FEATURES Page 5
THURSDAY, MAY 5, 2016
NTDAILY.COM
LECTURE
Distinguished Lecture Series’ success attributed to student involvement By Nikki Lyssy Staff Writer @blindnikkii A line snaked around the side of the Coliseum as students awaited the arrival of Bill Nye. As he speaks, students admire a man whom many call their “childhood hero:” the man behind the beloved “Bill Nye the Science Guy” videos shown in many schools. The event’s coordinator, Ellysia Dierker, chooses applicants at the end of each school year to serve on the committee that decides who will be a good fit for the series.This entails event planning and contacting each speaker’s agency. Dierker spoke about how the committee decides who will speak each year. She brings the committee lists of agencies and recommendations, and they look at the recommendations and then choose speakers. “That’s the great thing about having a committee of students,” Dierker said. “They know what the student pop[ulation] is looking
for.” The process for electing members to serve on the committee is carried out in two phases. The committee applications are due Wednesday, Dierker said. After that, the committee looks through applications and schedules interviews to see who is best fit. Dirker explained the choice behind Bill Nye as a speaker. “Bill has been in the spotlight recently with his books, so we thought this was going to be a good time [to have him speak],” Dierker said. “All the students who would have seen him before are phased out.” Graduate student and technical communications major Dallas Guill served on the committee from May 2015 to May 2016. He enjoyed his time on the committee and spoke about his favorite part of serving. “It starts with suggestions — everyone puts together these lists, and the chair of our committee reaches out to agencies to see if these people are on the speaking circuit,” Guill said. “There’s such
a diversity on the committee in the suggestions that people come up with, people that I’ve never heard of in my whole life.” Guill enjoys seeing the events come together for the students and the excitement that builds before and after. “Leading up to the event, to hear people talk about it, saying, ‘Bill Nye’s coming to campus in a couple of weeks,’ and then to see a line stretching out of the Coliseum on the night of the event is the coolest part,” Guill said. “I had a small part in making this happen.” Forensics freshman Michaela Fruci elaborated on what it was like having Nye on campus. “[The event] superseded all my expectations. He’s why I fell in love with science, and he just fulfilled every one of my expectations,” Fruci said. “He was funny, engaging and it was definitely cool.” Fruci spoke on how events like that bring students together from different walks of life. “You know everybody there
Bill Nye poses for a photo before giving his speech to a sold out crowd during the Distinguished Lecture Series. Kristen Watson |Visuals Editor wasn’t a science major, but we’d all been through science classes with him, but he gave the same message to all of us,” Fruci said. “That we can all make a better
In and out of the 2016 Denton Arts and Jazz Festival FESTIVAL CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
from New York helps reimburse musicians. “It’s just a great experience for families, for individuals and for students, so you can’t really say what area or what age or what does this festival appeal to. It appeals to all ages. It appeals to all ethnicities,” Short said. “If you love music and you love the arts, you’re going to be overloaded for two and a half days.” Beyond the jazz Three hundred musicians and vendors came out to the festival. It offered attractions for all ages, including a children’s tent with painting for kids. Although jazz was a major part of the festival with several jazz acts occupying the biggest stages, other musical, artsy attractions were scattered throughout Quakertown Park. Among these attractions were three country music musicians hailing from Corsicana, with classics like George Strait’s “All My Ex’s Live In Texas.” “[For] the three of us, this is our first time playing together. Byron and I practiced about 20 songs together,” musician Mike O’Neal said. “We did that on the sound stage, and then we moved over here and then he thought of a couple songs and I thought of a couple stage.” Soca band Calypso Steel also played live music with sounds of drum, bass and a steel pan that added a very Jamaican, tropical feel to the festival. Soca is a type of music that originated in Trinidad and Jamaica and is
world, and I think that really inspired a lot of people.” Guill acknowledged that it’s for people like Fruci that he served on the committee.
BUSINESS
Few Good Men mentoring group sharpens professionalism under common goal By Kayleigh Bywater Senior Staff Writer @kayleighbywater
Artist Natasha Mylius shows off her art at her booth in the Civic Center during the Arts and Jazz Festival at Quakertown Park. Paulina De Alva | Staff Photographer characterized by fast beats and push-snare. “It’s well organized. I like playing in festivals that are union festivals because you get in and out quickly. As an entertainer, we’re able to have access and entertain a good number of people,” Calypso Steel member Cameron Streck said. “The food’s good, great weather today and it’s a great weekend for it.” Moving to the music Along with musical attractions were performances from dancers. Isis and the Star Dancers, a dance troupe from Bedford, came to perform on Sunday donned in traditional Middle Eastern belly dancing garments.
“[We’ve been coming] probably for 15 years. There’s more and more things. The sound people are professional. All the contacts we have here are very professional.” Isis Bartlett, one of the bellydancers, said about the show. “[We hope to] give our dancers the opportunity to dance at a wonderful place.” Along with human festivalgoers were a few dogs. Attendees Pat and Bob Ankrum brought their furry, canine friend, Dixie-Cup, who doned a cowboy hat and Texas Ranger sunglasses. Dixie-Cup is also a therapy dog, and they take her everywhere they go – even last year’s festival. “We like taking Dixie out. We take her to hospitals and therapy
The Frisco High School Jazz Band performs on the Festival Stage. Hannah Ridings | Senior Staff Photographer
centers and stuff like that,” Bob said. “She loves people.” Artsy attractions were present as well. Painter and UNT alumni John Bramblitt showcased his art for the third time, and though Bramblitt has lost his sight, he relies on his sense of touch to paint magnificent works of art. He has had his work sold in 20 countries and has appeared on national television. “I go to this every year,” Bramblitt said. “I only do about four or five festivals, I mostly work in museums and galleries. But I won’t miss this festival. I have to come here. The people here are so nice, it’s just this different sort of feel.”
“You’re helping create so many memories for all these people,” Guill said. “And you know it means as much to them as it does to you.”
Dressed in a suit and tie stands kinesiology junior Da’Vonte Wade, staring at the room full of other professionally donned gentlemen. The group, Few Good Men, is affiliated with the Multicultural Center and is geared toward black men. They bring in role models and speakers to help students gain a better understanding of what it’s like to be in the business world. “The main purpose of our group is to bring in mentors to help us ready for our careers and our futures, in general,” Wade said. The group’s first meeting was in December. Now, the meetings take place on the fourth Thursday of each month. Few Good Men came about after businessmen in the Dallas-Fort Worth area reached out to members of the center, including Multicultural Center assistant director Damian Torres. “A group of alumni and working professionals in the area contacted us and said they were interested in connecting with some current students in order to provide mentoring and support,” Torres said. “When they come, they cover topics such as how to overcome failure, networking and communication skills.” Torres, who assists with planning the meetings,said the group is a way for students to interact not only with men who have experienced being a part of big businesses, but to share common experiences with UNT alumni. He helps the group coordinate meetings and decide on alumni guest speakers for the Few Good Men meetings. “No matter who they choose, the alumni mentors initially reached out to us so they are happy to volunteer their time,” Torres said. For students like emergency administration and planning freshman Devin Crear, the group provides an experience that business classes at the university can’t. “Few Good Men challenges you to think beyond a surfacelevel mentality toward a more articulated point-of-view in order to shape you into the individual that companies want,” Crear said. “These men
have impacted me by showing interest in me succeeding in my academics, while also grooming me to become the best man I can be.” Crear said the group provides an unmatched opportunity. The group provided a bond that he said not a lot of other mentoring groups achieved. “Seeing African-American men being successful in their craft of employment and wanting to share the knowledge of how they got to where they are is what attracted me to the mentorship,” Craer said. “And the passion and the dedication that these mentors in this mentorship show towards the success of young black men in college is what keeps me coming back.” One of the lessons that mentors have tried to instill in the Few Good Men members is that “proper preparation prevents poor performance.” Crear said this topic stuck with him because it showed that taking this step toward pursuing his education and this program would help him in his future. Without the program, he would not have some of the confidence and knowledge he has now. “Few Good Men has given me a new perspective on life and has showed me what a successful black man looks like,” Crear said. “These men have proven to me that with my compliance and their guidance, the road to failure is narrowed and the road to success is widened.” For Wade, although the lessons and topics covered resonate with him, the willingness for the alumni to come help proves an even greater passion. The mentors, who mostly work for Fortune 500 companies, take time out of their lives to help and assist college students who will ultimately benefit from what they are trying to teach them. To Wade, that makes up the grounds of being a successful businessman. “You don’t normally get an opportunity like this,” Wade said. “With Few Good Men, these successful men take time out of their lives, and sometimes even fly here, in order to help us prepare for what our futures hold. They don’t have to do that, but they want to in order to help the next generation. That right there, to me, is what it means to not only be a good businessman, but a good man.”