At about 6:25 a.m. Sunday, a minor fire caught in the north kitchen of Cougar Village’s seventh floor. The sprinklers were activated, and the fire was extinguished immediately. | Justin Tijerina/The Daily Cougar

Sunday’s fire at Cougar Village left several students without a cozy place to eat their Easter candy.

At about 6:25 a.m., the seventh floor north side kitchen’s fire alarm sounded, and the sprinkler was
activated. Although the fire was extinguished immediately, residents of the north fifth, sixth and seventh floors were left without access to their rooms.

The cause of the fire is unknown.

South side seventh floor resident Breanna Cleveland said she was not affected by the sprinklers but feels bad for those who were.

“I have a friend that stays in the north side of the seventh floor, and she had to rent a room at the UH Hilton Hotel yesterday,” Cleveland said. “I also overheard a few students say in the elevator that they were renting a room and splitting the cost of the room.”

Front desk agent at the UH Hilton Hotel Dustin Lao said residents who decided to rent rooms were treated well and taken care of.

“Students who booked a room with us automatically received a 10 percent discount,” Lao said.

UH Director of Media Relations Shawn Lindsey assures Cougar Village residents the affected areas will not be left untreated.

“Houston Fire Department and UH Facilities staff were on site Sunday extracting water and are working to return the affected spaces back to their original condition,” Lindsey said in an email.

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Twelve graduating Master of Fine Arts candidates showcased their works during the 35th UH School of Art MFA Thesis Exhibition at the Blaffer Art Museum on Friday. The exhibition will be on display until April 13.

Mayor Annise Parker visited campus Tuesday for the 2013 UH Spring Faculty Assembly and spoke to a crowd of more than 100 students, staff and faculty about the perks of Houston. | Courtesy of UH.edu

Mayor Annise Parker told a crowd of more than 100 on Tuesday that she felt Houston was the bellwether of professionalism.

“If you do an Internet search, you’ll find list after list where Houston is the top this and the top that,” Parker said. “We’re the most robust in economies worldwide. We’re the best place for young professionals. We’re the best place to start a career.”

“Houston is the single best destination for the relocation of professionals.”

The Faculty Senate meeting was combined with the UH Spring Faculty Assembly at noon Tuesday in the Elizabeth D. Rockwell Pavilion of the M.D. Anderson Memorial Library and honored the mayor, President and Chancellor Renu Khator and Interim Senior Vice Chancellor Paula Short as speakers.

Parker said that although she had no control of Houston’s educational politics, she was vying for UH, its faculty and its students.

“UH and Rice are aggressively bringing young people from around the world. They are conecting us to the rest of the world, which only strengthens the greater Houston economy,” she said.

“Having the University of Houston as a first-class research university not only brings opportunities, but is a selling point that we use when we go market the city.”

The biggest concern, according to both Parker and Khator, is ensuring a place in society for young adults after graduation from college.

“The challenge for Houston is that if we attract the best and the brightest from all over the world, we have to make sure that our own kids are able to compete: a serious challenge confronting all of us as we move into the future, and one without an easy solutions, one that a lot of the best minds in this city have begun to focus upon,” Parker said.

The only solution Parker said was readily available, was to ensure the healthiness of Houstonians, so that they might be able to reach their goals.

“In order for all of us to have the future we want, jobs and the economy we want, we have to make sure that we are healthy enough to enjoy the economic fruit,” Parker said.

Also on the meeting agenda was an update of Faculty Senate activities and a presentation from of the UH Grievance Committee slate. A concern brought up several times was the need for the renovation of Cullen Boulevard.

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In the 50th inauguration banquet of the Student Government Association, UH’s politicians strutted their stuff in the Hilton Shamrock Room on March 29. The Daily Cougar was on the scene asking the tough question: not “What does the administration plan to do” nor “What bills are on the table,” but “Who are you wearing?” After creating this SGA red-carpet coverage, we think the 50th administration is going to be the best dressed to date.