Hilary Jo Karp, chairman of UHCL’s psychology and fitness and human performance division and associate professor of psychology.

Courtney Brodbeck

The Signal Staff

Hilary Jo Karp, chairwoman of the University of Houston-Clear Lake’s psychology and fitness and human performance division, associate professor of psychology and revered faculty member, will be remembered for her profound impact on the lives of her students, colleagues and friends.

Karp passed away July 30, 2009, at Clear Lake Regional Medical Center in Webster. She and her husband had just returned from the United Kingdom where they celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary.

“Dr. Karp was able to have one last big adventure doing something she loved, traveling, with the person she loved so dearly, her husband,” said David Malin, professor of psychology and neuroscience. Continue Reading

Diana Velardo, clinical instructor and crime victims coordinator at UH - Law Center, gives a presentation over human trafficking in the Forrest Room on April 8.

Jenna Simsen

The Signal Staff

Every semester, the Intercultural and International Student Services have offered information to students and the community to educate and expose certain details of society which are generally unspoken.

Usually, a series will cover a topic for the span of a semester; however, some topics tend to be more complex than others and will cover multiple semesters with multiple speakers.

This semester, IISS chose to spotlight women in law. During the course of the spring semeser, IISS has invited three women lawyers to visit the university to speak about different but very particular topics suggested by students and faculty.

Over the semester, speakers have presented information in workshops educating others about the truths about human embryos, discrimination regarding employment and the most recent topic on human trafficking. Continue Reading

Lucia Y. Rodriguez

The Signal Staff

The unabridged evolution theory and the concept of intelligent design will be incorporated in Texas public schools curriculums beginning in 2010.

The Texas Board of Education voted March 27 by a 13-to-2 margin to revise its science curriculum, which was last approved in 1998. The existing curriculum, states that students must be able to analyze the “strengths and weaknesses” of scientific theories such as evolution. The proposed new guidelines removes the “strengths and weaknesses” language, which has been in place since 1988, and state, “scientific theories are well-established and highly reliable explanations, but may be subject to change as new areas of science and new technologies are developed.” The measures adopted by the board may cause debate on key aspects of evolutionary theory such as natural selection and common ancestry.

“In CCISD we focus on strengths, weakness, and changes that have resulted from our improved technology, of all theories, not just evolution,” said Terry Berry, secondary science coordinator for Clear Creek Independent School District. Continue Reading

Photo courtesy of CDC

Matt Griesmyer

The Signal Staff

H1N1 influenza, commonly known as swine flu, is quickly becoming a very prevalent issue of conversation.

As of press time for the publication of this article, there were 109 laboratory confirmed cases of the flu infection in the United States, with the only confirmed death from the virus happening in Texas; so far none have been reported on or near the University Houston-Clear Lake campus.  The number of reported cases, however, are growing quickly.

Susan Leitner Prihoda RN, family nurse practitioner and director of health and disability services at UHCL, explained what would happen if even one person became infected on campus.

“If there is a confirmed case of swine flu, the Texas Department of Health will close the campus down,” Prihoda said. Continue Reading

Mark Guillory

The Signal Staff

At Virginia Tech, April 16, 2007, a gunman went on a killing spree leaving 32 students and faculty members dead. The gunman, Seung-Hui Cho, also a student at Virginia Tech, killed himself afterward.

Less than a year later, Steven Kazmierczak opened fire on a geology class at Northern Illinois University killing five students. Kazmierczak, like Cho, was a student at the university where he gunned down his fellow students; he also committed suicide after his tirade.

These two tragedies sent shock waves throughout the country and people began to question what could be done to keep college campuses safe.

In the wake of the shooting, a particular bill has picked  up steam in Texas House Bill 1893. The bill will allow a concealed handgun license holder to “carry a concealed handgun on or about the license holder’s person while the license holder is on the campus of an institution of higher education or private or independent institution of higher education in this state.”

An institution of higher education or private or independent institution of higher education in this state may adopt any rule, regulation, or other provision prohibiting license holders from carrying handguns on the campus of the institution. Continue Reading