Issue 12, Volume 91

Students are concerned after Board of Regents approved housing, meal plan increases. | PG. 2

UH Board of Regents approves housing, meal plan increases

ANJALI MARTINEZ

NEWS ASSISTANT EDITOR

@ANGI3_M415

The UH System Board of Regents met on March 12 at the Hilton Hotel for its third meeting of the 2025-26 year.

Increase in student expenses

Changes to the optional and new course fees for the UH System will include increases in housing prices, meal plans and parking.

UH student housing will increase by $165 on average for the 2027 fiscal year and $164 on average for the 2028 fiscal year on a semester basis. The rate increase proposal was supported by the Student Housing and Residential Life Advisory Board.

CAMPUS

A 3.7% increase on average for the UH residential meal plan and a 3.2% increase on average for the commuter meal plan will take place for fiscal year 2027.

UH Clear Lake will have a $100 increase on average in the declining balance plan for FY27. These rate proposals are supported by the Food Service and Advisory Committee.

UH parking fees will also change based on tier level. For Tier 1 and 2 parking there will be no change in FY27 and a change of 2.9% and 1.4% in Tiers 1 and 2 respectively for FY28.

Tier 3 parking will see a 2.9% and 2.8% change in FY27 and FY28. Tier 3 which is noted to hold 75% of the UH parking waitlist for its respective zones will see a 9% change for FY27 and an 8.6% change for

FY28.

Additionally, UHCL will establish course fees for the introduction of a new academic program.

UHCL will implement a course fee from $50 to $150 a semester to support a new set of courses under the undergraduate aerospace engineering program to help support materials and equipment.

Academics

The board approved the implementation of four new academic programs within the business and engineering disciplines.

UH Downtown will have a Bachelors of Business Administration in Business Intelligence which is cited to meet both local and national workforce needs and will not overlap with any existing

programs. Additionally, UH Downtown will have an Entrepreneurship and Family Business program.

UH will create two degrees, one for undergraduate and graduate students, which are named interdisciplinary.

The Bachelors of Science in multidisciplinary engineering will allow students to stack credentials across different engineering concentrations, providing a wide range of studies.

The Master of Engineering also allows students to put together options that range from different certificates, courses and a required capstone project.

The board plans on focusing these degrees within the UH Katy campus.

news@thedailycougar.com

Students express concerns about rising housing, parking fees

ANJALI MARTINEZ

NEWS ASSISTANT EDITOR

@ANGI3_M415

UH students are voicing concerns following the UH System Board of Regents’ approval of increased costs for housing, parking and meal plans.

Many students cited rising housing costs as a primary factor in their decision to not opt for on-campus housing, saying they believe they can secure better options off campus.

“I’m already looking at options off campus for my upperclassman years because it costs just as much, if not cheaper, with more benefits to be off campus,” said chemistry freshman Kayla Maxson.

For many students living on campus

allows them to be more involved with organizations and get the most out of their college experience. However, with the price increase, these students no longer see dorming as an attainable option.

“If costs continue to rise, I no longer see dorming as a realistic or accessible option for me,” said biology freshman Elizabeth Nguyen. “Higher education should be an opportunity for growth and connection, not a financial burden.”

Parking costs were also a key concern for commuter students, as they add financial strain for those already balancing tuition, gas and other expenses.

“Parking passes are unaffordable and do not help my current financial situation,” said strategic communications junior Elisa

Mulla.

As costs are expected to rise, students believe that affordability will remain a key factor in their ability to remain enrolled at UH.

Accounting senior Juan Gonzalez Diaz spoke at the BOR meeting and voiced concerns over the University’s financial decisions.

The increased pricing limits UH’s ability to keep education accessible and affordable, Diaz said.

“Housing rates are rising with no apparent increase in security,” Diaz said. “The board’s reasoning was inflation, but there was no concern for student safety and affordability.”

news@thedailycougar.com

UH to comply with ICE as campus access rules change

KAREN WEI

NEWS ASSISTANT EDITOR

@KAREN_FEIWEI

In Jan. 2025, the Department of Homeland Security issued a statement declaring that university campuses are

no longer off-limits to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

UH will comply with the law on all matters related to ICE, said the University. Current undocumented students remain eligible to attend and earn a degree from the University.

Under the Biden Administration, institutions like schools, hospitals and churches were considered sensitive areas where ICE activity was discouraged.

Although this has affected colleges nationwide, the impact is especially pronounced in Texas. Daily ICE arrests in Texas have jumped from an average of 85 per day during the final 18 months of the Biden Administration to 176 per day in the first six months under Trump, according to The Texas Tribune.

Houston, in particular, has been the target of sweeping immigration raids.

In May of last year, ICE reported that it deported more than 500 people and arrested more than 400 suspected

undocumented immigrants in and around the city in roughly one week.

Last October, they arrested more than 1,500 undocumented immigrants over the course of 10 days, said ICE.

Student groups like the UH Young Democratic Socialists of America and Students for Justice in Palestine continue to call on UH to act as a sanctuary campus but their efforts have largely failed to gain traction.

Local police departments are required by Texas state law to support ICE operations. Similar demands have been issued unsuccessfully by students at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of North Carolina Asheville.

Texas A&M University and the University of Texas at Arlington posted guides on immigration enforcement. A similar webpage run by UH has since been removed, and the University has stated that it will provide no further guidance on this matter.

As a result, ICE can now enter public areas of universities without a warrant, but federal immigration enforcement officers must obtain permission from an authorized campus official to access nonpublic areas of campus.

Institutional employees are not required to grant access, provide documents or assist federal immigration officers in entering nonpublic areas of the campus.

To enter private areas on campus, ICE must present a warrant signed by a judge, distinct from simply an immigration warrant, which is not sufficient.

Students do not have to open the door to private areas on campus, like dorms, without being presented with a judicial warrant. Students are also entitled to remain silent, refrain from signing any documents and record or photograph the encounter.

news@thedailycougar.com

UH lighting project nears completion but students are dissatisfied

CELENE BOURESLAN

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

@CELENE_BOURESLAN

Students are voicing concerns about the lack of lighting on campus, particularly in residential areas and parking lots, where they feel the lighting assets are sparse.

This issue has reignited distrust of the University’s safety initiatives, primarily the Campus Lighting and Security Project, with some saying they are not seeing greater lighting on campus.

“I think between now and last year, the lighting has looked similar,” said nutrition senior E’mohni Ward. “It’s still very dark in student residential and parking areas.”

On Feb. 21, 2025, the University reported that the UH System Board of Regents approved Phase Two of the lighting project.

While the project’s budget was previously reported as $18 million, the University has since confirmed the total

allocation at $21 million.

“The University’s $21 million campus lighting project is now 96% complete and nearing the finish line,” said UHPD Chief of Police Ceaser Moore. “This initiative represents a major investment in the safety, visibility and overall campus experience for our students, faculty and staff.”

The regents are working with UHPD and UH administration to add at least 400 lighting assets across eight zones on campus:

• Lighting in student housing lots 3A, 3B, 4A and 6A.

• Additional lighting in other nonresidential parking lots, including lots 12A, 15H, 16B/C/D/ E/F and 21A/B.

All assets of the lighting project were initially scheduled for completion by winter 2025. As of now, 387 lights have been installed on campus.

Some students believe the University

is not prioritizing increased lighting compared with other campus initiatives.

“The University is doing a lot more campus projects, like the Centennial project and it’s good to do those initiatives,” said biochemistry sophomore Nima Naghavi. “But at the same time, I feel some issues on campus need to be prioritized more, like the lack of lighting.”

Installation of the final 13 lighting assets was delayed because of two factors, said senior associate vice president of facilities and construction management David Oliver:

• Unexpected underground issues that required careful mapping and removal methods.

• Based on campus feedback, the University adjusted the project schedule to keep fewer parking lots closed at the same time.

The University is working to resolve these issues as quickly as possible to improve campus lighting in the long

term, Oliver said.

“The campus security lighting project is now in its final stages. The remaining lighting assets, along with upgraded surveillance cameras and emergency call stations, are being completed under this modified schedule to ensure the least amount of disruption possible while delivering long-term safety enhancements for our campus community,” Oliver said.

Some students have pointed to the disparity between the amount UH has invested in improving lighting assets and the number of additional lights installed.

Students said they are frustrated because they believe the money they are paying to attend the University is not being used to address missing lighting assets.

“I’m frustrated that they assume we’ll naively accept their excuses for not adding more lights, like claiming it’s an ‘underground issue’ that prevents installing poles, when we’ve already given them so much funding to address problems like this,” Ward said.

Students believe the lack of lighting makes them feel unsafe on campus, particularly when walking to their residential areas.

“Walking back to my residence hall is very scary and uneasy as a girl,” said management information systems sophomore Asahbi Olaniyan. “Especially since some of us have no other option than to walk in the dark.”

Students are afraid of walking back to their cars, which also heightens their fear of commuting to and from campus.

“We shouldn’t be afraid to walk to our cars alone, but that’s what I feel every single day,” said atmospheric science junior Virginia Davis. “UH has created a culture of fear and that harms how we view this campus.”

news@thedailycougar.com

sports

Tournament recap: Houston beat BYU, Kansas before falling to Arizona

MICAH CLAY SPORTS EDITOR

@MC_5ONE

The Big 12 features many elite teams, including No. 3 Arizona, No. 7 Iowa State and No. 5 Houston among the top 10 teams in the country.

The Houston Cougars went to Kansas City, Mo., and tried to battle for the No. 1 seed in the Big 12. Cougars defeated BYU 73-66 in the quarterfinals, took care of Kansas 69-47 in the semifinals but fell short against Arizona 79-74.

Quarterfinals: Houston vs BYU

In the quarterfinals, Houston faced off against BYU and narrowly won 73-66 to advance to the semifinals.

In the first half, the Cougars struggled to stop BYU from scoring and trailed 41-37 by halftime. Although Houston was consistently scoring, BYU’s offense was explosive early on, as two players combined for 28 of the 41 points.

Additionally, Houston only shot 14 percent behind the arc compared to BYU’s 63 percent from the three-point line. However, Houston came out strong to start the second half.

In the second half, the Cougars kept the game close, only trailing by two points. Both teams went back and forth, vying for a spot in the next round of the tournament. Although the game was close, Houston kept their momentum and never let BYU regain the lead winning 73-66.

Freshman guard Kingston Flemings was on fire with a team-high 17 points, two steals and three assists. Additionally, junior forward Joseph Tugler was the defensive pillar for the Cougars in the game, recording eight rebounds and two blocks.

Semifinals: Houston vs Kansas

In the semifinals, Houston battled against the Kansas Jayhawks and won to advance to

the finals.

In the first half, Houston controlled the game from the start and gave the Jayhawks no time to react. The Cougars shut down Kansas’ stars, consistently scored on offense and remained calm through the storm.

However, in the late minutes of the half, Kansas quickly came back and made the game close. Houston kept the lead to end the half, 33-25. Freshman forward Chris Cenac Jr. would be the star on offense in the first half, with 15 points and 75 percent behind the arc.

At the start of the second half, Houston continued where they left off, shutting down the Jayhawks and giving them no space to breathe. Kansas went over nine minutes without a field goal, while Houston went on an 11-0 run over five minutes in the half.

Ultimately, the Cougars never let off the gas and won 69-47. Flemings would again have a team-high 21 points while Cenac trailed with

17 points and 14 rebounds.

Finals: Houston vs Arizona

In the finals, Arizona dominated Houston, winning 79-74 to capture the Big 12 Championship.

In the first half, both teams started the game hot, as they consistently scored and dominated on offense. However, Arizona started dominating on defense and eliminated the Cougars’ offensive players. At half, the Wildcats would boast a confident lead of 44-36.

After halftime, Arizona gave Houston a taste of its own medicine, keeping the Cougars from scoring at an elite level and eliminating their ability to score.

Later on in the game, the Cougars kept the score close and had an opportunity to take the lead from the Wildcats. However, Arizona kept their foot on the gas, leading confidently

against the Cougars and winning 79-74. Tugler would go on to have a double-double, with a season-high 20 points and 10 rebounds.

What’s Next?

Although Houston didn’t win the Big 12 Conference tournament, the Cougars still showcased a strong team. With a top-five defense and consistent scorers like Flemings and senior guard Emanuel Sharp, Houston can make a deep run in the NCAA tournament. Additionally, Houston was selected as the No. 2 seed in the South region in the tournament on March 15. With a few adjustments and mistakes to clean up, Houston has a chance to go all the way to the national championships and hoist up the trophy.

sports@thedailycougar.com

SOFTBALL

Houston falls to Texas State 12-8

DAVID SOTO STAFF WRITER

@SMIRRRRK

On March 17 at the Cougars Softball Stadium, UH Cougars were looking to score a win against their intrastate competitors, the Texas State Bobcats, to add to their 17 total wins against them.

Instead, they added what amounted to their fifteenth loss against the Bobcats in what was a pretty close game in which Texas State scored most of their runs early, leaving the Cougars to play catch-up for most of the game. Cougars came close but couldn’t seal the deal with the final score being 12-8.

The Cougars put numbers on the board first in the first inning, with junior infielder Makenna Mitchell knocking one out of the park and bringing sophomore pitcher/ infielder Maddie Hartley in with her for two scores.

In the second inning, Houston allowed Texas State to gain eight runs. It began with Bobcats’ junior infielder Kate Bubela launching a deep ball through deep center field that allowed freshman outfielder Harley Vestal to score and tie the game up at 2-2.

Senior outfielder Keely Williams then singled to allow sophomore infielder Mayson Garrett to put Texas State up 3-2.

The action for the Bobcats continued in the second inning, when senior catcher Karmyn Bass singled up the middle for two RBIs, with Hood and Williams both crossing home plate while advancing senior utility player Sydney Harvey to second base,

putting the score in the second at 5-2.

Vestal then homered to deep right field for 3 RBIs with Harvey scoring from second base and Bass scoring from first. The second inning ended with the score in favor of Texas State with a total of eight runs scored. Houston was on the ropes, but found a way in the fourth inning with neither team scoring in the third. Hartley hit a grand slam into deep center field, bringing home freshman outfielder Rylee Gardner, junior infielder Bethany Aguilar from second base and freshman outfielder Shelby Taylor from first base, putting the Cougars within reach with the score being 8-6.

The Bobcats responded in the sixth inning when Williams blasted a dinger and senior infielder Aiyana Coleman hit a hard home run to deep center field for three RBIs, allowing Harvey and Bass to score. This extended the Bobcats’ lead to 12-6 by the end of the inning.

Houston tried to catch up in the seventh inning when Mitchell again homered to right field for a solo score and sophomore catcher Savanna Luther doubled to left center, allowing sophomore infielder Madox Mitchael to score from first. Hood also scored due to a fielding error on the same play, bringing the Cougars within four runs.

The Bobcats’ pitching staff did its job, though, which ended the scoring for Houston and brought the game to a close with the final score being 12-8.

sports@thedailycougar.com

UNIVERISTY

Gender-neutral bathrooms are a necessity, not a political battleground

ALAN ZAMORA SENIOR STAFF WRITER

@ALANJZAMORA

The American cultural war isn’t just being fought in debate stages or political rallies, it has found a battleground in the most private and intimate spaces in our lives: bathrooms.

In January, Texas lawmakers imposed SB8, leading UH to lawfully comply with the restrictions, specifically removing the genderneutral bathroom in the Graduate College of Social Work.

Putting the responsibility on universities to decide or get fined lets the state get away scot-free with enforcing this ludicrous policy. Safety, on which this bill was built, applies to every individual.

Necessity

Gender-neutral bathrooms were not birthed out of laws trying to dictate social order or by affluent individuals using their money to push society in a direction; they were engineered out of necessity.

The necessity that people who do not wish to face harassment or discrimination by not adhering to arbitrary gender rules deserve a safe space just as much as any person. There were no laws that enforced places to create these spaces. There was an understanding that a growing number of people needed a space where they would not be questioned on whether they presented themselves adequately enough as men or women.

Businesses and places such as universities choose to do this so they can be valued for being supportive of individual rights and not

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being anchored to the past.

The intent in these laws has little to do with safety and more to do with lawmakers using their legislative powers to push their beliefs onto others. The elimination of genderneutral bathrooms will not stop people from choosing to identify as whichever gender they so choose.

Transgender individuals or people who don’t choose to follow the traditional gender roles of their birth sex have existed across humanity’s timespan on this earth.

It is their choice to make the decision to do so, even though they face daily harassment, stigmatism and legal repercussions that are encouraging them otherwise. Their existence is a guarantee, and the existence of gender-neutral bathrooms should likewise be definite.

Safety

The measure of the safety of a society is often dictated by how harsh the punishment is for those who transgress the law, puzzlingly, whether the populace feels free to live without being harmed is often not taken into account.

The laws enacted in SB8 adhere to this specific quality; it constitutes harsh punishments that leave many individuals, transgender or not, feeling less comfortable and safe.

Gender-neutral bathrooms were always largely an addition to spaces that had gendered bathrooms and not an outright replacement for them. At UH, the Graduate College of Social Work had the traditional two bathrooms along with the gender-neutral

bathrooms. People could choose whichever bathroom they felt most comfortable in, without feeling forced into one that didn’t match their identity.

The beauty of the design of social work bathrooms was that it was the most egalitarian and safe approach. It provided an avenue for people who felt they might be discriminated against, the option to live free of gender expectations.

People who don’t align with their traditional gender are forced into bathrooms where they are outsiders and are prone to harassment and discrimination. Likewise, cisgender people are involuntarily grouped with individuals of opposing genders in every

way but the law.

This creates a lose-lose situation where the goals of safety and privacy are substituted for strict adherence to the legislative mandates lawmakers make up.

The genesis of these laws is a roadblock for institutional freedom and civil rights, with the warrant of legislative punishment to lead it.

In 100 years, we will see these laws hold the same value to society as they currently offer, which is absolutely nothing.

opinion@thedailycougar.com

Entry-level jobs aren’t entry-level anymore for this generation

MARIA

KRYLOVA STAFF WRITER

@PAPAS_MARIARIA

In January, I applied to a technical writing internship on the University’s career services website. The company expressed interest in hiring me and sent the next steps in the application process. This included a 100 question personality test and a 45 minute assessment based on pattern recognition and basic math and language skills. I finished these tasks promptly, but was rejected days later while the job posting remains open two months later.

Stories like these are common amongst students on the job hunt. Reports show that only 30% of 2025 college graduates have found full-time jobs in their field, and it takes dozens of applications for most students to land even an internship.

The role of AI

A major reason students and recent graduates have trouble getting noticed is the rise of artificial intelligence and applicant tracking systems that screen resumes. Computers are increasingly being

used to scan resumes for specific keywords before they are passed on to hiring managers.

This means qualified candidates have to tailor their resumes to each job, or risk automatic rejection for minor wording differences.

This hyper-specific system, unsupervised by real people, significantly slows down the job-hunting process and makes mass applying ineffective.

This creates an unfair balance between employers and prospective employees; the humble applicant must create a highly personalized resume and cover letter for each job, only to receive an automated rejection email, if they get an answer at all.

Hiring manager bias

If you peek into the world of hiring managers on social media, you will find a maze of conflicting advice. It’s natural for recruiters to have different preferences as individuals.

However, there are a shocking number of arbitrary, unspoken rules irrelevant to the position that determine the jobseeker’s success.

Some claim candidates answer questions too quickly, fail to use a unique enough verb to describe themselves, appear too

confident or ask too many questions.

This means even if you get past the application process, the interview is more like a game of reading the recruiter’s mind and performing the right gimmick rather than a legitimate search for the most qualified candidate.

The personality issue

One might argue that job interviews aren’t only about the candidate’s qualifications; the recruiter must also ensure the person fits the company. However, the willingness to jump through invisible hoops is not a good test of someone’s personality, but only their level of desperation to get hired.

As of December 2025, 42.5% of recent college graduates are underemployed. When people face rejection after rejection due to minute restrictions, they eventually have to resort to any job that pays the bills, and all the time and money poured into degrees becomes meaningless.

The machine and human bias in the entry-level hiring process needs to stop before Gen Z becomes the generation of mall Santas with PhDs.

opinion@thedailycougar.com

life and arts

A look at the workers behind the Centennial Project

KAREN

WEI

@KAREN_FEIWEI

With the Centennial Project well underway, the construction workers behind the project have become a fixture on campus: in conversation with each other, toiling under the midday sun and greeting students who pass by. Here is a glimpse behind the black tarp and into their daily lives.

news@thedailycougar.com

WENDOLEE T. GARCIA MARTINEZ

EDITORIAL BOARD

ISSUE STAFF

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

The 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 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.

ABOUT THE COUGAR

The Cougar is published biweekly on Wednesdays during the fall and spring semesters and online daily at thedailycougar.com. The Cougar is supported in part by Student Service Fees. Copies of The Cougar are free.

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