Author: The UTD Mercury
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UTD student accused of stabbing banned from campus
University officials banned a UTD student accused of a stabbing from campus while she awaits trial. Business administration junior Nika Nikoubin – also known as Nika Borouj or Boroujeni – is accused of stabbing a man in a hotel near Las Vegas in March 2022. In a bodycam video shared by 8 News Now, Nikoubin…
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Student witnesses illicit water dumping in University Village Phase 1
A student witnessed an employee from Carpet Tech, a carpet cleaning company contracted by UTD Housing, dumping used cleaning water down a UV Phase 1 storm drain. Carpet Tech was hired by UTD Housing to maintain the UV apartments. According to their website, the water they use to clean carpets is cleaner than tap water,…
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Leaks bring down Canyon Creek ceiling
On Feb. 2, 2023, Canyon Creek Heights South experienced flooding from rain and snow, causing unsafe living conditions for several Comets, including criminology Ph.D. student Yeonjae Park and finance senior Raaghav Ramji. Park is currently navigating an uncomfortable living situation, lacking access to a kitchen or her belongings, which has caused her routine to fluctuate…
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Over 50,000 dead, students send support to Turkey and Syria
Over 50,000 lives have been lost in the earthquakes that hit Syria and Turkey, but members of the Turkish Student Association and faculty are working hard to send aid for rescue and recovery. Cries for help woke the world on Feb. 6 as the deadliest seismic disaster in Turkish history took thousands of lives in…
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Black student athlete spotlight
Junior Sarah Lewis and sophomore Cierra Trigg have established themselves as cornerstone members of the softball and basketball teams respectively. With the spring season progressing for each team, Lewis and Trigg hope their impressive play can help lead their programs to a championship. This February, in honor of Black History Month, The Mercury wanted to…
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UTD professors defend teaching CRT in class
Despite media controversy around critical race theory being taught in schools, two UTD professors believe it is an important topic to discuss in the classroom. Critical race theory, or CRT, is a theoretical framework developed in legal studies during the late 1900s. It is an approach to understanding how race and racism operate within society…
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Congress funds ECS wind research center
The Wind Energy Center at UTD — UTD Wind — has received $1.6 million from Congress in an initiative to foster research and development at UTD. Director of UTD Wind Mario Rotea said that the center was funded with help from Colin Allred, the representative for the 32nd congressional district of Texas. These funds will…
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LOV Task Force strives to support minorities
UTD faculty and administrators form task forces to increase outreach and support the needs of students from diverse backgrounds. After the murder of George Floyd in 2020, a group of students led by UTD alumnus Tamara Havis contacted University President Richard C. Benson regarding racial equity on campus. This led to the creation of the…
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Art history class treats ChatGPT as friend, not enemy
Amid debate about AI chatbots’ role in the classroom, Professor Mark Rosen incorporated AI into an assignment to experiment with chatbots’ educational potential. The Office of Community Standards and Conduct has stated that “the use of ChatGPT or any similar AI programs” is considered plagiarism, and machine generated language detectors are already in the works.…