THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2026 VOLUME 100 ISSUE 9
NEWS
SPORTS
OPINION
NEWS
LA VIDA
Texas Tech professors published “Sowing the West Texas Wind,” a book examining how false information spreads and affects daily life.
Grayson King, the newly elected Texas Tech student body president, discusses his plans for the upcoming year.
Lubbock Animal Services hosts several adoption events throughout the year in hopes of homing stray animals to facilitate adoptions as potential pets.
Texas Tech women’s tennis player Kate Dmitrichenko aims to return to the pro tennis scene after rekindling her love of the sport at Tech.
The Daily Toreador’s Taylor O’Shea tells students to stay consistent during the end stretch of the semester to avoid burnout and exhaustion.
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TECHNOLOGY
Tech art students navigate AI integration ucation. It can be used to help people to think critically.” Hennen said when using generative On March 24, OpenAI announced AI it should foremost be disclosed. He it’s shutting down Sora, its open-use integrates this disclosure in his class AI video-generation technology first by having his studies create their own released in 2024. As the landscape statements based on how they use around generative AI continues to generative AI. “I’m having all my students create shift, Texas Tech art students consider how generative AI can be used going an ethics statement regarding AI,” Hennen said. “It can be, like, your forward. Within the Tech School of Art, statement basically says how you see Vaughan Hennen, a doctoral student AI or how you don’t use AI and why. pursuing a doctorate in music and That way it shows that you’re informed about it.” self-proclaimed advoWhen explaining cate for generative AI, how to create unique teaches Visual and Perartwork with generative forming Arts 2310 AI in AI, Hennen said it’s best Art. The class focuses Pandora’s been to treat AI like a tool on how to ethically in- released from her or a partner to have a corporate generative box, and she’s not AI into a creative work- going back inside... discussion with. He will bounce ideas off an AI to flow. VAUGHAN HENNEN gain inspiration for what “Pandora’s been reAI IN ART PROFESSOR he wants to create. leased from her box, “I’ll have a converand she’s not going back inside,” Hennen said. “That be- sation to develop this image, and ing said, I do think that there are lots we’ll have a discussion to generate of opportunities for it (generative AI). this piece of poetry,” Hennen said. I think that it can be used well for ed- “The poetry will go through many By AVERY MENDOZA NEWS REPORTER
KAYCI SANDON/The Daily Toreador
iterations, and I think that whenever you’re generating art with AI, you’re cognizant about what you’re doing but also flexible because the AI will not give you what you want.” According to a 2023 Reuters study,
a single interaction with a Large Language Model (LLM) AI like ChatGPT or Gemini will use 10 times the amount of energy as a Google search. However, Hennen did not dispute the environmental impacts but instead
said the effects of AI are reminiscent of petromelancholia, which is the grieving of conventional oil resources and the pleasures they sustained, according to Oxford Academia. SEE TECHNOLOGY, PG. 2
MENTAL HEALTH
Students find stability through four-legged friends
STOCK PHOTO/The Daily Toreador
Texas Tech students pet therapy dogs that visited the Library during finals week.
By MANDIE HANEY FEATURES WRITER
Comfort can come in all shapes and sizes. For many students at
Texas Tech, comfort takes on the form of four legs, a wagging tail and a purpose that extends beyond companionship. For students navigating new
independence, university housing works to ensure those needs are met through approved accommodations, said Audrey Davis, the associate managing director for Auxiliary Services Personnel and Marketing and Communication Efforts for University Student Housing. “When students go through the process, we know that that’s connecting their need to an emotional support animal,” Davis said. “So, once that’s approved, our role is to support that accommodation and make sure that they have what they need in their living environment.” For some students, that support becomes especially important during difficult transitions. Emily Rodriguez, a first-year human sciences major from Cameron, said she adopted her dog, Princess, during a challenging point in her year.
“I got her in the middle of the year when I was going through a lot,” Rodriguez said. “I had just lost my car, so I needed that extra emotional support, especially being so far away from home. So, I decided to adopt a dog, and now her companionship is really important to me.” While emotional support animals provide comfort in those moments, Davis said they are just one part of a broader network of resources available to students. “An emotional support animal is one piece of their (students’) support system,” Davis said. “From our perspective, it’s less about measuring impact and more about making sure that students have the access to resources, so they can focus on adjusting to life on campus and being successful in their day-to-day experience.”
For students far from home, that support can take on a deeper meaning. Sofia Gonzalez, a third-year history major from Los Angeles, said her dog, Demi, helps fill that gap. “I live 12 hours away from home, so I don’t have any family up here,” she said. “She’s my little family.” The transition into residence halls can be challenging, Davis said, and accommodations like emotional support animals can help ease that adaptation process. “It’s a big adjustment, living on campus,” Davis said. “It’s very different. So, if that’s part of what they’ve been approved for needing, then we are always thrilled to support that.” For Gonzalez, that support plays a key role in her daily life and mental health. SEE MENTAL HEALTH, PG. 3
ENDURANCE
Clerkley overcomes brain aneurysm to win first collegiate meet By AUSTIN JACKSON SPORTS REPORTER
O n M a r c h 2 6 , Te x a s Te c h freshman Damerian Clerkley won his first collegiate meet with a jump of 15.55m in the triple jump at the Masked Rider Open. That mark was 3.5 inches short of his high school personal best. Nine months earlier, there was uncertainty about Clerkley’s future as an athlete after suffering a brain
aneurysm on July 3 and needing to be rushed to the hospital for emergency brain surgery. “It was a blessing,” Clerkley said. “God is good, but now I know from there it’s only up. I got to get better and better for next year when I’m actually competing for Tech.” When the aneurysm happened, the 2025 UIL State triple jump runner-up was two months from joining the Tech track and field team. His arrival to Tech was
eventually delayed to the Spring 2026 semester so that he had time to recover. The aneurysm started while Clerkley was at a friend’s house and was initially thought to be a seizure. He then was carried to a car and driven to the hospital where a CAT scan was done, and doctors discovered Clerkley had a brain aneurysm.
“It was traumatizing at first,” said Lucinda Hawkins, Clerkley’s mother. “I’m not gonna lie, when I heard brain aneurysm, I mean, I hate to think this way, but I just thought death.” Clerkley then was rushed to Houston Methodist Hospital where he went into emergency surgery. He was unconscious for multiple days following the surgery. During that time, Hawkins
made a phone call to Tech jumps coach Keith Herston to inform him of Clerkley’s condition. Herston said Clerkley still would have a spot on the roster. “I was like, ‘Man, Damerian is injured, is he still gonna have his scholarship?’” Hawkins said. “Coach Herston was like, ‘Don’t worry about that. He’s good. He needs to just focus on getting back on track and getting healthy.’” SEE ENDURANCE, PG. 5
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