The A.D. Bruce Religion Center will hold a service & vigil ceremony today at noon to remember the lives lost and the many affected after tragedy struck in Oregon’s Umpqua Community College in the city of Roseburg Thursday afternoon.

At least 10 people were killed and seven more were injured.

A.D. Bruce Religion Center’s manager Bruce Twenhafel said Reverend Laureen Suba, campus minister for the United Campus Ministries, will speak at the vigil and offer consoling words and prayers to the victims and the grieving community.

“(UH) as a society can emphasize and sympathize because we’re a family of learners,” he said.

The service and vigil will support the student and faculty community during the healing process over the shocking campus rampage, said Twenhafel.

“The University looks into the A.D. Bruce Religion Center and our campus ministers to provide support throughout the important times,” he said. “This would be one of the times where the religion center takes the lead to provide that space for all who choose to come.”

The event is open to the Cougar community and invites all students, staff and faculty to attend.

“We’re here as an open and welcoming community for anyone was to grieve, meditate,” said Tenhafel, “or simply to experience the words, the thought, the prayer, the silence.”

news@thedailycougar.com

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“A.D. Bruce to hold vigil after Oregon shooting” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar

The Cougars will host the Texas State University Bobcats Saturday at 7 p.m. and parking will be affected. Here’s the lowdown on where to — and not to — park and at what times, according to an email by UH Athletics.

What will be closed

Cullen Boulevard between Holman Street and Cougar Place. The street will be closed Saturday between noon until an hour after the game ends.

Where to park the night before game day

Don’t park in lots 12A, 12B, 15C, 16B, 16D, 16E, 16G, 16H, 16I, 16J or 18A after midnight Friday, because vehicles parked in these lots will be towed. Instead, try parking in lots 8A, 9B, 9C and 4A.

Where to park on game day

If you have a garage pass: You can still park in the East garage, Welcome Center garage and Welcome Center Student garage for free. Stadium garage parkers are out of luck. UH closes the Stadium garage at midnight on Friday.

If you normally have Stadium garage parking: Not there. On Saturday students with stadium garage parking permits can park in lots 17A, 17B, 17C, 17D, 19B, 19C, 19E, 1B, 1E, 4A, 8A or anywhere not being used for game day parking.

If you’re paying cash: Try the East garage, Welcome Center garage, Welcome Center Student garage after 3 p.m.

If you’re on campus, but not going to the game: Lots 17A, 17B, 17C, 17D, 19B, 19C, 19E, 1E, 1B, 4A, or 8A, at any time. But if you need to park before 3 p.m.: lots 20A, 20C, 8A, 9B, 9C or 21B, after 3 p.m. they become cash lots.

If you don’t want to pay: lots 8A, 9B or 9C after 3 p.m. will be open – remember your Cougar Card though.

news@thedailycougar.com

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“Your guide to game day parking” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar

The class of 2016 may get a shot at choosing who speaks at their commencement in May.

Provost Paula Myrick Short sent out an email to students, faculty and staff Friday night asking for suggestions and The Cougar Editorial Board has a few recommendations as to who UH should bring in to follow in Matthew McConaughey’s steps.

All of the suggested candidates graduated from UH (sorry, Lil Wayne fans — he never did), so they shouldn’t cause as much of an uproar as University of Texas grad McConaughey did.

Jim Parsons
The actor graduated with a bachelor’s from UH before moving to the small screen with his starring role on “The Big Bang Theory.”  And he has experience giving commencement speeches. He gave one to the University of San Diego (the school where he earned his master’s) in 2009.

Elizabeth Warren
The Massachusetts senator graduated with a degree in speech pathology and audiology in 1970. She was even the associate dean of academic affairs for the UH Law Center in 1980. If that doesn’t make her qualified, we don’t know what does.

Jim Nantz
The broadcaster played for the golf team during his time at UH and received an honorary doctorate in 2001. Giving a UH commencement speech should be a piece of cake for him: he gave one to the class of 2001, 20 years after graduating himself.

Hakeem Olajuwon
Playing under legendary head coach Guy V. Lewis prepared Olajuwon for a career in the NBA, so he’s used to pressure. Him giving a commencement speech could bring back nostalgia from the Phi Slama Jama era. We’re even banking on a surprise guest appearance from former teammate and UH alumnus Clyde Drexler.

Dominque Sachse
The Emmy-winning anchor is the only one of our suggestions who still works in Houston, making her easily available and a showcase of what most UH grads go on to be: hardworking Houstonians.

Take your pick, UH.

— The Cougar Editorial Board

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“Class of 2016, we have some commencement speaker suggestions” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Cougar partnered with the Center for Student Involvement on an essay contest in honor of Constitution Day. This is the winning entry. 

“This world demands the qualities of youth: not a time of life, but a state of mind, a temper of the will, a quality of imagination, a predominance of courage over timidity of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease.”

These words from a 1966 speech by Robert Kennedy identify what is generally best about youth. If they lack the wisdom of age, they possess the wisdom of changing times; what they are wanting in practicality, they more than suffice with idealism.

And today, we are the youth of America. We represent what the youth of America nearly half a century ago stood for and, today, we stand for our own beliefs as well. We are the inheritors of a nation’s ideals — the inheritors of the values forming the bedrock of America. We wonder, “What can today’s youth do?”

In 1971, a mere five years after Kennedy’s speech, it was made explicit in the Constitution exactly what we can do.

Section 1 of the 26th Amendment reads: “The right of citizens of the United States, who are 18 years of age or older, to vote, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of age.”

And therein lies the civic duty we are capable of performing, the means by which our voice can reach an influential ear. We can vote.

This amendment carries a good deal more significance than we ever assign to it. To be sure, it signifies an equality in responsibility as the youth of the time so logically argued: old enough to fight, old enough to vote.

If we are capable of serving our nation’s military, it stands to reason that we have some say in the leaders and policymakers serving our nation.

But aside from that, this amendment carries so much meaning. The voting age might have been lowered only three years, but what is present in this amendment is an acknowledgment of what Kennedy spoke of — the importance of youth.

It is a measure of trust in our judgment, as adults and as individuals partaking of the responsibility our country appoints to us. And it is a measure of faith in the collective power of youth — the power to make a positive change, that we are granted by the 26^th Amendment to the Constitution.

Rida Rangoonwala is an education freshman.

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“Constitution Day essay contest: the future is in our hands” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar

A student was robbed Monday at approximately 2:52 p.m. after three black males approached his car on Leak Street between Tuam Street and Drew Street and threatened to take the student’s car, according to an email sent to students.

According to UHPD, the student reported that one of the three men pointed what could have been a weapon at the student from behind his sweatshirt, threatened him and then demanded he give the men his car.

The student ran from the scene and found his vehicle later broken into with personal items missing.

The first suspect is identified by police as a black male with brown eyes, 25-30 years old, approximately 5’10” tall wearing a black hoodie and white pants. The second suspect is a black male with brown eyes 29-30 years old, approximately 5’09” tall, with a goatee, full sleeve tattoos on his right arm, wearing blue jean shorts and a white tank top. The third suspect is identified as a black male with brown eyes, 20-24 years old, approximately 6’02” tall wearing khaki pants and no shirt.

The student did not sustain any bodily injuries. No weapon was displayed. UHPD is actively investigating leads in the case.

news@thedailycougar.com

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“BREAKING: Student robbed near campus” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar

A student was defrauded out of $300 Wednesday night, according to an email by the UH Police Department.

A possibly Hispanic male and Hispanic female approached two students in parking lot 12B at approximately 8 p.m. and insisted on repairing the dented vehicle of the complaint for $90.

The student felt threatened and agreed to drive to a nearby ATM at Scott and Elgin to withdraw the money.

It was then that the male suspect “put his arm around” the student and requested $300 instead of the initial $90.

The student withdrew the money, gave it to the suspects and they left walking northbound on Scott from Elgin.

UHPD described the Hispanic male as 5 feet 8 inches tall, 160 pounds with short black hair, blue eyes and a black goatee. He had full sleeve tattoos on both arms and was wearing a black Cadillac baseball cap, light blue stripped shirt covered with “mechanic” style logos, blue jeans, tennis shoes and a rainbow colored backpack.

The female is described as 5 feet 10 inches and heavyset, with a star tattoo on the left side of her neck. She was wearing an orange tank top, blue jeans and tennis shoes.

No weapon was used.

Anyone with additional information or any leads on the unidentified suspects is encouraged to call UHPD at 713-743-3333.

news@thedailycougar.com

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“BREAKING: Student defrauded, UHPD reports” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar

Weeks of Welcome festivities carried on as Cat’s Back and the glow paint party hosted by the Student Program Board helped introduce students back to campus life.

news@thedailycougar.com

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“Cat’s Back, glow paint party welcome students back to campus” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar

UH legend Bill Yeoman (middle) was joined for Sunday’s Fan Appreciation Day by important guests including Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Hunter Yurachek (far left) and current head coach Tom Herman (left). | Justin Tijerina/The Cougar

UH unveiled a statue of former Cougar football head coach Bill Yeoman as part of Fan Appreciation Day at TDECU Stadium Sunday afternoon.

“It was a no-brainer to have coach Yeoman represent us, he defines the history and rich tradition of Houston football,” Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Hunter Yurachek said. “As you build a new football stadium like this, you want to display that history and he is that history.”

Yeoman coached the Cougars from 1962 to 1986 and left an undeniable mark on the program, elevating it from relative obscurity to national prominence during his distinguished 25-year tenure.

The former great is still the winningest coach in school history, guiding his teams to 160 wins, 17 winning seasons, four Southwest Conference championships, 11 bowl game appearances, and a 6-4-1 mark in postseason competition.

Well known as an innovator on the field, Yeoman’s greatest legacy may be the invention of the Veer Offense, a scheme that had a tremendous impact not only in the SWC but also the entire college football landscape.

Yeoman additionally played a prominent role in the racial integration of collegiate athletics when he became the first head football coach in a major Texas program to give a scholarship to an African-American player as Warren McVea joined the Cougars in 1964.

Following his coaching career, Yeoman was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, the Southwest Conference Hall of Honor and the Southwestern Bell Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame, but he said that having the new statue dedicated to him was a wonderful thing and an unforgettable tribute.

“It is a staggering honor to have this kind of recognition, and particularly when you had so much fun doing it,” Yeoman said.

After the dedication ceremony, fans were treated to photo and autograph sessions with Yeoman himself, current head coach Tom Herman and various other members of the Houston Football, Soccer and Volleyball programs.

Well over a hundred fans endured the sweltering heat to witness Yeoman be immortalized as the ode to UH’s history now marks the entrance to the place where its future will be decided.

“He’s a legend, he’s a Hall-of-Famer and he’s ours,” Herman said. “He’s one of us, which is really, really neat and if I could, we’d build eight statues of him because that’s how much I feel about him.”

sports@thedailycougar.com

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“Legendary Yeoman honored at Fan Appreciation Day” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar

How would you feel if, while at Starbucks, you heard “Enjoy your coffee …and this scripture verse”?

These types of comments would be expected at private, religious organizations but not at others.

I went to Catholic school. Because I was Catholic, I had to maintain certain principles and follow rules according to traditional Catholicism. Other non-Catholic students were not expected to participate.  All that was asked was that they maintain a level of respect.

That was a private organization where religious affiliations are strict. The idea behind this is simple: if you want to come to us and use our services, you follow our rules.

This kind of thinking allows the Catholic Church exemptions from covering abortions in employee health care.  It is fundamentally against what they stand for.  The organization, not the individual employee, is allowed to refuse certain rights because there are (or should be) alternatives.  That’s key.

In a different situation, say, a Catholic pharmacist refusing contraceptives at his non-religious job – that’s not OK, if for no other reason than economics.  It’s bad for business; the individual is denying a service that is ordinarily offered.  If the pharmacist doesn’t want to do the job, he should look for employment somewhere that aligns with his beliefs.

The right to further your religious convictions at the workplace ends with non-religious employers, especially in government positions.

Obviously, this does not include the employee’s right to practice religion, but when you are at your job, you are an entity of that corporation.  You represent them and must abide by their regulations, and to advocate for your religion on that time is a violation not only of policy, but of trust.  Put simply, as long as you are a compliant employee, your time at work does not belong to you.

This policy has been violated by some, including Texas courthouse clerks who have delayed, or outright refused, same-sex marriage licenses.  As a public servant, it is their job — or dare I say, their obligation — to protect and fulfill the civil rights and liberties of others, even if the Supreme Court-mandated right to marriage licenses may chafe one’s personal ideology.

On the weekends, the county clerks can protest what they please – how they spend their own time is their prerogative.  But as soon as that time card punches, the personal crusading stops, or they can find a different job.

You wouldn’t want your public school teacher giving lessons on her religion, would you? Or favoring students who aligned with her beliefs?

If you work for anyone or any corporation that is not explicitly religious, you give up your right to make religion a part of your job.  Regardless of personal beliefs – that women shouldn’t have abortions or that same-sex couples shouldn’t marry – it’s foremost your duty to uphold rules set up by your employer and by the federal government.

You simply cannot police the lifestyle of strangers because you think it’s immoral, or because it disagrees with your religion.  That’s not your job.

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“Work is not a religious affair” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar

Jose Luis Contreras-Vidal looks at how the arts can influence learning potential and hopes Becky Valls’ brain map will show promising signs. | Courtesy of Lynn Lane Photography

Research isn’t always just facts, numbers, data charts and pie graphs. Research can also be art.

Electrical and computer engineering professor Jose Luis Contreras-Vidal recognizes the diversity of research. With the help of associate professor of theater and dance Becky Valls, he is mapping brain activity while engaging in creative tasks.

“The process (of) creating art, whether (it’s) a performance, a painting or music, leads to innovation,” Contreras-Vidal said.

“With these new machines you’re connecting the dots; you’re looking beyond what you have in your hands. You’re trying to come up with something new using basic building blocks. Creativity and innovation go hand in hand.”

The project, Your Brain on Dance, has led to new findings on how the arts can induce learning potential for those with diseases such as Parkinson’s.

Contreras-Vidal’s project is simple, yet complex: a dancer performs with a brain cast, similar to a swimming cap, on her head. The cast has holes where 64 sensors are placed to listen to the brain. These sensors then capture electrical activity in the brain and record it outside.

A computer recognizes the patterns that relate to different gestures and expressions and is relayed outside in different ways – an alteration to the lights, the music and even the data, which is projected behind the dancer as she performs.

Once the data is all in, it is interpreted.

“We know that dance-movement, is not only moving from point A to B, but it’s about communicating,” Contreras-Vidal said. “If we understand emotions, moves (and) how the brain is affected by interacting with the people in the audience or with the other dancers, we anticipate using arts as a type of therapy with patients of different disorders in terms of communication.”

Valls said she has taught dance as a learning method to teachers at the UH Children’s Learning Center for five years, and that is what peaked her interest in the project.

“If you use creativity to teach science, it increases the learning potential that deepens knowledge,” Valls said. “That is really what Vidal is working with: ‘What is the role of creativity in the brain?’.”

But to Valls, there’s another part to the project.

“What I really like…is the performance element,” Valls said. “It is a visual, technological performance where you are watching the dancer…watching the brain waves change as you watch the movements change. Those two things really intrigued me – the performance aspect of it and the link to neuroscience and how we learn.”

Contreras-Vidal said the technology used to monitor the brain’s activity is an ongoing process, as easier ways to map activity, while not restricting the dancer’s movement, is important.

“The technology has to be light, easy to wear, provide the information (needed) and last for the entire time of the performance,” Contreras-Vidal said. “This (project) is really an intersection of arts, science and engineering.”

Contreras-Vidal has done a similar project before, but he used a painter instead of a dancer. And while his current project will keep performing monthly, he said he is interested in monitoring the brain activity of the Houston Symphony.

“All form of arts are important to my colleagues,” Conteras-Vidal said. “We know that art can provide great benefits to different clinical patients. We want to understand why and we want to see how we can enhance those effects.”

Your Brain on Dance’s next public performance is scheduled for September in the Hines College of Architecture.

 news@thedailycougar.com

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“Your Brain on Dance: Professors make art from science” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar