Student Government Passes AR 31

Student Government March 5 and March 19 Discussion of AR 31:

https://soundcloud.com/oliviamsuarez/sets/student-government-march-5-and

(click the link above)

The early bird gets the worm, but does the early Longhorn get the football seat?

Student Government passed legislation Tuesday in support of establishing a general admissions seating section in Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.

Proposed on March 5, Assembly Resolution 31 is Student Government’s response to the university athletics department’s promotion of its “come early, stay late” policy. According to the document, football staff and coaches “have expressed concern that few students show up early to football games”.

SG Vice President Wills Brown, one of the authors for AR 31, discussed early game attendance increasing fan and athlete experience.

“I think it’s evident that sometimes our fans get into the games late,” Brown said. “I can only imagine the team doesn’t like it when we all arrive late to the games.”

The general admissions section, will occupy approximately 150 to 300 seats in sections 26, 27, and 28. Although open to everyone on a “first-come, first-serve” basis, Brown identified lowerclassmen as the target demographic.

“I think the most eager fans are the freshmen and the sophomores who, unfortunately, have the worst seats,” Brown said. “I mean, anyone can buy, but I presume mostly freshmen and sophomores will buy. It will give them the chance to have some of the best seats in the house.”

Connor Hughes, legislative aide under Wills Brown and another AR 31 author, explained the reasoning behind seat selection in the three specified sections.

“We reserved those seats because first of all, those are the seats (UT) Athletics told us they wanted us to use, but also because they’re quality seats,” Hughes said. “Students aren’t going to get there early if they’re going to be in some upper random end zone. No one’s going to do that.”

Students interested in AR 31’s opportunities should expect a minimal cost in addition to the purchase of a Longhorn All-Sports Package. The extra fee has yet to be determined.

“I honestly don’t know; it might be $10 to $15” Brown said. “I don’t expect it to be much extra, but that’s up to UT Athletics.”

Reserved season tickets can still be purchased in case students don’t get ahold of general admission seats for their game of choice.

The university athletics department plans admitting general admission ticketholders early enough to watch the players warm up, indicating in AR 31 that attendance during that time “positively affects performance of the football team”.

“Ideally, I would hope the students will be able to get into the games an hour ahead, maybe an hour and a half,” Brown said.

Hughes said that since the general admissions section is a “first-come, first serve” ordeal, the ticket stand will open about 45 minutes before the game, and wristbands will also be included.

“It’s going to be a high-demand place, so the wristbands will just make sure that it’s kept in control and we know whose actually got a ticket there and things like that,” Hughes said.

Although both Brown and Hughes envision a successful future for general admissions, its initial start remains their priority.

“This is more of a pilot, and if it works, probably in a few years we well step it up and hopefully we can get another section, maybe another hundred seats after that,” Hughes said.

The existence of general admissions systems in comparison institutions–Texas Tech, Kansas State, Iowa State– influenced AR 31’s composition. However, there’s no intention of eliminating the current hierarchy system.

“I know that would anger a lot of people, so that’s not the plan,” Brown said. “I mean, if it really was that successful, (UT Athletics) can expand it some more, but I think there would need to be a limit.”

Advertising sophomore Alex Huggins prefers the stability the hierarchy system offers compared to his experience at Texas Tech University.

“Their general admissions is fun, but hell. You have to arrive at the game long before the 90-minute timer starts, just for a seat,” Huggins said. “The experience was great, but I did miss some functionality.”

 He doesn’t ignore the faults of reserved seating though.

“I think the system at UT works, but could be better, if offered at a cheaper, ‘first come, first serve’ option,” Higgins said.  “People would love that.”

Brandon Lorenzana, mechanical engineering sophomore, believes showing up to games prior to kickoff remains beneficial for ticketholders.

“I think it does give a better experience, especially with a group,” Lorenzana said. “As a fan, by coming early, you get a feel for the atmosphere and you avoid the rush of people coming in closer to game time.”

 Lorenzana agrees with the university athletics department on student presence impacting the football team.

“For the athletes, I would imagine seeing more people come early to the games would give them a better sense of what and who they’re playing for,” Lorenzana said. “Knowing that people are coming early could give them a sense of their fans’ dedication and could potentially encourage them to play even better and fight harder for every yard.”

As far as which seating structure he believes works best, Lorenzana shares mixed feelings for both.

“I wouldn’t be in support of a complete general admissions structure,” Lorenzana said. “There should be general admissions for UT, but at the same time there should also be good seats available to those people wanting to get in through general admissions.”

Audiology freshman Raven Rodriguez isn’t holding her breath about AR 31 being implemented.

“Personally, I wouldn’t pay to see the players warm up. I consider the players to be just like any other students and do not hold them at a celebrity level,” Rodriguez said. “For those very invested in college athletics, I could understand how arriving at the game early would increase experience, but personally I just like attending the game itself.”

Rodriguez said her seats last season weren’t “brilliant, but not in the rafters either.”   

“I could honestly care less where I sat at a football game,” Rodriguez said. “The whole point of the game is to have fun, and if you’re in the good company of friends, it’s not a hassle to watch the game from a little bit farther away.

AR 31 will be sent to administration for approval following its passage. In the meantime, Brown expects the legislation to take effect soon.

“I will go meet with UT Athletics and Teri Pierce, she does marketing, and I’ll sit down with her team and we’ll kind of discuss moving forward,” Brown said. “The hope is that it will be ready for fall of 2013.”

Banned and Challenged Books

Famed American writer Edmund Wilson once said, “No two persons ever read the same book.”

Wilson’s quote maintains relevancy to modern society, as The American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom is set to release the Top Ten Most Challenged Books List of 2012 in April.

According to the ALA, a challenge “is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials.”

The annual list— which includes both classic novels like Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World” and modern bestsellers like Suzanne Collin’s “Hunger Games” trilogy — is compiled by the OIF from submitted challenges across the United States for the past year. Sexual content, offensive language, violence, and religious offense are the primary reasons for book opposition.

Dr. Veronica Covington, adjunct assistant professor at the University of Texas School of Information and  professor of children’s literature, explained the steps of filing a challenge in schools.

“Each district has a policy that they follow for challenged books. All provide the challenger with forms to fill out,” Covington said. “One of the main things is that they must read the book in its entirety and give reasons for the objection. Once this form is turned in, then a committee is formed according to the district’s policy.”

Carolyn Foote, Westlake High School librarian and district librarian for Eanes Independent School District, confirmed this process.

“The committee consists of a parent, librarian, teacher, student, and administrator,” Foote said. “The committee then makes a recommendation to the superintendent.”

Serving as Westlake’s librarian for the past 20 years, Foote notes minimal experience in censorship within Eanes ISD.

“We haven’t had very many actual challenges filed in the 20 years I have been here, and have only had to convene four committees to review titles for kindergarten through 12 grade,” she said.

While bans are nonexistent at Eanes ISD, Foote acknowledged the possibility of transferring books between schools.

“Occasionally parents do raise concerns about a book being available at the wrong grade level, and with libraries having so many titles, sometimes they are borderline ‘middle school’ or ‘high school’ appropriate and might be reassigned, but that is rare,” Foote said.

Covington, whose knowledge on censorship stems from her career as an English teacher for 20 years and a librarian for eight years, shared a similar situation.

“While being a librarian at the high school level, none of the books presented to the committee were taken out of the library,” Covington said. “At the junior high level there were several titles that were removed from the junior high library and sent to the high school.”

Even with the books shuffling around, not all are satisfied. Parents Against Bad Books in Schools is a pro-censorship organization based in Virginia set on  identifying “bad” books.

PABBIS refused to comment on the story because they do not participate in college news stories.

Both Foote and Covington said they understand parents’ discretion on books for their children, but oppose censorship overall.

“Every parent has the right to comment upon or have preferences regarding their own child’s reading,” Foote said. “However, they don’t have the right to impose their views upon other people’s children—that’s when the actions venture into the realm of censorship.”

Covington said librarians are “not the reading police.”

Kerry Malter, library media specialist at Dalton Elementary School in Baton Rouge, La., noted the inevitability of censorship despite her stance against it.

“Society will not allow us to continue without censorship,” Mather said. “Policies and procedures will not allow educators to allow students the freedom to access information and reading preferences.”

Malter also stressed the importance of prior preparations to students of parents who express disapproval, deeming it “necessary in this profession.”

Round Rock Independent School District provides parents with information about books selected in the English Language Arts Curriculum beforehand, based on an approved reading list.

“The list is very extensive and includes all of the commonly taught titles in high school as well as some non-traditional titles, too,” Megan Kinney, an English teacher at Cedar Ridge High School, said. “I just finished teaching ‘Of Mice and Men’ and will be teaching ‘Fahrenheit 451’ and ‘Lord of the Flies’ later on this semester.”

Kinney said parents are supposed to sign a permission slip allowing their child to read the books from the list.

“If they don’t approve, then they are supposed to list the titles they object to, and we must come up with an alternative assignment for that student when we read that book,” she said.

Even without facing parent opposition during her first year of teaching, Kinney adopted the idea of implementing “literature circles” just in case.

“Literature circles are where a small group of students read the same novel while other groups of students read other novels,” Kinney said. “The students complete the same assignments and projects but for the title that they are reading.”

Lila Welchel, an English teacher at Bowie High School, stated that disclaimers are included within the school’s summer reading lists.

“We encourage parents to read the books along with their children,” Welchel said.

Never having dealt with bans during her time working for Austin Independent School District, Welchel said teachers “let a kid read a completely different book” if parents or students consider the original book offensive to their beliefs.

Welchel supports the freedom of choice, regardless of all the precautions.

“As a teacher of English, I want to be able to read books that my students are going to be able to connect to and enjoy and also have a high level of literary knowledge,” she said.

Covington predicted more challenges linked to religion for future ALA “Top Ten” lists.

“As the United States becomes more 'right-winged,' we as teachers, librarians, and professors have seen an increase in challenged books,” Covington said.

These trends fail at stifling her desire to read the listed books, however. 

“I actually want to read titles that are challenged to see if they merit the reasons given by those who object,” Covington said. “Unlike the parents who tell their kids not to read that book, I want to know why.”

  

Paraphernalia and the Police

Even the Big Bad Wolf couldn’t get away with huffing and puffing unscathed.

A student resident at Jester West received a court appearance citation for possession of marijuana on Jan. 23 after University of Texas Police Department confirmed its odor from the first floor and confiscated the water bong containing a charred substance.

The incident in Jester West is the most recent of three cases for student paraphernalia-related possession this semester. Other incidents occurred at San Jacinto and Moore-Hill dormitories on Jan. 16.

Layne Brewster, University of Texas police officer, acknowledged the concentration of marijuana-based situations occurring on the southern part of campus.

“We don’t get too many out in Kinsolving or Littlefield or anything like that. It’s your high-traffic dorms usually,” Brewster said.

Coreen Newman-Coronado, area manager of Jester City Residence Halls, explained the Division of Housing and Food Service’s involvement in paraphernalia discovery.

“At the point where we’re aware that a student has paraphernalia, typically we would call UTPD and they would come and work further with the student and disposal, confiscation, and legal citations or anything that would happen here,” Newman-Coronado said.

Once at the scene, Newman-Coronado said she, other area managers, hall coordinators, and resident assistants involved only stay as much as allowed.

“It’s better for the student and the police that we’re slightly removed from the situation for the student’s confidentiality or for whatever the police need in their process,” Newman-Coronado said. “We don’t have the same level of training the police have, to really determine that, so we rely on our experts to make that judgment.”

Small containers are common places for hidden paraphernalia, according to Brewster.

“You know you find it in whatever little containers that will hold it. Coin purses, stuff that you wouldn’t question,” Brewster said. “When we do arrest someone, and we do the search after, we have to look through everything because you never know where they’re going to hide it.”

Drug paraphernalia — equipment such as syringes, roach clips and hashish pipes — is classified as a Class C misdemeanor and includes a $250 fine. UTPD, who works alongside the Justice of the Peace Court, Precinct Five (JP5) for these cases, noted some exceptions.

“If they have a higher crime, then the paraphernalia is usually not written up, they’re not charged with the paraphernalia, they’ll be charged with possession,” Brewster said. “Or if it’s a DWI, and the paraphernalia was found and searched incidental to arrest, they won’t end up charging.”

Brewster added that JP5 doesn’t stack charges.

“They’ll go with the highest one, highest two, and drop the smaller ones. The paraphernalia is confiscated and destroyed,” Brewster said.

The consequence for possessing these items doesn’t stop there, though. The particular residence hall staff writes an incident report detailing the situation, which is later reviewed by a professional staff composed of hall coordinators and area managers such as Newman-Coronado.

“And then, based on the information on the report, most times we would refer that to the Office of the Dean of Students, and then they would look at it from an institutional rule violation kind-of standpoint,” Newman-Coronado said.

Penalties on students with paraphernalia possession are based on what the Dean of Students determines.

“Depending on the circumstances, for drug kinds of violations students can be considered for removal from the residence hall,” Newman-Coronado said. “So if a student were to be suspended of course they’re going to be removed from the residence hall. But in cases where they may not be suspended, that could still be a part of the consequence or the outcome.”

The DHFS Residence Hall Manual, which is posted online, confirms the possibility of both outcomes. It states: “Any student in violation of the University’s regulations pertaining to drugs who is not suspended or expelled should expect, at minimum, to lose the privileges of living in and even entering the residence halls.”

Scenarios concerning repeated offenders aren’t nonexistent, but occur less frequently.

“You might have a group of students that hang out in a courtyard or in an area that there always seems to be the smell of marijuana as the RA goes by but they can’t prove it,” Brewster said. “And it’s really seasonal, because the UT population is transient; they come to school, they graduate, so they leave and it just fluctuates.”

Actions are still taken when such incidents occur.

“What we do is continue to call the police and make sure the Office of the Dean of Students gets that additional report so that they can add that to the totality of information they’re looking at to respond to the student,” Newman-Coronado said.

Whether caught or not, paraphernalia possession remains strongly discouraged.

“Follow the laws, don’t bring it on campus, and be responsible. That’s basically it,” Brewster said.

Journalism Alumni Advise Aspiring Journalists

Four University of Texas School of Journalism graduates conversed with current students on Thursday, January 17. The alumni- Jazmine Ulloa, David Muto, Jackie Vega, and Suzanne Haberman- shared insight on their college experience, career moves, and opportunity-building.

Jackie Vega, a 2008 graduate and digital reporter and content producer at KXAN- Austin, formerly interned at the television station before working there full-time. She explained to the students the significance of acquiring the right internship.

“You want to do an internship somewhere so you can get a real life, hands-on, in-the-market industry experience,” Vega said. “If you’ve got an internship, if you’ve got the tenacity...the energy…the motivation, the drive and the determination to get your foot in the door…then you can get a job.”

Vega also advised the interaction with others working in the journalism field.

“At least have a conversation with somebody who can pull strings or somebody who is making the decisions,” she said.

Less drawn to reporting, Muto worked at The Daily Texan at the copy desk for two years and interned at The Texas Tribune prior to graduating in May 2010. He attributes his internship and eventual hire as the Tribune’s copy editor and editorial assistant to networking.

“One of the reasons I actually got the Tribune internship was because I knew people who were interning [there] after it launched and they just referred my name to the editor,

Evan Smith, and he got in contact with me,” Muto said. “I probably would not have sought that out had that not happened, so yeah, I think internships are great.”

  Muto indicated the uncertainty of post-internship job availability to the students, but noted ideal qualities in case such a transition should occur.

“I think some things to keep in mind are that you want to be assertive, you want to stand out definitely, but I also think that if you want to make yourself indispensable, you need to do so quietly,” Muto said.

Following her internship at the Austin-American Statesman, Jazmine Ulloa remained in close contact with those who worked there, and now works as their courts reporter. Ulloa stressed the value of colleague interaction to the student audience.

“Don’t burn bridges because it can come back later,” Ulloa said. “There wasn’t a job  when I graduated [in 2009], but I came back to it and it was because I made friends with editors there…they were the ones letting me know that jobs were out there before they were even posted.”

Texas Co-Op Power magazine writer and 2008 graduate Suzanne Haberman worked as a freelance writer during her college years.

“I worked all through college so I didn’t have time for a regular internship…so I sought out freelance-writing opportunities at different publications around Austin [including Orange] and wrote articles as often as I could,” Haberman said. “So those developed more skills than networking, I think, but those became just as reliable as knowing someone.”

Haberman recommended that students considering freelance-writing aim for depth in stories fit for respective publications.

“The first thing to do really is to delve in and try to understand the magazine or newspaper or whatever venue it is, that way you’re suggesting a story that is along the lines of what they would of actually published. And go from there,” she said.

Along with work experience, the panel discussed intuition about staying in journalism to the audience.

“It’s normal to feel like you can’t do it, and it’s normal to think that you’re questioning, or thinking about this career twice,” Vega said. “Don’t let that be the determination but also, do pay attention to that feeling.”

Kayla McDaniel, a recent UT School of Journalism graduate, decided to take her journalism degree and go into law school, and is currently working in the Office of the Governor.

“Though I started out set on being a broadcast reporter, I found myself more and more attracted to the legal field,” McDaniel said. “When I’d cover something at the Capitol, I was so interested in telling stories about policy makers and legal processes…I [then] decided I wanted to be on the other side-creating the policies and fighting for my cause.”

Journalism senior Ashley Meleen agrees with Vega on continuing journalistic engagement.

“If you feel like something isn’t right for you, you shouldn’t feel like you have to continue,” Meleen said. “If you’re not passionate about something, the difficult times are going to be even more difficult and you’re not going to enjoy it.”

Meleen admits altering some aspects to her journalistic plans, focusing on multimedia instead of news reporting in college, and doesn’t regret those decisions.

“It’s allowed me to try different things and find aspects that I really enjoy,” she said, “and I think finding something you love is the ultimate goal.”

Call Me Carilloneur: A Profile of Austin Ferguson

A profile of Austin Ferguson, Student Director of the Guild of Student Carilloneurs. Video by Olivia Suarez and Rebecca Salazar.

Interview with the International

Interview with the International- Audio Podcast

https://soundcloud.com/oliviamsuarez/interview-with-the

(Click on the link above)

(NARRATION:) Texas Student Television just got a little more Aussie. Joseph Wang, an international student from Australia, is one of the TV station's newest volunteers. The computer science junior spends his time participating in VGHL, or Videogame Hour Live. I met up with Joseph at the Student Activity Center and got insight of his time at UT.

(OLIVIA SUAREZ:) "Where in Australia are you from?"

(JOSEPH WANG:) "I'm from Sydney, Australia, so one of the big capital cities in Australia." 

(OLIVIA SUAREZ:) "Nice. So as far as the Sydney Opera House, do you see that all the time where you live?"

(JOSEPH WANG:) "Well my university's pretty close to the heart of the city, so occasionally we take a bus downtown and yeah, go check out the Circular Quay, the Opera House, and Frog Hollow Bridge." 

(OLIVIA SUAREZ:) "And do you do stuff like 'find Nemo'?"

(JOSEPH WANG:) (laughs) "I've tried, I've tried looking hard, but no such luck."

(OLIVIA SUAREZ:) "And what inspired you to become an international student? What program are you on?"

(JOSEPH WANG:) "I'm part of the University of Sydney Study Abroad Program, that basically involves me coming here for a semester to study subjects related to my major. So, my major is computer science. I chose UT because America is a really, really interesting country for me because as a computer science major, all of the technology jobs and such are centered in America, especially like San Francisco and even Austin, there's a really big start-up scene here, where a bunch of new companies are rising up. Austin also really has a great social scene: there's a lot of music festivals and things going on. So I went to Austin City Limits a few weeks ago, which is really amazing, and like, all the bands just seem to come through this city. It always feels like there's something to do here. There's never a dull moment in Austin."

(OLIVIA SUAREZ:) "What is the common reaction you get when you talk to a stranger or friends for the first time?"

(JOSEPH WANG:) "A lot of people don't actually pick up on the accent. You begin talking and some people will be like, 'Are you not from America?', and I'll be like 'Yeah, do you want to guess where I'm from?'. And then I'll talk a bit more and they'll be like 'Australia?', and I'll be like, 'Yep.'."  

(OLIVIA SUAREZ:) "You're a computer science major. Did that kind of influence you to join VGHL?"

(JOSEPH WANG:) "Yeah, definitely. Like, as a computer science major, I'm always around computers. There's a gaming culture within computer science; I say like everyone likes to play videogames. I've been playing videogames since I was a young kid, from like, Nintendo 64 to today, like Xbox 360. And yeah, like VGHL just seemed like a really fantastic opportunity."

(NARRATION:) VGHL, which airs Tuesdays at 9 PM, is one of the few shows shot live. I went with Joseph to watch the show's Halloween episode. 

(NAT SOUND POP) " 9, 8, 7, 6-Get ready Tyler-, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...GO!" "Alright...we're doing an hour live (clapped hands)." "And ready?" "Play logo, play logo...we're going back to him." (laughter) "We're going live on Daniel...we're live on Daniel! We're live on Daniel. Tell him he's up." (laughter) Daniel: "(laughter) Sorry. Welcome to Videogame Hour Live, my name is Daniel Jenkins."

(OLIVIA SUAREZ:) "Do you just volunteer, or do you have like a position on the show?"

(JOSEPH WANG:) "Um, yeah I just volunteering. I just wander around. I've done sound once, I've shadowed Tricaster, and I've been on camera once."

(OLIVIA SUAREZ:) "Do you plan on doing like, anymore segments...on camera?"

(JOSEPH WANG:) "Um yeah. I'm hoping to do a review, so now I'm playing a game called Need for Speed: Most Wanted, which is a racing game. You're trying to drive away from the cops and you're bashing into all of the other cars. It's a lot of fun, and yeah, hopefully I'll get enough time to finish the game so I can review for VGHL."

(NARRATION:) During his time at the broadcast, Joseph worked on his upcoming review for on Need for Speed by playing the game on his laptop.

(NAT SOUND POP) "Click it, click it easy, bro." (clicking of videogame buttons) "Push it good...yeah!" "Oh what are you playing...what are you playing?" "Need for Speed: Most Wanted." "Ah you're playing Need for Speed: Most Wanted on your COMPUTER?! That's rad." "Yeah...high resolution textures, you know?" "Push it, push it real good." (laughter)

(NARRATION:) After observing for awhile, Joseph handed the controller to me, and my skills were put to the test.

(NAT SOUND POP) "And you go 'Start Race'." (videogame music) "So far so good...I mean I've hit stuff but it's..." (laughter) "Down, so..." (clicking of videogame buttons) "Do I just go like that (yeah)...oh!" "Ah, nice!" "Yay!" "Lambda girl!" (videogame music) "Oh God...what am I doing?" (laughter, followed by a gasp) "Oh no!" (laughter)

(NARRATION:) Needless to say, I realized I should stick to reporting instead. 

(NARRATION:) As his semester abroad draws to a close, Joseph reflected on his UT experience. 

(OLIVIA SUAREZ:) "What are you going to take from this whole experience here?"

(JOSEPH WANG:) "Definitely a lot of memories. It's sort of changed my perspective on life a little bit, because this is also the first time that I've lived out of home for an extended period of time. Ha, trying to fend for myself, cooking and cleaning and doing grocery shopping and all that sort of stuff." 

(OLIVIA SUAREZ:) "And you're on the other side of the world too!"

(JOSEPH WANG:) (laughs) "Yeah, that as well!"

(NARRATION:) This is Olivia Suarez reporting. 

Tree Nursery Aims to Aid Bastrop

The Green Fee greenhouse (above), located in the Lady Bird
Johnson Wildflower Center, contains many plants and seeds
intended to replenish the land destroyed in the Bastrop fires.

Last year’s Bastrop County Fire demolished over 30,000 acres of land and approximately 1,700 homes, but it did not extinguish one person’s determination to restore its plant life.  

 Vlad Codrea, a UT molecular biology graduate student, spends every Saturday at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, continuing a project he developed out of one simple idea nearly 19 months ago.

Vlad Codrea (above) , the UT graduate student behind the
student-run  nursery and Bastrop project, checks the
status of  the planted seeds.

“It was my idea back in March of 2011 to have a tree nursery at UT, and with the help of the Gardening Committee at the Campus Environmental Center, I got in contact with the land managers at the J.J. Pickle Research Campus,” Codrea said. “They were very open to the idea of having the tree nursery there and we actually went around and selected the site to set it up.”

Codrea applied for financial support of his proposal following the approval of the nursery’s site.

“I submitted the application [for the Green Fee Grant] during the first cycle of applications and in April I found out it was accepted,” he said.  “We had $54,000 over three years to start a tree nursery, and with that money I ordered the greenhouse and the containers, the soil, the seeds, and so on.”

The Bastrop wildfires of September prompted the nursery to move to the Wildflower Center, and a partnership between Codrea and the center formed shortly after. Together they plan to allocate around 100,000 seedlings for the people of Bastrop Country.

While several volunteers (above) planted seeds in the Green Fee greenhouse,
others dug up soil not too far away (not pictured). 

Morgan Faulkner (above), an environmental
science freshman, compacts the soil
within the containers before planting
 the seeds.

A year after receiving the grant, Codrea’s project continues. Last Saturday, October 6th, 16 volunteers assisted Codrea in planting seeds in containers and shoveling soil at the Green Fee greenhouse in the Wildflower Center.  

“I have a portfolio project in my UGS class where I have to do things like this, but I would [volunteer] anyways, because I do a lot of work with trees at home, and to work outdoors is really nice,” Morgan Faulkner, environmental science freshman, said.

Like Faulkner, many individuals also helped out for the love of the outdoors.

Hannah Schmid (above), chemical engineering
junior and OXE candidate, scoops up soil.

 “When I stayed in Indonesia, I was in an organization that [did activities like this], so I love to do this. That’s why I wanted to join this [project],” Afriannoor Miradinata, curriculum and instruction graduate student, said. “[Planting trees] is not only our civil right, but it benefits all of us.”

The chemical engineering fraternity Omega Chi Epsilon, or OXE, scheduled their monthly community service project at the Wildflower Center. 

Mark Tomosovic (left) and Kevin Smith (right), both
chemical engineering sophomores and OXE candidates,
disperse soil into each of the small containers.

“I had come earlier this year because I knew Vlad from the Campus Environmental Center, so I thought it would be fun to bring everyone,” Tania de Souza, chemical engineering junior and OXE social chair, said.


UT students weren’t the only people engaging at the Green Fee greenhouse on Saturday.

Simran Frontain (above), a high school
sophomore, carefully plants the seeds.

“I wanted to partake in more community service. Plus, my mom and I love plants,” Simran Frontain, sophomore at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School, said.

With Saturday workdays scheduled for the next two years, as well as the efforts of new and returning volunteers, Codrea remains optimistic that the program for Bastrop County will endure.

“As far as I can see, this project is going to keep on going,” he said. “And when we run out of funding in two years, [the Wildflower Center and I] are going to hopefully continue what we’re currently doing.”

 Story and photos by Olivia Suarez