OPINION Page 6
THURSDAY, JULY 27, 2017
NTDAILY.COM
Dallas’ first female police chief is exactly who our area needs By The Editorial Board Starting Sept. 5, the Dallas Police Department will receive the historic leadership it desperately needs. Detroit Deputy Chief Ulysha Renee Hall was announced as the city’s new police chief last Wednesday, and will mark the first time in Dallas history a woman will “serve as [its] police chief.” A black woman, to be exact. In all of the 136 years Dallas PD has existed, this is the first time a woman will be in charge. Although black officers have been hired in Dallas since 1947, and the city had a black police chief from 2010 to 2016, Hall is an excellent change of pace for today’s modern paradigm of feminist and minority reform. Taking the various recent crimes committed on Texas soil into account, Hall’s professional tenure and cultural background are both positive solutions to our broken local communities. For those of us either finishing school or embarking upon our final semesters, police controversy has been inextricable to our college experience. The fatal shootings of Trayvon Martin and Mike Brown led into a series of riots and looting three years ago. Not only did these riots, and the media covering them, increase awareness of the hundreds of black Americans slain by policemen each year, they aided in stigmatizing every officer of the law as racist and negligent totalitarians. Even our area couldn’t escape the wave, considering how 15-year-old Jordan Edwards was killed by a Balch Springs policeman this year.
According to The Washington Post, Hall’s plan for the department will consist of “building on the successes of the past, preserving community trust” and guaranteeing safety. This couldn’t come at a better time. More than a mere footnote in police history, Hall’s service with the Detroit Police Department lasted for 18 years. According to USA Today, her tenure saw “a 40-year low in homicides and ‘double-digit reductions in violent crime for three consecutive years.’” Likely to bring that prestige into Texas, she told The Dallas Morning News at a July 19 conference that “she wants young girls interested in law enforcement to follow their [hearts]” and embrace their nurturing inclinations. In addition to women’s rights, Hall is also plugged into issues plaguing black communities. “My father not being [around] meant the same thing as every other child in Detroit or around the world growing up without a father,” she said, noting how her father’s murder – an officer himself – remains an unsolved crime to this day. But perhaps most importantly, the hire of Hall needed to happen to show us a different face for police authority. Her involvement could lessen crimes in this area, influence local legislation for the better and encourage a collective of minorities and women to join law enforcement. While it’s unfortunate it took so long for Dallas police to be ran by a woman, there is no better time for history to be made. The communities of Dallas, Fort Worth and beyond need social healing right now, so the hire of a black female is far from coincidental. This is why the arrival of Ulysha Hall is such a cause for celebration.
Through her leadership, Dallas PD is finally showing care for others who don’t resemble the atypical police officer. Blue lives do, in fact, matter, but so do the lives of everyone living in the DFW area. And the first step towards mending our relationship with officers was selecting a chief incredibly in touch with the needs of women and minorities. Good call, Dallas.
@ntdaily
Why you shouldn’t own a dog in college There is nothing wrong with By Amanda Lee As much as people love having pets, college is far from a safe haven for them. Last year, I worked for my apartment complex and helped renovate all the units before our new residents moved in. On my way to an apartment one morning, I stopped to pet a shaggy poodle left out on a balcony. Around noon, I made my way back to the office to grab lunch and saw the dog was still left out on the balcony. As I passed by the same apartment one last time, at 8 p.m., the dog was still left outside. The owner finally returned home and brought her dog inside, but this was not the first time I had seen this in the two weeks we were renovating apartments. Almost every unit containing a dog was in disrepair, and the dogs were usually kenneled for four or more hours without access to food or water. The carpet was usually torn up and the walls had been chewed on relentlessly. Most students can’t bear to sit in a lecture hall for more than an hour, so why would they cage up a dog for an entire afternoon? The time obligation associated with having a dog is easily overlooked. No one is lying when they say owning a dog is like having a baby. A dog will require an abundance of time and attention, and rightfully so. A dog is not a companion you can just pick up when you need them and lock away when they are inconvenient. Taking on a full course load is time-consuming enough. However, if you join organizations, must attend tutoring or participate in a group project, you might only find yourself at home for a few hours during the day. Your dog does not deserve to be locked away because of this. Puppies are only supposed to be left in their crates for a few hours at a time. Adult dogs can withstand to be crated for a longer period of time but doing this continually can damage their mental health. Summer vacations are awful times for dogs owned by college kids. There is a strong correlation between the number of dogs dropped off at shelters and the beginning of summer break for college students. As young adults, it is normal to want to travel and go on vacations with family and friends. What is not acceptable is adopting a dog while you’re lonely in your apartment and then ditching them once you can go home or on vacation. Sure, there are places that allow pets and families who are okay with students bringing a dog home, but this isn’t always the case. Another problem with owning a dog in college is the cost of owning the pet. Beyond the obvious expenses – food, toys and kennels – one must also pay to have their pet live with them. Most apartment complexes do not allow pets, but the ones that do generally have very strict
rules and fees. At Timberlinks Apartments in Denton, you must pay a one-time $350 fee, a $150 deposit and an additional $15 of pet rent each month. College students who don’t wish to pay fees and deposits associated with pet ownership find themselves having to abandon their animal once management finds the illegal pet. Some fines run as high as $250, in addition to removing the animal from the property within 24 hours. When there isn’t a relative to hand the pet off to, these dogs end up in shelters. To avoid these kinds of incidents, some shelter employees will call the apartment complexes themselves to ensure the pet will have a home. Gino Alexander, a community assistant at the Uptown Apartments, talks with the Linda McNatt Animal Care and Adoption Center regularly. “We get calls every week from a shelter employee asking what our pet policy is before one of our residents is able to adopt a pet,” Alexander said. “It helps us and the pet because we hate having to fine the residents and put the pets at risk.” All things considered, owning a dog in college is a serious investment. You must invest more than just time and money to properly care for your companion. Adopting pets is only noble if you have the resources to do so. Most college students forget to feed themselves, so taking responsibility for another life should be out of the question.
@Amanda__pLEEse
working unpaid internships By Julia Falcon Internships are important. They get your foot in the door, you get a little cash and experience for the career you want, and in most cases, you get college credit hours. The unpopular internship, however, is the unpaid one. I took on an unpaid internship with D Magazine in Summer 2016. Since I wasn’t taking classes at the time, it was easier for me to work more and save my money. Yes, it wasn’t ideal not to be paid for working and writing for this publication, but I met so many powerful people in the city of Dallas, became a stronger writer through learning from my editors, made so many lifelong friends and more importantly, created clips for my resume. I loved that internship so much I went back, and also wrote a little in-between, for the Spring 2017 semester. During that time, I had two serving jobs on top of school and writing for the North Texas Daily. Was it hard? Yes. But I did it, and it is something I will never regret. I can sleep when I’m dead. A study from Viscardi Center showed 61 percent of “graduating seniors had an internship or co-op experience,” 52 percent of those who received “job offers before graduation held internships,” and “46.5 percent of internships were unpaid.” As a millennial, a lot of my friends disagree with the prospect of unpaid internships in favor of undertaking paid ones. While working for free is commonly frowned upon in this day and age, I found there were many perks. I have yet to do a paid internship, but I believe I learned as much as the next person who worked a paid internship. Experience and connections are what us young college students are yearning for, right? At any internship, that’s what you get. We are all afraid of what the future may hold and whether we will have jobs or not, but regardless if your internship is paid or not, that’s
not what shows on your resume. A debate I have come across with this topic is with unpaid internships, you are working for free and being taken advantage of for your work. This sounds true, but beyond that is the big goal of forging a stronger future. We are all just normal, broke, tired college students, but this part of our lives is meant for learning and getting our feet in the door. We shouldn’t expect to be paid like we’re a full-time employee anyways. You can argue against me on this, but as an intern anywhere, especially if you are still working on getting your degree, it is all about the experience and not the money. Regardless of the internship, you get a taste of what the real world is like and what your career choice is like. Nothing is more invaluable than an internship, paid or not. The hard work and experience you gain will be worth it and pay off in the end, literally.
@falconjulia22
All illustrations by Samuel Wiggins
PRESENTS
HALF-OFF EVERYTHING SALE
AUGUST 7, 2017 1701 BRINKER ROAD–NEXT TO WALMART MON-SAT 9AM-8PM | SUN 11AM-7PM