Issuu

SPORTS

CLASS

The Cougars lost four starters at the offensive line but have enough experience to fill that void.

English teacher to publish book about humanity, gangrelated life.

New coach same scheme

Professor’s poetry speaks on past SEE PAGE 7

SEE PAGE 5

APRIL

Easter. Break out the

CALENDAR CHECK: 20 chocolate rabbits and marshmallow peeps.

THE DAILY COUGAR

T H E

O F F I C I A L

S T U D E N T

Issue 101, Volume 79

N E W S PA P E R

O F

T H E

U N I V E R S I T Y

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

O F

H O U S T O N

S I N C E

1 9 3 4

ONLINE EXCLUSIVES AT THEDAILYCOUGAR.COM

VISITORS

Five elected to new Board Hadiya Iqbal Staff writer

of new aspect to Wolffest, and as the competition got closer and closer,

The University selected five alumni of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences to be a part of the newly created Board of Visitors. The BoV is a leadership group of private-sector opinion leaders and University advocates that serves to advance UH and improve the University’s image in Houston and throughout the region. “Prospective members are nominated by peers and are carefully selected by a nominating committee and meet with President (and Chancellor Renu) Khator and Vice President of Advancement Eloise Stuhr,” said Richard Bonnin, executive director of media relations at UH. T h e f i v e McNabb recipients were Comerica Bank Houston President J. Downey Bridgwater, Gibbs and Bruns LLP attorney Fermeen Fazal, Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce CEO Laura Murillo, KPRCNBC 2 news anchor Dominique Sachse and Lonestar Energy Fabrication CEO Darryl A. Schroeder. “The members of this group were selected for their expertise and excellence in a variety of fields,” said Board Chair John T. McNabb II in a UH press release. “This board is comprised of people who care about Houston and are confident that UH can play a vital role in advancing the city.”

WOLFFEST continues on page 2

BOARD continues on page 3

BAUER

Wolff students bring food to raise funds Ciara Rouege Staff writer

Wolffest may have had hundreds of students and an impressive fast-food menu, but it was not the standard eatand-meet. Beyond the napkins and condiments, the festival is an exercise of entrepreneurial persistence and business expertise. Since last semester, seniors enrolled in the Cyvia and Melvyn Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship at the C.T. Bauer College of Business have been rattling the Houston restaurant scene searching for donations and sponsorship for their booths, which will raise funds for WCE programs and scholarships. “I tried to get my team to … sell the benefits,” said entrepreneurship senior Glenn Figeroa. “One thing you have is the philanthropic mission, which you can promote through logos and an online presence.” Figeroa said securing monetary donations was the biggest challenge in the competition. Figeroa is one of eight seniors selected to lead as a team chief operating officer, and he was confident

that his staff on Team Duality will win Wolffest attendees over with its fusion menu. CEO Jennie Hemphill packed heat, bringing her family barbeque grill and all-female team, Blazing Saddles, which planned to burn the competition with its all-meat menu. “When we first began, we had a training session on how to get sponsors and that prepared everybody,” Hemphill said. The training did not equip Figeroa and Hemphill for the surprises down the road. During the great sponsorship hunt, Hemphill discovered that a sponsor was endorsing another team. She and the other CEO tried to make a deal, but it failed; both teams lost the support of a big name. Figeroa, who has more than seven years of experience and connections in the bar industry, could not have anticipated having two of his sponsors fall though due to medical emergencies. “I thought that I had everything connected. I had all my ‘i’s dotted and what not, but then it all started crumbling,” Figeroa said.

Hundreds of students filtered through Butler Plaza Tuesday afternoon in order to buy food from the numerous booths that came to UH through Wolff Center students. | Justin Tijerina/The Daily Cougar Since the clock is always ticking, many creative ideas didn’t make the schedule. “We wanted to bring some sort

2 \\ Wednesday, April 9, 2014

THE DAILY COUGAR

NEWS

SPRING SPECIALS WOLFFEST

The three-day event of Wolffest will end Thursday. | Justin Tijerina/The Daily Cougar

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some of those ideas were actually not as feasible,” said Cooguh CFO Johnathan Cohen-Kurzroc. Both students spoke about the impact of collective responsibility and leading with an open mind. “Pretty much on my team we are all equal … I’m not going to be a micromanager, and I told everybody that their ideas are valid,” Hemphill said. “I really haven’t had to strike any ideas down. Everyone has really put in their full effort in putting this together.” Before executing their business plans, each CEO had to assemble a team. They first recruited seniors and then held the junior draft. The seniors were selected a month before the juniors entered the program. “I couldn’t have picked a better group,” said Cooguh CEO Sammy Emerson. “They have made me look great.” Emerson and Cohen-Kurzrock, who were on the same Wolffest team as juniors, said Cooguh has a diverse team dynamic. “What makes our team different is that we all have different strengths … everybody compliments the next

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person,” Emerson said. Figeroa admitted to doing a bit of social media surveillance before recruiting staff. He was interested in Houston natives with useful connections in the community, especially family members with ties to the restaurant industry. Although Butler Plaza is where the main attraction took place, the journey has been the real learning experience. “I’ve already learned so much through this process just by approaching people and trying to get sponsorship,” Emerson said. “A lot of things that you wouldn’t get just sitting in a classroom.” During the months prior to the event, the students must handle marketing, accounting and development without help from the WCE’s mentors, who have made the program nationally recognized. On game day, teams focus on cooking and serving. Since its introduction to UH students in 2002, Wolffest has improved every year for the participants and the attendees. “I think we’re going to see a lot of great things at Wolffest this year. A lot of exciting booths that haven’t been done before,” Cohen-Kurzrock said.

Copy editing Trey Strange

Copy chief David Bryant

Closing editors

Channler K. Hill, Jenae Sitzes

ABOUT THE COUGAR The Daily Cougar is published Monday through Thursday during the fall and spring semesters, and Wednesdays during the summer and online at thedailycougar. com. The Daily Cougar is supported in part by Student Service Fees. The first copy is free. Additional copies cost 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 tips and story ideas to the editors. Call (713) 743-5314, e-mail news@ thedailycougar.com. A “Submit news” form is available at thedailycougar.com. COPYRIGHT No part of the newspaper in print or online may be reproduced without the consent of the director of Student Publications. The Daily Cougar is a member of the Associated Collegiate Press. studentpress.org/acp

Wednesday, April 9, 2014 // 3

THE DAILY COUGAR

NEWS

EDITOR Amanda Hilow EMAIL news@thedailycougar.com ONLINE thedailycougar.com/news

BOARD

Q &A

continued from page 1

Professor breaks down responsibility, wrongs JOSEPH SANDERS

Though Sanders’ area of study suggests his early career took place in the courtroom, almost all of his work has been scholarly in nature — for reference, his 17-page list of publications is available on the UH Law Center faculty site. Having received his J.D. and his PhD in Sociology from Northwestern University, Sanders has been a part of the UH Law Center for 31 years. Sanders teaches courses in law and society, products and liability, scientific evidence and torts, which have been the subject of much of his professional academic studies.

The Daily Cougar: Starting out, what is a basic, elementary description of torts? Joseph Sanders: Civil wrongs. They’re

best defined as things everybody knows about — like, if you sue somebody for running their car into you, or if you sue a company because they built a product that was defective and it hurt you. If you sue your doctor because he doesn’t take care of you … All of those are torts. You’re asking somebody for money because they hurt you in some way, but it wasn’t criminal. It was a wrong, but it’s not a crime.

TDC: Have your studies been conducted solely within the U.S.? JS: Let me tell you a little about my re-

search. The most interesting thing I’ve (done) … Me and a colleague of mine, Lee Hamilton, a social scientist, we were trying to decide what the determinants of making somebody responsible. (We asked ourselves) how we make somebody responsible. So we did some research on how people make decisions in responsibility and what factors go into that. The heart of the research went into the degree in what people think about the determining factors that go into assigning responsibility. (When it comes to causing harm,) tripping and falling is being in a very different mental state than punching somebody in the nose. We started out the study in Detroit, and later on we did three more in Yokohama, Japan; Washington, D.C.; and Moscow. We had a survey … and different test subjects heard different stories, so we could compare the answers of the people that heard Story A with the answers of the people that heard Story B.

TDC: What did the study determine?

JS: Well, this study was all about wrong-

doing, everyday life kind of situations. We picked Japan because everybody thinks that Japanese society is much less about self and much more about community, whereas America is thought of as a much more individualistic society. We thought that the wrongdoing in America was much more (determined) by the deed, and wrongdoing in Japan was much more determined by the relationships you had with those that you wronged.

Turns out, we were right.

TDC: And what happened in Mos-

cow?

JS: Well, here was a country that had been

a communist country for 60 or 70 years. So, we asked ourselves, “What is communism? Is it really communism?” Turns out, the Russians look like us. Or, they look … (less than) midway between us and the Japanese. That society might’ve been communist in the sense of evening out economics, but in the sense of “self” … Russians look much more like us than they do the Japanese. It showed us that communism is much different than a truly communal culture — maybe that’s why it never took hold that well. That’s the issue that’s probably interested me most as an academic — the attribution of responsibility.

TDC: Was that study something that affected how you approached social science for the rest of your career? JS: Oh, absolutely. One of the interesting

things about tort justice is … Causation alone should not be enough to imply responsibility. (In a study), we used SurveyMonkey and we asked people to assess whether a person has done something wrong, and we got interested in it. In our (situations we gave the subject), people were assigning responsibility in cases when, as far as we could see, the person had done nothing wrong other than having caused a harm. I think the final story we used was that a guy riding on a bicycle ran into another guy riding a bicycle because the first guy, the “runner-into,” had a blowout because of an unforeseen thing in the road that blew out his tire. Doesn’t that sound innocent to you? Yet, there were some people who still held him responsible. We went under this huge effort to create this scenario where the person having caused the harm was not responsible. For the full interview, visit thedailycougar. com/news — Interview conducted by Cara Smith

Formed in late 2013, the board includes loyal alumni and longtime supporters of the University. BoV members represent an array of expertise, interests and connections. They are appointed to serve three-year terms as ambassadors and advisers for the University. “This board is incredibly important because it brings people together who are connected to UH, but these connections are in the community rather than on campus,” said board member Nelda Luce Blair in a UH press release. “As board members, we have the opportunity to further the connection between the University and the community.” The 46-member board is dedicated to enhancing the University’s presence in the city of Houston and beyond. Nonetheless, the board serves in an advisory capacity, as it provides strategic counsel to Khator and her cabinet. The BoV conducted its inaugural meeting in December 2013 and recently gathered for an on-campus

workshop to share thoughts on how UH can bolster its position as a partner to the city. Members are engaged in focus areas related to promotion of the University’s image and pride points. Part of their message includes opening doors for strategic partnerships in the business sector and greater public and private community, s t u d e nt s u ccess, including access to mentorships and internships and job oppor- Blair tunities, among others. “As a university, we are committed to helping Houston continue to prosper and, in turn, we deeply appreciate the support we receive from the community,” Khator said in a UH press release. “Our new Board of Visitors will allow us to expand and enhance that mutually beneficial relationship. I am extremely impressed by the caliber of those who have agreed to serve and equally grateful for their dedication.” news@thedailycougar.com

4 \\ Wednesday, April 9, 2014

THE DAILY COUGAR

OPINION

EDITOR James Wang EMAIL opinion@thedailycougar.com ONLINE thedailycougar.com/opinion

STUDENT LIFE

UH must play bigger role in stopping sexual assault

n the United States, April marks the beginning of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. This month is dedicated because sexual assault is an issue at large in society. The Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network reports that every two minutes, someone is sexually assaulted. The prevaJulie lence of sexual Nguyen assaults on campus appears to be low. They are rarely on crime reports, and students such as history junior Matthew Wiltshier are unaware of the issue as a whole. “I don’t know how prevalent sexual assault is on this campus,” Wiltshier said. “I don’t know how prevalent it is relative to society at large.” According to the Annual Crime Report released by the University’s Department of Public Safety, there have been 11 reported sexual assault cases in the past three years on campus. While this seems like a low number, it does not mean we can take the issue lightly or forget that a large majority of sexual assault cases go unreported. The University’s Sexual Misconduct Policy defines sexual activity as any intercourse that involves vaginal penetration, anal penetration, oral copulation or any intentional contact with the breasts, buttocks, groin or genitals. It can be touching another with any of those body parts, making another touch the victim or themselves with any of those body parts or any intentional bodily contact in a sexual manner, whether or not those body parts are included. As for sexual misconduct, it is any nonconsensual sexual activity or unwelcome behavior of a sexual nature. This includes sexual assault, sexual exploitation, sexual intimidation, sexual harassment, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking. It can be committed by men or women and can occur between people of the same or opposite sexes. It’s often believed that sexual

misconduct will be inflicted by someone unknown to the victim. However, according to Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, approximately two-thirds of assaults are committed by someone the victim knows and 38 percent of rapists are a friend or acquaintance. UH enforces an affirmative consent policy — there has to be an active, affirmative willingness to participate in a particular sexual activity. A mere absence of “no” would violate this policy. Despite what many have argued in the past, silence or lack of protest is not equal to showing consent. Consent can be expressed through either words or actions, as long as there is a mutual understanding of consent. Consent does not need to be verbal, but speech is the most reliable form of obtaining it. Past or current involvement in a sexual relationship with your attacker is never a substitute for consent. The responsibility for getting consent falls on the person who initiates the sexual activity. This shifts the blame from the victim to the perpetrator, an important step in turning rape culture on its head. Instead of asking the victim questions like “did you scream loud enough” or “were you wearing provocative clothing,” it asks the perpetrator “did you get consent” or “did they say yes to the sexual activity.” “I don’t think a lot of people know we have an affirmative consent standard. However, if we’re going to hold people to that standard, they need to know what it is,” said Beverly McPhail, director of the Women’s Resource Center. McPhail holds a presentation about sexual assault and how to get consent, as well as many other resources, but they are often underutilized since no one is concerned enough to seek her out. The Sexual Misconduct Policy itself is 20 pages long, but there are plans to break it up and make it easier to read. Jyl Shaffer, an equal opportunity specialist for the University, is part of

THE DAILY COUGAR EDITORIAL BOARD Channler K. Hill Natalie Harms WEB EDITOR Jenae Sitzes NEWS EDITOR Amanda Hilow SPORTS EDITOR Christopher Shelton LIFE & ARTS EDITOR Monica Tso PHOTO EDITOR Izmail Glosson OPINION EDITOR James Wang ASSISTANT EDITORS Laura Gillespie, Nora Olabi, Justin Tijerina, Andrew Valderas EDITOR IN CHIEF

MANAGING EDITOR

David Delgado/ The Daily Cougar the team in charge of this. The policy will be broken up into paragraphs and bullet points with easier readability and less jargon. Last year, Equal Opportunity Services launched coogsgetconsent. org. The website is dedicated to spreading sexual assault awareness and educating its visitors on how to get consent and help prevent sexual assault. The website is young but filled with resources and is open to any criticisms students may have involving content or navigation. “What we are building is a model of what I hope other institutions will be doing,” Shaffer said. This summer, EOS will discuss plans for a sex education orientation for incoming freshmen. “Let’s do this right and be the best, not just the minimum. If we do it right, we want other campuses to be able to take it and use it,” Shaffer said. The policy was written with students’ input and is one of the best and most comprehensive in the

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

nation, but we need more training for staff, faculty and students. At least UH’s policy is superior to that of an Ivy League school like Harvard, which has no mention of affirmative consent and little mention of consent in general. On March 31, the Harvard Crimson published an anonymous op-ed from a student who was sexually harassed and was disappointed at the inaction taken as a result of the outdated sexual assault policy. The next day, the Crimson published that Harvard’s Undergraduate Council is working on a more comprehensive policy. Sexual assault doesn’t get enough coverage for an issue with heavy consequences. The University needs to push out this information more and have every student exposed to it, not just the ones who are already actively seeking it. Director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Resource Center Lorraine Schroeder said bringing awareness to sexual assault

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 N221, University Center; 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. GUEST COMMENTARY Submissions are accepted from any member of the UH community and must

is imperative. “I especially think it’s important for us to have some sort of mandatory education about it for incoming students,” Shroeder said. “Universities may have a concern that we’ll scare people, but given the facts, I think it’s more important that we inform people.” The exposure campaign is already beginning to work. Liberal arts junior Marylu Lopez experienced a prototype version of the University’s sexual education during her orientation. “I thought it was very useful and at first, no one really liked to talk about it, but it was really helpful and informative,” Lopez said. “Something is better than nothing.” More can still be done. Victims and those who support them: your voice is important. Let it be heard. Hold your University accountable. You have that right. Opinion columnist Julie Nguyen is a communications junior and may be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com

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 limited to 500 words. Guest commentaries should not be written as replies, but rather should present independent points of view. Deliver submissions to N221, University Center; e-mail them to letters@ thedailycougar.com; or fax them to (713) 743-5384. All submissions are subject to editing.

Wednesday, April 9, 2014 // 5

THE DAILY COUGAR

SPORTS

EDITOR Christopher Shelton EMAIL sports@thedailycougar.com ONLINE thedailycougar.com/sports

BASKETBALL

Sampson adds son to staff as an assistant The Daily Cougar news services Kellen Sampson has joined the UH men’s basketball coaching staff as an assistant coach. It will be the first time that Kellen has worked for his father, Kelvin, as a full-time assistant coach. He will assist in all aspects of the program. “Kellen is extremely organized and extremely disciplined. He has a great way about him with the players and builds relationships. The city and University community, players, coaches and staff will enjoy him because of his personality. He has a bright future in this business,” Kelvin said. “One of my great memories of coaching Oklahoma was coaching Kellen, and this is an opportunity to reunite. The father-son issue is there, but I could not have hired a better upand-coming young coach than Kellen.” O’Korn adds coaching to resume UH sophomore quarterback John O’Korn was selected as a staff member for this summer’s Manning Passing Academy, run by legendary NFL and Ole Miss quarterback Archie Manning and his sons Cooper, Peyton and Eli. The camp will be held on the Nicholls State University campus in Thibodeaux, La., and runs from July 10 to 13. O’Korn led all true freshmen in 2013 with 28 passing touchdowns and was second in the American, regardless of class, behind Louisville’s Teddy Bridgewater’s 31. “I look forward to being able to learn from the Mannings and my fellow counselors while hopefully imparting my knowledge on the event’s campers,” O’Korn said. Kordolaimi earns weekly award Junior Elena Kordolaimi has been named American Athletic Conference Player of the Week for the second time in the last three weeks after posting a strong showing Sunday against No. 31 DePaul. No. 27 UH now leads the conference in spring Player of the Week awards with five. It also has taken home three of the last four weekly league honors. Freshman Despoina Vogasari has been Player of the Week three times and Kordolaimi has won it twice. Kordolaimi guided the Cougars to a win against No. 31 DePaul last Sunday. She earned her first win against a ranked opponent this season by defeating No. 125 Patricia Fargas in a thrilling three-set match. sports@thedailycougar.com

The Cougars need to add starters and replenish their depth after losing four experienced players from last season. | File photo/The Daily Cougar

POSITION ANALYSIS

Line adjusts to new coach, offseason losses Jordan Lewis Senior staff writer

With the Cougars nearing their last practice before their Friday spring game, the offensive line has been working to gain chemistry after an offseason full of change. This offseason UH had to replace four players and position coach Glen Elarbee. New offensive line coach Gordy Shaw and his squad are hoping to make an immediate impact in the Cougars’ running game. The offensive linemen said they have quickly come to respect their new coach, who has come in eager to

learn and teach at the same time. UH’s no-huddle offense has been a learning process for Shaw even after 34 years of coaching, but the linemen have been receptive to what he’s implementing. “(He’s) putting in a bunch of new kinds of schemes, and we really like it, and I think he’s really coaching us in a way a lot of the guys really enjoy,” said senior offensive lineman Rowdy Harper. Although UH lost former linemen DeAnthony Sims, Kevin Forsch, Ralph Orwagwu and Ty Cloud, it is optimistic about the opportunity to build new chemistry with some key returners and new faces. Shaw said that, with many

inexperienced players on the offensive line, patience is key. The returning starters — including Harper, senior center Bryce Redman and junior offensive lineman Zach Johnson, who emerged last season as a dependable option when the Cougars struggled through injuries — will be expected to mesh with a group of 10 competing to fill the remaining two spots. But UH is adding more competition in May. Hawaii junior right guard Ben Dew has transferred and will join the team during the summer. Shaw said he is aware of the inconsistency it may bring — which they

hope to filter out — but wants the linemen to focus on playing within themselves and to move on from previous mistakes in a play. “That’s the wonderful thing about football is that it teaches you, ‘If you get knocked down, get back up and go again,’” Shaw said. The Cougars compete hard in practice every day and know the more they play together, the easier it is to pick things up, Harper said. “(Shaw’s) an easy guy to buy into, and you can tell that he knows what he’s talking about,” Harper said. sports@thedailycougar.com

6 \\ Wednesday, April 9, 2014

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SCIENCE FICTION: First came the physical changes, spread by viruses carrying recombinant DNA. Then came the memories. WONDERS AND TRAGEDIES, a science fiction novel, is by Alan Kovski. Available via Amazon. com SCIENCE FICTION: A wilderness may be prowled by creatures of the forest. Or it may be urban, highly cultured, and just as deadly. WILDERNESS, a science fiction novel, is by Alan Kovski. Available via Amazon.com SCIENCE FICTION: Stolen memories, dangerous dreams, collapsing societies, lost souls, engineered life, our world transformed. REMEMBERING THE FUTURE: science fiction stories by Alan Kovski. Available via Amazon.com THANKS for reading The Daily Cougar!

ACROSS 1 Daisylike fall flower 6 Antony of antiquity 10 Cookbook amt. 13 “___ on you!” 14 Musical medley 15 Guitar bar 16 Northern carnivore 18 Muslim leader 19 Slow the progress of 20 Christmas toymaker 21 Big brother of 10-Across 22 Floppy, compact and others 24 Figures of speech 26 Used a rocker 29 Placekicker’s prop 30 Military mix-up 31 Swamp thing? 33 Aquarium organism 35 Feathered friends 38 Bullets, briefly 39 Bluish greens

41 Cork’s country 42 “Mea culpa,” in slang 44 Yawninducing 45 Fishline hangup 46 Accident mementos 48 Classic TV’s “The ___ Squad” 50 Psych 101 subject 51 Wheezing cause 53 Like some wars 55 Period of economic growth 56 An ideal, in Chinese philosophy 58 Gradually develop 62 Sicilian gusher 63 It may be blowin’ in the wind 65 What happened next 66 Showstopper for a diva 67 Pool table material 68 Ship emergency letters

69 Diplomatic necessity 70 Big name in chicken DOWN 1 Piedmont wine city 2 It just fills up space 3 Use the flat part of the shovel 4 Fix firmly in place 5 Make additional revisions 6 Cut the grass 7 Succulents for lotions 8 Brooklet 9 Dracula’s bed 10 Percussion instrument 11 Involuntary muscle contraction 12 Splendid displays 15 Urbanizes 17 Usher elsewhere 23 Famous peeps 25 Brylcreem amount 26 Cheat out of money 27 Their

Puzzle answers online: www.thedailycougar.com/puzzles

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mascot is a mule 28 Cemetery fixtures 30 Deli meat 32 Carriage driver 34 Guy’s hoedown counterpart 36 Wind resistance 37 Showy lily 40 Digger’s tool 43 Certain water blocker 47 Snare drum sounds 49 Sell off stocks 51 Assists in a bad way 52 Bantu language group 53 One with gags 54 In a humble manner 57 Indefinable surrounding 59 Meadowlands 60 Governor’s nix 61 Biblical paradise 64 Flying mammal

Wednesday, April 9, 2014 // 7

THE DAILY COUGAR

LIFE & ARTS

EDITOR Monica Tso EMAIL arts@thedailycougar.com ONLINE thedailycougar.com/life-arts

BOOKS

Professor writes poetry on hustling past BoJanay Posey Staff writer

David Tomas Martinez prefers to take a front-row seat in his English composition class the first day of the semester. He’ll arrive early and, when the time for class to start comes and goes, he’ll rant with his desk-mates. “Man, is the professor going to come?” they’ll say. Martinez will nod and say, “Yeah, what a jerk.” “What kind of professor is he?” they’ll say. Then, Martinez will stand to face the class, exposing his ink-laced arms and — if one peers long enough — the peeking ink just above his collar. “I do all kinds of tricks the very first day,” Martinez said, smiling. “One, I’m Chicano. They don’t expect a brown person to come in the beginning of the class, nor do they expect one who’s 6’1” and fully sleeved.” Martinez is a teacher and creative writing doctoral candidate at UH. His book “Hustle” will be available May 15. “Hustle” is a collection of narratively written poems about Martinez’s past. Martinez was a gang member, a teenage father and a high school dropout. He said in showing so much of his past and thoughts, he hopes he can induce his readers to consider the perspective of others so people can be

English composition professor David Martinez is publishing his first book, “Hustle,” that discusses humanity and his past. | Courtesy of David Martinez more accepting. “Most people see (someone like me, and) they write them off, and they don’t give people a chance. Some of the smartest people I know are people I grew up with,” Martinez said. “They grew up to be drug dealers, pimps, murders. They grew up to be these things because that was kind of like what they perceived to be the available route. Growing up, people thought you needed to be a rapper, athlete or

some sort of gangster.” Martinez said if it wasn’t for poetry, he would not be a year away from becoming Dr. Martinez. But to understand how he’s becoming Dr. Martinez while some others are pimps or drug dealers, it takes looking at the external factors that partially create a person’s actions, feelings and thoughts. “Things are complicated. Our life is complicated. We can’t just brush

over them and say, ‘Well, you know, Mexicans like to drink.’ These are silly answers and they’re stupid answers. And they’re not answers that I will accept, and I won’t, because things are complicated,” Martinez said. “We have so many divergent reasons for actions. The more that you get people thinking about others and themselves, the better the world will be.” Martinez said his own perception of himself posed a conflict in his life. When Martinez began attending UH in 2010 as one of four doctoral candidates, he would wonder why he felt out of place. “We can be racist against ourselves. We can hold ourselves back because that little voice gets to talking to you and be like, ‘You’re a poor kid from southeast San Diego. You can’t run with these dogs.’ We sometimes think that in our weak moments.” Martinez said he continually asked himself how his age, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, community and other factors contributed to how he and others perceive him and also how he perceived others. He said once people realize that they each have certain beliefs, they can’t just accept them as they are. “Maybe it’s misogynistic. Maybe it’s homophobic. Maybe it’s racist. Maybe

it’s all of these things,” Martinez said. “We all have these prejudices, and I think it’s a huge discordance to not talk about them.” Martinez writes about prejudices, classism, sexism and stereotypes in “Hustle” and his other writings, which have been published in San Diego Writer’s Ink, Charlotte Journal, Poetry International and Border Voices. He even talks about prejudices and perspectives with his students. “If I can start to begin to make (my students) autonomous thinkers,” Martinez said, “where they’re thinking on their own, separate from their parents, separate from their partners and spouses, separate from community, separate from their ethicality or gender or anything like that — if I can begin to do that, then that’s the greatest service I can give these students.” arts@thedailycougar.com

READ IT Martinez will read from “Hustle” at the Houston Book Festival on May 11 and 12 and at Brazos Bookstore on May 19. “Hustle” can be pre-ordered from Sarabande Books.

EVENTS

Interdisciplinary arts festival to amplify community KAREN FARBER

Executive director of the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center of the Arts

experimental aesthetic for which we are known.

Q: How have UH students, faculty,

staff and alumni come together in this year’s festival?

Q: What was the inspiration behind

creating the CounterCurrent Festival?

CounterCurrent will highlight music, film, literature and dance from Wednesday to Sunday. | Courtesy of Nicole Romano Zoe Quezada Contributing writer

The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center of the Arts is presenting its first CounterCurrent Festival, featuring artists from around the world, as well as UH students and faculty, with new interdisciplinary art. Performances will include elements of visual art, music, film, theatre, dance and literature. The festival will run for five days from Wednesday through Sunday, and all events are free and open to the public. “This festival is all about collaboration and will transform Houston

into a hotbed of creative activity. It is my hope to create a groundbreaking event in the same genre of the first-class arts festivals around the world, from Europe to Mexico City; New York to Portland,” said Executive Director Karen Farber. “CounterCurrent is about amplifying Houston’s communities, cityscapes, industries and institutions through works developed outside and within Houston’s borders.” Farber spoke with The Daily Cougar about the upcoming arts event. arts@thedailycougar.com

A: The festival’s name, CounterCurrent, plays on the idea of the present moment, as well as a desire to challenge the status quo and present something “counter” to the mainstream. We also wanted a name that related to the energy industry — the image of the spark of an electrical current was the perfect one for our festival. Disciplines crossing one another are always present in what we do. This will be an annual citywide and campuswide event. Q: Tell me about the University’s in-

volvement in the planning and production of CounterCurrent.

A: Houston has never hosted this kind of contemporary art festival. Houston’s pioneering spirit and embracing of all things new and innovative are fundamental to CounterCurrent’s mission. We hope to build new audiences for the arts and particularly for contemporary performance by making this festival a fun and accessible experience for everyone, while also maintaining the

A: The Mitchell Center functions as a hub among the performing visual and literary arts at UH, and students and faculty from those units have been deeply involved in the development of the festival. UH faculty members Abinadi Meza, Patrick Peters, Cheryl Beckett, Lacy Johnson and others have work in the festival. Students from the College of Architecture, School of Art and the Mitchell Center’s IART program are also featured. We are thrilled to present work from the UH community within this national and international context. Q: What do you feel is unique about CounterCurrent?

A: For CounterCurrent, we chose artists whose work is interdisciplinary, exciting and thoughtful. We ask artists to develop new works that are truly connected to our local environment: the cityscapes, communities and industries that are part of Houston’s identity. Through this, we provide audiences with multiple points of access to the work. You don’t need to know a lot about contemporary art to experience these projects. — Interview conducted by Zoe Quezada

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