Official newspaper of The University of Texas at Austin

The Daily Texan

Official newspaper of The University of Texas at Austin

The Daily Texan

Official newspaper of The University of Texas at Austin

The Daily Texan

All content by Jacob Schmidt
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Transfer students deserve better accommodations

Jacob Schmidt September 8, 2016

Most new Longhorns are breathing a small sigh of relief now that the semester is under way. For the more than 8,500 freshmen, the first class week’s mix of stress and excitement has passed and life...

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Tipping should be abolished

Jacob Schmidt April 25, 2016

Americans give $40 billion — twice the budget of NASA — in tips to waiters, valets, barbers, caddies and many others every year. But this money spent in the name of quality service actually...

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Music is not meat

Jacob Schmidt April 11, 2016

From proverbs like “you are what you eat” to movements like veganism, the conscious consumption of food is a value woven throughout our modern culture. But another commodity as ubiquitous as...

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Test banks decrease learning

Jacob Schmidt March 28, 2016

Test banks have recently become a controversial issue since the Senate of College Councils proposed a resolution to create a University-wide online test bank this month. Historically the prerogative of...

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The Internet is poisoning itself

Jacob Schmidt March 8, 2016

Global internet traffic is expected to grow a whopping 6600% from 2005 and 2019. By the end of that period, you will need 5 million years just to watch all the videos uploaded each...

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High academic journal prices justify sharing of articles illegally

Jacob Schmidt February 23, 2016

Last October, Russian neuroscientist Alexandra Elbakyan was indicted by a New York district court for creating a website that illegally uploaded over 47 million scientific journal articles to the web....

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Students should unplug when walking to class

Jacob Schmidt February 9, 2016

Earbuds and iPhones are as common as backpacks on campus sidewalks, but the modern student pedestrian is more an accessory to his smartphone than the other way around. Music and social media might help...

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Humans could become GMO

Jacob Schmidt January 26, 2016

Genetic modification of human embryos has been a no-no since an international conference of scientists in 1975 enforced a voluntary moratorium on the practice. But in April 2015, researchers from Sun Yat-sen...

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Campus diversity is more than selling point for admissions

Jacob Schmidt December 1, 2015

These days, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a university that doesn’t promote diversity as essential to education. Schools employ massive financial and legal resources recruiting kids from different...

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Institution of marriage is outdated, should evolve over time

Jacob Schmidt November 17, 2015

Matrimony — the oldest and most enduring of human traditions (perhaps besides war) — is giving people cold feet. Especially for the next generation eligible for bouquet-tossing and bride-kissing,...

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Normalization of enhancement drugs could be in near future

Jacob Schmidt November 3, 2015

From Vasotec to Valium to Viagra, 70 percent of Americans are taking prescription drugs to treat their ailments, according to a Mayo Clinic study. Although their purposes vary widely, the one thing that...

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Bathroom carry: Don’t forget to wash your hands, grab your guns

Jacob Schmidt October 20, 2015

Campus carry certainly is a divisive issue, but nothing unites us quite like our excretory systems. Everyone poops. But when guns are allowed on campus next August, public bathrooms might prove an unlikely...

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Modafinil provides safe, effective cognitive enhancement for users

Jacob Schmidt October 6, 2015

Editor's note: This is one part of a point-counterpoint regarding study drugs. Read the other installment here.   A review published in July indicates that the popular study drug modafinil...

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Entrepreneurial ideals can be beneficial, accessible by all

Jacob Schmidt September 22, 2015

Many people envision the entrepreneur as a tailored suit with an MBA distributing business cards and loudly predicting just how quickly his mobile app will become the next Facebook. For most, entrepreneurship...

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Supplements are an unnecessary risk

Jacob Schmidt August 10, 2015

This February, New York’s attorney general sent cease-and-desist letters to Wal-Mart, Target, Walgreens and GNC for selling sham herbal supplements. Of the supplements tested by the Attorney General,...

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Chivalry’s ghost: Courtesy should not be gender-biased

Jacob Schmidt July 31, 2015

We live in a society nobly pursuing equal rights for women. And yet it seems there is one area in which we do not want gender equality: dating. We say women should be respected as capable and independent,...

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The cult of designer bottled water

Jacob Schmidt July 24, 2015

Water is the most important resource in the world. Our bodies are 60 percent water. We cannot survive without it for more than 72 hours. The need for water has influenced the migration, settling and development...

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Side effects may include brainwashing: The cultural epidemic of Big Pharma’s direct-to-consumer advertising

Jacob Schmidt July 17, 2015

The typical American spends more time watching drug commercials than at the doctor’s office. We each sit through an average 16 hours of side effect recitations and increasingly comedic brand names...

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Everyone is talking about medical marijuana, but what about LSD?

Jacob Schmidt July 9, 2015

Native Amazonians have used Ayahuasca, a psychedelic brew, to promote spiritual healing and growth for hundreds of years. Steve Jobs (among many others) stated that his experiences with psychedelics were...

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Understanding bucket lists: They are not just about check marks

Jacob Schmidt July 4, 2015

We have lists for nearly everything. From groceries and shopping to chores and phone numbers, lists help bring order and accomplishment to our lives. Humans spend countless hours arranging the lists that...

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The lost art of scientific verification

Jacob Schmidt June 24, 2015

A recent study demonstrated that eating chocolate can make you lose weight. Dr. Johannes Bohannon, the research director of the Institute of Diet and Health and author of the study, showed eating 48 grams...

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Peer-review journals monopolize research, hurt students and faculty

Jacob Schmidt June 15, 2015

The world of peer-reviewed journalism seems noble. Researchers submit their findings to academic journals for peer review, where experts in the field evaluate the work for experimental soundness, and the journal...

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