Author: The UTD Mercury

Shadowing is an important part of the pre-med experience, but the ongoing pandemic has brought with it an alternative: virtual shadowing. Shadowing opportunities have been becoming increasingly limited as hospitals try to decrease unnecessary visitors. Biology senior Kevin Pazhoor was part of the TEMRAP program, a partnership between UTD and UT Southwestern that allows students…

While many classes have switched to an online format this fall, some professors have chosen in-person modalities — such as hybrid and HyFlex — for the benefit of their students. In a survey conducted by the Academic Senate in early June, 52% of faculty said they preferred an online delivery mode, 18% favored the hybrid…

Several UTD students have created projects throughout quarantine aimed at improving daily life during COVID-19. SaniScanner — developed by mechanical engineering junior Keyu Cao and physics senior Parker Watts — is one such project: a device that sterilizes infectious pathogens using UV-C light. Cao and Watts plan to station SaniScanners at retail checkout counters in…

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, UTD has given students the option of choosing between in-person, online and hybrid classes for the upcoming fall semester. Students registering for classes will be able to select the type for each of their classes through Coursebook. To accommodate safety standards in the classroom, Dean of Undergraduate Education Jessica…

Members of the student organization VENUS dissolved their group at the conclusion of the spring 2020 semester, reforming as the newest chapter of the alpha Kappa Delta Phi sorority. Originally founded with the goal of creating a new sorority chapter, VENUS’ disbandment comes as the conclusion of over two years of the organization’s fundraising and…

Dubbed by the UN as the ‘world’s largest humanitarian crisis,’ the current situation in Yemen has spurred on-campus groups to fundraise for relief efforts. During the Arab Spring in 2010, a wave of protests and uprising against regional dictators throughout the Middle East spread to Yemen. As a result, Ali Abdullah Saleh, first president of…

The onset of the novel coronavirus caused many summer internships to be truncated, cancelled altogether or shifted online. In response, students and faculty have focused on learning digital skills. As COVID-19 cases rise this summer, the number of internship opportunities for students has dropped, with about 16% of employers having rescinded internship opportunities. Computer science…

On July 6, ICE posted a statement on their website that international students not enrolled in in-person fall 2020 classes would have to leave the country. The directive has since been reversed. The original ruling said international students could only take three hours of online credit but was waived during the pandemic due to the…