Vax for cash | August 23, 2021
Alongside several policy changes for the upcoming semester, UTD will be implementing two COVID-related programs to ensure student safety. One of those programs might look familiar to students who lived on campus last semester: UTD has reinstated the return-to-campus testing policy, requiring all members of the campus community to be tested for COVID-19 within the […]
Town Hall Takeaways | August 23, 2021
Following a year of remote learning due to COVID-19, UTD is implementing changes across the University for Comets coming back to campus this fall. All areas of campus are now open at full capacity, with the Activity Center also open for guests and community members. Vice President for Student Affairs Gene Fitch said events taking […]
Housing modifies testing requirements for students arriving from abroad | August 23, 2021
Due to rising COVID-19 cases, students arriving from an international destination and moving into campus housing will be subject to more stringent entry procedures. University Housing released its protocol in late July for those arriving from abroad, with separate courses of action for both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. All students are required to be tested […]
Best of 5 thoughts on esports | August 23, 2021
With the tentative return of in-person events, the esports scene has been eager to get back into offline tournaments and big LAN competitions. As we settle back into a pseudo-norm of “classroom de-densification” and other restrictions, here are three wins and two losses from esports for a best of five. Smash Team continues smashing A […]
Coach check-in: Kanute Drugan | August 23, 2021
Of all the sports disrupted by COVID last year, those on the fall schedule arguably got the short end of the stick. After having their seasons canceled then rescheduled to the spring by the ASC, they had to wrestle with both pre-vaccination preparation and the chaos of a polar vortex just to play a season […]
$5 for 5 hours | August 23, 2021
“Rusted Warfare” is one of the few real time strategies (RTS)’s that can be confidently played “head empty.” Its basic premise is as simple as an RTS can get, but the depth of play is still engaging enough to play for hours on end. “Rusted Warfare” is a sci-fi RTS inspired by older RTS designs […]
Art Review: Ephemera(lity) | August 23, 2021
Reading the press release for Eli Ruhala and Tad Greenwald’s partner show, “Ephemera(lity),”a stark déjà vu set in. The purple descriptions of “transitory moments” and “human experience” seemed to be plucked straight from my freshman year lit major mind. They’re the academic’s version of magazine collage ransom notes: hodge-podge and reused. They’re that emphatic “society”tossed […]
“Hopefully I did help make a change” | August 23, 2021
For most freshmen at UTD, the beginning of their college journeys probably entails something like a road trip from halfway across the country, a chaotic day moving into a residence hall or the still-mandatory first day of school picture as they leave the house for a day of classes on campus. For international students, that […]
UTD Housing? More like UTD Homeless | August 23, 2021
UTD creates unnecessary housing dilemmas for students through inefficient communication and by determining and revealing their campus move-in dates way too late. My experience is a prime example of how these excessively delayed move-in dates can result in dire consequences, including a roller coaster of housing stress that nearly resulted in temporary homelessness and couch […]
Band-Aid fixes won’t make game development a safe space | August 23, 2021
The pending lawsuits concerning Activision Blizzard illuminate longstanding issues within the game development community and remind gamers and game developers that we have to do more than just condemn the studio’s actions; we must create safer and more welcoming spaces for women developers at all levels of game development and game culture. The AAA studio […]
True neutral: The college civics professor | August 23, 2021
The burden of having to give the most coherent, objective and unbiased information in the vast works of American government is put on the shoulders of today’s civics professors. Their job at the basic level is to educate, but they must also moderate discussion. In the age of trigger warnings, safe spaces and microaggressions, it’s […]