The University of Houston Police Department will roll out rifles and body cameras to upgrade campus security this fall. | Oscar Aguilar/The Cougar

As part of the University of Houston Police Department’s effort to increase campus safety measures, announced in March, plans are in place to deploy rifles and body cameras this fall.

The initial communication came after the UH community reported threatening social media posts from a former student in February. In an effort to ease worries brought by frequent school shootings, the March email updated students and faculty on the department’s ongoing active shooter response training.

“Rifles give law enforcement another tool that can be used in specific circumstances where other tools might not be up to the task,” said UHPD Chief of Staff Bret Collier. “UHPD also received body cameras for all uniformed police officers.”

Collier said the purchases totaled $97,730, with $15,880 going toward thee rifles and $81,850 spent on body cameras.

UHPD didn’t own rifles prior to its recent purchase, Collier said recently.

Officers authorized to use the rifles will first participate in a patrol rifle course and scenario-based training, Collier said. Rifles will be used only during active threat responses, not routine patrols, he said.

Collier declined to elaborate on deployment strategies but said they were in line with those of other law enforcement agencies.

Despite UHPD’s effort to ease the public, some students have reservations about the new security measures.

Cole Patterson, an interpersonal communications junior, said wearing body cameras should be a requirement for police officers, but he isn’t sure purchasing rifles is the correct response.

“(A body camera) illuminates their behaviors that are ethical as well as not ethical,” Patterson said. “I definitely say they should not have rifles, because it incites more fear and more confusion and chaos.”

Patterson worries that even with the training, the rifles may not be used effectively when needed.

In February, an armed suspect was spotted near the athletics district. The suspect was a “black male wearing a gray shirt with black sleeves and black pants,” according to coverage by The Cougar.

Michelle Onwudebe, a corporate communications senior, said rifles could be used to shoot the wrong person in situations where someone else may also fit the description.

“In the situation with what happened on west campus, if they didn’t have the proper description of the guy who was posing the threat, they could’ve just brought out their rifles and started shooting whoever they saw who looked like they were posing a threat,” Onwudebe said.

However, UH College Republicans commended UHPD’s efforts.

Antonio Cruz, a spokesperson for UH College Republicans, said UHPD officers receive training on how and when to use their rifles.

“Based off what we know, it doesn’t seem a big deal,” Cruz said. “UH has been a safe campus, and if it continues to be safe, the rifles will never be used.”

Cruz prefers having the rifles and not needing them over the possibility of UHPD not having the correct tools to combat a threat to campus safety.

UH College Democrats, like UH College Republicans, commended UHPD’s efforts but with certain reservations.

Tammy Chang, a spokesperson for UH College Democrats, said they expressed concern about the presence of military grade weapons on campus but praised UHPD’s efforts.

“The College Democrats at the University of Houston are confident that UHPD has assessed the specific needs of our community and have done their best to ensure our campus’ measure of safety has stepped up to the standards of the Houston Police Department,” Chang said.

She also said body cameras will encourage further transparency and accountability from the department.

Collier said rifles allow the department to stop threats faster and more accurately.

“We prefer not to disclose the number ordered, but we are comfortable with what we will be able to deploy in emergency situations,” Collier said.

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“UHPD acquires rifles, body cameras to improve campus safety” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar

An anonymous donor’s $3 million donation will pay for the full tuition of the College of Medicine’s first class in Fall 2020. | Trenton Hooker

UH’s College of Medicine received an anonymous $3 million donation that will be used to cover the full tuition of the college’s 30-student inaugural class, the University announced Wednesday.

“What an absolutely exciting way to welcome the first class, inaugural class of the medical school,” said President Renu Khator. “I cannot thank enough our donor. I cannot thank enough the community.”

UH will open its medical school — the University’s 15th academic college — in Fall 2020, pending approval by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and accreditation by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education. Students in the first class will have their tuition paid for all four years thanks to the $3 million donation.

The College of Medicine will be accepting applications next year as it focuses on addressing the need for primary care physicians in Houston.

In the release, Khator said student debt is the biggest obstacle students face when going to medical school. The donation will give applicants the opportunity to attend the University and impact the field’s future workforce without that concern, she said.

The $3 million donation will go toward the University’s $1 billion dollar fundraising campaign, “Here, We Go,” launched in 2017. According to the news release, UH has received more than $9 million of it’s $120 million 10-year goal for the College of Medicine — a third of which is expected to come from philanthropy.

The College of Medicine seeks to improve health care by addressing the shortage of primary care physicians. According to the release, Texas ranks No. 47 in the primary care physician-to-population ratio compared to other states.

The school aims to have 50 percent of its graduating class specialize in primary care.

Dr. Stephen Spann, the dean of the College of Medicine, said alleviating the burden of student debt will allow medical students to pursue a career in primary care, a path only 20 percent of graduated students follow, according to TMC. 

Countries and states strong in primary care experience lower costs, high patient satisfaction and improved care, Spann said.

Applicants from Texas intending to practice in the state will be given preference, he said.

“We really want to train people who will practice in underserved areas of our state, both inner-city and rural, because we have great needs in both,” Spann said, according to KHOU.

Khator announced the donation Wednesday and thanked the community and donor via social media for their help.

“When you have the right cause that helps the city, helps the state and helps the students, I know the community pulls in,” Khator said in a video.

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“Anonymous $3M donation funds inaugural College of Medicine class’ tuition” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar

At 2:49 p.m. Monday, a dead body was found in the underpass. The scene is still under investigation by Houston Police Department. | Trenton Hooker

11:11 a.m.: Police are investigating a dead body found underneath a freeway overpass near the UH main entrance Monday afternoon.

The body was discovered by an unidentified man at 2:49 p.m. who was urinating under the Gulf Freeway at Cullen Boulevard.  The man flagged down an off-duty constable who was driving by and told the officer he found the body after noticing the smell, police said.

The constable then called for Houston police, who arrived on scene shortly but could not immediately determine the cause of the man’s death.

The man was lying face-down about 100 feet from the roadway decomposing, suggesting he had not died recently, authorities said.

Police sources said they could not identify the man but believe he was homeless living under the freeway.

Homicide investigators with the Houston Police Department are working with the medical examiner’s office to determine if this death was a homicide and under what conditions the man died.

UPDATE 1:43 p.m.: Authorities said the body had probably been there for a few days, but they’re still waiting on the medical examiner’s autopsy results.

“Anyone with any information about the case is asked to call HPD’s Homicide Division at 713-308-3280,” authorities said.

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Karen Fang, an associate professor in the English Department, received a ‘disturbing’ voicemail June 18 regarding another professor’s Chinese background, citizenship and loyalty to the United States. She posted the voicemail along with her opinion June 19 on Twitter. Fang later reposted the voicemail June 22 without the other professor’s name. | Screenshot of Karen Fang’s Twitter

An English professor at UH received a voicemail meant for another professor June 18 in which the caller questioned the other professor’s Chinese background, citizenship and loyalty to the United States.

“I think that, sadly, minorities are so frequently subject to this casual racism,” said Karen Fang, the associate professor in the English Department who received the voicemail. “Nothing is really that surprising in the message from the perspective of a minority.”

Fang posted the voicemail on her Twitter June 19 and reposted it June 22 without the other professor’s name to conceal their identity. In her tweets, Fang details her experience and opinion on the situation.

Fang declined to release the caller’s contact information and the professor’s identity. The professor targeted didn’t respond to emails asking for comment before press time.

‘Disturbing’ voicemail

According to Fang’s recording, the caller raised her concern over the professor’s citizenship and education in China. The caller questioned the professor’s loyalty to the United States multiple times throughout the recording. She also asks whether the professor pays taxes.

“This is America, and we’re going to remain free and independent nation, not part of a new world order,” the caller said. “I don’t see many people of Chinese descent at H&R Block.”

The caller said she also voiced her concerns about the professor to the president’s office.

Mike Rosen, UH spokesperson, said he’s not aware of any further contact from the caller with the University. But she may have called or emailed somewhere other than the president’s office, he said.

“It’s ignorant and unfortunate,” Rosen said. “UH is the second-most diverse research institution in the country, and that diversity is essential in preparing our students to succeed in a global economy.”

The professor and Fang have the University’s support, he said.

Common stereotypes

Fang said this experience is something a lot of minorities recognize.

“A lot of stuff in that message were not things that were new to me or any other Asian American,” Fang said. “I think many Asian Americans will probably acknowledge this idea that people assume that we’re not citizens.”

Various assertions in the voicemail are false and disturbing, she said.

UH faculty do pay taxes, you don’t have to be a citizen to teach at the University, and studying abroad or having a foreign background doesn’t mean you can’t be a loyal citizen, Fang said.

This sort of limited view “dooms the nation to be less progressive and competitive,” and it restricts the pool of faculty and intellectuals at the country’s disposal, she said.

Her goal in publishing the voicemail was to show that these things do happen, Fang said. University faculty, whether immigrant or not, help each other by not ignoring these situations, she said.

“It’s important to publicize this, because it makes obvious the difference between the experience of minorities and people who don’t have to hear these kinds of things,” Fang said. “If we simply ignore them, then not only do we not acknowledge the kind of aggression that we encounter, but it also allows people to ignore the larger problems that we see.”

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Andrew Teoh, the UH System’s student regent and an accounting and finance senior, congratulates an audience member for correctly answering a trivia question. | Courtesy of Andrew Teoh

Gov. Greg Abbot appointed the UH System’s student regent for the upcoming academic year on June 5 — a position within the Board of Regents responsible for overseeing university activities, such as curriculum, budgets and programs offered.

“I’m always looking for new ways to get involved and new ways to advocate for students,” said accounting and finance senior Andrew Teoh, the UH’s System’s new student regent. “And it’s always been a goal of mine to serve on this board.”

Teoh applied for student regent in December 2017, and six months later, he was appointed to serve in the Board of Regents – where he hopes to discover all the opportunities UH has to offer, he said.

The Board of Regents — the UH System’s governing body — decides which programs the Universities offer, hires the UH president, approves the budget and manages University activities. The board involves the student regent in these affairs, but the student has no voting power.

Before being interviewed by the executive director of the governor’s appointment office, Teoh received approval in each step of the application process.

Applicants must first submit their application by Dec. 1. SGA from each UH System school then recommends up to five applicants, and the chancellor selects up to four applicants from all the recommendations to send to the governor.

Teoh’s extracurricular activities include interning in Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard’s office, interning in the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Washington, Bauer Honors Mentor, SFAC vice chair and SGA senator.

Mason Malone, a first-year law student and Teoh’s roommate, said a drive to become involved with the University became a common theme in Teoh’s ambitions since freshman year.

“He wanted to be in positions at the University where he can take students’ concerns and do something about them,” Malone said.

Teoh’s dependability sets him apart from others, Malone said. While vice chair of SFAC, a committee that decides how to allocate student fees, he would usually work late, staying there past his 15 mandatory hours. He also brought his work home, so he could research all the proposals made by organizations before coming to a decision, he said.

Shannon Steele, a finance senior and Teoh’s confidant, said they texted in the days before the governor’s appointment.

“It was kind of a secret, because he didn’t want too many people to know,” Steele said. “Following the process with him was really exciting. I got more and more proud of him.”

He was given a date for when he’d find out if he got the position, she said. On that day, although she was in Houston and he in Washington, Steele and Teoh texted all day waiting for him to get the call.

Teoh got the call while Steele was at work, but that didn’t stop the two from celebrating.

“We both kind of just screamed and were really excited for 15 minutes,” Steele said. “Then I had to go back to work, but I was really proud of him.”

President Cameron Barrett said Teoh’s involvement as a Bauer mentor and tenure as SFAC vice chair helped him win his seat in the senate.

“He’s a very passionate and capable person who I’m sure will represent students well on the Board of Regents,” Barrett said.

Teoh said he’s been thinking about what he’ll do after he graduates.

“Being able to serve people and being able to work for your constituents and the communities you identify with is really incredible, and it’s something I could really see myself doing,” Teoh said. “As of right now, the options are wide open.”

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“Governor appoints UH System’s student regent for new year” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar

The College of Business used Jim Olive’s Houston skyline photograph to advertise its program without compensation or credit. After initial requests for licensing proof from Olive, the University used sovereign immunity as a defense for its actions. Two years later, a Harris County court denied UH’s sovereign immunity claim and allowed Olive to sue the University for taking his property without compensation. | Courtesy of Jim Olive, Stockyard Photos

Sovereign immunity protects Texas and its institutions from lawsuits, granting them certain freedoms, like the ability to take someone’s work without compensation or credit — at least, that’s what UH argued until May, when a Harris County judge allowed a photographer’s copyright case against the University to move forward.

In 2016, Houston-based photographer Jim Olive became aware that the College of Business had been using his image of Houston’s skyline without licensing and contacted UH for payment. After receiving a $2,600 payment offer that October, which Olive believed was too low, he decided to take legal action.

According to the Houston Chronicle, Harris County Judge Caroline E. Baker denied UH’s sovereign immunity claim in May and said that much like in the case of property being taken for public use, owners of intellectual property must be compensated for government use.

“Every time that picture is posted without my credit line, I don’t have recognition for it nor marketing value,” Olive said recently. “I depend on people seeing my name under these photos to bring me business.”

Olive has been a photographer for more than 50 years, specializing in aerial photography. He sells his work through his company, Stockyard Photos, where he first posted the image in question.

He uses Image Rights, a service that searches the web for proprietary infringement, to protect his work, he said. Olive became aware of the University’s use of his image through the company’s software.

Initial dispute

Olive said his first choice was to negotiate a fee with the University, not court.

When Olive first contacted the University asking for proof of licensing, they ignored him. He said he then sent an invoice but received no response.

After not hearing back from the University, one of his employees was removed from campus when he went to discuss it with them, Olive said.

Although he had to rent a helicopter with his own money to take the picture, the University made an initial offer of $50, he said.

“I don’t know how much you know about helicopters and how much they cost, but they cost a bit more than $50,” Olive said recently.

Forbes also advertised the College of Business with that image but gave credit to the college instead of Olive. The act violates the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which increases the penalties for copyright infringement, he said.

Olive then sought counsel from the American Society of Media Photographers. The society’s lawyer managed to negotiate a $2,600 fee in 2016.

But the negotiated sum did not compensate for the expenses associated with taking the photograph and the subsequent loss of control over the image, Olive said.

According to The Cougar’s initial coverage in 2017, “(Olive) counter-demanded $25,000 for each Digital Millennium Copyright Act infringement for removing Olive’s watermark, once for UH’s use and once for Forbes’. (Olive) also tacked on $16,000, plus a tax of $1,320 for UH’s false licensing; in total, they requested $67,320.”

UH spokesperson, Mike Rosen, said the image was taken down in 2016, days after being contacted by Olive.

Business ethics

Olive criticized the College of Business’ ethics code after, he said, the college brushed him aside and disrespected his copyright and profession.

The section Jim Olive refers to in the College of Business’ ethics code. | Screenshot from Bauer College of Business’ website

“It says a company’s most valuable asset is its reputation for quality products and service integrity and that they’re committed to the reinforcement and further development of those ethical values,” Olive said recently. “Stealing a picture would contravene those ethics and not trying to set it right.”

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“Judge rules photographer can sue UH in copyright dispute” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar

Ferenc Bunta, an associate professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders (COMD), analyzes his research on children with hearing loss. Doctoral students interested in this area of study can only work with Bunta through other departments, like psychology, because the COMD department is still awaiting approval for its doctoral program.  | Oscar Aguilar/The Cougar

Three and a half years after the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders made its initial doctoral program proposal, the UH system’s Board of Regents approved the petition in May, moving it to its final destination: the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

“There’s a critical shortage of people with terminal degrees in speech and hearing sciences,” said Ferenc Bunta, an associate professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders (COMD). “This will fill the need both in Texas as well as nationally.”

The department’s committee, which Bunta led, began the process in 2014 and received the Board of Regent’s approval in May, but the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board makes the final decision.

The department hopes to begin the program in Fall 2019 and enroll its first student in Fall 2020 if their proposal makes it past the board, Bunta said.

Before that happens, the department has to meet with a member of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to work out details and get on their agenda, he said.

Provost Paula Short said the department’s graduate-program rank moved from 144 to 69 between 2007 and 2016.

No Houston-based university has a doctoral program in this field, and only three Texas universities offer it — UT Austin, UT Dallas and Texas Tech University, she said.

In May’s Board of Regents meeting, Short said the doctoral degree will add 54 credit hours to the department’s graduate program.

“It is very difficult to recruit Ph.D. faculty to teach these programs,” Short said. “UH will play a role to provide more students available to work in that area.”

Bunta said a doctoral program would help increase UH’s national recognition and the department’s ranking.

The program would attract more students, which would in turn fill the field’s growing demand for professionals when they graduate, he said.

Although undergraduate and master students help him on his research, they lack the time doctoral students have because of classes, he said. Approving the program would help faculty conduct their research by having students who fully focus on their work, he said.

When Bunta interviewed for a position in 2008, he asked if the University planned on implementing a doctoral program. Since that time, the University has lost about three prospective doctoral students every year — many of which made an argument in favor of a doctoral program in letters written to him, Bunta said.

Juliana Ronderos, a second-year student in the Psychology Department’s graduate program, said she wrote one of the letters asking for a doctoral program in COMD.

After receiving an MBA from New York University in 2010, Ronderos decided she needed a career change and enrolled in COMD’s post-baccalaureate program, Ronderos said.

But when she sought out a doctoral degree, she had to continue her education either through the Psychology Department or at another university, she said. Ronderos chose the former because of the challenge of relocating her family — a situation other UH students deal with, she said.

Students like Ronderos who want to work with COMD professors lose a valuable opportunity because of the lack of a doctoral program, she said.

She now works in a bilingual lab in the Psychology Department and as a research assistant in a COMD lab, she said.

“I think research in this area would have more credibility with a COMD degree,” Ronderos said.

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“Department reaches final phase of doctoral program approval” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar

Oscar Aguilar/The Cougar

The Great Recession and the consequential loss of 8.7 million jobs hindered the livelihood of many Americans and dampened their outlook on the future, but Daniel Peña’s career and confidence originated from the historic downturn, as it left him with only one option: to follow his dream of becoming a writer — a profession so unpredictable he took flying lessons as a backup plan.

“There weren’t any jobs for anyone in my generation, so I had to write,” said Daniel Peña, an assistant creative writing professor and adviser at UH-D. “I had nothing better to do.”

Peña published his first novel in January 2018 and shapes UH-D’s creative writing program through his lectures and the Bayou Review — the university’s literary magazine.

His novel and contributions to Ploughshares and the Guardian focus on the Latino community, their problems and the systems that tear their families apart, such as the U.S. immigration policy.

His book, “Bang,” took him multiple research trips to Mexico and seven years to complete. The book depicts how current legal systems make it impossible for families to reunite after being separated for legal reasons, he said.

Paul Kintzele, an assistant chair for the Department of English at UH-D, said Peña’s work helps students understand the process behind writing.

“He’s brought life and energy to the creative writing program,” Kintzele said. “He inspired students on the literary magazine to dream big and think of new, creative ways to make unheard voices heard.”

Under Peña’s guidance, the Bayou Review recently published a special edition on prison writing. Bayou Review members reached out to incarcerated writers across Texas and published their work, Kintzele said.

Peña does this while fulfilling the university’s teaching requirements: three classes in the fall and four in the spring. On top of his work for the university, Peña’s active role in publishing and writing makes him a valuable resource for students, Kintzele said.

Peña said he teaches creative writing classes and some freshman courses at UH-D.

“It feels good to be helping to cultivate the students there,” Peña said. “There’s also a lot of voices that I can help shape, put books in their hands.”

He loves UH-D because of the support and incredible spirit of creative writing in the UH system, he said.

The start of a dream

Peña’s passion for writing dates back to his teenage years.

Growing up in Austin in a STEM-heavy household, he lacked context on what it means to be a writer, Peña said. Because of this, it took 18 years for Peña to immerse himself in the discipline.

During his senior year of high school, faculty removed him from one of his classes and assigned him to library duty, he said. By his last semester he was spending entire days there, reading anything he could get his hands on, Peña said.

Peña then realized he could write sonnets, villanelles.

A villanelle is a difficult poem structure with specific rules. It is a 19 line poem containing five tercets — a rhyming three line stanza— with one alternate rhyming four line stanza, or quatrain, at the end. On top of abiding by the rules of tercets and quatrains, the villanelle itself only has two rhymes and the first and third lines of the opening tercet alternately repeat in the last lines of the succeeding stanzas. Finally, the ending lines of the last stanza are the two alternating lines throughout the poem.

Even being able to write villanelles, Peña still ruled out other options before declaring his college major.

In the months before starting his first semester at Texas A&M University, Peña interned for Texas Sen. Eddie Lucio.

“There was a part of me that wanted to go into government, and there was another part of me who really knew in my heart that I wanted to write,” Peña said.

He decided to major in English after his internship, opting to immerse himself in the world of his role models —  novelist Roberto Bolaño,  poet Nicanor Parra and fiction writer Colum McCann, he said.

Peña went on to win the Charles Gordone Award, which recognizes excellence in creative writing at A&M, for his short story “Shadow Workers” during his time as an undergraduate student.

He also completed a 150-hour program to get his pilot’s license while completing his English degree at A&M. But his backup plan of becoming a pilot fell through when Mexicana Airlines, the company Peña planed on working for, went under in 2010, he said.

With no options left, Peña focused on his writing — the excuse he needed all along.

First book

After receiving an MFA in creative writing from Cornell University, Peña devoted himself to his writing career while teaching to earn a steady income, he said. He went to Mexico for book research during the summer, eventually composing his first nationally-renowned piece.

He published “Safe Home” in 2015 and won a Pushcart Prize, an American literary award, the following year.

Peña began working as an assistant professor at UH-D in 2016, where he met people who helped further his career.

Marina Tristan, an assistant director at Arte Público Press, said the agency aims to promote talented Latino authors like Peña, who published his book with them.

Peña writes about topics important to current times, and he takes an active part in promoting his work, Tristan said. He even connected Arte Público Press with Editorial Argonáutica, a new publisher in Mexico, who will potentially translate and publish “Bang” and other Arte Público titles, she said.

“Bang” deals with issues such as the impact of international drug smuggling and living without documents in the U.S on people, she said.

Peña’s book took years of research, and he said he’ll return to Mexico this summer to continue looking for other stories.

His work also contains aspects of his personal experiences, like in the opening scene of “Bang.” The book starts out with a detailed plane crash that only more than 150 flight hours can do justice.

Peña took the first step to reach the legacy of his role models, and he wants even more.

“That’s the dream, man,” Peña said. “Get tenure, buy a plane.”

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“UH-D professor helps further creative writing program’s legacy” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar

Julia Wellner extracts sediment cores near the Larsen ice shelf, similar to what Rachel Clark and other researchers will be doing around Thwaites Glacier in 2019 and 2020. | Courtesy of Kathleen Gavahan

The Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at UH received a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation in March to conduct and lead THwaites Offshore Research — one of the eight projects of the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration.

Julia Wellner, an associate professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at UH, will lead the joint effort consisting of researchers from Britain, Rice University, University of Alabama and Columbia University, where they’ll collect sediments deposited in the ocean floor adjacent to Thwaites in the hopes of producing more accurate models of future sea level rise.

“Is it the canary in the coal mine?” Wellner said, an advanced warning phrase originating when coal miners would put canaries in the mines and would die if methane levels got too high signaling the miners to get out. “Right now Thwaites is contributing only 4 percent to sea level rise, but it has the potential of being much larger”

THwaites Offshore Research (THOR) will be the largest joint U.S., British research project since at least the 1940s, Wellner said. The reason being that 1,000 miles separate Thwaites from both the U.S. and British Antarctic bases —the closest places to the Florida-sized glacier, she said.

“Imagine trying to study the Texas, New Mexico border from a small camp in Baton Rouge,” Wellner said. “That’s the scale we’re looking at.”

Thwaites has long been considered the “weak underbelly” of the Antarctic ice sheet, Wellner said. Ocean water comes in contact with a majority of the glacier, making it vulnerable because of the ice sheet’s position below sea level and rising temperatures, she said.

If the Antarctic ocean becomes warm enough, then Thwaites Glacier will begin melting from below, and if this happens, no evidence exists that it’ll stop melting, potentially contributing one meter to sea level rise, Wellner said. The glacier’s rate of melting has already doubled since the 1990s, she said.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has a range of global sea level predictions, but most of the uncertainties come from their lack of understanding of the Antarctic ice sheet, Wellner said.

“We want to know what Thwaites was doing before the satellites were launched,” Wellner said. “If I find that it’s entering a face of retreat, then that will be incorporated into modeling efforts.”

The group of scientists begin their first field mission in Jan. 2019 and a second one in 2020. Wellner’s group consists of about 10 scientists, an average size compared to the other seven groups, Wellner said.

Wellner’s team plans on collecting sediments deposited in the ocean floor near Thwaites during their 60-day expedition. Then, they’ll bring back the samples to date them at UH.

Wellner selected Rachel Clark, a first-year geology graduate student, to go on both field missions. Clark will work 12-hour shifts on the internet-free Nathaniel Palmer, an icebreaker frequently used for Wellner’s research expeditions.

“When I was figuring out where I was going to school, (Wellner) told me this was a possibility, and she sent me on this cruise in her place,” Clark said.

She will be collecting sediment cores, describing their characteristics and dating them at UH. In preparation for the trip, Clark began compiling existing data on Thwaites to understand how the glacier works.

At Rice University Lauren Simkins, a postdoctoral research associate, will be one of the university’s faculty going to Antarctica in 2020.

“This long-term perspective is necessary to improve models that will hopefully be able to tell us with some degree of certainty how much we can expect to lose from Thwaites Glacier and its associated contribution to rising sea levels,” Simkins said.

Simkins said they’ll be analyzing the sea floor Thwaites used to be in contact with, so the glacier’s retreat in the past century can be evaluated — something necessary to improve ice sheet models predicting sea level rise.

“Hopefully, in the future, we can say here are some processes that can contribute to its stability,” Simkins said. “But we really don’t know what we’re going to find.”

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“We did it!” E’mani Smith, left, Khassidy Davis, David Jernigan, Ieshia Champs, Davien Jernigan and Kaleb Davis celebrate their seven-year journey through law school that took their combined effort to complete, as Champs graduates magna cum laude from Thurgood Marshall School of Law. | Courtesy of Richard Holman Photography

Whether it’s a mock trial composed of her five children or a photo shoot arranged by close friends, Ieshia Champs has received unwavering support in her quest to be appointed to a federal court — a necessity after receiving a lifetime supply of adversity, such as having to balance law school with the responsibility of raising five kids.

Champs, a 33-year-old mother of five and University of Houston Downtown alumna, will graduate from Texas Southern University’s Thurgood Marshall School of Law with honors on Saturday after overcoming relentless struggles.

“I know she’s on her way,” said Louise Holman, Champs’ confidant. “She’s going to be an excellent lawyer, and she’s going to go on from there to be a judge.”

Champs’ story begins in Beaumont, where she was placed in foster care after being taken from her parents. From there, she went on to live with her uncle in Houston only to return to her mother later on. After being evicted from their home, Champs bounced from house to house for a few years, eventually dropping out of high school and becoming a mother at 19.

Champs’ dream of becoming a lawyer originated from her childhood experiences.

“I was in foster care one day, and I realized we had clothes, a bed to sleep in, like, things were so much different from where we had come from,” Champs said. “I thought of all my friends whom I had left and realized that they didn’t know this type of life existed, so I kind of just had this idea of how can I help these people.”

As a result of her experiences, Champs has a special interest in family and juvenile law because she relates to many of the situations pertaining to that area of practice, she said.

Back-to-school prophecy

Louise Holman and Bishop Richard Holman, her pastors, built a strong relationship with Champs soon after she dropped out and became a mother.

“She came, I think, nine years ago,” Louise Holman said. “She came to us because her children’s father was sick. She came to us so we’d pray for him.”

The soon-to-be attorney lost Casey Davis, the father of two of her children, to stage four cancer, Louise Holman said. This happened soon after Champs joined Ministers for Christ, Louise and Richard Holman’s church.

She buried her husband at the church.

Richard Holman, the photographer who took Champs’ viral picture, credits Champs’ spiritual strength, which helped her reach her goals, to her now closer relationship with God. He also shed light on his wife’s special relationship with Champs. He said his wife has been a mentor for Champs, especially when she faces life’s disappointments.

Louise Holman, who encouraged Champs to go back to school, holds the title of prophetess, according to her husband.

“I said first of all, God told me to tell you that you have to go back to school. God told me you’re going to be a lawyer,” Louise Holman said. “She looked at me like I was crazy, (but) she did exactly that.”

With Louise Holman’s support, Champs received her GED certificate after acing her exam. Louise Holman continued pushing her by encouraging her to enroll at Houston Community College, where she received her associate’s degree in paralegal studies in 2013. Then, she enrolled at UH-D and received a bachelor’s degree in applied administrations in 2015.

Louise Holman said Champs refused to apply to law school after graduating from UH-D, but she told Champs another prophecy: “God told me to tell you that your story is going to get you in, not your grades.”

The admissions counselor told Champs the same thing, Louise Holman said.

Combined effort

Champs’ seven-year law school track experienced the typical bump in the road, such as struggling to meet the financial demands of a legal education and five children, but Louise Holman took her under her wing. She’s there for Champs whenever she needs to talk about the kids — E’mani Smith, Kaleb Davis, Khassidy Davis, Davien Jernigan and David Jernigan — or when she needs to learn something, like how to cook.

She’s also there whenever Champs refuses to embrace her accomplishments, Louise Holman said.

“She didn’t even want to march,” Louise Holman said. “I said yeah, you’re going to march, and you’re going to take some graduation pictures.”

Champs experienced the same support at TSU, where teachers allowed her to bring her children to class when she needed a babysitter. Her professors even took her kids to their office while she attended class.

TSU’s Parents Attending Law School program helped students like her succeed in the academic setting, Champs said.

At home, her children set up mock trials to quiz her and made flashcards to test what she learned that day. David Jernigan, 14, helped by distracting his siblings whenever his mom felt ill or when he knew she was hiding and crying somewhere, Champs said.

She now faces a new challenge: the Texas Bar Exam. Champs said her responsibilities, such as work and her kids, limit her ability to study. At the same time, her study sessions for the bar exam make it difficult for her to spend time with her family, sometimes cutting her cooking to only a few times week.

However, people help Champs by giving her gift cards or donating to her GoFundMe page.

Champs, just days away from graduating and months away from practicing law, has one wish: rest.

“I just want to sleep for a couple of days, spend time with my kids for a couple of days with no interruptions at all,” Champs said. “That’s my celebration right there.”

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“UH-D alumna, mother of five graduates from law school” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar