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When the lights go out, research suffers

The Graduate College of Social Work seen with its emergency lights on. The generators could be heard outside. | Trevor Nolley/The Cougar

The Graduate College of Social Work seen with its emergency lights on. The University has had two power outages in recent weeks. When that happens, research and equipment can suffer permanent damage.| Trevor Nolley/The Cougar

Two power outages crippled around half the campus two weeks ago, threatening research, closing parking lots, and forcing classes to cancel or move outside.

The first outage was caused by a transformer failing and the second happened due to repairs triggering a safety mechanism, according to UH Facilities.

While the sudden cuts may seem harmless, they can damage sensitive research machines and disrupt experiments.

“Many research instruments cannot be shut off abruptly without a long recovery period after power is restored, and for some instruments, there is permanent damage,” said David Hoffman, department chair and professor of chemistry.

Hoffman said when the lights go out, the department loses productivity and may be forced to delay experiments, which means losing progress in research.

Jonathan Snow, a professor of geochemistry at UH who lost research equipment to previous outages, was sympathetic to his colleagues.

“The University needs to do a better job keeping power on to research infrastructure,” Snow said.

In an email sent out to all students, faculty and staff, Jim McShan, senior vice chancellor and senior vice president, said the University sought to compensate researchers for their losses and prevent future outages.

“This was as unacceptable to us as it was to you,” McShan said in the email. “I want to assure you we are proceeding with extreme caution and doing everything possible to restore all equipment without further unplanned outages.”

McShan also said that they brought in a different technical repair crew to continue repairs in a safe manner, after the first repair crew initiated the second outage.

“The work that you do at our University, particularly some of our research that is vulnerable to interruptions in power, is of extreme importance to all of us,” McShan said.

McShan urged those who lost work to reach out to him and begin the process for quantifying their losses and reimbursement.

“We will address these on a case by case basis and determine how to proceed so that your losses can be properly accounted for,” McShan said.

Raymond Bartlett, senior associate vice chancellor and senior associate vice president of finance, outlined the process for claiming a loss due to the power outages, also advising people to email McShan directly.

“The University carries insurance for losses that may arise from unplanned events such as these,” Bartlett said.

These matters are handled by the UH Risk Management department, which is currently working with faculty referred by McShan.

“Those who are referred to Risk Management are asked to fill out this property claim form, which asks for a description of what was lost, the original and replacement cost, as well as other pertinent questions,” Bartlett said.

There is no set deadline to make an insurance claim, Bartlett said, but that UH is working to document losses so they could begin to estimate the total cost of the outages.

“Through the reporting process we have established, we are expecting to be able to quantify any loss,” Bartlett said.

In the campus-wide email, McShan said that the current electrical system equipment of UH is “aging and approaching the end of its lifecycle.”

McShan said that the University has begun an “energy master plan” to address some of the older equipment and expand with UH’s rapid growth, with the goal of future energy and cost savings.

“We are committed to ensuring all our infrastructure is operational at the level required for a Tier One research institution, and we will settle for nothing less than that,” McShan said.

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Man on the Street: Why students take summer classes

"I really like the relaxed atmosphere, I get to focus on doing my own thing," said economics senior Meshach Narcelles. | Trevor Nolley/The Cougar summer classes uh
"I really like the relaxed atmosphere, I get to focus on doing my own thing," said economics senior Meshach Narcelles. | Trevor Nolley/The Cougar summer classes uh
"I enjoy the flexibility and being able to stay on top of my classes," said health sophomore Jessica Trucios. | Ian Everett/The Cougar
"I like the feeling that I'll be able to graduate faster doing summer courses," said Anne Renee Corpus. | Trevor Nolley/The Cougar
"Since you go everyday, you don't forget any information," said Mary Munoz, a human development and family studies senior. | Ian Everett/The Cougar
"The workload feels like you have more time. My day ends quicker," said exploratory studies sophomore Jorge Moreles. | Ian Everett/The Cougar

Summer classes have begun in earnest, and despite the campus feeling like a ghost town, students can be found hanging out between their long class hours.

Summer classes tend to have a more frantic pace to them, as students are expected to learn the material in a shortened amount of time. Session 1 runs from June 3 to August 9, Session 2 runs from June 3 to July 3, Session 3 runs from June 3 to July 24, and Session 4 runs from July 8 to August 7.

As to why anyone would take on such an endeavor, the students we communicated with had a wide variety of reasons.

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Campus dining hours change for the summer

dining hours uh Summer students can enjoy most of the food options open during the regular school year, but with differing hours. | A.K. ALMoumen/The Cougar

Summer students can enjoy most of the food options open during the regular school year, but with differing hours. | A.K. ALMoumen/The Cougar

The summer session is in full swing since classes started Monday.

Students may be wondering where they can get a bite to eat while they wait for their next class to start, or where they can grab a coffee while they study for their quickly approaching deadlines.

Here is your guide on UH’s adjusted summer hours across campus.

Moody Tower Dining Commons

The usual 24-hour buffet-style dining hall reopened June 1 with adjusted summer hours. Monday through Saturday Moody Dining Commons will be serving breakfast from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and will open again 5 p.m. – 8 p.m. for dinner.

On Sundays, the dining hall will open an hour later, at 8 a.m., with the rest of the hours the same. Like always, Moody will feature an array of options varying from pantry staples like bagels and cereal, to comfort food like herb roasted chicken and potatoes.

Student Center South

The Student Center South has plenty of options open this summer. If you are looking for breakfast, McDonald’s opens promptly at 7 a.m. on weekdays, Starbucks at 7:30 a.m., and the market at 8 a.m.

Mondo’s Subs and Chick-fil-A both open at 10:30 a.m. for lunch, followed by Panda Express at 11 a.m. McDonald’s and the Market are the only options open for dinner since Panda Express, Chick-fil-a and Mondo’s Subs close before 5:30.

PGH

Located in the middle of campus, Einstein Bros. Bagels is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. With a wide array of bagels and bagel sandwiches, students can grab their early morning coffee and carb fix.

Welcome Center

Located at Calhoun Road and University Drive, McAlister’s Deli, known for their iced tea and deli sandwiches, is open weekdays from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

If you are in need of cool refreshment, Tealicious serves flavored milk teas, fresh fruit slushies, smoothies, and much more from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on weekdays next to McAlister’s.

Student Center Satellite

The many options the Student Center Satellite offers are unavailable in the summer. Students will have to look off campus for their Taco Bell and sushi, as the building is closed for the summer, but will assume regular hours in the fall.

Off Campus Food

The restaurant filled strip centers on the east side of campus will be maintaining their regular hours, since they are not technically on campus. Popular options for lunch include Fat Bao, Cafe 101, and Pink’s Pizza, which all open at 11 a.m.

There are no food trucks scheduled to come to campus during the summer.

Campus Recreation and Wellness Center

Like other places on campus, the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center has also switched to summer hours. Monday through Thursday, the Rec will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., and 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Fridays. The weekend hours will be shorter. Saturdays the Rec will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sundays they will open at noon and close at 8 p.m.

Students who are enrolled in face-to-face summer courses can enjoy the Rec for. However, if you are not enrolled in a summer class but wish to use the rec, they are offering a summer membership for $106. The rec is offering group fitness classes this summer, and students can find the schedule here.

Library

Whether you need to study for a class or catch a break from the 90 degree weather, M. D. Anderson Library is open 7 a.m. to 10:45 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. on Fridays, 8 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. on Saturdays, and 1 p.m. – 10:45 p.m. on Sundays.

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Years in the making, UH opens grade exclusion application

finals

Freshman | File Photo/The Cougar

This past year’s freshmen can take advantage of the new grade exclusion policy, which was advocated for years by students. | File Photo/The Cougar

UH on May 15 opened the application process for the new grade exclusion policy adopted last fall, which allows students going forward to replace bad grades once they’ve retaken a class.

The opening of the grade exclusion application signals the end of years of advocacy by students for the chance to eliminate past coursework hurting GPAs.

Freshmen who entered the University last fall are the sole group right now that can take advantage of the policy. Those who entered the University before then will not be able to.

“This policy is one of many resources offered by UH to address student academic concerns,” said Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Paula Myrick Short. “The University values student success and continues to develop programs and initiatives that promote student success and are beneficial for both students and faculty,”

A student may exclude a grade from their GPA if they received the grade from their first 12 months at UH and if they retook the course within 12 months of earning the initial grade, according to the policy.

The grade can’t be higher than a D+, must be 3000-level or below, and the exclusion does not change past decisions regarding financial aid, scholarships, or sanctions as a result of the initial grade.

From bill to policy

Students from years past had advocated for the policy, and SGA made multiple attempts to have the University create one. The most recent attempt started with Clint Kirchhoff, former SGA senator and proponent of a strong grade replacement policy at UH.

“I served in SGA for 3 years and the single question raised most often by my fellow engineering students, my constituents, was some variant of this: ‘What can we do to make our grade policies fairer?’ ” Kirchhoff said.

Kirchhoff became an SGA senator in 2013 and pressed for the policy until he graduated in 2016, due to seeing many of his peers struggle in coursework.

“My very last meeting with the Faculty Senate was about 2 weeks before (I graduated),”Kirchhoff said. “That meeting was my last pitch to them, and in the fall, they voted in favor of the proposal.”

The bill, Kirchhoff  said, did not directly influence policy right away but needed to be worked through with administrators and other bodies on campus.

Kirchhoff pointed to fellow former senators David Gravtol and Paul O’Brien as instrumental in passing and refining the policy as acceptable to professors and administration.

O’Brien,  former senator, said that Kirchhoff was respected by many in the Faculty Senate, the next barrier to the bill.

“When you’re talking SGA, the average senator is somewhere between the age of 19-21, and you’re trying to tell a bunch of Ph.D.s how the University should be run,” O’Brien said. “Convincing them to do anything was a very difficult task, but Kirchhoff was well-liked by a lot of the professors.”

Their three-man team worked to slowly sway the opinions of the Faculty Senate, turning the likes of Simon Bott, former UH chemistry professor, in their favor by framing the bill as a way for freshmen to correct mistakes due to immaturity, O’Brien said.

One of the changes to the bill that O’Brien initially disagreed with but ultimately saw as reasonable was the lack of retroactive grade replacement, meaning that students enrolled at UH from before the policy’s enactment would not be able to use the policy.

“You don’t want to think there will be students that abuse the system, and I didn’t when I fought for the bill, but there would be,” O’Brien said, citing fears from advising that students would simply re-declare their majors to be counted as a freshman all over again to take advantage of the policy.

The bill eventually passed, O’Brien, Gravtol, and Kirchhoff all moved on from SGA, and now UH has adopted the policy.

“With much consideration given to the specifics of the policy and how it would be implemented, the policy went through several iterations to make sure it would best support the success of our students,” Short said regarding the bill’s development.

SGA President Allison Lawrence said a long wait time for SGA bills becoming reality is not unusual.

“There’s a very bureaucratic process for initiatives to go through,” Lawrence said. “They have to get approved by multiple departments, and it can take years sometimes.”

news@thedailycougar.com

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story spelled Clint Kirchhoff’s name as Kirchoff. 


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Cougar Card receives updated design

Click to view slideshow.

The UH Cougar Card office is planning an updated look to the Cougar Card, set to roll out for the upcoming fall semester.

The new card has been in development over the last two years as UH studied new ID card technologies and services. The Cougar Card office worked with the UH marketing team on three card images in October 2018 and held a campaign for students, faculty and staff to update their photos which ends Friday at midnight.

“It is our intent to elevate the student experience by providing a modern, integrated and extensive card program that will improve flexibility and security across the UH System,” said Deborah Davis, director of the Cougar Card office.

The Cougar Card office offered selfie stations in May for students, faculty, and staff alike to update their photos, but primarily focused their efforts on faculty and staff as students were in finals during that time.

“Faculty and staff received targeted emails. We wanted to provide an opportunity for this population to update their photos,” Davis said. “We realized that most students would be engaged in their finals and preparing to leave the campus for the summer.”

However, the Cougar Card office plans to reopen new photo submissions for students in the fall.

“During the fall semester, we will launch the returning student new photo campaign and deploy the selfie stations at various times throughout the fall semester,” Davis said. “If a new photo is not submitted or taken, existing photos will be used to produce the new card.”

Davis pointed out that students would be able to upload photos at any time from the MyPhoto app on AccessUH.

There will still be a $10 charge for updating photos, lost cards and name changes. However, the first replacement of the new card during this transition is free, Davis said.

Damaged or worn cards will still be replaced with no charge, so long as the cardholder exchanges the old card for their new one at the Cougar Card office.

The Cougar Card already has integrated online services such as lost/stolen card deactivation, meal plan activity and status checking, the ability to check transactions and balances, and the ability to add cash to ShastaBUCKS and Cougar Cash, but there are more services planned for the future.

“Some future enhancements include the launch of the digital representation of our Cougar Card and an off-campus merchant program,” Davis said.

While students don’t have to submit a selfie themselves and can still opt to visit the Cougar Card office to take their photo, their website recommended uploading a picture to avoid waiting in line to have one taken.

The Cougar Card office recommended students upload a passport photo, in JPEG format and at least 300 pixels wide, through the online portal. There is no cost to upload a photo through the website.

Submitted photos should be in color, have a “white or off-white background,” feature a “natural expression,” with the subject facing directly towards the camera. The website asks that the photo have proper exposure, focus, and lighting, or else the picture may be unusable.

The subject of the photo also can’t be wearing a hat or sunglasses, but may wear regular glasses and religious headgear so long as they do not obscure or cast shadows over any part of the face.

“The photo requirements are in line with industry standards,” Davis said. “It is important to properly portray the individuals through the campus access card to minimize risk of inappropriate usage of the card.”

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Valenti seniors face graduation delays amid advising issues

The Valenti School of Communications is home to more than 1,600 students, but multiple students are reporting issues with graduation as a result of poor communication from the four-person advising team. | Corbin Ayres/The Cougar

As the semester comes to a close, several seniors at the Jack J. Valenti School of Communication are having to postpone graduation due to issues they attribute to poor advising within the programs.

Journalism senior Aimee Pezina transferred to UH in Spring 2018 after earning her associate’s degree from Houston Community College. She was originally set to graduate in Fall 2019 something that she said she’d been told by her adviser but she said that changed when she met with them April 4.

“She looked at my degree plan, back at her computer, did some clicking and looked back at me and said I needed 37 hours, and 13 of those were miscellaneous hours,” Pezina said. “When she said that, all I could hear was, ‘You’re going to be here another semester and you need to come up with more money.”

Pezina said her advising issues began in earnest during orientation, when students were sent home early due to harsh weather conditions. They didn’t get to see their advisers to put their schedules together and were left to figure it out for themselves, she said.

“I was new to the school, the waiting list was long and I didn’t really know how to get help,” Pezina said.

Despite never getting the chance to see an adviser that first semester, Pezina managed to figure out her requirements and enroll in courses for both that spring and the following fall. When she finally was able to see an adviser in Fall 2018, she said they told her she did a fine job picking her classes and was on track to graduate on time.

She still doesn’t know what changed between then and April 4.

Avoiding mishaps

Trever Thomas, the lead adviser for communications students, said students can avoid surprises in their enrollment and get a better handle on their graduation requirements by regularly and carefully reviewing program requirements with their adviser. She also said students should meet with their advisers earlier, rather than later.

Meeting regularly with an adviser, however, has proven challenging for some communications students, with each adviser being responsible for more than 400 students.

According to data from the UH Office of Institutional Research, there were 1,641 students enrolled in communications programs as of Fall 2018, and only four advisers serve students in those programs.

While advising at Valenti does offer walk-in appointments each Wednesday, the Academic Advising page of the school’s website stipulates that those times are for small concerns only, and not for comprehensive advisement.

Multiple students in COMM 3315, Social Media and News, reported additional issues with advisers incorrectly recording the classes they’ve taken, marking certain requirements as satisfied when they were not.

“It is very important that if this is happening with students, that those affected inform myself or their primary COMM adviser right away so that we can look into it, determine next steps and get it resolved before it is time for the student to graduate,” Thomas said.

While talking to the advisers can resolve some of these errors, both Pezina and Nguyen said they are still being affected by mistakes from a lack of communication by advisers. Still, Thomas said, visiting one often is important for staying on track.

“To avoid a student spending time and money in taking a wrong elective, it is strongly recommended that they first meet with their adviser,” Thomas said.

Future of advising

Advisers are human, Thomas said, and mistakes can happen. To best prevent students from being penalized as a result of advising mistakes, Thomas said students should keep documentation of their advising appointments and make sure to quickly communicate any issues they find.

If an adviser is found at fault, Thomas said the department will do what it can to help students meet their requirements by deadline through petitioning previously taken courses. Thomas said an adviser at fault would also likely have conversations with higher-ups in the department.

“This is not everybody’s’ calling, and those that are called to it should be constantly sharpening the saw and learning to be better through constructive criticism,” Thomas said. “With this (advising) staff being new for the most part, there is coaching that they have to go through.”

While petitioning courses is and has been a means to help make up for requirement shortfalls, Thomas said the Valenti School of Communications and the College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences are introducing higher standards for petitioning classes.

“I would definitely say the door isn’t slammed on petitions, but we are being more careful,” Thomas said.

She has to review and justify any petitions sent through to CLASS and the Provost — though, she said the issue could be helped by clearer guidelines from CLASS on both petition and degree requirements.

Psychology senior Ivy Nguyen was surprised to learn from her major adviser as she was applying for graduation that a 4000-level COMM class she was enrolled in couldn’t be used to satisfy the requirements of her journalism minor. Though she hadn’t discussed the course with a Valenti adviser prior to enrolling, she said she was under the impression the course could be used.

“I went to talk to the COMM adviser during walk-in Wednesdays, and she said I had to petition it to get the class I’m currently taking approved, but it was a 50/50 chance,” Nguyen said.

Her petition was ultimately rejected by the CLASS dean, and she now has to take a different elective over the summer in order to re-apply for graduation.

“I still get to walk, but that’s another $1,000 I have to spend,” Nguyen said. “I can’t even sign up for classes until my graduation application gets denied.”

While Thomas said the department will work with students to correct mistakes students have made, students will usually have to retake those requirements.

Pezina and Nguyen both blame their issues graduating on unclear communication regarding advising and degree plans.

“I decided that after taking six classes this semester and working two jobs that I will accept the later graduation date,” Pezina said. “I feel like I was set up for failure because there just isn’t a strong academic advising center.”

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Physics professor remembered fondly for wits, idealism

Students and faculty gathered Monday to mourn George Reiter, 77, after he passed away March 30. Reiter had been with UH’s department of physics for more than 35 years, and colleagues remembered him as both an advocate and an intellectual. | Corbin Ayres/The Cougar

When Rene Bellweid was considering joining the University of Houston faculty, he was told there was only one person he needed to talk to: George Reiter.

They met and spoke for 10 minutes about science, and they spent the following two hours discussing politics.

“He was a real mensch,” said Bellweid. “Everyone who talked with him learned something.”

Bellweid was among friends and family that came to the AD Bruce Religion Center on Monday to bid farewell to Reiter, 77, who passed away on March 30 after a year-long battle with cancer.

Reiter joined the UH department of physics in 1981 and served as the UH Faculty Senate president in 2000, during which time he was among those who called to abolish intercollegiate athletics at UH and prioritize education. He and his wife, Debbie Shafto, were both active members of the Harris County Green Party.

“He had a deep concern for the downtrodden and how little we cared for them in the U.S.,” said Gemunu Gunaratne, chairman of the UH physics department. “He was a humanist in the best sense of the word.”

Gunaratne wrote the eulogy for Monday’s memorial service, remembering Reiter as “a highly regarded senior member” in the physics faculty.

“He was one of the smartest people in the department,” Gunaratne said.

Reiter’s colleagues not only regarded him as an intelligent man, but said he was outspoken on matters close to his heart and mind, such as politics and education.

“He was very vocal about many things,” said Ernst Leiss, former Faculty Senate president and professor of computer science. “He was something.”

In 1993, the Faculty Senate made a demand — abolish intercollegiate athletics — which led to a vote to recommend forgoing Division 1-A athletics in favor of education, citing concerns that the department could not sustain itself and would eat into other University budgets.

The vote passed 25-15, but the UH System Board of Regents denied the request, and UH remains to this day an athletics-oriented campus.

“I’d be surprised if we still had intercollegiate athletics in five years,” he told the Chicago Tribune in 1993 after the Faculty Senate’s vote. “Do we really want to be a part of the entertainment industry?”

This idealism was not limited to campus, as he sought election twice as a Green Party candidate: once in 2002 for Texas’ 25th Congressional District, losing out to Chris Bell, and more recently in November 2018 as Railroad Commissioner, but he did not qualify for the general ballot.

Reiter was an anti-war activist, who insisted that “groups or countries should discuss their differences” Gunaratne said, and he was an active member of the Union of Concerned Scientists and Justice, Not War.

He also hosted the radio talk-show “Thresholds,” where he hosted guests from across various political and ideological aisles to discuss topics ranging from religion to politics and society. The song “Fanfare for the Common Man,” by Emerson, Lake and Palmer, began each show and also fittingly accompanied his memorial service.

In the realm of science, he was a condensed matter physicist who tackled a wide variety of problems.

He worked with the late professor Simon Moss on what became known as the Reiter-Moss theory, which Gunaratne said explained how the structure of a liquid is modulated by an underlying substrate.

Those that knew him remembered him as a brilliant and friendly man.

“He was a pleasant man. Occasionally he was a little strident, but never unpleasant,” Leiss said. “He disagreed but he was never disagreeable.”

Joseph McCauley, a professor of physics at UH, recalled that whenever he passed Reiter in the hall, they would share a hug.

“He never met someone he didn’t like,” McCauley said.

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Wolffest sets new earning, volunteer records






Though the numbers on total earnings are still rolling in, the Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship’s annual Wolffest came to a record-setting end Thursday, raising more than $315,000 over the course of the three-day food festival, organizers said.

Each year, Wolff Center students divide into teams and reach out to Houston eateries to cater at Wolffest, which is held each spring in Butler Plaza. The festival is designed students real-world negotiation practice with local businesses, and all funds raised through the event go toward Wolff Center scholarships.

“It’s chaotic, energetic and super fun being able to interact with so many different people on campus,” said marketing junior and Wolffest volunteer Ruben Tang.

In 2018, Wolffest broke all previous records by bringing in $315,000. This year’s earnings have already surpassed that number, said Melissa Munoz, the program manager for the Wolff Center class of 2019.

The festival raised $333,000 through business donations and sales on Tuesday alone — the first day of the event. Munoz said it can take a while to count all the money, and the final earnings will not be confirmed until next week.

Wolff Center students are hopeful that number will reach $400,000, the goal they set for this year.

“We’re anticipating 50K more than last year,” said engineering sophomore and Wolffest volunteer Surbhi Gupta.

Tang said a single business donated $50,000 the last day of 2018’s Wolffest, so he was hopeful the 2019 festival would reach its goal.

“Fingers crossed that it happens again,” Tang said.

Wolffest offered a wide variety of vendors that offered crawfish, wings, barbecue, snow cones and more.

“The variety is really good, they have something for everyone,” said English literature senior Pavel Petrov.

Petrov said given how many people he saw at the event, he thinks Wolffest will be just as successful as last year, if not more so.

“I didn’t expect crawfish to be here, it was a good surprise,” said computer science junior Jose Garcia. “There is so much good stuff.”

Andrew Gonzales, owner of Tejas Mexi-Q, said he very much enjoyed his time at Wolffest. Gonzales caters for the Wolff Center often and thought of this as a way to give back to the students.

“The Wolff Center supports my food, so being able to give back to them means a lot to me,” Gonzales said. “The reason I am here today is to give back to them.”

Gonzales said students at Wolffest were very excited and loved his food.

Wolffest was originally called Burgerfest when it started in 2002 and eventually changed its name to match the Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship after Melvyn and Cyvia Wolff became donors.

It started as a way for students to practice their sales skills as well as teach them how to run a business. While Wolff Center students still run the stalls and market to passing students, Wolffest now also revolves around business negotiation. 

“It’s an educational experience that you could never get in a classroom,” Tang said. “It’s not a mock simulation. This is real life application, and it’s really rewarding.”

Tayler Banes, a Wolff Center alumna, returned to Wolffest this year to experience it as a customer for the first time.

“I wanted to see if they did better than us in terms of set up and operations,” Banes said.

Banes said each year, the class running Wolffest does better than the class before it, and she hoped this year was no exception.

“It’s hard work, selling food outside for three days straight,” Banes said. “You’re managing about 100 people and volunteers.”

Wolffest this year had about 70 students running the event, with 246 students volunteering on top of that. Munoz said this was the most volunteers the festival has had yet.

“I’m exhausted, I’m tired, I’m sore, I’m sunburnt, but it’s worth it,” Tang said.

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Students turning away from Uber, Lyft in favor of public transit

UH students are increasingly flocking to public transportation instead of popular ride sharing apps like Uber and Lyft. | Corbin Ayres/The Cougar

With the recent murder of a University of South Carolina student, investment woes, numerous negative headlines and reports, many college students are dropping ride-share services like Uber and Lyft.

Ridership on public transit is up, according to research from the Houston Chronicle and the Kinder Institute for Urban Research. Though many parts of the city are still underserved, METRO expansions on campus and in UH Parking and Transportation programs—such as Coogs On Alternative and Sustainable Transportation (COAST)—have been embraced by many students.

“I prefer to save money. I carpool when I can or take the METRO instead, which is free for me through COAST,” said history sophomore Adrian Casasola. 

The fare for local buses and the METRO rail system is normally $1.25 a ride, but UH students are eligible for “discounted METRO fare cards and passes” that will allow them to ride for half-price. Students can get a discounted METRO card by submitting a request through their MyUH account.

UH students also pay a reduced rate for public transit when they participate in COAST. The program offers members $27.50 each month to go toward the payment of METRO fare, in addition to discounts on parking permits for carpooling, according to the COAST website.

Safety concerns

The murder of University of South Carolina student Samantha Josephson at the end of March has sparked an increase in conversation among college students about safety concerns when it comes to ride-sharing apps.

Josephson was killed after getting into a car she mistakenly identified as her Uber and subsequently being trapped inside by her assailant, who had engaged the child locks on the rear passenger doors of his vehicle.

The case has sparked an increased dialogue around the issue of ride-share safety as people in several cities have begun pushing to demand increased required signage for ride-share vehicles.

“I don’t really feel safe taking an Uber or Lyft because of all the stories about things going wrong with drivers or riders committing crimes. I usually drive myself,” said media production sophomore Rachel Sweetland.

Uber released a statement to a CBS outlet in the wake of Josephson’s murder saying they would continue working to raise public awareness about safety on their platform, something they’d been doing since 2017.  

Both Uber and Lyft provide guides on their websites on how to ride safely using their apps. One tip featured on Uber’s site is to make sure you’re getting in the right car.

“I’m not usually concerned about safety but only because I makes sure to check the license plate of any vehicle before getting in,” said biochem sophomore Saniha Mody, who regularly uses ride-share apps like Lyft to get home when going out. 

Harassment complaints

Another common problem with ride-sharing services is stalking and harassment of female passengers by drivers, who obtained personal contact information via the apps.

Last year, Uber made several changes to their app. These changes include not storing precise pickup location data in order to help curb privacy concerns and allowing victims of sexual harassment by drivers to sue the company directly, a reversal of previous policy that critics said often silenced victims.

Despite these changes, ride-share passengers still experience harassment and have uncomfortable encounters with drivers.

“Overall, I’ve had a good experience with Uber, but one ride that stood out to me was this guy who kept trying to convince my friend and I to look into the benefits of being a sugar baby,” said a retail and consumer science senior who asked to remain anonymous. “He gave me a card with some guy’s number on it. He was dead serious.”

Future expansion from UH

While they do cost more than public transit—according to Lyft’s Fare Estimate tool, commuters from outside the beltway looking to catch a ride to campus can usually expect to shell out more than $20 for a one-way ride—many students say the prices of ride-sharing fares are generally reasonable.

“I actually switched over to Lyft recently because I kept seeing that it was cheaper,” Mody said. “I think the prices are fair, though when there’s demand they definitely can go high.”

Ride-share platforms also have a place in COAST’s goal to provide students with more transportation options. Uber and Lyft are listed as two recommended alternative ways to get to campus by Parking and Transportation Services, according to their website. 

In the past, Parking and Transportation have published a map of popular pickup points, though that map is currently unavailable available on their site.

Parking and Transportation is exploring additional transportation programs to implement, such as bike, car and ride-sharing opportunities, according to COAST’s website

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Architecture students build outdoor classroom for Houston school

Though the project is still in the modeling phase it is set to be complete by the end of the summer. | Courtesy of Patrick Peters / Design/Build

Seven Master of Architecture students are building an outdoor classroom for students at Frank Black Middle School in northwest Houston as part of an annual program from the Graduate Design/Build Studio, which gives students real world experience while also impacting the community.

This year’s project is allowing UH architecture students to create a nontraditional learning space for middle school students, and will serve as the first time most of the students have worked on an architecture project from beginning to finish.

“It is exciting to see each student’s ‘aha’ moment,” said Studio Director Patrick Peters. “When they see their work pre-fabricated and erected full scale, they realize what they were drawing and making models of.”

The project, funded by the Frank Black Middle School PTO, is going to be a sheltered, open-air classroom in the school’s arboretum with a raised deck and butterfly roof. It will also include features that incorporate other aspects of the schoolyard, such as the pond and plants that are already there, Peters said.

Master of Architecture student Abraham Tanvir said the design, rooted in with the characteristics of the school, will feature a 1,000-gallon water collection tank that can be used for educational purposes at Frank Black Middle School.

“The structure is actually going to harvest rainwater,” Tanvir said. “Students will be able to use the collected rainwater for their garden at a later time. This will allow them to see the cycle that water goes through.”

The graduate students took the environmental aspects of Houston into major consideration during the design process, Tanvir said.

“We accounted for the southeast winds to make sure this project is comfortable during the summer,” Tanvir said. “We also have the pitched roof design, which gives additional square footage of shade. We wanted to design in a way that would give a lot more space to the students while also providing a lot more shade than a traditional roof would.”

Tanvir said one of his personal favorite parts of this project is working with a group of graduate students who all come from different backgrounds.

“It will be cool to leave a physical project in the city of Houston that we were able to create from the beginning,” he said.

Graduate student Nora Segura, who helped design the outer graphics, said working with her peers and professionals has been one of the best parts of the experience.

“I am gaining excessive knowledge in the field of architecture that is not quite granted in any other program,” Segura said.

Segura said another gain from this project is having the hands-on experience of working with a real school.

“What we are building and designing is going to be put to use in a positive way for the education of young people,” she said.

Graduate students in this program put together a project similar to this one every spring semester. This year marks the program’s 30th year. Past projects by the Design/Build Studio include the main entrance for the Port of Houston Authority and an outdoor seating area at Lockhart Elementary School.

The group of graduate students are currently finishing up construction documents and attaining permits. The structure is expected to be complete by the end of the summer, just in time for the 2019-2020 school year.

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