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MEETING continues on page 3 KARATE continues on page 3 CAMPUS LAW CENTER Environmental society convenes for rst meeting GREEN UH Traditional Shotokan martial arts club begins 33rd year of instruction Sustainability Task Force looking for green student Attorneys talk eyewitness procedure in Huntsville the official student newspaper of the university of houston since 1934theofficialstudentnewspaperoftheuniversityofhoustonsince1934 Women’s studies to host ‘Living Archives’ series
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Michelle CasasTHE DAILY COUGAR
Panelists addressed junior faculty frustrations at a mentoring discus-sion hosted by the University Com-mission on Women on Wednesday in the Honors Commons.
The event focused on the meth-ods and organization of successful department-implemented mentor-ing programs throughout campus.
“Several junior faculty expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of men-toring in their departments and pro-grams,” said Holly Hutchins, chair of the Faculty Advancement Task Force, a subcommittee of the UCW.
Mentoring programs are designed to foster professional development by connecting a senior professional with a junior protégé to increase employee performance and com-mitment to the organization, and to share knowledge and experience.
UH does not have a program to address all areas of the University, but the UCW, which focuses on the
concerns and issues of women on campus and gender equality, has a strong interest in addressing this cause.
“The UCW realizes that there is real concern among junior faculty that there is no formalized Univer-sity-wide mentoring program,” said Faculty Co-Chair of the UCW Lisa Alastuey.
Volunteers from departments with mentoring programs discussed how their programs were organized to ensure that their junior faculty will succeed in the years to come.
Vera Hutchinson, the department
chair of Curriculum and Instruction in the College of Education, said that when she fi rst became an admin-istrator she found several assistant professors were struggling to identify their support structure.
“This gave me an immediate charge to become more involved with our new faculty,” Hutchinson said.
The goal for her mentoring pro-cess is to help people become pro-ductive in their performance within the University’s culture by building
LAW CENTERAttorneys talk eyewitness procedure in Huntsville
A number of our area’s best legal minds, including UH Law Center professor Sandra Guerra Thompson, met last week to discuss eyewitness identifi cation procedures at the Eyewitness Identifi cations Working Group Meeting at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville.
Thompson, Director of the Criminal Justice Institute at the Law Center, along with about 50 of her colleagues, worked on drafting a new eyewitness procedure policy that will help reduce wrongful convictions.
In January 2012 a new law will be passed that will include the new poli-cies discussed in last week’s meeting.
— Jennifer Postel
CAMPUS
Women’s studies to host ‘Living Archives’ series
UH Women’s Gender and Sexual-ity Studies program will be hosting interviews with Tina Knowles and Joanne Herring for the UH “Living Archives” series this fall.
The “Living Archives” series docu-ments oral histories on prominent Houston and Texas women who have had an impact on the community.
The series will hold its fi rst interview session with Tina Knowles from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Monday at the Rockwell Pavilion in the M.D. Anderson Library.
Houston Chronicle’s fashion edi-tor Joy Sewing will be conducting the interview.
Admission is free for UH students and Friends of Women’s Studies members and $10 for the general public; seating is limited. RSVP to [email protected].
— Michelle Casas
GREEN UH
Sustainability Task Force looking for green student
The Sustainability Task Force at UH is looking for an eco-conscious student to serve a year-long term.
Interested students should sub-mit their answers to the following questions to [email protected].
1. What is your understanding of the role of the Sustainability Task Force?
2. How would it benefi t from your participation?
3. In what ways do you expect to benefi t from your participation?
Answers are due by Monday, Oct. 3.
— Cougar News Services
t h e o f f i c i a l s t u d e n t n e w s p a p e r o f t h e u n i v e r s i t y o f h o u s t o n s i n c e 1 9 3 4t h e o f f i c i a l s t u d e n t n e w s p a p e r o f t h e u n i v e r s i t y o f h o u s t o n s i n c e 1 9 3 4
FACULTY continues on page 10
Death penalty cruel, should be stoppedSoccer team heads out of Houston for next four matches
thedailycougar.com
HI 95LO 71
ThursdaySeptember !", !#$$
Issue !", Volume ##
GET SOME DAILY
THE DAILY COUGAR®®
Juliana OlarteTHE DAILY COUGAR
For over 30 years, the UH Sho-tokan Karate-Do club has trained Cougars in traditional Japanese Shotokan under the direction of the chief instructor, Sensei Deddy Mansyur.
The club was founded by
Mansyur in 1978 when he enrolled at UH to pursue his degree in Industrial Distribution Technology, starting the Shotokan Karate-Do Club while he attended class.
Mansyur has continued to maintain the Shotokan Club and has taught many students the art of karate-do. He decided to fund the club to share his knowledge with other people, providing service to the community and training together.
“I founded the club when pursuing my degree at University of Houston,” Mansyur said. “The
purpose of the club is to train together, serve the community and share my knowledge with other students.”
Mansyur has more than 48 years of martial arts teaching experience. He began his karate-do training in the ’60s as a child and later enrolled in a local Shotokan Dojo in Jakarta, Indonesia, led by Chief Instructor of the Karate-Do Institute of Indo-nesia, Sensei Sabeth Muchsin.
The club has been around for over 30 years and each semester
Erika Zabre punches Moussa Diarra as the two spar in a training exercise. Their instructor, Deddy Mansyur, started the club back when he was an industrial distribution technology student at UH in 1978. | Brianna Leigh Morrison/The Daily Cougar
Discussion gives guidance, mentorship
Environmental society convenes for ! rst meeting
Traditional Shotokan martial arts club begins 33rd year of instruction
LAW CENTER
Students tackle green law issues
Zahra AhmedTHE DAILY COUGAR
George Murr, a lawyer and partner of Murr Yanochik liability company, said that e-discovery, energy and environment — the “three E’s,” as he called it — are “hot issues in the courts today.”
Murr spoke to a group of law students at the Bates Law Building during the Energy and Environ-mental Law Society’s first meeting of the semester this Tuesday. He discussed the issues of petroleum and natural gas drilling and its effect on the environment.
In his presentation, he said the US is in the middle of a 21st century gold rush motivated by the discovery of gas found deep underground. Murr touched on the topic of hydraulic fracturing, a form of drilling in which creating fractures in the ground releases subterranean petroleum and natural gas.
“Hydraulic fracturing is begin-ning to change the landscape of
ORGANIZATIONS
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Cougars kick o! semester with karate
Panel advises junior faculty
MEETING continues on page 3 KARATE continues on page 3
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2 ! Thursday, September "#, "$%% NEWS The Daily Cougar
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How do you feel about the death penalty?
“I think it’s fair. If you want to take someone else’s life, you should pay the same cost.”Stephanie ReyesPetroleum Engineering Sophomore
“The death penalty is not a logical option for punishing criminals. It’s really taking an eye for an eye. We’re in the 21st century. Killing people based on situational factors you may or may not know is really just barbaric in my opinion.”
Brandon BalwantBiology Junior
“I think it’s something wrong because you can’t be 100 percent sure that someone is guilty... There are people on death row who will be on it for years and years and years. They’re just sitting there in prison, and if they’re just gonna sit there, just give them life in prison.”
Mattie LewisBilingual Elementary Education Sophomore
“As a general rule, I’m against just because it can’t be undone... It seems to me if there’s even a question about a man’s guilt or inno-cence, the death penalty should not even be an outlet for punishment.”
Joseph FuessMathematics Junior
“In my opinion, I think the death penalty is pretty bad. I know a person did something wrong, but I feel like it’s better for a person to live a life sentence than actu-ally kill someone because a person can have that on their conscience and be remorsed by it.”
Yendi CantuHealth Education Senior
Compiled by Julian Jimenez
What do you think?Let us know by commenting at thedailycougar.com.
FORGET THE CLASSIFIEDS.YOUR FUTURE STARTS HERE.
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Verizon Wireless is an equal opportunity employer m/f/d/v.NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. LEGAL RESIDENTS OF THE 50 UNITED STATES (D.C.) 18 YEARS AND OLDER WHO ARE FULL OR PART-TIME STUDENTS IN GOOD STANDING AT ONE OF THE TWENTY-ONE (21) PARTICIPATING COLLEGES OR UNIVERSITIES. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Sweep-stakes ends 4/4/12. For Official Rules, prize descriptions and odds disclosure, visit www.vzwcampus.com. Sponsor: Verizon Wireless, One Verizon Way, Basking Ridge, NJ 07920.
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The Daily Cougar NEWS Thursday, September "#, "$%% ! 3
Mansyur is the sensei of the fresh-man students that join the club. Even though so much time has passed, Mansyur says that the essence of the club continues to be the same.
“I teach consistently, and that is why I am still here. My karateka (students) always know I am here. I have trained so many from white to black belt, who have gone on to successful professional careers, and those who are still in the Houston area have come back to train because they know I am consistent,” Mansyur said.
“Karate-do is my life, no matter my age. Since beginning this club 33 years ago, things have changed; I have some grey hair now and am obviously older, but one thing remains the same: I will continue to educate students on the teachings of traditional Japanese
Shotokan Karate-do.”The club runs each semester
with practices held at the World Affairs Lounge in the University Center. Times are from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Wednesdays and 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturdays.
After the first introductory ses-sion, the classes will have a cost of $75 for UH students per semester and $100 for UH faculty and staff. He also teaches private lessons; many of his advanced black belts prefer this because of the complex structure of the higher dan, or degree, techniques.
The club is part of the Shoto-kan Karate International Federa-tion, which is headquartered in Japan, and each student who earns a black belt with the UH Shotokan dojo is a SKIF certified black belt and has his or her record from Japan, and are eligi-ble to compete in SKIF organized championships.
KARATEcontinued from page 1
the energy industry,” Murr said. However, fracturing has been
causing confl ict in the environmen-tal arena. Recently, municipalities have engaged in efforts to ban drilling. The municipalities’ and Environmental Protection Agency’s concern is contamination in the air and ground water. Toxins from drilling operations include arsenic,
copper and vanadium, which can potentially lead to kidney failure, fertility problems and cancer.
The meeting was the first attempt EELS made to engage law students in the issues of envi-ronmental and energy law. EELS officers also discuss professional opportunities and members take part in community service through research and environ-mental cleanup activities.
MEETINGcontinued from page 1
Sensei Deddy Mansyur, left, demonstrates techniques to his students with the help of Eldar Baghirov. | Emily Chambers/The Daily Cougar
Check out theentire photo gallery onlinethedailycougar.com/tags/karate or scan the QR code to the left.
4 ! Thursday, September !", !#$$ The Daily Cougar
STAFF EDITORIAL
O f all the people under investiga-tion for possession of drugs, most people wouldn’t expect the ones
enforcing the laws to be the ones that are breaking them.
Ironically, that’s the case for three Houston police offi cers who arrested a man from Atascocita in May for possession of marijuana. But get this — before putting 19-year-old Nicholas Hill in cuffs, the cops allegedly ate brownies found in Hill’s apartment that they suspected of containing illicit substances.
Of course, it’s a pretty strong allegation to make against offi cials that have taken an oath to protect our city, but records from their in-car computers show a conversation between the two offi cers in which one writes, “So high… Good munchies,” according to a report by ABC.
Not only is this misconduct from our law-enforcement offi cials, it’s destruction of evidence, which is a felony charge.
It’s also appalling to think that the men and women who are fi ghting the drug war in America are also the ones to partake in the activities they arrest people for daily.
The problem here isn’t the use of marijuana — the problem is the use of marijuana while supposed to be protecting and serving our city.
If they’re allegedly using the drugs they stum-bled upon while on the clock, that’s a dangerous use of city funds, time and equipment. It also puts these offi cers in a position in which someone could potentially get hurt.
How the tables have turned. These trusted offi -cials have been accused of participating in the kind of activity that the city and the nation have been fi ghting against in the war on drugs for years.
Maybe this is a sign that America needs to take a step back and re-evaluate what we consider to be criminal activity. If the federal government is spending $15 billion each year to circumvent the use of marijuana and other illicit substances, cases like this should never occur.
However, if our law enforcement offi cials are the ones breaking the law, maybe that’s a sign that those tax dollars should be spent elsewhere.
Brownie-eating cops were irresponsible
STAFF EDITORIAL The Sta! Editorial re" ects the opinions of The Daily Cougar Editorial Board (the members of which are listed above the editorial). All other opinions, commentaries and cartoons re" ect only the opinion of the author. Opinions expressed in The Daily Cougar do not necessarily re" ect those of the University of Houston or the students as a whole.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The Daily Cougar welcomes letters to the editor from any member of the UH community. Letters should be no more than 250 words and signed, including the author’s full name, phone number or e-mail address and a# liation with the University, including classi$ cation and major. Anonymous letters will not be published. Deliver letters to Room 7, University Center Satellite; e-mail them to [email protected]; send them via campus mail to STP 4015; or fax them to (713) 743-5384. Letters are subject to editing.
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GUEST COMMENTARY Submissions are accepted from any member of the UH community and must be signed with the author’s name, phone number or e-mail address and a# liation with the University, including classi$ cation and major. Commentary should be kept to less than 500 words. Guest commentaries should not be written as replies to material already printed in the Cougar, but rather should present independent points of view. Rebuttals should be sent as letters. Deliver submissions to Room 7, University Center Satellite; e-mail them to [email protected]; or fax them to (713) 743-5384. All submissions are subject to editing.
E D I TO R I A L P O L I C I E S
EDITOR Daniel RenfrowE-MAIL [email protected] thedailycougar.com/opinionOPINION
THE DAILY COUGARE D I T O R I A L B O A R DEDITOR IN CHIEF Jack WehmanMANAGING EDITOR John BrannenNEWS EDITORS Taylor McGilvray, Julian JimenezSPORTS EDITOR Joshua SiegelLIFE & ARTS EDITOR Mary BaakOPINION EDITOR Daniel RenfrowCOPY CHIEF Natasha Faircloth
C ampaign season is in full swing again, and every politician from Fairfax to Washington, D.C., knows
it. This includes President Barack Obama, who proposed the so-called Buffett Tax, named after billionaire Warren Buffett earlier last week. In a statement earlier
this year, Buffett said that the rich have been paying too few taxes in comparison to the everyday American, specifi cally that even he paid less taxes than his secretary.
Admittedly, to the average Joe this not only sounds good, it makes sense; millionaires and billionaires such as Buffett should be contributing a bit more, especially now in these frighten-ing financial times. If the rich were to contribute more of their wealth to the government, that should take some of the weight off middle-class America. So if this is such a great-sounding idea, who wouldn’t pass it?
The answer: House Republicans. And that’s exactly Obama’s plan, as was the case with the recent American Jobs Act which has already been pointed out to be largely ineffective in the end.
That’s not the president’s current objective, howeve;, the true objective, as is the case with every other candidate
running in the 2012 presidential elec-tion, is to gather enough dirt to make the other side look as absolutely dis-gusting as possible.
After all, who in their right mind would vote for the party that at every single turn derides the president and
his party, advocating cost cuts to crucial social welfare programs and refusing to raise taxes on the ultra wealthy? But on the reverse, who in their right mind would vote for the party and president that sought to raise taxes at every turn, stuff more debt into a bloated and broken entitlement state, and only after fierce debate and outrageous public outcry, agree to start cutting both costs and taxes.
This is no new development. The Democrats and Obama have wanted to raise taxes on the wealthy ever since
they re-assumed power from the Bush administration. Likewise, the Repub-licans have wanted to cut down hefty entitlement programs such as Social Security and Obamacare. It’s been an endless back and forth between these two political parties, and when stub-born, ideologue-spewing forces collide, nobody wins — the country loses, and the people suffer tremendously.
President Obama knows full well that the Republicans are likely to prevent this tax from being implemented. He is pres-suring the Republicans to fault in their ideals and their beliefs by giving them an ultimatum: Do what I say or you will look incredibly greedy and outright despicable to the American people.
Never mind that raising taxes on the wealthy won’t do a single thing to alleviate the actual suffering of everyday Americans other than provide more money for the government to pump into ineffective, broken and overloaded social entitlement programs like welfare and Medicaid.
The reason you clean up systems like welfare and Medicaid is the same reason you clean your gutters. If you leave it alone for too long, eventually things will start to pile up and the entire system will just collapse. Just as there are too many
JamesWang
Back and forthObama will use ‘Bu% ett Tax’ to sling mud ahead of 2012 election
It’s been an endless back and forth between these two political parties, and
when stubborn, ideologue-spewing forces collide, nobody wins — the country loses, and the people su! er tremendously.”
WANG continues on page 5
T roy Davis was recently executed despite the fact that many of the eyewitnesses who testifi ed against
him at trial later admitted that they hadn’t seen Davis murder the police offi cer he was convicted of killing, and others admitted they had been bribed and
coerced by law enforce-ment into testifying against Davis.
Although most of the evidence suggested Davis was innocent, he was still murdered by the state of Georgia.
Davis’ execution is the result of racism. Studies show that African-American men are at an increased risk of receiving the death penalty for committing the same crimes when compared to white men.
We may not be lynching black men anymore, but we are still murdering them for crimes they have not committed.
The execution of Davis brought about a lot of disappointment and disgust in the American judicial system.
But there is still hope. It is impossible to bring Davis back from the dead, but we can all honor his death by pressuring our legislators to get rid of the death penalty.
The death penalty is a hypocritical and barbaric practice, and an outdated means of punishment. There is no humane way to take away a human life. The word humane directly contradicts the act.
Moreover, murder implies intent, which is in itself inhumane.
Furthermore, what sense does it make to murder someone for murdering someone else?
Mahatma Gandhi, the pioneer in
modern non-violent activism, once said, “an eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind,” and if we continue on this backwards path, a blind world this will be.
Apparently death penalty proponents believe that justice is being served, and that it is morally right to execute these people because they are bad people.
However, this country was founded on Christian moral law. It is ironic that many of the states that are dominated by religious conservatives still practice this cruel and unusual punishment — your state and Georgia included.
These same conservatives argue against abortion because of biblical prohibitions, yet they don’t apply this argument across
the board. It seems as though these Chris-tian proponents of the death penalty have forgotten that the Ten Commandments forbids them from killing.
Proponents of the death penalty need to ask themselves a few questions:
What makes the judge that approves this punishment any better than the criminal himself?
Why isn’t the person who administers the injection committing the same crime the criminal committed?
What makes him less guilty, and does having the law back you up prevent you from being a murderer?
Lindsay Gary is a senior history major and may be reached at [email protected].
LindsayGary
Death penalty is barbaric practice
Troy Davis was executed by lethal injection on Sept. 21 after being denied a stay by the US Supreme Court. People from as far away as Paris, France, gathered together in protest of his sentence in the days leading up to his execution. | Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
MVPvolunteer program
metropolitan Meeting Place: UC circle drive @ 7:45 amShuttle Transportation
Contact:
Jeremy [email protected]
Courtney [email protected]
@ Surfside & Quintana Beaches
Coordinators will furnish - trash bags - inventory sheets - disposable gloves - gourmet beach hot dog meal
Volunteers should bring appropriate clothing - hat, enclosed shoes, gloves - sun screen - water - insect repellant - a willing attitude
The Daily Cougar OPINION Thursday, September !", !#$$ ! 5
loopholes in the tax system that need to be closed (a flat tax rate would fix that), there are just as many loopholes and flaws in our numerous entitlement programs that need to be patched up, closed up or, if need be, cast aside and rebuilt entirely from scratch.
And the Republicans are falling right into Obama’s political ploy, perhaps because that’s all they can do at this point. It was either to allow President Obama to paint them as the villains as this and hope the American people can tell the difference by election day or allow him to, as Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) said on Fox News Sunday, “add further instability to our system.”
Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee, believes that the Buffett Tax will only create “more uncertainty, and it pun-ishes job creation and those that create jobs.”
It can be argued up and down the hall whether or not giving the wealthy tax breaks will stir job creation, but it can’t be argued whether or not Obama sincerely believed the Republicans would allow his proposal to pass.
They have fought him at every turn thus far, so to think they would change their tune, to deviate from their own political rhetoric this late in the game is preposterous.
At this point there should be no surprise as to how the Republicans would react to any suggestion to a tax increase, and there should be no surprise as to why, knowing this, Obama would try to suggest such a thing in the first place.
The Republicans get to dig their own graves in the eyes of the public come Nov. 2, 2012, and the Democrats have a leg to stand on during the campaign season.
It’s hard to blame Obama for this, though. He is, after all, just fighting to keep his job.
I just wish he would focus a bit more on helping us keep ours.
James Wang is a history freshman and may be reached at [email protected].
WANGcontinued from page 4
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6 ! Thursday, September !", !#$$ SPORTS The Daily Cougar
FOOTBALL
Cougars set to meet UTEP, begin conference slate John BrannenTHE DAILY COUGAR
Whether it be athletes or the media, sometimes both can have a short memory.
It seems the Cougars’ convinc-ing 30-point UH win against UTEP last season at Robertson Stadium has been forgotten. At UH’s weekly press conference, a repeated ques-tion was the Cougars’ loss to the Miners in 2009 at the Sun Bowl in El Paso.
UH was 3-0 and ranked No. 12 before a 58-41 loss to UTEP dropped them out of the rankings.
When head coach Kevin Sumlin was asked if the loss two years ago is brought up any more, he offered few words.
“A little bit,” he said.While the memory is still there,
the Cougars (4-0) have a much dif-ferent look than they once did.
“A lot of the guys going that are going down there this time remember that time,” senior quarterback Case Keenum said. “They remember the stadium and remember what it felt like. That will probably be in the back of our minds, but it defi nitely won’t be the most important thing.
“We all know this is two differ-ent teams and two totally different situations.”
It was just fi ve days ago UH beat Georgia State 56-0. After the plane trip to El Paso yesterday and the game today, the Cougars have had an expedited week to get ready for the Miners.
“Since I’ve been here we’ve played every day except Sunday and Monday,” Sumlin said. “It’s more than just a one-day differ-ence. Instead of traveling Friday, we are on Wednesday so we are actually missing a couple days of preparation.
“You want your guys to be fresh and you see that the team that is the most excited has a better chance of winning right off the bat. There is a fi ne line; we have some veteran players that understand that and some new guys and junior college guys that have not been through that.”
Making the look of this game easier is that the Miners lost 25 seniors from last season’s roster. One of those players the Miners no longer have the services of is quarterback Trevor Vittatoe.
“It seemed like that guy was never going to leave,” Sumlin said. “I am so glad that guy isn’t playing on Thursday. He was hard to prepare for, he was two or three different quarterbacks. You didn’t know what the hell you were going to get.
“He could drop back and throw it, scramble all over the place or just run it himself.”
The Miners are led by eighth-year head coach Mike Price. He was a central fi gure in the start Sumlin’s coaching career, giving him his fi rst coaching position as a graduate assistant at Washington State from 1989-1990.
UTEP (2-2, 0-1 Conference USA) lost its last game 52-24 against
Senior quarterback Case Keenum and the Cougars will have their 4-0 record at stake against the Miners today. UH has won two of its last three meetings against UTEP. | Rebekah Stearns/The Daily Cougar
South Florida, but won its previous game against New Mexico State 16-10.
An early rash of injuries could be to blame for the Miners’ medio-cre start, Many of those players are expected to make their return against the Cougars.
“Just knowing Mike, I expect all the guys that didn’t play last week to play in this week’s game,” Sumlin said.
“The guys that are listed as injured, we are preparing for them to play too. Mike will do anything
and that’s how he has always been.”
Staying low keyKeenum is surpassing other
players en route to shattering several of college football’s passing records, and UH is on the brink of inclusion into the AP Top 25 and the USA Today/Coaches Poll.
There was plenty of preseason hype, but for now the Cougars feel as if they’re keeping a low profi le.
“He (Keenum) kind of mirrors our football team right now in the
fact that we’re just kind of hum-ming along here,” Sumlin said. “Nobody’s really talking about us or him that much.
“That’s fi ne, because we’ve seen some highs and lows. It’s kind of to our advantage as a football team that we’re not really being talked about a lot.”
The game is set to start at 7 p.m. today in El Paso, and will be televised on CBS Sports Network. It will also be broadcast on 790 AM.
If UH manages to win its two games this weekend, it can be at the .500 mark for the ! rst time since the season started. | Aaron Cisneros/The Daily Cougar
SOCCER
Cougars brace for lengthy road stretch
Joachim ClarkeTHE DAILY COUGAR
The Cougars will look to extend their winning streak to two Friday when they travel north to take on the Tulsa Golden Hurricane at Hur-ricane Stadium.
UH (4-6-0, 1-1-0 Conference USA) split its fi rst two games in the opening weekend of conference action at Robertson Stadium.
The Cougars are now getting into the heart of conference play with their next four matches on the
road. After a sluggish start, UH has
battled back to win four of its last fi ve games. The recent success can be attributed to the Cougars adopt-ing a physical playing style of late.
Head coach Susan Bush said that keeping the game scrappy is imperative to the success of the team.
“We have to match the other team’s intensity,” Bush said. “We’re kind of a smaller team. If we don’t fi ght back and defend ourselves we’re going to get pushed off the ball easily.”
The Golden Hurricane (6-3-2, 0-1-1 C-USA) fought for a double
SOCCER continues on page 7
UH set for weekend matches against Tulsa, Southern Methodist
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Junior right side hitter Stephanie Nwachukwu and the Cougars look to avoid any late-match meltdowns versus the Golden Hurricane and Mustangs. | Emily Chambers/The Daily Cougar
VOLLEYBALL
Tulsa, SMU serve as weekend testsRicardo RiveraTHE DAILY COUGAR
After sweeping their two-game homestand against Southern Mis-sissippi and Tulane last weekend, the Cougars will hit the road today for back-to-back matches against Tulsa and SMU.
UH (10-3, 3-0 Conference USA) currently sports a fi ve-game win-ning streak, but face the strongest competition of the conference schedule when they take on the No. 1-ranked Tulsa Golden Hurricane.
“This weekend is huge for us,” senior middle blocker Lucy Charuk said. “If we beat them, we’re the team to beat in conference. So we’ve got to come out and play hard, especially since we’re on their home court.
“They’re going to be looking at our scouting report. They know what we do. But they’re going to have to stop us.”
The Cougars impressed with a decisive straight set victory against Rice to open C-USA action, but have recently struggled with lapses in offensive energy.
Though UH closed out Southern Mississippi after fi ve well-contested sets in their conference home opener, Charuk insists they cannot afford to lose momentum or dips in confi dence.
“We have to be confi dent with our game,” she said.
“If we have to make adjustments,
then we’ve got to get it done. Against Southern Miss we were forced to make a lot of them, but we pulled it out.”
Like the Cougars, Tulsa enters the matchup riding the momentum of a fi ve-game winning streak and a spotless conference record.
After a brief stop in El Paso to sweep the UTEP Miners in three sets, The Golden Hurricane again picked up a road win against Central Florida to reach 2-0 in C-USA play.
Tulsa was picked to fi nish fi rst in the AVC Coaches Poll prior to the season.
Though the stakes are high for UH against Tulsa, the Cougars will have to turn around quickly against SMU on Sunday before returning home.
The Mustangs will enter the match with a less-than-stellar 4-10 record, but will provide a strong test for a UH team that has experienced occasional diffi culty closing out teams on the road.
“We can’t forget about SMU,” Charuk said. “That’s not a gift. We’ve got to come out knowing people are looking to beat us — knowing that this is the big game in their schedule.”
First serve for the Cougars is set for 7 p.m. at the Reynolds Center in Tulsa, Okla.
UH will play at SMU at 1 p.m. Sunday at Moody Coliseum in Dallas.
overtime draw to record their fi fth straight clean sheet Sept. 23 against Southern Mississippi — setting the school record for consecutive shutouts.
Their 2-1 loss to No. 13 Central Florida on Sunday ended the streak.
Quick start essentialSenior forward Jessica Zavalza
said that maintaining the effort for
the full game is essential if the Cou-gars are to come out with a victory.
“We can compete with any team,” Zavalza said.
“We just need to start right away. Our problem is that once we’re down on the scoreboard and we need our coaches to get on us so we can fi re it up and realize that we are a good team.”
Zavalza leads the Cougars with six goals, and will be looking to add to that total. The task will not be easy as the Golden Hurricane have posted eight clean sheets this
season.Friday’s match kicks off at 7 p.m.
at the Hurricane Soccer and Track Stadium in Tulsa, Okla.
The Cougars will return to Texas when they face SMU at 1 p.m. Sunday at Westcott Field.
The Mustangs (6-4. 2-0 C-USA) will take on Rice on Friday at home before hosting UH. SMU is on a three-game winning streak after defeating Southern Miss. 3-1 on Sept. 25.
SOCCERcontinued from page 6
GOLF
Junior rewarded for performance in UH winTravis AlfordTHE DAILY COUGAR
Rising from the ashes of a disap-pointing fi nish in Wayzata, Minn., two weeks ago, James Ross led UH to a tie for fi rst place Tuesday at the Fighting Irish Grid Iron Classic in South Bend, Ind.
The junior transfer from Michigan State was honored as the Conference USA Co-Golfer of the Week on Wednesday. Freshman Roman Robledo also had a strong performance, earning 11th place to help seal the Cougars’ victory.
“It was a great win for us,” head coach Jonathan Dismuke said. “This
win is hopefully the fi rst of many.”Through wind and rain, Ross dug
in on the fi nal 18 and shot a team-low 69 to claim second place overall.
Winning at Notre Dame was a monumental turnaround for several golfers who were playing in their fi rst tournament, which was hosted by The University of Minnesota’s Golden Gophers, fi nished in 12th place, which called for coach Dis-muke to address issues.
That trust paid off for the Cougars.
UH returns to action Oct. 16 at the Lone Star Invitational in San Antonio.
8 ! Thursday, September !", !#$$ The Daily Cougar
EDITOR Mary BaakE-MAIL [email protected] thedailycougar.com/arts
FINE ARTS
FINE ARTS
Moores brings music to your ears
Award-winning play opens theatre season
Terence YungTHE DAILY COUGAR
Overtures, Tuba concertos, tone poems and the Poulenc “Gloria” — an eclectic program — kicks off the Moores School of Music’s fall season on Oct. 1 at the Moores Opera House at 7:30 p.m.
The concert will be the epitome of collaboration, involving the award-winning Concert Chorale, Concert Women’s Chorus, University Men’s Cho-rus and the University Women’s Chorus, as well as the Moores School Symphony Orchestra.
“We were fortunate to have an influx of new string players this year,” said Franz Anton Krager, music director of the Moores School Symphony Orches-tra. “It’s wonderful for us to be able to show off the sound of the strings.”
One way to do that is to schedule playing the “Russian Easter Festival Overture,” composed by Russian com-poser Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.
Krager said that it is a piece that every conductor wants to add to his list at some point, and this is his first opportunity to do so.
The next item is the “Concerto for Tuba and Orchestra” by Roland Szent-pali, a Hungarian composer.
The Tuba soloist is Derek Fens-termacher, a Performer’s Certificate student at the Moores School.
“Derek is a star player,” said Krager. “He’s on his way to the New Jersey Symphony to become the principal Tuba player there.”
Attendees of the 2011 International Piano Festival might recognize the next number, which is Ravel’s “Alborada del Gracioso,” from the piano suite “Miroirs.”
The Moores Symphony Orchestra is set to perform the orchestral ver-sion under the baton of Pierre-Alain Chevalier.
The grand finale will be Francis Poulenc’s “Gloria.” Poulenc was a French
impressionist composer from the 20th century.
The endeavor includes the combined UH choruses, with special thanks to Betsy Cook Weber and Justin Smith for choral preparation.
I also cannot forget to mention Cynthia Clayton, Moores’ fine soprano
soloist. Anyone who has had the privilege of hearing her at the Houston Grand Opera — in the guise of Tosca or another heroine — knows her musician-ship and artistry is of the highest caliber.
“It’s a huge project,” said Justin
Alex PechacekTHE DAILY COUGAR
The School of Theatre and Dance presents its season opener “Hot L Balti-more” on Friday.
The play is set to launch on stage in the Lyndall Finley Wortham Theatre and run through Oct. 9. Written by the late Lanford Wilson, the play centers around the impending demolition of the dilapi-dated Hotel Baltimore and its diverse crew of residents.
The glow of the hotel’s neon E is gone, proving its disrepair and provid-ing a namesake for the play itself. The characters lose hope as their residency is set to be demolished. The piece stands as a representation of the trying times of the 1970s and has grim undertones, but stands as a comedy glowing with the entertaining dialogue of residents
ranging from prostitutes to seniors. The hotel’s residents from various
backgrounds must cooperate and
deal with the stark realization of their impending doom. Wilson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and former UH School of Theatre and Dance lecturer, began his tenure at UH in 2004, working on the New Playwrights Workshop and mentoring students before his leave in 2007.
“Hot L Baltimore” premiered in 1973 at Circle in the Square in New York City and continued to successfully run for over 1,600 showings. The production won the 1973 Obie Award for Best American Play as well as an Outer Critics Circle Award. The play was later adapted and ran as an ABC sitcom in 1975. Accomplished Guest Director Leslie Swackhamer has her hand in this production, putting it in her own light and is accompanied by Assistant Director
Four Choral ensembles, Symphony Orchestra collaborate for concert
The School of Theatre & Dance will open its 2011-2012 season with its ! rst production of “Hot L. Baltimore” on Friday night. | Emily Chambers/The Daily Cougar
Franz Anton Krager, music director of Moores School Symphony Orchestra, takes the next step as a conductor when compiling the Moores School of Music’s new fall concert, which includes Rimsy-Korsa-kov’s “Russian Easter Festival Overture” and Szentpali’s tuba concerto. | Catherine Lara/The Daily Cougar
MUSIC continues on page 9
THEATRE continues on page 9
ADVICE CORNER
Closed doors open windows of opportunityBryan Dupont-GrayTHE DAILY COUGAR
Dear Bryan,
I need help with a relationship problem. My ex-girlfriend and I were together for three years and now that we’ve broken up, everything is just messed up. I can honestly say this — I love her from the bottom of my heart. So, please, can you help me ! gure out a way to get her back?Signed, Broken Heart
Dear Broken Heart,It’s obvious that the outcome of the relationship
is hurting you right now and there are probably a hundred things running through your mind.
I’d understand if you’re anxious to hurry up and reunite with your ex. However, you fi rst need to take a few steps back and look at the entire picture. In other words, you need to sit down and think about what really happened between you and your ex.
Ask yourself a couple of questions: Did she break up with you or did you break up with her? Why did the relationship come to an end? Is there something you did that could have made her take action and cut off the relationship completely? Think back to all the moments you’ve had with her before the break up — what was the mood like between you and her? How was she feeling and, if you can remember, did she say anything that seemed out of the ordinary or that might have raised an eyebrow? The point is that you have to look at every possible factor that may have triggered the break-up. And when you do fi nd the answers to these questions, you’ll be able to decide whether or not you should try winning back her heart.
If you’re still sure that you can’t live without this girl, then you need to talk with her. Call her up and see if you two can schedule a time to sit down and talk over lunch or a cup of coffee, but be very considerate of her time. If she says that she’s really busy and unable to fi nd any time, try to fi nd time. If she’s still busy, then she could be avoiding you and you may have to give up and move on from there.
If and when you two happen to sit down with
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OPPORTUNITY continues on page 9
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Smith, director of the University Men’s Chorus and Concert Women’s Chorus.
“We’ll have around 300 musicians, vocalists and instru-mentalists on the stage, so we can expect a huge sound.”
Poulenc’s “Gloria” is an espe-cially apt choice to introduce to audiences a 20th-century sound. While the music can be brittle and harsh, Poulenc offers a respite with humor and silliness — that is, a sense of playfulness and
fun, as well as a touch of jazz and sarcasm.
The story behind the work is Poulenc’s religious conversion, which inspired him to write a trio of religiously-inspired works including the “Stabat Mater,” the “Dialogue of the Carmelites” and, of course, the “Gloria.”
“The image that everyone refers to is a memory of Poulenc’s,” Justin Smith said. “In his youth he supposedly saw a group of monks playing soccer, so we have the juxtaposition of serious faith with silliness, humor, delight and joy.”
MUSICcontinued from page 8
Melissa Flower. A nationally experienced
director, Swackhamer has won awards from the Seattle Times, and directed a Houston Chronicle award-winning play, “Lady and Amy’s View” in 2007.
Active in opera production as well, she has had her work produced in theatres across the nation, including the Houston Grand Opera, and has worked nationally as a guest artist and guest faculty for numerous univer-sities including the University of
Texas at Austin and the University of Southern California.
The long history of success of “Hot L Baltimore” and its show-ings prove the play’s likelihood to entertain and lends itself as a great opening play for the rest of the 2011-2012 season.
Tickets are priced at $20, $15 for faculty and staff members and $10 for students. They can be purchased at the box offi ce in the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Performing Arts. Showtimes are scheduled for 8 p.m. on Sept. 30, Oct. 1, 6, 7, 8, and at 2 p.m. on Oct. 2 and 9.
THEATREcontinued from page 8
each other, warm up with some small talk instead of going straight into the real reason you wanted to talk to her. Make eye contact and be direct about how you’re feeling. If you still love her, tell her that. If you want to try again, tell her that too. Be clear about what you want and refrain from repeating yourself too much. After you’ve done that, listen to her and what she wants. Depend-ing on what she says, you should have a pretty good idea of where to go from there.
Be sure to keep in mind that regardless of what happens after the conversation and for the sake of avoiding awkward situations or for the relationship itself, let her know if you still want to remain friends.
Maintaining friendship is important after a break up because you’ll know that you two are on good terms and this will also open the door for you to still hang out with each other.
If things don’t go so well, just focus on some other important things in your life, like your studies or your career and try not to let what happened get you down. Use your time to try new things and grow from the experience. It may be hard to get over a relationship, especially after being with them for as long as three years, but with time, the heart will heal and you’ll be back on your feet before you know it.
Bryan is not a licensed therapist, all advice is only an opinion.
OPPORTUNITYcontinued from page 8
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competence, professional learning and professional peer bonding, and by promoting adaptation to the new culture and environment.
“Mentoring provides for sustain-ability and the capacity to maintain and become successful as a profes-sor moving through the tenure track,” Hutchinson said.
Hutchinson has achieved a successful program by thoughtfully pairing mentors with mentees, encouraging frequent meetings to answer questions and introducing a checklist to address the most impor-tant issues.
The physics department, chaired by faculty member and professor Lawrence Pinsky, maintains a formal mentoring process with a “cloud structure,” which divides mentoring responsibilities among multiple faculty members.
Pinksy addressed the issues of gender equity and said he used sug-gestions from previous experiences to organize programs that enlist both incoming tenure-track faculty and women in the department, including graduate students and post-doctoral scholars, to provide guidance.
“I think it’s very important, especially in fi elds like ours that are underrepresented, that the women have role models,” Pinksy said in regards to communicating common issues.
The Marketing and Entrepre-neurship Department in the C.T. Bauer College of Business has both formal and informal programs that address the expectations of incom-ing faculty, relying heavily on the performance evaluations and yearly status reports.
Edward Blair, chair of the depart-ment of marketing and entrepre-neurship, said that performance evaluations are the “context for mentoring” for the formal programs, and that it is important for faculty to understand the structure in which they are being evaluated.
After sitting through the yearly department status report, which
is the fi rst department meeting a new faculty member would attend, Blair said that the goals and overall mission of the department should be clear.
The informal leg of the mentor-ing program revolves around the department’s culture and social interactions.
Blair said that group lunches and social situations are easier, positive ways to initiate conversation about professional issues.
“We’re trying to encourage inter-action,” Blair said.
Interaction between a mentor and a mentee can provide useful experience when transitioning into other areas of a profession, as it did for Jami Kovach, an assistant profes-sor in the College of Technology.
Kovach, who is beginning her sixth year, has received many ben-efi ts from an informal approach to mentoring since she has been at UH.
“I was a little bit disappointed that when I came to my college and I wasn’t assigned a mentor,” said Kovach.
She eventually received an email and later attended a pilot program
about mentoring, ultimately foster-ing with her mentor, Holly Hutchins.
Kovach wanted to give back in the same way she benefi ted from previous mentoring programs and started giving suggestions about mentoring when new faculty arrived.
She took part in developing a peer mentoring program in her col-lege, which holds informal, brown-bag lunch events to address com-mon issues. The various topics range from ideas about rubrics and peer evaluations to increasing student writing competency and handling disruptive student behavior.
Kovach recommends that everyone fi nd a way to take part in a mentoring program, whether they are formal or informal.
“I would encourage you all to get involved in whatever ways possible,” Kovach said. “I have benefi ted from a lot of informal mentoring.”
Some faculty in attendance voiced concerns about the absence of a mentoring program in their department, along with funding for such programs.
Hutchinson offered some cheaper suggestions involving
internal support, which included partnering with other departments who have grants and using the work-study program to obtain a graduate assistant.
Pinksy suggested that new faculty contact their department chairs directly, because they may not realize that there is a strong desire for the program.
Kovach said senior faculty members are usually open to ideas because they want to revitalize the department with fresh ideas and newer members.
Networking can play a key part in developing thriving mentorship programs.
Patrick Leung, a professor in the Graduate College of Social Work and previous chair of the Faculty Advancement Task Force, said that the UCW could be a useful resource for putting a department program into action.
“Externally, I think that the UCW would probably take a very good lead in terms of networking people outside of the college or department so they are more able to speak on issues that are sensitive within their
own department,” he said. “They can consult outside people.”
Second-year faculty member in the department of Biology and Biochemistry Chin-Yo Lin said that although his department does not have a program, he would be inter-ested in one.
Lin said he would have liked more deans and administrators to have attended the discussion, because junior faculty are missing resources that they could have at different department and college levels to contribute to the mentoring process.
“Just having that gives us confi -dence that, yes, this is a priority,” Lin said.
While he said he has been patient, Lin said he would benefi t from knowing the departmental expecta-tions and general information about the process to gaining tenure.
“I was envious of the colleagues in the departments that were repre-sented here on our panel, knowing that we have three chairs here who are cognizant of the need for men-toring,” said Lin.
Kate Anderson, a fi rst-year UH faculty member, is an assistant pro-fessor in the English and linguistic departments.
She offered a different perspective that roots in her four years of teach-ing experience in Singapore.
“It’s learning what counts here, here being not just the institution, but obviously our own department,” said Anderson, who advocates the informal mentoring programs.
Anderson said a basic infrastruc-ture which provides the opportunity for new and tenured faculty to take part in a program would be nothing but benefi cial.
“Interconnectedness across disci-plines is the wave of the future,” she said. “If we can fi nd ways to connect with our peers across departments, across colleges, and across the University as a whole, everybody benefi ts from that.”
Administrators or faculty that have questions about mentoring or want to read about successful programs can visit the UCW website at http://www.uh.edu/ucw.
FACULTYcontinued from page 1
Lawrence Pinsky, Vera Hutchinson, Jami Kovach and Edward Blair shared their advice with other faculty members concerning how to run an effective mentorship program. | Robert Z. Easely/The Daily Cougar
RRYAN GOSLING
NOW PLAYING IN THEATERS EVERYWHERE CHECK LOCAL LISTINGS FOR THEATERS AND SHOWTIMES
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The Daily Cougar COMICS & MORE Thursday, September !", !#$$ ! 11
crosswordcomics
sudokuHow to play Each row must contain the numbers 1 to 9; each column must contain the numbers 1 to 9; and each set of 3-by-3 boxes must also contain the numbers 1 to 9.
That Monkey Tune by Michael Kandalaft
The Fishbowl by Thomas Hernandez
ACROSS 1 Start of a bray 4 Cummerbund 8 Hearth debris 13 Prospector’s ! nd 14 Mallet game 15 -- Island Red 16 Consequently 17 -- -- Hubbard of
sci-! 18 Old Greek colony 19 Palindromic
town 20 Type of
chocolate 22 Public image 24 Counting-out
word 25 Lunar new year 26 Tears 28 Trendy 31 Dark yellow 34 Aloe -- 35 -- de vivre 36 Fact fudger 37 Put o" 38 Top-notch
(hyph.) 39 Get paid 40 Summer forecast 41 Carnation colors 42 Alley from Moo 43 Romance
novelist Victoria --
44 Flee hastily 45 Melville title 47 All-around 51 Alaskan
transport 55 Pizarro’s quest 56 Glazed goody 57 Borodin prince 58 Cosmic ray
particle 59 Papas or Dunne 60 Citrus fruit 61 Salinger girl 62 It repels moths 63 Two- -- sloth 64 Mild brew
DOWN 1 Crowd 2 Poe’s ! rst name 3 Want-ad abbr. 4 Broken-arm
support
5 Ventricle neighbor
6 Coin eater 7 Grind, maybe 8 Originates 9 Evinced 10 Wedding
follower 11 McClurg or
Brickell 12 Straphanger’s
lack 13 Bound 20 Transvaal trekker 21 Return the favor 23 Grim 26 Turned back on 27 Where Tehran is 29 Cry from the sty 30 Poor grades 31 Bogus butter 32 Aloha in Rome 33 Hunted whales 34 Tender cutlets 35 Bionic Woman,
-- Sommers 37 Sink from
exhaustion 41 Kitchen utensils 43 Not as bland 44 Looked
lasciviously 46 Hawaii’s -- Loa 47 Pithy saying 48 Shake awake 49 Pleasant scent 50 Isolated 51 Acct. insurer 52 Folk wisdom 53 Light, happy
tune 54 Money-
exchange fee 58 Shook hands
© 2010 UNITED FEATURE SYNDICATE INC.
Previous puzzle solved
Previous puzzle solved
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12 ! Thursday, September !", !#$$ ADVERTISING The Daily Cougar
