vation for the shootings on Tulsa’s predominantly black north side. The Rev. Warren Blakney Sr., pres- ident of the Tulsa NAACP, said Sunday that word of the arrests had provided a great sense of relief. AT&T union contracts expire, 40k workers could go on strikeNEW YORK — About 40,000 AT&T landline workers are staying on the job this week without a con- tract, their union said Sunday. The workers’ contracts expired over the weekend, raising the pos- sibility of a strike. But the Commu- nications Workers of America and AT&T Inc. said that they’ll keep working on a new deal. The employees, meanwhile, will continue to receive the same wag- es and benefits as before. If negoti- ations break down, they still have the option to call for a walkout. At issue in the negotiations are job protection clauses and health care premiums and co-payments. AT&T says it wants employees to shoulder more of their growing health care costs and more leeway to downsize its shrinking landline operations. New Mexico mayor accused of extortion, prostitution, fraud; all billed as business expenses ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Al- cohol, padded expense reports, prostitutes and kickbacks. Those are some the latest charges filed in New Mexico against the mayor- elect of the troubled border town of Sunland Park. Prosecutors Friday filed 18 new felony charges against Daniel Sali- nas, who has been in and out of jail since being accused in late February of trying to force his opponent out of the race with a video that showed him getting a topless lap dance. On Friday, Salinas, Sunland Park Public Works Director Jesus Dar- io Hernandez and Jorge Angulo of Envirosystems Management Con- sultants were accused in what pros- ecutors describe as a “triangle” or “pyramid scheme.” Envirosystems had a $2.4 million contract to do an environmental impact study of a border crossing for the town, and picked up expenses for Salinas and other city officials who attended a conference in Mexico last year, prosecutors said. The company then billed the expenses, which included prostitutes, drinks and strip clubs, to the city, the criminal complaints allege. Alaska recieves record snowfall , Texas recieves nice spring storms ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A spring snowfall has broken the nearly 60-year-old seasonal snow record of Alaska’s largest city. Inundated with nearly double the snow they’re used to, Anchor- age residents have been expecting to see this season’s snowfall surpass the record of 132.6 inches set in the winter of 1954-55. The 3.4 inches that fell by Sat- urday afternoon brings the total to 133.6 inches. —Compiled from Associated Press reportsNEWS BRIEFLYWorld&NatioN3Monday, April 9, 2012 | The Daily Texan | Austin Myers, Wire Editor | dailytexanonline.comNorth Korea to launch satellite despite warningsSyria foils peace plan with new demandsUS cedes vexing ‘night raids’ to Afghanistan security forcesAvalanche traps 135 soldiers in HimalayasPro-Syrian government demonstrators hold Baath party flags and a picture of President Bashar Assad at a rally to commemorate the 65th anniversary of Ruling Baath Arab Socialist Party in Damascus, Syria on Saturday. Bassem TellawiAssociated PressDavid Guttenfelder | Associated PressA North Korean soldier stands in front of the country’s Unha-3 rocket, slated for liftoff between April 12-16, at a launching site on Sunday. North Korean space officials have moved the rocket into position, vowing Sunday to push ahead in defiance of international warnings. KABUL, Afghanistan — The U.S. and Afghanistan signed a deal Sunday giving Afghans authori- ty over raids of Afghan homes, re- solving one of the most conten- tious issues between the two war- time allies. The majority of these raids are nighttime operations in which U.S. and Afghan troops descend with- out warning on homes searching for insurgents. The raids are widely resented by Afghans, and President Hamid Karzai had repeatedly called for a halt to all night raids by interna- tional forces. He said for months that they would have to stop before he would sign a much-anticipated pact governing the long-term U.S. presence in Afghanistan. Both countries have said that they wanted that bigger deal signed before the NATO summit in May, so the night raids agree- ment announced Sunday makes hitting that deadline possible. Karzai has argued that night raids by international troops make civilian casualties more likely and that U.S. soldiers are disrespect- ful in the way they conduct the operations. The U.S. military has said such operations are essential for intelligence gathering and for capturing Taliban and al-Qaida commanders. Sunday’s deal appeared to be a compromise: a panel of Af- ghan security officials get author- ity to decide what raids will take place and U.S. forces still play a large part in operations, including entering Afghan homes if needed. The Americans also now have an Afghan partner that will be held equally to account if there are civilian casualties or allegations of mistreatment. ISLAMABAD — The U.S. sent a team of experts Sunday to help Pakistan search for 135 people buried a day earlier by a massive avalanche that engulfed a military complex in a mountain battle- ground close to the Indian border. At least 240 Pakistani troops and civilians worked at the site of the di- saster at the entrance to the Siachen Glacier with the aid of sniffer dogs and heavy machinery, said the army. But they struggled to dig through some 25 meters of snow, boulders and mud that slid down the moun- tain early Saturday morning. Pakistani army spokesman Gen. Athar Abbas said Sunday eve- ning that it was unclear whether any of the people who were bur- ied are still alive. At least 124 sol- diers from the 6th Northern Light Infantry Battalion and 11 civilian contractors are missing. “Miracles have been seen and trapped people were rescued after days ... so the nation shall pray for the trapped soldiers,” Abbas said. Pakistani army chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani visited the site Sun- day to supervise rescue operations. The U.S. sent a team of experts to Islamabad to provide technical as- sistance, said the Pakistani army. The American assistance comes at a tense time between the two countries and could help improve relations following American air- strikes in November that acciden- tally killed 24 Pakistani soldiers at two posts along the Afghan border. Pakistan retaliated by closing its border crossings to supplies meant for NATO troops in Afghanistan. The Pakistani parliament is cur- rently debating a new framework for relations with the U.S. that Washington hopes will lead to the reopening of the supply line. But that outcome is uncertain given the level of anti-American senti- ment in the country. The avalanche in Siachen, which is on the northern tip of the divided Kashmir region claimed by both India and Pakistan, high- lighted the risks of deploying troops to one of the most inhospi- table places on earth. The thousands of soldiers from both nations stationed there brave viciously cold temperatures, alti- tude sickness, high winds and iso- lation for months at a time. Troops have been posted at elevations of up to 22,000 feet and have skir- mished intermittently since 1984, though the area has been qui- et since a cease-fire in 2003. The glacier is known as the world’s highest battlefield. TONGCHANG-RI, North Korea — North Korean space offi- cials have moved all three stages of a long-range rocket into position for a controversial launch, vowing Sunday to push ahead with their plan in defiance of international warnings against violating a ban on missile activity. North Korea announced plans last month to launch an observation satellite using a three-stage rock- et during mid-April celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the birth of North Korean founder Kim Il Sung. The U.S., Japan, Britain and oth- er nations have urged North Korea to cancel the launch, warning that firing the long-range rocket would violate U.N. resolutions. “Our country has the right and also the obligation to develop sat- ellites and launching vehicles,” said Jang Myong Jin, general manag- er of the launch facility, citing the U.N. space treaty. “No matter what others say, we are doing this for peaceful purposes.” Experts say the Unha-3 rocket slated for liftoff between April 12 and 16 could also test long-range missile technology that might be used to strike the U.S. and other targets. North Korea has tested two atomic devices, but is not believed to have mastered the technology needed to mount a warhead on a long-range missile. About two weeks before North Korea unveiled its rocket plan, Wash- ington announced an agreement with the North to provide it with much-needed food aid in exchange for a freeze on nuclear activity, including a moratorium on long- range missile tests. Plans to send food aid have now been suspended. Japan and South Korea, mean- while, said they are prepared to shoot down any parts of the rocket that threaten to fall in their territo- ry — a move North Korea’s Foreign Ministry warned would be consid- ered a declaration of war. The satellite is designed to send back images and information that will be used for weather forecasts as well as surveys of North Korea’s natural resources, Jang said. BEIRUT — A U.N.-brokered plan to stop the bloodshed in Syr- ia effectively collapsed Sunday after President Bashar Assad’s govern- ment raised new, last-minute de- mands that were swiftly rejected by the country’s largest rebel group. The peace plan, devised by U.N.- Arab League envoy Kofi Anan, was supposed to go into effect on Tues- day, with a withdrawal of Syrian forces from population centers, fol- lowed within 48 hours by a cease- fire by both sides in the uprising against four decades of repressive rule by the Assad family. But on Sunday, Syria’s Foreign Ministry said that ahead of any troop pullback, the government needs written guarantees from op- position fighters that they will lay down their weapons. The commander of the rebel Free Syrian Army, Riad al-Asaad, said that while his group is ready to abide by a truce, it does not recog- nize the regime “and for that reason we will not give guarantees.” Annan’s spokesman had no com- ment on the setback. The envoy has not said what would happen if his deadlines were ignored. Even before the setback, expec- tations were low that the Assad re- gime would honor the agreement. Russia, an Assad ally that supports the cease-fire plan, may now be the only one able to salvage it. The rest of the international community, un- willing to use military intervention, has little leverage over Syria. In recent days, instead of prepar- ing for a withdrawal, regime troops have stepped up shelling attacks on residential areas, killing dozens of civilians every day in what the opposition described as a frenzied rush to gain ground. “Mortar rounds are falling like rain,” activist Tarek Badrakhan, de- scribing an assault in the central city of Homs on Sunday, said via Skype as explosions were heard in the background. The regime is ex- ploiting the peace plan “to kill and commit massacres,” he said. In addition to demanding writ- ten guarantees, Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdessi said Syr- ia also wants assurances that Qatar, Turkey and Saudi Arabia — Assad’s most active critics — halt “financing and arming of terrorist groups.” By Jean H. LeeThe Associated PressBy Karin LaubThe Associated PressBy Zarar KhanThe Associated PressBy Heidi VogtThe Associated Press 4Monday, April 9, 2012 | The Daily Texan | Viviana Aldous, Editor-in-Chief | (512) 232-2212 | editor@dailytexanonline.comOpiniOnlegaleseQuotes to noteOpinions expressed in The Daily Texan are those of the editor, the Editorial Board or the writer of the article. They are not necessari- ly those of the UT administration, the Board of Regents or the Texas Student Media Board of Operating Trustees. Please recycle this copy of The Daily Texan. Place the paper in one of the recycling bins on cam- pus or back in the burnt-orange newsstand where you found it. ReCYCleFollow The Daily Texan Editorial Board on Twitter @DTeditorial and receive updates on our latest editorials and columns. editoRial twitteRThe editorial board welcomes guest column sub- missions. Columns must be between 600 and 800 words. Send columns to editor@dailytex- anonline.com. The Daily Texan reserves the right to edit all columns for clarity, brevity and liability. submit a guest ColumnEmail your Firing Lines to firingline@dailytex- anonline.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. submit a FiRing lineAbolish SG: an attempt at vigilante democracyPromoting economic growth from withinby drew FinkeDaily Texan ColumnistEditor’s note: From a change in automotive topography to Bibles and pornography, these are among our favorite quotes from the past several days. “When [Bernard] Rapoport took an inter- est in something, he gave everything — his ideas, his vision, his energy and his money. He changed the lives of countless students, and he changed the University campus in countless ways.” — President William Powers Jr. in a University statement on Rapo- port, who passed away Thursday. Rapoport served as the chairman of the UT System Board of Regents from 1993-97. Among his con- tributions to UT include the Bernard and Audre Rapoport building and the Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice at the School of Law. “As I was leaving his office, [Rapoport] told me I shouldn’t bother to wait for the information we had requested. He wasn’t responding. He had told his colleagues on the board to ignore The [Texas] Observer’s open records letters, that he would ‘take care of them.’ ... The chairman of the UT Board of Regents was telling me he had violated the Texas open records law and directed the other regents to do the same. I told him I disagreed with him.” — Lou Dubose, editor of The Washington Spectator and former edi- tor of The Texas Observer, retelling the story of his first encounter in what became a friendship with Rapoport when the latter was chair- man of the UT System Board of Regents, according to the Observer. “The change in deanship here had no impact on the rankings. The surveys were already in the seals.” — Stefanie Lindquist, interim dean of the School of Law, on whether the firing of former law school Dean Larry Sager in December had an impact on the school’s rankings, according to The Daily Texan. The law school made headlines last year when it became the first school ever to break into the coveted Top 14 of law schools, a group that has remained unchanged since the start of the rankings. However, UT dropped two 16th on the rankings this year. “[The purpose of the event] is to send a mes- sage that the stuff in the Bible and the Quran and the Torah and all that sort of thing is, in our case worse, in our opinion worse, than pornography.” — Kyle Bush, UT-San Antonio student and member of a university student organization, Atheist Agenda, which held its annual “Smut- for-Smut” campaign, in which students can bring their religious texts to the organization and exchange them for pornography, according to WOAI-TV in San Antonio. “This looks like a very ambitious business proposal that is having trouble meeting its financial obligation.” — Travis County Commissioner Sarah Eckhardt on the new request from Circuit of the Americas officials to obtain $8 million in road funds from the county, according to the Austin American-Statesman. The Formula One track, currently under construction, has been the subject of much controversy for receiving millions in incentives from various levels of government. Armed with a website and a petition, Abolish SG has taken on the Jeffersonian “obligation” to cleanse Student Govern- ment of its alleged impurities or dismantle it entirely. Samantha Smith, Middle East- ern studies junior and the movement’s leader, calls for the nullification of last month’s election results or the annihila- tion of SG as a whole. The group’s website contains embarrassing and unprofessional emails from several members of the Elec- tion Supervisory Board (ESB) and a graph- ic depicting former ESB chairman Eric Nimmer’s various involvements in SG. It also shows incriminating screenshots of a Facebook message sent by newly elected SG President Thor Lund well before the official campaigning period began. In it, he asks some 21 friends for help with his and running mate Wills Brown’s campaign but warns them that this recruitment is against election code regulations. Abolish SG threatens that if it amasses 1,000 signatures or if “the assembly fails to impeach and appoint at the next meeting,” it will release a roster of the Eyes of Texas, a secret society at the University, and “re- veal” two administrators for unspecified offenses. “Vigilante democracy” may be a bit of an oxymoron, but that’s just what Smith and her unnamed associates appear to be attempting. Of course, the group’s insistence on transparent, representative democracy strikes a deeply American chord within us all, and its motto, “democracy isn’t guaranteed, it’s earned and protected,” is — comma splice notwithstanding — a truism for the ages. The website shows evidence of some solid investigative jour- nalism, particularly with regard to the re- cord of mutual support between Judicial Court Chief Justice Alden Harris and SG law school representative Austin Carl- son, who filed the complaints that got the Madison Gardner and Antonio Guevara executive alliance disqualified for the sec- ond time. Additionally, Abolish SG’s call to reallocate all SG funds to scholarships is particularly tempting in these rough economic times. However, Abolish SG has critical weaknesses much less apparent than its misspellings and tabloid-style personal attacks against student leaders. Most im- portantly, the petition fails to mention legitimate concerns about conflicts of in- terest and underhanded dealings; instead, it cites the disqualification of “all under- represented candidates” from last month’s executive alliance election as the driving force behind the initiative. This not only distracts attention from the real issues but also levels unsubstantiated charges of rac- ism and sexism against the ESB, whose vice-chair Truc Nguyen is both a woman and a minority. As Nguyen and other ESB members point out in a video on The Daily Texan, Abolish SG goes too far in suggesting that the board’s decisions were influenced by the demographic charac- teristics of candidates. Watchdog groups have every right to criticize and peti- tion as long as the criticisms remain civil and justifiable. Second, Abolish SG does not cite its sources for the Facebook screenshots or list of Eyes members. Smith and Co. could be treading on thin legal ice if they fail to show that they obtained their information legitimately and from willing sources. Ad- ditionally, Lund and Brown are the only executive alliance to receive an online ex- pose. If Abolish SG truly favors a second election in which all disqualified candi- dates would be reinstated, it should criti- cally investigate them all. To be sure, the overarching demand for fair representation that drives Abol- ish SG is not without potential. Handled in a more professional manner, an inves- tigation of SG and its election procedures could raise important questions about the role of government in a university setting and the responsibilities of those who govern. Clearly, the ESB and SG’s Judicial Court and legislative branch are unduly entangled through common members, personal connections and questionable interests. However, Abolish SG has even less cred- ibility than SG itself. An audit of SG prac- tices and a reform of its electoral system should come not from a rogue Tumblr ac- count but from an independent commit- tee appointed by the Office of the Dean of Students. Impassioned students are often the drivers of important reforms, but they need the backing of the University and a standard of professional accountability in order to achieve anything more substan- tial than short-lived publicity. Oliver is an English and sociology freshman. by Kayla oliverDaily Texan Columnist“Keep Austin Weird” is a phrase anyone who has lived in the city long enough is familiar with. Over the years, it’s been used as a rallying cry whenever people feel that one of Austin’s cultural eccentricities is threatened. Although the phrase has grown to encapsulate multiple aspects of the city’s identity, it started as a campaign by the Aus- tin Independent Business Alliance to promote local businesses back in the early 2000s. The phrase gained popularity in 2002, when the alliance and other pro- local groups generated enough public support to defeat a proposal that would have put a Borders bookstore where Whole Foods’ flagship store is today. This location would have been directly across the street from the locally owned bookstore BookPeople, which is one of the largest independent book retailers in the country. Since that 2002 battle, Borders has gone out of business, BookPeople con- tinues to thrive at its single downtown location and Whole Foods has grown into the largest natural and organic grocer in the world. The Austin In- dependent Business Alliance has also grown to represent more than 300 local businesses. It’s easy to see how the argument for shopping and investing locally might af- fect the cultural eclecticism that makes Austin an attractive place for students who crave unique places to shop, eat and live. On a practical level, though, the argument also has the potential to impact whether students can find jobs after they graduate and what kind of jobs those will be. Despite the continued growth of lo- cal businesses in Austin, members of the alliance have expressed concern that the city is not doing enough to support local businesses. The complaint comes on the heels of an $8.6-million incentive package meant to encourage Apple Inc. — the world’s most valuable company based on market capitalization — to build a new facility in north Austin. By accepting the incentives, Apple agrees to create 3,600 new jobs in Austin over the next 10 years. Granting incentives to encourage economic development isn’t unusual. The city also granted tax and fee waiv- ers in the amount of $37.5 million to the developers of The Domain shopping center, as well as a $4.5-million waiver to the developers of a new Marriot ho- tel downtown. Supporters of the Apple deal said that the incentives serve as a useful tool to attract new jobs in a tough economy. However, a document re- leased by the alliance suggests that more economic growth could be achieved by investing that money in local businesses instead. In its “Local Business Manifesto,” the alliance provides data that show how the multiplier effect of local businesses — the amount of money reinvested in a community after it is spent at a store or business — is greater than that of larg- er chain stores and corporations. The manifesto also explains that 81 percent of business growth in Austin over the last decade occurred at businesses that employ 20 or fewer employees, accord- ing to census data. In a struggling economy, any job growth is seen as a sign of a city’s good economic health. And for a city council committed to keeping Austin’s economy vibrant, it is much easier to generate 3,600 new jobs by working with one company to secure all of those jobs in a single negotiation than it is to work with hundreds of smaller companies to slow- ly add only a couple of jobs at a time. When thinking of the jobs created by local businesses, service sector re- tail positions are usually what come to mind. This ignores many of the of- fice jobs generated by local service and design firms and corporate positions in the city’s larger homegrown com- panies. While not every local business aspires to the scale of Whole Foods’ operations, the company stands as an example of a local business that started out with 19 employees and will soon employ more than 1,500 white-collar employees after expanding its corporate headquarters downtown. While attracting established compa- nies to relocate or expand in Austin will likely be an important means of encour- aging job growth in Austin, the attention and incentives given to the companies by the city should be more equally ap- plied to local businesses as well. Gener- ating a diversity of job types and salaries will help to keep Austin vibrant and will provide students with a greater choice of jobs if they choose to stay in Austin after graduating. Finke is an architecture and urban studies senior. 5 UNIV26–WEST.COM | 600 W 26TH ST | 512.477.3400amenities subject to change | renderings subject to change | see office for details26–WEST.COM | 600 W 26TH ST | 512.477.3400UPGRADED AMENITIES COMING FALL 2012NEW EXPANDED 24-HR FITNESS CENTER WITH NEW EQUIPMENTNEW PAINT THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITYNEW AESTHETIC UPGRADES • UPGRADED COMPUTER LAB WITH NEW COMPUTERS NEW POOL FURNITURE • NEW ROOFTOP BASKETBALL COURTNEW BBQ GRILLS • NEW TANNING BEDS NEW NAMEthe new ‘26’ new upgradesSPACES GOING FAST FOR FALL 2012Official Student Housing Sponsor of UT Athletics 6 S/LUT Campus Waller CreekCleanup Rain falling on UT campus gets channeled to ‘storm drains’ which direct the storm water (rain) to Waller Creek and ultimately to Town Lake. Town Lake is our drinking water supply. Storm water becomes polluted when it picks up trash, chemicals, dirt and other pollutants on the street. Longhorns don’t litter! Join the Waller Creek Cleanup Saturday, November 15th www.wallercreek.org Storm water is not treated, so make sure the drain is just for rain: .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Call 471 3511, the UT environmental hotline, if you see oil, soil or chemicals going to the creek. Environmental Health & Safetywhen it picks up trash, chemicals, dirt and other pollutants on the street. er Lady Bird Lake. Storm water becomes pollutedSaturday, April 14 - 8:30-11:30AMwww.wallercreekUT.orgiPhone app lets users share memesMega-church service features Tim Tebow6 Monday, April 9, 2012NEWSWhen students can’t find the words to express themselves in a Facebook status update or text message, an iPhone application created by a UT alumna could be the solution. Founder and CEO of Blurtt Jea- nette Cajide, a 1998 UT alumna, launched the iPhone application Blurtt in March. The Blurtt appli- cation combines text with an image that allows people to create their own meme or share their thoughts through a picture to share on social networks. “You find an image that comes to your mind that says what you want to say and look for it on Blurtt, put a caption on the image and share it within Blurtt,” Cajide said. Cajide said the popular “memes” that have spread across college campuses nationwide can be creat- ed with this application. “If you’re into memes you can create something really quick in less than a minute on your phone and share it,” Cajide said. “It’d be interesting to get the pulse of sen- timents of each campus.” Blurtt allows students to more easily be as creative and expressive as possible, Cajide said. “There are so many highs and lows all day long, and every day is eventful,” Cajide said. “I would love for students to use it to ex- press what they’re going through and not hold back.” Public relations junior Ash- ley Bingham said Blurtt is a natu- ral continuation of the popularity of memes. “People love memes because every- one can relate in some way,” Bingham said. “Creating an app to create these meme-like pictures allows for even more ‘bonding’ between people.” Bingham said the idea of com- bining pictures and words is no longer just for talented artists, but for everyone. Government sophomore Ben Sherman, publicity director for the University Entrepreneur’s As- sociation, said he hopes Cajide’s success serves as inspiration for potential entrepreneurs. “Entrepreneurship is an even more essential skill in a world where a phone application is a business,” Sherman said. “Ca- jide’s success shows that students can successfully start companies when they dedicate themselves to the task.” Cajide’s advice for aspiring en- trepreneurs on campus is to start as soon as possible when they have fewer responsibilities. “We’re living in a society where we have to follow rules and we have to break out of that mentality,” Cajide said. “If this is really in your heart, do what- ever it takes to make it happen, and don’t listen to anyone that says you have to go down the prac- tical road because innovation is not practical.” By Sylvia ButandaDaily Texan StaffGEORGETOWN, Texas — Tim Tebow drew a crowd of about 15,000 to an outdoor Eas- ter church service Sunday, telling the gathering it’s important to be outspoken about faith while ad- monishing athletes about not be- ing better role models. “In Christianity, it’s the Pope and Tebow right now,” Celebra- tion Church pastor Joe Champi- on said. “We didn’t have enough room to handle the Pope.” Tebow — a devout Christian, backup NFL quarterback and cul- tural phenomenon — has a flock of admirers drawn as much to his religious leanings as the skills that earned him a Heisman Trophy. Tebow told them he wel- comed the attention on his con- victions as well as the “Tebow- ing” prayer pose he often strikes on the field because it puts his faith and prayer in the public conversation. “It’s being talked about,” he said. “That’s exciting.” Some at the “Easter on the Hill” morning service under sun- ny skies about 20 miles north of Austin drove over 100 miles to hear Tebow speak. The service took on the feel of a rock concert, with more than a 100 school bus- es shuttling people to the sprawl- ing mega-church campus from local shopping centers and the nearby college. The service was peppered with lively Christian rock songs, and Tebow took the large stage to cheers from those who could see him while others toward the back watched on massive video screens. He sat for a 20-minute interview with Champion to talk about his faith and its role in his public life. “It’s okay to be outspoken about your faith,” Tebow said. He also took a shot at profes- sional athletes who insist they are not role models. “Yes, you are. You’re just not a good one,” Tebow said. Champion asked Tebow what he thought needed to change cul- turally in America. “First and foremost is what this country was based on: one na- tion under God. The more that we can get back to that,” Tebow said to applause. Although church officials had said they typically get their big- gest crowds on Easter, Tebow was clearly the big draw Sunday. Sever- al hundred started heading toward the exits after Tebow spoke, not waiting for Champion’s main Sun- day sermon so they could avoid the 80-degree heat and beat the traffic. The crowd included people dressed in Easter bunny costumes and one person dressed as Elmo. About an hour before the service, Elmo dropped to a knee with a toddler boy to mimic Tebow’s prayer pose. Media access to the event was tightly controlled inside the roped off field. Reporters and photogra- phers were required to have an es- cort when walking through the crowd before the service. Television cameras were allowed to record only a portion of Tebow’s speech, and no live video streaming of the service was permitted. Church officials initially ex- pected up to 20,000 people and said Tebow’s appearance on Eas- ter Sunday was coincidental. Church spokeswoman Tara Wall said it was Tebow who reached out to Champion with a request to appear, and Sunday was the best date available. Mike Benaglio and his wife, Debbie, sat on a blanket. “I’m a fan of any pro athlete who stands up for his faith,” he said. “We’re thrilled to be part of this. It’s not about football. Whatever gets more people over to the cross, I’m in favor of.” By Jim VertunoThe Associated Press OCCUPY THE PARTYErich Grahm, Eslerh Gomez and Jaimie Tilley, left to right, celebrated Occupy Austin’s six month birth- day Saturday evening with a dance party on sixth street. Members also pro- moted gay rights as they danced down the street with their portable DJ set. Pu Ying Huang Daily Texan StaffBlurtt iPhone app A team’s leadoff batter has one crucial objective — get on base. That’s why it’s no wonder that sophomore right fielder Mark Payton, who has reached base in each of the Longhorns’ 26 games this season, has become a main- stay at the top of the Texas line- up. A .263 hitter a year ago, Pay- ton has visibly improved since his freshman campaign, raising his batting average to .304 and taking his on-base percentage from .353 in 2011 to .401 this season. Payton has proved to be an asset in the field. Payton has a perfect fielding percent- age, notching 49 putouts with- out making an error. “As a leadoff batter, my job is to get on base,” Payton said. “I’m very fortunate to have He’s had his shot to wow me, but after yesterday’s exciting fin- ish at the Masters, I’ll just admit it: Yes, golf is exciting without Ti- ger Woods, and no one proved that more than the top two performers Sunday afternoon. Champion Bubba Watson and runner-up Louis Oosthuizen were never meant to wear a green jack- et this year. Woods, who was coming off a huge win at Bay Hill, and Rory McIlroy were the talk of the town coming into the event but puttered out early. They both fin- ished five over par. Familiar faces like Fred Cou- ples and Phil Mickelson had their moments, but the former Masters champions couldn’t keep pace with the youth. Not Vijay Singh, not Padraig Har- rington, not Angel Cabrera. No es- tablished golfer had a shot against the creativity and courage of Wat- son and Oosthuizen who played one of the most dramatic sudden- death playoffs at the Masters in recent history. Each had their opportunity to put the other away on the first hole of the playoff, the 18th. Oosthuizen, who at 29-years- old could’ve been one of very few golfers to win the Brit- ish Open and the Masters, saw his ball hug the out- side edge of the cup, only to then travel a few inch- es past it. It was an oth- erwise flawlessly calcu- lated putt, but the golf gods simply wouldn’t al- low it to drop without heightening the drama. The pair both took par on the hole which set up the grand fi- nale on the 10th. From the 10th tee, Watson sent a dinger into the deep pine Texas sure knows how to come back from a 14-inning loss — just pound out 14 runs the next day. The No. 25 Longhorns (17- 12, 7-2 Big 12) jumped all over Texas Tech (18-15, 3-9 Big 12) on Saturday afternoon hammer- ing out a season high 19 hits in the 14-3 win. The win in the rubber matchup also gave Tex- as its third straight conference series victory. Erich Weiss was the pace set- ter at the plate for Texas on the day, going 4-for-6 with three runs scored and a home run. His impressive day with the bat also gave Weiss a slight lead for highest batting average on the squad at .357, only .07 points ahead of his cleanup hit- ter Jonathan Walsh. However, it’s not as if Walsh had a bad week- end, especially on Saturday when he went 3-for-6 with three runs scored. It wasn’t just the mid- dle of the Texas order that had a strong day with the bat either. Texas had six differ- ent players record at least two RBI in the game, including Mark The Longhorns definitely want- ed a better close to April’s first week- end. The Missouri Tigers (30-6) proved how strong of a team they were and took the last two games in the series. With very low production from the offense, Texas scored only four runs in their last two games while Missouri scored 13. However, Tex- as offense generated hits, 17 total in the two games, but the Tiger defense proved tough in the field, especially the pitching. It was a different story for the team out of Columbia, Miss., how- ever. The Tigers’ offensive produc- tion, especially late in the game, pro- pelled them to their series win. During Friday night’s game both teams proved even for the first six innings. After Texas finished batting in the bottom of the sixth, the score was tied 4-4 going into the last in- ning of play. That is where the No. 11 Missouri team took charge. Missouri’s Corrin Genovese hit a three-run homer in the top of the seventh to give the Tigers a three- run lead. After that they added on four more, putting MU up 11-4 with one last chance for Texas to come back. The Longhorns couldn’t do it though, and suffered their first loss of the season at home. Saturday proved just as frustrating for the Longhorns. Chelsea Thomas of Missouri threw a five-hit shutout, giving them a Big 12 conference se- ries win against Texas. It was an all around low-scoring game, as the Ti- gers only scored two in their win. “I do think that they are able to take a step back and respect the game and respect the specific oppo- nent that was in the circle,” said Tex- as head coach Connie Clark. “There are some times that you have to do that. We wanted the outcome, but we battled well and it does humble [the team]. We’ve been on a roll and this was like a College World Series type of matchup right here.” This weekend showed the The Texas offense was limited in action in its first set of conference losses all season. The pitching staff on Saturday for No. 11 Missouri proved to be just as daunting for the Longhorn bats this weekend as they were last season. The No. 3 Longhorns were held to a season low of four runs in two games as they lost the final two games of the three-game series against the Ti- gers this Easter weekend. The losses also marked the first home defeats of the 2012 season. “Yeah, we just have to hand it to Chelsea [Thomas],” said junior out- fielder Torie Schmidt about the Mis- souri pitcher and the lack of a Texas offense. “She did a good job of mix- ing up pitches, and we just didn’t make the adjustments that we need- ed to make.” On Friday, the Longhorns man- aged four runs, but the normally ex- plosive Texas offense was not able to mount a late rally to counter 11 runs scored by Missouri. The Tigers won 11-4. The Longhorns pounded out 12 hits against 14 for Mizzou. The game was tied through much of the game until three runs by Mis- souri put Texas down at the top of the fifth. A two-run effort in the bot- tom of the sixth tied the game, but seven runs by the Tigers in the sev- enth sealed the win. Recently this season, Texas has been infamous for gritty game-sav- ing comebacks, however, the sev- en run deficit was too much. The Longhorns made a valiant effort in the seventh, with Schmidt and sophomore catcher Mandy Ogle producing two hits with two outs. However, ju- nior out- fielder Taylor Hoagland, who is nor- mally clutch at the plate, struck out swinging to end the game, breaking the Longhorn’s 10-game win streak. Hoagland, along with senior sec- ond baseman Lexy Bennett and sophomore outfielder Brejae Wash- ington, led the Texas offense Friday night with two hits each. On Saturday, the Longhorns suf- fered their first shutout all season with a 2-0 loss. The last shutout was a 1-0 loss to the University of Hous- ton in the first round of the NCAA SportS7Monday, April 9, 2012 | The Daily Texan | Sameer Bhuchar, Sports Editor | (512) 232-2210 | sports@dailytexanonline.com7 SPTSwww.utrecsports.orgSIGN UP NOWHEARTSAVER CLASSESTRAININGSTARTS HERESIDELINEHome losses mount for UT against MizzouBy Garrett CallahanDaily Texan StaffLOSS continues on page 8Missouri pitches shutout, Texas loses two of threeSOFTBALLTeXaS MISSOURIWeiss pounds out four hits, Longhorns produce 14 runsPayton getting on base from leadoff spotBy Sara Beth PurdyDaily Texan StaffSHUTOUT continues on page 8Watson wins Masters with spectacular finishGOLFBy Chris HummerDaily Texan StaffBy Christian CoronaDaily Texan StaffWeISS continues on page 8paYTON continues on page 8BUBBa continues on page 8BASEBALL NOTEBOOKMLBROCKIeSaSTROS WHITe SOXRaNgeRS NBAJaZZSpURS ROCKeTSKINgS RapTORSTHUNDeR “ The only thing better than The Masters is sudden death Masters.” David Thomas@DavidThomas_85TWEET OF THE DAY avery BradleyTristan ThompsonKevin Durant-18 points-5 assists-15 points-15 rebounds-23 points-4 reboundsLONGHORNS IN THE NFL / NBA Date: TonightTime: 8 p.m. On air: Fox Sports SWSpurs @ JazzWHAT TO WATCHBy Sameer BhucharDaily Texan ColumnistRebecca Rodriguez | Daily Texan Staff file photoRebecca Rodriguez | Daily Texan Staff file photoElisabeth Dillon | Daily Texan Staff file photoBrejae Washington> Taylor Thom> erichWeiss> Bubba Watson< BASEBALLTEXAS 14, TEXAS TECH 3Charlie Riedel | The Associated Press