HUMP DAY PAGE 6 — Vibrators: See w h at all the buzz is about T h e Daily T exan Wednesday, April 29, 2009 Serving the University of Texas at Austin com munity since 1900 www.dail’ Immigration protests break out on We Conservative group claims presidents policies could Compromise border security By Priscilla Totiyapungprasert Daily Texan Staff Eight m em bers of Young C o n ser­ vatives of Texas protested P resident Barack O bam a's im m igration policies on the West Mall on Tuesday, attract­ ing m ore than 100 counter-protesters. T he c o n s e rv a tiv e s g a v e a m ock dem onstratio n of a U.S.-Mexico bor­ d e r c ro s s in g d u r in g w h ic h th e y placed a blue line on the ground and gave o u t free "green cards" and can­ dy to anyone w h o crossed. M e m b e r s >aid the fake green cards and candy represented easy am nesty an d g o v ern m e n t entitlem en ts, such as health care and w elfare services. The giveaw ays expressed the group's view that O bam a's im m igration poli­ cies w ould open the border an d make it easier for illegal im m igrants to en­ ter the U.S. "U n d e r O b am a 's ad m in istra tio n , th e re w o u ld be n o se cu rity ," said D u stin M a to ch a , c h a irm a n of the UT ch a p te r of Young C onservatives of Texas. "W e m ight as w ell have no border." The dem onstration w as also m eant to sh ow h o w m uch a m im m um -se- cu rity b o rd e r w o u ld cost th e co u n ­ try and Texas in particular, said Jenna W hite, the group's treasurer. The "green cards" the group hand­ ed out listed information from the Im­ m igration Reform Coalition of Texas stating th at illegal im m igration costs Texas $4.5 billion a year. The cards also stated that the U.S. spends $23.5 billion per year on education and social ser­ vices for illegal immigrants. "It's n o t im m igration w e have an issue w’ith — it's people w ho com e here illegally," W hite said. "We d o n 't have an issue w ith people w ho w ork hard to get here." M atocha said that by opening the border, terrorists w ould infiltrate the country as well. "T he sw ine flu tran sm issio n is a good ex am p le of how o u r co u n try can be v u ln erab le to ca ta stro p h es," M atocha said. "If w e let natural d is­ eases cross o u r border, how can w e stop terrorists?" As the group began setting u p for YCT continues on page 2 Keeping Austin thumbs green Randy T hom pson inspects tomato plants Tuesday afternoon in his plot at Sunshine Com m unity Gardens, a 4-acre area of land in north central Austin in which locals can plant their own organic food. Thom pson is am ong a grow ing population that is turning to such gardening. Austinites turn to community gardens to grow, rather than buy, organic produce Jeffrey McWhorter | Daily Texan Staff By Am y Bingham Daily Texan Staff C rouching betw een leafy spinach sprouts and blossom ing bundles of broccoli, L atin A m erican stu d ies senior Jacob Bintliff plucked a few pesky b lad es of grass before h a r­ vestin g som e chard a n d herbs to cook for dinner. Freshly grow n herbs an d vegeta­ bles have been a staple in Bintliff's diet since he began cultivating his ow n g a rd e n in 2007. Located in the backyard of his N orth C am pus home, the 12-by-4-foot plot is now teem ing w ith greens a n d p ro v id ­ ing a steady su p p ly of produce for Bintliff and his room m ates. "It is ex tre m e ly re la x in g a n d therapeutic," said Bintliff, co-direc­ tor of the C am p u s E nvironm ental Center. "It's just very soothing to be aro u n d living things and to be tend ing things. Some people have pets; som e p eo p le h av e gardens. E ither way, y o u 're helping so m e­ thing grow and sustain life." Bintliff is o n e of m a n y A m e r­ ican s w h o h a v e tr a d e d g ro ce ry sto res' pro d u ce bags for sacks of organic conrpost and started grow ­ in g th e ir o w n g a rd e n s. A cco rd ­ ing to a N ational G ardening Asso­ ciation survey, m em bers of 7 m il­ lion m ore U.S. households plan to grow their o w n fruits, vegetables or herbs in 2009 than in 2008. In A ustin, at least 14 com m uni­ ty gardens provide planting spac­ es w h ere h u n d re d s of A ustinites LOCAL continues on page 5 Upcoming local gardening events • Campus Environmental Center Gardening Committee meeting What: Planting flowers and shrubs in the Harry Ransom Center planter When: Friday at 4:30 p.m. Where: South side of the Harry Ransom Center Contact: gardening@utenvironment.org • Gardens "Garden Talk" speaker series What: Gardener Scott Dubois and chef Alma Alcocer-Thomas will dis­ cuss local food sources and how to cook with local foods. When: Saturday at 10 a.m. Where: Gardens, 1818 W. 35th St. • How To Start a Com munity Garden W hab A Sustainable Food Center workshop about the nuts and bolts of starting a garden When: May 16,10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Where: Windsor Park Library (5833 Westminster Drive) Contact: Jess Guffey (512) 236-0074 (extension 105) Controversial speaker calls Gaza massacre By Ben W erm und * Daily Texan Staff O n Israel M em orial Day, th e Israeli-Pales- tinian conflict fou n d its w ay to UT as a con­ troversial a u th o r ex p lo red alte rn a tiv e view s of recent ev e n ts in the region. N o rm an F inkelstein, an a u th o r and form er faculty m em ber at sev eral universities, red e­ fined term s u se d to describe th e 22-day con­ flict in the G aza S trip at the e n d of last year in fro n t of an o verflo w in g cro w d at th e Will C. H ogg B uilding on T uesday night. H e defin ed th e conflict as a m assacre, cit­ ing greater P alestin ian than Israeli losses. GAZA continues on page 2 Bill pushes for public smoking ban By Erin Mulvaney Daily Texan Staff A m e asu re th a t w o u ld b an sm o k in g in re sta u ra n ts, b a rs a n d p u b lic p la c e s is g a i n ­ in g m o m e n tu m in th e s ta te Legislature. T h e H o u s e S ta te A ffa irs C o m m ittee h eard a bill T ues­ d a y th a t w o u ld b an sm o k in g c ig a re tte s in all r e s ta u r a n ts , b ars and public places, includ­ ing state cam puses. The m e a ­ su re w as left p en d in g in co m ­ m ittee a fte r sev eral h o u rs of p u b lic te stim o n y a n d h e a te d debate. E arlier th is m onth, the S en­ a te 's H ealth an d H u m a n S er­ vices C om m ittee h eard a com ­ panion bill, w hich w as also left pending in com m ittee. Journalism g rad u ate stu d e n t Jaekw an Jeong stood w ith his arm s across his chest after he took a long d rag from his cig­ arette on th e UT cam p u s, an d h is e y e s w id e n e d w h e n h e heard that the L egislature w as considering banning sm oking. "T hat's a n ig h tm are," Jeong said. "Yes, non-sm okers should h a v e the rig h t to n o t b rea th e in sm o k e , b u t p e o p le w h o are sm o k in g so m e th in g legal should be allow ed to sm oke in a non threatening w ay in a public environm ent." Jeong said th at as a teaching a s sista n t, h e sp e n d s m o st of his tim e on cam p u s an d that a sm oking ban w ould cause him an inconvenience. D u rin g th e 2007 legislative sessio n , th e H o u se p assed a sim ilar bill to b an sm oking, but strong opposition from restau­ rant a n d b ar o w n ers blocked its p assag e in the Senate. But law m akers have renew ed hope for success d u rin g this legisla­ tive session. BAN continues on page 2 Low tall ick Hooge iscusses emigration .sues at a Young Conservatives of Texas protest on the West Mall on Tuesday. More than 100 students gathered to counter protest the event. Lauren Gerson Daily Texan Staff City neglected Barton Springs damaged trees, citizens allege By Pierre Bertrand Daily Texan Staff Em otions ran high a t C ity H all on Tuesday as A ustin residents tem porarily in terru p ted a brief­ ing on th e possible rem oval of 28 trees a ro u n d Barton Springs Pool. P eo p le cra m m ed in to th e sm all B oards an d C om m issions Room , som e h o ld in g p lacards in' protest of the c it\'s proposed action, w hich w as presented on April 16. As p re se n te d , the city p la n s to rem o v e the trees after a s tu d y d e te rm in e d th e y w ere sick a n d p o te n tia lly d a n g e ro u s to th e p u b lic. The study, w hich began in O ctober a n d finished in M arch, id e n tified w hich trees p o se d a risk to A ustin residents. W alter Passm ore, the city's urb an forestry pro­ gram m anager, said trees in an u rb an setting face m ore challenges than trees in a n atu ra l environ­ m ent. The trees su rrounding Barton Springs, like those planted along the city's m ajor avenues and arte ries, h av e lim ited root g ro w th b ec au se of their proxim ity to concrete and pollution. A dded foot traffic from pool p atro n s com pacts the soil aro u n d the trees, w hich also d ep lete s the n u tri­ ents. These stresses m ake it hard for the trees to resist pathogens, parasites and occasional storm s, he said. "Trees in a dow ntow n setting on average have a lifespan of 15 years, just because of the external stresses," Passm ore said. "It's n o t because they are neglected." R e aso n s w h y th e tre e s b e c a m e sic k in th e firs t p la ce are c o n te ste d , a n d Bill B unch, e x ­ e c u tiv e d ire c to r of Save O u r S p rin g s A lliance, said he blam es the p a rk s d e p a r tm e n t for p o o r m a n ag e m en t. Bunch said there is no d o u b t the trees are suf­ fering b u t that they w ould not be if the p^rks de­ p artm ent had m aintained and n u rtu red the trees ra th e r th an neglected them . H e said the p ark s d ep a rtm en t did not take necessary m easures to avoid soil com paction and criticizes the current plan because it d o e s n 't co n sid er the o p tio n o f nursing the condem ned trees back to health. TREES continues on page 2 Elizabeth Moskowitz | Daily Texan Staff A w om an sits beneath a tree at Barton Springs Pool on Tuesday morning. The city of Austin wants to cut down 28 trees that are in danger of falling due to a deteriorating root system. W ednesday, April 2 9 ,2 0 0 9 T h e D a i l y T e a w Volume 109, Number 136 25 cents CONTACT US M a in Telephone: (512)471-4591 Editor: Leah Finnegan (5 1 2 ) 2 3 2 - 2 2 1 2 M a n a g in g Editor: Vikram Swaruup (512) 232-2217 managingeditor@ dailytexanonline.com editor@dailytexanonline.com N ew s Office: (512) 232-2207 news@dailytexanonline.com W eb Office: (512)471-8616 onlme@dailytexanonline.com Sp orts Office: (5 1 2 ) 2 3 2 - 2 2 1 0 sports@dailytexanonline.com (512) 232-2209 lifeandarts@dailytexanonline.com Photo Office: (512) 471-8618 photo@dailytexanonline.com Retail Advertising: (512) 471-1865 joan w@mail. utexas.edu Classified Advertising: (512) 471-5244 classifieds@dailytexanonline.com The Texan strives to present all infor­ mation fairly, accurately and com plete­ ly. If we have made an error, let us know about it. Call (512) 232-2217 or e-mail managingeditor@daiiytexanonline.com. CORRECTIONS A story titled "Statue immortalizes Barbara Jordan" in Monday's Texan should have said Jordan was the LBJ Centennial Chair in National Policy at the LBJ School for Public Affairs. The organization in a caption that accompanied a story in Monday's Texan titled "Finding Waldo at Eeyore's birthday party" should have been Flash Mob Austin. The Texan regrets the errors. COPYRIGHT Copyright 2009 Texas Student Media. All articles, photographs and graphics, both in the print and online editions, are the property ofTexas Student Media and may not be reproduced or republished in part or in whole without written permission. T o d a y 's w e a th e r Hello, Daily Texas, designer editor! TREES: UT arborist says citv should target causes From page 1 "The trees are our heritage, and if they can be protected, they should be," Bunch said. Passmore said he tries to al­ leviate the man-made stress­ e s on the trees by m im ick­ ing the trees' natural environ­ ment. The most effective w ay to do this, he said, is through branch pruning and plucking and p lacin g m ulch around the base of the trees, thus in­ creasing nutrients in the soil. "You have to reach a com ­ p rom ise if you w ant trees d ow n tow n ," he said. "They are not g o in g to operate at 100 percent like in a w ilder­ ness environment." If a tree gets damaged, it is perm anently hurt, Passmore said. W hile the tree w ill be able to grow w ood that w ill cover the w ound, any struc­ tural dam age it incurs w ill be permanent. C itizen s w ere ou tsp ok en during the briefing, routine­ ly m aking catcalls and even ­ tually prom pting Parks and Recreation and Environmen­ tal Board m em bers to delay the m eetin g — w h ich w a s running into its second hour — for five minutes. "This is a courtesy," said board m em ber Marilyn Bo­ stick. "This is a briefing. If you continue to make catcalls I w ill just say, 'Forget it.'" UT arborist Larry Magin- nis said officials have the re­ sp on sib ility to id en tify tar­ gets — u su a lly d efin ed as p ersonal property and h u ­ m an life — and h a z a r d s w hen it com es to older and possibly sick trees. "If y o u 'v e ev er b een in that place, you can't take the target out of that equation," Maginnis said. M aginnis said that if the city is to go by that criteria, the trees must be removed. TSM EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING W ednesday A p ril 29, 2 0 0 9 8:30 A . M . University ofTexas HSM 3.302 ' 2 300 W hitis Ave. Austin, Texas 78712 Visitors W elcom e We encourage any community member w ho has a n y k in d o f tem porary or perm an en t disability to contact Texas S tu d e n t M ed ia beforehand so th a t a p propria te accom m odations can be made. Anyone is welcome to attend. I le a v d e Y O U R W O R L D Peyton McGee | Daily Texan Staff Life & Arts Office: M id d le Eastern studies junior Kevin Brassell listens to N orm an Finkelstein's speech o n the Israeli-Palestinian conflict o n Tuesday night. Finkelstein, an author, spoke for nearly three h ou rs d efe n d in g the Palestinian cause. GAZA: Author’s lecture stirs controversy From page 1 "C urrently it is b ein g re­ ferred to as the Gaza Warr and w ill probably regrettably g o d ow n in history as such," he said. "What happened in the G aza Strip, d o esn 't m eet the m inimum conditions of war." Finkelstein form ed the rest of his talk around e v e n ts he v iew s as catalysts of the ' mas­ sacre," d isc u ssin g the h isto ­ ry of the conflict in the region and frequently presenting in­ form ation that w as critical of Israel. The event w as sponsored by seven cam p us organizations: the Palestine Solidarity C om ­ m ittee, the International So­ cialist O rganization, C am pus Progress, Austin C oalition for P alestine, Iranians for Peace and Justice, A m nesty Interna­ tional and the C am p us A nti­ war M ovem ent to End O ccu­ pation. M em bers o f Texans For Is­ rael handed ou t flyers titled " F in k elstein v s. T he Facts" outside the auditorium . "We cam e to hand out som e of the facts," said Yoni Cohen, a member of Texans for Israel. "We want to let people see the other sid e — the truth." C ohen said that w h ile Tex­ ans for Israel w a s orig in a lly in volved in organizing a joint event along w ith the Palestine Solidarity C om m ittee, it en d ­ ed talks w ith the group over differing opinions of w hat the event should actually be. "TFI w anted to collect food for ch ild ren affected by the c o n flic t in Israel," h e sa id . "We thought, 'Let's start w ith som ething that w ill help both sid es, not a d eb a te .’ Just b e­ ca u se th ere's fig h tin g there d o e s n 't m ea n th e s tu d e n ts should be fighting here." Rabbi D a v id K om erofsky, executive director of Texas Hil- lel, a sponsor of Texans for Is­ rael, voiced his concerns over the date for Finkelstein's visit. "I think it's unfortunate that it's h a p p en in g on Israel M e­ m orial Day," he said. "This is a d ay that Israel co m m em o ­ rates those w h o have d ied in terrorist attacks or fighting [in the Gaza Strip]." Philosophy senior Isaac Ka- lish said the dates were entire­ ly coincidental. "It w as purely a matter of fit­ ting in Dr. Finkelstein's sched­ ule," he said \ BAN: Bill would also prohibit smoking on campuses From page 1 hand smoke." State Sen. R odney Ellis, D- Houston, said a smoking ban is important to citizens and that he is hopeful it will pass during this session. "A year from now, som eone in Texas w ill w onder, 'W hat were w e sm oking w hen it took us so long to get this passed?"' Ellis said. He said the ban w ould bene­ fit the state's economy and Tex­ ans' health. "How could w e not be fiscal­ ly responsible enough to pass legislation that would give us a known cure and w ouldn't cost us a dime?" Ellis said. "It's so important to us to keep people from being exposed to second­ He said it will be difficult for lawmakers to go on the record and vote against banning sec­ ondhand smoke. Twenty-eight Texas cities cur­ rently h ave sm oking bans in place. Sm oking in Austin res­ taurants w as banned in 1992, and in 2005, the public voted to tighten the law by extend­ ing restrictions to include bil­ liard halls, bars and live-music venues. Bruce Todd, former mayor of Austin, said that when smoking w as banned from restaurants during his tenure, many restau­ rants and bars opposed the or­ dinance but n ow support the ban. "I b elieve that w e have the right to eat in a restaurant, to go to bars or to a bowling alley and to do all those things in smoke- free air," Todd said. A ustin bar and restaurant ow n ers cannot legally a llow sm oking inside their establish­ ments or within 15 feet of non- public-area entrances. Dick Brown, ow ner of H yde Park Bar & Grill, said he m ade the decision to prohibit sm ok­ in g in h is e sta b lish m e n t in 1982. "I stru g g led w ith it for a w h ile and tried to accom m o­ date p eop le as best I could," Brown said. "After a long-term em ployee told me, 'I don't think I should sacrifice m y health to work for you,' it was easy mak­ ing my decision." Cigar sh o p s, w hich gen er­ ate $60,000 in sales taxes and $200,000 in tobacco taxes on av­ erage, w ou ld be exem pt from the smoking ban. "The sm oking ban is a restric­ tion on human rights," said Pat­ rick Jason Poehler, a representa­ tive for the Cigar Merchants As­ sociation, a political action com ­ mittee. Brian Franzman, ow ner of J Blacks Feel G ood L ounge on West Sixth Street, said the ban has not affected his business. "I honestly don't think it will harm business at all," Franzman said. "It won't mess up business because every bar w ill have to abide by the sam e rules, and people are never going to stop going out in Austin." Great College Job IN A FUN E N V IR O N M E N T W IT H FLEXIBLE HRS W ITH T u r I 1 1 1 . This newspaper w as printed with I ) a 11 y T V v a i\ Pride byThe Dai,yTexan pfess X crew members, who will be laid f i l l . j J X . ¡fez; ■T i '(I 3T V V if this is you you could make Apply TODAY on-site all day 2525 W. Anderson I ane, Ste. 10.3 Bert!and. A m y Bingham From page 1 Permanent Staff off in May. Vikram Swaruup Leah Finnegan Viviana Aldous Pierre ........................................................... . ............................................ ................................................... Editor.................................................................................................... M anaging E ditor..................................................................................................... Associate Managing Editors Stephen Keller Gabnelle M unoz Associate E d ito rs.......................................................................Audrey Campbell Josh Haney. Abhinav Kumar. ............................................................................................ Jillian Sheridan Abby Terrell. M ary Tuma Lauren Winchester Sea n Beherec Katie Flores Lee Ann Holman N e w s E d ito r.................................................................................................. Associate News Editors.............................................................. Senior R e p o rte rs....................................................... .................................................................................. 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Multimedia Editor Associate Multitnedia Editors......................... Editorial A d v ise r.................................................................................................. Peter Franklin . Kim Espinosa. M a y Ying Lam ...................................................... Paul Chouy. Bryant Haertlein. Emily Kinsolving Andrew R o gers Jordan Sm otherm on Mohini Madgavkar Erin Mulvaney. Avi Selk David Muto Robert Green, Austin Litzler, Vikkey Packard PnsciBa Villarreal Jenny Baxter. Juan Elizondo i ........................................... M an ssa Edwards. Shatha ......................... . . . .. Richard Hussein, Undsey Morgan. Emily Watkins . Andy O ’Connor. Leigh Patterson Raquel ViDarreal Janie Shaw Issue Staff ........ ...................... . . . . H u d son Lockett M elissa Pan ............................................................. Reporters ................................................................................. 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Kira Taniguchi Am anda Thomas Rodriqo Maycotte Felimon Hernandez Ttie Daky Texan lU S P S 146-440) a student newspaper at The University ot Texas at Austin is published by Texas Student Media 2500 Whitis Ave Austin TX 78705 The Daily Texan is published daily except Saturday, Sunday federal holidays and exam periods plus the last Saturday in Juiy Periodical Postage Paid at Austin TX 78710 News contributions will be accepted by telephone (471 -4591) or at the editorial office (Texas Student Media Building 2 122) For local and national display advertising call 471 - 1865 For classified display and national classified display advertising rail 471-1865 For classified word advertising cali 471-5244 Entire contents copyright 2009 Texas Student Media T h e D aily Texan M ail S u b s c r ip t io n R a t e s O n e Se m e ste r (F a * or Sp ring) Two S e m e ste rs (F a * a n d Spring) S u m m e r S e s sio n O n e Year (Fail Spring a n d Su m m e r) $ 6 0 0 0 120 0 0 4 0 00 150 0 0 To c h a rg e try V I S A o r M a s te r C a r d , call 4 7 1 - 5 0 6 3 S e n d o rd e rs a n d a d d r e s s c h a n g e s to T e x a s S tu d e n t M e d ia . P O B o x D. A u stin , T X 7 8 7 1 3 -8 9 0 4 , or to T S M B u ild in g C 3 2 0 0 . o r c all 4 7 1 - 5 0 8 3 P O S T M A S T E R S e n d a d d r e s s c h a n g e s to T h e D a ily T e x a n P u B o x D A u s tin . T X 7 8 7 1 3 _____________________________04/29/09 Texan Ad Deadlines Monday Tuesday Wednesday............. Friday, 12 p.m. Wednesday, 12 pm Thursday Thursday, 12 p m Friday _________________ Monday, 12 p m Tuesday. 12 p m YCT: Groups debate Obamas spending policies, bailouts the dem onstration, about 100 students marched from the Stu­ d en t Services Building to the West Mall to protest the dem ­ onstration and dispúte the facts presented by the opposing side. More students joined them lat­ er in the protests. Erik Reyna Ana M cK enzie Several student organizations A Finnetl com posed the counter-protest, including the Latino L eader­ ship Council, Black Student Al­ liance and several multicultural fraternities and sororities. Sever­ al protesters also said that they came on their own after hearing about the border demonstration through word-of-mouth. Cindy Quintanilla, a spokes­ wom an for the Latino Leader­ ship Council, described the bor­ der-crossing dem onstration as both disrespectful and hurtful to the immigrant community. "[The dem onstration] is of­ fensive to the hundreds of peo­ ple w ho die crossing the bor­ der," Quintanilla said. "It's of­ fensive to the illegal immigrants living here today, and it's of­ fensive to me personally as the daughter of parents who immi­ grated here during the civil war in El Salvador." Kinesiology junior Greilan Ol­ iver said the current pathway to citizenship needs reform. "Clearly it's not that easy," Ol­ iver said. "People who apply for citizenship as a teenager might not get it until long into ad u lt­ hood. It takes years to become a citizen." The UT Police D epartm ent w as alerted about the protests and sent to watch over the area. "It's not imm igration we have an issue with — it's people who come here illegally" — Jenna White, YCT treasurer The tw o sides rallied back and forth on not only immigra­ tion issues but also on Obama's spending policies and govern­ ment bailouts. Though the protesters o u t­ num bered curious bystanders, several students not affiliated with either of the two groups at­ tempted to break into the mix to speak or listen to leaders from both sides. "It looks like a political show that offers no solutions," said economics junior M ateo Clarke, w ho came to observe the p ro ­ tests. "Everything seems unor­ ganized, and I h a v e n 't heard practical solutions from either side." t h u r s d a y a p r il 3 0 senior Reiiy melons ( d o u b l e h o a r ie r ) 1 A S P = FREE Adm ission! s a n a n to n io R ed & C h a tlin e M c C o m b s R etd (Co i h -.i I a! E 20tti ■ r UT S t u d e n t s C h e ch ou t S O B 5 o n ports. com tor the la te st p ro m o tio n s St ticket into! Wire E d ito r Bett any Johnsen www.dailytexanonline com WORLD BRIEFLY South Korean scientists clone beagles with fluorescent genes SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean scientists say they have engineered four beagles that glow red using cloning techniques that could help develop cures for hu­ man diseases. The four dogs, all named "Rup- pv" — a combination of the words "ruby" and "puppy" — look like typical beagles by day­ light. But they glow red under ul­ traviolet light, and the dogs' nails and abdomens, which have thin skins, look red even to the na­ ked eye. Seoul National University pro­ fessor Lee Bveong-chun, head of the research team, called them the world's first transgenic dogs carrying fluorescent genes, an achievement that goes beyond just the glowing novelty. The glowing dogs show' that it is possible to successfully in­ sert genes with a specific trait, which could lead to implanting other, non-fluorescent genes that could help treat specific diseases, Lee said. Mexico losing $57 million daily after swine flu hurts economy MEXICO CITY — A leading business group estimates that can­ celed events and closure of mov­ ie theaters, night clubs, museums and other establishments to pre­ vent the spread of swine flu is costing Mexico City at least 777 million pesos ($57 million) a day. Arturo Mendicuti, president of the city's Chamber of Trade, Ser­ vices and Tourism, says the fig­ ure represents a 36-percent drop in revenue generated by tourism and services in the Mexican capital. He said Tuesday the estimate was made before the city govern­ ment expanded the shutdown Tuesday to include restaurants, which nowr are only allowed to serve takeout. The Confederation of Industrial Chambers urged the government to reconsider its decision to close restaurants. Israeli prime minister expected to grant Palestinian statehood JERUSALEM — Israel's de­ fense minister said in an inter­ view published Tuesday that he expects Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to the prin­ ciple of Palestinian statehood — something the Israeli leader has balked at doing since taking office a month ago. Netanyahu is under increasing pressure from Washington to re­ sume peacemaking with the Pal­ estinians, a process designed ul­ timately to create a Palestinian state that would live alongside Israel peacefully within fixed borders. In an interview with the Haaretz daily, Defense Minister Ehud Barak suggested that Ne­ tanyahu could relent. "I believe that during Netan­ yahu's visit to Washington, Isra­ el must formulate how it intends to move forw'ard, and that formu­ la w'ill not propose three states for eight peoples," Barak said. The prime minister's office would not comment, but an aide to the minister said a policy re­ view was under way.- Compiled from Associated Press reports NATION BRIEFLY Federal officials predict deaths from swine flu to occur in US WASHINGTON — Federal of­ ficials warned on Tuesday that swine-flu related deaths were likely in the United States as the disease that killed scores in Mexi­ co continued to spread across the world and governments intensi­ fied steps to battle the outbreak. The number of confirmed cas­ es in the United States w as raised to 64, but states and cities were re­ porting more suspected cases. In New York, the city's health com­ missioner said "many hundreds" of schoolchildren were ill at a school where some students had confirmed cases. President Barack Obama asked Congress for $1.5 billion in emer­ gency funds to fight the fast- spreading disease. Cuba banned flights to Mexico, where public life is being altered dramatically by illness. No deaths linked to the disease have been reported outside Mexico. Specter, Pennsylvania senator, switches to Democratic Party WASHINGTON — Veteran Republican Arlen Specter of Penn­ sylvania switched parties Tuesday with a suddenness that seemed to stun the Senate; the moder­ ate's defection pushed Democrats to within a vote of the 60 need­ ed to overcome filibusters and en­ act President Barack Obama's top legislative priorities. As a result of last fall's elec­ tions, Democrats control the White House and have a large majority in the House. Specter's switch leaves them with 59 Sen­ ate seats. Democrat A1 Franken is ahead in a marathon recount in Minnesota. If he ultimately de­ feats Republican Norm Coleman, he would become the party's 60th vote — the number needed to overcome a filibuster. Searchers recover missing Eagle Scout hiker in woods PINKHAM NOTCH, N.H. — An Eagle Scout whose day hike in the mountains went awry when unusually warm weather turned small streams into raging riv­ ers, blocking his way, was found safe Tuesday after spending three nights alone in the woods. Scott Mason, a 17-year-old from Halifax, Mass., was spot­ ted by searchers Tuesday morning making his way to the summit of Mount Washington, the North­ east's highest mountain. He was about a 45-minute hike from the weather observatory and its crew atop the mountain, officials said. Mason was reunited with his family at a command center about two hours later. Compiled from Associated Press reports ■Do you like volleyball! Do you w a ilftM ie part of ^ftjjping traB T O fñ iere at UT? WANTED: T u r l » \ m T» \ \x Wednesday, Apr P akistan i sold iers prepare to attack h id e o u ts o f th e T aliban and m ilita n ts in the P akistan i d is tric t o f Low er Dir on Tuesday. M o h am m a d Sajjad | Associate'* Pakistan strikes against militant' Chris Brum m itt T h e A s so c ia te d Press ISLAM ABAD — Pakistani jets and attack helicopters struck Tal­ iban positions in mountains close to the capital Tuesday as part of a w id e n in g o ffe n siv e a g a in st militants spreading out from the lawless region along the border w ith A fghanistan, the m ilitary said. W ith r e s id e n t s r e p o r tin g ground troops also m oving into the Buner area, th e o p eration could allay worry in the U.S. and other Western nations that nucle­ ar-armed Pakistan lacks the will to fight extrem ists in the north­ west, where al-Qaida leader Osa­ m a bin Laden is thought to be hiding. The attack stand s to fu rth er strain a shaky peace deal in the M alakand region, w hich Buner is a part of. The truce has been w idely view ed in the West as a su rren d er to the m ilitan ts and a sign P akistan's shaky civilian governm ent does not recognize the threat they pose. P akistan has w aged sev eral offensives in the border region since the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the U.S., resulting in the deaths of dozens of civilians and the flight of hundreds of thousands of peo­ ple from their homes. O ffic ia ls h a v e fr e q u e n tly claimed success from the assaults, but the ultraconserv ative area re­ mains a haven for extremists who use it to ^tage attacks in Afghani­ stan, according to foreign govern­ ments. A nalysts say the 100,000-plus governm ent soldiers in the bor­ der region have little experience in guerrilla op eration s, having been trained only to fight a con­ ventional war against long-stand­ ing enemy India on the country's eastern flank. H eavily arm ed m ilitan ts b e ­ gan moving into Buner, which is about 60 m iles from Islam abad, this month from the nearby Swat Valley. Sw at, a on e-tim e to u r­ ist destination, has turned into a m ilitant haven under the peace deal, which imposed Islamic law in the area in exchange for an end to hostilities. A m ilitary sp o k esm an , M aj. Nasir Khan, said jets and helicop­ ters attacked Taliban positions in m ountains in the Babaji Kandao area of Buner on Tuesday after­ noon. Casualty figures w ere not immediately known. The m ilita ry 's ch ie f sp o k e s­ man, Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, said troops were also moving into the region. He estimated the number of insurgents there at 450-500 and said the operation would be over within in a week. M oham m ad Shahid K han, a taxi driver, said he saw tanks, heavy artillery and hundreds of soldiers heading over the Amba- la pass leading to Buner. As a sign m ilitants were pre­ paring to put up a fight, Taliban fighters later Tuesday took con­ trol of a police station in the town of Pjr Baba, said another military official. He insisted on speaking anonymously because he was not authorized to release d etails to the media. T h e U .S. g o v e rn m e n t w e l­ comed the offensive "This is something that's in the interest of the government of Pak­ istan," State Department spokes­ man Robert Wood said. "T h ese Taliban and other extremists have posed an existential threat to Pak­ istan. They've also caused prob­ lem s for the governm ent of A f­ ghanistan." T he T aliban a d v an ce — un­ ch eck ed u n til T u esd ay by s e ­ cu rity fo rces — had triggered alarm in W estern c a p ita ls as w e ll as u n e a s e am o n g so m e P akistani p o liticia n s and c o m ­ m entators In a rem ark w id eh reported in P akistan , U.S. Set retary of State H illary Rod ha i Clinton said last w eek that Paki stani leaders were "basically ai> d icating to the la liban and the extrem ists." O n Sunday, the arm y launchei a separate offensive in Dir, which borders Swat and is also coven v by the peace deal. A b b as said the D ir o p era tion was now com plete and hac killed betw een 70 and 75 m il tants, w hile 10 security officer; died. TV footage has shown him dreds of refugees fleeing the area but officials have not released fig ures on any exodus. Abbas dismissed fears that ! lamabad could fall to the militen "I see this as a completely feist alarm. There is no mason to woi ry that they pose a threat beyonc th at a re a ," he said at a medi< briefing. "I think w e are 170 mil lion people with a huge mili!ar\ God willing, they (the militan! will be taken care of." The best LSAT instructors ■ • 7 v / teach for ScorePerfect. S h a w n a W i l l i a m s 4 J.D. U n iversity of Texas* j O fficial LSAT Score: 174 N ikki H o p k i n s 1024 hours o f in-class teach in g ex p e rie n ce ‘ degree in progress B RESPONSIBILITIES: in ate video for practice and games V- ¡ream data Volley o r o q r a m jt d ^ ^ lw ^- break down p a m i video « ✓ create highlight videos f * ✓ wod< closely with coaches on video analysis Í and statistical information SKILLS NEEDED: ^ " ✓ computer kn o w ledg e ✓ video equigftttenF*^ ✓ v o lle y b a ll knovtíWí$fKKpeÍf$b?Ce ✓ ^ BENEFITS: ✓ good pay y teamg^ár" 'Jppfy travel with the teartfinJthe fall i/great éntry positibnfof potential coaches For more information, please contact Brian Hosfeld at 471.B190 t Á , or brian.hosfeldathletics.utexas.edu i Austin la d y Spring Course Austin tarty Summer Course j.D. U niversity o f Texas O fficial LSAT Score: 173 1168 hours of in-class te a ch in g e xp erie n ce Austin Lite Spring Course Austin Late Summer Course All UT students are eligible for $500 off the ScorePerfect LSAT Course ! www.scoreperfect.net 1- 800- 259-6211 M i Iflf a s s . w m Wednesday, April 29, 2009 VIEWPOINT O p i n i o n T h e D a ily T e x a n GALLERY Editor in Chief: Leah Finnegan Phone: (5 1 2 ) 2 3 2 2 2 1 2 E-mail: editor@dailytexanonline com Associate Editors: Audrey Campbell Jillian Sheridan Mary Tuma Josh Haney Abby Terrell Mastering your own propaganda The depth of personal information about us on the Internet can be frightening, and rightfully so. \ o matter what legislators say or do, the Internet has proven itself too vast and too nebulous to control To that extent, parents and universities alike extol the virtues of restricting the infor­ mation students voluntarily reveal about themselves by locking MySpace or Facebook profiles — or, better vet, by not creating these profiles in the first place. But these sites have become integral to the way we connect with each other. And beyond lock­ ing our Facebook profiles, restricting the information that comes up about us in Internet searches is nearly im ponible. Further, we don't have control over who can access some information, such as which Web sites we visit. These d a v s, most major Web sites, including Google and Facebook, use cookies to track which Web sites users visit. Last week, Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Virginia, chairman of the House Subcom­ mittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet, said the committee is seeking to write a broad online privacy law this year. "Internet users should be able to know what information is collected about them and have the opportunity to opt out," Boucher told The New York Times. Boucher said part of the law would require com panies that collect data on site traffickers to give users the opportunity to opt out of having their data shared. He said this would mean that interest-based ads — a very individual approach to target mar­ keting in w hich ads appear based on what sites the user has recently visited — would require a user's approval. Not a bad thought — if Congress can find a way to do it. But by the time our notoriously slow- moving Congress passes an effective law to control privacy, at least a dozen companies will have figured out ways to get around it. W hat's more, they will likely have preemptively figured out how to get around the next regulation. 1 rving to regulate your own information, much less that of the entire Internet, is an uphill bat­ tle. Building an online presence, rather than trying to hide information already out there, is the onlv w ay to ensure that when others search for your name — be they potential employers, par­ ents or strangers — they will hit first on what you want them see. At the very least, it's a way to ensure that they have to dig a little harder to find the information you'd rather not have out there. Making a Google profile is latest solution to the problem. The service allows Google users to create a sim ple profile of themselves, including basic information like schools attended, a pro­ file picture and what Google labels "a little personality." Profiles pop up at the bottom of the first page of Google searches, allowing the profile to be one of the first sources of information a search­ er will see. Another option is to choose not to restrict your Facebook page. By regulating the content of your Facebook instead, you have the ability to control one of the first sites already connected to your name. You can 't control the Internet. And too often, you can 't control w hat's revealed about you through the Internet. But you can control what information you provide to others, and building a positive online presence does just that. — A bby Terrell fo r the editorial board THE FIRING LINE It's hard to be a biker As someone who rides a bike to campus every day, I under­ stand why cyclists are irritated bv UTPD's sudden crackdowns ("Complaints spur UTPD crack­ down of cyclists," April 27). I think UT and the city of Austin should be doing a lot more to encourage people to ride bicycles instead of driving. 1 hope, however, that this reminder to cvclists to obey traf­ fic laws consistently will lead to a more predictable environment on the roads in and around campus. Even I've been annoyed by cyclists running through stop signs. Recklessness and irresponsibil­ ity around campus are hardly confined to cyclists, though. I've been nearly killed several times by drivers who didn't understand right of way or who have tried to pass me a little too fast and a little too closely. I've also had oblivi­ ous pedestrians step onto Inner Campus Drive right in front of me, or even just stop and stand in the middle of the street. In short, I think all of us need to be more aware of our surroundings and try to be a little less of a danger to ourselves and others. I think the problems of how to encourage people to nde bicycles and how to prevent reckless behavior ultimately have a single solution: Austin needs a more con­ sistent system of bike lanes. The current path of designated bike lanes on the west side of campus, for instance, is an absolute joke. Cyclists going north have the option of competing for space with angry traffic on Guadalupe or criss-crossing from street to street in West Campus, often on roads made narrower by construction or with cars parked in the supposed bike lane. A truly efficient system of bike lanes would make travel­ ing to campus easier and safer for everyone and remove the danger­ ous chip on a lot of cyclists' shoul­ ders that comes from fighting car and pedestrian traffic. Brian Gotten English graduate student Truths behind the crackdown? I'm sure that I could find many cyclists on campus that bemoan the new "crackdown" on illegal cycling practices. I happen to be one of them. These practices are, in fact, illegal, and I understand that, but why has the crackdown happened at the end of a spring semester? In the April 27 article, an officer is quoted as saying that he will lead in full force against cycling until the end of the semester or until students leam. How many students are going to retain a pointless message like this over the summer? There is no coincidence, though, that this is happening now. I work in a very low-level position in Parking and Transportation Services on campus, and 1 have overheard several conversations that I feel taint the justice of this current crackdown. A few weeks ago I overheard PTS supervisors discuss the financial situation 1 of the company. They were told that they were supposed to write more tickets because the ticket- writing division was losing money. They were not filling their quota. Apparently, they have stumbled onto the jackpot here. Making $1,750 in two hours is quite the profit. Another reason that I would suspect that IT S is deciding to crack down with $50 tickets is a purchase that has put the service out nearly-half a million dollars. In January IT S purchased mobile credit card machines, but the machines were a bust, seeing as they work less than half the time. I know from personal experience. The machines are not earning their keep, so one might guess that PTS is upset about the waste of money. PTS is a self-sustainable busi­ ness on campus. It does not get any financial help from the University, and it is feeling the pain of that now. Caitlin Lundin Radio-television-film sophomore Leffingwell the sm art choice No matter how you feel about progressivism, "smart growth," or oldsters, you can't argue that Brewster McCracken's mayoral candidacy isn't fatally flawed when it fails to gamer a single genuine endorsement beyond that of the Bush/Comyn-backing Austin American-Statesman ("Lean times call for Leffingwell, April 28). our society. HR 480 is the only way to get Keller off the bench promptly, rather than the long process through the Commission on Judicial Ethics. I invite everyone to visit unvw.sharonkiller.com and con­ tact members of the House Committee on Judicial and Civil Jurisprudence in support of Rep. Lon Bumam's impeachment resolution. By removing Sharon "Killer" Keller from the bench, we can set the example for others that no one is above the law, even the presiding judge of Texas' highest criminal court. Hooman Hedayati Government and M iddle Eastern studies senior Campaign to End the Death Penalty member W hen fraternities do good I know that UT fraternities receive a fair amount of bad press, so I thought you should know about a wonderful event that took place this afternoon. Under the energetic leadership of Philanthropy Chairman Philip Pool, the members of Pi Kappa Alpha put on a beach volleyball tournament benefiting the Autism Society of Greater Austin. They secured sponsors to donate both food and money to the project and recruited dozens of members of UT's Greek community to play in the tournament. My 23-year-old son John and I enjoyed watching the first hour of play at the sand courts on Lamar Boulevard. I was especially touched when individual mem­ bers of Pi Kappa Alpha took the time to come over and greet us. John is nonverbal, but the guys just shook his hand and talked to him as if he were one of the gang. John repaid their openness by applauding enthusiastically. On behalf of our all-volunteer organization, I wanted to express our deep appreciation for these wonderful young people. Glenn Gaven UT alum Ann Hart Autism Society o f Greater Austin president Support Keller im peachm ent Sharon Keller denied Michael Richard's constitutiorial rights when she closed her court­ room at 5 p.m. and refused to accept his last-minute appeal ("Representative initiates efforts for impeachment of Sharon Keller," April 28). Justice is not a 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. issue, and everyone deserves a fair hearing in the court of law, even those who we deem to be the worst of SU B M IT A FIRING LINE E-mail your Firing Lines to fir- ingline@dailytexanonline.com. Let­ ters must be fewer than 300 words. The Texan reserves the right to edit letters for brevity, clarity and liabil­ ity. We regret that we cannot pub­ lish all letters. In search of respect By Daniel Earnest Daily Texan Columnist W hen asked ab o u t her s ta n ce on gay m a r­ riage last w eek by gossip b log g er-tu rn ed -p ag - eant-judge Perez H ilton, M iss C alifornia, C arrie Prejean, responded by saying that she thought m arriage should be betw een a man and a w om ­ an. The salient part o f the pageant w as not this controversial answ er, but the fallout afterw ard. A fter having am ple time to form ulate an in ­ te llig en t resp on se to the c o n te s ta n t's answ er, H ilto n responded to M iss C alifo rn ia by p o st­ ing a YouTube video in w hich he referred to the pageant contestant as a "d u m b b itch " and said her answ er w as the "w orst in pageant history." I w o n d er how H ilto n and other gay righ ts a ctiv ists w o u ld h av e reacted had P rejean e x ­ pressed the exact opposite opinion. W hat would they have said if evangelical leader Jam es D ob­ son cond em ned her to hell and used the sam e co lo rfu l lan g u ag e em p loy ed by H ilto n to d e ­ base her personal opinion? T he w orst part is that M iss C alifornia m ight h a v e w on th e c o n te s t h a d she re s p o n d e d w ith an answ er alon g the lines of th e one M i- ley C yrus offered on H ilto n 's Twitter. In exp li­ cab ly en terin g the fray after the fact, the teen pop star tw eeted , "E v ery o n e d eserves to love and be lo v ed and m ost im p o rta n tly s m ile ." Sou nd s like C yrus is prepped and read y fo r a pageant run of her ow n, though she m ight su f­ fer w hen it com es to the talen t p o rtio n of the com petition. If a n y th in g , H ilto n and th e o th er p a g ean t ju d ges should have respected Prejean for actu ­ ally saying w hat she believed rather than offer­ ing the fluffy "w orld peace and love ev ery on e" type of answ er that has led us to believe in the stereotypes of w om en w ho com pete in beau ty pageants. In an era in w hich so m any people strive to be som eone other than who they are, the ju d g ­ es shou ld h av e ad m ired th e fact th at P rejean stayed true to her beliefs rather than caving u n ­ der the pressu re o f the co m p etitio n . This v ir­ tue, which w as displayed by Miss C aliforn ia, is som ething that can n o t be found in m any p e o ­ ple, much less beauty contestants attem pting to win a crown. H ilton's reaction is not only hypocritical but also illustrative of the type of double standard that I am used to seeing alm ost every day, both nationally on the new s and on cam pus. I have never been able to understand w hy people ask for op en-m inded ness and respect for their opin­ ions but cannot reciprocate the sam e things. Is it really so overw helm ing to ask for the courte- ,sy o f respect despite the fact that our op inions m ay clash? I knoyv it has developed into that annoying, overplayed song on the radio w ith all the atten­ tion it continues to get, but the event htat host­ ed conservative author David H orow itz a cou ­ ple o f w eeks ago is a perfect exam p le o f w hat I am so tired of. Sure, H orow itz is p retty rad ­ ical w hen it com es to his ideas, but th at does not im ply th at the people atten d in g th e event should show him no respect. A t th e v e ry le a s t, th e p r o te s t e r s c o u ld h a v e a llo w e d h im to d e liv e r h is s p e e c h in p e a c e a n d w ith o u t in te r r u p tio n . If h is id eas really w ere so rid icu lo u s, th eir a u d a c­ ity w o u ld h a v e b e e n ta n g ib le e n o u g h fo r th e a u d ie n c e m e m b e rs to d is c e rn th a t fo r them selves. I'm n o t s a y in g th a t you sh o u ld a b a n d o n y ou r ow n op in ions or back d ow n on d isagree­ ing w ith people. But I am sayin g that more re­ sp ect should exist, esp ecially w hen d iscu ssing opposing opinions. Ju st because som eone does not agree w ith you d oes not m ean th at he or she is an id iot or, in M iss C a lifo rn ia 's case, a "d u m b b itch ." Rather, people should respond like the w om ­ an w ho now w ears the Miss USA crow n in Pre­ je a n 's stead. Though she adm itted to being pro sam e-sex m a rriag e , K risten D alton re sp o n d ­ ed to questions regarding M iss C aliforn ia's d i­ v isiv e an sw er by sa y in g , "I respect h er op in ­ ion. The beauty of Am erica is that we all have a right to our ow n op inion. I'm proud of her for speaking from her h eart." If only the ju d ges had been so wise. Earnest is a business junior. Not quite a cat lady By Alisha Brophy Daily Texan Columnist Austin is an incredibly pet-friendly city. Bars alw ays have w ater dishes on their patios, and p arks have leash-free zones. The city 's a cce p ­ tance of animals combined with the huge college population leads to many student pet-owners. It seems everywhere you look there is a Yorkie in a brand-nam e purse or a pug sporting a burnt-or­ ange bandana. But I often Wonder what w ill happen to these novelty pets when a great internship in London op ens or a new love interest has allergies. A s an adolescent, I took up dog training and competed re­ gionally. But when I turned 18 years old and found my ow n p la ce, I realized th a t s h o rt­ term leases and m y short a t­ tention span did n ot m ake a good environm ent for a dog. So I turned to cats, figuring that felines w ere less of a re­ sponsibility. I was wrpng. M y cats have lim ited my life choices. For instance, I would love to join the Peace Corps but can't because my cats aren't willing to build wells and construct schools. But there's a solution for those students w ho love animals but recognize this is not the time in their lives to com mit to a brea tiling entity for the next 12 to 16 years: Become a crazy cat lady. For tw o years I w as a fo ster m om to h o m e­ less cats. I would get a litter of two to seven kit­ tens that w ere plucked from shelters but w ere too young to be adopted. I would give them dai- ly medicine, vaccinate them and, best of all, play with them. They would stay in my care until they weighed enough to be fixed, then they would go hom e to their new family. The nonprofit organi­ zation paid for all the costs, took care of all the paperwork and screened all prospective adoptive parents. So I got to play with kittens, give them aw kw ard nam es (such as "T o a ster") and only com m it to month-long increments. I can hear the collective response — "I could never get that attached to an anim al and then give it up ." I felt the sam e way. The first litter brought me to tears, and I took more pictures of them then I care to admit. But I realized that as long as they w ere in my house, they w ere one of m any "fo ste r k itten s." T h eir new hom es m eant that they would truly have a family. Plus, their adoption meant new kittens for me! Spring is b aby season, and dog and cat rescue groups are alw ays in need of foster fam i­ lies. So take your love for an­ im als and apply it to a collective good w ithout having to jeopardize a future im prom ptu sum ­ m er in Rome. Think of all the benefits: You w on't ever pay v et b ills; you a re n 't su p p ortin g the breeding industry; you are single-handedly sav­ ing cute, furry lives; and if you take a foster pup­ py to a park to find a date, you'll get bonus points for your volunteerism. I urge you to become your local "cat lady." I'll leave the "crazy " superlative up to you. Brophy is a screenwriting graduate student. I urge you to become your local "cat lady" I'll leave the "crazy" superlative up to you. Wednesday, April 29 2009 LOCAL: Center working with admin to plant veggie garden at UT From page 1 grow a w ide variety ot pro­ duce, herbs and flowers said Jessica Guffey, the director of G ro w Local, a branch of the Sustainable Food Center. The center w o rks clo sely w ith com m unity gardens to edu­ cate citizens about the ins and outs of gardening and how to start a community garden. "A t this point in m y life, 1 would love to have a garden, but I'm not at a place where I can own a house," said Natalie London, the Alamo Comm uni­ ty Garden's new-member cixir- dinator. "It's really nice to have one location where ydu can build [a garden] and have those benefits and those long-term commitments of a garden." The Alam o garden has 25 plots where more than 40 peo­ ple grow everything from cu­ cumbers and green beans to rosemary and oregano A full 20-by-20 grow ing area costs $50 per year to rent and a half­ plot costs $30 per year. "It's really nice to have one location where you can build [a garden] and have those benefits and those long-term commitments of a garden." — Natalie London, Alamo Community Garden new-member coordinator The Cam pus Environm en­ tal Center is working with the U T adm inistration to start a vegetable garden on campus The group maintains a native plants garden, rose garden and planter near the Harry Ransom Center, where it grows rose­ mary' and agave, said chemical engineering senior Stacey Lou­ ie, co-chairwoman of the gar­ dening committee. Louie said m any students have approached the e n v i­ ronmental group about start­ ing an edible garden but that the bug sprays and pesticides used on campus would make the food dangerous to eat. The environm ental group is pushing for control over tw o g arden s that w ill be planted around the new Stu­ dent A ctivity Center, which is currentlv under construction, Bintliff said Bintliff said the biggest bar­ rier for students w ho want to start a garden is space. Be­ cause m any students live in dormitories or apartments, an on-campus garden could pro­ vide the only opportunity to grow their own food. Sam Moore, assistant man­ ager at Shoal Creek Nursery, said that limited space should not prevent students from ex­ perimenting w ith home grow­ ing. For about $25, M oore said, students can grow toma­ toes, oregano, peppers, egg­ plant and herbs in basic pots on their apartment balconies. Moore said the nursery has seen a 10 to 15 percent in­ crease in herb and vegetable sales since this time last year. Natural Gardener manager Lyda Guz said her gardening center has doubled its seed and compost from last year. G uz said a 4-by-4 garden would cost about $60 to start, including the compost, soil ad­ ditives and seeds. She suggest­ ed making compost by throw­ ing kitchen scraps, leaves and plant clippings in a pile for about two months, stirring it weekly and keeping it moist. "T h e best com post in the w o rld is w hat you make at home," Guz said. D r i v e n u p t h e w a l l ieorge Willett, > student issistant for he Division of Recreational iports, jractices ock climbing it Gregory Symnasium >n Tuesday ifternoon. Elizabeth Moskow itz Daily Texan Staff Austin Community College student Tina Louise Stokes takes notes during the debate "Was Darwin Wrong?" at Gregory Gymnasium on Ti evening. E lizabeth Moskowitz^! Daily Texan St< Creationists, evolutionists debate theories By Melissa Pan Daily Texan Staff Against a backdrop of space, Hugh Ross presented a creationist model of the universe to both reli­ gious and non-religious audience members. The department of biomedical engineering sponsored a debate on Tuesday evening in Gregory G ym nasium between creation­ ist scholars and evolutionary ex­ perts. The Austin chapter of the C h ristia n th in k tank Reasons to Believe conducted the event. The Atheist Com m unity of Aus­ tin and the C hristian organiza­ tion H ill House co-sponsored the event. Ross, founder and president of Reasons to Believe, created a pre­ sentation to illustrate the organi­ zation's creationist model of the universe. The existence of "fine-tuned" and "just-right" space features and Earth's features provide evi­ dence for a creator, Ross said. In his presentation he cited statistics, phenomena and the interpretation of Bible passages. "W e 'r e p re se n tin g a p o s i­ tiv e case of cre a tio n ism ," he said. "W e 're not trying to bash evolution." Fazale Rana, vice president of research and apologetics at Rea­ sons to Believe, gave a detailed presentation on biochemical sys­ tems, genetics and early life. Gene expression in brain tis­ sue is unique in humans and dif­ ferent from chim ps — evidence for the theory of creationism , Rana said. M ichael Shermer, executive d i­ rector of the Skeptics Society’, pre­ sented what he called logical falla­ cies against the argument for cre­ ationism and also cited religious literature. "Ross is picking and choosing biblical passages after he knows w hat the evidence is," Sherm er said, "the Bible is a book of mv- thology and history, and peo­ ple w ill misunderstand The Bible if they interpret it the w ay Ross does." D uring a technology snag at the beginning of his presenta­ tion, Shermer told the audience to stand up and stretch. "Y o u m ay h ave heard some nonsense tonight, and I'm set to disprove that nonsense," he said. Som e students at the debate supported evolution as the correct model of the universe and the or­ igins of life. "Creationism relies p rim arily on belief in a creator, and that's silly," said philosophy senior Ste­ ven Warren. Som e stu d e n ts c o u n te re d w ith cre atio n ist b eliefs based on religion. "I p erso n ally b elieve in d i­ vine in te rven tio n ," said E liz a ­ beth Benedict, a biology and al­ lied health professions freshman. " I hope to get better w ays to de­ fend what I believe in." In response to Sherm er ask­ ing whether people w ould give up their Christian faith if the cre­ ation model presented by Reasons to Believe was disproved, several people yelled "no." " I b elieve that answ ers m y question," Shermer said. New gadgets could change teaching At showcase, devices on display exhibit future of higher-ed electronics By Nehal Patel Daily Texan Staff W ith a plethora of new tech­ nological devices debuting ev­ ery day, determ ining which de­ vices are suitable for a teaching environment can be difficult. "1 think that alm ost 99 per­ cent of new instruments can't be used in education," said Susan­ na H erndon, director of Tech­ nology Enhanced Learning in U T 's D ivisio n of In stru ctio n ­ al Innovation and Assessment. "W e look at the 1 percent that can and see how it can be useful on campus." Several em erging technolo­ gies that could change conven­ tional methods of teaching at the college level were exhibited at the See and Touch Technology Showcase, which was part of the In n o vative Instructional Tech­ nology Awards Program hosted by the division Tuesday. The m obile ongoing course assessment, or M O C A , is a pro­ gram that gives instructors an online tool for getting prom pt Student feedback through polls, surveys and quizzes. A n y de­ vice w ith brow ser capabilities — in clu d in g the iPhone and laptops — can use the program to respond to questions posed by instructors. "The main benefit of M O C A is convenience," said Francis M cG rath, senior systems ana­ lyst for the division. "So many students already have phones or devices w ith brow sers, so M O C A w ill elim inate the need to use different clicker devices in different classes." The program w ill be tested in the summ er and ready for use by the fall, M cGrath said. A nother new program d is­ p layed w as Second L ife de­ signed for universities, offering a 3-D virtu a l w o rld built and owned by its users. In the pro­ gram, users "encounter digital continents affording venues for entertainm ent, educational ex­ periences and com m ercial op­ portunities," according to the di­ vision's Web site. Several new and familiar gad­ gets that w'ere on display could "replace the use of a normal lap­ top computer," said Keene Hay- w'ood, the division's manager of new media. A m icroprojector that con­ nects to an iPhone, iPod touch and digital cameras to project a 6Ü-inch image w'ould "be very handy for small groups to watch vid eo s and d isp la y im ages," Haywood said. The Livescribe Pulse D igital Sm artpen could alter note-tak­ ing, H ayw o o d said. The pen creates digital copies of every­ thing w ritten , can record au­ dio and uploads the data to a computer, which could then ar­ chive the notes and make them searchable. If the K in d le, an electron­ ic reading device manufactured by Amazon, started to offer elec­ tronic textbooks, it w ould be more convenient to carry instead of normal textbooks, he said. O ther devices on display in­ cluded handheld video cameras and iPods. "The only thing missing from this collection is a netbook, which is basically a smaller, low-pow­ ered form of a laptop," he said. "Although all of these items may be expensive, their total value would still be less than that of a traditional laptop." Come see why Dobie was voted UTmost Off Campus Dorm. AS you have to do is go to www.dobiecent^r^ m and RSVR Click on the contact sectk>n' provi £ your "ame'- current UT address and write "free meal" in the message be received b y noon on Friday, M a y 1st. Please bring along your UT ID to gain entrance. 6 Wednesday, April 29, 2009 Lif e & A rts Tin 0 vii \ T i v i ' Life&Arts Editor: Ana Me Renzie E-mail: hfeandarts@dailytexanonline com Phone: (512 232 2209 www.dailytexanonline.com Austin City Limits 2009 lineup announced Talk show chat stirs a buzz about vibrator use A few w ee k s a g o , I h a p ­ p en e d to w atch "T he O p ra h W infrey Show ," a n d to m y surprise, O prah w as not giv ­ ing aw ay 500 b ran d new cars or incredibly unnecessary bath products. Instead, she w as d is­ cussing teen sexuality. W hile m ost of w h a t O p ra h and Dr. Laura Berman, Oprah, corn's re sid e n t se x p e rt, d is ­ cussed d u rin g the show w as fairly irrelevant to a college- ag ed cro w d , one insight d id sta n d o u t as g erm an e to the UT dem ographic. W infrey openly su p p o rte d B e rm an 's co n tro v ersial s u g ­ gestion th a t m others ed u cate th e ir te e n d a u g h te r s a b o u t m a s tu rb a tio n a n d ev en e n ­ courage them to use vibrators as soon as they becom e inter­ ested in sex. W hat is im portant here is n o t so m uch that W in­ frey endorses these things, but w h y she endorses them. "For m e ... teaching [teen­ a g e g irls] a b o u t th e ir o w n bodies an d [about] pleasuring them selves [encourages them to take] the reins of their ow n sex u ality so they d o n 't ev er h av e to d ep e n d o n a teenage b o y ... u n til th e y 'r e ready," Berman explained as W infrey nodded in agreem ent. It's the sexual self-empower­ m ent implicit in a young w om ­ an's use of a vibrator that Win­ frey supports. A nd the em pow ­ erm ent aspect is w h at m akes this conversation just as im por­ tant for university students as for the teenagers it was intend­ ed to help on Winfrey's show. D epending on w hich crow d you're in, a college-aged w o m ­ an pleasuring herself w ith a vi­ brator is anything from an old- h a t m asturbation technique to a taboo an d sham eful activity. H o w e v e r y o u feel a b o u t th e use of sex toys, they are gaining acceptance and p o p ­ ularity at a high rate. Fof ex­ am ple, S w edish sex toy com ­ pany LELO has seen a nearly 200 percent annual increase in sales revenue for the last few years. A nd unlike alm ost any o th e r sp e c ia lty m a rk e t, th e sex-toy in d u stry h as becom e even m ore successful d u rin g the current recession. An open dialogue about the use of vibrators and dildos is com m on in such m agazines as C osm opolitan a n d show s as "Sex and the C ity" and "D es­ perate Housewives. And I think w e can all remember the media stir after Barbara Walters raved about v ibrators on "The View" earlier this year as "a necessity." But w h e n th is d ia lo g u e takesfplace, it is alm ost alw ays behind closed doors. The m e­ d ia p o rtra y s sex toys as "for w o m e n only," a n d u su a lly these w o m an a re single, old and fairly desperate. In fact, only a year ago, the sale of d ild o s a n d o th er sex toys w as illegal in Texas. These products had to be m arketed as "educational m odels" or "per­ sonal massagers," and em ploy­ ees at sex toy boutiques w ere n o t allow ed to discuss o r in­ struct potential buyers on their noneducational uses. The reality is th a t sex toys are n o t ju st silly p la y th in g s for people w ho ca n 't get laid: T hey a re to o ls — to o ls for self-experim entation, tools for m a stu rb a tio n a n d tools that can greatly im prove orgasm ic sa tisfa c tio n d u r in g sex, for both m en and w om en. In the m onth sin ce W in­ frey proposed that m others encourage their daughters to use a vibrator instead of find­ ing som e teenage boy to get them off, the Federal C om ­ munications Com m ission has received more than 1300 writ­ ten complaints about the epi­ sode. But maybe the ideas that sparked all of the controversy HUMP continues on page 7 Sunshine Cantu Hula-hoops at Austin C ity Limits, whose 2009 lineup was announced Tuesday. Dave Matthews Band, Kings of Leon and the Beastie Boys were am ong some o f the surprise perform ers w h o will jo in , am ong others, Pearl Jam, Ben Harper, Relentless7 and Th ievery Corporation ___ _______ ____ _______________ ______ __________ „ ... ■■■'-, , ü - ü • - - - v ■■ III ■■■ May-Ying Lam ¡ Daily Texan Staff Old, new to please fans ol all genres; 1 )ave M atthews Band, Kings o! Leon am ong surprises By Raquel Villarreal Daily Texan Staff The w eekend of the Austin City Limits Music Festival is a weekend of its own, separated from the rest by a rush of peo­ ple and excitement gathered at Zilker Park to watch a m yri­ ad of bands rock the city. Even before the 2009 lineup w as re­ leased yesterday, it w as w ell- known that Pearl Jam and Son­ ic Youth were going to be in the mix. But yesterday's announce­ ment of Dave Matthews Band and the Beastie Boys as addi­ tional headliners caused a few gasps and m any sighs. These b and s m ay seem like dated choices, but they fall in line w ith Lollapalooza's choice of Tool and Beastie Boys as head­ liners. N oneth eless, the lin e ­ up revealed m any surprises as w ell as a variety of m u si­ cal genres for all m usic-loving crowds to enjoy. One of the surprises in the lineup is Kings of Leon. The b and 's p op u la rity has b een spreading like wildfire across the w orld and is a d efin ite must-see on this occasion. A n­ other favorite pick is Thievery Corporation, a duo that makes outstanding ambient, chill-out music and has a knack for la­ beling its album s with really cool titles like 2004's The Out- ernational Sound or its latest re­ lease, Radio Retaliation. Believe it or not, The B-52s are also playing a show at the festival, following the release of A few recommendations Below is an breakdown of a few bands and their genres. If you don'f think you fit into any of these categories, fear not: With at least five different bands playing at the same time throughout the three da) s, you're bound to find a sound that attracts you. • For the grunge, punle-progressive rock crowd: Pearl Jam, Ghostland Observatory, Flog ging Mollv, Arctic Monkeys, Coheed and Cam­ bria, The Dead Weather • For the Americana, folksy crowd: Citizen Cope, The Levon, Helm Band, Avett Brothers • For the DJ crowd: Bassnectar • For the acoustic-rock-out crowd- Kings of Leon, Lily Allen, Tire Decemberists, Bon Iver, Dave Matthews Band, Ben Harper and Relentless7 • For the sexy, chill-out crowd: John Legend, Andrew Bird, Medeski Martin & Wood, Thiev­ ery Corporation • For the hip-hop crowd: Beastie Boys, Mos Def its latest album last year. Watch out for the hairdos! If you want to dance, Girl Talk is where it's at. This crazy dude often invites people on stage when he plays smaller venues, so it'll be fun to see if he gets people dancing in public to re­ mixes of old-time classic faves. Don't m iss your chance to listen to Here We Go Magic live and say you heard them when they were still up-and-coming. They've recently gotten a lot of exposure touring with Grizzly Bear, which w ill also be at ACL to grab people's attention with its harmonic choruses and at­ mospheric sound. It'll be interesting to see Thq Decem berists live. They'll fit perfectly w ith the indie vibe. BANDS continues on page 7 Fischerspooner duo returns in the name ot Entertainment,’ bats By Elaine Wang Daily Texan Staff C asey Spooner w ants to see bats. Yps, this half of the Fischer­ spooner duo wants to see the fa­ mous Austin bats under the Con­ gress A venue Bridge. Back in 2003, Fischerspooner pulled in a great audience in A ustin — but alas, no bats. Maybe he'll have better luck this time. On May 16, Fischerspooner, consisting of Warren Fischer and Spooner, will be back in town at La Zona Rosa to promote their latest album Entertainment, the band's third following #1 and Odyssey. W hile w orking on E ntertain­ ment, Spooner also worked with the renowned experimental the­ ater troupe The Wooster Group in its recent production of "Ham­ let." But this w as not a tradition­ al Shakespearian rendition of the classic text. Instead, this w as a performance based on another performance. The Wooster Group's "Hamlet" tried to duplicate the 1964 perfor­ mance of "Hamlet" with Richard Burton but with different actors: Spooner was Laertes. "W hen w e w er e ... in the DUO continues on page 7 TRAVESTY TV TEXAS STUDENT T E L E V IS IO N SHORT FILM FESTIVAL this thursday, may 30th, 8 p.m G rand prize: 8 Top 3 w ill receive prizes and . at spider house (2908 truth st.) GB iPod Touich have short film shown on cable _ . , < • . . . .* celebrity guest judges JOHN ERLER of master pancake theater BERNIE BURNS of red vs. blue Accepting entries through 5 PM TONIGHT, April 29th. Drop off your funny film no longer than 7 minutes at the HSM (form erly CMC) desk on DVD or data CD, or upload it as a Quicklime on the Transfer Server and notify Manager@TexasStudentTV.com. ■ ñ C am pus C o m p u ter S to re of ITS at In* Ufthfeniiy oí Temí at AvstM, to enter FREE FREE to attend I TEXAS STUDENT k MEDIA i Wednesday, April 29, 2009 ,11 K & \ A Polaroid trip down memory lane By Emily Macrander Daily Texan Staff The picture can't be gone. D riving home from Studio2Gal- lery on Tuesday, the thought con­ stantly repeated in m y mind. The picture can't be gone. It's a picture of tw o little girls, both blonde and about 3 years old, caught in a tight hug. It's a sunny day. Parents stand in the backyard, cradling a couple o f beers. I w o ve through traffic as the rain kept com ing. If I d id n 't get back to m y apartm ent to look for it from closet to bathroom, the pic­ ture w ould for sure be gone. " I f th at p ic tu re is g o n e ," I thought, "th en that lo ve ly after­ noon, and one of the more inno­ cent m om ents of m y life w o u ld also be gone." I don't remember the afternoon the Polaroid w as taken. I don't re­ member w hat caused m y 3-year- old self to hug m y best friend or w h y her m other captured it on film . M y fa m ily som ehow got hold of the picture and pinned it to the bulletin board in our kitch­ en, where it stayed for years. The scenery around it changed, but there was alw ays that sunny day I shared w ith m y best friend. I hadn't thought about that picture in about a year, but local art gallery ow ner Tina Weitz and her latest show, Pas­ sion for Polaroid II, reminded me of m y tiny, lost treasure. A few years ago, Polaroid an­ nounced that its device w as no lo n g e r p ro fita b le . C u sto m ers now w ant instant and digital. To­ day, the film is rarely sold in m a­ jor stores, and the cameras can of­ ten only be found at garage sales. Fans of the film as w ell as artists are buying out supplies, scared to think of w h at w ill happen w hen it's all gone. Weitz, a self-proclaimed Polaroid fanatic, recognizes a growing trend among artists and photographers to nurture the dying medium. She has invited artists for the past three years to disp lay their Polaroid art at a show she sponsors. This week­ end w as the opening of Passion for Polaroid II, w hich features 18 artists from around the country. y Courtesy of Studio2Gallery Tina Weitz's Passion for Polaroid II exhibit showcases the photographs country in honor of the increasingly elusive medium. of 18 artists from around the g allery on N . Lam ar Bou levard , I w as surprised b y w h at artists can do w ith those 3-inch squares. M an y w ere blow n up, some were transferred onto other m edium s and others had th eir color p u r­ posely distorted. D espite the ap­ parent randomness, all were linked by the common thread: They were once a tiny photo, like mine, print­ ed out of an unsophisticated point and shoot Polaroid camera. session through three d ifferen t homes, and then last year I took it w ith me to m y dorm , w here it hung on a new b u lle tin board. W hen I m oved again this year, it got shuffled into o b livion . A n d , m uch to m y d isa p p o in tm e n t, w hen I returned hom e from the Polaroid show, I couldn't find it. Weitz said that w ith proper han­ d lin g , a P o la ro id p icture w o n 't fade for 20 years, so if I ever find it, I should have three m ore un- distorted years w ith m y captured m em ory. Bu t for the tim e being, m y photo, like the film that creat­ ed it, is gone. P o la ro id film is n 't outdated. Though m y digital camera's mem­ ory card is less cumbersome than the clunky photo machines, I m an­ aged to keep a Polaroid picture for almost two decades. W herever it is, m y photo, like the memory it cap­ tured, w ill stand the test of time. Passion for Polaroid II ends May 30. T h e D a il y T e x a n W alking through the neat w hite M y picture remained in m y pos­ BANDS: Eclectic mix to play ACL From page 6 Plu s, the b a n d 's use of long- lasting, em aeatin g cello s w ill be in te re s tin g to h ear in an open space lik e Z ilk e r Park . T he v io lin s o f A n d re w B ird w ill also add a certain charm to the eclectic buzz in the park, and D e v o tc h k a w ill m y s ti­ fy w ith its b rand of rare in ­ strum ents and cross-genre ap­ proach to m usic. A u s tin 's o w n G h o s tla n d O b se rvato ry returns this year to shoot out neon beam s and lig h t up the nig ht. Ja c k from the W h ite Strip es is back w ith a n e w e n sem b le, T h e D ead W eather, w h ich w ill be w orth seeing. W h ite has p a ire d up w ith T he K ills ' A liso n Moss- hart and Q ueens of the Stone A ge's Dean Fertita to create this supergroup, w h ich is set to re­ lease its album on June 9. DUO: Theater inspires latest album From page 6 m id dle of releasing Odyssey, I had a really huge urge to recon­ nect w ith m y ow n artistic com­ m unity, the original kin d ," said Spooner, w ho started off his pro­ fessional career as an experimen­ tal theater performer. H e w ent to a W ooster Group sh o w and m et the d ire cto r, Elizabeth LeCom pte. She glad­ ly hired him , and he started re­ hearsing fo r "H a m le t" in N o ­ vem ber 2005. The show official­ ly prem iered at the Public The­ ater in N e w York C ity in Sep ­ tem ber 2007. Spooner says his w ork w ith The W ooster G roup also influenced Entertainmmt. "T h e show is a return to ex­ perim ental th eater," Spoon er said. "It's not a traditional m u­ sic perform ance, [it's] more re­ lated to painting and sculpture, like a visual interpretation, than trying to re-create w hat w as in the studio." The result? Fischerspooner's m ixing of perform ance art and m usic can best be described to those un fam iliar w ith its w ork as a kind of real-life "Fantasia." This is w hat makes Entertain­ ment so hard to review. There's no d enying the m usic is excel­ lent, a perfect glam -rock, ret- ro-electropop m ix th at is so, so yum m y. Listen ers that just w ant danceable m usic w ill not be d isap p o in ted . Bu t to tru ly get the full experience of Enter­ tainment, real fans w ill have no choice but to attend the band's concert to absorb it from all d i­ rections, not just audibly. W h en asked w here Spooner absolutely w anted to tour En­ tertainment (besides A u stin ), he im m ediately said Japan. "B u t it's difficult to get to be­ cause it's so expensive," he said. "W e thought w e w o u ld go on Odyssey, but w e didn’t make it." S till, there's talk of possible travel to Japan on this tour, and if that doesn't w ork out, at least h e'll still see some bats. Entertainm ent will be released May 5, and Fischerspootier will be in concert on May 16 at La Zona Rosa. HUMP: Toys allow for sexual liberty From page 6 were really getting at something. Sex toys a llo w people to be sexual as in d ivid u a ls first, lo v ­ ers later. W h ile this m ay sound a little off-putting, it has the po­ tential to be em pow ering. Sex toys offer people an ou tlet to en jo y th e ir bodies w ith o u t a partner. A n d w ith a partner, the possibilities for increased plea­ sure w hen using a toy as an aid are alm ost endless. A D V E R T IS IN G T E R M S Th e re are no re fu n d s or c re d its In the event of e rro rs m ade in ad vertise m e n t, notice m u st be give n by 10 am the first d a y of publication, a s the pub lis h e rs are re sp o n sib le for on ly O N E in c o rre c t in se rtio n In c o n sid e ra tio n of The Daily Texa n's ac ce p ta n c e of a d ve rtisin g c opy for p ub lication, the a ge n cy and the ad vertise r will in de m n ify and sa v e h a im le s s, T e xas S tu d e n t M e d ia and its officers, e m p lo y e e s and a g e n ts a g a in st all loss, liability, d am age an d e x p e n se of w h a t so e v e r n atu re a risin g out of the c o p y in g, printing or p ub lish in g of its a d ve rtise m e n t in clu d in g w ith out lim itation rea so n ab le a t to rn e y 's fees re su ltin g from c la im s o f su its for libel, violation o f righ t of p rivacy, p lagiarism a n d c o p y rig h t an d tradem ark in frin ge m e nt A ll ad c o p y m ust be ap prove d by the n e w sp a p e r w h ic h r e s e r v e s the right to re q u e st c h a n g e s, reject or p ro p e rly c la s s ify an ad The advertise r, and not the n ew sp ape r, is re sp o n s ib le fo r the truthful c onte nt of the ad A d v e rtis in g is also s u b ie c tt o credit ap pro val I EE3Ü3BB1 |4 2 0 Unf. 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Accounting experi­ ence or classes a plus. Flex hours, $11 PT, $12- $12.50 FT. Apply now: Law yersA id Service.com B y D A V ID O U E L L E T HOW TO W AY: AD the words listed below appear in Die |>uzzlr — horizon- tally, vertically, diagonally, iw n backward Find them and C D tC lJE TIIKIR U T T K K S ONLY. DO NOT C IR C U Í THF W< >Kn. Hk- k-fu>v«-r letters ^jefl the Wonderword LONG-DISTANCE RELATIONSHIPS Solution: 8 letter» p B E ( D L C S F S S T S U R T E A (0) L L E A Y E U D C A R D E (S) R O P M V R A N C H N 1 A N O T 1 U U A E D F O L L 1 T 0 O L N T O S R G 1 O F A L E 1 Y H C E T C U T S L B U Y C T M 1 P 1 R N A M 1 S 0 G R N A P E F E D C A M E L T H A A S 0 E A A 1 1 P N lM O E M T L R N T T N N 0 C V A V X 1 i A E 1 1 U T R E A D 1 E T W I B V O M A T E E M L L S N R 1 E N M 1 A D V 1 C E S 1 1 1 M C 0 N N E C T 1 O N G 1 F T S c C T R A P A R E N T S G E 8 4/29 O 2009 UrnvwMl P r w SyndKMe www.wond9rwwa.oom Absence, Advice, Apart, Balance, Benefits, Busy, Card, Care, Close, Communication Connection. Conversation, Coupie Cre­ ative, Daily, E-mails. Family, Focus. Foundation, Gifts, Holidays, Important, Laugh, Life, live, Love. Maintain Meet. Military, Par­ ents. Pawner. Phone. Pictures. Read, School. Send, Solid. Text, Time, Travel, Trust, Visits. Write Yesterday’s Answer WildMfe 8 — - ^ g g = = = = = = = BE THE FIRST TO SEE THEM AT REGAL CINEMAS! X - M E N O R I G I N S WOLVERINE MIDNIGHT 4.30.09 www REGmovievcom 7 PM 5.07.09 Comics ■ »■■== D A IL Y T E X A N C O M I C S Wednesday, April 29, 2009 SUDOKUFORYOU 9 8 7 3 6 4 2 7 6 9 5 2 1 7 8 5 9 7 5 2 4 7 8 4 4 9 1 3 2 5 9 5 4 6 7 1 8 2 3 7 2 3 8 5 9 4 6 1 8 6 1 2 4 3 7 9 5 6 7 2 1 8 5 9 3 4 3 8 9 4 6 7 1 5 2 1 4 5 9 3 2 6 8 7 4 9 7 5 2 8 3 1 6 2 3 8 7 1 6 5 4 9 5 1 6 3 9 4 2 7 8 This Just In to s U^ocAApJLyUjuJXih i# annara. 9 y : ; Lj«f X a r ^ t f t W > if ¿ Z & fi^ a l a P f r b n _ £ * a i . / c lo (Mu,- ^ 1 ' b ) K O i . f i h i t o 7 f h t v ’ £ c ^ b a t h I u3)3 J°6 # Q b u t t 0ms head into the NCAA tournament as a well-respected underdog: Texas did not gamer one of the top seeds it is so accustomed to having. Texas reached the finals of the Big 12 tournament, losing to No. 4 Baylor, and begins its quest for a ^olid NCAA run May 8 in Berkeley, Calif. Texas first takes on No. 41 Pepperdine, a team that was 13-11 on the season in the West Coast I onference The Waves earned an automatic berth in the 64-team tournament by winning their conference tournament. It the Horns win, thev will take on either Long Island or No. 8 California. Texas was scheduled to face California earlier this season in a highly touted nonconference matchup, but impending rain canceled the match. went slightly better for the Texas men. Texas is the overall No. 12 seed after finishing the season 19-6. but it is still going to be a long, windy road if the Longhorns hope to repeat last season's improbable run to the fi­ nals of the NCAA tournament. Texas plays May 8 against Sacred Heart, which won its first-ever Northeast Conference championship after finishing the season 14-8. The Longhorns reached the Big 12 tourna­ ment finals, losing a thriller to Baylor, 4-3. Austin is the host site for the Horns, Sacred Heart, Washington and Texas Tech. If the Horns make it out of the Austin regional, they will most likely face overall No. 5 Tennessee. — R ishi Daulat Paul C h o u y | D aily Texan Staff M EN 'S GOLF Big 12 title out of Horns’ reach By M atthew Searcy Daily Texan Staff R em em ber w hen sports were played just for fun and w inning and losing d id n 't matter? That is kind of the situa­ tion the UT men's golf team in after three rounds of play at the Big 12 championships in Hutchinson, Kan. W ith o n ly o n e m o re ro u n d to play, th e L on g­ h o rn s find them selv es in 11th place, ahead of Okla­ hom a. This lackluster p er­ fo rm a n c e h as p ro m p te d head coach John Fields to try to take the pressure off of his team. "I'm d is a p p o in te d for them , and I know they are hav in g a tough tim e w ith this," Fields said. "W hat we have to do right now is dif­ fuse the pressure and have these guys go out and play, e n jo y th e ro u n d [to d ay ] and take w hat com es after that." The Horns will try to take the advice to heart, as they have no chance of catching Oklahoma State, which cur­ rently leads the tournam ent at 28-over par. The two-time defending cham pion Cow ­ boys have built up a seem ­ ingly insurm ountable lead over the H orns, w ho have a 54-hole score of 74-over par. The H orns' lowest scorer at this point is freshman Dy­ lan Frittelli, who is tied for 20th place at 16-over par for the tournam ent Fields had h o p e d th a t Frittelli could have made a run at the indi­ vidual title with low rounds TWITTER: Rangers’Wilson struggles, Tweets a laugh From page 10 in a sling. Since then, he's kept his 700,000- p lu s follow ers in the loop, let-* ting them know w hen he's going against doctors' orders by riding (He does it often-probably not the best idea.) and when he's picking up his kids from school. More interestingly, he has post­ ed w here he'll be having lunch or dinner a couple of times (He w as at Hula H ut last week.). It's only a m atter of time before poor Lance is ambushed by a throng of BlackBerry-toting autograph seek­ ers while enjoying some Kerbey queso. Let's hope his collarbone makes it through intact. Mark Cuban twitter.com/mcuban W hen h e 's not b a sh ­ ing NBA refs on his blog, the ren­ egade Dallas M avericks ow ner throw s dow n som e su rp risin g ­ ly insightful Tweets. He has a soft spot for posts about the potential of Web sites like Twitter and Face- book and often invites followers to weigh in with their thoughts. And having made his millions in the software industry in the 1990s, C uban can 't shake the desire to p o st an y th in g and every th in g tech-related. He's a true tech nerd at heart. Oh, but he does devote plen­ ty of characters to the M avs — ref-bashing included. The king of NBA fines had to pay $25,000 for a Tweet about questionable calls in a Mavericks-Nuggets game. As C uban put it, "C an't say no one makes money from Twitter now. The NBA does." Barry Zito twitter.com/BarryZito If I d id n 't know better, I would think Zito is an aspiring m usician bum m ing around the Bay Area rather than the San Fran­ cisco Giants "ace" w ho signed the highest-paying contract for a start­ ing pitcher in history two years ago. A lthough Zito has struggled since landing in San Francisco (22- 32 record in a little more than two seasons), he has m aintained his quirkv personality. He feels rights at home in the Twitter universe, Tweeting about his love of Radio­ head and Jam iroquai and about w atching the sun set w ith best b u d and form er team m ate Eric Byrnes. He caught some flak from the blogosphere for that one. Then he upped the ante: "just Sang by mes* a ballad and he got em otional, now he's scowling at me for tweating [sic] this." Without Twitter, this beautiful m om ent would have never been known. We are not worthy. C.J. Wilson twitter.com/str8edgeracer The most intriguing as­ pect of following athletes on Twit­ ter is seeing how they react af­ ter losses and poor perform anc­ es. With Wilson, the set-up pitch­ er for the Texas Rangers, these are common occurrences. D espite a rocky sta rt to the season (1-2 record w ith a 6.52 ERA in 11 games), Wilson m ain­ tains a rosy outlook m ost of the time. O ther times, not so much. A fter blow ing a lead at D etroit on April 12, he quoted hip-hop a rtist S haw ty Lo by Tw eeting, "'b ig u p s to all my haterzzzzz' h a h a ." G ood to see th a t W il­ son can still chuckle after giv­ ing up three runs in a third of an inning. Kevin Youkilis' beard twitter.com/beardoftruth K evin Y o u k ilis is a sig h t to be seen. Sure, he has som e of the best eyes in base­ ball and is hitting .414 through 19 games, but the real key to the bald-headed Red Sox first base­ m an 's allure is his m agnificent beard. A nd now , it sp e a k s ... er, Tweets. If I can give you one reason to join Twitter, it's to receive the hi­ larious insights from Youk's beard. His burly chin hair has dubbed Ja­ coby Ellsbury a "tim e-traveling w izard" after he stole hom e last w eekend, accused Chuck Norris of dyeing his beard red and pro­ claimed its love of bearded idols ZZ Top. This Tweet abo ut sum s it up: "Let this be a lesson to you kids, johnny Damon is w hat happens w hen you lose your m ind and shave your beard." You can thank me later at tivitter.com/bhurtik. Nancy Rosenthal ¡ D ally Texan Staff Texas g o lfe r D on a ld C o n sta b le takes a sw ing at the M o rris W illia m s In tercollegiate o n M arch 31. C o n sta b le and th e Lon g h o rn s fin d th e m selve s in a h o le after tw o days at the Big 12 ch a m p io n sh ip s. Tuesday and today, but after an 8-over round on Tuesday, his best shot now is a top-10 finish. "W e're h av in g a toug h time getting it together, and it shows," Fields said. "D y­ lan Frittelli has played pret­ ty solid golf. 1 know this course, and I know it's an education out there. We've been fortunate to have won here in the past. All I can ask is that these guys give it their best." The fourth and final round of the tournament concludes today. BLOWOUT: Lussons perfect night leads Horns offense in win From page 10 (2-0), w ho threw five innings, allow ing no runs on three hits while striking out two. "I think from the pitching side, Stayton Thomas was the story," G arrido said. "He came in and gave us more innings than we an­ ticipated he'd be able to do, and he got better as he went along." After five innings, pitching coach Skip Johnson m ade the decision to take T hom as out while he was on top. "I'm glad coach Johnson took him out at a time when he had been successful," Garrido said. "S o m etim es you p u s h th a t pitcher one more inning, and then he has a tough inning, and it makes the whole thing not as valuable to his confidence." The Longhorns broke through the ice Tuesday and regained w hat seem ed to be lost confi­ dence from their past 0-3-1 week. "This win boosts our confidence up so high," Lusson said. "We needed a big win and we got it." "It was a heck of a way to respond to this weekend's adversity." — Augie Garrido, Texas head coach S ports T he D aii.\ T e x a s Sports Editor: David R Herw E-mail: sports@ dailytexanonline com Phone: (512) 232 2 210 www.da i lytexa nonli ne.com TEXAS 12 TEXAS STATE 2 10 Wednesday, April 29, 2009 WOMEN’S GOLF Health puts golfer off green, but not team By Matthew Hohner Daily Texan Staff When one door closes, another opens. T h at's w hat Texas senior M eredith M cM ahan found after her dream of playing collegiate and pro­ fessional golf faded away before she even arrived at Texas her freshman year. McMahan has never played a stroke for the Long­ horns due to health issues. But sh e's supported the team through what she calls a "cheerleading role." "M eredith has been such an asset to our program, even if her contributions haven't been m easured in strokes on the golf course," said w om en's head golf coach Martha Richards. Her teammates look to her for inspiration. "She is a w onderful person," said senior Kelley Louth. "She's the type of person you can alw ays turn to when you need help or someone to talk to. She al­ w ays has a smile on her face." M cM ahan suffers from Rheum atoid arthritis, an autoim m une d isease that causes chronic inflamma­ tion of the joints. It can also cause inflammation of the ti -sue around the joints, a s well a s in other organs in the body The cause of the disease is unknown. Though McM ahan never lets her disease get the best of her, she can still vividly recall the night she first felt the sym ptom s. "I starting getting sym ptom s du ring m y senior year," McM ahan said. "I woke up in the m iddle of the night during one of the biggest tournaments of m y life. M y right wrist w as swollen like a balloon, and 1 felt really warm . I couldn't w rap my fingers around the club." During her first semester at Texas, there were days during which McM ahan w as in so much pain that she couldn't even get out of bed to go to class. She redshirted her freshman year to try to rehab, but af­ ter two years of not seeing any sig n s of im prove­ ment, McMahan had to give up the sport. "I'd golfed my whole life until a couple years ago, and I m iss it a bunch," she said. "It's gotten bad my senior year, and it's starting to hit me that m y four years are up. It's been more emotional this year." But her struggles, it seem s, have only m ade her stronger. "[Despite] all of the stuff she has to deal with, she's upbeat and has positive energy," Louth said. "You feel like a better person when you're around her." Her team m ate and best friend Caney H ines has seen McMahan's illness firsthand. The two attended Reagan High Schixd in San Antonio and have shared their passion for golf since their freshman year there. "S h e 's very stron g-m in ded," H in es said . "I'v e never heard her com plain, and her bad days never let her down. She alw ays brings positive energy." While M cM ahan hasn't been able to spend her time on the fairw ays she has been able to dedicate her time toward her dream of becom ing a sideline sports reporter — she graduates this sem ester with a degree in sports broadcasting. McMahan has been a host for FOX Sports' Long­ horn Sports Center Weekly, a television program that covers Texas athletics. "I love being around sports," McMahan said. Not only was McMahan recently named to the Aca­ demic All-Big 12 Women's Golf Team, but she w as also selected for the Big 12 Spring Chick-fil-A Community of Texas freshman Kevin Lusson slides into home for one of his five runs in the Longhorns' 12-2 win over Texas State on Tuesday. Lusson finished the night 4-for-4 from the plate with two RBI and a walk. Texas bounces back with blowout By Laken Litman Daily Texan Staff The Longhorn d ugout w as all sm iles after Tuesday night's 12-2 Bobcat creaming at UFCU Disch- Falk Field. A fter a series o f unfortunate even ts over the last w eek, Tex­ as (30-11-1, 12-8-1 Big 12) took it to Texas State (31-10, 18-5 South­ land Conference) in what w as one of the Longhorns' best outings of the year. "It w as a heck of a w ay to re­ spond to this w eekend's adversi­ ty," said Texas head coach A ugie Garrido. "When you face fear and you overcome it, you become bet­ ter. It w as really one of our better games. [The team] w as really con­ sistent, they were really com pet­ itive and they were relaxed and they were focused. They did not d rag last w eek into this. T hat's what I'm most proud of." The gam e did not begin with a Longhorn lead. With the crack of a first-inning Bobcat bat, the Long­ horns were down 1-0. It w as the first run given up in the first in­ ning by the Longhorns all season. But the Horns came out sw ing­ ing in the home half of the first inning when first basem an Bran­ don Belt, w ho b o asts the L on g­ horns' top batting average at .341, stepped up to the plate and blast­ ed his fifth home run of the sea­ son to send second basem an Tra­ vis Tucker horn and give Texas a 2-1 lead. "I think Belt's two-run home run was a big inspiration for the team. [It] and motivated the team," Garri­ do said. "That was where the consis­ tency on the offensive side started." The Bobcats im m ediately com ­ bated Texas' lead by ad d in g an­ other run in the top of the second inning* But the L on gh orn s cam e out with more gusto. Third basem an Kevin Lusson started things off with a lead- off single through the right side, and shortstop Brandon Loy fol­ low ed with a sin gle. Both run­ ners m oved over a base on catch­ er Preston C lark's sacrifice bunt. L usson scored on a w ild pitch, and Loy w as driven in by cen­ ter fielder Connor Row e's single down right field. "[T h e p erson w ho ste p s up] is different for every gam e and som ebody alw ays has to take on that role," Rowe said. "Tonight, I stepped up. I never fell apart." Row e tallied three RBI on a 3-for-5 night, each of his hits com­ ing when Texas had two outs. L us­ son went 4-for-4 with two dou- Texas head coach Augie Garrido, left, and sophomore Kevin Keyes react as Keyes returns to the dugout. Jeffery M cW horter | D a ily Texan Staff bles, two RBI and five runs, each of which w as a career high for the freshman. In the sixth inning, the Long­ horns increased the lead to 7-2, which included four walks by the Bobcats' pitchers. Lusson started things again by draw ing a one- out w alk and m oving to second on L oy 's groun dout. Row e sin ­ gled to right field as a lumbering Lusson tumbled into home plate. Then, d esign ated hitter Michael Torres had a four-ball plate a p ­ pearance to load the bases. Texas added one more run when Bobcat reliever walked Tucker, allow ing Clark to score. "I'v e gotten more com fortable around my team m ates," L usson said. "A n d when coach gives me the OK, I know I can perform to the highest of my abilities. I want to be the guy my team can look to." The n ig h t's d e fe n siv e M VP went to pitcher Stayton Thom as BLOWOUT continues on page 9 MCMAHAN continues on page 9 C O M M E N T A R Y From the bike to a beard, Twitter hits sports By Blake Hurtik Daily Texan Colum nist Whether you like it or not, the future is here. No, they're not playing football on Mars, nor has technology brought back Ted Williams. The future has arrived in the form of 140-charac- ter bursts of som etim es philosophic, som etim es mo­ ronic and often hilarious Tweets from an athlete near you. It's almost impossible to watch a gam e on television without being directed to an announcer's or network's Twitter. But w hat's interesting about this phenom enon is that, for the first time, the media and the athletes they cover are on a level playing field. A sportswriter can tweet about a pitcher's terrible game, and that pitcher can Tweet right back. It's a brave new w orld, so I'm here to give you a glim p se at the sportin g lan d scap e of Twitter with a sam ple of som e of my favorite sports figures who spend their free time Tweeting away. Lance Armstrong twitter, com/lancearmstrong Everybody's favorite Austin-based cycling master and cancer fighter m ade a true Twitter first by Tweeting about his broken collarbone after a nasty fall in a race in Spain and even posted pictures of himself C o u rtesy o f Texas Sports Meredith McMahan hasn't taken a swing during NCAA play in her four years for Texas but has pushed through Rheumatoid arthritis to serve as an inspiration for the Longhorns. TWITTER continues on page 9 Austin native Lance Armstrong is one of many athletes who have embraced Twitter, setting up his own to stay in touch with fans. M a rcio Jose Sanchez | A s so c ia te d Press