The Filipino Student Association often hosts cultural performances and social gatherings. | File Photo

UH exists in one of the most global cities and as one of the most diverse universities in the nation.

The Filipino community within the University reflects that reality. This community is comprised of a mosaic of dialects and culture made up of people who know how to adapt and share their values with outsiders.

“As Filipinos, you assume it’s one culture, but in reality, there’s a huge diversity in that one community,” said business freshman Angela Villaruel. “That’s beautiful.”

Filipino students at UH can find a vibrant community that shares their background, even if they feel like they’re losing their sense of identity.

Villaruel speaks Tagalog, one of the largest dialects among over 150 in the Philippines. She wasn’t born in the Philippines but lived her early, language-forming years there.

Her siblings don’t speak Tagalog because they were born in America and never had the chance to live in the language as she did, Villaruel said.

Villaruel didn’t have the chance to use Tagalog often in her daily life and most Filipinos she knew spoke English or another dialect.

Richard Nigos, a chemistry junior who grew up in Cavite near Manila in the Philippines, said he predominantly speaks English except when he talks with his parents.

Speaking Tagalog was less useful in Houston than Spanish or Vietnamese, Nigos said, but meeting another Filipino was “special.”

Being bilingual

Psychology sophomore Sofia Nicole Lumbo speaks Tagalog fluently but finds her thoughts are mostly English now.

“I woke up once and was thinking in Tagalog,” Lumbo said. “That was really weird for me.”

Lumbo’s parents reinforced speaking Tagalog and showing her Tagalog in media, Lumbo said, and she had no difficulty learning English by living in America.

“It’s not hard if you’re exposed to the other language a lot,” Lumbo said.

A teacher asked Villaruel in preschool what her favorite fruit was, and she said “mangga,” which is the Filipino word for mango, confusing the teacher and herself in the process.

“I didn’t know there was another word for the fruit,” Villaruel said. “It was always called mangga to me.”

Different meanings

Keri Isabel Semilla, a public health sophomore, was born on an island called Cebu in the Philippines. She speaks a dialect of the Filipino language called Bisaya, specifically Cebuano, which can cause minor issues when speaking with other Filipinos.

“I definitely can’t respond as quickly and there are references I can’t catch because I don’t actually speak (Tagalog),” Semilla said. “I can’t make the same quality of jokes I could make if I was speaking Bisaya.”

Semilla moved from the Philippines when she was 2 years old and grew up near Brownsville at the border, where a community of Filipinos that speak Bisaya have gathered into a “mini-Philipines,” she says.

However, Semilla said she was happy to find a community at UH in the Filipino Student Association, as she felt she’d lost touch with Filipino culture.

‘Open and welcoming’

The Filipino Student Association is dedicated to promoting Filipino culture through performances, demonstrations and social gatherings.

UH’s chapter of FSA participates in an annual event called The GoodPhil Games, put on by the Southern Collegiate Filipino Alliance, where students compete in dance and a two-day sports tournament.

“You get to hang out with people from your culture, and promote that culture to people that don’t know about it,” Nigos said.

FSA is also open to non-Filipino members interested in learning more about the culture.

“FSA is very open and welcoming,” Lumbo said. “They want to bring people in.”

Semilla said FSA was “everything” for her because she has found a place where she could embrace her culture without feeling embarrassed.

“Even though I miss my mom and my dad, and my family in the valley, and in the Philippines,” Semilla said in Bisaya, “coming to Houston I found people I love because I chose them and they chose me.”

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The College of Education’s Curriculum and Instructions online graduate program ranked No. 20 in a list of similar online programs from the U.S. News & World Report. | File Photo

The College of Education online master’s program ranked as one of the best in the world in the U.S. News & World Report 2020 list.

The list placed that COE program at no. 8 based on factors like student engagement and technology tools. Margaret Hale, chair of the Curriculum and Instruction department, said she felt the biggest factor is the faculty members who have worked in Houston and know how to cater to diversity. 

“We have students across the nation and other places,” Hale said. “Because of our experience in diversity, we can bring what we’ve learned about that and urban education to students in the world.” 

The Curriculum and Instructions Program, which focuses on teaching students the design and implementation of an education program, was also ranked No. 20 in a list of similar online programs by the report. 

Hale said the faculty relied on the Center for Information Technology and Education that helped keep them on top of the latest tools for online use. The college also has a program area in learning design and technology, whose faculty inform the COE on the newest ideas for online teaching. 

“All of us have learned to go beyond what a typical online class looks like,” Hale said. “We use tools inside and outside Blackboard to mirror what you’d find in a real life class setting.”

The college uses tools like Blackboard Collaborate, which breaks students into smaller groups to work on projects. The professor can drop in on the group virtually to monitor work and provide recorded videos for the class, which are meant to mimic lectures.

“I’ll record the video so they can watch it on their own time,” Hale said. “Then we come together synchronously to discuss it.” 

Sara McNeil, associate professor and coordinator at the Instructional Technology Graduate program, said her program focused on education first.  

“Our program focuses on how to learn the best, then how to design effective instruction and then how to use technology to support that,” McNeil said.

One of the ways to engage students online is “gamifying” the class. Students are in the role of a space explorer, tracking a villain across the universe, landing on planets and learning about instructional design the entire way. 

“We’re trying to put some fun into it and make it relevant at the same time,” McNeil said. 

McNeil and Hale both agreed that the success of the program is a result of faculty’s commitment to treating the online program the same as if the class took place in a physical room. 

“We have a faculty full of educators who work constantly to make sure their online instruction is just as engaging and rigorous as their face to face instruction,” Hale said.

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Former Katy ISD Superintendent Lance Hindt’s thesis no longer appears on the UH archival website. | File photo

A former Katy ISD superintendent doctoral thesis has been removed from UH’s online archives due to alleged plagiarism, the Houston Chronicle reported Wednesday. 

Lance Hindt resigned from his position as the Katy ISD superintendent amid bullying allegations in 2018. The Houston Chronicle reported that UH launched a review of questions into Hindt’s dissertation in October 2018.

The UH Publications website states that a thesis or dissertation “will only be removed under special circumstances, including copyright violations, plagiarism or falsification of data.” 

The complaint was brought to UH by Sean Dolan, a Katy ISD parent. The Chronicle reported that the University told Dolan that his allegations of Hindt’s research misconduct had concluded.

A URL that used to link to Hindt’s dissertation now leads to a “Resource Not Found” page instead. 

Dolan told the Chronicle he began looking into Hindt’s academic record in April 2018, after the March allegations of Hindt’s bullying days.

Dolan’s website lists Hindt’s thesis, “The Effects of Principal Leadership on Teacher Morale and Student Achievement” alongside Georgia educator Keith Rowland’s dissertation “The Relationship of Principal Leadership and Teacher Morale” and provides examples of the two texts’ similarities.

Rowland’s dissertation was published four years prior to Hindt’s.

The University could not comment on the removal as “federal and University policy prohibits sharing information of students and former students with third parties,” UH spokesperson Chris Stipes said in an email.

The Chronicle also reported Katy ISD would not comment on the matter. Katy ISD considered bankrolling a defamation suit on behalf of Hindt in 2018 in the wake of the allegations.

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Commuting is a huge part of the University’s soul: roughly 83 percent of students commute instead of living on campus.

But driving in a city ranked as one of the worst for traffic, parking passes that students complain are too expensive, and the difficulty of managing travel times with classes and socializing, students who commute face many challenges that on-campus residents don’t.

Marti Trummer-Cabrera, Counseling and Psychological Services psychologist, said mental health might be impacted, or existing issues made worse while commuting.

“Feeling angry or scared while navigating traffic is more likely to occur the more we are on the road,” Trummer-Cabrera said. “These feelings may become more of an issue for someone already managing a mental-health concern.”

For the most part, commuter students said they feel isolated from their networks because of commuting.

Students also said they stressed over traffic and preparations for the day. After all, if they forget a necessity, it’s not a simple walk to their residence hall to fix it.

“Being so far from home I’m always stressing about if I have everything,” said Spencer Vandigriff, a flute performance and music junior. “It’s definitely impacted my mental health.”

Lost time 

The average commute time for drivers in the Houston-Woodlands-Sugarland metro area is about 30 minutes one way.

“Students are under pressure to be productive with their time, which is more difficult to do when time is devoted to commuting,” Trummer-Cabrera said.

That time spent driving is less time for studying, socializing, exercising or tending to self-care.

Vandigriff said he has resorted to practicing his flute in his car to make up for the lost time.

Cutting into class

Trummer-Cabrera said commuting students sometimes cite trouble with grades, mostly because they struggle to get to class on time or want to leave early to avoid congested roads.

“I usually do pretty well of leaving my house with enough time to make it to class early,” said public relations junior Alberto Huichapa, “but there have been instances where road construction or an accident puts me back, and I’ll barely make it to class on time or be late.”

Commuting could be detrimental to grades, Trummer-Cabrera said, especially if the class has attendance-based scores.

“The commute eats two hours of my day each day I go to class, and that time could be used to work on assignments,” said advertising senior Carlos Malespin. “Traffic has repeatedly made me late and occasionally made me absent simply due to the fact of not wanting to deal with the commute.”

Lower costs

The cheapest option for living on campus is a Moody Towers double at $2,690 a semester per student. A required meal plan starts at $1,993 per semester.

Parking passes are also more expensive for students who live on campus. A zone parking permit is $205 more for on-campus residents compared to what commuters pay.

For mechanical engineering freshman Tommy Nguyen, the convenience isn’t worth it.

“I’d probably choose to live on campus if it wasn’t for the high costs,” Nguyen said. “You can save quite a bit of money (commuting).”

Easing the impact

The University provides resources to commuters to ease the burden of driving, parking and walking more than the resident students.

Parking and Transportation Services offers a carpool program that provides discounted parking passes and guaranteed spaces to groups of three or more students driving together, and 50 percent off Metro fares with a reloadable student card.

There is also the Commuter Assistant Program, which offers peer guidance and networking to incoming commuter students.

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Houston police are investigating the fatal shooting of a man at 2608 Truxillo Street in the Third Ward.

The shooting happened on Saturday at 8:05 p.m., according to HPD. Police said the victim, Shun Elvin Gullum, 27, was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.

There are no known suspects or motives. Police are asking for anyone with information to contact the HPD Homicide Division at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.

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With SGA elections approaching next month, SGA President Allison Lawrence (Right) and Election Commissioner Beka Harricharran dive deep into what students and candidates can expect from the process. | Lino Sandil/The Cougar

Knock knock, it’s election o’ clock.

Election season is just around the corner for SGA as Jan. 31 is the registration deadline for candidate hopefuls and proper campaigning set to begin Feb. 4.

The average student, however, might not know what any of this means, and so the Cougar sat down with SGA President Allison Lawrence and Election Commissioner Beka Harricharran to talk through what campaign season looks like.

“(Campaigning) is an extremely rewarding process,” Lawrence said. “You learn so much about yourself, about the university and about the people around you.

This year’s voting is open from Feb. 20 – 26. That week is the most important for campaigns, according to Lawrence.

“Essentially, campaigning is preparing for seven very crucial days,” Lawrence said.  “Even before the voting opened, though, we were talking to students every day in about a month process.”

Last year, the presidential debate was held the day before voting opened, which kicked off the campaigning for Lawrence.

“There were a lot of high emotions. My team did twelve to thirteen hours on the ground talking to students,” Lawrence said. “And when no one was left on campus, we called students.”

To Lawrence, the process was stressful and strenuous, but also rich and fun. Harricharran said that from the commissioner’s perspective, the process was “chaos.”

“Chaos leading up to, chaos during, chaos after,” Harricharran said. “But seeing people come together as a unit for something they’re very passionate about is exciting.”

Harricharran said that last year’s turnout was a little low, considering the work the candidates put in to secure votes.

Part of that might come from students not knowing the role SGA plays on campus, but also had to do with Murphy’s Law (what can go wrong, will go wrong).

“It rained every day on campus during voting week,” Lawrence said. “And we weren’t allowed to campaign in some buildings we were traditionally allowed to campaign in.”

The Student Centers, Harricharran said, no longer allowed candidates to campaign in their spaces after someone complained to the director. Going forward, SC South and North won’t allow campaigning.

‘Why are you doing this?’

SGA hopefuls can formally register on the website under the elections tab.

If a student wants to get involved in SGA and has their eye on the presidential office, Harricharran recommended first getting involved by showing up to the senate meetings and joining a committee.

“It’s hard to run when you don’t have a community behind you,” Harricharran said. “You need to build your knowledge and the base of people you know so you can run a successful campaign.”

Allison said she spent months putting together her campaign, talking to student leaders, and perfecting her platform. With all the pitfalls and the stress, students may wonder why anyone would pursue an SGA office.

“Something many voters asked me through the seven days was, ‘why are you doing this?’” Lawrence said. “And my answer was, ‘I genuinely care about what I want to do.’ Especially after putting your heart into this day after day, you learn and gain so much through the process.”

The other end of the ballot

What can the students, the voter base, expect from campaign season, even if they aren’t involved in SGA at all?

“Expect to be handed many flyers, multiple from the same party,” Harricharran said.

Harricharran also said that students think SGA doesn’t really do anything, but she wanted to dispel that notion.

“We built the stadium,” Harricharran said. “SGA does have a lot of influence.”

SGA is also the birth place of UH’s current grade exclusion policy.

“Just be patient with it, and do your research,” Harricharran said. “Just like any other election.”

Voting opens on Feb. 20 for the next elections and can be accessed on the Get Involved tab in Access UH.

“We have ranked choice voting this year,” Harricharran said. “You rank your candidates in order of preference.”

As for Lawrence, she had a simple message for voters this year.

“Be nice to the people campaigning. They’re students, just like you,” she said. “Please recycle any flyers you get, instead of throwing them on the ground.”

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“What to expect from an SGA election season” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar

Returning to school from winter break, from hot chocolate and cozy evenings in, or maybe a full-time work week, can be a tough experience. Rebalancing for the new semester can look different for everyone, so The Cougar asked students how they were handling their first week back at the grind.

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“MOTS: Students are getting back into the swing of things” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar

The Cyvia and Melvyn Wolff Family Foundation gifted $13 million to the Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship. | File Photo

The Cyvia and Melvyn Wolff Family Foundation gifted $13 million to the University’s Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship program that is expected to have an impact of $15 million with grants from the state, according to a news release. 

“On behalf of my late husband, we are truly honored to ensure the entrepreneurial legacy not only endures but remains accessible for students,” Cyvia Wolff said in a news release. “We are truly honored to be part of this program and University.” 

The money will be separated into three endowments; the Dave Cook Leadership Endowment, the Wolff Legacy Endowment and the last $2 million will be used to create the Cyvia and Melvyn Wolff Endowed Chair(s)/Professorship(s) in Entrepreneurship.

The Dave Cook Leadership Endowment will be funded by $7 million of the donation and $4 million will be going towards the Wolff Legacy Endowment. 

The Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship program was recently ranked No. 1 undergraduate entrepreneurship program in the nation by The Princeton Review. 

The entrepreneurship program was named after Cyvia and Melvyn Wolff in 2007. Cyvia Wolff was there with President Renu Khator to sign over the funds for the program. 

“Entrepreneurship is crucial for the future of our country, as well as our city and state,” Khator said.

Khator said she was proud that UH was at the forefront of entrepreneurial training and research, and that the program’s uniqueness set it apart.

“This extraordinary gift ensures our leadership in this space will continue and will support the creation of businesses, change communities and impact our students’ lives,” Khator said.

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Cyvia and Melvyn Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship program rose one slot this year, rising from last year’s No. 2 position. | File Photo

C.T. Bauer College of Business’ Cyvia and Melvyn Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship program has been named the No. 1 undergraduate entrepreneurship program in the country.

Each year, The Princeton Review releases a list of their ranking of the top undergraduate and graduate entrepreneurship programs. UH rose one slot this year, rising from last year’s No. 2 position.

With UH holding the top undergraduate rating and Rice University holding the top graduate rating, both of the top slots are based at Houston universities.

WCE is one of UH’s smaller and more exclusive programs, accepting 35-40 undergraduate students into the entrepreneurship program each year. Students have to be in good standing academically and have taken a variety of Bauer prerequisites.

Students who are currently in the Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship discussed how the program’s impact goes beyond academics, pushing their character development as well.

“The biggest impact that (WCE) had on my life is confidence,” said entrepreneurship and marketing senior Grier Gracin. “The biggest thing about this program is the things you can’t put into paper —  the culture, the family. It literally changed my life. It gave me control of my life.”

Within the program, entrepreneurship and human relations senior Danna Ceron shares how the Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship has prepared her for real life experience with entrepreneurship.

Ceron emphasized the importance of finding your purpose and intentions behind starting a business, and how it correlates to that business’ success.

“Through the Wolff Center, I have been able to create viable business plans, been able to form teams and lead them to success, and now I can say that I am living my life with a purpose,” Ceron said. “If I wasn’t in this program, I probably would have started a business, and it probably would have gone miserably because I didn’t know what my purpose was.”

Dean of the C. T. Bauer College of Business Paul A. Pavlou credits WCE’s success to the group dynamic that fosters community within the program.

“The entrepreneurship program at the Wolff Center is ranked as the No. 1 program in the nation because of the unique integrative way that students, faculty, staff and mentors work collaboratively together to provide a world-class education, personalized guidance, experiential learning and dedicated mentorship by real-life entrepreneurs,” Pavlou said.

Additionally, Pavlou felt WCE sets itself apart from competing entrepreneurship programs through opportunities WCE provides outside of the classroom.

These opportunities include outreach programs to help students give back to the community such as the Stars of Tomorrow Excellence Program and the Prison Entrepreneurship Program.

“The innovative approach of working with multiple disciplines outside the business school to identify and commercialize intellectual property in collaboration with partners from across and outside campus is a unique feature of the program,” Pavlou said.

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“Bauer entrepreneurship program ranked No. 1 in country” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar

The UH System Board of Regents approved shutting down the Student Center Satellite, which has suffered significant flooding and water damage in past years. | Trevor Nolley/The Cougar

The era of the Student Center Satellite will come to an end next April.

The UH System Board of Regents last Thursday approved to close the Satellite on April 30, 2020 and replace it with a new dining center.

Of course, students may not be surprised by the development, considering the flooding issues and the flurry of new dining options in the last few years — including the food trucks and delivery robots. Rosie Ashley, program director for Auxiliary Services, confirmed the Satellite is being shut down for these reasons.

“Flooding has impacted the SC Satellite,” Ashley said in an email. “With this in mind, we believe the SC Satellite location will be the best site for the Auxiliary Retail Center, because the plan is to build above ground.”

A new ‘Food Hall’

The Auxiliary Retail Center will begin construction summer 2020 and will be completed by summer 2022, according to a UH System Board of Regents meeting on Nov. 14.

“The plan is to ultimately fill the Satellite in and put the new center there,” said Jim McShan, senior vice president and senior vice chancellor of administration and finance, at the meeting.

Their vision for the eventual center, which the Auxiliary Services website refers to as a “Food Hall,” is grand and expansive.

“Offering an open floor plan where freshly prepared food is made directly in front of guests,” according to the website’s retail dining vision page. “The UH Food Hall will build on this trend to bring a unique retail environment to campus.”

Other concepts for the retail center include an “action seating” area, where students can watch cooks prepare food, community tables where “students connect with their peers in large groups,” while maximizing seating space and an emphasis on sustainability through the construction and into dining.

“Purchasing decisions, building materials and packaging selections all have a sustainability cause and effect,” the website said. “The story behind all these decisions must be front and center. At the Food Hall, this story will be told in a very public way.”

Ashley said the design process is still in its early stages.

“We are still determining all of the needs for this space,” Ashley said. “We will partner with our Food Service Advisory Committee as continue forward with programming and design.”

The project has a budget of $35 million, approved by the Board of Regents.

Originally, the new retail center was planned to replace the Technology Annex, however, Ashley said that the SC Satellite was deemed a much better location by campus stakeholders.

No lack of options

More construction can be expected in that part of campus, which has seen multiple projects in the past year, including Garage 5.

“We expect that construction will affect foot traffic in the area, but it is too early to say how much of an impact it will have,” Ashley said.

The Satellite’s dining options, such as Tandoori Nite, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, will close along with it on April 30.

Students won’t go wanting for food options despite the Satellite’s closure, Ashley said. There are plans to increase the food truck availability to this part of campus, and a Dunkin’ Donuts will be in Garage 5 by May 2020.

There are also plans to bring a Starbucks into the M.D. Anderson Library, but this project has no concrete timeline, Ashley said.

While Auxiliary Services is planning to support this part of campus more heavily in the meantime, students may have to hold onto the hope of the new center.

“The Food Hall is a special experience as it puts cooks back in the stations, eliminates machine made food and pulls together all the elements of locality, socialization, technology and worldly culinary experiences that are so important to Gen Z,” according to the retail dining vision.

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“Goodbye Satellite: the underground center set to close April” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar