Content about Technology
Updated on Tuesday, May 15, 2012 at 4:29 p.m.
On the heels of a recent blog post claiming the UT System Board of Regents plans to fire President William Powers Jr., the Faculty Council passed a resolution supporting the president and his administration Monday.
A blog post claiming the UT System Board of Regents may have plans to fire President William Powers Jr. on Wednesday night invoked a series of responses from the UT community, ranging from indignation to justification.
The report was published by Paul Burka, a senior executive editor of Texas Monthly, on his blog on the publication's website. In it, Burka cites an anonymous source with knowledge of the proceedings who said Powers is in hot water because of his "opposition to Governor [Rick] Perry’s insistence on a tuition freeze."
Editor’s note: A 30 column is a chance for departing permanent staff to say farewell and reflect on their time spent in The Daily Texan’s basement office. The term comes from the old typesetting mark (-30-) to denote the end of a line.
Recent controversy surrounding an acclaimed racist cartoon published by The Daily Texan and the creation of a black student publication on campus has people labeling the Texan as “self-selected” and “racially biased,” but the world I stepped into when I submitted my first application was anything but.
Streaming from the dugout, teammates raced towards Jordan Etier and moments later a massive pile of humanity engulfed him at first base, celebrating Etier’s game winning at bat against Texas A&M last Sunday.
It wasn’t the at bat itself that was so special — just a simple ground ball at the first baseman, and barely far enough up the line to score the runner from third.
UNITED NATIONS — On World Press Freedom Day, Reporters Without Borders condemned the “astonishing pace” at which journalists are being attacked and murdered — 67 killed in 2011 and 22 more deaths since the beginning of the year.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called the attacks “outrageous” and urged all countries to prevent and prosecute violence against the media and take action to ensure the safety of journalists and freedom of the press.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A group of scientists took to the skies in a blimp Thursday in search of meteorites that rained over California’s gold country last month.
It’s the latest hunt for extraterrestrial fragments from the April 22 explosion that was witnessed over a swath of Northern California and Nevada.
BEIJING — On Thursday, legal activist Chen Guangcheng told the United States that he wants to leave China, deepening a diplomatic dispute. His case has drawn comments from other prominent Chinese activists and dissidents — both to Chen directly and in other forums.
Hillary-Anne Crosby is a woman undoubtedly assured of her prerogative. She is a sprightly, pixie-haired 22-year-old. She is a second-week graduate school dropout. She is witty but not sarcastic, and confident but not a snob. She is not ashamed or embarrassed to share with the world that she already has a bachelor’s degree and has never had sex. She is waiting for the right man and the right time, and neither are up for negotiation.
HAVANA (AP) — After controlling the comings and goings of its people for five decades, communist Cuba appears on the verge of a momentous decision to lift many travel restrictions. One senior official says a “radical and profound” change is weeks away.
As more people and businesses move to Austin, the city will encounter challenges and opportunities that come with an increasingly dense urban environment, say business leaders and academics.
Forbes magazine recently ranked the Austin metro area as the fastest growing city in the United States for the second year in a row. The publication rated cities using economic and population growth projections from Moody’s, an economic analysis agency.
As always, dead week promises to live up to its ominous name. With classes drawing to a close and finals swiftly approaching, students ready themselves for caffeine-fueled nights at the library, sealing themselves and their laptops inside veritable walls of books. At this point in the semester, desperate students would be apt to hail any professor advocating the abolition of final exams as the messiah of pedagogy, but the University of North Florida’s David Jaffee even has a scientifically valid argument underlying his criticism of exams.
Scandals and disqualifications shook student government elections in colleges across the state this year, raising questions about the students overseeing the elections and the rules governing the process.
Although the intricate cases varied at each institution, the problems and complaints in student government elections are a familiar scene.
Executive director of the UT Autism Project, Pamela Buchanan, said she has always had a passion to do something worthwhile while engaging in community service.
Buchanan received the outstanding faculty/staff volunteer award at the 2012 Tower Award ceremony Wednesday evening. Buchanan has worked with families dealing with autism for 15 years, and co-founded UTAP seven years ago. UTAP pairs an autistic child one-to-one with a UT student who becomes his or her parent, guardian and safety net, Buchanan said.
KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghanistan’s president has branded his U.S. allies as corrupt, wasteful and contemptuous of Afghan lives. Once he even threatened to join the Taliban. Nonetheless, Hamid Karzai signed a deal that could keep thousands of U.S. troops in his country for years.
Despite his rhetoric, Karzai needs international support if Afghanistan is to survive economically and avoid descending into civil war like it did when the Soviets left two decades ago.
For professional women, mothers and college students, putting down that BlackBerry, ditching the cellphone and distancing from a laptop for a few hours can be a challenge.
A year after he led the mission to apprehend Osama bin Laden, Adm. William H. McRaven returned to his alma mater to advocate for legal assistance for returning service women and men.
McRaven was the keynote speaker at the Champions of Justice Gala Benefiting Veterans Tuesday evening. The Texas Access to Justice Commission hosted the gala to raise funds for free civil legal services for low-income Texas veterans.
After two semesters and a summer of planning, a new online African-American UT publication will launch in the fall.
Cheyenne Matthews-Hoffman, editor-in-chief of the publication and a journalism sophomore, said the student organization Black Ink Association is attempting to launch a publication similar to the “The Griot,” which was an African-American print publication at UT in the ’80s and the ’90s.
UT System Board of Regents met Wednesday to discuss developments in new curriculum programs along with local real estate deals and the future of MyEdu. The meeting was one of about six regular meetings that occur each year. Today the regents are expected to set tuition for the next two academic years and to discuss the proposal for a UT Austin medical school.
Course Transformation
Lazy days and memorable nights — summertime is almost here. Whether you’re a lo-fi aficionado or an instrumental rock lover, this summer has plenty to offer for fans of all genres. These are our picks of summer’s most promising new albums.
Best Coast,
The Only Place
Release date: May 15
Genre: Garage rock, surf pop
Although a commitment to a diverse campus has been at the forefront of discussion of inclusion at the University, another less-known program also works to make sure minorities are given equal opportunity to obtain UT service and production contracts.
Ever since Samuel L. Jackson poked his eye-patched head in for the post-credits stinger in “Iron Man,” audiences have been looking forward to the inevitable “Avengers” movie. In creating this film, Marvel Studios had to launch four separate franchises and establish four superheroes worth caring about in the process. One misstep, and it could have been a disaster. Not only did they do it, they absolutely nailed it.
LONDON — Britain’s High Court has ordered the country’s Internet service providers to block file-sharing website The Pirate Bay, the U.K.’s main music industry association said Monday.
A High Court judge told Sky, Everything Everywhere, TalkTalk, O2 and Virgin Media on Friday to prevent access to the Swedish site, which helps millions of people download copyrighted music, movies and computer games.
Music industry group BPI welcomed the order by justice Richard Arnold that the service providers block the site within the next few weeks.
LONDON — A committee of British lawmakers called Rupert Murdoch unfit to run his global media empire — a finding that reflects just how deeply the phone hacking scandal born of his defunct News of the World has shaken the relationship between the press and politics.
The divisive ruling Tuesday against Murdoch, his son James and three of their executives also exposed the waning influence of the media tycoon, and could jeopardize his control of a major broadcaster.
SAN FRANCISCO — May Day protests may disrupt the morning commute in major U.S. cities Tuesday as labor, immigration and Occupy activists rally support on the international workers’ holiday. Demonstrations, strikes and acts of civil disobedience are being planned around the country, including the most visible organizing effort by anti-Wall Street groups since Occupy encampments came down in the fall.
While events such as the Holocaust are well-known, an artist has created a new and varied approach to raising awareness of the lasting effects of crimes in history.
