THE UTD MERCURY

Day: February 26, 2024

  • Comets remember Black history through Freedman’s Cemetery

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    The UTD Mercury
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    While commuting through Oak Lawn on North Central Expressway, you might notice solemn statues juxtaposed against deteriorating tombstones and graves. With a dedication to preserving lost history like this, Comets aims to strengthen the Black community on campus through several events and organizations. The Freedmen’s Cemetery, 40 minutes from UTD, was established in 1861 near…

  • ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ bends expectations

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    The UTD Mercury
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    The Netflix adaptation delivers performance while stripping away the heart of the original. Netflix’s “Avatar: The Last Airbender” is a grounded adaptation that pays respect to its source material, but its pacing and dialogue tears away at the original’s 19 years of nostalgia. This live adaptation is an inconsistent yet beautifully crafted disappointment that will…

  • Visiting professor teaches Comets West African dance

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    The UTD Mercury
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    On Feb. 22, as a part of UTD’s iWeek, Cassandra Hines — a master teacher in West African dance — introduced Comets to a West African celebratory dance known as tiriba. Hines fell in love with African dance when she took an elective course during college, which led her to pursue years of further training…

  • Passport to the World brings glimpses of life from abroad

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    The UTD Mercury
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    UTD’s 2024 iWeek opened on Feb.19 with the Passport to the World festival, where students shared different foods, fashion and the history of UTD’s many cultural groups. Student organizations represented countries including Ghana, Bangladesh, Palestine, Israel, Mexico, India, Kenya, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and more. The festival was organized by UTD’s Intercultural Programs department, or ICP,…

  • Former Vice Provost and renowned statistician dies at home

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    The UTD Mercury
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    John Wiorkowski, retired Vice Provost and Professor Emeritus in UTD’s School of Management, died at his home on Feb. 6 at the age of 80 in Corinth, Texas. A distinguished professor of statistics, Wiorkowski served as the Vice Provost from 2001 until his retirement in 2018. At the same time, he was a professor in…

  • Alum wins $5,000 Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship

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    The UTD Mercury
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    Austin Rios, a UTD alumnus and second-year medical student at Southwestern, received the Martin Luther King award on Jan. 17, a $5,000 scholarship for community service. Rios’ main goal with this scholarship is to make the health care field more equitable and accessible for all. Rios struggled through childhood due to his parents’ divorce, which…

  • Women in politics: local politicians connect with Comets

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    The UTD Mercury
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    Texas House Representatives Cassandra Hernandez, Victoria Neave Criado, Mihaela Plesa and Averie Bishop led a women running for office panel on campus on Feb. 12 to connect with college students before the upcoming March 5 primaries. The UTD chapter of Texas College Democrats hosted the “Galentine’s Day Panel” bringing a turnout of at least 35…

  • The tragedy of the carts: skipping the corral puts us all in a cage of selfishness

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    The UTD Mercury
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    Unreturned shopping carts in parking lots are society’s barometer for how much people care about others. And with a tiny bit of effort, you can make sure that barometer reads right and help workers, pedestrians and the whole community by putting your shopping cart where it belongs — in the corral. Picture this. It’s Friday…

  • Pathway to citizenship: the trials, triumphs of international students

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    The UTD Mercury
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    Comets share how they handle the unique experience of being an international student. One in six Comets are international students More than 5,000 international students from over 100 countries attend UTD — representing over 60% of the graduate population, according to data from OISDS. And while international students report intense pressure from work, financial burdens…

  • Protesters crash Nikki Haley rally

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    The UTD Mercury
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    In Dallas, protesting Comets interrupt Haley’s speech, disrupt rally with criticism and condemnations Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley spoke at a Dallas rally; the event was disrupted five different times by pro-Palestine protestors who disguised themselves as Haley supporters on Feb. 18. “Nikki Haley chose a side – she chose genocide” During her campaign for…