Day: March 27, 2017
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SG Report: March 27th
Comets Remember President Akshitha Padigela’s proposal to engrave the rocks in the reflection pools with the names of Comets who’ve passed while attending or after being accepted to UTD was approved. The project will be complete in time for the Comets Remember event on April 6 at 10 a.m. The families of the remembered students…
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Counseling Center explores online program
The Student Counseling Center may have shorter wait times and more personalized therapy in the coming year, thanks to a new Student Government initiative to implement an online therapy program. The center has seen rapid growth in the number of students requesting counseling services. According to the SCC, student intake increased 28 percent from the…
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Hiring freeze impacts UTD
A statewide hiring freeze is affecting UTD, where 55 percent of staff are paid using state funds. The freeze was announced in January by Gov. Greg Abbot and will last through August. At UTD, the impacted positions are mainly active in the summer term and at the Callier Center for Communication Disorders. The Department of…
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A&M controversy indicative of larger issue with clickbait media
The outrage over Rick Perry’s comments about the A&M University Student Government election is indicative of the problems in the way people are consuming media. A&M’s student government race made headlines last week when current U.S. Energy Secretary Perry published an op-ed in the Houston Chronicle questioning the legitimacy of the disqualification of the official…
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Editorial Board: SG must improve transparency to boost voter turnout
As 2017 Student Government elections ended with another low turnout, it is important to consider what can be done to increase student participation in choosing representatives. Only 6.5 percent of the student population made their voice heard. In an effort to improve student involvement in SG elections, The Mercury increased its coverage of the process…
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Housing adds gender-inclusive application option
Beginning fall 2017, UTD will be the first school in the UT System to formally adopt a procedure for gender-inclusive housing and one of the first institutions in Texas to address the issue. Catherine Pickrel, director of residential life, and Matt Johns, assistant director for LGBT+ programs at the Galerstein Women’s Center both worked to…
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Election and reflection: Reflection
With the 2017 Student Government elections drawing to a close, the current president and vice president are wrapping up their term in office by reflecting on their administration. “I underestimated how much work it is,” said Akshitha Padigela, SG president and finance senior. Over the past year, Padigela spent 20 hours a week in her…
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Election and reflection: Election
JW Van Der Schans and Alex Holcomb from the CometUnity ticket have been elected as next year’s Student Government president and vice president, respectively. Van Der Schans, an international political economy senior, has been a member of SG since his sophomore year and has served on the executive council as secretary and treasurer. Holcomb, an…
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Student leadership program comes to campus
Students now have the opportunity to easily obtain a leadership certification that is endorsed internationally through the Student Leadership Programs office. The Student Leadership Challenge Model workshop series offers free certification, which individuals can complete by attending five sessions the model is centered around. The program is based on the Leadership Challenge model and is…
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UTD IM sports to track behavior
UTD intramural sports created a new sportsmanship system to incentivize players to be on their best behavior. The scoring method treats both undefeated and teams without any wins equally. All participants in competitive intramural sports are awarded a sportsmanship score from zero to four, based on how they behave in each game. If teams average…