Author: The UTD Mercury
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Art classes are vital to college experience
It’s a known fact that the arts are underrepresented at UTD, with the destruction of the Art Barn and the lack of real updates to the current arts buildings. However this lack of representation could lie in the student culture. We have a large population of students interested in STEM-related majors. This is what our…
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Olympic games gain new twist
An associate professor has helped online workers get on their feet in a participatory project. This year marks 10 years since ATEC associate professor Xtine Burrough began the Mechanical Olympics. Created for Amazon’s crowdsourcing marketplace, the Mechanical Turk, the Mechanical Olympics is an art project intended to encourage the online marketplace’s workers to be active…
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New softball coach arrives
The athletic department has named a new interim softball head coach after the previous one departed UTD last November. Athletic Director Bill Petitt announced the hiring of Corrie Hill to be the interim head coach in December. This is the fourth time the softball coaching job has changed hands since 2011. Hill has previously coached…
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Q&A: Juliet Garcia
Juliet V. Garcia became the first female Mexican-American president of a United States college or university in 1986, when she was named president of Texas Southmost College, and later the University of Texas at Brownsville. The Galerstein Gender Center invited Garcia, former senior advisor to the chancellor of the University of Texas System, to speak…
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Comets on the quest for camaraderie
Twice a month, students gather to play a post-apocalyptic UTD-themed tabletop game their peers designed to embrace the student culture at the university and develop essential skills. Comet World is a Dungeons & Dragons-style tabletop game the Living Learning Community designed, in which the board is an entirely UTD-themed fantasy world. D&D is a game…
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Alum spearheads disaster relief initiative
In 2015, a UTD alumnus went overseas to help with the Syrian refugee crisis. Recently, he applied his experience to lead a disaster relief training for students. The training program is the first Muslim program to partner with the Red Cross, so attendees may receive valid certifications during the training. Islamic Relief USA regional U.S.…
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Dance groups unable to find space
People walking through campus buildings at night may notice groups of students practicing their dance routines in seemingly unlikely places, such as the Founders building lobby or a small pocket of Hoblitzelle Hall. The rising number of student groups, coupled with a lack of rooms and time slots, has led to room reservations becoming more…
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Who will you choose? – Catalyze
Two candidates running for Student Government president and vice president on the Catalyze ticket represent a platform focused on spirit, communication and sustainability during the first contested election in two years. Actuarial science junior Eric Chen has served as the Communication Committee’s chair for the 2017-2018 administration, and undeclared freshman Carla Ramazan has served on…
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Turning over new leaves
A UTD alumnus and army veteran is expanding his new tea company that is focused on economic development in war-afflicted countries with the addition of products in local farmer’s markets and stores. Brandon Friedman, the founder and CEO of Rakkasan Tea, launched a Kickstarter campaign for his venture last August. The company focuses on importing…
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Student startup selected for Red Bull Launch Institute
A UTD student startup was selected to participate in the Red Bull Launch Institute, a program Red Bull developed to support entrepreneurs. Management and administrative sciences graduate Elaine Wang, who is the co-founder of Cthrough, was invited to participate at the program that “gives wings to entrepreneurs” at the South by Southwest Interactive Festival in…