Evaluation on UT Admissions Scandal

As I was looking through The Dallas Morning News, I came across a commentary article about the University of Texas admissions scandal that was published on February 12, 2015. The article is about how politics and favoritism led to the admissions of unqualified applicants with the help of UT President Bill Powers and his top staff. Other students or people who look up to the university seem to be the intended audience. The article writer makes several arguments or points throughout the article. The first argument he or she makes is that Powers should resign for the safety of the university’s credibility. Quite frankly, I agree with this point. The writer also makes a good point about how UT gave preferential treatment to certain applicants that was not given to others or released to the general public. This makes the situation secretive and rather unfair. The writer then states that this goes against the university’s big rule: an applicant should not be given special treatment or consideration due to family, political connections, or persons of influence. Powers told investigators that these particular students were admitted in order to expand the class. Which leads readers to the author’s last good point: if the class was expanded for the unqualified, then there was more room for applicants who deserved to make UT’s cut. I strongly agree with all these arguments. It is not fair for anyone to be rejected from a university when they worked so hard to be accepted and qualified. The author has me, as a reader, well informed about the current situation and has established a strong credibility. The author of this article made firm and solid points and has me agreeing with him or her.

DNA Testing in Texas

On February 9, 2015, The Texas Tribune published  an article about DNA testing in criminal cases. This article is about a man, named Michael Morton, who spent twenty-five years in prison for a murder he did not commit. With current DNA testing and access to the correct evidence, Morton was able to be released from prison. He joined state Senator Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, and other lawyers from the Innocence Project at a press conference to persist the passage of a bill to expand access to DNA testing in such criminal cases. Senator Ellis claimed that Morton wants to make sure that the right person is convicted and that our communities are always secure. In 2013, lawmakers passed a bill that Senator Ellis proposed to mandate DNA testing in criminal cases. Just recently, Governor Greg Abbott, who was then an attorney general, gave his consent and support for the bill. The bill was then approved and signed into law by then-Governor Rick Perry. This is extremely important, I think, because fifty-two people in Texas have been falsely accused of crime. By not convicting the right person, we not only put an innocent citizen behind bars, but we also put our state and its people in danger. Former Governor Perry signing this new law represents our state and emphasizes that we will try not to make this horrible mistake again. Texas has learned from its fellow strong citizen, Michael Morton.