On hot summer days for most students, it could be a burden to even wear shorts and a tank top; meanwhile, there are others who have their heads covered, even in the blistering sun. This is in name of their religion.

Hijabs are the headscarves commonly worn by Muslim women.

“And tell the believing women that they should lower their eyes, guard their private parts and not display their charms beyond what (it is acceptable) to reveal. They should draw their coverings over their necklines and not reveal their charms except to their husbands, fathers, their sons, their husband’s sons, their brothers, their brother’s sons, their womenfolk,” according to the Quran, Islam’s holy book.

With this, the Hijab has become a symbol of modesty for many centuries in the Muslim community.

Muslims have many reasons for wearing the hijab and as the world moves into a more global society, non-Muslims are becoming more tolerant to it.

“It’s my identity. It’s who I am. Hijab, for me, is not just what I wear, it’s how I interact with people. It’s my character. It’s what I limit myself to, what I don’t limit myself to,” said business freshman Sarah Radwan.

Many non-Muslim students admire those that wear hijabs because they see it as a commitment to their roots, religion and heritage.

“I think that the Hijab or headscarf is a very personal commitment that is made between that said person and God. I think it shows courage and dedication,” said biology junior Clint Gunn.

UH has a diverse student body and this includes a large Muslim community and a Muslim Student Association that puts on events to increase awareness. Students are grateful for this.

“It’s something that’s important to them, and everyone should just let them do their thing because we are an accepting and diverse University,” said biology junior Allyson Gulihur.

For others, wearing the hijab is less about traditions and religion and more about having self-respect and knowing one’s boundaries.

“It was my choice to put on a hijab. I wear it to express my beliefs in the form of modesty without having to verbally explain myself. I usually get more respect by others when they see my scarf and tend to respect my boundaries,” said biochemistry junior Dema Shobaki.

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With over 39,000 students enrolled at UH, staying green and keeping it easy is a constant goal that means new programs and innovative thinking.

The Big Belly Solar Units are one of UH’s many programs that help with the university’s green efforts. Many students have probably seen them around but may not realize just how big of an impact the Big Belly has.

“Every component of the BigBelly Solar Intelligent Waste & Recycling System provides sensing and real-time reporting on its current fullness status,” said James Ballowe, Central Facilities Services Manager.

“This information can be used to dispatch collection crews or re-route staff in the field based on actual need, and address hot spots before they become problem areas. (It also helps us to) avoid wasting time on unnecessary trips and stops to far-flung locations,” Ballowe said.

The Big Belly Solar Units are made using post consumer recycled car bumpers for the side panels and front cover. The units are able to hold 160 gallons of garbage in a 32 gallon container, and is fully powered by the solar panels on top of each unit.

For every Big Belly, UH is able to remove 3-4 normal trash receptacles. This reduces, space, waste, fuel cost and emissions.

“Trashcans can be an eyesore on campus. I’m glad to see an innovative system to handle our refuse,” said junior Supply Chain Management major, Michael Perkins.

With each Big Belly, there is a companion recycling bin. This is meant to encourage recycling and keep waste out of landfills.

“We currently have 13 units located on campus,” Ballowe said. “By end of summer 2013, we will have an additional 70 units on campus.”

With constant effort for everyone to be more environmentally conscious and responsible, UH is working to make the campus a greener place and easy on the students one program at a time.

Hertz on Demand is a car share program that was introduced in the fall of 2011. It is a cheap and easy system that makes it possible for students to rent a car on campus by the hour.

At $8 an hour with gas and insurance included it is a great way to reduce the amount of cars brought onto campus. There are over 942 active Hertz on Demand members.

“The Hertz on Demand program helps eliminate personal vehicles on campus as one Hertz car equals four personal vehicles. The more customers we sign up, the less amount of personal vehicles we have to worry about coming to campus circling for parking spots and burning up gas,” said Edward Bell, Marketing Coordinator with Parking and Transportation Operations.

The goal is to reduce the amount of cars on campus and junior Hotel and Restaurant Management major Evelyn Baena thinks that this is a great program. Baena remembers being a freshman and how annoying it was to get on and off campus when she lived in the dorms.

“This program will encourage and make it easier for students to live on campus or carpool and not worry about the hassle of a personal vehicle and parking,” Baena said, “and for $8 an hour, you can’t beat it.”

Bell urges students to visit www.uh.edu/pts for more information regarding car sharing.

For college students living on hectic schedules and living on a budget it can be hard to spend a little extra cash on organic groceries which are on average more expensive than conventionally grown products. Fortunately, eating organic does not have to be as expensive as some might think and it’s to ones health and the environment.

To become a savvy shopper one must be knowledgeable about the difference between organic products and conventionally grown items.

When items boast the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) organic label on them it means that farmers did not use chemical fertilizers to promote growth. These farmers also use more advanced methods of growing produce, such as crop rotation.

Only foods that are processed according to the standards set by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are labeled, these are not to be confused with foods bearing “Natural” or other similar labels.

The second step to efficiently shop for organic products is being aware of the benefits they offer and when it is not necessary to shop organic.

According to a study published by the Stanford medical school, researchers found little difference in the health benefits between eating organic and conventionally grown produce given their composition of essential vitamins and nutrients.

“When it comes to organic foods I don’t really take the time to do research about it. I just assume it’s more expensive than regular food,” said Ramon Marquez, chemical engineering sophomore, “so I don’t go out of my way to get organic food.”

Choosing to eat organic can be more about controversial issues like the environment and animal welfare than precise health benefits. Organic farmers use methods that do not deplete the soil. Usually organic meats, such as chicken, get exposure to the outside world and are not injected with hormones unlike their conventionally bred counterparts who never see sunlight and often have bodies that are too big for their legs to carry.

The same research study conducted by Stanford found that in children who eat organic produce as opposed to conventionally grown have much less traces of pesticide in their urine.

“I could see the benefits towards the environment,” said Jose Iraheta, an undeclared freshmen.

“I think its mostly a money thing. I wouldn’t mind looking into it, but my budget right now is literally pennies. I feel like I should know more about how it is grown and exactly how organic it is.”

After hearing this, one might not know whether to spend the extra buck buying organic products. Here are a few tips that might help when your contemplating getting those organic strawberries.

Remember to shop according to your budget and what you can afford.

Eat what you buy. We all have been guilty of not eating something we have bought. Organic products spoil faster than conventionally grown foods, so it is essential to eat them within a few days before they start to rot.

Follow your ethics. Do not feel pressured to buy organic because all your friends or parents have jumped on the bandwagon. If eating organic is not a big deal and you would rather save the cash keep it in bank; but if you feel like you are truly making a difference to yourself and the world by eating organic then do it.

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Gardens have many purposes in the world. At UH, a community garden was created as part of a program to help students put what they learn in a classroom into a real-life setting. The community garden is just one of the many projects for the UH Community Learning Agricultural Sustainability Program, which focuses on reducing waste and cultivation.

“Part of the idea is to have a fun and tangible method for students to explore what they’re learning about the sustainability of the food system and to enjoy being outside while doing so,” said Leah Wolfthal, sustainability coordinator. “I believe the term the administration likes to use is ‘living-learning laboratory.’”

Service projects, extra credit and connecting first-hand experience to classroom knowledge is what brings more students to this program. People are welcome to volunteer their time to help out CLASP, which includes the community garden.

The Office of Sustainability was originally called UH Green, but changed its name to help raise awareness of the issue. Along with projects like the community garden, the office hosts events to get students aware and involved. There is a Green Commuter Fair, Green UH Day, RecycleMania and Earth Day.

Living green being expensive is a common misconception. There are many inexpensive ways to live a greener lifestyle.

Instead of buying school supplies every year, reuse notebooks, binders and other necessities. Brand new textbooks can be painful to your wallet and the environment; so an alternative is getting used textbooks from other students and campus stores or rent them.

Psychology junior Danielle Gonzalez said technology helps students go green and save money, while being convenient, too.

“E-books are great. Publishers use less paper, students carry fewer heavy books, and they are cheaper than conventional text books,” Gonzalez said. “Being able to turn things in electronically is good for the environment, too.”

UH provides recycling bins all over the campus, and art history junior Chanelle Frazier said being a student has had an impact on her recycling habits.

“I think it promotes more recycling in my habits since I see the bin. As a result, I consciously look for recycle bins wherever I go,” Frazier said. “I recycle at my house and always recycle when the option is available when I am out eating or on campus.”

UH has been introducing new programs, and initiatives to help students, faculty and staff make it easier to be green. For instance, try bringing a refillable water bottle to campus and utilizing the water stations.

Being environmentally conscious is more than just reusing, it’s about reducing.

“I think the most important things students can do is cut back. You know for a fact you’re going to need at least a bottle of water per day or more, so just get a canteen or reuse a bottle of water over and over again,” Frazier said.

Caring for the environment doesn’t stop when students leave campus. Small things done around the home, like unplugging electronics, washing laundry in cold water and switching off the lights when not in use can make a big difference.

“I forget to unplug my hair straightener, blow dryer and phone charger so I bought a power surge protector, plugged in all my stuff and just switch off the surge protector when I’m done,” Gonzalez said. “It’s so easy and I did see a smaller bill.”

Small changes can lead to a big impact, and it doesn’t matter if you’re a UH student or a Fortune 500 CEO, little things add up. By working together, we can improve our community, city and world.

arts@thedailycougar.com

The topic of women’s relationships with their bodies is often one fraught with conflict and limited to 30 minute segments on The View or the Oprah Show. From the pressure to stay thin to the lack of knowledge of their own genitals, women have been pressured throughout history to keep these topics swept under the rug. The Womens resource center is aiming to change that by bringing to life a classic play that explores what it means to be a woman.

“The point is to get women more comfortable about our bodies, and to celebrate our bodies. Women get very negatives messages about our genitalia like there’s something to be ashamed of, or worried about; so this really celebrates women and our bodies.” Said womens resource director Beverly McPhail.

The vagina monologues, written by feminist playwright Eve Ensler, will be performed throughout the weekend in the University Center Houston Room. The play is composed of vignettes in which women respond to questions about their bodies, like, “If your vagina had a name what would it be?” The topics range from humorous to saddening.

“The committee seems really dedicated and are working really hard. I’m glad were able to help them in a lot of ways like putting out the word in advertising,” said Women’s Resource Coordinator Malkia Hutchinson.

The play is co-directed by UH alumnae April Leah Richard and Lisa DeWaardt.

For the past few years the Womens resource center has put on the Vagina Monologues. It has not been on a yearly basis, but McPhail would like to have it so.

“We haven’t done it every year, but we want to try to start because it should be a part of every college experience. To be able to ‘check-off’ yes I went to a football game, yes I saw the vagina monologues and yes I got my diploma. It really is a cultural phenomenon around the country. Not only does it celebrate women and women’s bodies, but also we use it as a fundraising tool,” McPhail said.

Although the play is about women and their bodies, men are encouraged to go and get a sneak peek into the life of a woman and the ups and downs that make each womans experience a unique one.

“Hopefully it will plant a seed in someone and they will start thinking about these a little more deeply. That’s the hope with any good piece of theater, to make it to where the artist is making an impact in people’s everyday lives,” Hutchinson said.

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UH’s going green efforts are especially effective when they benefit students, as well as the environment.

Filtered water bottle filling stations have began popping up and have already proven to have a great impact on campus.

“We wanted to have a positive effect on the amount of trash going to our landfill,” said Michael Burriello, assistant director of Facilities, Utilities and Technical Services. “After seeing the success at other institutions, we decided to take a chance and see what effect we could achieve.”

The pilot stations are located on the first floor of the Cullen Engineering building and the Science and Research 1 building.

After just two weeks the filling stations have filled about 2,174 bottles. These additions to UH’s green efforts help promote water sustainability and reduce plastic waste from landfills and the campus.

Facilities Management plans to expand the program by installing about 40 more stations.

Biology post-baccalaureate Jianyi Hou said she uses the filling station every time she has class in the Science and Research building and can’t wait for there to be more.

“It tastes much better than a regular fountain and is so easy,” Hou said.

Burriello said he wants a chance for the campus to get involved.

“This is a great opportunity to have a positive impact on our community’s landfills,” he said. “In addition, we are reaching out to all students, faculty and staff to help us name the filling stations.”

Becker

Sara Becker does the famous work of William Shakespeare’s “As You Like It” for her second production as a director at UH’s School of Theatre and Dance. She received her B.A. from Fordham University in NYC, and an MFA from University of Wisconsin-Madison. Becker has performed in many theaters throughout the nation including The Public Theatre of Maine and brings a great deal of expertise to the stage.

The Daily Cougar got a chance to sit down with Becker to discuss the play.

The Daily Cougar: What is your background like and when did you start directing?

Sara Becker:  I started specializing in voice when I was a grad student, and during the summer I worked as an assistant vocal coach. My big love is helping actors use language to tell stories. When I hear a voice that is telling the story of someone’s heart, I really light up.

TDC: What do you like most about directing?

SB: Most of my professional work is as a vocal coach. As a coach, my primary focus is on the language of the play, and how it is getting communicated out to an audience. I love working as a director because I get to carry that care for the story out into the visual life. I have a great time collaborating with designers on lights, sets, music and costumes. Directing is like hosting a party.

TDC: Did you work on the script?

SB: “As You Like It” is written by William Shakespeare, but about a year ago, I worked with the dramaturges from the MA program to refine the script. We combed over many different editions of the play, creating our own script in the process.

TDC: What is the play about?

SB: This play is about how we try out new identities. You may have heard the famous speech, “all the world’s a stage” — the monologue talks about how in the course of our lives we play a lot of different roles. It can be easier to make changes when we are around people we don’t know, or on a vacation, or at a bar that we plan on never returning to.

A lot of the characters in “As You Like It” are out of their comfort zone — they have decided to run away, they have gotten kicked out of their home, they are up for a road trip. What I love about this is play is that it’s about freedom and a big life-changing journey.

TDC: How did you go about selecting your actors and actresses?

SB: We held auditions for the show back in November of last year. I asked people to come in with two monologues — one from Shakespeare, preferably — and to play some music. I teach Shakespeare and Voice in the theater department for both the graduates and undergraduates, so some of the students I already knew from that. I was really excited to see the level of skill and talent we have at UH, and I sometimes sit in rehearsal just so thankful that I found the exact right person for each role. You want to see that they have the chops to be able to handle the material, and then the imagination and spirit to also fully embody the story. We have both.

TDC: Does the whole cast and stage crews rehearse at the same time, or are rehearsals split into sections based on which characters are in what scenes?

SB: The rehearsal process officially starts with everyone at the table: actors, designers and directors. The first listen of a play is electric. You’re hearing all the exciting things you have read and imagined for however many months, you are seeing pictures of beautiful costumes, research images from designers, music playing, etc. After that we start digging into the small detail, and usually that is just the director and the actors. The designers and the directors will meet once a week to make sure we are on the same page, while stage managers coordinate all of the communication.

At a certain point we start putting the small pieces into larger chunks; the entire first act or the entire second act. Actors head off to fittings and dramaturgy may sit down with an actor to share research on the time period or history of the play. At some point we perform it just for the designers. Then we move into our theatre space; we work from then on making sure the story carries into a larger space. Then we add design elements, and then we add that very important final component: the audience.

Let me tell you, adding the audience is the best part.

“As You Like It” will be performed on April 19 through 28 at the Lyndall Finley Wortham Theatre. The play opens at 8 p.m. on April 19, 20, 25, 26, and 27. The play will also open at 2 p.m. on April 21 and 28.

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Kristin Saleri was born in Turkey and was the youngest of five children born to Armenian parents. | Courtesy of the Kristin Saleri Art Foundation

It is often said that the beauty is in the eye of the beholder. For Nansen Saleri, CEO of a local oil company, honoring his mother’s art is more about making sure she is not forgotten than it is about aesthetics.

Discovering Kristin Saleri is a special one-day exhibition of selected works that will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday at the Blaffer Art Museum. Along with light refreshments, students can look forward to a $500 door prize drawing. A UH ID is required to enter.

In 2011, five years after his mother passed away, Saleri established the Kristin Saleri Art Foundation.

“The goal of the foundation is to memorialize Kristin Saleri’s artistic genius for everybody to cherish,” Saleri said.

Kristin Saleri was born in 1915 in Silivri, Turkey. Initially, she attended the the Istanbul Academy of Fine Arts. After finishing her training there, she continued her education under André Lhote in Paris.

She produced more than 3,000 pieces of art, most of which are oil paintings.

“When I asked my mother — circa 2005 — what was the hidden message in her artwork, she said, ‘It is all about life,’”Nansen Saleri said.

Like many artists that have preceded and will follow her, Kristin Saleri found her inspiration in the contradictions that compose one’s life.

Blaffer was chosen as the venue for the exhibition because its mission is contingent with the values of Kristin Saleri and the foundation.

“The Blaffer Art Museum represents the very values of my mother — supporting art and artists. Last year, the Blaffer Youth Center was renamed the Kristin Saleri Studio, which makes the connection with Blaffer even poignant,”Nansen Saleri said.

Through her art, Kristin Saleri has left many legacies for her family and for the world.

“She has so many (legacies). Yet, I must say, life and spirituality through black and white, orange and blue in random order,” Nansen Saleri said.

arts@thedailycougar.com