One of the Metropolitan Volunteer Program’s Rock the Block locations was Agape Development, a Christian ministry that develops community leaders. | Dana C. Jones/The Cougar

“Just pull the tires out and leave them on the side of the road,” instructed volunteer and former Agape Development employee Ann Vicar.

The streets surrounding Agape Development, a Christian ministry that helps develop community leaders in the Third Ward, were lined with tires and other large-scale debris that had been pulled out from roadside ditches, waiting to be picked up.

This activity is part of the Metropolitan Volunteer Program’s seventh annual Rock the Block event, a day of service aimed at cleaning and beautifying neglected parts of Houston’s historic Third Ward neighborhood. MVP partnered with local nonprofit Agape Development, the South East Transformation Alliance, or SETA, and GO Neighborhoods to come together for the clean-up event, which was in conjunction with Keep Houston Beautiful Day.

“This event is important to the UH community and beyond because I feel like we all claim that UH is supporting our community in regards to the Third Ward, but we’re really not,” MVP Director Lisa Menda said. “It’s very important to dedicate days where we can give back to the community. It’s our duty, it’s our backyard, it’s our community.”

Students spent the day at several different locations throughout the Third Ward, including Zollie Scales Park and George T. Nelson Park, cleaning up the effects of illegal trash dumping that negatively impact more than just the curb appeal of the neighborhood.

“We’re hoping that people will become aware of the necessity to keep your community clean,” said SETA club president and fifty-year Third Ward resident Pauline Brown. “It’s health, beautification, as well as safety reasons.”

After a morning spent cleaning up the community, the 130 volunteers stripped off their work gloves in favor of food and fun at the block party held at Agape Development, 6401 Calhoun Road. The closing celebration, which was open to all volunteers and residents of the surrounding neighborhood, featured a large inflatable slide for neighborhood kids, interactive games, a basketball hoop and an array of refreshments.

Undeterred by unseasonably cold and drizzly weather, participants stood outside eating snow cones and jovially interacting with members of the community.

“It’s always nice to give back to the community, the campus and around the campus,” said True Furrh, an environmental sciences and civil engineering sophomore, about the event. “You have to give back to the area directly surrounding campus to be able to really engage in your community. It’s a direct way of giving back.”

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The panel organized around issues facing women in honor of International Women’s Day and took on the sexualization of women in the workplace and career achievement. | Courtesy Kim-Briana Loraine

The Student Program Board hosted an event for International Women’s Day on Tuesday called Girls Rock, which featured several female student representatives in leadership positions who spoke regarding matters of female perception, the sexualization of women and women’s place within society. 

The event centered around an opening panel that featured six speakers. Among the student leaders was Student Government Association President Winni Zhang.

“Confidence is the biggest thing,” Zhang said of a study conducted that claimed women feel underqualified for a position in which they are well qualified. “I wish that women would go for it. If there’s a job application… just go for it.”

One of the main topics the panel discussed was the sexualization of women in the form of dress code bias and the issues regarding breastfeeding in public.

The students argued that the codes implemented during high school and in the workplace are more targeted toward women based on perceptions such as the way they dress and how much skin they show.

“Women’s appearance in the workplace actually is questioned quite a lot,” said SGA Sen. Kim-Briana Loraine. “A lot of research has been done about workplace dress codes, and a lot of dress codes are actually targeted towards women.”

Another topic of discussion involved what each woman might do if they could change something about society. One thing that resonated among them was the idea of women supporting each other more and gaining the courage to try for positions they may not be sure about.

Following the panel, performances were given by students who went through an audition process, like a poetry recital from art freshman Taylor Ellis. In addition, Wonder Woman was shown to the audience.

The event came with a message that SPB hoped would resonate with its female audience.

The process for the event began long before Girls Rock came to be because these issues are always front of mind for women in today’s society, said comedy and speakers chair Chiamaka Chukwu.

“Women are capable of anything,” Chukwu said. “Our role in society has greatly changed from what it was when our parents were children, and it will continue to evolve.”

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“Women in leadership celebrate power of female students” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar

Smoothie King and Starbucks will begin repairs in May and are expected to be complete for the fall semester. | Michael Slaten/The Cougar

The Starbucks and Smoothie King located in the Student Center Satellite will reopen in Fall 2018, one year after Hurricane Harvey flooded the facility. 

Most vendors at the Satellite reopened in October except Smoothie King, Starbucks and the Market.

District marketing manager for UH Dining Services Abel Valencia said these spots received the most extensive damage. This was due to the flood damaging the building itself, which led to the damage being more significant than other parts of the Satellite. Walls will need to be rebuilt. 

“These locations suffered the most considerable damage, and we can’t operate them without a successful health inspection upon completion of the repairs,” Valencia said.

Valencia said the Starbucks and Smoothie King corporate offices need to send materials to UH to repair the Satellite, which takes time to produce on their end. Valencia said insurance has also been a delaying factor, as well as timing the repairs. 

“The insurance claim process is lengthy. We did not want to complete the work in the middle of the semester and disrupt building operations,” Valencia said.

History junior Ronnie Garcia is frustrated with the delay.

“I think it’s ridiculous — like, how it has been so long but they still can’t open it?” Garcia said. “I see it as it’s not the top of the list.”

Broadcast journalism freshman Amira Elkurdi said that once the Starbucks is reopened, it will bring more convenience to students who are closer to Satellite than the Student Center South.

“They really need to reopen it because it will disperse the business from the Student Center and make it more accessible for people like me who are more on that side of the campus most of the day,” Elkurdi said.

The repairs will begin in May and are expected to be complete by fall.

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Electronics on display at one of the Makerspace bays where students can create. | Jakob Walker/The Cougar

The MD Anderson Library held a grand opening Friday for the brand new Makerspace center that will give students the tools to create simple electronics inside the space.

The Makerspace is an area where students can learn about technology and create simple electronic projects on their own or with the assistance of one of the student employees. The center is open to any student and has workshops to help students learn how to create their projects.

Chairman of the Department of Computer and Electrical Engineering, Badri Roysam, said it was a challenge to get the right equipment for the center and make it work in a library setting, where any student from any major can walk in and try out the center.

“Suppose that a dance major wants to wear some lights that blink a certain way,” Roysam said. “She may not know how to do such a thing, but a computer major might. So we want to spark collaboration.”

The Makerspace first entered the planning stage two years ago, Roysam said.

“It took us a while to really figure out how to do it right and obtain all the resources,” Roysam said.

At the grand opening, students were able to view project displays and examples of what they could create. On display was a temperature sensor and a robot that can tell whether it’s about to run into a wall using sensors that detect distance.

Students can check out kits and books containing steps on how to create something small. Many of the featured kits worked with the computer hardware system Arduino.  Students can find step-by-step instructions on building the kits by navigating to the Makerspace website.

If a student needs help creating something, they can meet with a student employee at the Makerspace center.

“Makerspace is designed for people who have never written or seen code,” said Ali Alrifai, an electrical and computer engineering senior and student employee at Makerspacei. “Our program here is for people like that. We have kits that they can take home for two weeks, and they can learn how to code them.”

The future of the Makerspace is entirely dependent on student desire, Roysam said. While some of the ideas include projects with drones, it will ultimately be up to the student population to decide what they would like to see next.

“Over time, we expect to add more and more things to (the Makerspace),” Roysam said. “What we want is for the students to tell us what they want to do next, and then we will find the money to buy those things.”

Classes taught by the Makerspace happen on a monthly basis. March classes will include Photoshop courses, web design courses, Arduino courses and an introduction to 3D printing. Students wishing to register for these classes can register online through the UH Library Calendar.

“Through our website, people can recommend new classes,” Makerspace manager Chris Holthe said.

He said based on popularity and student desire, five or six classes may be added each month on top of repeating courses such as the Photoshop and Excel courses.

The Makerspace bay schedule can be found on the Makerspace library page. The center can be found on the first floor of the MD Anderson Library within the Learning Commons.

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Students had the option to stuff and keep a Pokémon or other animals at Stuff-a-Bear. | Jakob Walker/The Cougar

Hundreds of unstuffed Pokémon lined tables for students to choose from during the Student Program Board’s Stuff-A-Bear event on Monday.

SPB held the annual free event, giving students the opportunity to stuff and keep the toy of their choosing, in the Houston Room at the Student Center. 

Kinesiology freshman Vanessa Smith thought the event simulated the experience of Build-A-Bear.

“I went to Build-A-Bear before and I just had so much fun,” Smith said. “So I knew I would have fun here. It’s free, so why not?”

The Pokémon stand was one of the most popular options and had lines that extended almost to the door of the room. Students could also stuff other typical toys: pigs, bears, giraffes and conversation hearts.

“We just kind of try to bring something different,” said Social Media and Programming Chair Glende Killough. “Last year, we had Emojis and this year we had Pokémon.”

SPB also gave students the option to bring a toy to receive a fast pass, which would allow them to get into the room first and get first choice of the toy they wanted. The donations are for a toy drive that features a joint effort from the SPB and the Metropolitan Volunteer Program.

In addition to toys, students were able to create cards for the toy drive.

Doctoral candidate Rasindu Rajanayake said he liked how the event not only made students happy, but how it would impact children in need.

“It’s a really cool initiative that the SPB is doing,” Rajanayake said. “By making the students happy, you’re making another child not at the University happy.”

SPB anticipated student attendance to be around 1,000, with most of the students receiving a bear or a gift bag if the bears ran out of stock. Killough said SPB generally tries to get around 800 bears for the event. This year, Killough said, they also gave people a candy bag once the bears were unavailable.

“We got a lot of toys. I’m really excited about that,” Killough said. “We also have a Valentine card station so that we can create Valentine cards for the kids and we can take them to the hospital.”

The SPB event was shared on social media where students could find out about the event directly or through a friend.

“One of my friends sent me a link and she asked me ‘hey, if you’re interested you should come with me’,” geology graduate student Jie Ying said.

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“Pokémon the most popular option at Stuff-A-Bear 2018” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar

Voting registration for primaries passed Monday, but you can still register to vote for the general election in November. | Rebekah Stearns/The Cougar

The election cycle is here again. Primaries will feature elections for offices such as the U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, Texas Governor, and additional positions within the government.

Incumbents Sen. Ted Cruz and Gov. Greg Abbott are running for reelection in the highest profile state races. Early voting will begin Feb. 20 and end  March 2. The ballot by mail applications close on Feb. 23, and Election Day is March 6. The nearest polling station for students is in downtown.

What are the primaries?

Primary elections are elections that pick a single person from a party to represent the party in the November elections. In Texas, some offices have as many as 22 candidates running, according to the Texas Tribune. During the primaries, if no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the votes, then a run-off is held between the top candidates. More than 200 offices in the state are up for grabs.

Primary elections for all of the state house and half of the state senate are occurring. There are also elections for lieutenant governor, attorney general, state Supreme Court seats and U.S. House seats.

How can I vote?

Students with a registered address in the University of Houston district are eligible to vote at the Harris County Law Library located at 1019 Congress Ave, Houston, TX 77009 on Election Day. If a student’s registered address is at a different location in the state, they will not be eligible to vote at the location on election day. You can vote at any polling location in your registered county for early voting.

Students are advised to refer to the Harris Votes website to find their correct polling station if they intend to vote on election day. More information about voting can be found at VoteTexas.org.

For people who have not yet registered, they will be unable to vote in the primaries as the registration period closed on Monday. Since Texas is not a state that allows same-day registration, those who missed the deadline are unable to vote in these primaries. However, people wishing to vote in the 2018 general elections will need to register by Tuesday, Oct. 9.

To vote or not?

Liberal studies junior Cassidy Preuninger doesn’t plan on voting. She said she does not know much regarding the 2018 elections.

“If I knew more about what was going on, I would vote,” Preuninger said.

While she may not vote, she stressed the importance of voting.

“It’s very important to vote and get your voice heard,” Preuninger said. “It’s important to get your voice out there and to change something that you want to be changed.”

Mathematics senior Diego Cepeda said he will be voting during the Texas primaries, something he says he does every time it comes around. Broadcast journalism senior Jack McCraw also said he will be voting.

“I believe it is my due diligence as a citizen to go vote,” McCraw said. “The best way to get our voice heard is to vote.”

Beyond the primaries, the 2018 general elections will begin with early voting on Oct. 22 and will end Nov. 6.

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“2018 primaries preview: Where can I vote?” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar

Chief Nurse Nicole Robinson working inside the UH Student Health Center. | Thomas Dwyer/The Cougar

The University of Houston Student Health Center has a new location, but not enough students are aware of it, says Associate Director of the Student Health Center Rodrick Jordan.

The new facility is located inside Health and Biomedical Sciences Building 2, off Calhoun Road and Wheeler Avenue near the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center. Jordan said awareness has always been an issue for the Student Health Center. 

“We found out that students had gone their entire academic career and never knew we had a health center,” Jordan said. “If they did know, they knew very little.”

History junior Ronnie Garcia says her issue is not knowing where the health center is or the services it provides.

“I don’t go because I don’t know where (the Student Health Center) is,” Garcia said. “I don’t know much about what they offer.”

History junior Kirsten Hilson is uninsured and has never been to the Student Health Center, she says, because of concerns with financial burdens.

The center is purchasing new medical equipment, including a new surgical light for the treatment room, blood pressure equipment and a weight scale better suited for the disabled, Jordan said. The new location is smaller than the old space, which was entering its 50th year of operation.

“We are reducing our footprint as far as square footage, but the newer setup allows us to eliminate a ton of wasted space in our present location and be more efficient in clinic flow as well,” he said.

The new Student Health Center is brightly lit with lots of natural lighting — compared to the older, darker health center — helping with the ambiance, Jordan said. 

“If you walk into a dungeon-like kind of atmosphere, it kind of adds to the negative feelings you associate with going to the doctor,” Jordan said. “You’re coming to somewhere that’s brightly lit, a lot of natural light, it just gives the feeling that you’re going somewhere you want to go.”

The new Student Health Center is set up in a circular form, which is how highly efficient clinics are set up, Jordan said. He said future plans for the facility involve eventually offering more specialists for students. Currently, the facility only provides one specialist — an Orthopedic clinic — and additional specialists require off-campus referrals. 

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Students can download the Guide app to help with goals and set reminders. | Michael Slaten/The Cougar

The University’s latest app, “Guide – College Simplified,” is designed to keep students on track for graduation and provides easy access to many advising features.

The app can be molded to a specific students’ needs and give reminders for tasks or help with advising, said Assistant Vice Provost Melissa Pierson, who manages the app for the University. The app offers tools to help students pick a major or find resources on campus. 

“The idea is, ‘how do we customize information for students?’,” Pierson said. “We’re trying to customize it to be exactly what they need.”

The application was first introduced to students in Fall 2016 when a small group of freshmen were told about the application in a test pilot program. The application was then released to all freshmen the following semester and to the entire campus in the Fall 2017.

“If you had shown me this when I was a freshman, I would have loved this,” said psychology sophomore Miranda Dominguez.

Instead of relying on the app, Dominguez said she relies on her own systems to keep track of her school in the same way the application does. But the app could be useful for those who don’t have their own system in place, she said. 

When a student logs into Guide, they have multiple options to use, including “My Path,” a service which provides students several tasks and reminders based on a student’s classification.

“Things change as you go through the years,” Pierson said. “As you get to your upper division classes, there’s specific steps aimed for that. As you get to your senior year and you need to start looking for jobs and applying for graduation, then those steps start to show up.”

Tasks can include reminding students to review their financial plan, reminding them of specific deadlines and informing students of campus events, Pierson said.

The most popular tool is the “Major Explorer,” Pierson said. With this option, students can answer a series of questions regarding their interests and they are given suggested majors. Students can then look into the major, learning about hiring demand or average salary. 

Campus resources such as career planning and financial aid can be viewed in the app. It will show students where it is located along with office hours and the offices’ phone number.

Advising help

The application can also be used as a supplement to advising, Pierson said.

“If you’re the kind of student that doesn’t want to talk to somebody anymore, we want to give you this self-service tool so you can do it on your own,” Pierson said. 

The difference, Pierson said, between this app and standard advising is in the way the information is received. Instead of a student having to schedule a meeting or converse through emails, a student can have most resources available for them on their phone, Pierson said. If a student turns on notifications for the app, they can receive information straight to their phone.

Computer information systems sophomore Ashly Hernandez said she likes how the app sends notifications to her phone, because she otherwise wouldn’t notice.

“I would say that we’ve actually talked to students already who have come in because of something they saw on the app,” Pierson said. “So if there’s a chance it’s encouraging more students to come in that wouldn’t otherwise have, I think that’s a positive.”

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“University offers app to foster students to success” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar

Some students, like Jilliana Colina, have mastered the art of studying and acing exams, while others have a lot of adapting to do this finals season. | Andrew Jones/The Cougar

Students all over the country are gathering around tables, uncapping their highlighters and undergoing the arduous task of studying for finals.

The official finals week at the University of Houston is Dec. 7 through 13, but for many students, preparation for this period may as well be year-round.

Corporate communications senior Jilliana Colina is balancing a six-course load and an internship at KPRC-TV, but she said the key to getting through the stressful time is remembering why you started and what you want to achieve.

“Keep your end goal in mind,” Colina said.

Electronic devices can become barriers for students trying to focus on important assignments, so Colina sticks to a guiding principle: Put modern tools away when it’s time to get serious.

After taking semester after semester of finals, Colina is no stranger to the heightened demand exams place on students. Her keys to success involve snacks, taking time to relax and using her breaks as opportunities to hang out with friends, she said.

Although Colina values the relief that study-breaks afford leading up to the end of the semester, she isn’t immune to the trappings of cramming. 

She thinks the primary cause of that is the week-long Thanksgiving break just before many finals are given. Many students simply take it as time off to enjoy themselves, she said.

While some balance jobs and change their eating and sleeping habits on the way to reaching the light at the end of the tunnel, others are just taking their first steps toward graduation without knowing what to expect.

Pre-med freshman Syed Ahmad sees the college-level finals process as a completely different league compared to his high school experience. Studying last minute and even cramming a semester’s worth of information the night before may have passed in high school, but it just doesn’t work in college, Ahmad said.

Instead he’s developed a strategy to divide the material he needs to study into more manageable portions to avoid the stress of not having enough time to cover all that’s required. Even as a freshman, Ahmad said that the resources like practice exams in Blackboard are indispensable.

As a Muslim student, Ahmad’s personal method of stress relief involves prayer, he said. He also breaks up long periods of studying by socializing and taking advantage of the many events the University provides to help students relieve stress.

Not all students experience the pressure of finals.

John Nacar, a supply chain management senior, said setting priorities is the most important step in staying organized. He said he takes a methodical approach to his finals and doesn’t let the stress affect him. His tool for being thorough is to know which exams come first and study accordingly, he said.

His advice for students entering the University, or further along on their way to completion, is straightforward.

“Don’t slack off,” Nacar said. 

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“Students offer strategies for surviving finals” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar

Some students, like Jilliana Colina, have mastered the art of studying and acing exams, while others have a lot of adapting to do this finals season. | Andrew Jones/The Cougar

Students all over the country are gathering around tables, uncapping their highlighters and undergoing the arduous task of studying for finals.

The official finals week at the University of Houston is Dec. 7 through 13, but for many students, preparation for this period may as well be year-round.

Corporate communications senior Jilliana Colina is balancing a six-course load and an internship at KPRC-TV, but she said the key to getting through the stressful time is remembering why you started and what you want to achieve.

“Keep your end goal in mind,” Colina said.

Electronic devices can become barriers for students trying to focus on important assignments, so Colina sticks to a guiding principle: Put modern tools away when it’s time to get serious.

After taking semester after semester of finals, Colina is no stranger to the heightened demand exams place on students. Her keys to success involve snacks, taking time to relax and using her breaks as opportunities to hang out with friends, she said.

Although Colina values the relief that study-breaks afford leading up to the end of the semester, she isn’t immune to the trappings of cramming. 

She thinks the primary cause of that is the week-long Thanksgiving break just before many finals are given. Many students simply take it as time off to enjoy themselves, she said.

While some balance jobs and change their eating and sleeping habits on the way to reaching the light at the end of the tunnel, others are just taking their first steps toward graduation without knowing what to expect.

Pre-med freshman Syed Ahmad sees the college-level finals process as a completely different league compared to his high school experience. Studying last minute and even cramming a semester’s worth of information the night before may have passed in high school, but it just doesn’t work in college, Ahmad said.

Instead he’s developed a strategy to divide the material he needs to study into more manageable portions to avoid the stress of not having enough time to cover all that’s required. Even as a freshman, Ahmad said that the resources like practice exams in Blackboard are indispensable.

As a Muslim student, Ahmad’s personal method of stress relief involves prayer, he said. He also breaks up long periods of studying by socializing and taking advantage of the many events the University provides to help students relieve stress.

Not all students experience the pressure of finals.

John Nacar, a supply chain management senior, said setting priorities is the most important step in staying organized. He said he takes a methodical approach to his finals and doesn’t let the stress affect him. His tool for being thorough is to know which exams come first and study accordingly, he said.

His advice for students entering the University, or further along on their way to completion, is straightforward.

“Don’t slack off,” Nacar said. 

news@thedailycougar.com

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“Students offer strategies for surviving finals” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar