Academic senate declares support for Student Government’s Mercury strategy | September 19, 2024
Maria Shaikh | Acting Editor-in-Chief The Academic Senate, which represents UTD’s faculty in front of administration, voted 23–4 to support Student Government’s decision to “resolve the situation pertinent to The Mercury.” SG president Devin Schwartz, student members of the Student Media Operating Board and former Mercury Editor-in-Chief Gregorio Olivares Gutierrez spoke at the Sept. 18 […]
Here comes ‘Big Momma’ | August 19, 2024
UTD celebrated the groundbreaking for its student success center and student union complex Aug. 12. Members of UTD administration, state and local government and the local community gathered in the Founders Atrium to celebrate UTD’s most ambitious construction project to date. In spring 2024, UTD demolished the Green Center, Calvin Jamison, vice president for Facilities […]
Smoothie King deposed, boba shop takes throne | August 19, 2024
Aug. 12 marked the soft launch of TeaCo in the Student Union. The newest addition to UTD’s dining facilities will provide students with boba tea on campus for the first time in UTD history. TeaCo Royal is a family-owned and operated tea shop that offers milk tea, smoothies, coffee and fresh tea with seven different […]
ATEEZ blazes with theatrical performance | August 19, 2024
The rising K-pop boy group ATEEZ set a new standard for K-pop concerts with a theatrical and thrilling show July 28, bringing over 30,000 fans together with a performance rivaling the best of Broadway. The eight members of the group — Hongjoong, Seonghwa, Yunho, Yeosang, San, Mingi, Wooyoung, and Jongho — were just coming off their […]
Editor’s Desk: new semester, new Mercury | August 19, 2024
Welcome — or welcome back — to campus. For many, this will be your first year at UTD, so you have the great pleasure of learning how to navigate this labyrinthine compound of a university. Our returning students also have the pleasure of charting new paths around campus as parking shifts around because of the […]
The Paisleys: from breakup to breakout | August 19, 2024
Correction, Aug. 20: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated Sasha Kaplan’s first electric guitar. It is a Les Paul by Epiphone. An earlier version also had a typo in the headline. Children’s music classes are wrapping up for the day — a final musical scale floats through their air, lights are turned off, […]
A bee in our bonnets: UTD’s journey to sustainable living | August 19, 2024
Correction, Aug. 22: The graphic accompanying this article incorrectly states how much of UTD’s energy consumption comes from nonrenewable sources. The correct figure is 64%. The graphic also includes a quote from Garapaty that was not attributed. Correction, Sept. 1: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated which location Chandu Garapaty said had poor […]
Comets for Better Transit trains sight on potential DART budget cuts | August 19, 2024
Dallas Area Rapid Transit, the light rail transit system used by many Comets to get around DFW, faces threats of decreased funding from Plano and other Dallas cities. Plano’s city council, one of the first cities to push for budget cuts, voted June 24 to cut their funding for DART by 25%. According to DART’s […]
The Marías’ ‘Submarine’ Tour brings dreamy sound to DFW | August 19, 2024
A long, eager line of fans snaked through the parking lot of the South Side Ballroom, small talk filling the humid Dallas night. As the sun dipped below the horizon, the venue’s red-brick exterior and glowing signboard bathed the crowd in warm light, setting the stage for a dreamy night with The Marías. Indie pop […]
Safety tips from UTDPD | August 19, 2024
The start of the fall semester coincides with the return of over 30,000 students and faculty to UTD’s sprawling campus, including many first-time Comets. Safety measures at UTD, largely managed by UTDPD, have been set in place to help keep Comets comfortable and secure if they ever run into problems during the upcoming academic year. […]
From game console to big screen: the chaotic journey of ‘Borderlands’ | August 19, 2024
Three massive spotlights sliced through the Dallas night, casting a crimson glow over the Texas Theatre as cosplayers and cinephiles alike gathered beneath the twinkling marquee for a cinematic trip to Pandora. As the lights dimmed and the film began, the crowd settled in for the promised chaotic, colorful ride through the wastelands of Pandora […]
Embrace the Glen-aissance | August 19, 2024
If you asked anyone, including myself, who Glen Powell is, they probably couldn’t give you a direct answer. Save from an overshadowed role in “Top Gun: Maverick” – courtesy of Miles Teller and his show-stealing performance in the volleyball scene, – Powell has remained an actor known only to “Scream Queens” superfans and modern rom-com […]
Opinion: Art, identity and outrage — Olympic artistry or affront? | August 19, 2024
A black roof, slick with rain, sheltered a figure cloaked in dark robes, its head veiled by white mesh over a black mask. As this figure soared across the Seine on a zipline, it became a symbol of wonder, marking the beginning of the Paris 2024 Olympics’ opening ceremony that sent shockwaves through the night. […]
Opinion: “Kneecap” curb stomps Anglo Saxon supremacy through Irish-language art | August 19, 2024
Aggressive beats and snares à la N.W. A.’s “Straight Outta Compton” or Eazy-E’s “Boyz-N-The-Hood” blare from the theater’s speakers – except instead of English lyrics, the unexpected Irish Gaelic sounds throughout the theater. The lyrical rap of “Kneecap,” a comedy drama released Aug. 2 and first Irish-language winner of the NEXT Audience award, transcends language […]
Opinion: Danger at the door of Student Government | August 19, 2024
Our government has, in recent years, become increasingly dysfunctional as obstructionism — the political strategy of preventing work from getting done — brought about by partisan warfare in both houses has rendered Congress unable to govern effectively. I worry that many patterns of obstruction such as the filibuster that prevent representatives of both parties from […]
Opinion: TeaCo is a boba addict’s dream | August 19, 2024
UTD finally killed the on-campus Smoothie King. Great! Going to Smoothie King meant reserving at least 40 minutes of your day just to wait and hope that your smoothie gets made today. With the 2024 fall semester now beginning, students are met with a delectable replacement to smoothies: the first-ever boba shop on campus. I […]
Students arrested May 1 face denial of degree, deferred suspension, continued legal charges | August 19, 2024
The nine students arrested at UTD’s May 1 “Gaza Liberation Plaza” encampment face academic and post-graduate challenges as UTD pursues denial of degree, deferred suspension procedures and academic and disciplinary hearings, which endanger the academic careers of the arrested students. On Aug. 6, three months after the arrests, UTD’s Students for Justice in Palestine and […]