1 ON THE WEB For a closer look at the Chinese New Year celebration, watch this video: THE DAILY TEXAN bit.ly/dt_newyear Serving the University of Texas at Austin community since 1900 Austin Cake Ball cooks up latest confectionary craze LIFE&ARTS p.12 >> Breaking news, blogs and more: www.dailytexanonline.com @thedailytexan facebook.com/dailytexan Monday, January 30, 2012 THE WEEK State requires students to get meningitis vaccine AHEAD By Reihaneh Hajibeigi Meningitis is an infection that af- tection of students. tis vaccine is offered by UHS for first day of the semester and students Daily Texan Staff fects the membranes covering the “While anybody can get the dis- $190 for students with health insur- who present any religious reason. brain and spinal cord, or meninges. ease, it’s more common in some ance and $133 for students without Spalding said there are risks to State legislation passed in June Because of how close to the brain and ages, including people in their late health insurance. all vaccines, but there is no known TODAY 2011 requires all university students spinal chord the disease can occur, it teens and early twenties,” Spald- University officials allow some stu- risk of serious harm or death re- in Texas to provide meningitis vacci- can be potentially life threatening. ing said. “Densely populated en- dents to be exempted from this re- sulting from getting the meningo- The SEC nation documents to their institution Dr. Theresa Spalding, University vironments can also increase the quirement, including those with seri- coccal vaccine. hosts ‘Winter by Jan. 31 or face being barred from Health Services medical director, said risk of transmission.” ous allergic reactions to the vaccine, Wonderland’ class registration. this preventive measure is for the pro- The meningococcal meningi- students who have turned 30 by the VACCINE continues on PAGE 2 The Student Events Center is hosting a Winter Wonderland Party complete with ice-skating, arts and crafts. The event is from 3-9 p.m. at the Gregory Gym Plaza and is free with a UT student ID. Tour tells of UT’s discrimination By Samuel Liebl TUESDAY Daily Texan Staff An inscription next to the Little- UT ensemble field Fountain honoring the Con- performs at the federacy is one example of the Uni- versity’s racist legacy, Edmund Gor- Blanton don, professor of African and Afri- From noon-1 p.m. on Tuesday, can diaspora studies explained on The Bach Cantata are performing an Occupy UT-sponsored tour. at the Blanton Museum of Art, Gordon led about 30 students featuring the music of Bach’s “Mit around campus in an effort to dis- Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin play UT’s racist heritage. Gordon led BWV 125.” Admission is free for the students to Littlefield House, the museum members, UT students South Mall, San Jacinto Dormitory, and faculty. Darrel K. Royal Stadium, the Texas Cowboys Pavilion, Creekside Dormi- tory and Robert Lee Moore Hall. WEDNESDAY “The purpose of this tour is to point out the neo-Confederate as- Scientist pects of UT’s history and geography,” Discusses Trends said Gordon. Gordon said the University’s geog- in Meth, Drug raphy and history of racism are prod- Use ucts of the time period when it was Dr. Jane Maxwell discusses founded in 1883. findings from her National “The University came into being Institute on Drug Abuse funded during a particular time, and its ini- study on methamphetamine tial kind of build-out and conceptual- users and other substance ization was done at a time when ra- abuse. The lecture will be from cial issues were really coming to the 12:30-1:30 p.m. at the School of fore,” Gordon said. “Privileged and Social Work (SSW) 2.132. elite white folks felt like vindicat- ing the Confederacy and what the Confederacy stood for.” Ty Hardin | Daily Texan Staff Dr. Edmund Gordon, African and African diaspora studies professor, leads students and faculty on a tour highlighting periods of racism at UT RACISM continues on PAGE 2 Friday morning. Stops along the way included statues of Confederate soldiers, Littlefield Fountain and Darrel K. Royal Stadium. Former UT student plans mayoral run 1-3 a.m. By Kayla Jonsson “We are ruining lives by putting DIY or Die! Daily Texan Staff people in jail that can’t afford to pay DIY or Die focuses on the UK for probation,” Lucier said. “They lose “cassette”, an underground Inspired by his experiences with their homes trying to pay the fines, movement that saw the courts and the law, 25 year-old Nich- all because they put a substance in beginnings of DIY music and olas Lucier said he will run for mayor their body. My dad doesn’t even tell the newfound accessibility of Austin this May. me what I can and can’t put in my to making music without the Lucier however, has almost al- body anymore, so the government expenses of the traditional ways been on the wrong side of the shouldn’t be able to either.” studio and record label. law in court, he said. After about sev- Lucier started a satirical political en arrests involving drug and alco- party on Facebook called the Mush- 7-9 a.m. hol possession since he was 18, Luc- room Tea Party, which supports le- ier now has too many probation fines galization of all drugs. Lucier said be- Songs for Old and cannot afford to take the last two cause the party’s numbers have been classes required to graduate from UT increasing steadily, he believes he has Hannah with a government degree. He said he A metapysically concocted a chance of winning a run for office. is running for mayor to prevent past witches’ brew of the “I want to make this drug problems from ruining a per- American folk tradition and Elisabeth Dillon | Daily Texan Staff son’s life, including his own. MAYOR continues on PAGE 2 all its strange and wonderful Nicholas Lucier, who is two classes short of graduating from UT, plans to run for mayor of Austin in May. outcroppings. Student debt incites debate Cornyn talks By Liz Farmer pus-based aid, which would mainly Daily Texan Staff expand the Perkins Loan Program, national debt so colleges with better contained tu- Editors note: Go online to dailytex- President Barack Obama proposed ition rates would receive more feder- anonline.com for the complete inter- incentive-based federal aid in which al funding. view. more affordable colleges receive more “If you can’t stop tuition from go- By Andrew Messamore aid. UT President William Powers Jr. ing up, then the funding you get from Daily Texan Staff said the plan is sound, but kinks need WATCH TStv ON taxpayers each year will go down,” to be worked out to ensure consider- CHANNEL 15 Obama said. “We should push colleg- ation for the expense of maintaining On Friday, Sen. John Cornyn R- es to do better. We should hold them a top research university like UT. Texas spoke with UT law students accountable if they don’t.” Obama spoke about higher educa- at the LBJ School of Public Affairs 9:00 p.m. Obama said graduates in 2010 tion reform in his State of the Union about the problems posed by the who took out loans owed an aver- KVR News address on Jan. 24 and delved into public debt for the U.S. The Dai- Jorge Corona | Daily Texan Staff age of $24,000 and is suggesting that Which canidate is the favorite more specific plans at the University ly Texan sat down with Senator Congress approve low interest rates Senator John Cornyn at the LBJ School of Public Affairs. among UT students in the of Michigan on Jan. 27. Cornyn to discuss how these prob- for student loan borrowers. Republican primary? We give The president requested an in- lems could affect higher education dents are going to have to pay the and see the sovereign debt crises “Student loan debt has now yppu the inside scopp on a creased federal aid incentive plan at UT and elsewhere. bill. [The debt is] roughly $48,000 over there. The bills are stacking up surpassed credit card debt for new candy store on the Drag, for colleges to keep tuition rates at Daily Texan: Why did you feel it per every man, woman and child in and creditors are doubting whether and everything you need to a reasonable level. Part of the pro- was important to warn UT law stu- America right now, and all we need know about West Campus to do to see where this is going is to posed plan includes increasing cam- TUITION continues on PAGE 2 dents about the debt crisis? living. Sen. John Cornyn: Because stu- look across the Atlantic at Europe CORNYN continues on PAGE 2 2 2 2 NEWS Monday, January 30, 2012 THE DAILY TEXAN MAYOR Power outage Volume 112, Number 105 continues from PAGE 1 disturbs area CONTACT US election interesting and bring atten- tion to the mayoral election,” Lucier downtown said. “The Mushroom Tea Party will Main Telephone: definitely bring some young people By Andrew Messamore (512) 471-4591 into the polls.” Daily Texan Staff Lucier has not raised any mon- Editor: ey for his campaign because he said Power was restored to downtown Viviana Aldous money is not necessary to be mayor. by 8:15 a.m. Sunday after a cas- (512) 232-2212 cading transformer failure caused [email protected] “It’s going to be so funny when I win mayor with no money after these Sixth Street and the surround- ing area to lose power for 12 hours Managing Editor: other candidates have been wasting Saturday night.