Author: The UTD Mercury

When I saw a sign with arrows pointing to the poster-bearer’s nether regions inviting opposing players to “Chocktaw this,” I didn’t know whether to laugh or cock my head in sheer bewilderment. Ok, so maybe cock isn’t the best word choice here, but all the same. For the men’s basketball showdown against the Mississippi College…

Visiting UTD on the day after the debut of Mel Gibson’s controversial “Passion of the Christ,” one religious author with a unique perspective on the Jewish and Christian faiths said she was opting not to see the film. Mary Blye Howe, who grew up as a fundamentalist Baptist before converting to Judaism and author of…

Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso, visited UTD on Feb. 7, attracting a diverse crowd of approximately 300 people to hear his proposal to overhaul the state’s method of funding public education. Shapleigh presented a series of arguments that ultimately amounted to a proposed 5 percent flat income tax, two-thirds of which will go towards cutting…

As one of UTD’s representatives in the Bill Archer fellowship program, senior Thomas Tracy is living in D.C. and working with environmental issues. The Archer fellowship is for UT-System students, however; only five of the universities currently send students to the two-year-old program. Tracy lives with 20 other fellowship recipients in Arlington, VA from where…

At last, someone installed some stop signs on Drive A at Rutford. Well done. But whoever did it, didn’t get it quite right and in order to prevent accidents they should be moved while they’re still new in people’s minds. Rutford Drive doesn’t quite intersect the north exit from the Activities Center and hence the…

“Lifeline,” the new survival horror game from Konami, provides a mixed and ultimately disappointing experience. It’s the second game to feature the headset, and while “Karaoke Revolution” showed the freedoms of the technology, “Lifeline” shows its limitations. What emerges is a game that’s interesting as a tech demo but boring and often infuriating as a…

The alternative rock band Blue October is set to rock the UTD campus as headliners of the second annual “Big Concert.” Scheduled for the evening of March 25, the concert, sponsored by the Student Union Activities and Advisory Board (SUAAB) is expected to attract more than 2,500 people from the UTD community as well as…

Lab venture too risky for cash-strapped UT Editor’s Note: Following is an editorial of The Mercury’s editorial board. The Editorial Board consists of the newspaper’s management team (editor-in-chief, managing editor, section editors, advertising manager and copy editor). The editorial board will discuss, debate and develop editorial positions on issues affecting the UTD community as needed.…

The Tau Xi chapter of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity is an organization of firsts as the first African-American fraternity on campus throwing its first Miss Black and Gold Scholarship Pageant in its first year. With only four members, president and senior biology and pre-med major Roderick Hunter says the organization of the pageant speaks…

Shoot-em-up games have come a long way since societal rejects poured a mint of quarters into “Space Invaders.” “R-Type Final” shows just how far game development has come. It’s the most complete, well-designed and all-around polished game in its genre. At first glance, “R-Type’s” game play seems standard fare – a ship flies around and…