frOfrZS v i saidVH tfvaad MS 3 A Y L S I 3 6frG W T ia O H D I W 3 D V 1 I H 3 H o a v a a x i w S p o r t s P age i B N ew s P age 5 A No. 3 Texas to play Ohio State in Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 5 Latinitas program works to encourage budding journalists I j f e & A rts P ack 6 B Thrash m etal icons GWAR hit up Austin Monday, D ecem ber 8, 2 008~— ---------- -.. Serving The University of Texas at Austin com m unity since 1 9 0 0 n ...; c j . . . w w w .dailytexanonline.com U.S. economy sheds half a million jobs Professors discuss Novem ber statisticsy bailout possibilities By Clay Sampson Daily Texan Staff The U.S. econ om y sh ed m ore th a n h alf a m illion jobs in N o ­ v em ber, the la rg e st o n e-m o n th d ro p in 34 years, according to a report released Friday. To com bat the b arrag e of eco­ nom ic do w n fall, som e financial ex p e rts are p u sh in g for a stim ­ u lu s p ac k ag e th a t m ay exceed $1 trillion. "T h is is an e v e n t of e x c e p ­ tional violence," said Jam es G al­ b ra ith , a g o v e rn m e n t a n d b u si­ n ess affairs p ro fe sso r a n d ec o ­ nom ics expert. "It's a breakdow n of the basic financial m echanism behind the economy." According to the Labor D epart­ m ent's m onthly job report, 533,000 jobs w ere cut last m onth, bringing the 2008 total to 1.9 m illion jobs lost. It w as the largest one-m onth cut since December 1974. "T h e re 's v ery little in this re­ p o rt th a t's positiv e," said Keith Hall, com m issioner of the Bureau of L abor Statistics, at a congres­ sional hearing on Friday. "This is m aybe one of the w o rst jobs re­ ports the Bureau of Labor Statis­ tics has ever produced." T he b u r e a u w a s e s ta b lish e d in 1884, 124 years ago. G albraith h ad a grim outlook for g raduates entering the job m arket. "W h a t job m a rk e t? I w o u ld say good luck," he said. "I d o n 't know w h at w ill happen." G a lb ra ith , w h o h as a d v is e d P resid en t-elect Barack O b am a 's tr a n s itio n te am , sa id n o b o d y k n o w s h o w b ig th e s tim u lu s p ack ag e w ill be, b u t he reco m ­ m ended it be $900 billion. H e suggested using the bailout to pu m p m oney into state and lo­ cal g o v ern m e n ts, c u t w o rk in g - class taxes, invest in capital and su p p o rt the incom e of the elderly by increasing Social Security and low ering the age requirem ent to receive Medicare. W h a t if th e b a ilo u t a m o u n t isn 't big enough? "T hen jobs w ill be lost," G al­ braith said. P ublic affairs p ro fe sso r R ob­ e r t A u erb ac h sa id h e d o e s n o t believe the b a ilo u t sh o u ld be in th e trillio n -d o llar range. "You c a n 't ju st th ro w all the m o n ey y o u can a t th e pro b lem — th a t c o u ld m a k e th e re c e s ­ sion m uch w orse," he said. H e said m ore research n ee d s to be d o n e to ascertain the nec­ essary am ount. A u e r b a c h , w h o s p e n t 11 y ears on the b an k in g com m ittee in the U.S. H o u se of R ep re se n ­ ta tiv e s , e m p h a s iz e d th e n e e d to keep th e U.S. a u to in d u s try afloat, saying the econom y c a n ­ n o t afford to lose th e 2 m illio n jobs in th a t sector. "T h a t w o u ld b rin g th e c o u n ­ t r y to its k n e e s ," A u e r b a c h said . H e a d d e d th a t th e recen t job re p o rt sh o u ld stir C ongress into action. G albraith agreed "T his is the slu m p of a c h a r­ a c te r th a t w e h a v e n o t se en in m y life tim e ," G a lb r a ith s a id . " It's closest to the stock m a rk e t crash of 1929. The pub lic sector n e e d s to step in to m ake u p for th e p riv ate sector." Ch a ba d H ouse lea d s m e m o r ia l Students launch sustainable home initiative Web site By Andrew Johnson Daily Texan Staff A rc h ite c tu r e s tu d e n ts h o p e th a t sm a ll h o u s e s c a lle d flats c o u ld s u b s titu te fo r tr a d itio n ­ al h o m e s by c u ttin g d o w n on e n e rg y co sts, s u b u rb a n s p ra w l a n d th e n e g a t i v e e f f e c ts o f g e n trific a tio n . T h is m o n t h , s t u d e n t s in U T 's S c h o o l o f A r c h ite c tu r e la u n c h e d a Web site for the A l­ ley F lat I n itia tiv e , a p ro je c t to b u ild f la ts in C e n tr a l A u s tin . T h e in itia tiv e a im s to c o u n te r th e e ffe c ts of r is in g p r o p e r ty tax es a n d to p ro m o te " s u s ta in ­ a b le u r b a n is m " b y c o n s tr u c t­ in g sm a ll a n d r e la tiv e ly in e x ­ p e n siv e flats on ex istin g alleys a n d op en space. A r c h ite c tu r e g r a d u a te s t u ­ d e n t T ania G a rb e a n d fo rm e r a r c h ite c tu r e g r a d u a te s tu d e n t Jessica B raun s p e n t th e s p rin g s e m e s te r d e v e lo p in g th e W eb d esig n for the in itia tiv e , w h ich f e a tu re s 15 p r o to ty p e s fo r th e fla ts , th e h is to r y o f th e p r o j­ ect a n d a h o w -to g u id e for p u r ­ ch a sin g a flat. G arb e said the Web site n ee d s to be co m p leted a n d w ill be d e ­ v e lo p e d fu rth e r n ex t sem ester. "W hen p eo p le go to o u r Web s ite , th e y can le a r n a b o u t th e a lle y fla ts a n d fin d o u t if it's r ig h t fo r th e m ," G a rb e s a id . "T h e y can b ro w se th ro u g h th e d e s ig n c a ta lo g a n d fin d o n e th e y lik e a n d le a rn a b o u t th e p ro c e ss of o b ta in in g o n e. The W eb s ite is a lso a w a y to g e t o u t w h a t s tu d e n ts h a v e b e e n w o rk in g on." T he in itia tiv e is a jo in t p ro j­ ect w ith the U T C e n te r for S us­ t a i n a b l e D e v e l o p m e n t , th e HOMES continues on page 2A All but one state given failing score in college affordability survey By Clay Sam pson Daily Texan Staff A recent report gave 49 states a n "F " in te r m s o f c o lle g e affordability. The report, released last week by N ational Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, showed col­ lege and tuition fees have increased 439 percent since 1982, nearly three tim es higher than the increase in m edian family incomes. The C on­ sum er Price Index rose 106 percent in the same period, according to the report. California w as the lone state w ith a non-failing grade of "C." "As a result of these trends, the financial burden of paying for col­ lege costs has increased substantial­ ly, particularly for low- and middle- ineome families, even w hen schol­ arships and grants are taken into account," said Patrick Callan, presi­ dent of the center, in the report. The rep o rt concluded th at the financial b u rd e n of a fo u r-y ear public university costs alm ost 28 percent of the m edian fam ily's in­ com e for the 2007-08 school year. It also said student-loan bo rro w ­ ing has m ore than doubled in the past decade. "W e're the ones w h o p ay the p ric e th e m o st," sa id S tu d e n t G o v e rn m e n t P re sid e n t K eshav Rajagopalan. H e sa id the sm all a m o u n t of funding per student from the Texas Legislature has put the burden on families to carry the cost. TUITION continues on page 2A High school student Julie Rosenberg, UT graduate student Erica Krizoy and UT senior Leah Klein light shabbat candles Friday evenin- gat a special m emorial service the Chabad House held to honor Jews killed in the recent attacks in India. Mumbai attacks remembered By Lena Price Daily Texan Staff As the su n set early Friday evening, a group of about 20 w om en clustered togeth­ er inside a small room in the Chabad Jew­ ish Student Center just w est of campus. One by one, the w om en stepped forward and lit tiny, white tea lights. U nder ordinary circumstances, the people attending services at this Jewish cultural and educational center w ould be lighting can­ dles to w elcome the beginning of the Sab­ bath. But tonight, the candles were m eant to honor the lives of Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife Rivkah. The Holtzbergs, w ho ran a Chabad House in a remote part of India, along w ith four of their guests, w ere killed on Nov. 26 in the terrorist attacks on M umbai. The couple's 2-year-old son, Moshe, w as left an orphan. dents on the UT campus. In addition to pro­ viding a sanctuary, the house offers guest speakers, cultural activities and classes on Judaism. Ariela Johnson, co-director offthe Austin Chabad House, led the small memorial ser­ vice. "They w ere just dedicating their lives to helping other Jewish people," Johnson said. "They w ere m aking sure everyone had a place to sleep, or a place to eat, or a place to go to w here they could feel at hom e w hen they w ere so far aw ay from everything else." The Chabad House in Austin aims to pro­ vide similar services to the 4,000 Jewish stu­ "At Chabad, it's like you're one big fami­ ly," Johnson said. "We're all here to reach out to other Jews and try to connect people with their heritage. This tragedy really hit home for me." Journalism an d Plan II freshm an Debbi Wolfson said her family also felt a personal connection to the Jewish victims of the ter­ rorist attacks. "W hen the attack happ en ed , everyone MEMORIAL continues on page 2A A rch ite ctu re graduate stu d ents Tania G arbe and Alex G illia m pose n ext to a m odel o f th eir alley-flat p ro to ty p e S unday at G o ld sm ith Hall. The structure w as desig n ed to be an in e x ­ pen sive m o d u ­ lar a d d itio n to an e xistin g sin g le -sto ry house. Caleb Miller Daily Texan Staff Motorcyclists donate toys at annual Christmas event C hristm as to the child ren." S e v e ra l b ik e r g ro u p s , w ith nam es like Leathernecks and Lat­ in Steel, participated in the event, b u t b ik e rs n o t a ffilia te d w ith groups also attended. "We do it for the kids," said a m an w ho said his nam e w as H ard Shell of L atin Steel as he g u id ­ ed the bikers into the parking lot. This is the third year he has rid ­ den in the event. The bikers purchase toys w ith th eir o w n m oney, said G-O, a n ­ other m em ber of Latin Steel. They also collect donations for the home, said Bobby Lasseter, an independent biker w ho helped or­ ganize the event. Last year, dona­ tions totaled m ore than $3,000. By Viviana Aldous Daily Texan Staff "Look! It's Santa!" a girl said as she pointed to a biker dressed in a Santa costum e Sunday at the H e lp in g H an d H o m e for C h il­ dren. M ore than 600 bikers ru m ­ bled dow n 38th Street to the home, w here 38 previously abused and neglected children betw een ages 4 and 13 live. A bout 40 m otorcy­ clists form ed an assem bly line to u n lo a d h u n d re d s of gifts from a trailer d u rin g the 20th an n u al Christm as Toy Run. "These guys b rin g us so m any to y s th a t w e u s e n o t ju s t fo r C h ris tm a s b u t th r o u g h o u t the y e a r as w ell," sa id C h ris Jana- w icz, the h o m e's directo r of res­ id e n tia l serv ices. 'T h e toy ru n gives us the o p p o rtu n ity to offer i n d e x . . . ... Volume 109,Number67 25 rents . TOYS continues on page 2A A biker carries a teddy bear to the Helping Hand Home for Children on Sunday for the 20th annual Christmas Toy Run. Larissa Mueller | Daily Texan Staff World&Nation..............3A _ . „ A O pinion......................4A News :................. 5-6A c Sports............................ 1-3B , Classifieds..........................3B „ n C o m ics........................... 4B . Life&Arts.. 5-6B TODAY SW fcAm tR This is my buddy, hamhawk. H i g h 7 3 * Low MONDAY, DECEMBER 8,2008 Fall semester final examinations in the School of Law. TUmON: More students turn to loans for financial aid From page 1A "I think it's a personal and di­ rect relationship with the de­ creased funding higher educa­ tion has been getting across the country," he said. "It's a sad thing because education is an equaliz­ er in our society." Plan II freshman Isbah Raja said she might have to take out loans to cope with the rising cost of college. She hopes that would ease her parents' financial situa­ tion because she has two young­ er siblings who have yet to at­ tend college. "I feel like I'm doing my par­ ents a disservice," she said. "It's not an issue of getting into col­ lege anymore, but if you can af­ ford it." Raja said the money situation can be difficult for families like hers that are doing well finan­ cially but do not have additional funds for higher education. "I feel like I'm being marginal­ ized," she said. Rajagopalan said legislators need to recognize the problem to combat increasing tuition costs. "You don't want to see these trends continue," he said. "I think if the states were to come in and stabilize it, the trend would end. But we need to see it decline." J P ^ f | ' l ’ageT wo T h e D a i l y T e x a n MEMORIAL Attendees discuss terrorist attack against Jews in India TOM ORROW 'S W EATH ER Low 35 High 73 1 1 Sounds like the worse concocted excuse I have ever heard. From pagel A in my family was terrified," she said. "It w as all we could talk about over Thanksgiving dinner. I thought it would be important to attend a memorial for them." Johnson said one of the most horrific aspects of the attack was the amount of violence caused by so few terrorists. "This w asn't 100 or 200 ter­ rorists," she said. "The amoimt of bad they were able to accom­ plish with such a small number — it's mind-boggling." Though Johnson said she was deeply saddened by the tragedy, she wants to encourage Jews not to react out of anger. "We can't ignore what h ap­ pened," Johnson said. "We need to fight this terrorism, not with a war, not with words, not with kicking, not with guns, but by doing good things." Another m em orial service will be held for all of the victims of terrorist attacks tonight at 7 p.m. at the Jewish Community Association of Austin Com m u­ nity Hall at 7300 Hart Lane. The service will be free and open to the public. Johnson said she hopes all of the members of the Chabad house will look at their individu­ al behaviors and perform at least one mitzvah, or good deed, ev­ ery week or month. "Only by bringing more good into this world are we continu­ ing what [the Holtzbergs] stood for," Johnson said. Students watch a presentation on a laptop at the Chabad Jewish Student Center in West Cam pus on Friday. The students went to the Chabad House to participate in a memorial service for Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife Rivkah, w ho were both killed in the M um bai attacks on Nov. 26. Erika Rich | Daily Texan Staff HOMES: Affordable flats may offer extra income, slow down suburban sprawl From pagel A G u a d a lu p e N eigh borh ood D e­ v e lo p m e n t C o r p o r a tio n an d th e A u stin C o m m u n ity D e ­ sig n an d D e v e lo p m e n t C e n ­ ter. "If you look at the d em o ­ grap h ics of the area, there are a large num ber of Latino fam i­ lies who own their hom es o u t­ righ t," said Steven M oore, a r­ chitecture p ro fesso r and direc­ tor of the C en ter for S u sta in ­ ab le D e v e lo p m e n t. "B e c a u se they h ave m o d est m ean s, tax­ es threaten to force them out of their h om es." M o ore sa id fa m ilie s c o u ld use flats to h ou se an ad d itio n ­ al fam ily m em ber or to rent out as a source of su p plem en tal in­ com e to p ay property taxes. By d evelop in g a flat on exist­ ing open sp ace , also known as an infill, the d e sig n e rs plan to curb the ra p id grow th of su b ­ urban sp raw l. M oore sa id the av erage flat is expected to cost a p p r o x im a te ly $100,000, and the d esig n ers are also w orking to d e v e lo p ch eap er pre-fabri- cated m odels. " F o r e v e r y in f il l h o u s e , th e r e 's on e s u b u r b a n h o u se that d o e sn 't have to be b u ilt," M oore said . "S u b u rb an sp raw l r e q u ir e s the c ity to e x te n d streets, electric, w ater and sew ­ er lin es, c a u sin g e n v iro n m en ­ tal d istu rb a n c e . T h e se h o u s­ e s d o n 't req u ire an y o f these th in gs." The A lley Flat In itiative b e ­ gan in 2005 with a g ran t from the H enry Luce F ou n d ation to the C enter for S u stain ab le D e­ velopm ent as a w ay to provide p ra c tic a l w ork e x p e rie n c e in d e sig n and a se rv ic e-learn in g opportu n ity for stud en ts. "A lot of the p rojects w e do in sch ool are eith er h y p o th et­ ical or far aw a y ," B rau n said . "T h is one w as u n ique becau se it w as so close to hom e. I drive through East A ustin every day, an d I se e p e o p le an d p la c e s that w o u ld b en efit from this p roject." C onstruction of the first pro­ totype for the project fin ish ed in Ju n e and the seco n d flat is exp ected to be com p leted e a r­ ly next year. Students feel affect of auto industry crisis By Andy Croll UWire Amanda Emery, a junior at the University of Michigan-Flint, was bom and raised in a General Mo­ tors family. Her parents both logged more than 30 years on the job for the autom otive giant — her m oth­ er, Cathy, as a skilled w elder in a Flint truck plant and her father, Gary, a s a com pany electrician and supervisor. Her uncle worked on the assem ­ bly line in a GM plant in Flint, and a cousin works on the assem bly line at the same Flint factory. Now retired from GM, Emery's parents live off their com pany re­ tirement packages, which include thousands of dollars in monthly income and health insurance for them and their children, am ong other benefits. "Basically, you're talking about people that are assured that they're getting their retirement money," she said. "They've worked for it for 30 years; they're thinking their money is safe." But with GM burning through its cash reserves and teetering on the ed ge of bankruptcy, the Emery fam ily is facing the p o s­ sibility that GM veterans Cathy and G ary could soon lose m ost of their income. That w ould leave 29-year-old A m anda, a journalism and pho­ tograph y d ouble m ajor at the University of Michigan, with the responsibility of helping support her family, assistin g her m oth­ er to m ake p ay m en ts for not only her own house but A m an­ d a's grandfather's home in Ken­ tucky and providing som e form of health care for A m anda's a g ­ ing parents. Her father would be able to pick up work somewhere, but her mother would not. "S o m e b o d y w ou ld h av e to pick up the slack, and I'd have to figure som eth in g o u t," she sa id . "1 w o u ld h av e to d ro p dow n from [studying] full-time to part-time because I'd have to work more — for sure." With executives from the Big Three automakers rebuffed in their attempt to obtain critical rescue loans from the federal government, the crisis engulfing the A m eri­ can auto industry has deepened, and its effects can be felt through­ out Michigan as more plants shut down and workers lose their jobs. But hardly mentioned so far has been the impact on students. For them, the future looks increasing­ ly uncertain w ith parents subject to layoffs, tuition assistance and schol­ arship programs getting cut and an already weakened workforce set to lose even more jobs should the auto industry falter even more. More than a half-dozen students whose parents work for one of the Big Three said they feared for their parents' jobs as automakers contin­ ue to trim jobs to stay afloat. For Dmitry Vodopyanov, 21, a se­ nior at the University of Michigan- Ann Arbor, each week means an­ other chance his father, a Chrysler engineer, could lose his job without any warning. A nd w h at m ak e s the s it u ­ a tio n ev e n m o re u n c e rta in , Vodopyanov ad d ed , is that his father relies alm ost entirely on the m edia to hear of the latest u p d ates on C h ry sler's future. "H e's always worried about it," Vodopyanov said. "A nd if he's stressed, then I'm stressed." Looking to cut costs, the Big Three have thrown nu m erous com pany benefits on the ch op ­ p in g b lock this year. A m o n g them are tuition assistan ce p ro ­ gram s, which provide em ploy­ ees with m oney for continuing education classes and degrees. At the end of October, Chry sler suspended its Tuition Assistance Program for active and laid-off unionized em ployees. G eneral M otors announced around the sam e tim e that it w as can cel­ ling a sim ilar program for sala­ ried workers as of Jan. 1. And in June, Ford Motor Com pany an­ nounced that it w as suspending its own tuition assistance p ro ­ gram for salaried workers. Each of the Big Three has also said it will suspend dependent scholarship program s, in which d e p e n d e n ts of em p lo y ees re­ ceived scholarships to help pay tuition costs. Jerry Glaseo, the director of fi­ nancial service and b u d get at UM-Flint, said just more than 200 students at the university current­ ly use GM scholarships to pay tu­ ition and fees costs. Copyright 2008 Texas Student Media. 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"This show s kids bikers are not as m ean and nasty as TV p or­ trays them to be." Big Dan d ied in 1998, and a p laque h an gs in the hom e's courtyard to signify his service and dedication to the children who live there. "W hen he started this, I'm sure he had no idea how big the event would becom e," said Lar­ issa Williams, the hom e's devel­ opment assistant. Jones also said bikers of v ary­ ing backgrounds come together for the toy run. "W e've got lawyers, doctors, you nam e it," L asse te r sa id . "W e've got people from every gam ut of society." A fter the event, the rid ers headed to South A ustin for a barbecue, live m usic and raf­ fles to raise more money for the home. Created in 1893 to provide a haven for vulnerable children in the city, the home is the old ­ est operating residential child­ care agency in Travis County. "We get so much support from the community," said Christine Thompson, the hom e's director of developm ent. "It a p ositive thing to see so many people d o ­ ing good." NEWS BRIEFLY Protesters unite against Hutto facility detaining families GEORGETOWN — More than 100 people held a vigil Sun­ day night outside the Williamson County Courthouse to ask coun­ ty commissioners to halt a contract with the T. Don Hutto Residential Center where dozens of immigrant children and families are detained. "The practice of incarcerating families and children, with little regards to their civil rights, is de­ structive," said retired pastor Mil­ ton Jordan. Protesters held signs that said "Prison is no place for children" while singing the civil rights song "We Shall Overcome," the Austin Amencan-Statesman reported. Commissioners are set to vote next month on whether to extend the contract w ith the center, a for­ mer state prison that holds 385 people, including 92 children, whi await immigration hearings. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement oversees the center, which is operated by Corrections Corp. of America through a con­ tract with Williamson County Tht county gets about $15,800 a montl from the company. — The Associated Pres Save this n u m b e r in yo u r p h o n e 5 1 2 .4 8 2 .0 9 0 0 F!at:Rates AvaUable D a x G arvin Ask ab°u* u{ Rates . A t t o r n e y a n d C o u n s e l o r at L a w - . www.daxlegal.com www.daxlegal.com Major credit cards accepted. M ajo r credit cards accepted. www.dailytexanonline.com Wo r l d & N ation T h e D a i l y T e x a n WORLD BRIEFLY Nations gather for talks on N. Korea's nuclear program BEIJING — Envoys from the United States and five other na­ tions gathered Monday for talks on mothballing North Korea's nuclear program, amid dour predictions for progress in the negotiations. The six, countries that also include South Korea, North Korea, China, Japan and Rus­ sia, were to hold bilateral meet­ ings before sitting down for for­ mal talks Monday afternoon, a South Korean official said. He declined to be identified be­ cause he was not authorized to speak to the media. North Korea — which test­ ed a nuclear bomb in 2006 — agreed last year to disable its main reactor in exchange for aid. But the North recently said it would not allow inspectors to take samples from the nuclear complex to verify its past activi­ ties, casting doubt on the chanc­ es for progress in negotiations on methods to validate the North's accounting of its nucle­ ar programs. Officials meeting in China's capital were discussing U.S. nu­ clear negotiator Christopher Hill's talks last week with his North Korean counterpart in Singapore, Japan's Akitaka Sai- ki told reporters. "After hearing about what was discussed between the U.S. and North Korea, it appears a big gap still remains," Sai- ki said. "Regarding how to nar­ row the gap, it's up to each par­ ty's efforts from tomorrow. I think negotiations are going to be tough." Angered by shooting of teen, youths riot in Greece ATHENS, Greece — Hun­ dreds of youths angered by the fatal police shooting of a teenager rampaged through Greece's two largest cities for a second day Sunday in some of the worst rioting the country has seen in years. Gangs smashed stores, torched cars and erected burn­ ing barricades in the streets of Athens and Thessaloniki. Riot police clashed with groups of mostly self-styled anarchists throwing Molotov cocktails, rocks and bottles. Clouds of tear gas hung in the air, sending passers-by scurrying for cover. Rioting in several cities, in­ cluding Hania in Crete and cit­ ies in northern Greece, began within hours of the death Sat­ urday night of a 15-year-old shot by police in Exarchia. The downtown Athens district of bars, music clubs and restau­ rants is seen as the anarchists' home base. Soon stores, banks and cars were ablaze. The rioting was some of the most severe Greece has seen in years. The last time a teenag­ er was killed in a police shoot­ ing — during a demonstration in 1985 — it sparked weeks of rioting. In 1999, a visit to Greece by then U.S. President Bill Clin­ ton sparked violent demonstra­ tions in Athens that left stores smashed and burned. The two officers involved in Saturday's shooting have been arrested and charged, one with premeditated manslaughter and the illegal use of a weapon, and the other as an accomplice. They are to appear before a court Wednesday. They and the Exarchia precinct police chief have been suspended. Interior Minister Prokopis Pav lopoulos, whose offer to re­ sign was rejected Sunday, has promised a thorough investi­ gation. Compiled from Associated Press reports U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-lll., is applauded after visiting with workers on the third day of a sit-in at the Republic W indows and Doors factory on Sunday in Chicago. Workers say they will stay put until they're given severance and vacation pay. M. Spencer Green | Associated Press Workers at sit-in surprised by support By Rupa Shenoy Associated Press Writer C H IC A G O — C hicago w ork­ ers in the third day of a sit-in on the floor of their form er w ork­ place p eered through the w in­ dow s of a door Sunday, am azed by a mix of supporters, politicians an d jo u rn a lists w ho p ack ed a foyer outside. "We never expected this," said Melvin Maclin, a factory em ploy­ ee and vice president of the local union that represents the w ork­ ers. "We expected to go to jail." T he 200 w o rk e rs d e m a n d ­ ing severance and vacation pay have becom e a national sym bol for thousands of em ployees laid off nation w ide as the econom y continues to sour. They occupied the plant of their former em ploy­ er, Republic Windows and Doors, after the com pany abruptly fired them last week. At a news conference Sunday, P resid en t-elect B arack O b am a sa id R e p u b lic sh o u ld fo llo w through on its com m itm ents to its workers. "The w orkers who are asking for the benefits and p ay m en ts that they have earn ed, 1 think they're absolutely right and un­ d erstan d that w h at's h a p p e n ­ ing to them is reflective of what's happening across this economy," Obama said. The Rev. Je sse Ja c k so n d e ­ livered turkeys to the w orkers, pledging the support of his Chi­ c ag o -b ased civil righ ts g ro u p , Rainbow /PUSH Coalition. "T hese w orkers d eserve their w ages, d eserve fair notice, d e ­ serve health security," Jackson said. "This may be the beginning of long struggle of w orker resis­ tance finally." Leah Fried, an organizer for the United Electrical Workers union that represents the workers, said the com pany told the union that Bank of A m erica has canceled its financing. Bank of America received $25 billion as part of a governm ent bailout. Som e w orkers carried signs Sunday that said: "You got bailed out. We got sold out." The bank had said in a state­ ment Saturday that it w asn't re­ sp on sib le for R ep u blic's fin an ­ cial o b lig atio n s to its e m p lo y ­ ees. Republic has not commented on the sit-in. M eanw hile, Illinois A ttorney G eneral L isa M adigan said in a news release late Sunday that she had representatives at the factory investigating the closure. "I am extrem ely con cern ed with the actions of this com p a­ ny, which are having a significant im pact on em ployees and their families," M adigan said. One of the factory's workers, Silvia Mazon, said in Spanish that she needs the money owed to her for an $1,800 monthly house pay­ ment. The 40-year-old from C i­ cero said she has enough money saved to survive for one month. "W e 'r e m a k in g h is t o r y ," she said. Patrick Tyrrell, 22, of C h ica­ go, visited the w orkers Saturday and returned the next day with home-cooked beans, rice, chicken and soup. Tyrrell said he felt he wanted to help, in part, because his grandfather w as an electrical union member. "T his is an im pressive histori­ cal event," he said. Rep. Jan Schakow sky, an Illi­ nois Democrat, called it the start of a m ovem ent. "T h is story has reson ated aro u n d the w o rld ," she said. Ghana election officials start counting ballots By Rukmini Callimachi The Associated Press ACCRA, Ghana — Election of­ ficials began counting ballots late Sunday in one of Africa's rare de­ mocracies, where voters are pain­ fully aw are of the exam ple they are setting on a continent better known for coups, rigged elections and one-man rule. In courtyards throughout the capital, election officials put police tape around the plyw ood tables where they began sorting ballots. H u n d red s of onlookers form ed w alls around the counting tables, standing on chairs to get a view and whooping as the stack of their candidate of choice grew taller. The count capped a long day in this humid capital. The election began the night before, as hun­ dreds of voters slept on the pave­ ment outside their polling stations in an effort to be first. Voters spoke of carrying the burden of the con­ tinent's numerous failures as they waited to vote. "We w ill never d isg race our country. We know that the whole world is watching u s," said Bea­ trice Mantey, a retired school teach­ er who spent the night on the con­ crete outside her polling station. An in dep en d en t coalition of election o b servers station ed at Rebecca Blackwell I Associated Press A customs official serving as poll security warns onlookers not to crowd a polling station in the Odododiodoo constituency in Accra, Ghana, Sunday. 1,000 polling stations nationwide reported about a dozen d istu r­ bances by the end of voting. The most serious involved a shooting targeting the convoy of a parlia­ mentary candidate in a town west of the capital, said John Larvie, co­ ordinator of the Coalition of Do­ m estic Election O bservers. The others involved scuffles between voters, and the late arrival of elec­ tion materials. International observers, includ­ ing delegates with the Com m on­ w ealth O bserver G rou p, noted long lines as well as problems with voters who had recently tran s­ ferred to a new location but whose nam es could not be found on the voter roll. By evening, the main opposition party, which election watchers say is likely to lose by a slim margin, issued a statem ent pointing out the sam e irregularities. Still, Elvis Ankrah, the party's deputy gen­ eral secretary, urged supporters to remain calm and "not do any­ thing that would mar this beauti­ ful exercise." A lot is riding on Ghana's elec­ tion, not just for the nation of 23 million but also for Africa as a whole. Like its neighbors, Ghana has a history of coups and one-par­ ty rule, but since the 1990s when coup leader Jerrv Rawlings agreed to hold elections, it has been on a fast track to democracy. It has held four elections since 1992, first bringing Rawlings to power, then current President John Kufuor, who is stepping dow n after two terms in office. When he does, it will mark the country's second successive trans­ fer of power from one democrat­ ically elected leader to another, a litmus test of a mature democracy that only a handful of African na­ tions have passed. "G hana is an exam ple. It's the counterpoint to the Kenyas and the Zimbabwes," said John Strem- lau, a form er U.S. State D epart­ ment official who is leading a del­ egation of international observers for the Carter Center. Although eight candidates are vying to replace Kufuor, the con­ test is really a race between Ku- fu o r's chosen successor, N ana A kufo-A ddo of the ruling New Patriotic Party, or NPP, and John Atta Mills of the National Demo­ cratic Congress, or NDC. 3A Monday, December 8, 2008 NATION BRIEFLY First Vietnamese-American elected to U.S. Congress NEW ORLEANS — The first Vietnamese-American elect­ ed to Congress doesn't have a long list of policy beliefs. Aside from one major issue, Republi­ can moderate Joe Cao says he's open on everything else. "The only thing I am certain of is that 1 am anti-abortion," Cao said Sunday morning after defeating Democratic U.S. Rep. William Jefferson in a race that marked a major shift in New Orleans politics by ending a 30- year stand for Jefferson, dogged by corruption allegations. The victory for a 41-year-old immigration attorney who is the child of Vietnam War refugees was greeted with amazement and drew parallels to last year's election of Gov. Bobby Jindal, an Indian-American Republican. It also confirms a general shift to the GOP in Louisiana, where the Democratic Party dominated for generations and no Republican had represented New Orleans since 1890. "This is kind of uncharted waters here," said Larry Powell, a Tulane University historian. Cao was buoyed by low turnout, a lackluster campaign by Jefferson, strong third-party candidates and the election be­ ing postponed a month by Hur­ ricane Gustav. State and nation­ al Republicans seized on the race with a well-funded and ef­ fective campaign, bombard­ ing targeted neighborhoods with automated telephone calls, signs and flyers. Jefferson faced some of the most direct attacks since 2005, when a wide-reaching corrup­ tion probe against him was made public and FBI agents found $90,000 in alleged bribe payments in his freezer. He cur­ rently faces trial on charges of money laundering, racketeer­ ing and bribery, but no date has been set. In conceding the race, Jeffer­ son blamed fatigue among his supporters. "I think people just ran out of gas a bit," Jefferson said Satur­ day night. Joining other industries, recycling market tanks CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Norm Steenstra's budgeting worries mount with each new load of cardboard, aluminum cans and plastics jugs dumped at West Virginia's largest county recycling center. Faced with a dramatic slump in the recycling market, the di­ rector of the Kanawha Countv Solid Waste Authority has cut 20 of his 24 employees' work week to four days from five, shuttered six of the authori­ ty's drop-off stations and is urg­ ing residents to hoard their re- cyclables after informing mu­ nicipalities with curbside recy­ cling programs that the center will accept only paper until fur­ ther notice. Just months after riding an incredible high, the recycling market has tanked almost in lockstep with the global eco­ nomic meltdown. As consum­ er demand for autos, applianc­ es and new homes dropped, so did the steel and pulp mills' de­ mand for scrap, paper and oth­ er recyclables. Cardboard that sold for about $135 per ton in Septem­ ber is now going for $35 per ton. Plastic bottles have fall­ en from 25 cents to 2 cents per pound. Aluminum cans dropped nearly half to about 40 cents per pound, and scrap metal tumbled from $525 per gross ton to about $100. Compiled from Associated Press reports Vets commemorate Pearl Harbor anniversary By Herbert A. Sample The Associated Press from Green Township, outside Cincinnati. and render the U.S. a military superpower. PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii — While smoke still billowed from the torpedoed ruins of the U.S. fleet at Pearl H arbor, Thom ­ as Griffin's B-25 group took off from its Oregon base to search for Japanese ships or subm a­ rines along the West Coast. They d id n 't find any, but four m onths later the group flew from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet and attacked To­ kyo. The raid inflicted little dam age but boosted U.S. mo­ rale and embarrassed the Japa­ nese, who launched the ill-fat­ ed attack on Midway Island six weeks later, recalled Griffin, a retired Army Air C orps major The U.S. military "took Ja­ pan entirely by surprise," said Griffin, a keynote speaker at a ceremony Sunday commemo­ rating the 67th anniversary of the Japanese raid that marked A m erica's entry into World War II. He w as joined by more than 2,000 World War II veter­ ans and other observers. U sually, the com m em ora­ tion focuses on the attack on the USS Arizona, Pearl Harbor and several other installations on O ahu. But S u n d a y 's re­ membrance centered more on the months following the raid and on an American response that helped defeat the Japanese At 7:55 a.m., the moment on a Sunday morning in 1941 when hundreds of Japanese planes began raining bombs and tor­ pedoes onto O ahu's U.S. mili­ tary ships and planes, onlook­ ers across from the sunken USS Arizona went silent. "It w as an impossible begin­ ning," Adm . Robert Willard, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, said in his address. "Yet, look at us today." He noted that Pearl Harbor N aval Shipyard recently celebrated 100 years of service and still maintains the far-reaching U S. Pacific Heet. Underscoring how far Amer­ icans and Japanese have come since Dec. 7, 1941, President­ elect Barack Obam a in Chica­ go on Sunday introduced re­ tired Gen. Eric Shinseki, a Jap­ anese Am erican born in H a­ waii a year after the attack, as his nominee to head the Veter­ ans Affairs Department. S u n d ay 's com m em oration featured a performance by the U.S. Pacific Fleet Band, morn­ ing colors, a Hawaiian blessing, a rifle salute by the U.S. M a­ rine Corps and a recognition of those who survived the attack. After the moment of silence ob servin g the begin n in g of the attack, the destroyer USS Chung-Hoon rendered honors to the Arizona, which still lies in the harbor with its dead. Everett Hyland of Honolulu, a Pearl Harbor survivor, talks with Eileen Martinez before participating in a Pearl Harbor Com m em oration in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Sunday. Lucy Pemoni | Associated Press 4A Monday, December 8, 2008 V IEW PO IN T O p in io n T h e D a i l y T e x a n GALLERY Editor in Chief: Leah Finnegan Phone: (512) 232-2212 E-mail: editor@dailytexanonline.com Associate Editors: Audrey Cam pbell Josh Haney Jillian Sheridan GALLERY By Andrew Friedenthal Daily Texan Columnist Why not trayless? Anyone who has lived in a dorm knows how easy it is to revel in the infinite availability of dining choices when tired, hungry and nutrionally deprived, and the dining hall tray has become nothing more than a vehicle for such recklessness. More often than not, students end up loading their trays with waffles, hamburgers, fries and Chinese food, and the overin­ dulgence results not only in indigestion but a deplorable waste of food. In an environmentally conscious effort to reduce the University's disposal of uneaten food, the Division of Hous­ ing and Food Service has proposed a "trayless dining system" to combat the waste of 112 tons — that's 223,882 pounds — of edible food produced each year at UT. And not only would the trayless plan help reduce edible food waste, it would also cut the energy and utility costs incurred from cleaning and re­ using trays. According to a July ariiclé in The Daily Texan, the University would save 25,500 gallons of water by not having to wash trays. Though some students fear imminent line congestion and difficulty involved in hand-carrying their food, the trayless plan is a simple solution to a bigger problem that's long over­ due. More than 60 universities, including Baylor and Texas Tech, have already gone trayless. Trays may make our lives easier, but convenience is a small cost when there are larger is­ sues at stake. Going trayless is not just an environmental state­ ment, but a cultural one. We need to be flexible and adaptable to change how the University impacts the earth, and that in­ cludes changing some of our habits. With environmental con­ sciousness in mind, we must weigh the items we can't easi­ ly live without, like cars, with those we can, and cut com ers where necessary. Where trays are concerned, we doubt anyone will be lamenting the loss of them three years down the road. The Division of Housing and Food Service will continue to hold forums discussing the proposal throughout the spring se­ mester and will most likely implement the trayless plan in the summer of 2009. The only facet of the argument for trayless dining that remains largely unexplored is what good can come from the retired trays. We envision a spectacular exhibit at the Harry Ransom Center showing what UT students once were. — Audrey Campbell fo r the editorial board THE FIRING LINE Losses through recycling The Dec. 2 column "Recycle here, change the world" lamenting the lack of recycling around UT was a surprise, as there is far too much recycling going on around UT already. A story last summer documented that the actual costs of recycling are so high that many local businesses have been unable to afford it. Only large institutions that either have surplus profits to waste on recvcling or who have access to tax dollars can afford to do it. The fact that it costs more money to collect, store, transport, sort and reprocess a stream of waste than to send it to the landfill means that it takes more energy to recycle those things — e.g., glass, paper and plastic — than to sim­ ply throw them away and replace them with new ones. (Aluminum is the sole exception of which I am aware, in that it is just barely worth some people's time to col­ lect it and sell it at the market rate.) Anything that requires energy impacts the environment. The more energy required, the greater the environmental impact. Thus, while recycling may feel good, it is not only a needless and truly wasted expense, but it impacts the environment more than not recycling. Do I think the students, who disappointed the writer by not recycling enough, are aware of this? No, I think most are just apa­ thetic toward the issue. But at least the writer should take comfort m knowing that their apathy toward recycling actually creates less of an impact on the earth than does well-intentioned but ultimately wasteful recycling. Alan M cKendree UT staff CARTOON CONTEST SUBMIT A COLUMN The Editorial Board is holding a contest for the best University-re­ lated editorial cartoon. Use what­ ever medium you please: your hand, Kid Pix, MS Paint. Send submissions to editor@dailytex- anonline.com by Dec. 15. SUBMIT A FIRING LINE E-mail your Firing Lines to firm- ghne@dailytexanonhrre.com Letters must be fewer than 300 words. The Texan reserves the right to edit letters for brevity, clarity and liability. LEG A LE S E Opinions expressed in The Daily Texan are those of the editor, the ed­ itorial board or the writer of the arti­ cle. Opinions expressed in The Dai­ ly Texan are not necessarily those of the UT administration, the Board of Regents or the Texas Student Media Board of Trustees. Have something to say? Say it in print, and to the entire UT community. Guest columns must be between 500 and 700 words. Send columns to editor@ dailytexanonline.com. The Texan reserves the right to edit all columns for brevity, clarity and liability. Columns on pertinent, University-related topics receive highest priority. BURNT O RAN G E JUICE For more freshly-squeezed content, check out the Texan's Opinion blog at http://ivwzv.thedailytexanblogs.com/ bumtorangejuice. RECYCLE! Please deposit this copy of The Daily Texan in one of the burnt-or­ ange receptacles around campus. pc*\»r-it Dealing with addiction M y nam e is Andrew , and I'm an addict. These eight w ord s are the hardest w ords that m any people will ever have to utter. But as w e deal w ith the loneliness, isolation and alienation that d efine the holid ay season for m any people, a large am ount of those sam e sufferers w ill consid er saying that phrase in front o f a group of strangers. To anyone in the m idst of that consid eratio n, I have tw o w ord s o f ad ­ vice: Do it. Adm itting an addiction to strangers is actu­ ally the easy part. As any addict w ill tell you, it's talking ab ou t you r problem w ith fam ily and friends that proves to b e m o st difficult. You can 't d eterm in e how they m ay react or what they w ill say. It is for this ex act reason that m ost ad d ic­ tion support groups are anonym ous — Alco­ holics A n onym ou s, O vereaters A n onym ous, Sex Addicts A nonym ous and so on. It's possi­ ble to seek help for your problem s there w ith­ out jeopardizing relationships, m arriages, ca­ reers, etc., thus m aking it more likely that suf­ ferers w ill take the first step and ad m it that they are pow erless over their addiction. T h ere is no quick fix to life's biggest problem s. Anything that provides a m om entary numbness to pain can become addictive. Relying on a substance or activity to get through your day or week can quickly evolve into an addiction. ” This p roblem o f ad d iction is very real on colleg e cam p u ses, w h ere bin ge d rin k in g is en cou rag ed and b asically exp ected by s tu ­ d en t cu ltu re. A cco rd in g to a 200 7 stu d y by The N ational C en ter on A d d iction and S u b ­ stance A buse at Colum bia University, 23 per­ cent of college stu d ents qualify as substance abusers or substance-dependent — m ore than three tim es the rate o f the general public. Social d rin k in g d oes not m ake a p erson an alcoholic. A d d ic­ tion can only be defined by the person suffering from it, w hen the realization com es that he or she is no longer in control of his or h er life. Sex ad d iction or overeating, as m uch m ore m urkily de­ fined problem s than alcoholism , are prim arily self-defined prob- lem s. You w ant to stop having prom iscu ou s sex or bin ge eatin g (or w hatever it m ay b e), and you cannot; thus, you com e to rec­ ognize that you are an addict. M ore often than not, the person you lie to the m ost about your addiction is yourself, pretending that there really is no problem . A fter h ittin g the b o tto m , you com e to realize that y o u 'v e ju st been ignoring you r problem s and covering them up w ith w h at­ ever gives you that thrilling rush o f d opam ine. In seeking self- m ed ication for internal pain, addicts tend to return to the sam e quick fix that m akes them feel good for a m om ent, but hate them ­ selves later. There is no quick fix to life's biggest problem s. A nything that provides a m om entary num bn ess to pain can becom e addictive. Relying on a substance or activity to get through your day or w eek can quickly evolve into an ad­ diction. I urge anybod y reading this w ho is su f­ fering from an addiction of any kind — to alco­ hol, to sex, to drugs, to eating, to shopping, to a particular person— to seek help. A quick G oogle search can help you find fe llo w sh ip s that can point you in the d irection o f resources and lit­ eratu re, or even clin ics and d octors, geared to­ ward fixing your problem . You w o n 't face an easy battle. It w ill likely be the m ost difficult period of your life and w ill ag­ onizingly eat up tim e and energy you feel could b e b etter sp e n t else w h e re . You m ay even fo ­ cus your addiction to other parts of your life — spending too m uch money, sleeping too m uch, g ain in g or losin g to o m u ch w eig h t — all in a som etim es-su ccessfu l, som etim es not, attem pt to stay sober. In the end, though, attem ps at so ­ briety are better than the alternative. It is a laboriou s, intense and painful fight to beat back an addiction, but ultim ately it's w orth it. You d o n 't w ant to hurt the people you love. You d on't w ant to hurt yourself. You d on't w ant to die. You w ant and need to ad m it that y o u 're an ad dict, deal w ith it and m ove on w ith y ou r life. If an y o f this rings true to you , I hope that you w ill find the streng th and cou rage to fo l­ low through on that desire. It m ay just be the bravest thing you 'll ever do. Friedenthal is an American studies graduate student. Friends from different places By Abby Terrell Daily Texan Columnist in w hich tw o people are friends based on factors like the ability to relate, com m on ground, etc. The un iversity's size m akes it hard to turn an associative friend­ ship into a reciprocal one. It's hard enough already, b ecau se b e ­ sides your one com m on interest (the class you have together), you still have to overcom e differences in backgrou nds and ages. B ut w ith the size of the university, you have to overcom e factors like differing groups of friends (it w ould be no surprise to sit next to som eon e in class and literally not know a sin gle person in co m ­ m o n ), liv in g areas n ear or far from cam p u s and varying hom etow ns. Last Thursday, after the final bell had rung, signalling the end to my creative writing class for the semester, I emerged from my classroom and found about a dozen members of my discussion section standing in a circle talking. No one had anything im portant to say, but we were reluc­ tant to leave, so we offered what we could: last jokes about our professor, last comments about each other's work. We lingered there long after the conversation had died. We finally left after a group hug, laughing at the absurdity of it. Why was leaving each other so hard? y- * The fact of the matter was, we didn't know if we would be seeing each other again. Making lasting friendships through classes is too often an anomaly, even though classes should be the per­ fect place to make friends. Excluding the general requirement courses you take as a freshman, the people in your classes tend to have your same in­ terests, either in regard to your major or in terms of the class you're taking together. These types of relationships are primarily the associative type — they are relationships linked by being in the same place or sit­ uation, whether that is work, class or your apartment building. When the association is cut, so is the friendship. Another other type of friendship is the reciprocal relationship Mak ing lasting frien d sh ip s through classes is often an anomaly, even though classes should be the perfect place to m ake frien d s U T 's large population also causes m ost people to carve out their ow n w orlds. It's not a clique thing. It's a cop ing m echanism . Thu s, w e m ak e friend s through veins like clubs, dorm s or G reek life. We spend a lot o f tim e w ith p eop le w ho are alread y like us, and that d o esn 't leave a lot of room for a friend from class to squeeze in. But there w e w ere, the m em bers of m y w riting class, in this weird in-betw een phase. We had spent 4.5 h ou rs per w eek all sem ester d issectin g ea ch o th e r's stories. T h ey w ere fiction, to be sure, b u t each one of those stories gave m e a glim pse into its a u th o r's life. I got to hear ab ou t everything from w hat life is like in the Rio G rande Valley to the in ­ tricacies o f the gam ing w orld to the racism one girl feels every day. W hen w e left, w e knew each other so w ell, and yet w e b ittersw eetly accep ted ou r final parting and m oved on with our lives. Terrell is a finance senior Monday, December 8 ,2008 n i v i ­ sa Austin resident Chris Creel's d o g Adelaide sits am ong the rope lights Creel was using to decorate his lawn on 37th Street. Nonprofit works to improve rights of disabled individuals By M elanie G asm en Daily Texan Staff Texas officials must take neces­ sary measures to improve condi­ tions at institutions for the men­ tally disabled, said Beth M itch­ ell, senior managing attorney at Advocacy Inc., at a Capitol press conference Friday. Advocacy Inc. is a nonprofit, state-funded agency w hose pur­ pose is to protect the rights of Texans with disabilities. The conference came after the D epartm ent of Justice released a 62-page report M onday that h ig h lig hted the failu res of 12 state schools, including the Aus­ tin State School. H ighlights in­ cluded more than 450 incidents of abuse since 2007, im proper use of restraints and 114 report­ ed deaths since 2007. M itc h e ll s a id im m e d ia te step s fo r the sta te sh ou ld in ­ clu d e w ith h o ld in g ad m ission into state schools so “no new in d iv id u al is placed at risk ," and esta b lish in g an in d ep en ­ d ent, state-fu nd ed im m ediate needs assessm ent team to plan for those m ost at-risk — espe­ cially children. “It's p articu larly im p ortan t th at n ew a d m itta n ce be put on h o ld ," said G arth C orbett, an attorney for A dvocacy Inc. "The state needs to look at oth­ er fu n d in g m eth o d s, keeping people from state schools." M ary Faithfull, executive d i­ recto r o f A d v ocacy In c., said that at interm ediate care facil­ ities for the m entally retarded, sm aller facilities with more in ­ d ividualized help, it is actu al­ ly cheaper to support one per­ son com pared to a state school. According to the agency, it costs $106,300 per year to support a resident in a state school, while it costs $54,319 at an interm edi­ ate care facility. In a d d itio n , M itc h e ll said the s ta te sh ou ld p ro h ib it the use o f m ech a n ica l re s tra in ts , such as stra itja ck e ts, and also h ave a req u ired c o m p re h e n ­ sive p sychiatric and b eh av io r­ al assessm e n t by a p h y sicia n to issue drugs to residents. “T h e se are im m in e n t c o n ­ cern s," M itchell said. “ [So res­ idents] are not going to be in­ jured and are not going to die." L ack o f su ffic ie n t s ta ff for these facilities is a major part of the problems, Mitchell added. “If th ey d o n 't pay en o u g h , there is n 't q u a lity c a r e ," she said. M itch e ll also said th at the agency tried to m eet w ith the D epartm ent of A ging and D is­ ability Services, which w as not w illing to meet. M itchell sent a letter of concern to the d ep art­ ment com m issioner in Septem ­ ber, and the d ep a rtm e n t's re­ tu rning letter stated that they w ere a lre a d y im p le m e n tin g p lan s o f im p ro v e m en t at all state retardation facilities. Faithfull said the agency also sent a letter to Gov. Rick P er­ ry on Thursday regarding their co n cern s and has yet to hear back from him. “We would love to sit down with [him] and d iscu ss the is­ su es," Faithfull said. “It's time for Texas to really exam ine this and develop a long-term plan for these institutions." The Austin State School did not return calls by press time. Officials from Advocacy Inc., a nonprofit group that aims to protect the rights of Texans with disabilities, speak at a press conference on Friday. C u rt Y o u n g b lo o d | Daily Texan Staff NEWS BRIEFLY Drug trafficking case exposes bribery issues in justice system McALLEN — The case of a South Texas paralegal who alleg­ edly leaked information to mem­ bers of a violent drug cartel is highlighting fears that smuggling networks are using bribes to reach into the U.S. halls of justice. Federal authorities allege that Joel Carcano Jr., a college-educat­ ed paralegal, unlawfully provid­ ed confidential court information to the Texas Syndicate drug mafia. Carcano maintains his innocence and the government has not given detailed information about the al­ leged leak. But the case underscores the threat posed by violent gang mem­ bers who are willing to bribe their way inside the U.S. justice system, according to The (McAllen) Mon­ itor, which reported on the case in Sunday's editions. "There's a lot of money in the drug business," said Jack Wolfe, a criminal defense attorney and for­ mer federal prosecutor. "Some­ times, I think the temptation may be too much for some people." Carcano's lawyer, Ralph Mar­ tinez, denies his client sought to help drug traffickers by giving them confidential information. "(Carcano) was manipulated and used," he said, according to The Monitor. "He's not in a gang. He's college-educated. He's got small children. He's not the type of person that's going to get him­ self involved with these types of people." Martinez also said the informa­ tion about Rodriguez' participa­ tion in the case as a witness was available in a plea agreement and could have been easily obtained by reviewing public documents. Lauren Tucker Daily Texan Staff Austinites keep tradition alive By Pierre Bertrand Daily Texan Staff Som e houses along West 37th Street rem ained dark Satu rd ay night as resid en ts w orked fu ri­ ou sly to co m p lete their annu al C hristm as light displays, w hich have m ade the street fam ous in A ustin since the 1970s. O n W est 3 7 th S tr e e t fro m , G uadalupe Street to H om e Lane residents decorated their hom es with various lawn displays and lights that span the entire length of the street and backyards and so m e tim e s in clu d e te le p h o n e and electric poles. Since the tra­ d itio n 's b e g in n in g , re s id e n ts have expanded their d ecorative them es to include cu rrent social events and d ep ictions of Austin during the winter. The tradition started in the 1970s when residents gathered together to combine their decorations. Since then, the tradition has continued to grow and become more eclectic. V isitors on Saturday could see d isp la y s fe a tu rin g old sto v e s, m o to rcy cle s, w h isk e y b o ttle s , Bevo, beer cans, garden gnom es and a praying m antis decorated with lights. R e s id e n ts R o b e r t S a u v e u r and K evin U lrich w o rk ed to ­ g e th e r S a tu r d a y e v e n in g to create a m in iatu re o f A u stin 's land m ark H ighw ay 360 b rid g e to com plete their version of the city 's w inter skyline. "W e 'v e b e e n p la n n in g th is fo r m o n t h s ," S a u v e u r s a id . " I t 's so m e th in g th at you hav e to think about w hat you are g o ­ ing to do w ay in ad van ce." B o th re s id e n ts m o v ed o n to the stre et in M arch and knew of the stre e t's trad itio n b efo re ­ h an d . S a u v e u r said he h o p es to h av e G o d z illa an d a sm all s ta tu e of L e s lie , a d o w n to w n tr a n s v e s tite , to c o m p le te th e display. " I t 's kind of hard to find lit­ tle th o n g s," Sau v eu r said. "P e o ­ ple look at you fu nny w h en ev­ er you ask ." W ith th e c o m p le tio n o f th e display, the resid en ts expect to h a v e p laced m ore th an 1,0 0 0 lig h ts on th e ir fro n t law n and p o r c h . O n e h o u s e f e a tu r e d 9,000 lights. Som e houses presented a d iz­ zy in g array o f ligh ts and e le c ­ tric displays. O ne critiqu ed the n a tio n 's e c o n o m ic h a rd s h ip s by re p re sen tin g sou p kitch en s re m in isce n t o f th o se from the G reat D ep ression, p lu m m etin g s to c k m a rk e ts and a M o n o p ­ oly board d e p ictin g b a n k ru p t com panies. " I t 's not y o u r m o st ch eerfu l them e, but it's our reality," said Step h an ie Sob otik , a third -year resident of the street. "It all d e­ pends on how you look at it." m istic view of things. She also said she has received letters of appreciation and financial c o n ­ tr ib u tio n s from v is ito r s w h o w ere touched by her d isplays. As night fell, a steady stream of ca rs slo w ly lum bered and a few p ed estrian s stro lled dow n th e s tr e e t , in te n t on s e e in g the d eco ra tio n s. As C h ristm as draw s near, the street is ty p ical­ ly full of on loo kers, w ho m ake it difficu lt for vehicles to move. P a s s e r s -b y m e n tio n e d th a t each year the displays get more creativ e. O n e cou p le said they have been com ing to 37th Street since 1989. Edd ie M ata has m ade a point to see both the Zilker Park Trail of Lights and the street displays and said he lo v es w h en re s i­ d en ts have their lights hanging above the street. S o b o tik sa id sh e h a s b e e n p lanning her d isp lay since O c­ tober and tried to keep an o p ti­ "It puts everybody in a good m o od ," M ata said. "Y ou can see that in their faces." Student newspaper confirms Alabama frat hazings By Brett Bralley, Corey Craft & James Jaillet The Crimson White (UWire) The U n iv ersity of A lab am a's stu d en t new spaper, The C rim ­ son W hite, has confirmed details with a m em ber of Sigma Phi Ep­ silon fraternity about the hazing incident that resulted in that fra­ ternity's removal from campus. T he fra tern ity m em ber, w ho r e q u e s te d to re m a in a n o n y ­ m ous, co n firm ed the in cid en t, w hich occurred last m onth, in ­ vo lv ed the h e a tin g o f a m etal ch air by m eans of a blow torch or iron. O n ce th e ch a ir w as h e a te d , pledges w ere asked to sit dow n on the heated chair, though the fratern ity m em ber said that no p led ge w as forced or requ ired to do so by anyone present. The incid ent w as uncovered , th e f r a t e r n it y m e m b e r c o n ­ firm ed, when one of the pledges w ent to DCH Regional M edical C enter for burn treatm ent se v ­ eral days after the incid ent o c ­ cu rred. The w ound s w ere d is ­ cov ered in an ad van ced stag e of infection, and the pledge su f­ fered a collap sed lung as a re ­ sult of the infection. of Alabam a received a call from “an ou tsid e so u rce ," said Tim Hebson, dean of students. The call informed the Office of the Dean of Students of the hazing incident. Hebson said, however, that no one from the fraternity had come forward to press charges or make a formal complaint to the univer­ sity, making any charges from the victims unlikely. Hebson said his office would conduct an investigation of the in­ cident, following "due process." T h e fra te rn ity 's su sp e n sio n , Hebson said, was invoked by the Sigma Phi Epsilon national chap­ ter, w hich enacted the p u n ish ­ ment before the university could carry out any action. Aaron Jam ger, director of mar­ keting and com m unications for the Sigm a Phi Epsilon national chapter, said the university con ­ tacted the national chapter with inform ation from a confidential source. H e said sta ff m em b ers from the n ation al ch a p ter w ere sen t to the u n iv ersity to in v estig ate the incident. " I f th ere's som e evid en ce of hazing, we conduct an investiga­ tion," Jam ger said. any details of the incident because it is still under investigation. Hebson said the fraternity's lo­ cal Alumni Board submitted a list of about 30 nam es for investiga­ tion. His office will hold hearings to determine what type of actions will be taken toward the individu­ als in question. "G re e k life is stro n g [at the university], but no one is above b ein g k ick ed o ff o f c a m p u s ," H ebson said . "W e w an t e v e ry ­ one to have a safe experien ce at the university." H e b so n d id sa y , h o w e v e r, that their in v estig ation is m ore ab o u t fin d in g the in d iv id u a ls resp o n sib le fo r the h azin g in ­ c id e n t and n o t p u n ish in g the chapter as a whole. The O ffice of the D ean of S tu ­ d en ts has o u tlin ed sev eral an- ti-h a z in g m e a su re s th a t h av e w o rk ed w ith re la tiv e su cce ss, H ebson said . The u n iv e rs ity 's an ti-h az in g p o licy is review ed by each ch ap ter p resid en t and a d v is o r w ith the e n tire m e m ­ bership of the organization, in ­ clud ing alum ni, associate m em ­ bers and pledges. T h e ch ap ter p resid en t, c h a p ­ ter ad visor, new m em b er e d u ­ cator and facu lty ad visor sign a cop y of the anti-hazing policies, w h ich can be read below , in d i­ c a tin g th at th eir o rg a n iz a tio n w ill fo llow and ad h ere to this policy. V iolation o f this a g re e ­ m ent su b jects the org an ization to punishm ent. Punishment for violation of the anti-hazing policy can come with a stiff penalty. Alabama is one of 31 states with anti-hazing legisla­ tion, according to the Office of the Dean of Students. As such, those w ho violate the university's an­ ti-hazing policies can be charged w ith a Class-C m isdemeanor, or may be named in both crim inal and civil prosecution. R a lp h C le m e n ts , p re s id e n t of the fraternity's local A lum ni Board, said board mem bers con­ ducted an investigation as well. Clem ents said the board asked q u estio n s to anyone w ho m ay hav e been involved , com piled the list of nam es that w as su b ­ m itted to the Office of the Dean of Students and wrote a sum m a­ ry o f what they uncovered. C lem ents said their investiga­ tion w as an internal matter. " T h e a lu m n i b o a rd w a n ts to retu rn Sigm a Phi Epsilon to ca m p u s as soon as p o ss ib le ," C lem ents said. ' — The A ssociated Press Soon thereafter, the University Jam ger said he could not release Spanish-language radio show airs 5,000th episode I c e s k a t e r s r a i s e f u n d s By Lena Price Daily Texan Staff L is te n e r s fro m 1 5 0 c it ie s across the United States as well as in C o lo m b ia , El S a lv a d o r, M exico and Venezuela tuned in to U niverso, a brief Spanish-lan­ guage radio program broadcast from UT-Austin, on Sunday. U n iv erso g ives b rief lessons about the science and history of astronom y. S u n d ay 's program focused on Siriu s and Procion, the "d o g stars." The episode marked the 5,000th time the program has aired. W h en he sta rte d th e p ro ­ gram almost 13 years ago, w rit­ er and producer Dammond Ben- ningfield said he did not antic­ ipate the long-term success of Universo. "W e were very hopeful," Ben- n in g fie ld sa id . "B u t you c e r­ tainly never know how success­ ful you 're going to be. Finding fu nd ing for it w as and has al- Hopefully these pro gram s provide a little m ore appeal f o r kids who come across th em ." — D am m ond fieri ningfield, w riter a n d p ro d u c e r ways been a big challenge." A t th e tim e he s ta r te d to d e v e lo p the id ea fo r U n iv e r­ so, B e n n in g fie ld had alrea d y b ee n p ro d u c in g an E n g lis h - lan g u ag e astro n o m y p rogram c a lle d S ta r D a te , w h ic h had been on the air for a year. Star­ D ate is now th e lo n g e s t-ru n ­ ning s cie n ce p ro g ram b ro a d ­ cast on U.S. airw aves. Benningfield started translat­ ing and b road castin g m any of the sam e topics from StarD ate into Spanish. "B asically it is the sam e pro­ gram every day," Benningfield said . "S o m e d ays I do sw itch o u t and c u s to m iz e th e p r o ­ grams. Som etim es I try to bring in the astronom y of the M aya, or m ention the nam e of a L ati­ no scien tist to add an elem ent of cu ltu re." T h e g oal o f b oth B e n n in g ­ field 's program s is to m ake sci­ ence more accessible to students and fam ilies. "H o p e fu lly th ese p ro gram s provide a little more appeal for kids w ho com e acro ss th e m ," B en ningfield said . "S cie n ce in general is very multicultural. It's open to everyone; it's not just for 50-year-old men in lab coats." The M cD onald O bservatory, an astronom y research unit a f­ filiated w ith UT, sp on so rs the program . "T h ro u g h th ese sh o rt rad io pieces, w e're w orking to m ake s cie n ce a c c e ss ib le to S p an ish speakers, a group th a t's grow ­ ing in p o p u la tio n in the U .S. but is un derrepresen ted in the sc ie n ce s," said M cD onald O b­ servatory D irector D avid Lam ­ b ert in a p re ss re le a se ab o u t the s h o w 's a n n iv e rsa ry . "W e w an t to h elp p e o p le b eco m e in te reste d in scie n ce , c e rta in ­ ly in term s o f career p o ssib ili­ ties for young people, but also sim p ly to be in fo rm ed ab ou t the w orld around th em ." Bennigfield said the program will rem ain accessible for more than 2 m illion p eople a s long they can find funding for it. "O n e of the reasons the pro­ gram had been so successful is becau se it d eals w ith stu ff you can actu ally go s e e ," he said . "P e o p le are g o in g to be very in te re s te d in a stro n o m y and space exp lo ratio n ." E rika Rich | Daily Texan Staff Amanda Alvarez, 7, skates Saturday at the "Fire & Ice" event at the downtown location of Whole Foods Market. All proceeds from Saturday 's skating went to the Austin Fire Department's "Free Smoke Alarm" pro­ gram. The program "purchases fire alarms for members of the commu­ nity, which are installed by firefighters," said Austin Fire Academy Cadet Brian Garcia. The market's skating rink, called Austin's "only public skat­ ing rink," is open from Nov. 28 through Jan. 11,10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Hot Choc­ olate and holiday-themed foods are available next to the rink. The cost to skate is $10 a person, and the nnk is open to all ages. — ER 6A New s Monday, December 8,2008 Latinitas aims to encourage Hispanic teens By Melanie Gasmen Daily Texan Staff Fourteen-year-old Alajandra Rodriguez focused a pink Kodak 8.2-megapixel camera on a but­ terfly landing on a yellow rose in front of the Carver Branch Aus­ tin Public Library. She said she was trying to capture it using the "rule of thirds," a camera tech­ nique. It was Rodriguez's second Latinitas photography w ork­ shop, but said she could use the practice. "I'm looking for a camera for Christmas, so I'll need to learn how to use it," she said. Latinitas, the first digital mag­ azine made for and by Latinas, has held free media camps for all girls ages 8 to 14 at the St. John's Branch Library for the past two years. Saturday marked the first meeting at the Carver Branch as well as a separate meeting in San Marcos. Andrea Tapia, a UT adver­ tising freshman and Latinitas volunteer, said the photogra­ phy workshop helps influence younger girls' interest in photog­ raphy. Workshops also taught ra­ dio, video, blogging and graphic design sessions. "It gets the com m unity in­ volved ," Tapia said. "A nd it gives kids something to do oth­ er than watch TV." Laura Donnelly, co-founder of the nonprofit Latinitas mag­ azine and Teen Latinitas maga­ zine, said the mission of Latini­ tas is to empower young Latinas using media and technology. "There's a lesser amount of Latinos in the media," Donnelly said. "Latinitas puts media pro­ duction in their hands so they have tools to change this." Donnelly said that 90 percent of the girls who participate in the programs do not have computers at home, so they are also helping them "in the tech curve." Former UT students Donnelly and Alicia Rascón started Latini­ tas five years ago when they were in a Latinos and Media course. "We couldn't find anything in girl media for Latino girls," Don­ nelly said. The majority of the magazine's content is written by Latina girls in the relevant age groups. Is­ sues they cover include enter­ tainment and serious teen chal­ lenges, as well as the geography of Hispanic countries. Latinitas offers 22 after-school programs in Austin, Round Rock and El Paso and also provides summer camps. “We are always looking for in­ terns to put in 10 hours a week to help out with two after-school programs," Donnelly said. The m agazine and its pro­ grams are funded by school con­ tracts, grants and donations. For their first upcoming print issue, an insert in El Mundo that will circulate to 30,000 readers, they will use print advertisements for the first time. Harvard to rethink spending following endowment decline By June Q. Wu The Harvard Crimson (UWire) Harvard's endowment — the largest in higher education — fell 22 percent in four months from its June 30 value of $36.9 billion, marking the endowment's larg­ est decline in modern history, university officials announced. The precipitous drop will re­ quire Harvard's faculties to take a “hard look at hiring, staffing levels and compensation," wrote University President Drew G. Faust and Executive Vice Presi­ dent Edward C. Forst '82 in a let­ ter informing the deans of Har­ vard's losses. The decline, which amounts to more than $8 billion, is larger than the endowments of all but four other universities— Yale, Princeton, Stanford and MIT. In the same period, the S&P 500 fell 24.6 percent. The index has fallen an additional 12.4 per­ cent since then. The estim ate of 22 percent may not fully capture the actual losses from this p e rio d , F o r s t said in an inter­ view yesterday, as some of Har­ v a rd 's m oney is invested with external manag­ ers that have yet to report their latest fig u res. Faust and Forst wrote in yester­ day's letter that th e u n iv e r s i­ ty should plan for a 30 percent drop-off in en­ dowment value for the year end­ ing June 30, 2009. The Faculty of Arts and Scienc­ es placed a freeze on staff hiring last week, following a cautionary letter from Faust a month earlier that warned of cutbacks ahead. Yesterday's figure dwarfs Har­ vard's worst single-year endow­ ment loss of 12.2 percent in 1974. The endow m ent has clocked only three years of negative re­ turns, all under 3 percent, in the subsequent three decades. Forst said university leaders have delayed setting the endow­ ment payout rate for the next fis­ cal year — a figure generally an­ nounced the December before — until Harvard's schools can re­ evaluate their budgets. "Given the extreme volatility in the mar­ kets, I don't expect (the payout rate] will be set until we have a much more concrete sense about financial plans and endowment performance," Forst said. Yesterday's letter did state that university leaders expect to spend a higher percentage of the endowment next year in an ef­ fort to buffer the immediate im­ pact of the losses. The letter also stressed the pos­ sibility of slowing construction projects or reevaluating "staff­ ing levels," and Forst confirmed that the university will reevalu­ ate the scope and pace of every major capital program — includ­ ing Allston expansion plans and House renovations at the Col­ lege. "We expect that every part of the university is going to have to find ways to reduce its operating expenses," Forst said. The need for budget reduc­ tions could have particular im­ pact on employee salaries and benefits, which make up half of the university's costs, according to yesterday's letter. Forst would not say w heth­ er m ore hiring free z es w ould f o l l o w l a s t w e e k 's fre e z e in th e F a c u l­ ty of A rts and S c ie n c e s , b u t said in d iv id u ­ al schools w ill n eed to "ta k e a hard look at c o m p e n s a tio n generally." decline, which amounts to more than $8 billion, is larger than the endowments o f all but fo u r other universities — Ya/e, Princeton, Stanford and M IT.” T h e c e n tr a l ad m in istratio n will work close­ ly w ith le a d ­ ers at the schools to tailor so­ lutions to their individual cir­ cum stances, Forst said, add­ ing that Faust convened a two- hour meeting yesterday morn­ ing to discuss the latest finan­ cial update with the deans. "O bviously, no one is hap­ py with the endowment being d ow n," w rote FAS Dean M i­ chael D. Smith in an e-mail to The Crimson yesterday, "but it does help out planning efforts to understand where the por­ tion of the endowment that we can measure stands." While the schools struggle to budget for this new develop­ ment, H arvard's money man­ agers plan to increase the uni­ v ersity 's financial flexibility by upping cash holdings and reducing the amount of risk in the endowment portfolio. ,,, Ana Rodriguez and daughter Allie learn how to take digital photos as part of a Latinitas-sponsored journalism workshop Saturday m orning. Caleb Miller | Daily Texan Staff give more, for less. With phones that can do it all. $29.99 or higher and get up to 3 FREE LGVX5500 camera phones $79.99 2-yr. price - $50 mail-in rebate debit card. Requires new 2-yr. activation per phone. LG Voyager™ in Titanium s99" $149.99 2-yr. prke - $50 mail-in rebate debit card. Requires a Nationwide Calling Plan and new 2-yr. activation. Ourlowést price ever! $129.99 2-yr. price - $50 mail-in rebate debit card Requires new 2-yr. activation. $179.99 2-yr. price - $50 mail-in rebate debit card. Requires a Nationwide Calling Plan and new 2-yr. activation. 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C 20 0 8 Verizon Wireless B Monday, December 8,2008 VOLLEYBALL Texas junior Ashley Engle go es for a kill against Wichita State. Engle finished with eight kills and nine digs. Paul Chouy Daily Texan Staff WOMEN'S BASKETBALL Texas stays perfect with 74-50 win over Ole Miss Raven scores 16 points to lead ninth-ranked Texas to 8-0 start By Wes DeVoe Daily Texan Staff Texas' junior guard Brittainey Raven scored 16 points and continued to show why she has been touted as one of the best players in the Big 12 Con­ ference in a 74-50 victory over the Mississippi Reb­ els (7-1) Sunday in Oxford, Miss. This contest marked the sixth meeting between the teams and the first since 1988. The Longhorns now hold a 5-1 lead in the all-time series. No. 9 Texas (8-0) came out of the gates sluggish for the third consecutive game and struggled un­ til they took their first lead of the game at the 9:55 mark of the first half. After that, the Rebels and the Longhorns swapped leads a total of six times. But Texas finished on a 13-2 run in the final five min­ utes to go into the locker room up 36-29. In the second half, the Longhorns looked like the team that experts expected them to look like, as they outscored the Rebels 38-21. Texas was able to put the game away with an 8-0 run in the open­ ing four minutes of the second half. Ole Miss nev­ er came within nine points again. "It was a matter of finding the right combina­ tion," said Texas head coach Gail Goestenkors. "Sometimes it takes a little while to see w hat is working best and once we did that, I was pleased with how we played." Four Texas players finished in double figures. Junior guard Erika A rriaran scored 14 points, while freshman guard Ashleigh Fontenette and sophomore guard Kathleen Nash added 13 and 10, respectively. Goestenkors has expressed her satisfaction with the rebounding effort all year long. She couldn't have been much happier after Sunday's game. Ole Miss came into action ranked second nationally in rebounding margin, but the Rebels were out-re­ bounded bv Texas 47-34. "I'm disappointed with our rebounding," said Ole Miss head coach Renee Ladner. "We were dominated there. But, we're a 7-1 team that's done a lot of good things, and we have an opportunity to learn from this." The Longhorns finished the game shooting 48 percent from the field, while holding the Rebels to only 26 percent and forcing 25 turnovers. RAVEN continues on page 2B MEN'S SWIMMING T h e D a i l y T Is x a n Sports Editor: Anup Shah E-mail: sports@dailytexanonline.com Phone: (512) 232-2210 www.dailytexanonline.com No. 3 Longhorns advance to Sweet 16 Sweeps over Lamar, Wichita State lead to matchup with UCLA By Austin Talbert Daily Texan Staff Jerritt Elliott and Chris Lamb talk all the time — as many as five times last week. But on Saturday night, the two friends, who have squared off "at least a hundred times," according to Elliot, didn't share many words, not while their teams were battling on the court. Lamb's Wichita State team had lost one match all season. Elliott's Tex­ as squad had lost just one match at home all season. Both teams were ranked in the top 13 in the latest AVCA poll, but the two friends never thought their teams would be match­ ing up in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Saturday at Gregory G ym nasi­ um , the L onghorns doubled the Shockers' losses, sweeping Wichita State 3-0 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. With two sweeps over Lamar and Wichita State, Texas secured its spot at home in the Austin Regional, the third straight season the Longhorns have advanced to the regional round of the NCAA Tournam ent. A nd though Wichita State won 30 games and went undefeated through their regular season, the Shockers fell vic­ tim to a system that only seeds the nation's top 16 teams. "I am extremely proud of the way we came out playing. We served and received very well," said Texas head coach Jerritt Elliott. "We served real­ ly well and that was the big compo­ nent. It was one of our better match­ es on the year, and I think we contin­ ue to get better. We had to play at a very high level to beat a very good Wichita State team, and we execut­ ed at a very high level. We took great swings and got people involved and kept them off-balánce. Teehnically and skill-wise, they are a gflsirt team and coached well, but we just had a little bit extra in terms of thephysical- ity component." While the NCAA Volleyb*tf Tour­ nament is similar to Matchfv^adness in that there is a 64-team bracket, the volleyball version differs in that only the top 16 teams are seeded, meaning the rest of the tournament matchups are based on geographic location in­ stead of seeding. The No. 13 Wichi­ ta State team (30-1) had to travel to Austin and face a No. 1 -seeded Tex­ as team. "I'm pretty proud of my team for the season we've had. With the way the tournament is made up, I see it as not how far in the tournament you go, it's what team you get to, that's the state of the tournam ent right now," Lamb said. "We got to Texas and they are a great team." Though the system was stacked against the Shockers, they came out strong taking an early 7-5 lead on Texas in the first set. But when Wich­ ita State started missing its serves — which they were trying to pin­ point on lines to knock Texas out of their rhythm — the Longhorns took VBALL continues on page 2B Lo o k in g a h ea d Ryan Bailey, left, Trevor Gerland, center, and Justin Tucker, right, wait in the tunnel during Texas' win over Rice earlier this season. Keter rranKiin | uany lexan Stan Bowl Schedule: Rose Bowl Game Presented by Citi Jan. 1 Penn State vs. USC FedEx Orange Bowl Jan. 1 Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech Allstate Sugar Bowl Jan. 2 Utah vs. Alabama Ohio State vs. Texas FedEx B G National Championship Game Jan. 8 Florida vs. Oklahoma see page 2B for more Bowl schedules Bound for Fiesta Bowl By Brad Gray Daily Texan Staff Though they are two of the most storied programs in college football, Ohio State and Texas hadn't met on the field before 2005. Now they'll be going for their third Sunday night's BCS announce­ ments pitted the No. 10 Buckeyes and No. 3 Longhorns in the Tostitos Fies­ ta Bowl. The two teams will play the game on Jan. 5 in Glendale, Ariz. Texas and O hio State played a h o m e-an d -h o m e m a tc h u p early in the 2005 and 2006 seasons. Both winners w ent on to play in nation­ al championships, with Texas beat­ ing USC in 2005 and Ohio State los­ ing to Florida in 2006. "When the season starts, your first goal is to win your conference and your second goal is a BCS bowl and we did that, being co-champions and making it to the Fiesta Bowl," Tex­ as coach Mack Brown said in a tele­ conference late Sunday night. "I ad­ mire and respect and like [Ohio State coach] Jim Tressel so it will be a fun week for all of us to get together and have great competition between two great programs and a fantastic bowl." Texas got shut out of a potential national championship when the No. 2 Oklahoma Sooners beat Missouri 62-21 Saturday night in Kansas City, Mo. The Sooners, co-champions in the Big 12 South, went to the cham­ pionship because they were ranked higher than Texas in the BCS rank­ ings last Sunday. Throughout last week, Texas fans still clung to hope for a bid to the BCS National Championship. After Flor­ ida's 31-20 win over Alabama Satur­ day, the Longhorns had an outside shot at the No. 2 ranking to set up a rematch against Oklahoma. The Sooners were ranked No. 1 in the BCS poll and will play No. 2 Flor­ ida in the BCS Championship on Jan. 9 in Miami. "Even though w e're disappoint­ ed w e're not playing in the Nation­ al Championship Game, it's a great FIESTA continues on page 2B Tostitos Fiesta Bowl Jan. 5 game in four seasons. Walters breaks Phelps’ record as Longhorns cruise in Texas Invitational Reese impressed as squad earns 11 NCAA qualifying times By Ben Freed Daily Texan Staff Junior Dave Walters stole the show Friday as the Longhorn m en's swimming and diving team put on a stellar performance at the Texas Invitational. Walters broke Michael Phelps' American record to win the 200- yard freestyle event, finishing in 1:31.83. Phelps' record stood since March of 2006. "H aving an American record is som ething very special, espe­ cially w hen it's one of Michael [Phelps']" said head coach Eddie Reese. "Usually the only person w ho breaks his [Phelps'] records is himself." The entire m en's sw im m ing and diving team turned in a dom ­ inating performance from begin­ ning to end in the last meet of the fall season. In a three-day meet that featured swimmers from No. 4-ranked Arizona, Wisconsin, Ar­ izona State and California at Da­ vis and Berkley, the Longhorns' combined swimming and diving points total was almost 500 points ahead of second place Arizona's. The final point tally was 1,424.5 for Texas to 938.5 for Arizona. Coach Reese w as particu lar­ ly impressed with all of the per­ sonal best tim es his sw im m ers turned in. "This is the best w e'v e ever sw um this tim e of year," Re­ ese said. "We're all pretty' excited about it; everyone has something to feel good about." The L onghorns op en ed the meet with a bang Thursday, win­ ning six of the day's seven events. Texas swim m ers picked up four divers, giving Texas first through third, fifth and eighth places in the event. Longhorn divers also took the top three spots in the 3-meter and platform diving events on Fri­ day and Saturday, respectively, to complete their dominance in that area of the meet. Texas sw im m ers posted four more automatic qualifying times on Friday, but the spotlight was on Walters' electri fying performance in the 200-yard freestyle final. "I wanted to go for it [the Amer­ ican record]," Walters said. "I was in so much pain down the stretch and doubted I could get under the record. I put my head dow n and dug deep for every ounce of energy I had in me. Coach Re­ ese and [UT assistant coach] Kris Kubik both gave me a hug after­ ward, and that meant a lot, meant more than words." Texas continued their strong meet Saturday, swimming to two more individual NCAA automat­ ic qualifying times and qualified one more relay for the cham pi­ onship meet. A day after break­ ing the Am erican record in the 200-free, Walters swam the sec­ ond faste st tim e ev er in th e 100-free, w in in g the event in 42.13 seconds. Both Walters and Coach Reese attributed the team 's success to strong team chemistry. "It's an individual sport, scored as a team sport and every indi­ vidual is better if they work as a group," Coach Reese said. "And it [the chem istry] can not come from coaches; w e d o n 't know how to do it. It comes from the kids an d they sh o u ld get all the credit." In a sp o rt th a t W alters d e ­ scribed as "99 percent m ental," Texas has proven that they have w hat it takes to succeed both in­ dividually and as a team. Paul Chouy | Daily Texan Staff A Longhorn swimmer is cheered on during the Texas Invitaitonal. autom atic qualifying tim es on Thursday, two by Junior Ricky Berens and one each for Senior Michael Klueh and Walters. The meet's 1-meter diving event was also held Thursday, a big reason for Texas' large lead in overall points. Freshman Drew Livings­ ton w on the event but was fol­ lowed by four consecutive Texas SPORTS Monday, December 8,2008 Hersey sets four school records E rik a Rich | D a ily Texan Staff Texas swimmers and fans cheer on the Longhorns during the Texas Invitational Saturday. The Longhorns set seven new school records in the meet that consisted of seven other teams. "K now ing how A rizona pre­ pares, I really hadn't thought a lot about trying to win the meet," Brackin said. "W e really talked about individual performances. I don't want to minimize winning, but this meet was more about get­ ting an idea of what NCAAs will be like. We'll talk about winning w'hen the time is right." In particular, Brackin said she w'as impressed with the perfor­ mance of the upperclassmen. "We're not just counting on these big studs to carry u s," she said. "[Senior] Jacqueline M artin-Lac- ey, [sophomore] Carlye Ellis, and [sophomore] Adrienne Woods just stepped up and did some of their best times during this meet. I'm really proud of them for that. " In ad d ition to sw im m ing at home in front of a crowded Swim Center, the w om en got to swim alongside the No. 1-ranked Texas m en's team. "It's alw ays great sw im m ing with the men," Brackin said. "Both teams played off each other's mo­ mentum. They were getting excit­ ed about our swimming and then vice versa. [The men] are goofy, and they're all buddies, so it's just good to spend time together." O v e ra ll, B ra ck in w as m ore than satisfied with the team 's 4-1 record in the fall season. "T h is m eet has been the p in ­ n acle of the s e a s o n ," B rack in said. "T h e team w as well p re­ pared, and I think we did a tre­ mendous job." FIESTA: Split national title a possibility W O M E N S S W I M M I N G By Lena Price Daily Texan Staff Tine women on the Texas swim­ ming and diving team participated in six grueling rounds of competi­ tion over the course of three days last week. Even though the team w as spending at least six hours a day racing against seven other schools at the annual Texas Invita­ tional, everyone had to find time to write end-of-the-semester papers and study for finals. Assistant swim coach Jim Hen­ ry helped fresh m an K ath leen Hersey make it through the week in one piece. "H e said, 'Keep w hat's in the pool in the pool, and w hat's at school at sch o o l.'" H ersey said. "That really helped. We had to do a lot of preparation for finals in ad­ vance, and I'm used to doing ev­ erything last minute, so that was challenging for me." Hersey found the time to set four new school records in the 200 and 400 IM, as well as the 100 and 200 butterfly. Freshm an K arlee Bispo also set a school record in the 200 freestyle, and the 'Horns took down long-standing records in the 400 and 800 freestyle relays. "Considering that we got a few' days of rest after Thanksgiving, I was so impressed and so excited with the team," Hersey said. Despite the number of records set by the team , the 'H orns fin­ ished in second place for the first time this season. They ended the meet with a total of 985 points, and defending national champions Ar­ izona brought home the win with 1,153.5 points. Head coach Kim Brackin said the final score was not the most impor­ tant aspect of the weekend's meet. Bowl Schedule EagleBank Bowl Dec. 20. Wake Forest vs. Navy New Mexico Bowl Dec. 20 Colorado State vs. Fresno State magicJack St. Petersburg Bowl Dec. 20 Memphis vs. South Florida Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl Dec. 20 BYU vs. Arizona R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl Dec. 21 Southern MLss. vs. Troy San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl Dec. 23 Boise State vs. TCU Sheraton Hawaii Bowl Dec. 24 Hawaii vs. Notre Dame Motor City Bowl Dec. 26 Florida Atlantic vs. Central Mich­ igan Meineke Car Care Bowl Dec. 27 West Virginia vs. North Carolina Champs Sports Bowl Dec. 27 Wisconsin vs. Florida State Emerald Bowl Dec. 27 Miami (Fla.) vs. California Independence Bowl Dec. 28 Northern Illinois vs. Louisiana Tech Papajohns.com Bowl Dec. 29 NC State vs. Rutgers Valero Alamo Bowl Dec. 29 Missouri vs. Northwestern R °aity's Humanitarian Bowl Dec. 30 Maryland vs. Nevada Texas Bowl Dec. 30 Rice vs. Western Michigan Pacific Life Holiday Bowl Dec 30 Oklahoma State vs. Oregon Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl Dec. 31 Houston vs. Air Force Brut Sun Bowl Dec. 31 Oregon State vs. Pittsburgh Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl Dec.31 Boston College vs. Vanderbilt Insight Bowl Dec.31 Kansas vs. Minnesota Chick-fil-A Bowl Dec. 31 LSU vs. Georgia Tech Outback Bowl Jan. 1 South Carolina vs. Iowa Capital One Bowl Jan. 1 Georgia vs. Michigan State Konica Minolta Gator Bowl Jan. 1 Clemson vs. Nebraska AT&T Cotton Bowl Jan. 2 Ole Miss vs. Texas Tech AutoZone Liberty Bowl Jan. 2 Kentucky vs. East Carolina International Bowl Jan. 3 Buffalo vs. Connecticut GMAC Bowl Jan. 6 Tulsa vs. Ball State 2B SPORTS BRIEFLY No. 7 Texas Tech to play No. 20 Ole Miss in Cotton Bowl DALLAS — Texas Tech and Mis­ sissippi accepted bids Sunday to play in the Cotton Bowl, creat­ ing a matchup of teams responsi­ ble for the only losses by a pair of BCS teams. The No. 8 Red Raiders (11-1) ended the regular season in a tie for the Big 12 South title with Okla­ homa and Texas. The Sooners ad­ vanced to the Big 12 champion­ ship game on a tiebreaker and won the league championship, though Texas Tech handed the Longhorns their only loss this season. No. 20 Ole Miss (8-4) has won five straight games. Early in the season, the Rebels won at South­ eastern Conference champion Flor­ ida 31-30. The 73rd Cotton Bowl will be played Jan. 2. It will be the final time the game will be played in the Cotton Bowl before moving to the Dallas Cowboys' new $1 billion- plus stadium next year. It is the first bowl game for Ole Miss since the 2004 Cotton Bowl, when Eli Manning led the Rebels to a 31-28 victory' over Oklahoma State. That was their first Cotton Bowl in 42 years. Texas Tech lost 13-10 to Alabama in the 2006 Cotton Bowl. It is the Red Raiders' fourth Cotton Bowl. This is the second consecu­ tive year Houston Nutt has led a team to the Cotton Bowl, though he didn't come last year. Nutt was Arkansas' coach last year, but re­ signed to become the Mississippi coach last December. Ole Miss and Texas Tech have twice met in bowl games, the Reb­ els winning the 1986 and 1998 In­ dependence Bowls. North Carolina women's soccer wins 19th NCAA championship CARY, N.C. — Casey Noguei- ra starred once again on the biggest stage in NCAA women's soccer. North Carolina's junior forward provided the heroics in the cham­ pionship game of the Women's College Cup for the second time in three years, scoring two second- half goals to lead the Tar Heels to a 2-1 victory over Notre Dame on Sunday. The Tar Heels (25-1-2) overcame the fastest goal in Notre Dame his­ tory to win their 19th women's soc­ cer championship in the 27-year history of the tournament and deny the Fighting Irish's bid for their first undefeated season. Nogueira, who had a goal and an assist in UNC's 2-1 victory over Notre Dame in the 2006 champion­ ship game, scored the winning goal Sunday with 2:06 remaining. She dribbled to the flank just inside the left side of the box and lofted a left­ footed shot over the head of Notre Dame goalkeeper Kelsey Lysander and into the right side of the net. Nogueira's first goal was a right­ footed blast on a free kick that tied the score in the 52nd minute. Kerri Hanks gave Notre Dame (26-1-0) the early lead, finding the back of the net 16 seconds into the game. Romo throws fourth-quarter pick in Cowboys' loss to Steelers PITTSBURGH — Deshea Townsend scored on a 26-yard in­ terception return with 1:40 re­ maining as the Pittsburgh Steelers scored their only two touchdowns 24 seconds apart to rally from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quar­ ter and deal the Dallas Cowboys a potentially damaging loss, winning 20-13 on Sunday. Pittsburgh was stopped on a fourth-and-goal play at the Dallas 1 early in the fourth while falling be­ hind 13-3 but came back to tie it at 13 on Ben Roethlisberger's 6-yard pass to Heath Miller with 2:04 re­ maining. Roethlisberger found Nate Washington three times for 51 yards on a 67-yard drive af­ ter the Cowboys (8-5) twice stalled on drives that, if they had scored, probably would have sealed it. The Dallas loss secured the NFC East for New York (11-2), despite the Giants' 20-14 loss to Philadel­ phia earlier in the day. The Steelers didn't wrap up an AFC playoff spot, but assured themselves of the AFC North lead going into next Sunday's game at Baltimore, which played Washing­ ton later Sunday night. Texans fight off cold weather to beat Green Bay 24-21 GREEN BAY, Wis. — Matt Schaub certainly didn't look like a guy whose knee wasn't healthy enough for him to play just six days ago. Schaub returned from a four- game absence to throw for a ca­ reer-high 414 yards in the Hous­ ton Texans' 24-21 victory over the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on Sunday. He also led a fi­ nal drive to set up Kris Brown's 40-yard field goal on the last play of the game. After sitting out the Texans' (6- 8) victory over Jacksonville on Monday night, Schaub returned Sunday to play with a brace on his left knee — but his mobility certainly didn't suffer. He made big plays on rollouts and bootlegs all afternoon, completing passes to eight receivers. Of course, it's possible that the 3-degree temperature at kick- off might have numbed Schaub's knee to the point where he couldn't feel it. The Texans racked up 549 yards of total offense. Green Bay's third straight loss makes it highly unlikely that the Packers (5-8) will be back in the playoffs this year, even in the me­ diocre NFC North. And it came in strikingly similar fashion to last Sunday's late-game giveaway to Carolina at Lambeau. It was Green Bay's fifth loss by four points or fewer this season. The Texans won despite com­ mitting four turnovers, perhaps the byproduct of a warm-weath­ er team playing in just-above-zero conditions. Texans rookie running back Steve Slaton rushed for 120 yards and caught three passes for 40 yards, a continuation of his 130- yard, two-touchdown perfor­ mance against Jacksonville. Missouri, Northwestern will square off in Alamo Bowl COLUMBIA, Mo. — Missouri on Sunday accepted an invitation to play 22nd-ranked Northwestern in the Alamo Bowl, the school's fourth straight under coach Gary Pinkel. Athletic director Mike Alden confirmed the bid for Missouri, and Northwestern (9-3) confirmed on its Web site that it would be the opponent. Missouri scheduled a 6 p.m. CST news conference to offi­ cially announce its bowl destina­ tion and opponent. The Tigers (9-4) fell to the Ala­ mo Bowl, set for Dec. 29 in San Antonio, Texas, a day after losing 66-21 to Oklahoma in the Big 12 championship game. They've lost two straight, also falling 40-37 to Kansas in the regular-season fina­ le, and they fell six spots to No. 25 in the rankings. The Missouri-Northwestern se­ ries is tied at four wins apiece, with the last meeting in 1987. C om piled from Associated Press reports One call could save you hundreds. Do the math. • Convenient local office • M o n e y -sa v in g discounts • Low dow n paym ents • M o n th ly paym ent plans • 24-hour service and claim s • C o ve rage available by phone GEICQ Local Office C A L L F OR A F R E E R A T E QUOTE*. 732-2211 9041 Research Blvd., Suite 2 4 0 (Austin) Hwy 183 (a Burnet Rd., above Black-Eyed Pea Somt drvountv coverages, payment plans and feature* are not available in afi states or tn a# Of (CO companies Government Employer hnurance Co G6K.Ü General »nsurar:e Co GftCO indemnity C a Of ICO Casualty Co These companies are subsidiaries of BerVshwe Hatha* GEJCO auto insurant* s not ava^táe m M A tjElCO Washington DC 20076 © 2007 G E K O the G KCO gecko image © GEtCO 1999 2i From page IB way to finish our season and show what kind of team we really are," defensive tackle Roy Miller said. "T he Fiesta Bowl is one that no­ body on this team has gotten to go to, so it will be a new experience, and from everything I've heard, the Fiesta Bowl is one of the best experiences." There w as also the p o ssibili­ ty, floated by a Fox executive last week, that the Longhorns could have faced Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. Instead, the Crimson Tide will play against Utah on Jan. 2 in New Orleans. With a win, the Longhorns still have the possibility of earning a split national title. Although it is unlikely, if O klahom a wins the BCS title gam e and Texas beats Ohio State, Associated Press voters could put Texas at No. 1. The AP awards a national championship to the team that finishes No. 1 in its fi­ nal media poll. That's what irks most fans and coaches who have been clamoring for a playoff system for years. Jim Tressel coach ed in p la y ­ o ff g am es fo r D iv isio n I-A A Y ou n gstow n S tate from 1986- 2000 before joining the Buckeyes in 2001. "I've been part of a playoff sys­ tem for 15 years and that's all we had and it was wonderful and it w as a great thing," Tressel said. "But if we shifted gears in cur lev­ el now and all of our history went by the wayside, I don't know if it would be that easy." Brown said there w ouldn't be any problem motivating his team to play against the Buckeyes after the recent BCS snub. "I don't think that the BCS will matter. I don't think that the rank­ ings will matter," Brown said. RAVEN: Texas ready for upcoming five games From page 1 B As it h as b ee n all year, bench scoring w as im pres­ sive for Texas, as the Long­ h o r n s ' ro le p la y e r s o u t- scored O le M iss 33-14. "W h en you p lay T exas, it's n ot a m atter o f s c o u t­ in g th e fir s t e ig h t p la y ­ e r s ," L ad n er said . " I t's all of them. You've got to deal w ith all o f th em , n ot ju s t the first eight. T hose co m ­ b in a tio n s m ak e it to u g h on yo u ." O le M iss s e n io r c e n te r Shaw n G off led the R ebels in sco rin g w ith 15 p o in ts, w h ile s o p h o m o r e g u a rd K a y la M e lso n a d d e d 10 points in the loss. "D efinitely, this w as a big gam e for u s," G oesten k ors said. "A n y tim e you can get a road w in and a road win ov er an SEC team , like an O le M iss, th a t's very big. T h e y 're good and th e y 're w e ll-c o a ch e d , so it's very im portant." Texas now has a w eek off in p re p a ra tio n fo r a b r u ­ tal reg u lar seaso n stretch , w here the L on g h o rn s face three ranked op ponents in their next five gam es. The Longhorns w ill w el­ com e P at Su m m it and the No. 7 Tennessee Volunteers to the Frank E rw in C en ter on Dec. 14. Four days later on Dec. 18, Texas hosts the Su n D ev ils as N o. 25 A r i­ zona State visits Austin. VBALL Staying at home for next round From page 1B over going on a 5-0 run and nev­ er looked back. While the Shockers would battle back, Texas would add another 5-0 run and take the first set 25-17. In the second set, Texas cruised, hitting a blistering .528 with 20 kills with a side-out at 71 percent. While the Shockers had a strong set too — they hit .235 with 11 kills and sided-out at 40 percent — they were outgunned by Texas, and the Longhorns took the set 25-18. "It feels pretty good. A gain, that's not going to be possible if we don't have solid passes and having Michelle [Kocher] mixing it up and finding good matchups with the blocks cm the other side," said opposite hitter Ashley Engle. "We found our rhythm early and it worked out for us." Engle finished with eight kills on .429 hitting. D estinee H ook­ er added 10 kills, and sophomore Jennifer Doris was lights-out, hit­ ting .556 with five kills. "I had the easy job. [Heather] Kisner, the back row, the passers and Michelle [Kocher] did a nice job. I just got into a rhythm early, got hot and I was just having fun putting balls away," Doris said. "That's what this NCAA Tourna­ ment is all about, is getting hot at the right time." And heading into the region- als, where Texas has bowed out the past two seasons, the Long­ horns hope they are hot at the right time. "I'm very happy tliat they were very focused," Elliott said. "I'm just starting to think that we are getting very dose to peaking at the right time and it's a good time." Monday, December 8, 2008 SPORT" 3B Oklahoma head football coach Bob Stoops talks to the media during a Big 12 press conference on Friday, Dec. 5 in Kansas City, Mo. Jim Barcus Associated Press BCS C H A M P IO N S H IP Stoops faces former team By Eddie Pells The Associated Press Florida was an up-and-coming pow­ er and Oklahoma was a declining one when Bob Stoops made his move. He left his post as Gators defensive coor­ dinator to take his first head-coaching job with the Sooners. Ten y e a rs later, both p ro g ra m s are on top and set to m eet for the first tim e — w ith a national title at stake."O klahom a's a traditional pow ­ er just like Florida is now," said Steve Spurrier, the former Gators coach who brought Stoops on as his defensive co­ ordinator in 1996. Stoops' arrival in Gainesville came a year after the Gators got pounded 62- 24 by Nebraska in the Fiesta Bowl with the national title on the line. The boost in defense Stoops provided was a per­ fect complement to Spurrier's Fun 'N ' Gun, and the Gators won their first na­ tional title. Fast forward to 2000: In his second year at Oklahoma, Stoops led the Soon­ ers to their seventh national cham pi­ onship and their first since 1985. Florida state to end the 2000 season. But when Spurrier left Florida after the 2001 season, most Gators felt it was just a m atter of getting Stoops on the first flight back home. W ho wouldn't take the sun and fun of Florida over the grit and dust of Norman, right? Stoops declined, though, saying he had every th in g a coach cou ld ever ask for at O klah om a — n ice ca m ­ pus, good boosters, fantastic resourc­ es and, yes, even more tradition than they had at Florida. "H e'd only been there three years, he was building it up," Spurrier said. "H e had a wonderful situation there. No reason to get out of there." The G ato rs ended up hirin g Ron Zook, then three years later, turned to Urban Meyer. M ey er m ad e the G a to rs fo rg et about Stoops. H e's trying to lead Flor­ ida to its second title in three years. Stoops has put Oklahoma in the con­ versation alm ost every year since he arrived. He is going for his first na­ tional title sin ce that 13-2 w in over The winner will join LSU as the sec­ ond team w ith two BCS ch am p ion ­ ships this decade and will also stake a pretty good claam on being called the best program of the 2000s. T h is co u ld be one of th o se rare years in w h ich th ere is no d eb a te over the real national cham pion — no small feat considering the num ber of viable title contenders with one loss: O klahom a, Florida, Texas, Sou thern C alifornia, Alabam a, Texas Tech and Penn State. The Longhorns had the best argu ­ ment. T hey finished in a three-w ay tie in the n ation 's toughest d ivision — the Big 12 South — but w ere d e­ nied a spot in the title game because of the tiebreaker, which looks to the BCS standings. Oklahoma won the tiebreaker. Tex­ as protested. "But that day has come and gone," said BCS analyst Jerry Palm. "The real­ ity is that Oklahoma is the conference champion and they belong in M iam i." 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A p p ly o n lin e or call 512-326-5655 tiTD 2724351 WATCH FOR DT WEEKEND EVERY THURSDAY Crosswon Edited by Will Shortz No. 1103 ACROSS 3 3 ___ & Tina 1 “G re en ” of 1960s TV 6 Spoiled kid 10 Bossy’s offspring 14 Fill the crevices of, as a window frame 15 Capital of Italia 16 Zero-shaped 17 Etiquette expert writes messages online? 19 Device for a plow team 20 Thieves’ locale 21 Moist, as morning grass 22 Dog : barked :: c a t: ___ 24 Frees (of) 25 Poverty 26 Singer speculates? 31 Eliminate the stubble 32 Pupil’s surrounder Turner Revue 35 Misjudges 36 Princess who helped Jason 38 T e l___ 39 Ballot marks 40 When repeated, a Samoan city 41 Ingrid Bergman or Bjorn Borg 42 Artist clears the bases? 46 Food, informally 47 Actress Lupino and others 48 Many Halloween costumes 51 Cross-country 52 Grain in Cheerios 55 Announcement for the head of a queue 56 Actress searches? 59 Skater’s jump 60 “ and o u f 61 Bar legally 62 Decrease, as the moon 63 Rover’s “hands" 64 Hotel offerings DOWN 1 Scored perfectly on 2 Arrived 3 Damage beyond repair 4 90° pipe turn 5 Jump from a plane 6 Read a little here and there 7 Pink, as cheeks 8 Gal. or qt. 9 One of the six states of Australia 10 Cousin of the gray wolf 11 Declare openly 12 Great S a lt___ 13 Skipped town ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE 18 Foot: Prefix A D 0 P T w H 0 C A R E S D A V 1 E S H A N D M A D E A M E N R A M E R E M 0 R T A A G E L 1 M 1 T A T 0 23 Wraps up 24 Guns, as an engine 25 Had on W E B S 1 S R I B A D E N 26 One “tamed” in E D 0 s A L A 0 S A R E S N 0 T A K E A 0 E E P B R E, A T H 28 To whom a 1 S N T I N 0 S H Shakespeare 27 Ankle bones A B A I B A R 1 • S A 0 S 0 U K 1 N s G T N 0 R R 1 |S A C E N T I C T N H 0 N 0 L u L U 0 P E R A T E s S 1 S S Y 1 S H M A L T M 0 R A L F 1 B E R D E N 0 T E S T 0 U T S A R T E s husband leaves an estate 29 Potomac, for one 30 Loses control on a snowy road, say P u z z le b y S u s a n G e lta n d 31 Gender 40 Warm-up exam 34 Cain and Abel s mother 36 Bobbysoxer’s hangout for future collegians 41 See 53-Down 43 Butterfinger candy bar maker 37 They’re subject to inflation 44 Parkgoers with backpacks 49 Six: Prefix 50 Plow team 51 Whole lot 52 Aware of 53 With 41-Down, nuclear device 54 Recipe measures: Abbr. 38 Inspires 45 Chief Norse god 57 Actress Longoria reverence in 48 Chew (on) 58 G.l. uplifter For answers, call 1-900-285-5656, $1.49 a minute; or, with a credit card, 1-800-814-5554 Annual subscriptions are available for the best of Sunday crosswords from the last 50 years: 1-888-7-ACROSS. 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A p p ly o n lin e at apo- g e e n e t.n e t/e m p lo y m e n t or call 512-478-8858 BUSINESS M f g i it.y. i m boss. MAKE MONEY WHILE YOU SLEEP!!! Be y o u r ow n D etails: m yw e b ca sh sto re . com /kidd0521 1-800-719-8268 28222 call ext: or you saw it in Texan By DAVID OUELLET HOW TO FI AY: All the words listed below appear in the puzzle — horizon­ tally. vertically, diagonally, even backward. Find them and CIRCLE THEIR LETTERS ONLY. DO NOT CIRCLE THE WORD. T he leftover letters spell the Wonderword. RELAY RACES Solution: 7 letters 1 E S M 1 N A M E D ® L T G H G H P G N 1 T A K S © A S N F 1 N A L S W 1 M E ® N N 1 S T N N R M N A K D Y 1 ® Y E 1 P E N R E G O E A R E R E G K R V U E A P E 1 T T T R D S S 1 E R Z L C L S T N R E S O T N C O 1 F O E A U 1 R E L S O T N M N S M R O C 1 T Y V L E S A E A A E C T P E M E H O S D T M G H S L S N P G T P w R W S B R S S N u 1 O A A R M U 0 1 U c R 1 C F G A O R 1 E O T D R 1 V E S R B A T O N N C C C S P O N S O R S H 1 P S E K 1 2/8 © 2008 Universal Press Syndicate www.wonderword.com Baton, Biathlon, Circuit, Competitions, Control, Course, Cross- Country, Crowds, Distance, Drive, Engage, Events, Finals. Games, Gear. Hand, Inspire, Legs, Medal, Members, Olympics, Organizer, Overtaking, Players, Race, Replace, Rest, Rules, Running. Rush, Segment, Skating, Skiing, Slow, Sponsorships, Sprint. Strides, Swim, Team, Track Yesterday’s Answer Chewy Wt to yfNjr '«quests1 TREASURY *8 is tt* 6ret-ev« Wondervrofd book oontanng urvv 20-. 20 prezte #ith 75 olttie sel» g-,,'usrl- vdor M id chedt or money order tor $10.95 eacn plus $325 p ih ($1420 total arch. US. funds only) tarlhe tvs vo U iv $1.50 (Ah tor «Kttaddllim al volume to Wondnnocd, Universal Pmss Syndtetoe, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City Mo 64108 or cat tott-tw* 1 -800-642-64*0 Oder o r * » a m xza e s oom. js u p e n itu e s d a y C o u p o n s ■ I ’- SEE W H A T OUR I I o o 00 T 3 CD I S ® ! ONLIHOE SYSTEM HAS TO OFFER A N 0 P LA C E YOUR A 0 NOW ! SUDOKUFORYOU 9 5 3 1 1 2 5 8 3 6 1 9 3 6 ? 4 1 5 9 6 7 8 6 3 4 2 4 7 2 3 Vestere a y 's solutio n 3 1 4 8 9 2 6 5 2 5 8 3 1 6 7 4 9 9 6 4 7 2 5 3 1 8 4 2 1 9 5 7 8 3 6 5 7 3 1 6 8 9 2 4 8 9 6 2 4 3 5 7 1 1 8 9 6 7 2 4 5 3 7 4 5 8 3 1 6 9 2 6 3 2 5 9 4 1 8 7 You're not my Teacher By: Kenneth Small ken_tma11 gyahoo.com AlmVt, chorus.' Tffjx ^ We'M <í/ij a so»j ;n ^ S0t f f 6£ ! You K"0*} I,'let, ^DO, R£, sq ¿4 t i. Vo\ fori of 4k¡y. T t f o v b H Ü f P o u fiJO I T ( o n fv < ;i f0 6 f a M E t V Pe d O F O T O FO LIOS H U T S A c U t P ' S / AJ ^ T g U C T I O N < F T O ? v~T J+{$> Doí uiteie ¿e**'ce. You1 re not my Teacher By: Kenneth Small ken_sma11 gyahoo.com 1 ftej trafitufA ^ t Monday, December 8, 2008 I í f k & A k t s 5B A different take on holiday films Conventional movies get the boot in our list o f wintry favorites By Malory Lee Daily Texan Staff W hen it co m es d ow n to it, C hristm as is all about the m ov­ ies. W hether you grew up with "A C h arlie B row n C h ristm a s" and "A C h ristm as Story," or if John W illia m s' "H om e A lo n e" theme signifies Christm as to you (w hich it d oes for m e) or you just enjoy catching "It's A Won­ derful L ife" w ith the fam ily ev ­ ery C h ris tm a s E ve, film s u n ­ doubtedly play a significant role in our holiday enjoyment. Everyone has their ow n h o l­ iday fa v o rite s for a v ariety of reasons. In addition to the clas­ sics w e all know and love, the follow ing film s (and TV series) ro tate w ith in m y D VD p lay er throughout the holiday season, each offering som ething d iffer­ ent to love about the Christm as season. GWAR: Band kills effigies of politicians, skinhead From page 6B to lube up the crowd. It was clear that Friday night was going to be a good one. From there, som ething rem i­ niscent of a story line emerged. GWAR was placed in an interga- lactic wresting match against John McCain, Barack Obama and Hil­ lary Clinton. M cCain got his in­ testines ripped out, despite put­ ting up a good fight. Urungus had a very confused expression result­ ing from Obama hitting like a sis­ sy. He and his partner, Bonesnap- per, took care of the president­ elect with ease. The best part of all, though, was Clinton getting her breasts ripped off. GWAR proves it does m isogyny bigger and better than The Mentors ever did. Urungus and the gang were heartily rew arded w ith a giant rock of crack. As they were inject­ ed — smoking just isn't in vogue for cosmic warlords — with crack, they stole their belts from two other cosmic warlords unaware of the mightiness of GWAR. Urun­ gus and Bonesnapper fought the two to the (literally) bloody end. For the encore, Martini came on stage threatening to make good on his promise to curb overpop­ ulation. A hippie was decapitated by M artini, and, since this show w as in A u stin , M o th er E arth wept. The next caricature to die was a goth who vaguely resem ­ bled M arilyn Manson. Urungus even made reference to M anson's supposed child-star background by stating "W hat ever happened to Eddie M unster?" A fter lead ­ ing a skinhead to the sam e fate, Urungus thanked Austin for its hospitality, goodw ill and, most im portantly, the Butthole S u rf­ ers. U ru ng u s also lam p ooned SXSW, stating that Austin was on the verge of being the next Seat­ tle. GWAR is the master of pan­ dering in ways Obama and M c­ Cain only could have dream ed of. They brought together blue collar, white collar, left wing and right wing for a night of political incorrectness drowning in human fluids. We are truly a nation unit­ ed, united by GWAR's sickness. O ne final point: To counteract vicious rumors, GWAR are NOT men in costumes. DIARIES: Play mocks U.S. consum erism From page 6B the program this year, and "The Santaland D ia rie s ." R andolph makes the sardonic com edy look effortless, and he keeps his a u ­ dience laughing, a little guiltily, until the very end of the night w ith his rend ering of Sed aris' m aterial, in w hich he constant­ ly attacks every age, group and race sh am elessly , n ot e x clu d ­ ing the deaf or disfigured. And it w ouldn't have been nearly as funny any other way. "T h e Santaland D iaries" has become an Austin tradition for a reason — it offers a frank and hi­ larious look at the consumerism behind the holidays, without any inhibitions. Com bined with the comedic excellence of Randolph's performances, "Santaland" is one holiday play that even the least festive theatergoers will find hard to frown at. Robert Downey Jr. stars as half of the comedic duo in the black comedy "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. "While the film is not a typical holiday movie, its Christmas-influenced elements make it a must-see for the season. Bros. Pictures tally funny — this is what Christ­ mas entertainm ent is all about. "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" (2005) "Love Actually" (2003) N othing says C hristm as like a good ounce of black comedy. Shane B lack 's 2005 film crafts a brilliant com edic duo out of Rob­ ert D ow ney Jr. and Val Kilm er, playing a w itless thief and a gay private eye, respectively, w ork­ ing to g e th e r to so lv e a m u r­ der case. It's far from a holiday film , ap art from op ening at a C hristm as party in Los Angeles and M ich elle M onaghan ch a s­ ing crim in als in a skim py San ­ ta outfit. N ot to m ention Robert Dow ney Jr. attem pting (and fail­ ing) to rob a toy store to get his niece a C hristm as gift. All very heartw arm ing indeed, and bru ­ On the other side of the spec­ trum lies "L ove Actually," Rich­ ard C u rtis ' u ltim ate rom antic com edy that's already become a modem Christmas classic. The in­ genious intertwining of numerous story lines that are all somehow connected reinforces the message that we are all united as humans by love and that love actually is all around. Along with the joyous portrayals of romance, there are lovely subtleties embedded with­ in the story and heartbreaking in ­ stances of im perfect reality that truly make it a film about love, in all its forms, all its heights and all its utter disappointments. "The Office" (UK) TV series "Joyeux Noel" (2005) (2001-2003) W hat sets Ricky G ervais' and Stephen Merchant's original "The O ffice" apart from its Am erican co u n terp art is that the form er is literary television at its best. The series was driven entirely by the story line involving Tim and Dawn and ended once that sto­ ry concluded instead of continu­ ing unnecessarily (an idea Am er­ ican television is clearly not fa­ m iliar with). The show lasted a brief but satisfying two seasons, ending with a Christm as special that closed the story perfectly, of­ fered understated humor and re­ markably insightful truths on life and remains a sam ple of perfect television. B ased on tru e e v e n ts from World War I, this pow erful film from France depicts the informal truce called by Scottish, French and G erm an troops on C h rist­ m as Eve o f 1914. T hou g h the soldiers ultim ately have to pay for d isob ey in g su p eriors, their act of rebellion against the evils and d estruction of w ar to h on­ or the spirit of C hristm as offers a beautiful sym bol of the pow ­ er of hum an u n ity and peace. Though the story may seem con­ ventional and hyper-sentim en- tal, the film 's p oig nant beauty and its b asis in true, historical events offer an imm ensely hope­ ful m essage, ju st in time for the holiday season. White House reporter to host ‘Meet the Press’ David Gregory takes the helm of popular TV show next week By Frazier Moore The Associated Press N EW YO RK — D avid G reg ­ o ry 's new jo b as m od erator of "M eet the P ress" was made offi­ cial Sun day w ith an annou nce­ m ent on the long-running NBC interview program that he w ill take over starting next week. The 3 8-y e ar-o ld ch ie f W hite H ou se co rre sp o n d e n t w as in ­ troduced by Tom Brokaw, w ho stepped in as temporary host last June after the death of Tim Rus- sert, the p ro g ra m 's m o d erato r since 1991. " I 'v e th o u g h t a lo t a b o u t w hat it m eans to succeed som e­ body like Tim R u ssert," G rego­ ry told v iew ers. "I'm not Tim . But along w ith this great team , I can ju st w ork real hard to m ake him prou d ." A ratin g s lea d er w ith e n o r­ mous influence, "M eet the Press" brings Gregory "one of the great­ est jobs there is," he said in an in­ terview after the broadcast. "It's a place where accountability reigns, where leadership is explored and where people come to understand how the governm ent works and try to understand the im portant issues of the day." In ad dition to his "M eet the P ress" responsibilities, G regory w ill be a regular contributor for "Today" and continue as a backup anchor. He will also continue as a regular contributor and analyst on MSNBC and for NBC News cov­ erage of special events, the net­ work said. A L os A n g eles n a tiv e w h o joined NBC Nejvs in 1995, Grego­ ry was M SNBC's chief anchor on Election Night and during gener­ al election debates and has hosted an hour long political show week­ days on MSNBC. S u n d a y 's a n n o u n c e m e n t cam e after m onths of sp ecu la­ tion about who would be chosen, with unconfirmed reports surfac- / ve thought a lot about w hat it m ean s to s u c c e e d som ebody like Tim R u ssert. I ’m not Tim . B u t (d o n g with this g r e a t tea m , I cu n ju st w ork rea l h a r d to m a k e him p r o u d . " — D av id G rego ry, new m odei a to r of imM eet the. P ress ' ing last week that NBC had set­ tled on Gregory. Until then, A n­ drea M itchell, C huck Todd and Gwen Ifill were also among those1 thought to be contenders. The choice of G regory was "a natural decision," said NBC News president Steve Capus, exp lain­ ing "h e's got a full skill set" as a broadcast journalist. Then why the delay in making the transition? "T h is is about the first chance w e've had to focus on it," Capus replied. He reviewed the past six m onths, w ith the shock of Rus- sert's death follow ed by N B C 's extensive coverage of the Beijing O lym pics, then the political race and election night. "Through all that, we knew we had Tom (as a su b stitu te), and we knew we had D avid," Capus said. NBC also announced Sunday that Betsy Fischer, the program 's execu tiv e p rod u cer since 2002, will stay on for a period described as "several years." Fischer, w hose career at NBC N ews began with an internship at "M eet the Press" while in col­ lege, has been with the program for 17 years. David Gregory appears with Tom Brokaw during a taping of "Meet the Press" in Washington. Gregory's new job as moderator of "Meet the Press" is official with the announcement on the long-running NBC interview program that he will take over starting Dec. 14. Alex W ong | Daily Texan Staff want to play to the strengths of the host, and w e'll come up with som e innovative things. But the changes will be seamless." "M eet the Press" has the cachet of being netw ork T V 's longest- running series, having premiered in November 1947. N ovem ber, it averaged 4.5 m il­ lion viewers each Sunday. ABC's "T h is Week" with George Steph- anopoulos had 3.5 million view ­ ers, C BS' "Face the N ation" with Bob Schieffer averaged 3.1 million viewers and "Fox News Sunday" with Chris Wallace had 1.5 million viewers, according to Nielsen Me­ dia Research. Asked how it will change with Gregory as host, she said: "You It dominates the Sunday morn­ ing political landscape. During GARDEN: Community green beds have two-year waitlists From page 6B the m ain g o als o f co m m u n ity gardens. we're really trying to foster here in Austin," Albornoz said. C o m m u n ity g a rd e n s are a neighborhood initiative in which multiple members of the com mu­ nity can each rent their own plot of land in the garden. The plots are rented out to individuals or families for a yearly fee and allow gardeners to grow their own food provided they help maintain the common areas and make their an­ nual contributions. M any com m unity gardens in Austin work hand-in-hand with the Su stainab le Food C enter of Austin, an organization that pro­ motes healthy eating and partici­ pation in harvesting food. Sari A lbornoz, who heads the g ro u p 's G row Local p ro gram , said food p rod u ction is one of "T h e basic idea is to have ev­ ery o n e w o rk in g to g eth e r in a com m on area to produce, usual­ ly, food," Albornoz said. Most community gardens man­ date that everything be totally or­ ganic — that means no chemical fertilizers or pesticides. W ith a n ation al o b esity e p i­ d em ic and global en viron m en ­ tal concerns, it has certainly b e­ com e more im perative that peo­ ple know w h at's in th eir food. O ften, preservative and fat-lad­ en m arket produce causes p eo­ p le to grow th e ir ow n fo o d , w h ich is ch eap er than buying all-organic groceries. "T h e r e 's a co n n e ctio n w ith where your food comes from that Joy Ruth, the com m unity gar­ dener, said about 25 percent of her food com es from her plot of land at El Jardin Alegre, w here she harvests different plants in­ cluding bell peppers, asparagus, onions and lam bsquarters — a wild, weedy plant whose leaves taste like spinach. She said com m unity gardens help the dire situation of food availability in her com m unity. As a social worker, Ruth has wit­ nessed the dearth of food in the neighborhood. "I think there's a big issue of having enough food to eat in this com m unity, so when you have p laces p eop le can grow th e ir own food, it helps increase the food security," she said. The scarcity of green spaces in A ustin also im pedes com m uni­ ty m em bers' ability to maintain a sustainable food source. More people w ant to garden in com ­ m unity spaces than there is land on w hich they can garden, Ruth said. She said m ost com m unity gardens have a tw o-year w ait­ ing list. The Sustainable Food Center in collaboration with the com muni­ ty are close to securing a site for the new garden at 1516 Nash Her­ nandez Sr. Road, Albornoz said. Within in due tim e, El Jardin Alegre m ay be able to co n tin ­ ue providing a sanctuary for lo­ cal gardeners as high-rise condo­ miniums continue to encroach on East Austin territory. L&A BRIEFLY Pinup icon Bettie Page suffers heart attack, in intensive care LOS ANGELES — Bettie Page, a 1950s pinup known for her ra­ ven-haired bangs and saucy come-hither looks, was hospital­ ized in intensive care after suffer­ ing a heart attack, her agent said Friday. Angeles and remained in intensive care Friday. A family friend, Todd Muel­ ler, said Page was in a coma. When asked to confirm, Roesler said, "I would not deny that." Page, a secretary turned model, is credited with helping set the stage for the sexual revolution of the rebellious 1960s. She attracted national attention with magazine photographs of her sensuous figure that were tacked up on walls across the country. "She's critically ill," Mark Roesler Her photos included a centerfold of CMG Worldwide told The Asso­ ciated Press. He said the 85-year-old had been hospitalized for the last three weeks with pneumonia and was about to be released when she had the heart attack Tuesday. Page was trans­ ferred to another hospital in Los in the January 1955 issue of then- fledgling Playboy magazine, as well as controversial sadomasoch­ istic poses. After resurfacing in the 1990s, she occasionally granted interviews but refused to allow her picture to be taken. Hall-of-Famer OJ. Simpson to spend at least 9 years in prison LAS VEGAS — O.J. Simpson is headed to prison for at least nine years, but a prosecutor says the former football star could have spent less time behind bars if he had accepted a plea deal before he was convicted. Clark County District Attorney David Roger said Simpson was of­ fered a deal for less prison time than the nine- to 33-year prison terms the graying former football star was sen­ tenced to on Friday for kidnapping and assaulting two sports memora­ bilia dealers w ith a deadly weapon. "Mr. Simpson wanted some­ thing just short of a public apolo­ gy," Roger said. "We didn't think that was appropriate." An emotional and hoarse Simp­ son said nothing about plea deals when he stood in shackles and blue jail garb and apologized be­ fore he was sentenced by Clark County District Court Judge Jack­ ie Glass. "In no way did I mean to hurt anybody, to steal anything from anyone," Simpson said, his voice cracking. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for all of it." The judge said she was not con­ vinced, and she denied that Simp­ son's acquittal in Los Angeles in the 1994 slaying of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and friend Ronald Goldman, had any effect on a sen­ tence that will make him 70 years old before he is eligible for parole. Compiled from Associated Press reports JANUARY 2 2 • 7:30PM ^JB F A T R F I at the Frank Erwin Center. ON SALE NOW! TICKETS: TEXASBOXOFFICE.COM (512)477-6060 • (800)982-2386 TEXAS BOX OFFICE OUTLETS AND SELECT H-E-B STORES UTERWINCENTER.COM c o n w * * * * o * * * . ™ * a w * , * * * » ™ » * * * , « u m .c t to c n w *. V is: s m u t <• PA I SIC S COM „ I V E n u T I O n r , r o m n w n u w L ife Em b r a c in g t h e a p o c a l y p s e T h e D a i l y T e x a n MONDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2008 SECTION B Life& A rts Editor: Alex Reqnery A ssocia te Life& A rts Editor: D ylan M iracle E-m ail: lifeandarts@ dailytexanonline.com P h one: (512) 232-2209 w w w .dailytexanon lin e.com East Side garden El Jardin Alegre comes up for sale February Community oasis hopes to survive, move to new plot By JJ Velasquez Daily Texan Staff A m id the sp raw lin g u rb a n ­ ity of the gentrifying East Side stands a bold, green space. Rich soil lies at the base of ba­ sil, collards an d p ep p e rs, h a r­ vested by com m unity m em bers in this shared gardening space. For more than 12 years, El Jar­ din Alegre has given its com m u­ nity a place to garden and con­ nect w ith each other as well as the earth. It's one of 14 com m unity gar­ dens in Austin, but its future is up in the air. In February, it's expected that the garden will m ove to a new location as the landowner, w hom the gardeners have rented from for 12 years, expects to p u t the property on the market. Joy Ruth, w hose participation in A ustin co m m u n ity g a rd e n s d a te s back to th e 1980s, said El Jardin faces m any ch a lle n g ­ es should it lose the p ro p erty at 1801 E. Second Street, w h ere it has been since its inception. The gardeners, w ho have until February to either find a donor to buy the land for gardening use or pack their bags and leave to a new site, w ould have to hastily remove and salvage w hat they can. “It creates some problem s, and I'd really hate to see everything get bulldozed because I'v e seen that happen before," she said, re­ ferring to St. John's com m unity garden, w hich w as uprooted af­ ter a change in ow nership. "I w ouldn't go by St. John's for at least five years. I couldn't even stand to go back there," Ruth said. G AR D EN continues on page 5B Em ily N iem an p o in ts o u t the different p lant species in a g a rd e n p lot Saturday at El Jardin Alegre, an East A u stin com m u n ity g a rd en . Caleb Miller | Daily Texan Staff Erik» f lk h | Daily Texan Staff GWAR performed to a packed crowd Friday night at La Zona Rosa. The band, comprised of "intergalfictic badasses" has played simple and catchy thrash metal and performed gruesome and comedic on-stage theatrics since they formed in %9BS. GWAR plays La Zona Rosa By Andy O'Connor Daily Texan Staff T he su rv iv a l of th e h u m a n race w as p u t to the test w hen the intergalactic badasses of GWAR p layed at La Zona Rosa Friday night. H um an sacrifice w as rife, w orld leaders died in vain and the crow d (and myself) w as joy­ o u s ab o u t the im p e n d in g A r­ m ageddon. D espite their gratu ­ itous on-stage carnage, the cos­ mic quintet decided th at Planet Earth deserves another chance. A nd w ith exam s co m in g up? For sham e, GWAR. W hen GWAR co n tem p lated annihilation in A ustin last year, they w ere cram ped on the Emo's outside stage. C onsidering that bassist Beefcake the M ighty can take o u t a continent just by tip­ toeing, it w as a miracle they m an­ aged to play. La Zona Rosa's big­ ger stage w as m uch better suit­ ed for G W A R 's perfo rm an ce. The concert began w ith an an ­ nouncem ent from Sleazy P. Mar­ tini, G W A R's "m anager," say­ ing that he w as running for pres­ ident on a m ass-genocide plat­ form. Things then turned to the Steve Wilkos show, w hich berat­ ed GWAR for having no self-es­ teem. Lead singer O derus Urun- gus disproved that by im m edi­ ately offing Wilkos. The crow d gorged on blood as they moshed to GWAR's simplistic but catchy thrash m etal. A fter getting the cro w d w a rm e d u p , U ru n g u s yelled "H ow about a little hum an sacrifice to get things going!" and im p aled a baby, w hich d ie d a gruesom e death, as it should in metal. A cannon shot out blood G W A R continues on page 5B THEATER REVIEW ‘Santaland Diaries’ becoming Austin tradition By Laura C ole Daily Texan Staff This holiday season, the stage version of "The Santaland Diaries" is returning to the Zachary Scott Theatre C enter for its 11th annual run, solidifying its repu­ tation as an Austin tradition. Based on the novel of the sam e name, "T he S antaland D iaries," directed by Dave Steakley, details author D avid Se- daris' short career as a M acy's elf, w ith a few timely tweakings. The play, a collec­ tion of monologues and slightly naugh­ ty h o lid ay tunes, offers a caustic yet side-splitting spin on the Christm as tra­ dition designed strictly for grown-ups. T here are n o "b a d se ats" at Z ach ­ ary S cott's W h isen h u n t Stage. In the la rg e c irc u la r ro o m , th re e ro w s of chairs w ra p around the currently w in ­ try stage, creating an intim ate theater experience. In the case of "Santaland," h o w ev er, th e close p ro x im ity of the stage to the audience also m eans th at there is no escaping from either the ac­ tors' charm s or, w ell, the actors, th em ­ selves. The play is a w holly interactive experience, so if y o u 're lucky enough to have an aisle seat, com e prepared to be sat upon, em braced, em barrassed or teased relentlessly. Though a collection of risqué and h u ­ m orous C hristm as carols, m ostly p e r­ form ed by talented vocalist M eredith McCall, are interspersed w ith S edaris' m onologues, the real magic of the night lies in the perform ances of E sther's Fol­ lies' Espie Randolph. Sedaris' m aterial is funny enough on its ow n, in all its delightful scorn and candor, but Randolph, the first African- A m erican to fill the role of C rum pet the M acy's elf, brings a w onderful freshness and a new interpretation to th e script, w hich is ad a p te d by Joe M antello for the stage. R a n d o lp h d e liv e rs la u g h - until-you-cry perform anc­ es in b oth "Six to E ight B lack M en ," a new addition to DIARIES continues on page 5B Courtesy of Zachary Scott Theater REVIEW Comedian’s ‘Sexy Tour’ performances in Austin to replay on Comedy Central Gaffigan draws on his own experiences for 'everyman jokes By Robert Rich Comedian Jim Gaffigan performed in Austin twice on Saturday, utilizing many of his routine jokes about Hot Rockets and other "everyman" insights, much to the audi­ ence's delight. ; Si Daily Texan Staff Jim Gaffigan is still lazy. He still yses in his bit that high-pitched "voice of the audience." And he's stjll vehemently against Hot Pock­ ets. The popular comedian brought of all these sensational portions of his personality together Satur­ day for a performance at the Par­ amount Theatre as part of his on­ going "Sexy Tour." Both Saturday shows were also filmed for an up­ coming Comedy Central special. The best part about Gaffigan isn't that he's made a killing off of degrading those oh-so-popu- lar pastries cooked in microwave- able sleeves, although it helps. No, what makes him stand out as a performer is his innate sense to talk about the most intimate mi­ nutiae of the everyman or every - woman's life and make it hilari­ ous. Whether highlighting bowl­ ing's distinction as both the best ("It's the only sport you can ac­ tually play while you're eating.") or worst ("Let's see, we could go bowling ... or you could just hang yourself.") sport, or spending a side-splitting 10 minutes detail­ ing bacon's best qualities, Gaffi­ gan was at his finest. His performance started with the aforementioned "voice of the audience," a bit based on Gaffi- gan's real-life affinity for speaking for others in the manner of a mid­ dle-aged soccer mom. It's some­ thing the comedian said he does Courtesy of Jim Gaffigan to disarm people and break the ice, allowing for an easier flow of conversation. The first five min­ utes of his performance Saturday were in this voice and involved Gaffigan talking about every­ thing from the size of his head to, later in the five minutes, decrying the amount of time he was talk­ ing in the voice. That only made it funnier and, when he finally dropped the tone to speak nor­ mally, eliciting an uproar from the crowd, all the sweeter. What Saturday's performance really showed was a comedian totally and unequivocally in his comfort zone, talking about the things he knows the most about: thanking his lucky stars for the rare occurrence when you wake up and still have a few minutes to sleep before the alarm goes off or questioning the reasoning of whoever came up with feeding cake (frosted sugar bread) and ice cream (frozen sugar milk) to 4-year-olds at birthday parties. These are things Gaffigan knows, because these are thipgs he's lived. Things that we «yílive. And that's why he's fungi? And just for clarification: He did do that Hot Pocket joke. Jim Gaffigan's new special will air on Comedy Central in March. UrCU rfiajk.es bank: g -., j . . . . ¿r-.i-;-: i„; ¡iT tiy suff and students. If c- ¿ ^jat- ci deposit and investment fre d u c u . U f C • ‘ afie: - * financing needs N eta „ .. ■. AA ; . fit -ncn.g s t. aii ¿om N¿cd a q p m d 6 ... . . . s. _« ., . c a í t.¿ ¿ a w finance your coiisgv ....; Find Qui more ¿t »K » ♦ j . * / G-.;sdaiupe St or a tcu e rg Universit ' Ftsatsai cktüíí wKiC-s* i-i/c C-c-ant f r s - u