North Texas Daily - 4-28-16

WOMEN’S SPORTS AT UNT EARN LESS, PAY COACHES LESS THAN MEN’S TEAMS

THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 2016

VOL. 106 No. 14

PAGE 9

NTDAILY.COM CAMPUS GOVERNMENT

Erica Wieting |Staff Graphic Artist

SGA elections over

Grant Hale, Many students Barrett Cole new not worried about SGA leaders Greek problem Riley Gale of Power Trip interacts with the crowd during South By So What!?.

Meagan Sullivan | Visuals Editor

Thrash metal and technical writing collide with Power Trip

By Austin Cox Staff Writer @austincox_ There is palpable tension before a Power Trip show - a feeling of anticipation and anxiety that permeates a sea of black-shirt-clad metal-heads.

Vocalist Riley Gale takes the stage and delivers a call-to-arms to the horde of anxious fans.

“We’re Power Trip from Dallas,

WEATHER

as local D-FW band to taking the stage in the national spotlight as one of the nation’s premier aggressive rock bands possessing elements of the thrash and punk spirit.

Gale, a UNT alumnus with a degree in technical writing, has found himself in a position of unexpected success but still has a driving passion for writing.

“This all has been completely unexpected, honestly. At first

I thought I’d just do technical writing and would do gigs on the side when I could,” Gale said, standing drenched from headto-toe in sweat after playing an intense set. “I choose technical writing early on because I wanted to do writing but I wanted options.”

Gale retains an interest and desire to be involved in writing as a professional vocation.

SEE MUSON PAGE 5

By Lisa Dreher Staff Writer @lisa_dreher97

The results are in. Political science junior Grant Hale will be the undergraduate student body president and integrative studies sophomore Barrett Cole will serve as vice president for the next school year.

Hale, SGA’s current chief of staff, won 1,712 votes, and his opponents, SGA College of Arts and Sciences senators Sam DeLeon and Owen Saenz, lost with 1,608 votes. There were 3,320 total votes, SGA said.

Results were suspended Friday because SGA’s election board needed to determine whether

During the undergraduate student body presidential race, some students and Student Government Association senators expressed worry that fraternity and sorority members too often dominate student government.

Previous administrations show a pattern in Greek members overseeing the student body. 10 presidents and 10 vice presidents since 2006 were in fraternities or sororities, including this year’s student leadership. There were 18 Greek executives and four nonGreek.

Newly-elected undergraduate

SEE ELECTION ON PAGE 2

SEE GREEK LIFE ON PAGE 2 POLITICS

COMICS

Today H: 84°F L: 66°F 7-Day Forecast Friday H: 78°F L: 65°F Saturday Sunday

Texas,” Gale said. “Let’s see if we can get this venue added to the list of places we’re banned from.”

Immediately after, a mist of sweat saturates the room as bodies fly off the stage, hands and arms are thrown with reckless abandon and the flash of cameras illuminate the room to capture the insanity unfolding inside a small but packed-out venue.

Power Trip, since forming in 2008, has risen from the ranks

By Lisa Dreher Staff Writer @lisa_dreher97

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Monday H: 70°F L: 55°F Tuesday H: 73°F L: 55°F Wednesday H: 78°F L: 56°F TRENDING

@ntdaily @thedose_ntdaily @ntd_sports

Wait, there’s a ‘Fight Club 2’? Denton comic shop Flier heats offers signed body parts with book preorder up City

By Nicholas Friedman The Dallas Morning News @NMFreed You all remember the first rule of “Fight Club,” right?

Yeah, thought so.

With that out of the way, let’s talk about “Fight Club” anyway.

Denton comic shop More Fun Comics & Games is offering a signed severed arm, skull or poster with a pre-order of the collected edition of “Fight Club 2,” a comic series that continues the tale of Tyler Durden.

While supplies last, of course.

Last summer, nearly 20 years after the release of the original novel and 16 years after the release of the critically-acclaimed David Fincher film, writer Chuck Palahniuk decided it was time to

continue the story of the unnamed protagonist, Marla and more.

The scene for the book is set after Marla becomes disengaged with her marriage to the main character, now going by the name Sebastian.

So she stops giving him his psych meds in hopes that Tyler will creep back into their lives.

“I’m expanding the original story, moving it into the future, but also giving the characters a history,” Palahniuk told us via e-mail. “Instead of being an isolated, one-time aberration, the character of Tyler Durden is revealed to be a classic trickster character, such as Loki, Coyote or Hermes.”

And though Tyler is more tangible in this sequel, Palahniuk said it doesn’t change much.

Council

By Tiffany Ditto Staff Writer @TiffanyDitto

More Fun Comics & Games in Denton, TX offers a signed severed arm, skull or poster with the preorder of Fight Club 2. Courtesy | Nicholas Friedman / The Dallas Morning News “Tyler is Shiva and will always seek to create chaos,” he said.

“People love some chaos. On the page, chaos is wonderful.”

So why the body parts?

More Fun owner Tim Stoltzfus said the idea for the memorabilia

came from a meeting Palahniuk had with comics retailers last year in Portland, Oregon.

“He gave each attendee a

SEE COMICS ON PAGE 7

SOFTBALL

#FormationWorldTour

Underwood’s path to college softball influenced by family

#SuperTuesday

By Clay Massey Staff Writer @Clay_FC

Beyoncé started her seventh world tour Wednesday in support of her sixth and most recent album “Lemonade.” She thanked her “beautiful husband” Jay-Z as she kicked off the tour in Miami.

Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton both scored major victories Tuesday. While Trump swept five states and Clinton won three, Bernie Sanders only took one.

#GameofThrones

The Game of Thrones season six premiere was Sunday night, bringing in a record 10.7 million viewers. It was the first episode that went beyond the book series.

As junior right-handed pitcher Stacey Underwood stares down

opposing batters from the pitching circle, she means business. She always has.

The integrated studies major with a focus on business wants to be her own boss one day, something she does every time

EDITORIAL ON PAGE 12

BAYLOR BYSTANDING ON RAPE CULTURE

Junior pitcher Stacey Underwood (15) pitches a ball towards a Marshall batter.

Dylan Nadwodny | Staff Photographer

she steps into the circle.

While she’s a businesswoman on the diamond, she also likes to have fun, illustrated by the pink stripe flowing through her bleach blonde hair.

“I like to be silly at times,” Stacey said. “But when it comes to softball, I like to be very serious. I don’t mess around.”

In the stands at just about every Mean Green home game, a pair of watchful eyes breaks down every pitch Underwood throws with precision. The eyes belong to John Underwood – Stacey’s father and former high school head coach.

The family is from Hico, Texas, which sports a population less than 1,500. John was assisted by his wife, Kristi during Stacey’s senior year – a year John called one of the most rewarding ever for his family.

“My dad had always been like my coach when we would go in the backyard and play,” Stacey said. “It was a really fun time to have my dad there all four years of high school. It was like a family ordeal. We were all there. I think it made us a lot closer.”

Stacey played the role of “coach’s kid” for four years, which caused some to think she was getting special treatment. But John said he knew just how hard Stacey was working to develop her craft.

“It’s a tough role sometimes,” John said. “Really they don’t think about the hours she put in and the time we spent. They also don’t think about the time she had to spend when Dad couldn’t be there because I’m working with somebody else’s kid.”

SEE SOFTBALL ON PAGE 9

It wouldn’t be an election without drama, and a recent campaign mailer caused tempers to flare. The local controversy includes wrongful hugging, hate mail and accusations against people running for Denton City Council.

Citizens for Local Governance, a political action committee, sent a mailer to Denton residents asserting there is a “curtain” hiding those who power local politics. The flier read that an international climate action group called Rising Tide is using its local chapter, Blackland Prairie Rising Tide, to run candidates sympathetic to its cause for city council. The flier accuses the group of being behind the recall election of Joey Hawkins from District 4.

“What I have gathered is that the flier has stirred up people on both sides,” Place 5 city council member Dalton Gregory said.

“The discussion of the flier isn’t important. It’s done more to generate heat rather than light.”

Blackland Prairie Rising Tide said in a Facebook post it has not endorsed or inserted any candidates into the election.

“Hell, we haven’t even been promoting Will Wooten, who is a member from this group,” the post read. “If we were using BPRT as a platform to run ‘multiple’ candidates for city council, it sure does look like we’ve dropped the ball.”

What stirred people the most was an address for the PAC at the bottom of the flier. The address happened to be the home address of former city council member Pete Kamp.

SEE POLITICS ON PAGE 2

NEWS Page 2

THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 2016

NTDAILY.COM

Hale, Cole win SGA after violation hearings Campaign flier raises eyebrows, locals get heated before election

ELECTION CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

candidates and their teams discouraged students from voting for their opponents.

Voting closed Thursday evening, and Election Commissioner Aaron Davis said SGA could not determine a winner until Friday’s hearings were complete.

“Each of the cases were dismissed based on the evidence that we had,” Davis said.

The board certified runoff results after the hearings and then waited another 24 hours to allow appeals to SGA’s Supreme Court to rule on the ordeal.

The first hearing addressed SGA Mayborn School of Journalism senator-elect Sierra Johnson’s complaint. She said DeLeon’s team cast votes for students.

Johnson said at about 11:40 a.m. on April 18 she witnessed students in the University Union logging in to OrgSync at DeLeon’s table where they could vote. She said the table’s worker then voted on behalf of students after they signed in, according to the election board report.

Shepherd said neither DeLeon nor Saenz were present when the member turned the computer around to vote for the student that had signed in. DeLeon’s team member Bianca Mujica sat with the computer while Abby King stood behind her, Johnson said.

Johnson was working Hale and Cole’s voting table in the University Union to the left of its main entrance facing the Library Mall. She saw members voting for students again after sighting the first incident. Cole and next year’s College of Arts and Sciences senator Fabiola Garcia were with Johnson at the table, according to the board’s report.

Johnson said College of Arts and Sciences senator-elect Kelly Phommachanh told her she knew a student whose vote was cast by DeLeon’s table workers.

The board ruled unanimously there wasn’t sufficient evidence to prove a violation occurred. Davis said there were no testimonies by students whose votes were cast for them, so the case was dismissed.

The second hearing involved a complaint by DeLeon saying Hale’s campaign team tabled at the same time and location of UPC’s scheduled tabling event, forcing UPC to move from the Union to the Multicultural Center.

DeLeon said the members also tabled on the Union’s second floor without permission, and used a Union employee’s report of these events to file the case against Hale and Cole.

DeLeon added that it was reported Honors College senator Isaac Warriner and College of Arts and Sciences senator-elect Misaki Collins solicited votes for Hale on the Union’s staircases after Union staff told them not to. Parties must not “disrupt the normal activities of the university,” the board said as stated in SGA’s bylaws.

Austin Bourdeau, a Union employee in the board’s report, said on April 20 another Union employee told him around 1:30 p.m. that Hale’s table was not scheduled to be on the Union’s second floor at that time.

Bourdeau then told Warriner that people must have a permission slip to table there. Warriner later told Bourdeau that he packed his table and left after realizing they could not campaign there.

Bourdeau said the table was on the second floor for about 15 to 25 minutes.

Bourdeau said during this time he saw another table for Hale on the Union’s third floor at the time UPC had scheduled an event at that location for that same hour: 1 to 2 p.m. He called the Union’s scheduling office, where staff said they would handle the issue, Bourdeau said in the board’s report.

The board ruled unanimously these violations did not significantly impact the election’s results. The case was dismissed because the team left the prohibited area within a short amount of time. The board said it was not enough time to drastically change the outcome of the election.

“They hadn’t been there for an entire hour and so the board ruled that the short amount of time they were there wasn’t going to have a

significant impact on the results of the election,” Davis said.

DeLeon filed the last complaint saying two students’ votes were cast by Hale’s campaign members without their consent and members did not allow students to change them. DeLeon said the incident occurred around 4 p.m. on April 21 in the Union.

DeLeon said D’Andre Coulter and Janata Montgomery told DeLeon that newly elected TAMS senator Rishi Talati changed Coulter’s vote from DeLeon to Hale. In the board’s report, the victims said Talati told them he could not participate in their voting but changed D’Andre’s vote when she reached the webpage and Talati saw she chose DeLeon.

The board ruled unanimously that there were conflicting testimonies from students, and so the case was dismissed. Talati argued he was only helping D’Andre move to the next webpage, Davis said.

With some physical evidence of photos and video, Davis said the board rules with its best judgment.

Davis said he also contacted all parties to gather testimonies that are “hopefully unbiased.”

“It’s going to be the same as any sort of hearing,” Davis said. “The board has to take into consideration each side and try and discern from the facts that they’re presented what is more likely to have happened.”

If the board found violations were made, the results from the runoff could have been thrown out and a new runoff would ensue with new results. Sanctions could not be imposed on the candidates committing the violations because the hearings were made the day results were originally to be released, Davis said.

If a violation was serious enough, the offending candidate would be disqualified and the other would win the runoff, Davis said.

Hale and running mate Cole, currently an SGA College of Business senator, also defeated DeLeon in the general election 1,368 to 732 votes. Hale was not elected because he fell short of the required 50 percent student body

POLITICS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Grant Hale

Barrett Cole vote, which led to the runoff.

Hale, alumni relations chairman of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity and North Texas 40 member, advocated open communication between SGA and the student body.

As president, Hale intends to bolster school spirit and create “special interest groups” of students with like-minded interests and concerns within SGA. The groups will allow students to collaborate with SGA to make policies and hear about their issues.

Some SGA executives supported Hale and Cole via social media using their #Thrive slogan.

Those supporters include current undergraduate president Adam Alattry, SGA project manager Hannah Frosch and SGA director of student affairs Dawaelyne Jones.

Courtesy photos

Kamp maintains the PAC isn’t hers, but does admit to being a member. She sent a mass email April 17 responding to local outrage over the f lier. In the email, Kamp accused District 3 council member Kathleen Wazny of selecting candidates to run against the incumbents, her fellow council members.

Kamp said Sara Bagheri, who is running against Greg Johnson for Place 6, and Mike Cheves, who is running against Gregory for Place 5, were both selected by Wazny to help get rid of Denton Municipal Electric company.

“It’s election season and there is always going to be some mudslinging,” Wazny said. “The election will be whatever it will be. I am a believer in free speech and people have a right to free speech and to criticize.”

Neither Bagheri nor Kamp could be reached for comment.

Cheves said Kamp’s claims are completely false. He said he had a disagreement with Gregory after Cheves told Gregory he was accountable for the children who were hit by cars in front of Ryan High School because the area lacked sidewalks. “[Gregory] told me if I thought that, then I should find someone better to run against him,” Cheves said.

“Several months later I am here, and that decision was between myself and God alone.”

The PAC also alleged the FBI is watching the group, but later recanted on its website.

Kamp’s email caused more high school-like controversy

when it accused Wazny and Keely Briggs, council member from District 2, of hugging a list of individuals at meetings.

This spurred a “hug gate” scandal that gained traction on Facebook as a running joke.

Kamp later sent a second email, asking residents for donations to fund the PAC. UNT philosophy professor Adam Briggle said the f lier is an attempt to distract from the real issues.

“This whole f lier thing is a debacle,” Briggle said. “I think it’s a total distraction and it’s really unfortunate those behind the f lier went to such great lengths to drag people through the mud. It’s a distraction from the issues.”

Briggle said the most important issue in Denton, and what everyone should be focusing on, is where Denton and its residents will be getting their electricity from in the coming years.

“Denton is going to double in size,” Briggle said.

“Whether or not [Bagheri] is an anarchist sympathizer doesn’t matter.”

Cheves agrees with Briggle and said the emails Kamp sent out, and the mailer, were just an attempt by Kamp to keep some mind share in Denton.

“I think that’s just [Kamp] trying to find relevance in her life,” Cheves said. “Our government is not following the best practices, we don’t have an internal auditor. If I win, I promise a lot of great articles; because, we’re going to look at everything and it’s going to be newsworthy.”

Many students not worried about SGA’s Greek problem GREEK LIFE CONTINUED FROM PAGE1

president Grant Hale is a Pi Kappa Alpha member, and his vice president, Barrett Cole is Chi Omega. They replace current president Adam Alattry and vice president Chris Lee, also Greek members. Several senators said SGA is predominantly Greek.

“I probably would have said no to a lot of their appointments because it’s just not fair that all of these Greek life students are running for these Senate seats,” College of Arts and Sciences senator Mia Muric said. “Every time we had an appointment, it was someone from Greek life.”

Assistant dean of students to Greek life Jason Biggs said about eight percent of the student body is involved with fraternities and sororities.

College of Arts and Sciences senator and inactive Phi Kappa Sigma member Sam DeLeon faced Hale and Cole in the runoff for president.

Hale is SGA’s chief of staff, and among five other Greek students who comprise the eight-member executive board.

Hale said he and Cole did not market exclusively to Greek students while campaigning and would appoint qualified members as executives.

“We see these elections as a hiring process for a job, and we take that with the same seriousness and mindset that would come along with that,” Hale said. “We want people who are most qualified for the job, not just people we know or who our friends are.”

Pi Kappa Alpha member Chris Lee said Greek students are encouraged to be involved, and often join SGA to fulfill

this, as evident in the past.

Pi Kappa Phi member Adam Alattry declined to comment.

“Greek life has always been an integral role within student government because of their involvement outside of Greek life,” Lee said.

There are seven instances in the past decade where a president and their vice president were both Greek. SGA president Kamaeron Willard replaced Troy Elliot for the spring semester after Elliot withdrew from school in the fall. Both Willard and Elliot were members of Greek life.

2010-2011 undergraduate president and current Clark Hall director Kevin Sanders said he does not see SGA’s Greek history as infringing on the voices of non-Greek students.

Greek members are inspired

by Greek SGA presidents and vice presidents, causing this chain reaction of involvement, Sanders said.

“Whether you’re Greek or not it comes down to that student’s philosophy on leadership,” Sanders said. “I think right now a lot of the SGA presidents are Greek because the SGA presidents have been Greek and the Greek communities are seeing that and are inspired to do that.”

2007-2008 undergraduate vice president Trey Connolly was also vice president of recruitment for the Interfraternity Council before becoming SGA vice president.

In 2010, the Senate voted against creating a Greek committee within SGA to represent that portion of the

student population. College of Arts and Design senator and Kappa Sigma member Justin Jones proposed the bill which was disapproved by non-Greek SGA president Dakota Carter.

College of Music senator and Zeta Tau Alpha member Nicole Wan said the encouragement extends beyond running for office, as fraternity and sorority members are encouraged to vote for their own members.

“If you have members of your chapter running for senate, or going to be an exec for different things, they encourage everyone to support their sisters and brothers,” Wan said.

Alexander said past executives were close friends with their president or vice president.

Hale, the SGA president-elect, suggested a blind application so applicants are anonymous to those hiring them.

College of Business and Pi Kappa Phi member Ernesto Flores said senators are not purposefully taking control of SGA to favor Greek students.

He said that being involved in the same activities outside of fraternities and sororities is natural because Greek members see fellow members involved and want to join them as professionals, Flores said.

“I don’t think it comes from a malicious place to misrepresent the student body,” Flores said.

“It’s a close knit community and you are eager to do what your friends are doing.”

Students presented with this information did not see the amount of Greek involvement as an inherent issue, but believe it has the potential to turn into

Graphic by Erica Wieting | Staff Graphic Artist one.

“Every student will always have activities and events they need to allocate their time to,” accounting junior DaJaevian Dixon said. “It can be a distraction or it can be the foundation on which they build their own abilities.”

College of Merchandising and Hospitality Management senator and Alpha Phi member Annabelle Weber said Greek life members are students like everyone else.

“A lot of the Greeks I know are really focused, they really care about their school and care about their grades,” Weber said.

“I think it’s a really positive thing to have them involved in the Student Government Association because they are the students who do care about our university.”

College of Education senator Myles Alexander asked candidates at SGA’s Town Hall how they will avoid appointing student government leaders they

are personally close with.

Greeks participate in campus life because fraternities and sororities praise volunteering and activity, but Greek SGA members encourage non-Greek students to fill the gaps. They remind the student body senate seats are open to everyone.

“It’s really a matter of reaching out to the whole campus community and telling everybody applications are open,” Hale said. “Everyone has the same opportunity to run no matter what types of things they’re involved in.”

Correction: There was an error in a story published in the Thursday, April 21, 2016, edition of the North Texas Daily. It was reported that the North Texas Blvd. bridge across Interstate-35 would be demolished and reopened on May 2. Officials said the bridge will reopen later in the summer.

NTDAILY.COM | PAGE 3 DENTON

CITY COUNCIL

Section of Bagheri struggles to clear the air after spread of false information Highland Street to close for project

By Jynn Schubert Staff Writer @JynnWasHere

By Jynn Schubert Staff Writer @JynnWasHere The section of Highland Street running from Avenue A to Avenue C will be closed May 2-6 while crews install a sculpture on the new University Union South Lawn, the university said.

The sculpture was made by UNT alumnus Jesús Moroles who died over the summer, was finished by the National Medal of Arts winner’s studio because of Morales’ sudden death and will be unveiled after it’s installation.

“They really haven’t given too much detail of what it is of, all we know is what it’s made of and its weight,” Student Government Association president Adam Alattry said. “They’re wanting to do an unveiling of it, and we’re encouraging students to be there on May 6 to see it.”

Council member Kevin Roden started a slew of accusations that candidate Sara Bagheri received money from a tea party political action committee, but Bagheri’s campaign finance reports show she has not taken any money from the PAC. Bagheri was endorsed by the group Empower Texans after completing a questionnaire sent to all of the candidates, but has not received campaign money, according to reports.

“At this point I’m like the victim of slander,” Bagheri said. “At this point I probably have a legal claim about people saying I’ve accepted money.”

Questions about how Bagheri would vote if elected started after Roden posted in Facebook group Denton Free Speech Matters that Bagheri was being supported by Empower Texans. Bagheri had an associate post in the group that she had not actually received funding.

“I don’t recall saying she got funded by them, though she is endorsed by them,” Roden said.

“My concern was mainly just the fact that this large outside tea party organization was trying to get a foothold in Denton city politics.”

Glen Farris, a volunteer for

Greg Johnson’s campaign and the vice president for marketing for Johnson’s company, Verus Real Estate Advisors, worried about subjects Bagheri would vote against if elected. Farris raised his concerns about Bagheri being “funded by the Tea Party” through an email sent on April 7.

“Everything outside of roads and safety will be voted against by Bagheri if she gets on council,” Farris wrote. “This includes Explorium, United Way [and] any festival or otherwise ‘non- essentia l’ gover n ment expendit u re.”

Johnson stressed he has not seen anything so far that says Bagheri has received funding from Empower Texans.

Even after Bagheri tried to clear the record, Pete Kamp, a former mayor pro tem of Denton, sent a mass email saying Bagheri was funded by Empower Texans.

“Sara Bagheri has been endorsed and given funds by the group Empower Texans,” Kamp wrote. “They are outside of Denton big money, and instrumental in the bill that 1, wanted to take away local control and move it to Austin and 2, allow unfettered fracking inside our city.”

Roden said he is wary of Empower Texans, and he questions Bagheri’s policies.

“Whether or not [she’s] funded

Sara Bagheri has had trouble shaking the rumors that she revieced money from a tea party PAC. Hannah Ridings| Senior Staff Photographer

by Empower Texans is a side story,” Roden said. “I think the bigger question is, ‘Do we have a council candidate being supported by the biggest tea party group in Texas?’ I think a lot of UNT

students will be concerned about that as well.”

Bagheri hopes these accusations will stop before they hurt her connection to her home town.

“It’s to create a perception of

outside influence, to strike fear in the hearts of voters, and to diminish my [reputation],” Bagheri said. “It’s so classless.”

GREEN

Students unaware but supportive of environmental service fee

By Matt Payne & Linda Kessler Features Editor & Copy Editor @MattePaper & @Linda Kessler

At the start of each semester, students pay an environmental service fee of $5 toward the We Mean Green Fund Committee, a student-led group that utilizes the money to fund their projects.

While most students support the initiative, many do not know it exists. In Fiscal Year 15, according to UNT’s budget, the estimated income from this fee was $155,859.

The report also states expected expenditures for the funds, which sets aside $56,131 for salaries and $99,728 for maintenance and operation expenses.

The WMGFC is charged with conducting events and initiatives that increase the action and awareness of the student body and faculty in efforts to make UNT a more eco-friendly university. The committee works with other groups on campus, including the Student

Government Association, Graduate Student Council and the Denton Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee.

The committee consists of 10 students, two of which are appointed

by SGA, one by GSC and three faculty members. To be considered for the committee, students and faculty complete an open application and are then interviewed by sitting members of the WMGFC. “This new union, the first time I saw it I was really proud of it because it looks great,” photography sophomore John Kuzmick said. “But also because of [the LEED certification].”

Kuzmick supports the fee and thinks it’s important to campus environment. He said he hopes the money from this fund goes toward the LEED certifications of newly constructed buildings on campus and keeps the university environmentally conscious.

“Our goal is not to try and let a wildflower grow in a fullygrown garden,” sustainability coordinator Gary Cocke said. “We want environmental awareness and

activism to be nurtured and have a lasting impact.”

SGA member Emma Sobocinski said she was not aware of the WMGFC, which is made up of students and faculty who propose ideas for the spending of the funds raised by the fee. Though she is not interested in being directly involved with the group, she said the door is open for collaboration.

“We could partner with them and get more support by working with them,” she said. “So I feel like I could be a part of it by way of SGA.” With the money collected from each student attending classes, Cocke said his goals in directing the WMGFC are to propel student-centric ideas the committee produces and provide an accomplishment members can feature on their résumé. He added that the committee is not unlike a Kickstarter for ideas for students to produce and maintain ownership of.

A new addition, produced by committee member Robert Miller, is a bike theft prevention initiative focused on simultaneously

A student rides their bike through campus near some freshly bloomed spring flowers. Matt Payne | Features Editor decreasing crime and encouraging UNT students to feel comfortable replacing their vehicle commute with a bike ride.

The initiative, which was approved for funding by the Division of Student Affairs in fall 2015, will offer two courses intended to teach bike-safety habits, increase UNT police department

presence in the protection of bikes and the distribution of free U-locks to cyclists on campus.

Although political science senior Raameen Shakeeb, a commuter student at UNT for the past four years, thinks the committee exists for the “just” cause of improving UNT’s eco-friendliness, he believes the university should consider other

means of improving its actions and decreasing its environmental footprint.

“It’s an important cause to encourage students to be more active and environmentally cognizant of their actions,” Shakeeb said. “But if we’re talking about a fee out of the blue, well, that’s a whole different discussion.”

PARKING

Parking department readies campus for more students

By Alejandro Medellin Staff Writer @skinny_fats With two weeks under his belt, associate vice president for information sciences Allen Clark recently discussed the future of the Parking and Transportation Department, which he is leading into more tech-friendly waters.

On April 1, the UNT Police Department and Parking and Transportation split up so each department can better focus on its tasks.

“The last 15 days have been very busy, and as an industrial engineer I really welcome the opportunity,” Clark said. “I appreciate my boss giving me the opportunity, and

also Chief Reynolds for letting me have this transition.”

Clark said UNT chose April 1 because the financial systems in place underwent an upgrade and it was difficult to separate the UNT Police Department and the Parking and Transportation Department accounts.

“We’ve called it Parking and Transportation but it’s just Transportation Services all the way around because we’re looking at bus routes, parking, street routes, pedestrian traffic, skateboarders and bicycles,” Clark said.

Clark said he’s has had his hands full the last two weeks.

“With a background of industrial engineering, to tell you the truth, being able to sit down and look at bus routes and

The university has also been planning on turning some of the lots into pay-perhour lots where you could pay your fees with an app. File Photo

ridership and being able to do operations research on that,” he said. “That’s what my degree was all about.”

And as the university builds more residence halls and other additions, parking will need to follow. Clark said the university must either build more lots or find alternative options.

UNT police chief Ed Reynolds, vice president for finance and administration Bob Brown and parking director Geary Robinson started the process of a 10-year parking and transportation plan, which Clark said is “on the tail-end” of being finished by consultants.

The parking master plan will reflect the university master plan, Clark said, meaning his position is reactive, so when a building is being constructed he needs to have answers.

“I need to be planning in advance,” Clark said, “I don’t want to get to the point of ‘oh the building came up what am I going to do.’”

Bus routes are in the process of being reworked to offer more stops to students who live further from campus, which Clark said will reduce the carbon footprint of the school and allow students the option of not having to commute.

Putting GPS tracking systems on buses so that students are able to track their bus, having skateboard lockers and increasing the number of bicycle racks are some of the things Clark and his department are working on.

“The university is going to grow and if it’s going to grow are we going to increase parking

The UNT Police Department and Parking and Transportation split up on April 1. File Photo lots?” Clark said. “Or are we going to try to increase ridership on the bus and pedestrian traffic through bicycles, and through skateboards?”

Clark said they are also looking into turning some of the lots into pay-per-hour lots where a patron would use a phone application to pay for parking. This would be an alternative for visitors or students who are on campus for a small amount of time.

Clark said his department is also speaking with the North Texas Transit Authority because it wants the NTTA to make toll tags for students leaving and entering the garage, which would alleviate traffic.

“If you have been in the Highland street garage when class gets let out, you end up with people

circling all the way nearly to the top waiting to get out and then when you go out you got to pay,” Clark said.

All of these examples are ideas for now, but how does the department know what students and faculty want? They create a focus group.

The Parking and Transportation department has a parking advisory group with members from the Student Government Association, the Graduate Student Council, Faculty Senate, Staff Senate, the president’s office and the chief of police.

“We’ve got these ideas and we need to bounce it off somebody, ‘how are the students going to feel about that,’” Clark said.

But with this comes the inevitability of allocating more

resources and being creative.

“Those dollars that are collected are specifically used for our purposes, it doesn’t go into the budget cycle,” Clark said.

Half of the fees from permits and citations go directly to the UNT Police Department as it’s the department’s only form of funding, while the other half goes to the Parking and Transportation Department.

Revenue from parking permits and citations are used for operational purposes within the department such as cleaning up trash in lots, filling up cracks or potholes and paying the student employees who issue citations.

“We’re serving right at 41,000 people,” Clark said. “This is a city and we are running the transportation for that city.”

NTDAILY.COM | PAGE 4 BUSINESS

B ar b ershop to c l os e af ter 4 1 ye ars on c or ner of S qu are

By Julian Gill Denton Record-Chronicle @JulianGillMusic

Wayne and Terissa Johnson have taken only three weeklong vacations in the 41 years they have owned Unique Barber Stylists, located in the old Thomas’ Ethan Allen building on the Square.

They have had so many returning customers, they said, that there hasn’t been much time to spend away from their business. It’s their second home, where they have forged lifelong friendships.

But since Ethan Allen closed and the building has been leased out, the Johnsons are closing the barbershop May 27.

“We’ve been here 41 years and then we’re gone,” Wayne said.

“We would have liked to go parttime or to slow down first, but that’s not what happened.”

The Johnsons, both 68, said they are closing the business sooner than they expected.

According to the building’s owner, Craig Thomas, the Johnsons could have stayed for as long as they wanted. He said he asked Wayne how much more time he needed, and they agreed on a month-to-month lease for

one more year.

Wayne said he decided to close now, before the new lease started, because he did not want to deal with the construction around the business.

“It would have been like a slow death,” Wayne said.

Despite confusion surrounding the closure, the atmosphere in the barbershop on Tuesday was cheerful. Wayne bantered with one of his longtime friends and customers, Gary Sears, who sat in an old barber’s chair with a perpetual smile.

“Being right off the Square, you get a lot of very interesting people coming in here,” Sears said. “The conversation can get pretty crazy sometimes, and it’s always fun.”

Wayne and Terissa have been barbers almost all their lives.

After high school, Wayne got his barber’s license at a school in Wichita Falls and eventually started working at a barbershop in Denton in 1967.

A few years later, Terissa got her barber’s license to help fulfill her husband’s dream, she said. The hair-cutting duo soon started looking for a place to call theirs. And they eventually landed on a vacant spot in the Ethan Allen building.

“Anybody you would talk to,

Unique Barber Stylists is closing after being in business for 41 years. Courtesy | David Minton/DRC they would say, ‘Oh, y’all don’t wanna go downtown, you’ll never survive it,’” Terissa recalled.

“They said, ‘You’ll never make it downtown. There’s no parking.’”

Wayne and Terissa said they

have never struggled for business.

Some of their customers have been with them through three generations, they said.

“When you work this close with people, you have their

ORGANIZATIONS

problems, you have their bright side, their weddings and the deaths in their families,” Wayne said.

The Johnsons aren’t planning anything special for their last

day in business. They said they just want to spend it with the customers and friends who have been with them for more than 20 years.

SAFETY

New president helps honor society get back on its feet Police searching for info from April 15 sexual assault

By Alexandria Reeves Staff Writer @alliereeves23

Twice a month in Willis Library, the National Society of Collegiate Scholars spends its meetings making plans to reestablish itself after nearly losing its foothold on campus.

The local chapter at UNT was a notable organization in previous years. It earned “Silver STAR Status” in 2010. But in the last three semesters, NSCS members at UNT have tried to recover from several officers graduating and its membership dwindling down to about 15 students.

NSCS prides itself on community outreach and academic success among its members and offers resources for members such as study sessions and scholarships.

“We have a primary goal to build each other up academically,” chapter president Kelsey Poole said.

“We make sure every member is okay and is on a good pace as far as their academic path while they are at UNT.” The decline Four officers graduated fall 2015.

When they left, membership began to decline as well.

The chapter’s bi-monthly meetings offered free food and prizes as incentive for prospective members. Attendance for every meeting was high, but retention was nearly nonexistent, Poole said.

A wave of apathy spread to the less involved officers. Many people attended, but only to get free stuff before not returning for additional meetings, she said.

“Once the members started to fall off, and stopped coming to things, the same thing happened to the officers,” Poole said.

The other officers made Poole president for spring 2016. She was chosen informally because the chapter lacked the structure and members necessary for the proper nomination process.

“I had to do it because nobody else was around to do it,” Poole said. “I was going to be active in the organization until I graduated.”

Trying to recruit new members Almost half of the current members believed NSCS was a scam, and were wary of paying a $95 membership fee to an unknown organization, Poole said.

The national organization sends invitations via mass email with instructions to join on the NSCS

website. Students who don’t sign up before the deadline are sent several reminder emails asking for the money.

“It looked like a fake email,” Kimendran Chetty, a new member of the organization said. “I was really doubtful about joining.”

In order to combat this issue, the UNT chapter was recently allowed to send membership invitations to prospective members using the UNT email system.

“When people read the emails and have questions they can get replies from an actual person,” Poole said. “It’s not going to be the same format, it won’t say the same scripted thing, so it seems personalized for that person.”

Poole said she allows members to lead the organization rather than making all the decisions by herself.

Her leadership style, she said, is aimed at encouraging students to take more control and stay longer.

The chapter’s need to establish connections allows for a creative and interactive process among members.

“The members that are active right now have been putting forth a lot of really good ideas,” NSCS member Samantha Elliott said. “At the meetings I’ve heard a lot of their

feedback.”

The new policies have increased the number of members from 15 in fall 2015 semester to 45 this semester.

“We have provided fliers and spread information by word of mouth to classmates who have a high GPA,” vice president Becky Rinard said.

Establishing campus presence Although the principal goal of NSCS is to be active in the community, the executive board chose to spend this semester revitalizing the chapter on campus before resuming community outreach.

NSCS has spent this semester networking with other organizations on campus.

“We should be more connected with each other to start off,” Poole said. “And then build unique, creative events so people will talk about NSCS and want to get more information on it.”

In the upcoming semesters, NSCS plans to attend Mean Green Fling and tailgate at football games.

They also plan to do a food drive, volunteer at an animal shelter and collect books for underprivileged schools, Rinard said.

By Jynn Schubert Staff Writer @JynnWasHere Denton police are looking for information surrounding a sexual assault that occurred at the Ridge Apartments on April 15.

According to the Jeanne Clery Act, universities are required to send out a timely notice after a sexual assault if it falls within a certain zone surrounding the campus. The Ridge Apartment complex falls outside of the university’s geographical zone, and no such notice was made. “[The Suspect was a] black male with a medium skin tone in his late 20s, approximately 5’7”-5’10” in height, with a thin build,” according to an email sent out by the University Courtyard apartments. “The suspect had a sparsely filled mustache with a noticeable gap in the middle.”

The suspect followed the

victim toward her apartment and forced his way into the apartment after she unlocked the door, according to a press release. No weapon was visible, but the suspect threatened to shoot or stab the victim, police said.

Security cameras caught the suspect in this silver 2012 or 2014 Toyota Camry as he made “f lirtatious comments” to other residents, the police said.

“While this did not occur at our apartment community, crime has no zip code and we want to remind you to lock your locks, be smart about where you store or leave your belongings, and be aware of your surroundings at all times,” the apartment staff said in an email.

If you have any information regarding the crime, contact Keith Smith at 940-349-7912 or keith.smith@cityofdenton. com.

ARTS & LIFE Page 5

THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 2016

NTDAILY.COM

Thrash metal and technical writing collide with Power Trip MUSIC CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

“My dream job would be an editor-in-chief - I feel like I’m better at refining,” Gale said.

“Which is evident in my lyrics since I borrow from all different literary themes and refine it into a musical context.”

Following a myriad of releases, Power Trip turned many heads with their debut record “Manifest Decimation.” The record fuses

Power Trip performs at South By So What!?. Meagan Sullivan | Visuals Editor

hardcore punk with thrash metal in tandem with literary themes unlike typical party songs associated with new-wave thrash.

Attributing to this was the sharp musicianship and dynamic song-writing. This earned them opportunities to play a host of festivals and tours from SXSW to a recent full length U.S. tour with Lamb of God, Anthrax and Deaf Heaven.

“I love exposing people who may not have any interest in underground punk or metal to our sound,” Gale said. “And with a tour like the Lamb of God one or with SXSW, we have the opportunity to expose people to a style they may never have heard before, and that to me is what excites me the most about playing shows outside of the hardcore scene.”

Many bands in the metal and hardcore scene wear their influences proudly on their sleeves, and Power Trip is no exception.

“Everyone in the band is a music

fan, and I think that translates into our songs,” Gale said. “Yes, you can hear remnants of bands like slayer, but there’s just as much taken from punk stuff like GBH or English Dogs.”

Power Trip has the ability to draw in fans from all fan-bases of music, which is unique since most bands in the sub-genre struggle to capture the attention of anyone outside of their respective scene.

“We didn’t expect to be so big so fast - like, in some weird way I feel super blessed and just goes to show how talented the guys in the band are and how passionate we are for this music,” Gale said.

“There’s so many good bands that fly under the radar and we have this opportunity for people to pay attention to us, and it feels awesome.”

Gale has become well-known for his onstage persona and stage antics.

“The dude knows how to work a crowd, for sure,” long-time fan and stage manager for the Norman Music Festival in Norman,

Oklahoma Alex Morris said.

He has witnessed several of Power Trip’s performances and describes them as frenetic and down-to-earth.

“When they played the fest this past Friday, Riley had complete control of the crowd. You can definitely tell that he doesn’t have a rock star attitude, he genuinely cares about the fans,” Morris said.

Power Trip is currently in the process of recording their second full-length record slated for a summer or fall 2016 release. And with eight years of shows, Gale still remains grounded in reality and doesn’t expect to keep up the hectic touring lifestyle forever.

“I don’t want the band to feel like a grind, if at any point I feel we’ve hit a ceiling creatively and we stop progressing, that’s when I might start with a writing gig,” Gale said.

“I like working with people and I like collaborating, and I think working in a writing, advertising, or marketing environment you get that collaboration that feels similar to playing in a band.”

COMMUNITY

Hugs embraces staffers with special needs

By Emily Miller Staff Writer @Emily12miller

A vibrant blue-green sign that reads “Hugs Cafe” swings in the wind in downtown McKinney as customers file through the door.

Colorful footprints guide them to Mike Sessom’s counter where they place their order and take a number for their table.

Sessom is one of many workers at Hugs Cafe with special needs like Autism, Down Syndrome or other intellectual or developmental disabilities. For Sessom and many others, this is his one job: to happily greet customers and take their orders.

It’s an opportunity he would be denied by other employers in the job market because his disability makes it a challenge to navigate social interactions and communicate clearly.

At Hugs Cafe, Sessom has the opportunity to offer his autograph on the brochure of the cafe that features his image on the front.

“I’m famous, I’m on the cover,” Sessom said, smiling wide as he scrawled a red signature over his waving picture.

For the non-regulars, Hugs Cafe is a non-profit organization operated by adults with special needs to offer an experience for them to learn while earning a steady paycheck – for regular visitors, it’s a top lunchtime destination.

“It really is a destination,” said Ruth Thompson, founder and president of Hugs Cafe. “We have people coming from all over the place.”

Thompson “literally dreamed” about founding a cafe for adults with special needs, specifically “two nights in a row,” according to her. She wanted to make a safe environment for them to beef up

their work experience and life skills while maintaining respect, getting active and training for other jobs.

Thompson’s idea originated from when she worked in Colorado with special needs adults. And then again when she took up cooking and kitchen skills classes at Market Street in McKinney, holding classes in the evenings for small crowds.

Ruth and her husband, Chris Thompson, made that dream into a reality last October, when the cafe began its mission to spread the hugs.

“We have a great team,” Thompson said. “You won’t find anyone more enthusiastic and devoted to their job, it just takes time and patience.”

For adults with disabilities, as a whole, the unemployment rate is 12 percent, nearly doubled in comparison to the rate for people without disabilities. Hugs Cafe strives to “employ 70 percent or more” adults with special needs.

By 2010, Collin County’s population of disabled adults was high, staggering around almost 10 percent according to that year’s census. That percentage has likely grown as more people pour into the area.

Word quickly got out after Hugs Cafe popped up in downtown McKinney. Many team members were contacted by friends and family about the buzz of a special needs workplace hiring. Six months after they officially opened talk is still spreading about the unique non-profit cafe.

On weekdays the cafe has a

steady and slow crowd, but on weekends the line at the counter goes out the door. Almost “everyone already knows what Hugs Cafe is about” when they walk through the door, Thompson said.

Maria Caccavale, an advisor and board member for Hugs Cafe, usually stands with Sessom at his counter while he greets customers. “[We] don’t let it get to his head, whenever he comes for work we need to open both doors for him,” Caccavale said with a laugh.

A local church is getting in on the Hugs action, offering volunteers to help the cafe expand. In the next

year Thompson predicts they’ll be in business and making a sustainable profit. Thompson even plans on growing a garden, or potentially opening a greenhouse in the back of the cafe, so that workers with less social skills but plenty of enthusiasm can contribute to the cafe through gardening.

Opening a second location somewhere in the DFW area since they’re “exceeding expectations” and getting ample support is also on Thompson’s to-do list.

For now, though, there are plenty of hugs to go around.

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One of several disabled workers prepares a meal at the “Hugs Cafe.” Emily Miller | Staff Writer

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NTDAILY.COM | PAGE 6 REVIEW

The Dose: ‘Ratchet & Clank’ is a masterclass in platforming

By Nicholas Friedman Denton Record-Chronicle @NMFreed

INTERNATIONAL ARTISTRY

Yukari Nakamichi’s sculpture “Mom’s Skirt” hangs in front of Samantha Conlon’s digital print “Daughters.”

Sarah Bradbury | Staff Photographer

Exhibit portrays bonds between mothers and daughters

By Kayleigh Bywater Senior Staff Writer @kayleighbywater The Bowllery restaurant off Avenue C is home to more than just worldly foods and hungry guests. While many restaurants have party or arcade rooms, the Bowllery has something else: an art gallery.

“The Art den,” known as tAd, presents works of art from people all over the world regarding societal issues. At the moment, tAd is hosting an exhibition that hits home to many girls’ hearts.

The exhibit titled “hers; me” focuses on the relationship between mother and daughter. It is a part of a larger, ongoing project at tAd called “Outskirts: Bodies, Places, and Identities” that aims to showcase the work of artists exploring gender issues in modern day cultures.

Curator Araya Vivorakij began the project in 2015 as a way to bring together various viewpoints over a singular topic.

“I think that what art and exhibitions bring to the bigger picture or certain topics or ideas are various and different perspectives,” Vivorakij said. “We provide opportunities for artists from different backgrounds and different parts of the world to engage in such dialogue and to experiment with new forms of artistic expression.”

The “hers; me” exibit showcases the work of four artists from Florida to Ireland. Each work is different and

allows for viewers to come to terms with their own ideas of what the pieces mean.

Vivorakij put out an open call for artists to submit their pieces. While she chose the pieces based on her overall intent with the exhibit, she said that each piece brings something special to the table.

“I feel that all the artists in this exhibit are truthful to their personal feelings and experiences,” Vivorakij said. “Each of them brings a different aspect of the subject matter to the exhibit. And that’s what makes the exhibition interesting.”

The pieces Just as each piece in the project is different, each artist had her own personal experience related to the mother-daughter motif leading up to the creation of the pieces.

For artist Samantha Conlon, her three-photograph series titled “Daughters” captures a daughter’s closeness to her mother through touch, security and intimacy.

“I feel like the exhibition is an exploration of childhood feelings,” Conlon said. “It feels very sentimental and nostalgic to me -- in a good way.

Keeping in touch with the tender side of yourself is important to me.”

Through her piece, Conlon wants to show that intimacy and softness should not be seen in a bad light. Instead, it’s something that should be celebrated.

“I think my work is a response to society’s general depiction and

understanding of femininity and how sensitivity and softness are seen as a negative,” Conlon said. “I’d like it if my work expressed that or even allowed people to consider softness as strength.”

For Florida’s Flagler College art professor Leslie Robison, her piece resembles something different. The canvas painting, titled “Moth,” utilizes mainly text to convey meaning. The word “moth” is repeated through the painting, and Robison scribbles on the word to change it. It first is reworded into “mother,” then “smother.” The word is then completely marked out.

The last word, very lightly, becomes “other.”

For Robison, coming up with the idea for the piece took longer than actually creating it.

“This painting started out as an index card that sat on my kitchen counter for a few months,” Robison said. “In this work I am both using language and being critical of it by changing the word and scribbling it out.”

In addition, Robison tries to break the “mother” out of society’s patriarchal structure through her painting.

“Since ultimately all of our experiences, feelings and opinions are filtered through culture, it is important to address how dominant cultural, with longstanding patriarchal values, guides these thoughts and feelings,” Robison said.

Another one of the pieces, “Lostalgea” by Sabina Tupan, shows a multimedia form of art and pertains

to the overall theme of the exhibition.

The five-minute video recounts her relationship with her grandmother, who to her was a mother figure.

Tupan had started filming her grandmother for personal reasons and had not originally thought of creating a film piece out of it. The dialogue between her and her grandmother takes place in two locations: a staged representation of a Romanian bedroom and the documented footage of her “Mamaie,” or grandmother in Romanian. “[The film] is a result of nostalgia but also the creation of a space where the fear of losing each other is just a mere fantasy,” Tupan said.

The last piece, “Mom’s Skirt,” is a sculptural installation created by artist Yukari Nakamichi. The piece resembles the emotional care and comfort that moms provide for their daughters as it hangs from the ceiling as an oversized “skirt.”

Even though each piece has an underlying theme, Vivorakij hopes that people are able to make up their own conclusions about the works.

“What I really hope is that the exhibits, be it individually or collectively, will resonate with the viewers’ own personal meanings,” Vivorakij said.

Deeper messages For Robison, although each piece in “hers; me” is different, they stand for the same thing at the root.

“It is really important that a variety

of women’s voices are heard,” Robison said. “I think each of the pieces presented demonstrates a different point of view on the relationship between mothers and daughters and yet they all highlight how dominant culture affects these identities and relationships.”

The viewers are not the only ones that will be moved by the pieces. Even as the curator, Vivorakij said that participating in art that has to do with women’s studies will always provide new insights for her.

“Being a curator, I get the opportunity to mindfully look at each individual work, to contemplate about it and to intimately connect to it,” Vivorakij said. “And I love to work with the artists; they inspire me.”

Vivorakij hopes through the gallery to showcase not only art from all over, but for people to get a deeper sense of what is going on in the world around them.

Vivorakij has already begun planning the next exhibit that will be a continuation of the “Outskirts” project focusing on difference, to be held in July. “tAd is interested in engaging in and promoting contemporary art as a critical practice that speaks to the cultural, social and political aspects of everyday life,” Vivorakij said.

“Hopefully [each piece] will be critical, mind-opening, inspiring and engaging at the same time.”

The “her’s; me” exhibit will run through May 6.

Few platforming game characters last long. Of course there will always be Mario and Luigi, but the rest fall to obscurity. Characters like Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon, Jak & Daxter. They’ve all fallen to a few bad games and then into the shadows they go. But not Ratchet & Clank.

With the feature film releasing in theaters this month, Sony thought it might be a good idea to reboot the video game franchise for the Playstation 4. And man, did it work.

“Ratchet & Clank” is both a reimagining of the original 2002 title and a brand new experience.

Players take on the role of Ratchet, a lonely Lombax who dreams of greater things, namely joining the Galactic Rangers, an intergalactic peacekeeping force led by the famed Captain Quark. So, Ratchet tries out, fails, finds Clank in a crashed ship, accidentally saves a planet and the rest is history!

It’s pretty standard fare for a game designed for children, but this series has always walked that line lightly. In most ways, this game is hilarious, and many of the innuendos that would fly over the heads of children are still present here, not unlike the jokes and references in Pixar and Dreamworks animated films. And the gameplay is simply fantastic.

The weapon upgrade system is also stellar. Weapons change as you level them up, and then you spend special gems to give them different attributes. Then, once you’ve maxed those out and collected cards pertaining to those weapons, you unlock another tier of upgrades. It’s deep, engaging, and encourages multiple playthroughs. Because why wouldn’t you want to turn the Sheepinator into the Goatinator and beyond?

On top of that, the game looks beautiful, and may be one of the cleanest, smoothest looking games on a current-generation console.

Environments on each planet look ripped from a Pixar concept artist, and surely rival the films.

This game is nigh perfect for what it tries to accomplish.

It’s a return-to-form not only for developer Insomniac Games, but for the platforming genre as a whole.

“Ratchet & Clank” reminds us of a time when platforming was all we had, and boy was it a good time.

RADIO

KUZUthon a communal effort to empower local radio station

By Sadia Saeed Staff Writer Hundreds from Denton and beyond gathered for a night of music and mayhem at Harvest House to raise funds and publicize the newest addition to radio broadcast, KUZU 92.9 FM. The local radio station aims to be a non-profit station fueled by the community.

The event, KUZUthon, is just the first of many instances when radio stations offer an outlook on what’s in store. Sponsored by Harvest House, KUZUthon aimed to connect to the city musically.

“Peter Salisbury [founder of

KUZU], asked us and we said yes,” said Matt Quenette, the general manager of Harvest House.

Quenette has been witnessing growth in Denton, and the addition of a radio station will be a comfort for the city of Denton, he believes.

“KUZU team has been absolutely phenomenal to work with,” Quenette said. “Organized, thoughtful, creative, considerate, enthusiastic and visionary.”

KUZUthon has been a team effort in the works for a monthand-a-half, Quenette said. The effort that all the employees on both sides made allowed for the event to come alive.

A vital part of the KUZU 92.9 is its dedication to the community.

Made for the public, KUZU aims to be cultivated by the community – what the people say goes.

“Anytime a community uses their voice is a good thing,” Quenette said. “Amplify that voice and that voice becomes even more productive. KUZU has the potential to reach the entire greater Denton community. KUZU is for, about [and] by Denton.”

A long line-up at Harvest House gave the audience a taste of what will be played on KUZU 92.9.

KUZUthon showcased a variety of local music, from Pink Moon to Pearl Earl, reflecting the sense of community KUZU hopes to bring.

“We supported KUZUthon because it’s a really cool thing for

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Denton to have a new radio station that features what we are all about,” said Ariel Hartley, the lead vocals for Pearl Earl. “Not only local music, but music you don’t get to hear every day on the radio and the people behind KUZU are our friends, and we love to support [them].”

Formed two years ago, Pearl Earl understands the wide range of different styles from Denton.

Hartley hopes that the creative personalities of Denton will finally be revealed through KUZU. “Denton has a bunch of weirdos like myself and we all can appreciate a radio station that provides something more than a typical radio station,” said Hartley.

“It creates a voice on the radio that all Dentonites can tune into.”

The reception towards KUZU has been positive as many turned to social media to commend the great work KUZU accomplished at KUZUthon. While some commented on the skills of guitar players present, others remarked on the bliss atmosphere KUZU put on.

“The show was amazing and every band held their own. I’m

glad KUZU will help spread more Denton music, because we have talent,” Denton resident Sara Day said.

Their first broadcast will be in July 2016, and KUZU does not plan on slowing down as they work on ramping up support. On

May 6, the Denton community is hosting another fundraiser with all proceeds going to KUZU’s Kickstarter campaign.

An album release for Ethereal & the Queer Show awaits as well as performances by FILTH, Pleasure Principle and Vulgar Fashion.

People enjoy drinks from the Harvest House bar while local band Mike Luzecky Trio plays a set on the big stage at KUZUthon.

Paulina De Alva | Staff Photographer

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NTDAILY.COM | PAGE 7 STEREOTYPES

Gender fair emphasizes communication and change

By Nikki Lyssy Staff Writer @blindnikkii Music playe d overhead as people mulled around the f ive different booths stationed in the Un iversit y Union at the 2 016 Gender Fa i r. C o n d u c t e d b y t h e communication studies department, the fair aimed to educate the community on gender biases prevalent in s o c i e t y.

D r. S u z a n n e E n c k o f t h e communication studies depa r tment expla ined the sign i f ica nce of t he event as an oppor tunity for the students in the gender and communication course to reach out in their community and share with others the societal subjects t h ey’ve been l e a r n i n g a l l s e m e s t e r.

“Students are asked to present infor mation to the community in a way that is thoughtp r ovok i ng, strongly resea rche d, provo cat ive a nd c r e at ive,” E nck sa id.

The students were paired into groups that focused on f ive aspects of gender: p ol it ics, r ac e, sexua l bi na r ies, gender bodies and heterom a s c u l i n i t y. E a c h g r o u p brief ly spoke about what t h e y s t o o d f o r.

Gender in politics Communication studies senior Sonia Dimas and

“

junior

Holland

Tu r n e r

Many people have come to us and said they didn’t even know about these stereotypes.

We’re basically sharing awareness and letting them know that these stereotypes do exist in United States politics.”

expla ined what their group was all about. “ We are discussing gender stereotypes in politics as well as issues such as equality and reproductive r ig ht s,” Tu r n e r said.

“One common stereotype is t hat women i n pol itics are judged more harshly in their appearance than m e n a r e. T h e y ’r e g o i n g

to be judged on the way they dress and their hai rcut instead of for t hei r p ol it ica l v iews.”

Dimas spoke about t he lack of k nowle dge surrounding common stereotypes in society concer ning politics.

“Many people have come to us and said they d i d n’t eve n k n ow a b o u t t hese st er e ot y p es,” she s a i d . “ We’r e b a s i c a l l y sha r i ng awa reness a nd let t i ng t hem k now t hat these stereotypes do exist in United States politics.

Creating gender fairs and having different t h ings [a l l ows p e o p l e t o l e a r n] ab out t hes e st e r e ot y p es.”

Nonbinary sexes Communication studies senior Jacob Wo f f o r d expla ined the proper usage of pronouns in ever y day conversation as a long-ter m goa l for the department.

“A lot of people perceive just binary pronouns – he or she – but there are actually more to be used for a person who does not identify a s a h e o r s h e,” Wo f f o r d said.

In t o d a y ’s media market, transgender issues have been widely addressed and publicized, a n d Wo f f o r d s p o k e a b o u t t he way t hey have ha ndled t he sensitive subject.

“For the most part, mu lt i me d ia has covere d t hat p r et t y wel l,” she

s a i d . “ B u t i t ’s i m p o r t a n t t hat we ma int a in politica l correctness movi ng for wa rd.”

P a r t o f t h e g r o u p ’s i n itiative is to educate the public about these issues.

“Events l i ke t h is one help r a ise awa r eness,” Wo f f o r d s a i d . “ We o f f e r an educational program to help people choose the correct pronoun, on a n i ndividua l basis, we rea lly help people interact with transgender and non-confor m ing i nd iv idu a ls.”

Gender in race Engish senior Carson Brockette spoke abut how race a nd gender w o r k t o g e t h e r i n s o c i e t y, specifically about the ways gender and race converge to create “un ique” exper iences.

“A n exa mple would be the way a black woma n exper iences marginalization as a woma n a nd a person of color are unique because she exper iences it as a person of color and a wom a n,” Bro cket t e sa id.

“People are oppressed through the prison i ndust r ia l p r oblem.”

O ne i n eve r y 10 0 bla ck women a re i nca rcerated, a c c o r d i n g t o t h e N A A C P. Pa r t of the reason they are incarcerated at high rates is t hat t hey have different exper iences of oppression than

ot her races, Brocket te continued to expla in, as she talked about the roles of gender a nd race. “ Wo m e n a r e o p p r e s s e d b e c a u s e t h ey a r e n’t m e n,” s h e s a i d . “A n d b l a c k women are oppressed

“

Women are oppressed because they aren’t men and black women are oppressed because they aren’t men and they’re people of color. So those two experiences culminate a lot in resulting in them being incarcerated.”

because they a r e n’t m e n a n d t h e y ’r e p e o p l e o f c o l o r. S o t h o s e t wo exper iences culm inate a lot in resulting in them b ei ng i nca r c e r at e d.”

Brockette hopes to cha nge t h is st at ist ic.

“L et t i ng p eople k now t h a t i t ’s a n i s s u e , t a l k i n g about it and finding r e s o u r c e s [a r e h ow I personally want to change t h i s],” s h e s a i d . “ P e o p l e d o n’t k n ow t h a t t h i s i s a t h i ng, t h a t p e ople of c olor a r e a f fe ct e d.”

She elaborated on her views of how societ y has, or has not, cha nged since the Civil Rights Movement a nd at t r ibute d t hat st ag nat ion to overly st rong ja il sentences.

“In terms of legal representation and r ights, people of color definitely are doing a lot b e t t e r, b u t s p e c i f i c a l l y i n pr isons, I would say t hat i t ’s g o t t e n w o r s e b e c a u s e w e h a v e r e a l l y, r e a l l y long drug sent enc es,” Brockette said. “Those dispropor tionately affect people of color because of where t hey l ive or what class they tend to b e b or n i nt o.”

Brocket te expressed the impor tance of keeping the dialogue open.

“The discourses that people share with each other are really i mp or t a nt,” Brockette sa id. “I f people a re welli n for me d a nd t hey k now about t hese t h i ngs, t hey can tell their friends about it and spread the world, which creates mor e op p or t u n it ies.”

REVIEW

The Dose: While ‘Lemonade’ entertains, it also empowers

By Chelsea Watkins Copy Editor @chelloo

I wasn’t sure what to expect as I awaited Beyoncé’s HBO special on Saturday night sitting in my room. There was no word on what “Lemonade” was going to be about and I with the rest of the Beyhive gathered on social media in anticipation.

And we weren’t disappointed as we realized it was the release of another visual album, though different from her last self-titled album Beyoncé, as it came in the form of a film.

On the surface, “Lemonade” is a commentary on infidelity that led to question how personal these songs actually are, as cheating rumors have surrounded her marriage to Jay Z. We have a progressively enraged Beyoncé in the first half of the album. In “Pray You Catch Me,” she’s alone and desperate to figure out if she’s being cheated on. In “Hold Up,” she casually walks the streets in a yellow dress and slams car windows in with a baseball bat, proclaiming

“They don’t love you like I love you.” In “Don’t Hurt Yourself,” she’s aggressive, posing the question “Who the f--k do you think I is / you ain’t married to no average b--ch boy.” And in “Sorry,” she claims that she’s over the [bullshit], although one can question if this is a mere façade.

Beyoncé also explores her relationship with her father – who has had his own bout of infidelity issues – over a bluegrass beat in “Daddy Lessons” which invokes her Southern roots.

In “Sandcastles,” she sings about forgiveness over a piano ballad and is intimately posed with her husband, which seems to be her way to eliminate thoughts that the couple’s marriage is still in jeopardy.

But beyond the infidelity issues she poses, you can hear her expressing the pains of being a black woman.

In “Don’t Hurt Yourself,” a sound-bite from a speech made by Malcolm X is inserted where he said “the most unprotected person in America is the black woman. The most neglected person in America is the black woman,” while

a montage of black women is shown on screen.

Black women are stationed throughout the visual components of “Lemonade.”

Serena Williams even makes an appearance during “Sorry” as she unapologetically dances in a leotard. You also see other black celebrities like Amandla Stenberg and Zendaya Coleman, among normal black girls with natural hair – in fact, you don’t see anyone that isn’t black throughout the film.

Things turn more somber during “Forward,” featuring James Blake’s harrowing voice while mothers of unarmed black teens killed by police, such as Sybrina Fulton and Lesley McSpadden, hold up their son’s pictures highlighting the pain that black women go through when losing their children to police brutality.

The album comes full-circle during “Freedom” as Beyoncé is able to break free from her anger and sing to a group of black women. At the end of the song an anecdote by Hattie White, Jay-Z’s grandmother, is added in where she says “I had my ups and downs, but I

Wait, there’s a “Fight Club 2”? Denton comic shop offers signed body parts with book preorder COMICS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 year in Portland, Oregon.

“He gave each attendee a signed arm,” Stoltzfus said. “He went on to explain that he was going on signing tours and had people getting his signature and then getting it tattooed and that made him a bit uncomfortable.”

Palahniuk even said at one point, a man in Ann Arbor used a pen knife to carve his signature into his leg.

“It was a very sweet gesture, but troubling,” Palahniuk said.

“On tour I can be exhausted and grumpy, but the act of giving away the arms or whatnot shortcircuits that irritability.”

Unfortunately, this was around the same time Aron Ralston went on his book tour, so severed arms were mistakenly handed out at Ralston’s signings. Ralston, whose story is told in the film

127 Hours, had to cut off his own arm after being stranded in a crevice in the desert for days.

“Fortunately, Aron was a good sport about it, so the confusion didn’t lead to any hard feelings,” Stoltzfus said. “But for a while, Chuck switched to giving out signed legs to avoid confusion on that tour.”

The skulls, Stoltzfus said, are just an extension of that.

“Chuck’s been an absolute joy to work with,” Stoltzfus said. “He’s a very pleasant person and understands how to help promote his wares through small book stores.”

Although Stoltzfus said he hasn’t finished reading “Fight Club 2” himself, it’s definitely on his stack of stuff to read.

“I read the first couple of chapters, though, and I can promise fans of “Fight Club” that they won’t be disappointed,” he said. “It turns out Chuck

managed to find the perfect way to open up the world again to reexamine the ideas and concepts twenty years later.”

And for Palahniuk, he reminds himself that it’s important to remember everybody has a bit of “small business” in them.

“It’s much harder to know anyone at the huge corporations as a person. Independents give me a sense of co-workers, actual people who value the same work I value,” he said. “I want independent comic shops to succeed not just because they sell “Fight Club 2” but because I empathize with the effort it takes to keep a business afloat.”

The “Fight Club 2” hardcover collected edition releases June 22 for $29.99.

Courtesy | Idolator always find the inner strength to pull myself up. I was served lemons, but I made lemonade.”

That clip encapsulates the visual album’s purpose – a journey of grappling with life’s hardships and working through them to your own advantage.

It’s hard to fully grasp the impact of the album before you watch the hour-long visual component. It strings songs together with poetry by Warsan Shire, putting the story into perspective. Also, the

videography is mesmerizing and easily draws you into the story Beyoncé is trying to tell.

It’s obvious, especially after the release of “Formation,” that Beyoncé made “Lemonade” to be an intimate experience about the plight of black women. And it’s commendable that she has used her platform to release music that doesn’t feel generic.

Beyoncé’s vulnerability on this album shines and creates an experience that’s hard to

pass off. The beauty of the album is not just a simple collection of songs about her experience with infidelity and her own insecurities, but also the hardships that come with being a black woman who loves hard and is not granted the same in return – be that from a lover or from society in general.

And, most importantly, it teaches us to turn the bitterness of pain into sweet, sweet lemonade.

SPORTS Page 8

THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 2016

NTDAILY.COM

TENNIS

Tennis team finds positive outlook after season ends in C-USA Semifinals

By Courtney Anderson Staff Writer @CPaigeA23 After dominating the University of Alabama at Birmingham in the first round 4-1 and sweeping Louisiana Tech University in the second round 4-0, the Mean Green could not keep up momentum in the third round.

In their first ever appearance at the Conference USA tournament semifinals in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, the women of the No. 71 North Texas tennis team could not overcome No. 45 Rice University, now four-time C-USA champions.

“We played good overall in the tournament,” head coach Sujay Lama said. “The ladies gave everything they had and we had momentum at one point against Rice, but couldn’t capitalize on it.”

The only Mean Green point during Saturday’s 4-1 loss came from freshman Tamuna Kutubidze in her singles match against Rice’s Katherine Ip. Kutubidze also won her doubles point with freshman Maria Kononova 6-3, but overall the women failed to earn the point after falling in the other two matches.

Overall, the youth and inexperience of the team got the best of them. Four of the team’s eight players were freshmen, including freshman Minying Liang, who was the first to finish her singles play, losing 6-2, 6-3. Senior Augustina Valenzuela was the only one to make it to three sets before ultimately falling to Rice’s Savannah Durkin.

But despite the loss, Kutubidze said her win against Ip is her most memorable moment of the season.

“She beat me badly back in January,” Kutubidze said, referencing a 6-2, 6-1 defeat at the UCF Invitational. “I was looking for revenge against her and got it.”

The three seniors leaving North Texas tennis this year are Anastasiya Shestakova, Kamilla Galieva, and Valenzuela. Galieva was named Co-

Player of the Week for the week of Feb. 16 after defeating No. 36 Oklahoma, while Shestakova went undefeated in singles play for nearly an entire month spanning over March and April.

Shestakova’s most cherished moment this season, unlike Kutubidze, was not during the C-USA Tournament.

“The match back on senior day when we beat [the University of Texas at Arlington] was my favorite,” Shestakova said. “All the energy we had and the atmosphere of playing at home was really awesome for the last time.”

Lama said it’s going to be hard to replace the three seniors leaving this year, but that it’s always exciting to find great, high-level players. So far, two of the three scholarships available have been filled by players from Los Angeles and Hungary.

Although the majority of the team is international, Lama said it doesn’t matter to him if the third scholarship player comes from the United States or a different country.

“It doesn’t make a difference to me,” Lama said. “I’m looking for the best available player out there. But I’m excited to get next season’s team finalized.”

Stepping up as the only senior next year will be junior Alexis Thoma. She,

along with the three current seniors, has earned a spot on the C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll because she maintained at least a 3.0 GPA throughout the year.

With the four returning freshmen, Lama is expecting Kutubidze to step up as a leader for the other girls and new teammates.

“Alexis is who I’m obviously looking at to step up,” Lama said. “But [Kutubidze] has matured and grown so much in college tennis since coming here, and I think she’s become a real role model for some of the girls already.”

North Texas finishes out the year ranked No. 68 in the latest ITA Tennis poll. The Mean Green will also host next year’s C-USA tournament at home in Denton.

The goal for North Texas, Kutubidze said, is to maintain the success they experienced this season and take advantage of hosting next year’s conference tournament.

“There’s still parts in my game that I want to improve, and I’ll be working on that this semester,” Kutubidze said.

“Next year I want to always finish strong and play as well as I did this year, or get better.”

Senior Anastasiya Shestakova follows the ball with her eye after a serve.

Colin Mitchell | Senior Staff Photographer

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Scrappy interacts with fans and students throughout the entire athletic season. Colin Mitchell | Senior Staff Photographer

BEHIND THE MASCOT

By Austin Jackson Staff Writer @a_jack17

After a celebratory stanky-legdab combo, sweat pours into blue eyes as they beam through the skinny mesh sliver in Scrappy’s bright yellow beak. The anonymous celebrity spreads an invisible smile and drapes their wing across the shoulder of a young Mean Green fan to pose for a selfie at the North Texas spring football game.

Scrappy is a celebrity and a showstopper. But behind the furrowed brow and cocksure bravado of the North Texas mascot is a business student, sweating off up to seven pounds per game.

In keeping with mascot code, the student in the suit requested to be kept anonymous. But anonymity, the student said, propels them to be the best mascot they can be.

“Outside the suit, I don’t like a lot of attention. But inside the suit I’ll do whatever,” they said.

“It’s kind of like Spider-Man. He’s this nerdy type of guy during the day and then [by night] he’s Spider-Man. That’s how I think of Scrappy—Scrappy is like SpiderMan to me.”

There are two students who play the role of Scrappy, but one of them dons the suit for a majority of events. For the primary student in the Scrappy suit, their spidey-sense began tingling in the summer of 2008 just before entering the 8th grade.

“I seriously remember just laying there in my bed and waking up and thinking, ‘Man, I want to be the mascot next year,” they said.

The student said once they donned the get-up, the experience of being a mascot allowed them to come out of their shell and become a more outgoing person.

They remained the school mascot through high school, but hung up their Coppell Cowboy hat when they graduated and headed off to Lubbock to attend Texas Tech University.

But after two years in Lubbock, the student felt something was

amiss.

“I didn’t want to be Raider Red,” Scrappy said. “Actually, Scrappy is the reason why I transferred here.

I was thinking about transferring, and I found out about the Scrappy thing and I looked into it.”

The student reached out to Kayla Spears, the coordinator for marketing and promotions, and was offered a tryout. After sporting the Scrappy suit and embodying the feisty mascot, they received the job, sealing their decision to attend UNT. “I’m so grateful because I love UNT,” Scrappy said.

Jamie Adams, assistant director of marketing and promotions for North Texas athletics, said the feeling from the school is mutual.

“It’s great being Scrappy in that they transform when they’re in the suit,” Adams said. “They become Scrappy. That is the sign of a good mascot.”

The student said Scrappy is different from the run-of-the-mill mascot.

“Scrappy is a huge flirt,” they said. “He beats to his own drum and he’s got an ego, but he’s friendly. A friendly ego.”

But being friendly with UNT faithful is sometimes not as practical is it may seem. “[I see] nothing. That’s one of the biggest struggles,” Scrappy said. “People are like, ‘High five!,’ and I’m like, ‘Where are you!?’”

Another challenge, according to Scrappy, is watching out for children.

“There’s multiple types of kids.

Kids that are sweet and like ‘You’re cool, take a picture with me, you’re sweet, you’re nice, peace out,’” Scrappy said. “And then there’s the one’s that are abusive. Kid’s can be so mean to mascots.”

But one kid is among Scrappy’s biggest fans. Pierson Hale, a 7-yearold second grader who has battled a congenital heart defect since birth met Scrappy at L.A. Nelson Elementary in Denton. Alongside the cheer and dance teams, Scrappy announced that Hale’s Make-A-Wish hopes to attend the

Monster Jam World Finals in Las Vegas had been granted.

While Scrappy said experiences like meeting Pierson have been fulfilling, the mascot makes an impact on game day as well.

Human resources junior Trevor Connole, who is also a member of TALONS, said Scrappy sets the tone at sporting events.

“Scrappy ignites a sense of pride and excitement wherever he or she is seen,” Connole said.

With two people playing Scrappy, the student said another challenge they face is embodying Scrappy similarly to avoid confusion for the fans.

“Some of the cheerleaders can tell who is who,” the student said. “For the most part we keep it consistent. You can be a good mascot but a bad scrappy, you just might not fit the personality.”

The student who plays Scrappy the majority of the time is returning next year, but there will be auditions for an assistant.

If a UNT student wants to don the green and white eagle costume, however, he or she will need to fulfill a certain set of qualifications.

“We look for someone who has been a mascot in high school and has experience being in a full mascot suit,” Adams said.

“Someone who has a passion for athletics.”

The student said the key to being a good Scrappy is exaggeration, hydration and swagger. They are in graduate school, but beyond business they said they have entertained the idea of taking their mascot skills to the next level.

“There was talk about [being Captain, the Texas Rangers Mascot] for a while, and Victor E. Green is wanting an assistant,” Scrappy said.

But for now, the student is content being Scrappy. Either out of habit or joy, they can’t help but smile underneath the mask.

“After seven years of being a mascot,” Scrappy said. “I still catch myself smiling for pictures.”

NTDAILY.COM | PAGE 9

Underwood’s path to college softball influenced by family SOFTBALL CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Growing up in small-town central Texas, Stacey was a standout in both softball and basketball.

She was one of the better players on her 2-A high school team and shined in a town that features just two main two-lane highways and a Sonic drive-in. After graduating high school, she became one of only two Hico athletes to ever play

Division-I sports.

The journey started in first grade, when John immediately put Stacey into fast-pitch softball. He then put her in travel softball after Stacey excelled locally, and she eventually found a team in Dallas – a long way from Hico.

Stacey’s talent continued to develop up until her junior year of high school, when she hit an

unexpected speed bump. Stacey tore her ACL playing basketball and was sidelined for her entire junior softball season.

“It was horrible,” Stacey said. “I missed a whole year of sports, but it was kind of motivating. Sitting out, I got to see a lot of details in the sport you don’t see when you’re playing.”

After a speedy recovery, she led

Junior pitcher Stacey Underwood (15) steps onto the mound at the start of an inning against Nicholls State.

Dylan Nadwodny | Staff Photographer

her team to its first district title in history her senior season.

But the injury still had its repercussions, negatively impacting Stacey’s chances of earning an offer from a bigger school right out of high school.

Fortunately for her, she was offered a spot at McClennan Community College not too far from home in Waco, where she still had the support of her tight-knit family.

“It was kind of like a small town, so the culture-shock wasn’t really there,” Stacey said. “Plus my grandparents live in Waco, so it was really like I was back at home.”

In just one year at McClennan, Underwood shined with a 20-4 record, 131 strikeouts and a mindboggling 0.94 ERA. She even dominated against North Texas in a fall game, which is what caught the eye of Mean Green head coach Tracey Kee. “I think she struck out 12 of our batters that day,” Kee said with a laugh. “Her power, her size, her everything looked really good.”

Stacey was finally able to pack up and officially move away from her family, something she was not necessarily looking forward to, and move to Denton.

It’s been two years, and Stacey

has established her role at the center of the Mean Green’s rotation – a fitting role, as Kee jokingly said Stacey loves to be the center of attention. As the only returning pitcher from last year’s squad, she has posted a 4.29 ERA in 23 starts.

According to Kee, being the only returner combined with her sociable personality made her a perfect fit to be a leader for the squad.

“I think Stacey would admit [that] last spring, she felt like a freshman,” Kee said. “We didn’t have any time to work together. I think now when you look at her she’s a completely polished pitcher because of how diligently she’s worked.”

The work Stacey has put in is nothing new to her father, who spent countless hours sitting on a bucket catching for Stacey. After coming home from coaching Stacey and her high-school teammates during the day, he would coach just Stacey in their backyard.

“It’s probably one of my greatest accomplishments,” John said. “As a dad, as a human [and] as a coach, the fact that somebody that is yours, that person you’ve guided, has built the work ethic and the dedication and the desire to accomplish this.

As a dad, it’s one of the greatest

things I’ve ever done. I’ve got three kids, and they’re all my greatest accomplishments. But to see this and watch this, it’s so fulfilling.

The fact that I got to be a part of her career, that’s as special as it gets.”

The support does not go unfelt

by Stacey. She knows at least one of her parents will try to make every game she plays as long as they are not with one of her two siblings.

“It means a lot to me,” Stacey said. “My parents have missed two series this year, and I felt like an orphan. It means a lot just to see my family in the stands and know they care enough to come down here.”

After Stacey finishes her degree, she plans on staying at UNT to get her masters degree.

The biggest reason, according to her, is how Kee and the rest of the Mean Green helped foster the family environment she was used to growing up in Hico.

“It’s been awesome,” Underwood said. “At McClennan, I didn’t really end on good terms there, which I hate because I like to get along with everyone. The fact that Coach Kee was willing to take me midseason was awesome. I’m so thankful for that.”

MONEY

Women’s sports at UNT earn less, pay coaches less than men’s teams

By Nealie Sanchez Staff Writer @NealieSanchez Pay inequality between men and women is a prevalent issue, and the trend has made its way into collegiate athletics as well.

According to the NCAA financial report released on January 25, 2016, approximately $5.1 million was paid to coaches in salaries, bonuses and benefits for the 2014-2015 year.

At UNT there are four men’s NCAA teams and eight women’s NCAA teams. Of the four men’s teams, three share a women’s team counterpart: basketball, golf and track & field.

The report shows the four men’s teams’ head coaches and 16 men’s teams’ assistant coaches were paid $3,402,670, while eight women’s teams’ head coaches and 15 women’s teams’ assistant coaches were paid $1,747,127. These numbers create a more than $1.5 million pay discrepancy, despite employing more women’s coaches than men’s.

According to athletic director Rick Villarreal, a coach’s pay is based on more than the gender they are coaching.

“Coaches’ salaries are based on experience but also based on the market for coaches,” Villarreal said. “You can look at our list and see that that’s pretty much the case.”

Striving for equality While salary is not exactly the same across the board for men’s and women’s sports, UNT has taken several steps towards making other elements on their budgets equal.

“One of the first things we did when we came here and this administration took over was make sure that all sports were the same,” Villarreal said. “You have a women’s golf team and a men’s golf team and everything in their budgets, except salary, were the same. Salary was based on

experience, numbers of years of experience, those kinds of things.”

The report also shows the only coaches that receive an equal salary are the men’s and women’s track & field and cross country coaches.

But this is because these teams have the same head coach, and he receives equal compensation for each position.

“Men’s and women’s track is exactly the same except for the accommodations that they have more scholarships in women’s track then they have in men’s track,” Villarreal said. “[Carl Sheffield Jr.] coaches both teams and that’s not uncommon. That’s not an abnormal situation to have just one track coach.”

Biology senior and student athlete Ngozi Nweke said the pay differences are disappointing, but she understands why there’s a gap.

“Even though it’s not fair, it’s how it is,” Nweke said. “I think it’s so easy to be judgmental, but I don’t think it’s based on gender or type of sport. Women’s teams just aren’t as popular. When we’re watching teams, they’re men’s, not women’s.”

Ticket revenue low for women’s sports Nweke’s claims are supported by ticket revenue numbers. Out of the approximately $1.6 million in ticket sales that were reported for the 2014-15 school year, $1.4 million came from men’s team ticket sales, with football accounting for about $1.2 million and men’s basketball accounting for $139,259.

Women’s team ticket sales only accounted for $40,054 in ticket sales across basketball, softball, soccer and volleyball.

The ticket sales could be the biggest factor in pay difference, but both the men’s and women’s golf teams reported zero dollars in ticket sales, and there was still a $23,111 difference in pay for the men’s head coach and the women’s interim head coach.

“I don’t think you can base a

lot of coaches’ contracts on ticket sales because we don’t normally host a home track meet, we might only have one, we don’t host a home golf deal, [and] we don’t charge for people to come watch tennis,” Villarreal said. “So tickets aren’t usually a part of coaches’ contracts.

I think we do have clauses in our men’s and women’s basketball contracts on tickets, and those would be exactly the same.”

Football skews the numbers Without the inclusion of football in this report, men’s teams’ coaches would actually make $614,398 less than women’s teams’ coaches across five sports. According to American Association of University Women’s Senior Researcher Kevin Miller, the problem is that there’s not an equally celebrated women’s sport in the NCAA. “At most schools football programs are a major selling point on a lot of levels and can be good for schools financially, so I’m sure that’s an argument that can be made in favor of paying those staffs so well,” Miller said. “But I am sure that there isn’t an equivalent women’s sport at the collegiate level, and I think that’s a problem.”

Although the sports are not comparable in revenue, the North Texas football staff is paid relatively reasonably when compared to other schools. The $2.3 million in salaries paid to North Texas football coaches is far less than the salary of the head coach alone at other universities, such as Nick Saban at the University of Alabama.

“That’s the reality of the sport that those numbers are going to tend to be larger than they are in other sports,” Villarreal said.

“Today I’m trying to make sure that I’m in the same position to hire the same level coach that other people in our conference would be hiring.”

Even so, the football staff, comprised of one head coach and nine assistant coaches, makes a combined $522,814 more than the

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eight women’s head coaches and 15 assistant coaches combined.

“It’s a different animal in a lot of ways because of the number of people that are involved [and] the number of dollars that are generated by football,” Villarreal said. “But again, we don’t really look at that part of it when I hire a football coach.”

The verdict While the raw numbers indicate a wide margin between men’s and women’s coaches, many elements factor into the equation.

According to Miller, the pay gap has less to do with high level

decisions and more to do with biases held by spectators.

“I’m thinking that in sports, part of the bias is that people tend to think of women’s sports as not as exciting or not as real as men’s sports,” Miller said. “I think there is a bias happening there on a lower level that may be part of the picture.”

The conclusion then seems to be there isn’t much that can be done – unless the playing field was leveled in popularity of sports, or if females ever ended up in the men’s coaching realm on the collegiate level.

“Football is the god. I don’t think women’s sports are ever going to

get on that level, so it’s comparing apples to oranges,” Nweke said. “If we ever had a woman coaching a men’s team, then we could look at it fairly. I think it’s a different spectrum of judgment.”

For Villarreal and UNT, the main objective moving forward is for the university to remain as fair as possible.

“I think it’s important for us to be competitive in all of our coaches’ salaries within our conference and to be as balanced as possible,” Villarreal said. “That’s probably the case just about anywhere you would go at the D-1 FBS level.”

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NTDAILY.COM | PAGE 10 MEAN GREEN QUICK HITS Women’s basketball signs high school scoring champion Topeka High School point guard Adrianna Henderson has signed a national letter of intent with the Mean Green. The Kansas native led her city in scoring for three consecutive years at over 20 points a game and will be the sixth newcomer to head coach Jalie Mitchell’s squad next season.

Assistant coach Aisha Stewart played a big role in her recruitment, as her alma mater is only three miles away from Henderson’s.

Men’s hoops adds former Final Four participant Head coach Tony Benford signed graduate transfer forward Derial Green to join Mean Green men’s basketball next season. Green was formerly with Wichita State for two years, including their Final Four run in 2013, before transferring to Incarnate Word. The Houston native averaged 11 points and 4.3 rebounds for the Cardinals last season.

FOOTGOLF

FootGolf bringing new life to old sport

By Austin Jackson and Alex Lessard Staff Writer and Associate Sports Writer @a_jack17 @alexjlessard Andrew Randich studies the fairway of Lake Park Golf Course that sprawls before him. With the wind at his back, Randich sets his ball down, takes five measured steps back and exhales for just a moment.

He then leans forward and bounds towards the ball like Happy Gilmore.

But instead of swinging a golf club, Randich plants one leg down and swings his foot through a synthetic leather soccer ball.

This is FootGolf, and Randich hopes it can help save the game he loves.

“It’s just a matter of getting people out on a golf course,” Randich said. “I

think a lot of people are hesitant just because they feel uncomfortable.”

Randich, the interim general manager of Lake Park Golf Club in Lewisville, is one of hundreds of golf course managers around the United States who have embraced FootGolf as a way to grow the game of golf.

Randich brought FootGolf to Lake Park in 2014 and hasn’t looked back.

Lake Park is just a 20 minute drive from the UNT campus, and all one needs to play is a soccer ball and $10.

Although some are much more competitive than others, FootGolf is streamlined. No need for expensive golf clubs, lessons, collared shirts and pleated pants.

“Pretty much the only requirement that we have down there is that you have a shirt with sleeves on it,” Randich said. “We don’t allow cut-off shirts.

Other than that, you can wear pretty

Michael Cotton named to C-USA All-Academic team Mean Green men’s golfer Michael Cotton was named to the C-USA All-Academic team last week. The sophomore finished with a 3.87 GPA in finance and was one of six athletes to receive the honor. Cotton’s matched his academic prowess with his athletic performance, playing in all 10 of the Mean Green’s tournaments with a 73.83 stroke average.

Chastity Stewart named C-USA track athlete of the week Graduate hurdler Chastity Stewart was named the C-USA track athlete of the week after breaking records last weekend at the John Jacobs Invitational in Norman, Oklahoma. Stewart broke the invitational record in the 100-meter hurdles with a personal career-best time of 13.24 and took sixth place in the 200-meter dash. It’s the first time a North Texas track and field athlete has been recognized as an athlete of the week since 2008.

Lake Park Golf Course general manager chips a ball to try to get it near the cup while demonstrating how to play foot golf. Dylan Nadwodny | Staff Photographer

Andrew Randich is the general manager of Lake Park Golf Course in Lewisville, Texas. One of many courses across the country to impliment foot golf. Dylan Nadwodny | Staff Photographer much whatever you want.”

Golf and soccer on the surface are contradictory concepts, with one consisting of constant running and physicality, and the other made up of long breaks between swings. But together, the polar opposites harmonize to create a lifeline for a dying sport.

FIFA estimated in a big count done in 2006 that there are 265 million people playing soccer worldwide.

Meanwhile, according to a National Golf Foundation study, 24.1 million people played golf once a year in 2105, which is down from 30.6 million in 2003. “[We’re] trying to focus on the crowd that’s curious about golf but doesn’t want to come out and play and feel the pressure of golfers who are out there all the time,” Randich said.

As for the rules of the game, the concept is simple – put the ball in the hole in as few kicks as possible.

Wayne Pickett, a pro shop attendant at Lake Park, said soccer players initially will have the upper hand in FootGolf, but added the putting greens are the great neutralizer.

“The putting aspect of it, that’s what really changes for a soccer player compared to a non-player,” Pickett said. “That’s where the non-player will catch up a lot. That part of it has nothing to do with soccer at all.”

Pickett said since its addition at Lake Park, FootGolf has been most attractive to former soccer players.

One casual soccer player, Behavior Analysis freshman Nathan Roberts, said he always liked the idea of golf but was never very good.

When his friends told him about FootGolf, it was a perfect opportunity to explore golf and showcase his soccer skills. Roberts said anyone can play FootGolf, regardless of age, skill or experience, and the sport is a great way to compete with friends.

“My friend got stuck in the bunker, and he kicked it out on his first try. And he doesn’t play sports,” Roberts said.

“I feel like if he could manage it, most anybody else can.”

People have been kicking balls around grass for thousands of years, but FootGolf became an official organized sport in 2006 with the creation of the

United States FootGolf Association.

Randich plans on hosting league events and fundraisers on a monthly basis in hope that FootGolf will take off at Lake Park. He said the only thing holding it back is the lack of public awareness.

“We’ve still got people calling and asking about it,” Randich said. “That’s our biggest hurdle, trying to figure out what demographic we’re trying to send this information out to about FootGolf and how to get the word out.”

Randich said North Texas students make up a good portion of Lake Park’s late afternoon golf crowd, but not enough students know about FootGolf. However, with more time and resources designated to promote the sport on local college campuses, students like Roberts may help Lake Park get the growth it’s looking for.

“I played disc golf a little while back, and very slowly, word spread around and people started going and playing it a lot more,” Roberts said. “I feel like it is going to be like that. Just give it a little time and people are going to go out and play.”

BASKETBALL

New basketball transfer Temara ready to prove himself at D-I level

By Torie Mosley Staff Writer @toriemosley With North Texas men’s basketball’s graduate forward Eric Katenda, who started 18 games for the Mean Green, graduating and leaving the program, the team has a hole to fill.

North Texas may have found the perfect solution with the recent signing of sophomore JUCO transfer Shane Temara.

“We’ve been looking for someone to fill in Katenda’s spot next season, and Shane’s a nice fit for the spot,” head coach Tony Benford said. “He can shoot and defend, so we’re excited to see what he can do for us offensively and defensively.”

Temara spent his freshman year at Pasco-Hernando State College in New Port Richey,

Florida, a D-II junior college, before transferring to Angelina College in Luf kin last season.

He said he’s glad his college basketball dream to play D-I NCAA basketball is finally coming true, but that it was far from easy to attain.

Originally from Syracuse, New York, Temara had trouble getting attention from NCAA scouts playing in an area not known to produce D-I talent.

The city is known nationally for Syracuse University’s basketball tradition, but outside of the university, most basketball players in the city have to leave the area to be noticed.

Shane’s father Mike played rugby on the New Zealand national team, and his mother Christine played basketball at Syracuse. Despite his family ties, Temara didn’t receive

JUCO transfer Shane Temara will have two years of eligibility left when he arrives at North Texas. Courtesy | Mean Green Athletics

D-I NCAA offers out of high school.

“All people up there care about is Syracuse University,” Temara said. “If you don’t play there, everyone kind of doubts you saying ‘Oh you’re from Syracuse, you’re not going to go anywhere.’ It took me two years of JUCO to prove myself, and no one really noticed me until now.”

At Pasco-Hernando, Temara averaged over 15 points and nine rebounds a game while shooting 33 percent from three-point range, ranking second amongst D-II JUCO players in defensive rebounds and blocks, and 5th in rebounds per game. He then transferred to D-I JUCO Angelina College last fall and averaged 11.5 points and 7.5 rebounds a game while shooting over 60 percent from the field, ranking 6th in offensive rebounds and 7th in blocks amongst D-I JUCO players.

His game brought back memories of another forward who played in Denton in recent years, according to Benford.

“He reminds me of Colin Voss, but he shoots the three better than Colin did and has better ball skills,” Benford said. “He’s pretty athletic, so he should be able to space the floor a little more than Collin or [Katenda] did for us.”

Last season, Temara showcased his athletic ability against Satnam Singh – a 7-foot-2 center who eventually was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks with the 52nd overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft. Temara heard Singh was a highly touted athlete and took on the 7’2 center on a fast break play. He ended up dunking on Singh.

After the North Texas coaching staff contacted Temara in February, he chose to come to Denton instead of Lamar University, Texas State University and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte once he evaluated each school’s roster and where he’d fit in as a role player.

“I wanted to come here because the players are better than the others schools that wanted me,” Temara said.

JUCO transfer Shane Temara averaged 11.5 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per game last season. Courtesy | Mean Green Athletics “Plus, the coaches told me I pretty much would be taking over Eric Katenda’s spot to be a stretch four for the team.”

Temara compares his game to the likes of Cleveland Cavaliers stretch four and NBA All-Star forward Kevin Love because of the combination of his size and ability to make mid-range and perimeter shots.

“A lot of big guys can’t shoot, so it creates a mismatch for me,” Temara said. “When guys would guard me in JUCO, I’d come up the court and shoot a three, and they’d be standing at the free throw line thinking I was like every other big guy

that could only play down low.”

North Texas junior guard Deckie Johnson also played at Angelina before transferring to join the Mean Green, where he averaged 14 points per game as the team’s premiere three-point shooter last season.

Johnson, who shot over 70 threes on 33 percent shooting last season, said it’s exciting to have another three-point shooter on the squad.

“It’s good to have a forward helping defend in the paint, but even better when he can shoot, especially from three,” Johnson said. “He’s going to make it easier on me to not have to take

as many as I did last season.”

Temara said he’s really excited to finally test his talent against D-I competition next season. And while nobody knows how Temara’s game will translate at the next level yet, he said he plans to change that soon.

“I’m ready for the D-I lifestyle,” Temara said. “After being at two JUCOs, you’re pretty much located in the middle of nowhere. I can’t wait for the fans, the people [and] the team. I can’t wait to show everyone what I got.”

OPINION Page 11

THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 2016

NTDAILY.COM

STRUGGLE

The struggle of the black woman in American society

By Sidney Johnson Staff Writer @sidjohn87 Being a black woman in America is a balancing act — weighing negative public perceptions with professionalism all the while maintaining a productive household. Often forgotten in the frenzy of black male injustice, their frustrations have largely been ignored.

Broadcast senior and UNT National Association of Black Journalists president Victoria Upton sat down to discuss black women and the complexity of their current standing in America.

“We’re now in a day where people don’t say it, but you can see the pattern if you’re conscious of it,” Upton said.

This is due – in part – to the degradation of the strong, positive black woman in American culture – reduced to loud-mouthed “baby-mamas” twerking in the street after a bout with another black woman. Think World Star Hip Hop. This coupled with ignorant assumptions that black women

are inherently angry or are leeching our welfare system dry leads to the root of society’s scorn. These women have, since birth, faced two palpable strikes against them: Being black in a predominantly white society and being a woman in a patriarchal system of oppression.

According to the 2014 American Society of News Editors (ASNE) census, African Americans comprise 4.78 percent of nationwide newsroom employees. Given this imbalance, it is imperative that the few African Americans in these newsrooms ensure blacks are portrayed in context – otherwise you have writers unknowingly peddling half-truths.

“Just [in] getting my degree there are naysayers,” Upton said. “They see me as a pariah to my community because I’m a part of a media they don’t trust.”

Minorities can no longer put stock in the accuracy of their depictions in the news media and this has eroded their trust.

Black women in news must tread even murkier waters

once they’ve “made it” to the other side of success, being hassled for things as trivial as their hair.

Going natural isn’t new, how could it be? But the stigma it holds in regard to professionalism persists nonetheless.

“As you’re making a place for me there should be a place for my hair,” Upton said.

Furthermore, UNT assistant professor, and natural hair enthusiast Meredith Clark raised a great question: “Why are black women some of the only people whose natural hair is viewed as a political statement in America?”

Feminism in America has changed since the Seneca Falls convention in 1848 – an example being in the creation of black feminism.

Spawned out of an effort to accommodate black women who felt they were being racially oppressed in the women’s movement, black feminism added racial strife into the mix of equal rights for all women.

“We have our own sector of feminism,” Upton said. “We

North Texas Daily Editorial Board

Editor-In-Chief Nicholas Friedman nicholas.friedman1@gmail.com @NMFreed News Editor Dalton LaFerney laferneyd@gmail.com @daltonlaferney Arts & Life Editor Matt Payne mattpayne1994@gmail.com @MattePaper Sports Editor Scott Sidway s.sidway@gmail.com @ScottyWK

UNT assistant professor Meredith Clark was recently on The Root 100 for 2015.

Courtesy | Meredith Clark have more pride in being our own.”

There are now different articulations of feminism but all work toward the common goal of equality for all people.

Upton said she believes there is an intangible divide among the different factions of feminism in America.

“Only when people acknowledge and listen can we move forward and feminism can become its strongest and

most diverse,” she said.

Black women: Remain unbroken and continue to chip away at the stereotypes you’ve been given. You are strong, not angry. You are inquisitive, not overly opinionated. Most importantly, you’ve held down the black home for generations under untold adversity while remaining regal throughout – you are the embodiment of beauty in the struggle.

Visuals Editor Kristen Watson kristenwatson2@my.unt.edu @kbwats Visuals Editor Meagan Sullivan meagansullivanphotography@ gmail.com @meagansullivan_ Opinion Editor Harrison Long harrisonlong@my.unt.edu @HarrisonGLong

Production Design Editor ...Hannah Lauritzen Copy Editor.....Linda Kessler Copy Editor......Chelsea Watkins

MARIJUANA

Seriously, just legalize Column: It’s time we start a weed already conversation about mental illness MENTAL HEALTH

By Preston Mitchell Staff Writer @Presto_Mitch

For many Americans, whether willing to admit it or not, April 20 provided a quick glimpse into a life where marijuana was smoked liberally. For that single day, weed was passed from person to person, each inhaling the cannabis and allowing themselves to detox in the midst of tumultuous times.

Presently, this doesn’t make the beloved herb any less illegal. With the exceptions of D.C., Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and Alaska, most of the states outlaw recreational weed. While they’ve begun administering low-THC marijuana as medicine, it doesn’t justify FBI stats of over 700,000 weed arrests in 2014.

Worse is that 88.4 percent of those arrests led to possession charges.

Therefore, it’s best if America succumbed to something for once and just legalized weed altogether.

The greatest effects of this decriminalization are newfound opportunities for our nation to profit. Not only would a substantial amounts of people be kept out of prison if weed were legal, but tenured entrepreneurs and business newcomers would have an original market on their hands.

The beauty of ganja isn’t just its inherent high, but how conducive it actually is for mass production. Edibles, lotions and oils are only a few of the great commodities that can be created from cannabis. Oils in particular aid people suffering from anxiety, insomnia and pain. Even though the plant

still affects the mind no matter how much you spay and neuter its psychotropic components, its malleability into soaps, candles, and perfumes open more job opportunities for everyone.

Financially speaking, cannabis paraphernalia can be sold and taxed to generate revenue for each state. Look at Colorado, where people obviously buy more recreational weed than medicinal. Within its first year of legalization, Denver murders decreased by 42 percent while poverty in the whole state declined by nearly 12 percent.

Recently, the Colorado Department of Revenue tallied a total of $996,184,788 in 2015 marijuana sales. Thanks to a 15 percent excise tax on pot, Colorado was able to amass an easy $13.6 million to build schools and academic centers throughout the state.

According to professional advising firms, full legalization in all 50 states would eventually top $35 billion in earnings. The grass would certainly be greener, along with our wallets.

This is all before you take into account that, throughout history, there has never been a single recorded death directly from the use of marijuana.

Seriously, not one.

With that said, it can be well affirmed that the longtime war on marijuana is pointless.

Permitting it would end tensions and make our educational and penal institutions better; all the while allowing other issues to take precedence over something that in the end is a non-issue.

It’s time to legalize.

Legalizing marijuana would allow strains like this one grown in Colorado to help with specific diseases like epilepsy and pain.

Kristen Watson | Visuals Editor

By Morgan Sullivan Staff Writer @sadsquadch

Morgan Sullivan Mental illness: a phrase not often uttered by news media, or spoken of in public in a proactive sense. As a society, it’s a phrase we have deemed “untouchable,” a phrase too uncomfortable to discuss even in the most general of situations. However, one in four people are affected by a mental disorder, according to the world health report by the World Health Organization.

If so many people

worldwide are affected by mental disorders, then why isn’t it talked about more?

The short answer: we suffer in silence because of the disgrace that surrounds it.

Yes, I said we.

Since age 14, I have suffered from generalized anxiety, social anxiety and depression. For many years, I was quiet about my mental illness because of the stigma surrounding it. If I didn’t disclose my illness with others, including my family, it wasn’t tangible.

On September 25, 2013, this stance changed.

I awoke that morning to the worst voicemail I’ve ever received. After calling my mother back, through her sobs on the phone, I learned that my uncle had committed suicide earlier that morning.

I tell you this because my uncle was a happy man. One of the happiest people I knew.

He suffered in silence and he didn’t have to.

One of the reasons many people choose to go through mental illness alone is because the majority of the population

is uneducated about such issues. When portrayed in the media, movies undoubtedly have over-the-top depictions, or romanticize mental illness and make things much less gruesome than they are. In movies, the girl falls in love and her depression is suddenly cured. OCD is somehow seen as comical.

If I’ve learned anything about depression, it’s that another person cannot fix you, no matter how dreamy they are. It’s something you must do on your own. And OCD is no laughing matter – ask anyone who has ever truly suffered from such.

Unless mental illness is being discussed as reasoning behind an egregious crime, it’s otherwise ignored by the news media. Mental illness is the first thing newscasters point fingers at when trying to understand many acts of violence, especially those involving guns. When you lump together any group of people, the majority of those included do not represent your stereotype.

In fact, mental illness

is different for everyone.

There are more than 200 forms of mental illness, including dementia, epilepsy, schizophrenia, depression and bipolar disorder. What one person might experience could be completely different than what someone else does – yet this doesn’t mean one person’s feelings are less valid than another’s.

If you have a mental disorder, there’s no reason to believe your life is any less valuable than someone who doesn’t have one. It’s just a chemical imbalance.

We don’t blame people with hypoglycemia for their glucose deficiency – the same courtesy should be passed to those suffering from mental disorder.

The truth is, mental illness can be treated. Whether it’s with prescription drugs, therapy or another form of treatment, things can get better. It starts with being brave enough to start a conversation about mental illness – refuse to suffer in silence.

POLITICS

Column: The logical mind and emotional heart in politics

By Harrison Long Opinion Editor @HarrisonGLong The rhetoric that has been bombastically screamed by presidential candidates this cycle – that American citizens are in danger of losing X, and that if action is not taken now, Y will happen – is nothing new.

On the contrary, appealing to the emotional knee-jerk reactions in politics is precisely why the United States is not a democracy in the first place – it is a constitutional republic. Everyone seems to feel that they have an understanding of what the Founding Father’s had in mind when they wrote the Constitution, and sneer while pointing fingers at those differing from them, claiming an attempt to dissolve our republic, or that the opposite wants to squash the ambitions of the people.

Enough is enough.

The truth of the matter is that a pure democracy – one in which the people decide everything that happens in their country – is not possible. We are fortunate to be able to elect our leaders, which is more than can be said for many around the world. But none of it matters if we fundamentally misunderstand their role in our government and its processes, or believe they are there only to deceive us.

The truth is that “the people” far too often take words at face value from those who are not qualified to speak on the topic at hand. They fall victim to logical fallacies and rather than risking personal discomfort in order to find out the truth, they take the first bit of information they receive and run with it.

Here are a few examples that can be disseminated due to their frequency on the public stage: 1) “They don’t allow faculty-led prayer in public school – next they’ll outlaw Christianity

and persecute Christians!”

This is what is known as the “slippery slope” fallacy – an assumption that a particular step invariably leads to similar steps, which will culminate in an overall negative outcome.

2) “Al-Qaeda is made up of terrorists who pledge their allegiance to the Muslim faith – therefore all Muslims must be terrorists!”

This is what is known as a “sweeping generalization,” or a blind assumption that if something is true in a particular case it must be true in all cases. This is a particularly nasty example.

3) “Ted Cruz is the Zodiac Killer!”

This is what is known as a “red herring” – it is a distraction from the true real (who should be the United States’ next president?) for something entertaining or convenient, and most of the time is entirely false.

The reality of the situation is that citizens must learn to take

Harrison Long their emotional reactions from the equation when casting their ballot for any public office. They must appeal to reason, even if it flies in the face of everything they feel to be true. Some say the truth is stranger than fiction – but the reality is that the truth is often unpleasant and, rather than be exposed to reality, many would rather wallow in falsehoods in order to keep the status quo. That, ladies and gentlemen, is why we don’t have a pure democracy.

NTDAILY.COM | PAGE 12 EDITORIAL

Baylor football needs to stop ignoring its rape culture The Editorial Board North Texas Daily @ntdaily

It’s difficult to understand how, as a private Baptist institution, Baylor University could claim to embody Christian ideals and then refuse to live up to them when it is its turn to do so.

Turning to the school’s main website, one would find listed under a section called “Baylor’s Convictions” the university’s commitment to offer “a distinctive voice to global conversations about crucial issue,” listing things such as “social responsibility” and “human rights.”

We call bull.

If there were ever a time for Baylor University to offer its support for a global cause, it would be now.

By stonewalling inquiries regarding multiple sexual assault allegations against its football program over the past few years, Baylor has swallowed whole its opportunity to lead a global charge in curbing the way we view, treat and educate our youth about rape. It has given the perpetrators a slap on the wrist and, in no uncertain terms, condoned the behavior.

To understand the situation, one should take a look at the timeline of Baylor football program. After finishing in the NCAA College Football Top 25 for the first time in over 20 years, the athletic department is under a lot of pressure to keep the momentum going into seasons beyond. It must live up to the hype surrounding the construction of its new McLane Stadium, as well as continue to be ranked nationally. It

needs to retain the superior players it has amassed in recent years, and it can’t do that if the players are convicted and jailed for rape.

So what’s the solution? If you’re Art Briles, you sweep it under the rug, allow the offenders to retain their scholarship and keep playing football, and then sit on it until it happens again. If you’re unsure which case we’re referring to, just Google former defensive end Shawn

Oakman’s name.

What gives, and at what point do they put their foot down?

Sure, it’s easy for those in Waco to look at us in Denton, peering down from the ivory towers and say we are calling them out because our football program sucks.

OK, we’ll give you that, last season was an abomination. If you were asked to describe the worst season of football your team has ever

endured, it would come up short of our 2015 season.

But you know what? We fired our coach.

We fired our coach because he didn’t live up to the expectations of our athletic department or the student body, much less the university when he didn’t deliver on a promise.

Baylor’s entire institution thrives on the notion of living up to Christian principles, and we feel

Samuel Wiggins | Staff Illustrator

comfortable in saying Art Briles has most certainly fallen short in being a leader to Baylor’s students, whether they play for him or not.

North Texas is waiting to see if new coach Seth Littrell’s spread offense will amount to anything this fall – Baylor is just hoping to make it that long without a new rape accusation coming to light.

We’ll take our position over theirs any day.

SQUIRRELS ON CAMPUS

Jake Bowerman | Staff Illustrator

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Entertainment Listings Thursday, April 28 Wine and Whiskers - 6:00 PM @ Oakmont Country Club Twilight Tunes - Kody West 6:30 PM @ Courthouse on the Square Trivia Night - 8:00 PM @ Mulberry St. Cantina Friday, April 29 Denton Arts and Jazz Festival 5:00 PM @ Quakertown Park Live Music - 7:00 PM @ LSA Burger Friday Night Dart Tournament 7:45 PM @ The LABB Ghosts of Denton Tour 8:00PM @ Downtown Denton (Meet at Jupiter House) Sam Riggs - 8:30 PM @ Rockin’ Rodeo Saturday, April 30 Denton Community Market - 9:00 AM @ Historic Park of Denton County HFH Denton Run It Walk It Build It 5k and Walkathon 9:00 AM @ South Lakes Park Saturday Yoga on the Square - 9:00 AM @ Courthouse on the Square

Denton Arts and Jazz Festival 10:00 AM @ Quakertown Park Jazz Brunch - 10:00 AM @ The Chestnut Tree Afternoons at Audacity - 4:00 PM @ Audacity Brew House Sunday, May 1 Denton Arts and Jazz Festival 11:00 AM @ Quakertown Park Free Roll Texas Hold Em Tournament - 6:00 PM @ Jack’s Tavern Suit and Tie Jazz Night - 10:00 PM @ Paschall Bar Open Mic With Bone Doggie - 9:00 PM @ The Abbey Underground Monday, May 2 Open Mic - 7:00 PM @ LSA Burger Monday Monk Ride - 7:30 PM @ The Bearded Monk Open Mic Night - 10:00 PM @ Andy’s Bar Tuesday, April 26 Musical Tuesdays - 7:00 PM @ Sweetwater Grill and Tavern Real Texas Radio Live Broadcast - 7:00 PM @ LSA

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