Author Archives | editorinleaf

Gallery: Protesters swarm downtown Houston after George Floyd’s death

When George Floyd, a Third Ward native and Yates High School graduate, died in Minneapolis police custody on Monday after video showed an officer kneeling on his neck, it sparked a wave of uproar across the country that has resulted in protests in more than 30 cities, including Houston.

The officer involved, Derek Chauvin, was arrested and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter on Friday, four days after Floyd’s death.

But that hasn’t stopped demonstrators from swarming downtown Houston on Saturday to protest Floyd’s death, which Mayor Sylvester Turner said on Twitter on Friday “could have been avoidable.”

Contributing photographer Mikol Kindle Jr. documented what he saw at the demonstrations:







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Reports: Nate Hinton to keep name in NBA Draft, go pro

Sophomore guard Nate Hinton finished the game with 16 points, seven rebounds and two steals in the win against the Bearcats. | Mikol Kindle Jr./The Cougar

Sophomore guard Nate Hinton announced in early April he was entering his name into the 2020 NBA Draft pool | Mikol Kindle Jr./The Cougar

Sophomore guard Nate Hinton announced in early April he was entering his name into the 2020 NBA Draft pool | Mikol Kindle Jr./The Cougar

Sophomore Nate Hinton will forgo his final two seasons of eligibility and keep his name in the NBA Draft pool after hiring an agent, according to multiple Monday night reports.

“It was very tough because just knowing everything that you are leaving behind, the atmosphere, fan support, the program and (head coach Kelvin) Sampson,” he told the Houston Chronicle on Monday of his decision. “It seems like I just got here to Houston and now I’m leaving. I’m leaving on a good note to pursue my dreams.”

The guard out of Gastonia, North Carolina, announced his decision to declare for the draft in early April shortly before fellow guard DeJon Jarreau entered his name.

“I had to come to peace that I’m going to turn pro and pursue my dreams,” Hinton told the Houston Chronicle.

Hinton was the Cougars’ defensive backbone in 2019-20, leading the team in rebounds (8.7) and steals (1.4) per game.

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Letter from the editor: The Cougar welcomes new leadership

Exiting editor in chief Michael Slaten. | Trevor Nolley/The Cougar

Exiting editor in chief Michael Slaten. | Trevor Nolley/The Cougar

My time as editor in chief has come to an end.

While leaving in the middle of a pandemic wasn’t what anyone planned, great people are staying who will be future movers and shakers in journalism, so expect more tremendous work as they get better and better. Jhair Romero will take the reins starting May 1.

I can’t give enough thanks to all of the editors who gave their best this past year. You all brought this paper success and did good work to inform the UH community. You all will continue to find success.

While I was often reserved, I’m going to miss seeing everyone at the office. There’s a lot of bright people in this newspaper, and I hope our paths will cross again someday.

— Michael Slaten, exiting editor in chief


Exiting editor in chief Michael Slaten. | Trevor Nolley/The Cougar

Incoming editor in chief Jhair Romero. | Trevor Nolley/The Cougar

For nearly a century, The Cougar has dedicated itself to being a platform that informs and serves. No matter the event, whether it be devastating natural disasters or magical Cinderella stories, this organization has been there for the UH community.

Never in this newspaper’s almost 100-year history has it faced something like the coronavirus pandemic, but as editor in chief I will make sure we continue to serve and inform this community just as The Cougar has always done.

While I guarantee we will provide quality coverage of this crisis as we have since the outbreak hit home, I want to assure you it won’t be the only thing you’ll see from us.

Slowly but surely, life will return to some degree of normalcy, and The Cougar’s coverage will begin to reflect that when the time comes.

The amazing editorial board and staff we’ve put together and I — for the sake of the community we serve and ourselves — will make sure of it.

But for now, we must deal with the issues at hand.

As editor in chief of The Cougar, I will make sure we adapt accordingly to whatever this world throws at us in these tumultuous times and tell the stories — your stories — that deserve to be told.

— Jhair Romero, incoming editor in chief


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UH implements interim pass-fail option for undergraduate courses

UH has decided to implement an interim pass-fail option for undergraduate courses due to the “unprecedented challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic,” the University announced Wednesday.

Students will have until 5 p.m. on May 18 to decide whether they want for their courses to have a letter grade or a “Satisfactory/No Credit Reported COVID-19 (S/NCR)” grading scheme.

They can decide on a course-by-course basis which grading scheme they prefer. The interim policy applies to sessions 1, 4, 5, and 6 as well as the Summer 2020 mini session. UH will evaluate at a later date whether the pass-fail option policy will apply to future terms.

For classes with a satisfactory or unsatisfactory grading scheme, all unsatisfactory grades will be converted to No Credit Reported COVID-19 (NCR) and will not affect GPA.

Finals for the regular academic session end May 6, giving students at worse 12 days to mull over which grading scheme would be best for them once all assignments are turned in.

Grades of D- or higher are considered satisfactory to earn course credit.

More information about an adjusted grading policy for graduate students will be released Thursday. Details on the process for students choosing which grading scheme they want will be communicated by the Office of the University Registrar by April 27.

UH also extended the deadline to Aug. 10 for completing course requirements where there is an Incomplete grade assigned for Spring 2020 courses.

The drop deadline for the regular academic session is still April 10.

Students are urged to contact the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid for how the different grading options will impact financial matters.

Texas A&M University and The University of Texas at Austin also moved to allow students to change their courses for this semester from a letter grade to a pass-fail option and extended their drop deadlines.

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Letter from the editor: We are suspending print, for now

Dear readers,

The Cougar is halting its presses, for now.

Monday was the first day all students began their classes entirely online or in an alternative format, which will be the new normal for at least the rest of this semester due to the coronavirus pandemic.

This means the thousands of students, and the many faculty and staff, who typically come to campus won’t be there to pick up the weekly print edition.

Due to this, we will not be printing our weekly edition for the foreseeable future.

We will instead be releasing a biweekly edition digitally. There will be issues on March 25, April 8 and April 22. This will still have our most in-depth stories we work on across our three sections: news, sports and opinion.

Check our Issuu page each Wednesday morning on those dates to read it, or subscribe to our email edition and it’ll be delivered to your inbox when it’s released.

The circumstances we find ourselves in because of the coronavirus pandemic are not ideal. We can no longer visit campus to see our friends, transitioning to online classes is tough and the uncertainty of what lies ahead can be stressful.

Our entire staff now works remotely to do our part in serving you, the reader. It’s our job to keep up and work through this pandemic.

We do our best throughout the week to keep the latest updates on how the new coronavirus is affecting campus on thedailycougar.com.

This week will publish stories about how the coronavirus is affecting students trying to find jobs and how the transition to online classes has gone for some students.

If there is something that we ever miss, or you feel there is something The Cougar should shine a light on, our inboxes exist to connect us to you.

We will get through this. For now, though, we must trudge on.

editor@thedailycougar.com


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UH will decide on pass-fail option for students by week’s end

Update: UH has decided to implement an interim pass-fail option for undergraduate courses due to the “unprecedented challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic,” the University announced Wednesday.

Read more here.

Original: UH will decide whether or not it will implement a pass-fail option for this semester by the end of the week, according to an email sent out to students Tuesday from President Renu Khator.

The decision is “currently under consideration by the appropriate faculty bodies,” Khator said.

Texas A&M University and The University of Texas at Austin have already moved to allowing students to change their courses for this semester from a letter grade to a pass-fail option and extended their drop deadlines.

UH last week extended its drop deadline until April 10.

Khator also said all UH locations will expand social distancing efforts, which will include less direct contact and more remote support.

Part of these efforts include all computer labs on campus closing along with the Student Centers beginning Wednesday due to a stay-at-home order issued by Harris County on Tuesday.

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2 UH community members test positive for coronavirus

Two UH community members have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the University announced Monday.

The University did not release any additional information about how the community members may have acquired the virus and their role with UH.

UH was notified of the first case on March 15 and the second case on March 19.

“In both cases, individuals had not been on campus and any person who may have been in contact with them has been notified,” UH said via Twitter.

The University has enforced all classes transition to an online or remote format to potentially stop the spread of the coronavirus. Online classes began on March 23 and will continue for at least the rest of the semester.

“It is reasonable to expect that we will have several cases that will involve members of our community,” the University said on its COVID-19 information page. “If there are any notifications to be made to potentially exposed individuals, that is handled by the city of Houston’s health department.”

Harris County ordered its residents beginning Wednesday to stay at home, except for purchasing groceries, visiting parks and essential work.

Houston-area coronavirus cases is now at 202, according to KTRK (Channel 13).

Parking and Transportation Services will transition over to demand-based van transportation that can be accessed through Quick Rides and requested during operating hours.

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Frontier Fiesta canceled due to University’s coronavirus concerns

Nichole Taylor/The Daily Cougar

Frontier Fiesta has been canceled. The annual student-run festival was set to begin March 19. | File photo

Frontier Fiesta, the annual student-run, western-themed festival, has been canceled after the University extended spring break due to coronavirus concerns on Wednesday, according to emails sent to the festival’s participants. 

This year’s event was scheduled to run from March 19-21 in a parking lot next to TDECU Stadium. 

One email sent to cook-off participants said participants will be reimbursed or can keep their space for next year’s festival.

Students over spring break began constructing Fiesta City, the fictional town where all of the festival’s entertainment takes place. 

An email sent to University staff said workers will begin on Thursday morning tearing down Fiesta City.

UH has canceled classes next week and will have online classes beginning March 23. 

The coronavirus, or COVID-19, was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on Wednesday, signaling the speed and severity of how the disease is spreading.

More than 1,000 people have been infected with the coronavirus in the U.S., according to the Washington Post. 

The University discouraged events with a turnout of over 50 people until at least the end of March.

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UH suspends classes until March 23

Classes will be canceled for the entire week after spring break amid concerns about the new coronavirus outbreak, President Renu Khator announced late Thursday. 

The University will remain open but faculty and staff will have the option to work remotely, Khator said via Twitter. 

Classes will resume online on March 23. 

“I understand that these precautionary measures may be inconvenient and disappointing to you, but we hope these efforts can help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in our community,” Khator said in an email sent to students, faculty and staff. “Your health and safety are our priority.”

Students living on campus are encouraged by UH to stay home but the residence halls will remain open.  

Facilities will be maintained using “aggressive sanitization and hygiene protocols” and there will be hand sanitizer dispensers at all entrances, common areas and elevators, according to UH.

The University said via Twitter that there are no confirmed cases of the coronavirus at UH.

UH’s Sugar Land and Katy campuses will remain open and “all offices and services will continue to operate.”

The move comes after other Texas colleges, like Prairie View A&M University and Texas A&M University, suspended classes. The University is discouraging large gatherings of more than 50 people until the end of March.

It’s unclear at this time whether Frontier Fiesta, which was scheduled to occur March 19-21, will still go on.

Frontier Fiesta did not immediately respond to request for comment.

City officials also canceled the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Thursday after a Montgomery County man who had not traveled abroad recently tested positive for the virus after visiting the rodeo barbecue cook-off, indicating community spread. 

Donna Keeya Contributed reporting. 

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First 2 coronavirus cases confirmed in Houston; both related to travel

Update 3/6: Two more cases of the new coronavirus have been confirmed in the city of Houston, according to public health officials.

An additional case of the new coronavirus was also confirmed in unincorporated Harris County on Thursday. This brings the total number of cases in Houston and Harris County to five.

The cases are travel-related and there is no evidence of community spread, according to officials.

Original: Two cases of the new coronavirus have been confirmed in Harris County by public health officials.

Both cases, from the unincorporated area of northwest Harris County, have been traced back to travel and there has been no evidence of community spread, officials said.

Harris County has been proactive throughout the coronavirus outbreak, testing and potentially quarantining people who have been exposed to or near the disease.

“Since January, we have been at an elevated level of readiness to prepare for and respond to a positive case here in Harris County,” said Harris County Public Health Executive Director Dr. Umair A Shah. “We will continue to take action by identifying potential contacts and monitoring them closely.”

Testing for the coronavirus, officially COVID-19, is confidential, and HCPH recommends individuals who believe they may have been exposed to get tested. Symptoms are similar to those of the flu and can include fever, shortness of breath and a cough.

“Each of our residents is a member of our public health team, and we are urging everyone to learn the facts about this virus and take simple steps to help contain the spread by visiting www.ReadyHarris.org,” said Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo. 

Six students and faculty are on self-quarantine for 14 days and two others are expected to be also by the end of the week after returning from Italy and South Korea, according to a UH spokesperson.

The UH System expanded its travel restrictions this week on university-related travel to include all countries that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have issued a Level 2 or Level 3 Travel Warning related to the coronavirus.

As of Thursday, these countries are China, Iran, Italy, Japan and South Korea.

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