UHPD hosts Coffee with a Cop so students can get to know their officers. | Andrea Fernández Velázquez/The Cougar

Thursday evening, Bayou Oaks residents chatted with the University of Houston Police Department as part of the monthly Adopt-A-Cop event between officers and students.

On campus, there are currently two active programs that facilitate the interaction between UHPD and students: Adopt-A-Cop and Coffee with a Cop.

“Coffee with a Cop is a social interaction between the community and with UHPD,” said Sgt. Dina Padovan, UHPD’s crime prevention coordinator. “It is our chance to build our relationship with our community, to say ‘Hey, let’s just have a conversation.’”

Padovan said the program is held in the morning and is open to students, faculty and staff. Residence halls provide the donuts and UHPD provides the coffee.

Unlike Coffee with a Cop, Adopt-A-Cop is a program for officers who are assigned to patrol operations in an assigned residential area. The number of officers varies and depends on the size of the residential area.

“We want to build a relationship, a trust between the residential community and us,” Padovan said. “Like, open the doors for communication, so when you see something, people feel confident and they know we are going to do something. They would call us.”

Cougar Village II officer Benjamin Sosa said that during each shift, each officer is assigned somewhere to help students.

“I provide a service (for) something you don’t understand, maybe something is confusing, maybe you need to talk to somebody, you need to ask if something is illegal, or maybe you need to request more training,” Sosa said.

Some of the duties of the officers include: patrolling the residence halls, talking with the desk assistants, doing a check on the building, meeting with residential life coordinators and talking with residents.

In order to break the ice and get to know officers better, students are free to ask officers any questions that come to mind.

“The residential staff have that one officer that comes to their area so they are familiar with the officers,” Padovan said. “Sometimes they call them by first name, and students will call them by their first name. That’s how I know they are starting to know their officers. It puts that connection and brings that partnership.”

The next coffee with a cop is scheduled to take place on March 2 in Butler Plaza.

Padovan said UHPD wants to create an atmosphere where they can interact and get to know students at times when they are not called to respond to incidents.

“I feel like sometimes people don’t take the time to get to know them because they are an authority figure,” said human resources senior Taylor Peterson, a residence assistant at Bayou Oaks. “So I feel this helps connect the residents and the officers, so they feel more comfortable around them.”

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“Program lets students share coffee, donuts, conversation with UHPD” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar

Knock knock, the final is here. Too late to shun the dangerous visitor; its toes are already in your domain. Check off everything in the list below and you shall emerge unscathed. Your freedom and future lies ahead.

Be brave, Cougars, and just do it.

1. Prepare for your study session by purchasing snacks in bulk ahead of time

2. Eat all the snacks as you contemplate when to start studying

3. Brag or complain on social media about how much studying you have to do

4. Start studying

5. Realize you know about as much as Jon Snow

6. Cry

7. Secure more snacks so you can eat your feelings

8. Resume studying

9. Take a break from studying to cry in the shower

10. Study a little more before bed

11. Cry self to sleep

12. Wake up

13. Squeeze in some last-minute studying

14. Go to where your final is held

15. Take a deep breath, know everything is going to be OK and knock that final out of the park!

16. If that was your only final, congratulations! If not, rinse and repeat. Works every time.

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“15 things to do before taking your final” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar

As finals arrive, students may dream about missing or mixing up the dates for their exams. Should they find their nightmare become a reality, their professors may — or may not — get them out of the situation.

• Andrea Eckelman
• Frederick Schiff
• Nora Laos

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“Miss a final? Professors deal in different ways” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar

The time and money dedicated to a fight against breast cancer every October is a noble cause that receives a lot of pink-themed attention — the kind that generates billions in funding for research toward prevention and treatment.

It’s wonderful that so many people commit to educating themselves on a healthcare issue that threatens the lives of about 1 in 8 women in the United States, but there’s a greater threat which affects a larger amount of people that needs advocacy.

October is also National Domestic Violence Awareness Month and uses the symbol of a purple ribbon. Adapted from a “Day of Unity,” this initiate has evolved into a month of programs centered on “mourning those who have died because of domestic violence, celebrating those who have survived, and connecting those who work to end violence.”

The issue of abuse too often goes without discussion and is kept shrouded in secrecy, but it affects every type person. Now is the time to talk about it.

Nearly 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men in the United States have been victimized by their partners. This does not account for the vast amount of cases that go unreported. Regardless of age, gender, or background, every person can experience the physical and emotional abuse from someone they trust.

In his Presidential Proclamation, President Barack Obama encourages Americans to “recognize the survivors and victims of abuse whose courage inspires us all…and we (need to) remind them that they are not alone.”

It’s about time we refocus our efforts to a more immediate threat. Banning together to stand for the safety of friends, family and loved ones should be an outspoken matter.

Larger government programs such as the It’s On Us campaign invites people to make a “personal commitment to keep women and men safe” and to share their pledge publicly on social media.

The promise to “not be a bystander to the problem, but to be a part of the solution” should be taken as seriously as cancer.

Domestic violence isn’t pretty or pink. It’s a grim reality that needs to be confronted head on. People may not like to talk about relationship violence, but the only way to end abuse is to speak out against it. Be a part of the solution instead of the silence.

— The Cougar Editorial Board

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“Think pink? Think purple, too” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar

Serving as the U.S. Representative for Texas’ 18th Congressional District, which includes much of inner-Houston, Shelia Jackson Lee called for Juneteenth to be celebrated as a national holiday back in 2003. | Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

This year marks the 150th anniversary of Juneteenth, a celebration of the Emancipation Proclamation, and there are lots of festivities in the Houston area for family and friends to come together this weekend.

Although the Proclamation was finalized in January 1, 1863, it was not implemented in Texas until June of 1865.

“It was the last place they told slaves that they could receive wages for their work,” said Kijana Wiseman, chairperson of the Juneteenth Emancipation Celebration in the Third Ward.

“It’s a celebration of the true American independence day where we all became free.”

June 19

Juneteenth Festival at Project Row Houses

Stop by at 3 p.m. for a Black Lives Matter Stepshow and panel discussion. If ball is life, make sure to attend the basketball tournament at 5 p.m.

2505-2517 Holman St. Houston, TX 77004

Family Funday in the Park at Hunters Glen Park
Bring your siblings of all ages for free rides, games and entertainment, starting at 6 p.m. Make sure to bring some spare change to grab a snack, and stay until the sun sets for a movie the whole family can enjoy.

1340 Independence Missouri City, TX 77459

Houston’s Juneteenth Celebration at Miller Outdoor Theatre
Bring a blanket and groove to the blues with Jewel Brown, Trudy Lynn and Steve Krase and The Peterson Brothers at 7 p.m. Tickets are available at the box office for free.

6000 Hermann Park Drive Houston, TX 77030

June 20

Juneteenth Parade, 10 a.m.
There will be marching bands, dancers, floats, motorcycles and more. Stick around to see the Black McDonald’s Owners Association donate 100 bicycles to local children of the Boy and Girls Club. Following this act of philanthropy, there will be live music, poetry and singing by professionals and community members.

From Texas Southern University Gym to the corner of Holman and Live Oak

One Mile of Smiles parade, 7 p.m.
Marvel at the decorative floats as they throw out candy beads and other swag. Dance to the beat of marching bands and follow the parade to Thurgood Marshall High School, where there will be a battle of the bands afterward.

Texas Parkway FM 2234 Missouri City, TX 77459

social@thedailycougar.com

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“Celebrating the 150th anniversary of Juneteenth” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar

Crime Stoppers is offering up to $5,000 for help identifying in the armored vehicle robbery on campus last week.  | Courtesy of the FBI

Police authorities are taking steps to resolve recent crimes on campus.

UH Police Chief Ceasar Moore told students in an email that the investigation into Friday’s armed robbery is still ongoing but that the police are vigorously following all leads in pursuit of the suspects.

“We have determined that the suspects gained entry to Law Residence Hall through an individual who used a personal access card to let the suspects in,” Moore said.

“This is a security breach and a violation of established protocol.”

According to the UH Police Department’s security alert about the incident, three armed men demanded the cellphones and wallets of six students in the basement of the residence hall and fled through the nearby emergency exit.

In the email, Moore asked all UH students to refrain from allowing individuals to enter secure buildings without personally swiping an access card.

“While it may be uncomfortable not to hold a door open for another person, the security system and card access systems work best when this practice is followed,” he said.

In the armored vehicle robbery that occurred Dec. 6 in front of the University Center, the FBI has released a sketch of one of three suspects, and Crime Stoppers of Houston is offering $5,000 for information about the identification of the gunman’s accomplices.

The Crime Stoppers press release describes the shooter as an African American male, 25 to 35 years of age, about 6 feet tall, and between 180 to 200 pounds.

No further information is available on these crimes at this time, but the University is taking measures to reduce the crime rate on campus.

“I am currently recruiting an additional 40 officers to join our force,” Moore said. “We hope to add at least 10 security officers a month until those positions are filled.

“In addition, we have more than 1,200 cameras monitoring the campus 24-7.”

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“Police working to resolve recent robberies” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar

To summarize the UH School of Theatre and Dance’s latest production, “The Beaux’ Stratagem,” in one word would be impossible.

The play isn’t about money, marriage or villainy, nor is it about love, lust or greed. Though the play written by George Farquhar flaunts all of these themes generously, it inspires a sense of pride in the well-read who understand the deeper meaning: To find happiness is to be true to yourself.

In this Restoration-era comedy, partners in crime Tom Aimwell and Jack Archer enter the country town of Lichfield with a deceptive game in mind: To fund their extravagant lifestyle and bandage their currently penniless condition, they’ll con rich women into marrying them by feigning gentility. In each town, one friend disguises himself as gentleman, and the other as his servant.

However, robbing the country folks of their excess riches proves more difficult than expected when Lichfield citizens seem to have more wit than the two men hope. After setting their sights on a rich doctor’s two daughters, Dorinda Bountiful and Kate Sullen, the not-so-put-together façade crumbles around them when “true love” rears its head — as it always does in comedies.

This adaptation by Thornton Wilder and Ken Ludwig, directed by Adam Noble, exhibits many, if not all, of the common characteristics of its genre. As one of the last comedies of manners — a term for the Restoration comedy, written and performed between 1660 and 1710 — the humor is dark and sexually explicit, the plot is bustling, the themes are topical and the patriarchy is, well, astonishing to the modern viewer.

Unlike most works of this genre, the 1707 play demonstrates a subtle use of early feminism through satire — at least in today’s theaters, where the audience can blissfully believe that all its prided performance pioneers ignored the misogyny of their eras. What could be mistaken as a chauvinistic cynicism regarding marriage could also be Farquhar conveyance of the need for social equality between sexes.

“The roots of feminism began around this time, so in this play, we meet strong female characters, including Dorinda and Kate,” Noble said in a press release about the production. “They’re on par with their male counterparts as opposed to being damsels in distress.”

Although the transition between scenes was rough in the first act as the stage crew stumbled with the furniture, the School of Theatre and Dance got creative with the scene changes in the latter half of the play, learning the art of distraction to keep the audience entertained.

Dull moments were rare in this play, and humor was bountiful, as the audience was kept laughing for the majority of the play’s two hours. Patrons are no doubt eagerly awaiting the school’s next production, “Blood Wedding,” which opens Oct. 25.

“The Beaux’ Stratagem” will be performed again at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $10 for students. For more information, please visit theatredance.uh.edu.

arts@thedailycougar.com

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“Review: ‘The Beaux’ Stratagem’” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar