MEAN GREEN TRACK AND FIELD ATHLETES PREPARING FOR NCAA TOURNAMENTS
THURSDAY, MAY 5, 2016
VOL. 106 No. 15
NTDAILY.COM
CAMPUS
VENUE
Seven reports of sexual assault so far in 2016
After 19 years, Rubber Gloves will shut its doors
By Tiffany Ditto Staff Writer @TiffanyDitto There have been seven reported sexual assaults this semester, according to the university’s crime log. If this trend continues, the number of reported assaults on campus will surpass the 12 sexual assaults reported by the university last year. University officials said the rise in reported sexual assaults isn’t a result of more assaults happening, but a greater awareness of how to report. The data from 2014 are the latest to be released by the university in the annual Security and Fire Safety report. “I believe the number of those reported are due to our education, training, and prevention efforts,” Dean of Students Maureen McGuinness said in an e-mail. “With those statistics it does not mean sexual assaults were not occurring before our numbers started to rise. It means we are doing more to educate our community how to report, what the resources are and doing more education.” McGuinness said the university strives to have diverse program types to ensure that education and prevention are tackled from multiple angles. She also said that the Dean of Student’s Office has online modules, various awareness events, campaigns and even selfdefense training classes. One of these education programs, Haven, is required
SEE CAMPUS ON PAGE 2 WEATHER
Matt Payne Features Editor @MattePaper
Lee Roy Michael cries as he recalls witnessing his friend’s murder several months ago. Hannah Ridings| Senior Staff Photographer
Homeless camp in Dallas shut down by police By Dalton LaFerney News Editor @daltonlaferney There used to be a neighborhood here, but now nobody is allowed in or out. There were no back porches to
light a fire. No doorbells for dogs to bark at. Green yards were not trimmed to perfection. No picketed fences or flower gardens. There were only tents, dirty mattresses, loose pages and garbage, concrete pillars holding up a highway and people
who didn’t have anywhere else to go. Over the last few months, the neighborhood underneath the Interstate 45 bridge outside Deep Ellum in Dallas was erased as fast as the cars driving above. A series of policy decisions and
deaths led to the eviction of hundreds. “We are not the only city facing these issues,” Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said at the annual State of the Homeless address in March. “The gap
SEE POVERTY ON PAGE 4
SURGERY
Today H: 80°F L: 54°F 7-Day Forecast Friday H: 83°F L: 59°F Saturday Sunday
PAGE 9
H: 84°F L: 62°F H: 81°F L: 65°F
Monday H: 80°F L: 66°F Tuesday H: 87°F L: 66°F Wednesday H: 86°F L: 63°F TRENDING
@ntdaily @thedose_ntdaily @ntd_sports
#MayTheFourth
Jedi around the world celebrated the annual Star Wars Day and took to social media to express their love for the sci-fi property. New video games were announced in the Star Wars universe as well.
#SpaceJam2
It was confirmed this week that Lebron James will star in a sequel to “Space Jam,” the series that brought NBA stars together with Looney Tunes characters. “Fast & Furious” franchise helm Justin Lin is on deck to direct.
#JohnnyManziel
A former Cleveland quarterback Johnny Manziel turned himself in on misdemeanor assault charges.
EDITORIAL ON PAGE 12
TRUMP’S VP CANDIDATES?
Prosthetic testical to remedy botched surgery after 20 years By Kyle Martin Staff Writer @Kyle_Martin35 No longer will he be called “Juan Testico,” “One Nut,” “Ball Man,” “Big Ball Blakey,” “The Nutty Professor” or “One Ball Ryan.” Ryan Blakey, because of an inguinal hernia he suffered during infancy as a premature baby, underwent what should have been a normal procedure. But a botched surgery left him with one testicle. “I was born an absolutely normal person, and I had a hernia like a lot of babies do and the doctor had to sew both balls back,” said history sophomore Ryan Blakey. “He sewed the left one up way too high and it
suffocated.” Now, 20 years later, Ryan is in the process of scheduling a surgery for a prosthetic testicle. But it’s not the first time he’s tried. At five years old, Ryan underwent a different surgery, where doctors tried unsuccessfully to find and remove his misaligned testicle. “Though it hasn’t affected me that strongly, I’m ready to change,” Ryan said. “Because every time I’m with someone new, I have to go back through the process of explaining what happened which, as you can tell, is really long.” There are several reasons for Ryan’s decision to undergo the surgery now, the biggest of which is because two balls seems to be the normal thing around town, according to him.
Ryan Blakey’s demeanor hasn’t suffered from the constant names thrown at him. Matt Payne | Featured Editor “It’s just a thing that I’ve always acknowledged,” Ryan said. “Anytime I see myself, I say, ‘Welp, there’s that thing that has made your life into the
question-mark shape that it is.’ And it’s a curiosity thing for me. What is it like to have two balls? I don’t know.”
SEE SURGERY ON PAGE 6
Track and Field’s Stewart looks to end her collegiate career with a bang As the sun soaked into the Fouts Field track, senior Chastity Stewart and her teammates gathered for a post-practice talk. Stewart had always drawn with chalk after practices throughout her career, but this time, head coach Carl Sheffield had a special assignment in mind. Before heading to Wichita, Kansas, that weekend, Sheffield asked his team to write on the ground the times they wanted to run. There were three meets left before the Conference USA Championships for Mean Green track and field, and Stewart had her mind locked in on setting records in the 100-meter hurdles with a personal-record time: 13.24. She didn’t quite make her
goal. “I didn’t run that time, but I just didn’t execute,” Stewart said. “I still felt like the time was coming.” Stewart’s 13.49 mark at the K.T. Woodman Classic was still good for a first place finish, but her thirst for greatness hadn’t yet been quenched. Just one week later, the Whitehouse, Texas, native notched her third first-place finish in the same event, clocking in exactly where she envisioned herself: 13.24. “To be able to go to Oklahoma and run the time that I wrote down, it was very inspiring,” Stewart said. “It felt like everything was starting to pay off.” Stewart’s relentless persistence has helped her become one of the most decorated hurdlers in North Texas history.
SEE VENUE ON PAGE 2 FESTIVALS
In and out of the 2016 Denton Arts and Jazz Festival By Victoria Monteros Staff Writer @ToriLaSuper
TRACK & FIELD
By Alex Lessard Associate Sports Editor @alexjlessard
Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios said in a Facebook post Wednesday that it will close June 5 after 19 years of providing a concert venue for hundreds of artists. The announcement comes five months after Hailey’s Club shut its doors. Rubber Gloves has not made an official statement on whether the current space will repurpose itself or host another business. Its closure affects previously booked shows for June and beyond, but Rubber Gloves stated in its Facebook post it was preparing “pretty great surprise shows” throughout the month of May, and the artists would be announced as details are worked out. For Matt Battaglia – cofounder of booking agency Monocle Inc. and local music festival Oaktopia – the loss of Rubber Gloves is the loss of a classic scene in Denton where he attended some of the best concerts he’s been to. “I think it’s the most legendary venue Denton has to offer,” Battaglia said. “Especially considering the amount of shows they produce, nobody has been
Business Administration senior Chastity Stewar t is the first track runner to win Conference USA Track Athlete of the week since 2008. Courtesy | Mean Green Athletics In Norman, Oklahoma, she se the John Jacobs Invitational meet record as she earned the C-USA’s Track Athlete of the Week It was
the first time Stewart won the award, becoming the first Mean
SEE TRACK & FIELD ON PAGE 8
On the grassy lawns of Quakertown Park this past weekend, the Denton Arts and Jazz Festival had people visiting from all across the Metroplex to immerse themselves in festivities over the span of three days. People brought blankets and chairs, taking time to listen and enjoy musical acts while some took to the lawns and started dancing – something not easily done during last year’s downpour. “It was a vision of mine that we wanted to do,” festival founder and executive director Carol Short said. Behind the scenes The festival is held by the Denton Festival Foundation and has been held in Quakertown Park since 1991. It was originally produced as Spring Fling, but Spring Fling wasn’t solely concentrated on arts and music. As a result, Carol Short set out to create what we know today as the Denton Arts and Jazz Festival. Short took over as president and began building her team and starting her efforts of creating the festival. “I wanted to have it here in the park. I wanted to get big sponsors and I wanted it free,” Short said. “I wanted to expose professional music to people who wouldn’t ordinarily see it.” It has since grown from three stages to seven stages, has had over 200 sponsors and went from covering half the park to the whole 32 acres. The budget also has expanded from $57,000 to $555,000 and the American Canadian Musician’s Union
SEE FESTIVALS ON PAGE 5