Author: The UTD Mercury

Two years after the release of the UTD class ring, the alumni association has plans to reward three student leaders with free rings. The 2004 Ring Award Program, sponsored by the UTD Alumni Association, looks to congratulate three students for their successes in the classroom and positive impact on the Richardson area, according to Charles…

They rowdily watch basketball and they call themselves Couch Potatoes. No, they’re not your dad and inebriated uncle; they are the newest brand of UTD basketball superfan. Sitting courtside on sofas a thrift store would turn away, the Couch Potatoes are a squad of Comet baseball players who are quickly becoming part of the, err,…

Purple-and-orange accent squares on brand new carpet with shiny new furniture in the Comet Café are part of a $180,000 Student Union (SU) face-lift that will continue into next year. The current renovations include new carpet, painted walls, wall coverings and plastered ceilings in the Comet Café and Galaxy rooms. The Comet Café also has…

Baseball The UTD baseball team is planning to build on last year’s successes with a veteran squad and a deep bench. The Comets, coming off of a 23-10 season with a 15-6 record in conference play, are picked to finish second in the ASC in the preseason polls. They are returning 24 lettermen from last…

There’s a new level of rigmarole for Americans traveling to Brazil these days. Whether heading to the Copa-Cabana or the Amazon jungle, they have to be fingerprinted and photographed. Since Jan. 1, Brazilian immigration officials have required these new measures for entering Americans because that’s precisely what Americans are doing to Brazilian travelers. Brazil, although…

In memory of the late Martin Luther King, Jr., the Multicultural Center will host the third annual commemorative breakfast 8:30 a.m., Jan. 21 in the Student Union (SU) Galaxy Rooms. Rep. Helen Giddings, D-Dallas, will preside as guest speaker at the breakfast. “She’s been a very big supporter of UTD,” said Arthur Gregg, director of…

The UTD men eclipsed the century mark for the first time in almost four years with an impressive 103-72 win over LeTourneau University on Jan. 29. Five players scored in double figures to pace the Comets in the team’s first 100-point game since a Feb. 19, 2000, win over Dallas Christian College. The win moved…

Discovering the common thread that runs through the diverse array of popular music over the past century requires a certain amount of musical prowess. But creating a genre out of these threads requires downright eccentricity. Tom Morrell and The Time-Warp Top Hands performed a genre of music called Western swing to a diverse crowd of…

The UTD chess team earned its first outright victory in the Pan American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship, reclaiming its No. 1 rank in the Western Hemisphere. The competition of more than 30 teams from Canada, the United States, Central and South America lasted four days from Dec. 27-30 in Miami, Fla. “Each team played six…

The $2 million “face lift” of the UTD Activity Center, which will upgrade sports facilities and add new office space, is slated to break ground in late April or early May. An additional 13,528-square-foot will be added to the existing 75,000-square-foot center and will include a state-of-the-art addition. The annex will include a fitness and…