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Cougars come out ahead 81-76 in overtime thriller against UTEP

DJ Calvin Harris draws mixed reviews

January 30, 2012 Issue 65, Volume 77

ATHLETICS

Question: To fee or not to fee? Voting opens today to decide stadium’s future Joshua Siegel

THE DAILY COUGAR The fate of the most prominent athletics facilities on campus is in the hands of UH students. Today, voting will open for students to decide on adding a $45-per-semester fee that will help to fund a rebuild of

Robertson Stadium and the renovation of Hofheinz Pavilion. “We’re sensitive to any increase, but this is also an opportunity for this University,” Director of Athletics Mack Rhoades said. “You talk about Tier One in terms of the University, but you also talk about Tier One in terms of the athletics. And there are certain investments that had to be made in terms of the University for us to achieve Tier

One-status and continue on that path to (becoming) Tier One. Well, the facilities issue for us is huge if UH athletics is going to gain Tier One-status.” The referendum aims to augment the nearly $60 million raised privately by the Athletics Department to make these projects possible. According to engineering reports reviewed by the Athletics Department, Robertson only has 18 more months of usefulness.

While the report also said that Hofheinz is structurally sound, it is outdated. “We’re not trying to build anything that we don’t need — this is out of need,” Rhoades said. “We understand that any cost is substantial. What we told the students is that we’re not going to ask for a penny more than what we need. In order for us to make these projects work, we need to take that $60 million and increase it to the $73- to 75-million mark

to do the two facilities.” Student fees were also used in two of the most recent athletics facility construction projects at North Texas and Florida Atlantic. Both projects cost over $70 million and yielded only one facility. At North Texas, the approved student fee was $10-per-credit hour, meaning a student with a 12-hour course load would pay $120 each semester. FEES continues on page 2

GERALD D. HINES

Mayor speaks to GLOBAL

Architecture college to host Mayor’s Institute UH’s Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture is hosting the Mayor’s Institute on City Design at 5:15 p.m. Feb. 1. Dana Cuff, professor of architecture and urban design at the University of California, Los Angeles and director of City Lab, will deliver the keynote lecture, “The Shape of Public Architecture,” at 6 p.m. in the theater. Cuff will lecture on issues concerning urban development, affordable housing and how zoning laws affect building design. MICD is a partnership of the American Architectural Foundation and the United State Conference of Mayors. UH is set to host MICD for the first time. — John Loner

ouston’s Mayor Annise Parker came to UH to speak about overcoming obstacles as a LGBT identified individual. She pulled from her experiences in college and her run for political office to show the students in attendance how she dealt with barriers facing the LGBT community. | Amanda Scott/The Daily Cougar

» Story: Read more about Parker on page 3.

UH SYSTEM

Clear Lake’s online Master’s program ranked top value GetEducated.com has ranked UH Clear Lake’s online MBA programs as one of the “Top Ten Best Buys” in the country. Along with the online degrees offered is iSmart — Integrated Science, Math and Reflective Thinking — a graduate online program provided by the UH College of Education that helps students to excel in science and math instruction as well as develop leadership skills. UH Clear Lake is one of only two universities offering an online MBA program in the Houston area that is accredited by The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International. — Jennifer Pearson

LECTURE

Acclaimed journalist talks politics, religion Annette Santos

THE DAILY COUGAR Faith is an influential tool in American politics, and campaigns now resemble “religious litmus tests,” said guest speaker and Pulitzer Prize winner Leonard Pitts. Pitts gave a lecture on Wednesday called “Religion in the 2012 Elections”. The lecture was

sponsored by Texas Freedom Network and held at Congregation Emanu El. “There is a word for nations that impose a religious litmus test for public office,” Pitts said. “Such nations are called theocracy, i.e. countries in which the words of putative holy men carry the force of law.” Countries like Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan under the Taliban were named.

Pitts began his lecture with a story of a retired white minister who traveled with the second wave of freedom writers to advocate for African American voting rights, but was brutally beaten. This, he says, was a pure act of faith. “Consider the legacy,” he said. “Consider what he and other people of faith in this country once did to change the landscape of our lives and our politics.”

Kathy Miller, president of Texas Freedom Network Education Fund, said this lecture was designed to “expose extremism seen in politics today.” The Texas Freedom Network has also started a new chapter at UH. Freshman Emily Lynd, an active member of the Network, attended Pitts’ lecture. “I really like their grassroots PITTS continues on page 3

2 ■ Monday, January 30, 2012

NEWS

The Daily Cougar

FEES

VOTING 101

continued from page 1

When to vote: J

Passing the referendum will also keep admission free to students. During construction, admission will remain free and free transportation to and from games will be provided. The revenue generated from the new facilities is also expected to help make the athletics department more independent of the University financially. “In terms of reliance on the University, we’re going to need to continue to generate more revenue and we don’t have the capability to any of that with the current facility,” Rhoades said. Because of the current construction of the stadium parking garage, parking will not be affected by building a new football stadium or renovating Hofheinz. The stadium parking garage, which will house 2,300 new spaces, is anticipated to open in August, while only 721 spaces would be lost to construction — a net gain of 1,600 parking spaces. Students that are graduating before the completion of the new facilities will also see a benefit from the referendum passing; fees paid by students will be discounted from the purchase of season tickets after graduating. A student who pays the fee for three semesters would receive a discount of $135 towards the purchase of season tickets. Last

We can’t hear you. Mostly because we’re a

Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Where to vote: Athletics/Alumni Center Campus Recreation and Wellness Center J Cougar Village J Engineering Complex J M.D. Anderson Library J Melcher Hall J Moody Towers J Moores School of Music J Philip Guthrie Hoffman Hall J Science and Engineering Research Center J University Center J UC Satellite J J

What you need: J J

Peoplesoft ID number Date of birth

season, season tickets for recent graduates — alumni that graduated in the last three years — cost $140. Also, because of the current state of the economy, the athletics department feels that rates to undertake a project like this are very favorable to get the most out of the money raised. “Right now, in terms of taking the dollar and spreading it as far as it can go, there’s no better time than right now,” Rhoades said. news@thedailycougar.com

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ABOUT THE COUGAR The Daily Cougar is published Monday through Thursday during the fall and spring semesters, and Wednesdays during the summer, at the University of Houston Printing Plant and online at http://thedailycougar.com. The University seeks to provide equal educational opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability or veteran status, or sexual orientation. The Daily Cougar is supported in part by Student Service Fees. the first copy of the Cougar is free; each additional copy is 25 cents. SUBSCRIPTIONS Rates are $70 per year or $40 per semester. Mail subscription requests to: Mail Subscriptions, The Daily Cougar, University of Houston, Houston, TX, 77204-4015. NEWS TIPS Send news tips and story ideas to the News Desk. Call (713) 743-5314, e-mail news@ thedailycougar.com or fax (713) 743-5384. A “Submit news item” form is also available online at thedailycougar.com. COPYRIGHT No part of the newspaper in print or online may be reproduced without the written consent of the director of the Student Publications Department.

NEWS

The Daily Cougar

Monday, January 30, 2012 ■ 3

GLOBAL

Houston mayor talks LGBT issues at University event Pedro Pinto

THE DAILY COUGAR Houston Mayor Annise Parker told students about her struggle to become known for her actions and not her sexual orientation Thursday at Cemo Hall. Parker, Houston’s first openly gay mayor and the second woman to hold the office, said she found it hard to make herself electable. “Since I was not only gay, but openly gay and publicly gay, it was a hurdle to get over with,” she said. “Every time I saw my name in public, it was Annise Parker, gay or activist lesbian. There were people who thought I was impossible to elect.” However, this wasn’t the first time she was discriminated against for being a lesbian. “I knew I was a lesbian at 15,” she said. “I was out my entire time in college and was ostracized for four years. There were times people didn’t want to room with me.” She found a way to make constituents understand that she is a lesbian, but there is more to her résumé than her sexual preference. Her sexuality “was something that had to be managed and accounted for,” but she had also worked in the oil industry and other areas of activism for many years.

Many of her opponents in elections also criticized her about changing the face of traditional family values, but she felt no problem in connecting with people in this area. “I’m close to my family; I’m a parent,” she said, speaking of her partner of 21 years and their three adopted children. “I live in the same world; I have the same experiences.” She remembered when President Barack Obama called her and left her a voicemail, which she accidentally ignored, to congratulate her on the election. “I played it for everybody... played it for all my campaign volunteers,” she said. When she was elected mayor, it “shocked people. It changed the view of Houston and Texas for many,” she said. “I use elections to change people’s views of my hometown, which some people compare to a redneck wasteland.” She also talked about the obstacles women face in the workforce. “There’s sexism and ceiling glass but initial first impressions, how you present yourself and how you carry yourself,” are the most important things, she said. Despite the obstacles, Parker said she gets up every day and does her best for the citizens of Houston, whether they appreciate it or not. The mayor also told the young people in the audience they can make a difference in their

Since I was not only gay, but openly gay and publicly gay, it was a hurdle to get over with... Every time I saw my name in public, it was Annise Parker, gay or activist lesbian. There were people who thought I was impossible to elect.” Annise Parker, mayor of Houston hometowns by registering to vote. “If you are not voting, you are failing yourself — you’re an insult to your community and an insult to people who died to give you that right,” she said. The effort to bring Parker to campus started last July by GLOBAL — the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, questioning, intersex and asexual organization on campus. “We wanted GLOBAL and others to realize we can work in unison to promote and show growth of the LGBT community,” said Joshua Sutherland, organizational leadership and supervision management sophomore and vice president of the organization. “It shows we’re supported by the people we support, it’s a symbiotic relationship.” news@thedailycougar.com

Cougars help in charity event Tristan Tippet

THE DAILY COUGAR UH’s Reserve Officers’ Training Corp participated in a Homes for Our Troops charity event Friday and Saturday to provide recreation and raise money for wounded warriors in a non-profit organization. Recreational events included sporting clays shooting, helicopter rides, battle re-enactments, military equipment displays and war dog demonstrations. Buck Collins, who served for 24 years in the Special Forces, found solace in coming to support his fellow wounded warriors. “I’m with the Jasper Wounded Warrior Association,” Collins said. “I was wounded over in Iraq, and we’ve all been wounded in Iraq and in Afghanistan… and we’re happy to come out here and be here. “Now’s our time when we can give support to our brothers and sisters in need.” One of the services Homes For Our Troops provides is raising money to build specially adapted

PITTS continued from page 1

and activism approach,” Lynd said. “It seems like a good way to make a difference.” According to Miller, chapters like the one started here on campus are important because faith is still strongly considered when choosing elected officials. “Faith is absolutely important to most Texans,” she said. “Politicians should not use faith as a campaign

prop or political weapon to inflame the culture war.” Pitts said that the use of religious belief in the political arena is too focused on everyone’s differences, whether it is nationality, sexual preference or faith. He said this has become a human issue. “The paradox of religion seems to loom larger in our political lives than it did 50 years ago,” Pitts said. “It feels ... small (and) mean like it’s not about much at all.” news@thedailycougar.com

Thursday Feb 2 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM

Where?

UC Cougar Den

ROTC

ROTC students raise funds for organization that builds homes for needy veterans

Leonard Pitts won the Putlitzer Prize for a commentary in 2004 while working for the Miami Herald. | Robert Z. Easely/The Daily Cougar

www.uh.edu/studyabroad

BY THE NUMBERS

2004

63,870

The year Homes for Our Troops was founded

Number of states with homes being worked on or already completed

Maximum amount of dollars an eligible veteran may receive from a Veterans Administration Specially Adapted Housing Grant

68.96 The score Homes for Our Troops received out of 70 by Charity Navigator, a U.S. charity rating agency

16 Number of houses being worked on or completed by Homes for Our Troops in Texas

0 The amount veterans pay for these homes Source: www.homesforourtroops.org

homes for wounded veterans. “We have some very close friends that are very severely handicapped,” Collins said. “And for them to get homes and be a part of those homes, especially at the vast costs we’ve seen… It’s a great thing.” Each home costs approximately $350,000 to be totally adapted, said Ken Clifton, a Vietnam veteran. Halls and doors have to be widened, roll in showers need to be installed, and carpet has to be replaced with other flooring. “The government should be doing this, instead of us having to chase people and beg for money,” Clifton said. “It’s like the house at Brooks Army Medical Center, (the Patriot Guard Riders) raise money every

year to buy amenities for the wounded warriors. The military gives them housing, but it doesn’t give them anything else, and a lot of (them) need constant care.” The charity raised close to $900,000, falling short of its $1 million goal for the weekend, but Clifton said that the event was worth it and means a lot to the veterans. “For every penny raised out here, there’s more money toward the homes of wounded warriors,” Clifton said. “And if you talk to any of them, you’ll never see nothing but a smile on their faces. Just seeing people out here participating to raise money for them makes their spirits soar.” news@thedailycougar.com

When? Where? Tuesday Jan 31 2012 Pacifc Room - 90 11:00 AM 2200 PM UC Underground Brought to you by The Office of International Studies and Programs E. Cullen, Room 501 F www.uh.edu/studyabroad 713-743-9167

4 ■ Monday, January 30, 2012

The Daily Cougar

OPINION

EDITOR David Haydon E-MAIL opinion@thedailycougar.com ONLINE thedailycougar.com/opinion

THE DAILY COUGAR

POINT/COUNTERPOINT: PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS FOCUSED ON WHAT?

EDITORIAL BOARD

State of the Union

INTERIM EDITOR IN CHIEF

Daniel Renfrow

NEWS EDITORS

Taylor McGilvray, Joshua Mann

SPORTS EDITOR

Joshua Siegel

LIFE & ARTS EDITOR

Jose Aguilar

OPINION EDITOR

David Haydon

STAFF EDITORIAL

Student fee increase comes to a vote

tudents will get the chance to vote on whether or not they want to increase their Student Service Fee by $50 a semester today and tomorrow. The 26.3 percent fee increase would cover the renovation of Hofheinz Pavilion, the construction of a new football stadium and offset a $5 decrease in state funding.

If approved, the fee increase would be in effect for up to 25 years. The next generation of Cougars will be affected by the increase, so UH students should carefully weigh the pros and cons of the fee increase before voting on it. A negative aspect of this fee increase is that it is coming at a terrible time. It would be difficult to find a single Cougar who has not been affected by the recession. While $45 a semester doesn’t seem like a lot of money when tacked onto a student’s semester total, that $45 could be used to buy two weeks of groceries. Another negative aspect of the increase is that many UH students would rather see the money go towards furthering the academic goals of our campus. While we always have a good turn out at our football and basketball games, there are many students who care more about their academic pursuits than attending games. These students would likely rather see extra money spent making UH a more academically rigorous environment. But on the flip side, having state-of-the-art football and basketball stadiums could attract wealthy donors to our University. Not to mention prospective Cougars may be attracted to UH because of the prestige of our athletic teams and the grandeur of the buildings they play in. Students can think of the fee as a way for them to give back to the University. When they come back for a football or basketball game after graduation, they would feel proud that they had a part in the construction of the new football stadium and the facelift of Hofheinz Pavilion. There will be 12 voting locations on campus, including M. D. Anderson Library and the University Center. Be sure to have your voice heard.

E D I TO R I A L P O L I C I E S STAFF EDITORIAL The Staff Editorial reflects the opinions of The Daily Cougar Editorial Board (the members of which are listed above the editorial). All other opinions, commentaries and cartoons reflect only the opinion of the author. Opinions expressed in The Daily Cougar do not necessarily reflect those of the University of Houston or the students as a whole. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The Daily Cougar welcomes letters to the editor from any member of the UH community. Letters should be no more than 250 words and signed, including the author’s full name, phone number or e-mail address and affiliation with the University, including classification and major. Anonymous letters will not be published. Deliver letters to Room 7, University Center Satellite; e-mail them to letters@thedailycougar.com; send them via campus mail to STP 4015; or fax to (713) 743-5384. Letters are subject to editing. ADVERTISEMENTS Advertisements in The Daily Cougar do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the University or the students as a whole. GUEST COMMENTARY Submissions are accepted from any member of the UH community and must be signed with the author’s name, phone number or e-mail address and affiliation with the University, including classification and major. Commentary should be kept to less than 500 words. Guest commentaries should not be written as replies to material already printed in the Cougar, but rather should present independent points of view. Rebuttals should be sent as letters. Deliver submissions to Room 7, University Center Satellite; e-mail them to letters@thedailycougar.com; or fax them to (713) 743-5384. All submissions are subject to editing.

BRYAN WASHINGTON:

JAMES WANG:

General topics dodged re-election speech

Jobs talk slammed the XL pipeline potential

eality has always been a problem for President Barack Obama and State of the Union Addresses. Being a time of grave economic activities, matters are no different. This year, while laced with the same puffy imagery and inspiring rhetoric these speeches are known for, Obama has managed to woo the political cynic in me for the time being. The theme of the night was jobs, specifically the countless manufacturing jobs overseas in China. It’s high time that these jobs come back to America, and, according to the president, there’s going to be more than enough incentive to come back. He’s planning to take out the tax deductions and tax breaks for companies operating heavily overseas and hand them over to the companies that are creating jobs for Americans. The president has proposed a basic minimum tax for all multinational companies. Better yet, he’s planning them at a time when, according to the CEO of Master Lock whom the president had spoken to a few weeks prior, “It now makes business sense for him to bring jobs back home” due to rising operating costs overseas. I say “further” because it would be defying common business sense; any American company that continues to base so much of their production overseas with no intention to move back to the United States must be penalized severely for what I see to be as a directly hostile attitude towards the American economy. If they choose to continue operating overseas, they’re actively telling Americans that despite common sense, they’d rather hire Chinese workers instead of American ones. They’re willing to go out of their way to support China. Continuing with his platform of more jobs for more Americans, Obama has advocated government investments into the natural gas and clean energy industries. As a proud Texan, I’m admittedly and unashamedly biased concerning his idea to open up our natural gas reserves. The Lone Star State will benefit the most out of the rest of the nation. However, in his address, Obama made the commitment to end subsidies to oil companies, apparently starting with his decision earlier this month to reject the Keystone XL Pipeline that would run from Canada to Texas. It would have created at least 2,000 temporary jobs in the immediate short-term and at least 20,000 permanent jobs in the very near future. In solidifying his stance against Big Oil, the president is going to endanger our economic growth. True, the point of clean energy is to eliminate our dependence on foreign oil, but only because that oil is coming from a region that only benefits from our dependence, not share in the neediness. The Keystone XL Pipeline would have been beneficial for us and our northern neighbors, and now there are talks about the Canadians cooperating with the Chinese. If the president insists on a shift towards clean energy, he’s going to need a growing number of educated workers in those fields. This is especially true considering the fact that the “growing industries in science and technology have twice as many openings as we have

s presidential messages go, President Barack Obama’s wasn’t particularly noteworthy. There weren’t any fireworks, streamers or dancers. Champagne was noticeably absent. In the midst of the gymnasts performing on the other side of the fence, the incumbent’s party was an especially modest neighborhood barbecue. But in their stead was something more necessary for our country: a politician shining light on both the good and abysmal corridors lining our nation’s establishment. If efficiency was his goal, the man-in-office hit a homer. And rather than any sort of gut-busting revelation, the political sphere could do with some quiet and meaningful introspection. If you were looking for surprises, you spent an evening on the couch in disappointment. The “food stamp president” highlighted the issues he’s come to identify with as well as those that have risen since he’s been in office. The backlash of globalization on American jobs, the country’s reluctance to utilize its own fuel reserves and the uppercut education has taken in our society’s social spectrum. Rather than innovate with impossible solutions to unsolved problems, Obama chose to readdress the issues at hand with the frankness they deserved and with the methods he proposed for handling them proving even more frank. Not surprisingly, Congress received a substantial amount of attention — more for what it’s failed to accomplish than its successes. Its successful attempts at piddling with the nation’s financial security were praised for what they were worth. Along with this attention came a reprise of all the error, including the assurance that, following his re-election, the mistakes wouldn’t make a second appearance. If there was any cause for alarm, it would have been the silence surrounding the upcoming election. Obama spent less time dissecting his potential competitors than he did praising President Bush Jr. If not for the date and time positioned at the bottom of the broadcast, one might have thought that they were watching a president speaking to his audience about the most immediate issues at hand. And in all honesty, what was there to say? With four suitors at the door sporting new policies, wives, psychological predispositions and religions on a daily basis, there would have been nothing to pinpoint. It would have been a waste of breath and energy to address even one of them. Knowing this, Obama chose to do just that. Rather than throwing dirt and scuffing shoes, the president talked about his presidency instead. The message served its purpose: a skeleton of how the country is doing at this moment in time. It wasn’t glamorous, but that’s only appropriate. We’ve seen better days. Even still, in the midst of ongoing troubles in state and commerce, it was refreshing to see a politician address every guest in the room, purple elephants and all. Whether describing the reprieve of the 1 percent, of the consternation of everyone else, that sort of straightforwardness is 100 percent admirable.

Bryan Washington is a sociology freshman and may be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com.

WANG continues on page 8

What do you think? Post comments and vote @ thedailycougar.com

Monday, January 30, 2012 ■ 5

The Daily Cougar

EDITOR Joshua Siegel E-MAIL sports@thedailycougar.com ONLINE thedailycougar.com/sports

MEN’S BASKETBALL

UH takes care of business in OT

Cougars 81, Miners 76 (OT) UTEP ................. 38 Houston ........... 25 HOUSTON

28 10 41 15

min fg-fga ft-fta 3pt-a pf

02 Harris 33 35 Thomas 36 03 Thompson 34 11 Thibodeaux 32 23 Simmons 43 00 Young 27 12 Jones 3 15 Gibson 9 32 Van Slyke 8

3-9 9-11 0-2 6-11 4-6 0-0 5-11 0-0 0-2 2-8 2-3 1-6 10-18 4-5 1-5 3-4 0-0 2-3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-4 0-0 0-0 0-2 0-0 0-1

3 0 1 2 0 2 0 3 4

— —

76 81

reb a pts

12 12 1 4 6 1 0 2 0

2 15 2 16 2 10 1 7 1 25 1 8 0 0 0 0 0 0

Percentages: FG .433, 3PT .211, FT .760 Team rebounds: 02 UTEP

min fg-fga ft-fta 3pt-a pf

reb a pts

04 Washburn 37

6-11 1-2

3-4

2 16

23 McCulley 18

4-8

3-4

0-1

1 11

Eli Daniels

21 Bohannon 38

6-9

5-8

0-1

13 2 17

THE DAILY COUGAR

11 Streeter

2-7

2-2

0-1

24 Perez

5-14 1-1

1-3

3 12

05 Cooper

2-6

2-2

1-3

20 Perry

0-0

1-2

0-0

31 Lang

3-5

0-0

The Cougars haven’t had the greatest luck in close games this season, losing five of eight games decided by five points or less. The Cougars were a tenth-of-asecond away from losing another close game at the buzzer. With 13 seconds left in regulation, and the game tied 66-66, UTEP wound the clock down and saw CJ Cooper’s last-second heave from beyond the arc, find the bottom of the net. The bucket stunned the 4,358 in attendance at Hofheinz Pavilion on Saturday, while UTEP celebrated at midcourt. After being reviewed by officials, the basket was waved off and the Cougars gained new life in overtime, where they pre- J Simmons vailed 81-76. The Cougars played from behind almost the entire game, trailing by as many as 15, but a 17-5 run with six minutes and 44 seconds to go helped give UH the lead for the first time since the first half. “We didn’t play well after about the 12-minute mark in the first half,” Head Coach James Dickey said. “UTEP played very well. They changed their defense and they were relaxed offensively.” However, the second half was a different story. “We started moving the ball, looking for others and started going to the offensive boards, not settling with just missing and getting back on defense,” forward Alandise Harris said. UH rose to the occasion and won the battle of points in the paint (34-30) where they, statistically, had trailed (6-16) in the first half. “Coming out of the locker room, we wanted to make a concerted effort to get the ball inside,” Dickey said. “I felt like in the second half, we attacked when they allowed us to attack.” Freshman guard Joseph Young, provided a second-half spark off of the bench. In a night where bench points were hard to come by, Young provided UH with eight timely points that helped jump start UH’s secondhalf surge. “This was big from Joe, especially since Joe has not been feeling well lately,” junior Jonathon Simmons said. sports@thedailycougar.com

Percentages: FG .000, 3PT .000, FT .000 Team rebounds: 02

Forwards TaShawn Thomas (left) and Alandise Harris both achieved double-doubles in the Cougars 81-76 overtime win over UTEP on Saturday. Both grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds. Harris scored 15 points and Thomas had 16 points. | Brianna Leigh Morrison/The Daily Cougar

Technical fouls: Rice-None. Houston-None. Attendance: 4,358

Another close call, but this one is different for Cougars Cougars pull it together for overtime win As hot and cold as the Cougars have been this season, they certainly haven’t been without their occasional flashes of brilliance. Ricardo The overtime Rivera thriller against Tulsa immediately comes to mind. And then there was that 118-70 thumping of Concordia University in the season-opening exhibition where Yates High School product Joseph Young put on a shooting clinic from behind the three-point line. They’ve been few and far between, but there’s also been some nail-biting comeback bids that fell just short in which the Cougars either narrowly missed closing the gap or just been plain unlucky. For as little as an 11-9 team can boast, UH has weathered the storm quite well. Through a pair of demoralizing losing streaks and an 0-4 away record, Head Coach James Dickey has rallied his young

team around the common goal of steadiness, and for the most part, he’s done relatively well. But that being said, the Cougars 81-76 overtime win over UTEP at Hofheinz Pavilion on Saturday was a victory unlike any other they’ve claimed this season. In a change of pace from most of Houston’s wins, this one started on the defensive end. Down the stretch, freshman TaShawn Thomas looked the most as inspired as he has seemed all season, clamping down against UTEP in the closing minutes of overtime when the Cougars either got a stop or went home losers. With the clock dwindling, El Paso’s slippery Michael Perez cut through the lane on back-to-back to possessions, looking to create easy baskets in UH’s usually soft paint defense. As if sensing UTEP’s plan to rush the middle, Thomas stepped up and took a charge that roused the 4,358 crowd to its feet, giving his offense another chance to keep the scoreboard moving. On their next defensive opportunity, Thomas

stayed home after several attempts to draw him to the perimeter and swatted a lay-up attempt. Dickey’s season-long defensive struggle with Thomas has been frustrating for UH, to say the least. At 6 feet 8 inches, the freshman has struggled to adapt to Division I speed and size as quickly as the coaching staff hoped, and his presence on the glass has been anything but consistent. But it’s nights like Saturday when faithful Cougars can see exactly what Dickey did when he recruited the Killeen Texas native. Whether or not Thomas is the ideal, big man of the future for the Cougars is a yet question yet to be answered, but through twenty games, they tend to win when he puts up numbers. On the offensive end, Joseph Young played his most efficient game of the season. He shot 3-of-4 from the field with two treys in 27 minutes. More importantly though, Young was in control. His shot selection was smart, and with the offense growing stagnant in the second half,

Young’s threat from beyond the arch spread the floor for the Cougars and allowed Jonathon Simmons and Alandise Harris the open lane they needed to make plays. Even more, Simmons impressed with 25 points and six rebounds, shooting a solid 10-of-18 from field. Harris, struggling with his jumper, smartly got himself to the charity stripe eleven times, adding 15 points and 12 rebounds to the mix. With four players scoring in double digits, the overtime win saw the Cougars, for the first time, coalesce their individual strengths into a team victory. This win was different. With the Cougars hitting the road for a pair of away games this week, the pressure will be high to turn Saturday’s strong showing into a formula for winning on a consistent basis. At this point, it’s a matter of long-term execution. In the short term, they can rest easy knowing they can pull it altogether if they so chose. sports@thedailycougar.com

TENNIS

Cougars come up short Albert Torres

THE DAILY COUGAR The quest to earn a national ranking continued for the Cougars on Saturday against Colorado. Coming off a loss to No. 6 Baylor last weekend, UH (0-2) looked to further make a statement, but fell in a 4-3 decision to the Buffaloes (2-2). Things looked good early for the Cougars as they won the opening doubles round but unforced errors during the singles round

would prove costly in the end. “Anytime you lose 4-3 it’s going to be disappointing,” Head Coach John Severance said. “The fact that we blew so many opportunities and made unforced errors is going to haunt us. That was the deciding factor today. “I made it clear to the team that they (Colorado) weren’t going to roll over and give it up. We have to capitalize on our overall-good play and can’t win when we commit so many errors.” During the opening doubles round Charlotte Phillips and Maja

Kazimieruk took their bout with an 8-3 decision while Giorgia Pozzan and Bryony Hunter won their match 8-6 to give UH an early lead. During the singles round, freshman Liselot Koenen continued her strong play as she dominated her match 6-0, 6-2 to move to 2-0 in singles play this spring. Senior Giorgia Pozzan also added another victory to her singles’ resume with a 6-3, 7-5 rout of CU’s Erin Sanders. sports@thedailycougar.com

Sneior Giorgia Pozzan earned victories in both singles and doubles play in UH’s 4-3 loss to Colorado on Saturday. | Catherine Lara/The Daily Cougar

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The Daily Cougar

EDITOR Jose Aguilar E-MAIL arts@thedailycougar.com ONLINE thedailycougar.com/arts

WEEK IN PREVIEW Opera ends flight tonight Celebrate the end of Moores Opera Center’s American Opera Festival by catching the final performance of “Amelia” at 7:30 p.m. at UH’s Moores Opera House. The opera follows a woman dealing with significant issues of her father’s death, the dream of flight and the hope of rebirth. For more information, visit www.music.uh.edu/ opera/currentseason_showdetails_amelia.asp. To purchase tickets, visit www.music.uh.edu/ opera/.

Calling all ‘Frogs’ The Honors College Center for Creative Work holds auditions at from 7 to 10 p.m. today and Tuesday for an upcoming production of Aristophanes’ “Frogs.” The production, which was adapted by Dr. John Harvey and will be directed by Aaron Landsman, will be part of the college’s Dionysia 2012 event. Character and chorus parts are available. Interested persons should bring résumés and class schedules to the audition. Rehearsals begin in early February. Auditions will be held inside the Honors College Commons. For more information, visit www.uh.edu/honors/honors-minors-programs/center-creativework/dionysia/index.php.

Three masters ready to rock ivories Three days of recitals and master classes by three of the world’s best pianists will encompass the 29th Annual International Piano Festival this weekend. The festival, produced by Moores School of Music, opens 7:30 p.m. Friday at Moores Opera House. It begins with a recital by festival founder Abbey Simon who will perform music by Mozart, Franck Liszt and Chopin. Uruguay pianist Alberto Reyes and German pianist Markus Groh will also take part in the weekend. Students interested in attending the festival can choose from a number of options over the weekend: attend individual master classes for $5; attend individual recitals for $15; attend all three recitals for $35; or attend all recitals and master classes for $45. Special luncheons with each of the pianists are $15 and include a boxed lunch. Advanced reservations are required. Tickets may be reserved by calling the box office at (713) 743-3313. —Cougar Arts Staff

TODAY'S FORTUNE

“Don’t dwell on what went wrong. Instead, focus on what to do next. Spend your energies on moving forward toward finding the answer.” —Dennis Waitley

TWEET O’ THE WEEKEND

“Put your energy in the right places... Lack of focus... leads to Lack of Progression” — @ZetaZetaSigmas, 26 Jan

United Kingdom artist Calvin Harris performed a DJ set mix with big sounds and bright lights this past weekend at local music venue Stereo Live. Harris experienced an increase in popularity in America last fall when his track with Rihanna, “We Found Love,” spent 10 non-consecutive weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. | Christopher Lopez/The Daily Cougar

CONCERTS

Dance DJ performs solid set Chart-topping act spins remixed and self-produced tracks to entice eager crowd Christopher Lopez

THE DAILY COUGAR By now we have heard the famous top 40 track by Rihanna, “We Found Love.” The creator of this latest dance anthem is Calvin Harris, a world famous disc jockey, singer-songwriter and record producer. He had created many self-defining tracks such as, “I’m Not Alone” and “Colours” before his ascension to the America mainstream late last year. On Friday, Harris stopped by Stereo Live as the headliner accompanied by British DJ Burns and Houston DJ Josh DuPont as the opening acts. DuPont is a deep house producer and DJ who was nominated “Best DJ in Houston” in 2007 and 2008 by the Houston Press. Upon taking the stage, DuPont began playing unpopular dance tracks which just made him seem repetitive after 10 minutes. This was expected since opening DJs are not allowed to exceed the talent of the upcoming artist, limiting their potential on stage. The crowd began to grow as the night progressed and the lights dimmed. Burns then took the stage causing a loud cheer and applause from the restless audience, who were pleading for more than just the basics of a dance beat. The music thudded louder and the special effects lighting commenced to blind the audience as they moved to the bass of the house tracks. There was an overwhelming enthusiasm from the crowd as they swayed and jumped. This DJ had well-rooted transitions

that were barely noticeable as well as perfectly-timed drops. Though there was still much praise for Burns, he is still nothing in comparison to Harris. As Harris walked behind the DJ booth, the crowd’s roar filled the dimlylit venue and the previous echoes of the drop from DJ Burns faded. The build that Harris created as he began his set on stage was astonishing, only to be outdone by the intensely compiled drop. The sea of people jumped and screamed as the tracks commenced and Harris took full control. Though he has a library of self-made tracks, he is also a DJ and mixed current dance songs in his set. There was a wide range of tracks used, the standard ones that are currently heard across the world in dance clubs. After some wait, he began playing his own tracks, causing the already enthusiastic crowd to get even wilder. One of the first songs he played was “You Used to Hold Me,” a track he self-produced that caused a flurry of dancing bodies to move all across the venue. He then went on and played some other house and techno tracks, still causing the tension and anticipation for his next and hopefully even better track. This formula worked out well in the sense that it did not give the audience an overabundance of his personal songs. As the night went on, he played “Bounce,” “I Feel So Close” and “Flashback.” As he is producer and DJ, Harris was able to create a mix that awed the audience. It was composed of an intricate and well-defined house track and the now famous alternative track of “Paradise” by Coldplay. He also did an impressive mix and elaboration to “Around the Word” by Daft Punk. The final wave of well-grounded

mixes, self-tracks and top 40 hits ended when Harris played “We Found Love.” The crowd celebrated the worldrenowned dance anthem by using all of their energy to dance and scream as the all-too-familiar beat blast through the already booming speakers. Every light panel and fog machine turned on, working in unison to submerge the audience in a surreal environment. Unfortunately this was Harris’ last self-made track showcased that evening. As time passed, the songs turned to unrefined house tracks, which only had a small window of appeal to the audience. They were not horrible or easily dismissed, but after the performance that was just bestowed upon the crowd, there was a higher expectation than having to listen to “Sandstorm” by Darude. After that, the mix was composed of unfamiliar tracks. This then led to the crowd awakening from the trance that they were in and just swaying and moving to the music nearly forcefully. It was only 1:30 a.m. when this began and it followed through until the end of the show. Overall it was an experience worth seeing despite the amazing performance falling short at the end with a lack of originality and emphasis on the tracks of the artist himself. It was worth the opening price of the venue but not worth a marked-up or scalped ticket price. This great artist failed to showcase a lot of his work, which led to a small disappointment and let down to his fans. Although the set was solid and the drops and builds were timed perfectly, it is hard to recommend seeing him again. It felt more like a large nightclub than a performance by Harris. It is easy to attest to the great contributions he has done to electronic music in the past few years, but his live performance at Stereo Live fell short of expectations. arts@thedailycougar.com

8 ■ Monday, January 30, 2012

OPINION

The Daily Cougar

WANG continued from page 4

workers who can do the job,” Obama said. While his intentions are indeed noble, his methods are at odds with reality. He proposes to revoke a student’s ability to drop out of school until they are either 18 or graduated. The president has put an emphasis on giving teachers breathing room to actually teach the material and not the test; however, retaining willing drop-outs will only force them to either be kicked into graduating or force them to stick around a few extra years. Sleeping and texting in class has become the “cool” thing to do nowadays; I doubt keeping the kids longer will do much of anything. Obama has been guilty of acting stupidly and stubbornly in a way that I find treasonous considering all that’s at stake. In what has to be my most beloved proposal from Obama, the idea that Senate needs to pass a measure requiring that all judicial and public service nominees receive a simple up-or-down vote within 90 days, the American people are going to get what we’ve been asking for: the ability to get a refund for our elected representative. Some of us would rather elect Mr. Coffee for Senator. Make this a yearly thing, an annual check-up or at the very least something you do when over 75 percent of the country hates an entire branch of government. Something that hits further to home for us Coogs is that President Obama has “put colleges and universities on notice: If [they] can’t stop tuition from going up, the fund [they] get from taxpayers will go down.” Coogs, this means us. Our tuition is bound to jump thanks to our new Tier One status. It’s inevitable. In order to combat the greater demands put upon us, we need to raise tuition. Yet the president wants to stop federal aid for us wanting to get better. To wrap up the night, Obama made his pledge for solidarity and unification. Given how livid people have been for the last few years, it’s more than necessary to try and convince us to hang on. The public’s already shown how hard it’ll hit back after the outstanding Internet uprising against SOPA/PIPA. Like everything else Obama proposed in his State of the Union, these are all but promises of yet another politician. When the Democrats controlled the House and the Senate, things barely got passed, if at all. With Republicans and Democrats at all-out civil war, asking for just one of his promises to be fulfilled would be a stretch. These promises and proposals — the ones that I do support — I do so fully and whole-heartedly hope as a citizen of the greatest nation on Earth that they are not empty promises. Americans are sick of the false words of hope and change. We’re tired of waiting. America needs the change he promised. Barack Obama needs to remember that if people are forced to vote for him because of the poor quality of competitors this year, we’ll be expecting even more of him in his second term. James Wang is a history freshman and may be reached at opinion@ thedailycougar.com.