1A1 LIFE&ARTS PAGE 8B SPORTS PAGE 1B Stage production adopts the sound of silence Horns hit the road to NEWS PAGE 7A take on the Cowgirls Much-anticipated MetroRail prepares for test runs TOMORROW’S WEATHER High Low THE DAILY TEXAN 63 44 Wednesday, February 24, 2010 Serving the University of Texas at Austin community since 1900 www.dailytexanonline.com Cactus Cafe resolution hits snow drift Icy road conditions force en by Student Friends of the Cac- submitted an alternative plan to es program and repurpose the tus Cafe. It had been fast-tracked the Union Board. This propos- 31-year-old Cactus Cafe. The Student Government so that student representatives al would establish a student in- plan drew criticism from UT could give their input on the res- ternship program at the cafe and students, faculty, local musi- meeting to be postponed olution before it was present- foster partnerships with students cians and community patrons of By Rachel Burkhart ed to the Texas Union Board’s and faculty from the McCombs the cafe. Daily Texan Staff executive meeting Friday. The School of Business, the College Danielle Brown, a psycholo- A Student Government reso- board is expected to make its fi- of Communication and the But- gy senior and SG’s communica- lution in support of preserving nal recommendation to Universi- ler School of Music. tions director, said the meeting the Cactus Cafe hit a roadblock ty management regarding the fu- Last fall, University manage- was canceled because some rep- Tuesday after snow and icy road ture of the Cactus Cafe following ment asked the Union Board resentatives have to commute conditions led to the postpone- Friday’s meeting. to find a way to accommodate to campus, and the Cactus Cafe ment of a meeting where SG Last week, the organization re- a two-year merit pay plan for resolution was not discussed members would have voted on jected the Student Event Center’s Union staff members. In order when the decision to postpone Mary Kang | Daily Texan file photo the measure. proposal to create a student com- to save the necessary $122,000, the meeting was made. Patrons drink beer at the Cactus Cafe, located in the Texas Union. The resolution would endorse mittee responsible for the cafe’s the Union Board voted Jan. 29 Student Government representatives prepared a resolution to pre- a position similar to the one tak- management. The organization to phase out its informal class- DELAY continues on page 5A serve the cafe, which is scheduled to close in August. SG campaign A puts priority on diversity Editors note: This is the second in she has continued to work on so- a four-part series of profiles featur- cial justice issues such as increased ing the four Student Government ex- resources for student parents. ecutive alliances. SG elections begin Parks learned about SG when Tuesday, March 2 and end Wednes- members came to speak at Under- day, March 3. graduate Business Council meet- By Audrey White ings and he said he saw it as an av- Daily Texan Staff enue to make change for students. Student Government presiden- He was elected as a business rep- tial candidate Scott Parks is a busi- resentative in the 2008 election ness honors student who grew up and was appointed to the execu- listening to the Eagles, and his tive board as external finance di- running mate, Muneezeh Kabir, rector for the 2009-10 term, which is passionate about “The Vagina he said gives him important in- Monologues” and sheepishly ad- sight into both sides of SG. mits a love for Lil Wayne. It may “They came to give reports [at come as no surprise that the ex- business council meetings], and I ecutive alliance is running a cam- thought, ‘That’s where the mov- Rene Huynh | Daily Texan Staff paign based on diverse interests. ers and shakers are,’” Parks said. “You’ve got a business stu- “‘However inefficient it is, that’s Plan II freshmen Aneesa Needel, Dana Reichman and Risha Bhattacharjee frolic in the falling snow in front of Carothers Dormitory dent in a time of budget cuts, and the voice for students, and it on Tuesday afternoon. These friends were among many students seen around campus enjoying Austin’s uncommon snow day. you’ve got a social justice advo- should be fixed so it can do great cate when students need to be things for them.’ That’s why I de- INSIDE: More snow day photos on page 5B spoken for,” said Kabir, a student cided to get involved.” assistant in the Division of Diver- Their Web site offers a platform sity and Community Engagement. focused on environmental sus- “It’s as simple as that.” tainability, academic affordability The two came to SG through and a more transparent and inclu- nontraditional avenues. Kabir sive SG. They said their goals are Tier-one hopefuls on a ‘recruiting rampage’ said she was interested in work- a combination of their own hopes ing with the Women’s Resource for UT as well as the input of hun- By Alex Geiser as has three — UT-Austin, A&M between college deans and oth- on admissions at UT-Austin rath- Agency before she found out it dreds of students from different Daily Texan Staff and Rice. er universities, the UT campus- er than adversely affecting the was part of SG. She was appoint- campus organizations. Although a proposition that UT-San Antonio, UT-Arling- es working toward tier-one status University. ed as its director for two years and “We’re reaching out to passed last year gave four Uni- ton, UT-El Paso and UT-Dal- have started approaching qual- “We all made it very clear that now works on the President’s Stu- versity of Texas campuses state las are among the seven emerg- ified professors at national con- the development should not dent Advisory Committee, where ELECTION continues on page 2A funding to obtain top-tier status, ing research universities in the ferences and by telephone with come at the expense of UT-Aus- they still need to recruit top fac- state, along with the Universi- better offers, UT-Dallas President tin or A&M,” Zaffirini said. ulty and students from across the ty of North Tex- David Daniel The majority of the Universi- state to achieve the ranking. as, Texas Tech said. As Califor- ty’s freshman class has been pri- Proposition 4, which Tex- University and nia faces a mul- marily composed of students as voters passed last year, al- the University of tibillion-dollar who qualify under the top 10 lotted existing higher educa- Houston. budget shortfall, percent rule, which guarantees tion funds to seven public uni- N a t i o n a l l y We are on a tuition at its state high school students who grad- versities that were identified as competitive re- nationwide universities con- uate in the top 10 percent of emerging research universities search universi- recruiting rampage.” tinues to increase their class a spot in any of the in the state. The funds will al- ties are typically ‘‘ and more facul- state’s public universities. UT- low the schools to advance and marked by top- — David Daniel ty are threatened Austin President William Pow- eventually attain tier-one status tier faculty and with losing their ers Jr. advocated a cap on the as nationally competitive re- academically ex- UT-Dallas president tenure. number of students admitted by search universities. ceptional stu- “They are ex- the rule because of how many Tier-one status is determined dents. As the UT periencing fi- University applicants were be- by how much money a univer- campuses work nancial difficulty, ing turned away. sity spends on research annually, to raise their national status, they and Texas looks pretty good right In 2009, the state Legislature the number of doctorate degrees have been actively recruiting fac- now,” Daniel said. “We are on a passed a bill limiting the number it produces and other measures ulty from both inside the state nationwide recruiting rampage.” of entering freshmen at UT-Aus- Amanda Martin | Daily Texan Staff of quality, including faculty and and across the U.S., especially State Sen. Judith Zaffirini, who tin that stipulates that beginning Scott Parks and Muneezeh Kabir, candidates for Student Government student achievement. While Cal- California, according to universi- sponsored the bill, said creating in 2011, the University will admit president and vice president, strive to focus their campaign on ifornia has nine tier-one schools ty officials. more nationally recognized uni- diverse interests. and New York has seven, Tex- Through personal connections versities would relieve pressure TIER continues on page 2A UT System schools submit trimmed-down budgets in wake of sales-tax shortfall Universities plan to cut all state agencies, including the includes scholarships, utilities, UT-San Antonio follows with utilizing Webinars and video a possible state budget shortfall UT System, to prepare a prior- maintenance and operation. The cuts of up to $9.8 million. UT- conferences as a way of avoid- for a while. costs by reducing travel, itized plan to cut 5 percent of University received $333 million SA’s plan identifies forgoing ing extra expenses. “We really had not put into placing freeze on hires their budgets containing state in recurring state general reve- merit increases for faculty in “We are always looking for place any cuts [before Gov. revenue. The letter, which asked nue this school year and expects both 2010 and 2011 as its larg- ways to save money,” she said. Perry’s letter], but we’ve been By Shabab Siddiqui agencies to submit their plans to to receive a 1-percent increase est possible savings.