North Texas Daily 4-7-16

NORTH TEXAS SOFTBALL RECRUITS HEAVILY IN TEXAS AND OKLAHOMA

VOL. 106 No. 11 SPEAKER

Bill Nye talks life and science during lecture at UNT Week

“

COMMUNITY

THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 2016

ntdaily.com

“How could you pass up an opportunity to support something like this?”

By Julia Falcon Staff Writer @falconjulia22

CANPUS GOVERNMENT

SGA fumbles on ruling

By Lisa Dreher Staff Writer @lisa_dreher97

Kristen Watson | Visuals Editor Bill Nye talked about his childhood, the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Pearl Harbor and of course, science, as part of the sold out distinguished lecture series in the Super Pit Wednesday night.

His cheesy and humorous introduction to students and community members in the audience brought a light-hearted feel to the room.

Nye discussed his family and how they experienced major events in history. His father, who called himself Ned Nye, Boy Scientist, fought in World War II and his mother was part of the Navy Cryptographers in 1943. Nye credits his parents for shaping him into the scientist he is today.

“I obviously want to talk about Mars, and obviously you’re with me here,” Nye said, pointing to a projected photo of mars. “Keep in mind, if you’re planning a trip to mars, it’s a camping trip. Bring water, there’s not much, and air.

SEE SPEAKER ON PAGE 2 WEATHER

Today H: 84°F L: 52°F 7-Day Forecast

Hallie Barnard, right, and her mother Elyse enjoy the beautiful morning and the company of supportive friends at Hallie’s 5K fundraiser.

Tristan Miller |Staff Photographer

Hallie’s Heroes run against DBA; the race to find a marrow match continues Kyle Martin Staff Writer @Kyle_Martin35 Since she was just a toddler, 7-year-old Hallie Barnard has been fighting against a rare blood disorder that destroys red blood cells and hinders her immune system. On April 2, runners dressed as their favorite superheroes gathered for a 5K fun-run and swab drive at W.S.

Ryan Elementary.

Scott Brannam, an Army Reserve career counselor living in Virginia, came to the event from out of town to visit some friends. Not originally planning to run, he joined the race last minute to participate in a cause worth his time.

“How could you pass up an opportunity to support something like this?” he said. The event was organized by Hallie’s Heroes, a group created by the UNT Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity to assist

Friday

a nonprofit in research for Halli’s disorder.

The fraternity of UNT was also on site both running and volunteering, spreading awareness to swab and get swabbed. Sponsors with tables at the event included Mary Kay, the Pampered Chef, Nationwide and Target. Each donated time, money, gift cards and supplies to make the 5K run a success.

Others in attendance were stem cell and bone marrow donors, friends, family and members of

the Denton community.

Sympathy of a donor Among the donors table stood Craig Marcho, 49, an employee of Microsoft in Las Colinas who attended the race to speak on behalf of donors.

“The whole reason I’m here is because about seven years ago, my wife and I registered at a drive just like this at a soccer game in

SEE COMMUNITY ON PAGE 4

Easton Lachlann wanted to run for Student Government Association vice president, but his own timing combined with internal missteps by SGA officials blocked him from candidacy.

“Protocol wasn’t even followed to begin with,” Lachlann said. “That to me should invalidate a lot of this. I followed everything to the letter, if they’re not going to do the same then what’s the point?”

The SGA College of Public Affairs and Community Service senator intended to run for SGA vice president this election, but he was unsure of his eligibility because he is graduating in May. Lachlann needs 32 undergraduate hours to qualify for medical school after graduating this semester. He’s a senior now, but will take undergraduate courses after graduating. He did not know if he could be the undergraduate vice president while also being a graduate student.

Lachlann asked Student Financial Aid and Scholarships administrator Tiffany O’Neal, who said he could be classified as both an undergraduate and graduate.

The first wrong turn Lachlann said UNT director of student activities Christa Coffey told him to ask the SGA Supreme Court for clarification.

In an email from March 19, SGA president Adam Alattry also said Lachlann should send his case to the court. This week, however, Alattry said Lachlann should have gone to the Election Board in the first place.

SEE CAMPUS GOVT ON PAGE 2

ENTERTAINMENT

The ‘Watching’ Dead

H: 76°F L: 54°F Saturday Sunday

PAGE 7

H: 77°F L: 58°F

Sweetwater Grill & Tavern brings walker fans together every Sunday night

H: 82°F L: 65°F

By Kayleigh Bywater Senior Staff Writer @kayleighbywater

Monday H: 86°F L: 52°F Tuesday H: 73°F L: 52°F Wednesday H: 70°F L: 51°F TRENDING

@ntdaily @thedose_ntdaily @ntd_sports

#MarchMadness

The Villanova Wildcats beat the North Carolina Tar Heels 77-74 Monday in the final NCAA championship game

#PanamaPapers

The names of hundreds of American executives were exposed when a law firm in Panama leaked 11.5 million documents.

A cosplay group of The Walking Dead at WonderCon 2015. Courtesy | Wikimedia Commons

The lights are dimmed.

Fingers anxiously tap tabletops as teeth clench and eyes are glued to television screen. The viewers are in a zombie-like state as notable characters like Rick Grimes fill the screen. The uneasiness in Rick’s gaze matches with the suspense building in the viewers’ chests.

It’s “The Walking Dead” season six finale, and the episode is just as gruesome as everyone in Sweetwater Grill & Tavern expected it to be.

The underlying premise of each season of “The Walking

Dead” may hold similarities, including extremely real-looking walkers, the gut-feeling that your favorite character probably won’t make it to the end of the season and hours of suspense, but Sweetwater gives fans the opportunity to share the agony and watch the show together every week. “’The Walking Dead’ has a ‘woah’ factor to it that a lot of other shows don’t,” Sweetwater owner Ryann Reid said. “This idea started off kind of slow, but here we are now with around 30 or more people showing up each week to watch this show in our company.”

SEE ENTERTAINMENT ON PAGE 4

FOOTBALL

#ASSoL

North Texas football confident implementing new offense despite WR inexperience

#MerleHaggard

By Reece Waddell Senior Staff Writer @ReeceWaddell15

Following controversy about its questionable acronym, the Antonio Scalia School of Law said Tuesday that it will officially change its name July 1.

Merle Haggard died Wednesday on his 79th birthday due to health complications.

EDITORIAL ON PAGE 12

PROBLEMATIC PAPERS

The stadium was raucous and all 52,882 fans were on their feet. Seconds remained on the clock with a chance at history on the line. In an instant, the ball was snapped and a pass was lobbed along the sideline.

Caught five yards short of the goal line, wide receiver Michael Crabtree broke two tackles and scampered into the endzone to give Texas Tech University the win over No. 1 University of Texas at Austin.

The quarterback who threw the game-winning pass was Graham Harrell, the current offensive coordinator at North Texas. And standing along the sidelines as running backs coach for the Red Raiders was Seth Littrell, the current head coach of the Mean Green.

But there is more in common with the 2008 Texas Tech team and the 2016 North Texas team than Harrell and Littrell. One of the first programs to run an “Air Raid” offense, Littrell brings to Denton the same scheme the Red Raiders used during their 11 win season.

And the Mean Green wide receivers are licking their chops.

“We hit the jackpot as receivers with this offense,” junior wide receiver Turner Smiley said. “Before, we threw the ball, but nothing like this.

I’m definitely excited.”

Unlike the pro-style scheme ran under former head coach Dan McCarney, the spread offense is an up-tempo attack that moves the ball to as many players as possible. Typically run out of the shotgun, the “Air Raid” opens the field up for big

SEE FOOTBALL ON PAGE 7

Head Coach Seth Littrell Plans to open up the offense next season by using more recievers. Colin Mitchell | Senior Staff Photographer

DENTON

Delays continue on Fry Street complex

By Julia Falcon Staff Writer @falconpunch_ For now, the proposed apartment complex to be built above Voertman’s is at a standstill while property managers figure out a way to add more parking spots to the Fry Street area.

So far, project officials from EdR, the company wanting to move to Fry, have had trouble finding parking spaces in the already congested area on the north side of campus. EdR planned to partner with UNT to buy some of the school’s parking, but university spokeswoman Margarita Venegas said UNT won’t be sharing parking spaces with any off-campus housing.

Parking is the main concern for the proposed living area that would go above Voertman’s and Subway on Hickory Street.

Brent Erskin, owner of Voertman’s, said he is in favor of the new development and understands the parking issue needs to be resolved. Hearings for the apartment complex were pushed back from both Feb. 16 and March 1, until the deal was withdrawn from the Denton City Council agenda April 5, pending a better parking plan.

“They are trying to find ways

SEE DENTON ON PAGE 2

NEWS Page 2

THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 2016

CAMPUS

More campus carry info sessions this week

By Evan McAlister Staff Writer @evan_McAlister The UNT Police Department is explaining the university’s policy on campus carry during information sessions this week, well ahead of the law’s Aug. 1 enactment date.

One session took place Tuesday, with the next set for 4 p.m. in the Union Lyceum.

UNT police officer Kevin Crawford covered the policy with about 10 students at the first meeting, telling them about the legal regulations on campus carry. The biggest change, Crawford said, was the name of the license from Concealed Handgun License to License to Carry Holder.

“UNT is committed to the safety of students, faculty and staff, and this policy does not take away from that,” Crawford said. “What we’re trying to do is prepare the community with information so that they’re ready ahead of time.”

On even-numbered years, the university must re-submit its policy to the Texas Legislature for further approval.

All faculty, staff, students, guests, visitors or individuals on campus property must follow UNT’s policy.

This includes all land, parking lots, buildings and portions of buildings owned or leased by the university.

Denton police, however, patrol roads on campus.

Crawford advised students to “be a good witness” when a concealed gun

is visible and not to “freak out” if you see a gun.

“Take a second to evaluate the situation, don’t confront the person and know their description,” Crawford said. “Start with race, gender, clothing and if you have time look for other unique attributes, and then tell us where that person went.”

Campus carry is nothing new.

Texas joins eight other states with campus carry laws.

People who want to carry on campus are required by law to meet age requirements, clear a criminal history evaluation, mental health check and background check before they take part in an educational gun safety course.

“I had read the policy prior to the session and I came to see how other students were responding to it,” business computer information sophomore Lyle Holly said. “I feel confident that people with an LTC are going to be responsible.”

Summer orientation will now include campus safety and security seminars to help educate new faculty, incoming students and their parents on the carry policy. Other programs will cover active shooter scenarios, weather related events, medical and fire emergencies, and bystander interventions.

“We’re going to make sure that this information is available so that there’s no confusion,” Crawford said. “We want our community to be prepared for campus carry and any other potential emergencies.”

Delays continue on Fry Street addition DENTON CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

to add more parking and are looking for more options,” Erksin said. “At one point they will go back to the planning and zoning committee.”

EdR is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. It’s one of the largest collegiate housing owners, developers and managers in the United States.

Company officials could not be reached for comment at the time of print.

Long range planning administrator for the City of Denton, Ron Menguita, said EdR has spent time this year answering questions from people in the neighborhood.

“There are new designs being proposed, and new designs have been back and forth between the design team and city council,” Menguita said.

“I know they want another meeting with the community to share new plans but have yet to tell us when that will happen.”

The project planners want the apartment to have 300 bedrooms and 222 off-street parking spaces. The biggest concern of residents is heavier traffic potential traffic on Fry Street and and a strain on already gridlocked parking.

Students who park for class as well as customers who frequent the many

NTDAILY.COM

Bill Nye talks life and science during lecture at UNT Week SPEAKER CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Bring water, there’s not much, and air. There’s hardly any. You’ll notice automatically.”

A graduate of Cornell University in 1977, Nye studied under Carl Sagan, who he referenced many times during the lecture.

“I got into Cornell, there was a mistake in admissions,” Nye joked. “I took astronomy [with] Carl Sagan. I took one class and he talked all the time about Mars. It turned out that later in life, his kids watched the ‘Science Guy’ show.”

Nye said he started the “Science Guy” show for fun but it went on to air on Disney from 1993 to 1998.

One of the controversial topics Nye spoke about was climate change.

“The thing I am most concerned about this year is climate change. It is my opinion, which you know is correct, that this year is pivotal,” Nye said. “Really think about the environment when you think about voting for your president. The U.S. president is the most influential person in the world, and if that person is in denial about climate change, the next few decades will be difficult.”

Nye pointed to a slide with photos of John Kasich, Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, claiming that they were not for fixing the environment, again saying to think about who you vote for in the upcoming election.

Nye showed graphs of how the climate change was like a rollercoaster, with temperatures rising and falling, but more recently having an extreme rise.

As photo of Nye’s house was projected, he spoke about how it is mostly solar powered.

He said his electric bill is $10 every 60 days.

“You folks get 10 percent of your electricity from the wind. Wind resources here are enormous. You cannot outsource the putting up of wind turbines, someone here has to do that work,” Nye said. “These are local jobs, what is there not to love.”

History major Ryan Blakey said he

loved the lecture, and it was everything he expected it to be.

“When he talked about the true scope of things, about how we are all little specs in the universe, was really deep,” Blakey said.

“I did expect a lot of talk about space, but not so much about the sundials his dad invented. It was a pretty neat discussion.”

A student who is less familiar with Bill Nye the Science Guy, media arts major Brenna Castro, said she did not know what to expect.

“I didn’t think he would talk about the history of his parents and stuff,” Castro said. “I just heard the name Bill Nye and wanted to know what it was about so I came to the lecture.”

Nye went on to talk about alternative energy sources, another highly discussed topic relevant in Denton today.

“The earth’s atmosphere is really thin... People take it for granted, that’s all we got,” Nye said. “We’ve got a thin atmosphere, and seven billion people trying to breathe here.

What I want you all to do, is be the next great generation.

I want you all to change the world.”

Kristen Watson |Visuals Editor

SGA fumbles on allowing potential candidate to run CAMPUS GOVERNMENT CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

bars and restaurants in the area already pack the spaces along Fry and Hickory streets to capacity, even spilling over to Highland and South Welch streets.

At the public hearing on April 5 no residents spoke on the matter, but City of Denton manager George Campbell said an entirely new case comes with a withdrawal of consideration.

Councilwoman Kathleen Wazny clarified during the meeting that the Fry Street proposal will have to start all over again before it can go back to city council.

“Everything will occur in due course,” City of Denton attorney Anita Burgess said. “There will be a notice of another public hearing as required.”

Menguita’s job on this project is to manage the project and follow through with plans, but agreed parking is the biggest problem at hand.

“Parking is an issue as new development comes in, and in my opinion, UNT and the city need to address it collectively,” Menguita said.

“We have been working on this project for some time now, we have listened to the community’s concerns and we want to move forward. The plan is being prepared to discuss parking. We anticipate other development and want to be proactive and prepared for other projects coming in.”

“I think that was an oversight on Lachlann’s part,” Alattry said.

It took 10 days for Lachlann to get a final ruling from the Election Board on whether he could run for vice president. The deadline to file for vice president was March 22. He began to search SGA March 19 for a ruling on whether he could run.

Lachlann said he did not address his eligibility sooner because of personal conflicts. He was out because he was sick and suffered from hip and joint pain at the beginning of the semester.

Additionally, his dad had a stroke over spring break.

“It was a series of unfortunate events,” Lachlann said. “But I certainly wasn’t being lazy.”

The SGA Supreme Court gave its ruling March 21, saying the Election Board should make a decision before the court should. As a result, Lachlann’s move to appeal to the court, which Coffey and Alattry advised him to do, “was improper as a matter of procedure.” So the court sent Lachlann’s case to the Election Board, which is what the SGA bylaws say to do in the first place.

“Article V, which lays out the rules on elections, indicates that election ‘regulations are subject to interpretation only by the Election Board,’” the SGA Supreme Court said.

“These regulations include ‘questions of candidate eligibility.’”

One of the justices who ruled in the court’s unanimous decision is current SGA presidential candidate John Andrews. The SGA president appoints justices, according to SGA’s Student Constitution.

Lachlann said he lost time because of the unnecessary court hearing.

“That wasted another two days of time I could have spent making sure everything was 100 percent before applying,” Lachlann said.

The SGA Supreme Court deferred ruling on Lachlann’s eligibility to the Election Board, but the SGA Election Commissioner interceded, and with that, Coffey decided he could run.

“Christa and I decided we would allow him to run almost immediately,” Davis said.

The next problem When the SGA Supreme Court first took up Lachlann’s issue, it also ruled he and whomever his running mate would be could bypass the application deadline because of the misstep.

Lachlann was first going to run as SGA College of Arts and Sciences senator Mia Muric’s vice president.

Lachlann and Muric applied under one ticket minutes before applications closed because Davis told them Muric could be eligible if she completed a May-mester.

Muric later found she could not meet 60 hours to be classified as a junior by June 1, a requirement in the

SGA bylaws.

Lachlann then asked College of Arts and Sciences senator Miller to run with him after the deadline. Davis said Miller could not run with Lachlann because he said candidates are not allowed to file on two tickets. People who want to change running mates can do so if they meet the filing deadline.

In Lachlann and Miller’s case, Davis said Lachlann could not change running mates because it was after the deadline -- even though the SGA Supreme Court ruled the deadline did not apply to Lachlann and whomever he ran with because of the first misstep.

“This is my ruling,” Davis said in an email to Lachlann. “I cannot allow an entirely new ticket to join the election, as it would be unfair to candidates that have been turned down since the close of applications.”

After that, the Election Board upheld Davis’ ruling with a 4-0 vote to deny Miller and Lachlann from running together. The board ruled switching running mates “creates an unfair advantage.”

Because Davis gave an opinion first, Lachlann and Miller argued only the Election Board has power to make rulings “on matters pertaining to elections.”

SGA bylaws state the Election Commissioner can only make interpretations of the Election Code, not make rulings before the board can hear cases.

Davis argued his power to make “interpretations” of the Election Code allowed him to say Lachlann and Miller could not run together.

“When it comes to things like eligibility, I don’t generally have to go to the Election Board because it would be going to the Election Board for 80 candidates,” Davis said.

Coffey said the same-ticket requirement is on the application but not in the Election Code. Davis can only make interpretations on the Election Code and based his interpretation on it, not the application.

Writing the rules “[The Board’s] consensus seemed to be that there was a lot of protocol not followed,” Lachlann said. “Not by myself, but by the Commissioner and the other members involved.”

Davis and Coffey said Davis wrote the policy and rules, which govern what the SGA election commissioner can and cannot do. Davis said he understands why it would seem unfair, but argues the SGA senators approved of the rules before elections started, so all parties knew the rules before playing.

“Here you have a member appointed by the president of SGA who then was given the power to write his own rules and regulations,” Lachlann said. “[They] basically are the only way you can fight decisions by the Election Board.”

MARIJUANA

Local law makers still against cite-and-release policy

By Kristen Watson Visuals Editor @kbwats

A state law that went into effect in 2007 may still change the way UNT students deal with low-level drug possession charges, but some Denton County authorities have refused to side with the greater population of Texas.

According to a 2015 University of Texas and Texas Tribune poll, 70 percent of Texans support reducing punishment for possessing marijuana. About 10 percent of Texans don’t support that.

Texas House Bill 2391, commonly referred to as the cite-and-release law, went into effect in 2007. Denton is one of many Texas counties that has not adopted the policy. It is widely held that a policy like this could save residents time

and tax dollars while allowing police officers more time to deal with violent crimes rather than arresting marijuana smokers.

Texas lawmakers left it to counties to decide if and how to implement the change.

Implementation of cite-andrelease would allow officers to give tickets instead of arresting for possession of marijuana under 4 ounces.

According to the University of Michigan’s Monitoring the Future study, one in every 17 college students smoke marijuana at least 20 times per month. The study also found the percentage of students using marijuana one or more times per month rose from 17 percent in 2006 to 21 percent in 2014.

According to public arrest records, UNT police made more than 275 arrests for possession of marijuana under 4 ounces between 2013 and 2015. The

Denton Police Department arrested 248 people for marijuana-related offenses in 2013, 269 people in 2014 and 221 people from January to Nov. 19, 2015.

According to current Denton County Sheriff William Travis, who lost his re-election campaign to Tracy Murphree, it costs about $60 to cover all costs associated with housing inmates in Denton County Jail. That would mean it cost the City of Denton about $16,500 to jail the 275 marijuana possession arrests made by UNT police between 2013 and 2015. For the 738 people arrested by the Denton Police Department, it cost them approximately $44,280.

Travis has made it clear he’s opposed to the legalization of marijuana and cite-and-release.

“We take a hard line against possession of all drugs, [and] we are against decriminalization of

marijuana and will continue to arrest for Class B possession,” Travis said. “Cases must be filed with the District’s Attorney Office. To issue tickets for Class B misdemeanors, we would have to create a process to file Class B cases with the DA, the County Clerk and the County Courts.

A change such as this would be too costly for Denton County taxpayers.”

Denton NORML executive director Caroline Turner thinks a cite-and-release policy could really benefit Denton. She said the UNT community is open to cite-and-release.

Turner took issue with students being kept out of class because of an arrest and how that might affect their education.

She hopes cite-and-release will help people keep their jobs and motivate them to give back to their community more enthusiastically.

Murphree, who beat Travis on Super Tuesday, promised to “bring integrity back to the department” during an interview with the Denton Record-Chronicle early in the race. In the same article, he said he plans to focus on drug enforcement officers getting dealers in jail instead of allowing civil forfeitures, where law enforcement officers confiscate the drugs without charging the person with a crime.

“I think Denton will most definitely be in line to implement cite-and-release,” Turner said.

“But, we have a few obstacles still in place. The thing about cite-and-release is that there isn’t one single way to go about implementing it, so we have a lot of options and a lot of elected officials who are in support of this change.”

Erica Wieting |Staff

NTDAILY.COM | PAGE 3

GRADUATION

Guide: Where and when graduates will go for commencement The University of North Texas will host spring mass commencement at 10 a.m. May 13 in Apogee Stadium, followed by a convocation for graduate

students and undergraduate college recognition ceremonies over May 13 and 14. But each college will first host their own respective graduation

ceremonies.

For people graduating this spring, this is a guide on when and where your ceremonies will be.

Apogee Stadium, home to the University of North Texas football team, will host the university-wide spring commencement.

Dylan Nadwodny | Staff Photographer Mass commencement will include all graduating students and feature guest speaker army Sgt. Steven Davidson. This will be UNT’s second annual mass commencement ceremony, and the first to include all graduating students. Last year’s ceremony

was moved to the Coliseum due to weather concerns, causing graduate students and those in the College of Arts and Sciences to have to watch the ceremony via live feed in separate facilities. The 2016 mass commencement will also be the first to take place in Apogee

stadium.

Mass commencement will include degree conferral for all students, as well as addresses from top administrators. Parking for graduates and faculty will be in the Victory Hall parking lots, accessible from North Texas Boulevard.

Multiple graduation locations

Following prof’s heart attack, three faculty and a campus police officer save the day

By Laura Cortez Staff Writer @laura_cortez94 A professor who had a heart attack in the Business Leadership Building was saved by three faculty members and a campus police officer during a routine meeting in January.

“I really can’t remember anything,” Dr. R. Jefferson George said. “I put my head down, and I fell over.”

That’s when Dr. Jeanne Tunks, professor Doryce Judd, Dr. Jakob Vingren and UNT police Cpl. Pete Uranga jumped to George’s side.

Tunks said he noticed George had fallen to the floor, so she made her way over to see if she could assist.

“His breathing was very labored, I checked for a pulse and found a very weak one,” Tunks said. “I got my phone and called 911, talked to the dispatcher and asked for help.”

Someone else grabbed her phone to relay to the dispatcher what was happening in the BLB, at a meeting concerning the College of Education. Tunks took charge and began loosening George’s clothes to check for a pulse and to see if he was breathing.

She and another faculty member rolled George onto his side in an attempt to dislodge anything that could have been obstructing his airways. Finding nothing, Tunks

Parking and shuttle information for graduates, guests and UNT employees at each event is available at https:// commencement.unt.edu/parkingspring.

Graduates must RSVP by the deadline listed in graduation packets, which will be mailed out

about two weeks prior to their ceremonies, in order to attend commencement. Graduates must also wear regalia for all of the events listed above, excluding the Honors College medallion ceremony. Caps and gowns for the ceremonies can be purchased through the Barnes and Noble

bookstore on campus, or online at http://unt.bncollege.com/webapp/ wcs/stores/servlet/BNCBHomePa ge?storeId=71237&catalogId=100 01&langId=-1.

and Judd began CPR. When Tunks was in college during the 1970s, she took classes offered by the American Red Cross to get certified as a CPR instruction.

She then taught CPR classes for six years.

“I gave him 30 compressions,” Tunks said. “[Judd] tried to give him breaths, but his head was locked in position not allowing for an open airway.”

During this time, another faculty member hooked George to the AED, a small device capable of checking heath rhythm and sending electric shocks to the heart, which told Judd and the others George

needed more compressions. There are about 60 AEDs located on the UNT main campus and Discovery Park. Of those 60, one is located in the BLB by the elevator on the first floor.

Uranga, the UNT police officer, took over chest compressions.

Shortly after, the rescue crews arrived to rush George to Denton Presbyterian Hospital.

UNT president Neal Smatresk honored the three faculty members and Uranga March 21 in the president’s University Union suit.

“I was happy to celebrate the life of Dr. George,” Judd said.

Denton Coalition looking to help the chronically homeless.

By Jynn Schubert Staff Writer @JynnWasHere

The Coliseum or “The Super Pit” is where the majority of the recognition ceremonies for graduation will be held this spring.

Dylan Nadwodny | Staff Photographer

Students walk in and out of the Business Leadership Building.

Tristan Miller | Staff Photographer

Denton’s Homelessness Coalition is looking into building a community-run, affordable housing neighborhood to help combat chronic homelessness in Denton County. The microcommittee is led by Patrick Smith, who has been on the Mayor’s task force for the past year.

The coalition plans to follow the Housing First approach, constructing buildings called “tiny houses” to provide shelter for homeless individuals in Denton.

“If we don’t focus on housing first, then all the other things these people are struggling with are very hard to deal with,” Smith said.

The group is not currently sponsored by the city but Mayor Chris Watts is supportive, Smith said. Smith hopes to keep it a community-owned operation, as money from the city could complicate things.

“With public funding comes a lot of strings that can really increase cost and limit flexibility,” Smith said. “I’m more looking for community leaders to encourage and be supportive of the ideas, and when necessary pass ordinances.”

One complication is in the houses Smith plans to build. “Tiny houses” are usually 400 square feet or less and provide quality living spaces at affordable prices, which are especially helpful to those who are chronically homeless.

“Right now, if you wanted to build a tiny house in Denton you

can’t, because the development codes are specifically identified,” Smith said. “You could do it illegally, but you couldn’t get a building permit, so that’s one of the things we’re going to be taking on -- making it legal to build a tiny house.”

Smith plans to wait until after the upcoming elections, when the committee is farther along before asking for help from city council.

“I haven’t talked to any of the current people running, but I know Sara Bagheri very well, I know Mike Geeves and I know the incumbents,” Smith said.

“We’re just so early in the process I’m going to wait.”

The group will be meeting on April 19 and taking a day-trip to Austin, where they will visit the Community First location they hope to base the program off of. Stan Ingman, gerontology professor at UNT for 25 years, is also on the committee and heads the student-led Future Without Poverty group on campus.

“I’ve heard about it, but I haven’t seen it,” Ingman said. “But from people who’ve been there it sounds like quite an impressive project. It’s not just bricks and mortar, that’s only half of the story in the sense of building a sustainable development.”

Already there are people from all over Denton getting involved in the project. Courtney Cross, the new Community Impact Coordinator hired by the city to oversee homelessness in Denton, is also involved.

“When a community owns something like that, they support it,” Smith said. “So to me, that’s a very important part of our

approach.”

Not everybody is jumping on the bandwagon, though, as some citizens speculate whether or not these amenities will bring in even more homeless people to Denton from elsewhere.

“People are coming for reasons other than [that] we have some long term solution,” Smith said.

“They’re coming to Denton because it’s easy to get around, it’s a friendly city, and it’s a heck of a lot safer than Dallas or Fort Worth.”

Smith wrote similar sentiments in his guest article in the Denton Record Chronicle in February, stressing that while he wants to help those who are chronically homeless, he believes in enforcing existing laws.

“I just put that out there to see if there’s any response, and the response has been very positive,” Smith said. “A lot of people that I didn’t expect were very interested.

I think it’s a very Denton-ish solution.”

This is all part of a large push lately in the city both by the United Way and the City of Denton to combat the homelessness problem in the area. The city has been conducting more and more research into the homeless population using committees like the Mayor’s Task Force.

“There’s nothing really in Denton County to deal with [chronic homelessness],” Smith said. “I believe in enforcing the laws – I don’t like panhandlers – but at the same time, if there’s people that need help, we need to at least have a means of offering them that solution.”

‘Die-in’ to honor Laquan McDonald

By Alexandria Reeves Staff Writer @alliereeves23

The stage inside the Murchison Performing Arts Center, where several commencements will take place. Hannah Ridings | Senior Staff Photographer

Times and places for graduation Honors College Medallion Ceremony - 6 p.m.

May 12 in Murchison Performing Arts Center College of Information - 2 p.m. May 13 in Murchison.

College of Visual Arts and Design - 2 p.m. May 13 in the UNT Coliseum.

College of Merchandising, Hospitality and Tourism - 2 p.m. May 13 in the Coliseum.

The Mayborn- 2 p.m. May 13 in the Coliseum.

College of Music - 4:30 p.m.

May 13 in Murchison.

College of Business - 4:30 May 13 in the Coliseum.

College of Arts and Sciences I (including anthropology, biological sciences, chemistry, communication studies, dance & theatre, economics, English, geography and the environment, history, integrative studies and social sciences)- 8 a.m.

May 14 in the Coliseum.

CAS II (including international studies, mathematics, media arts, philosophy & religion, physics,

political science, psychology, sociology, Spanish, technical communication and world languages, literatures & cultures) - 11 a.m. May 14 in the Coliseum College of Public Affairs and Community Service - 2 p.m. May 14 in the Coliseum Coliseum on May 14 at 2 p.m.

College of Education - 5 p.m.

May 14 in the Coliseum.

College of Engineering - 8 p.m. May 14 in the Coliseum.

About 30 students laid still in Library Mall Monday to call attention to the death of teen Laquan McDonald, who was shot and killed

by Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke, and to protest police brutality.

At about 5 p.m., the students paused for 16 minutes -- one for each time McDonald was shot.

The die-in, hosted by UNT’s Psychology Advocates for Social Change, was scheduled in conjunction with 16 other schools across the nation using the hashtag #Psychologists4BlackLives.

“The killing of Laquan McDonald is a symptom of the long standing neglect and chronic high mortality from all causes in our country’s neglected neighborhoods,” the hosting group said in a flyer posted around campus.

Many students who attended were moved to join by a large “Black Lives Matter” poster. Some were unaware of who McDonald was, but the graduate students educated those on his story, achieving one of their goals

for this event.

McDonald was 17 when he was killed while armed with a threeinch knife. The officer was reported to have feared for his life upon discharging his weapon, according to media reports.

Die-ins have been used by many groups, like animal rights, gun control and environmental activists, to disrupt the flow of foot traffic, demanding the attention of those around them.

The Psychology Advocates for Social Change is a new group on campus comprised of graduate psychology students who advocate for equality, minorities and to eradicate institutionalized oppression, members said.

One of the organizers of the events, Amanda Phillips, said the group believes police use of lethal force in predominantly black neighborhoods is a public health crisis, because, among other things, it causes undue distress and anxiety.

The group plans to start a Facebook page and an OrgSync account, and will advocate throughout the upcoming semesters for a number of social justice issues, such as women’s rights and LGBT

issues.

Christy Medrano, an integrative studies senior, held the “Black Lives Matter” sign which caught the attention of passersby.

“Today meant standing in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement in the fight against police brutality and anti-black racism,” Medrano said.

Footage of the fatal shooting was made public November 2015.

McDonald was killed October 2014.

Officer Van Dyke was charged with first degree murder a few hours after the video’s release. However, he is now out on bail and was recently hired on at a Chicago police union, to the outrage of the Chicago community and beyond.

Many of the protests denounce McDonald’s death and call for an institutional change on multiple levels, with the biggest call for change requesting that officers be held to a higher level of accountability. There have also been protests on how the case was handled. Many speculate a cover-up played a hand in the investigation, although no evidence has been produced to support that belief.

ARTS & LIFE Page 4

THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 2016

NTDAILY.COM

Sweetwater Grill & Tavern brings zombie fans together every Sunday night ENTERTAINMENT CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 opportunity to start up weekly An undead event Since late 2014, Sweetwater has hosted weekly watch parties of TWD on Sunday nights. The idea started out as a small gathering put together by an employee but has expanded into a weekly tradition.

“Since we renovated Sweetwater in early 2014, we have had the space and utilities to host various events through our venue,” Reid said. “We have this great facility, so we wanted to utilize it.”

Reid said one of their old bartenders, a die-hard fan, presented the idea to her as a way for her and her friends to enjoy each other’s company while watching zombies destroy the world on television.

Although Reid does not watch the series, the show’s Denton following, and lack of a common area to watch it, made for the perfect

watch parties. Granada Theater in Dallas does something similar, but those looking further north were out of luck.

“What’s better than sitting back, having a beer, eating some good food and watching one of your favorite shows?” Reid said.

Since Reid is not as into the show, bar owner and fan Gayla Hooten took hold of the parties. She wanted to make it a fun, common place for fans to get together, get shocked and talk about the craziness of the show.

“We go into the back room of Sweetwater, turn off the lights and turn the volume way up,” Hooten said. “Anyone is welcome, but that way people can enjoy the show without distractions around them.”

The watch parties, which are held each Sunday during the show’s season, do not only provide for

entertainment, but also provide a unique watching environment instead of on a viewer’s living room couch.

Food and drinks are available for guests through Sweetwater’s menu.

In addition, Hooten and her husband spend the week searching for unique TWD memorabilia to raffle off during the show’s commercial breaks. She said she wanted viewers to feel as though they were a part of something bigger, not just a group of people watching a show.

“It’s fun to watch the show with a group of people so dedicated,” Hooten said. “During commercial breaks, everyone in the room will freak out and talk about what just happened, but the second the episode comes back on, the room goes dead silent. We aren’t just watching for the gruesomeness of the show; we’re watching because

we love everything about it.”

While some come in zombie makeup and others prefer a simplistic angel-winged vest (per the show’s character Daryl Dixon), they are all there to watch the stressful hour-long episodes together.

“It’s really just another way we are able to bring Denton together,” Reid said. “People want to be together. That’s just human nature.

So it’s good to have people with similar interests that surround you.

It just really makes for a great time.”

Three unlikely heroes walk into the apocalypse TWD fans know there’s more to the show than killing zombies, gruesome death scenes and unexpected twists. The show portrays a sense of family and community by having this group of unlikely people navigating the zombie apocalypse together.

Public relations junior Sarah Cagle said in the same familial way, TWD fans are grouped together.

Outsiders would have no clue why people would revolt if rude, sarcastic Dixon died or have debated for weeks on whether or not Glenn escaped an inevitable death of a hoard of zombies under a dumpster.

For Cagle, getting to share these experiences with fellow fans is a part of the show’s essence.

“It’s just so fun to watch ‘The Walking Dead’ with other fans… who have grown as attached to [the show] and the characters,” Cagle said. “Together, you can freak out or get excited about what’s happening on the show.”

Despite season six having ended on a controversial cliffhanger, fans are still staying loyal. After all, the show’s spinoff, “Fear the Walking Dead” returns to TV next week.

Although the current season has come to an end, Hooten isn’t ready to stop TWD parties when season seven of the main show rolls around in October. She will have opened a new bar on Fry Street called Caskey’s and she feels the watch parties bring to light the fact that there’s things to do all over Denton, even when it comes to watching a television show about brain-eating monsters.

“We hope to expand so we can show different shows like ‘Game of Thrones,’” Hooten said. “It got to the point where we actually had to pull in chairs for the finale because there were so many people wanting to watch it with us. Even though from the outside ‘The Walking Dead’ can be seen as gruesome or scary, there is this whole community surrounded around this show, and we get to take part in that.”

Hallie’s Heroes run against DBA; the race to find a marrow match continues COMMUNITY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Frisco,” Marcho said. “They were trying to find a match for a soccer player’s wife.”

Five years later, Marcho received the call: he was a match for a 66-year-old male in Paris, France with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (or AML) in need of a stem cell donation.

Some people have negative ideas of how bone marrow or stem cell

transplants happen, with shows like “House” showing huge, terrifying needles tearing into spinal cords, slurping out bone marrow while the donor writhes in pain.

“I sat there and I watched Netflix for three hours,” Marcho said.

Hallie Barnard’s is a different case, and is still in need of a bone marrow transplant. The hope is that once a match is found, the new bone marrow will begin to develop red

blood cells and her immune system will recover, leaving her fully cured of DBA. The 5K race and all of Hallie’s Heroes’ efforts are put forth in hope a match will soon be found, for kids like Hallie all around the globe.

The process for stem cell transplants, once a donor is found, is not completely unlike giving blood. For five days, donors are administered shots which increase

The par ticipants of Hallie’s fundraiser stop to celebrate after a successful day. Tristan Miller| Staff Photographer

their stem cell count. On the fifth day, the donor is hooked up to a machine and stem cells are extracted into sealed bags to be shipped to an awaiting recipient.

The recipient must receive the new stem cells into the body within 24 hours of extraction for the process to work.

And then, it’s just a waiting game.

“There’s a certain point when you’re going through this when they’ll call you and say, ‘Okay, after today you have to do this because if you change your mind, he’s going to die. He’s got nothing--he’s literally waiting,’” Marcho said. “I never had a hesitation. I said, ‘I’m going to do this. I don’t care how bad I feel, I’m going to do it.’”

Marcho found the experience to be wholly emotional, having saved the life of a man thousands of miles away in France.

“The whole time I’m thinking, ‘This guy is going through the worst radiation, the worst chemo, the whole process, laying on a bed near death, waiting for this [the stem cell donation],’” Marcho said. “What’s cool is once they get this, all they do is put an IV [full of donated stem cells] in him and wait. Doctors will say, even today, they don’t know how it works--it just works.”

Family friend Pattie Friz shared a few words on her experience with the Barnard family after the race.

She has known them for about two years now, and is known as

Hallie shows her excitement as she approaches the end of her 5K run.

Tristan Miller | Staff Photographer the “Cookie Lady,” often bringing Hallie and her family homemade cookies.

“Her situation is grave--if she doesn’t get a donor or a transplant, she will die,” Friz said. “And she doesn’t have a lot of time.”

Looking forward Though she is stable at the moment, Hallie’s body will soon reject the medications and steroids she is currently taking, be it within the next few years or sooner.

The reality of her situation is that she has an entire community of firm support behind her, but is still in desperate need of a bone marrow match. Momentum for the cause is growing, and influence is

spreading. They are swabbing for #TeamHallieBea often: be it on the Square or on campus actively trying to #SwabDenton.

The fight against DBA is a game of numbers. With every Q-Tip that touches a cheek, anybody could find their match and a life could be spared.

“She’s a beautiful little girl with an amazing family who not only love her, but love everyone--and they have an open heart for everybody.

They’re great people, and a great family,” Friz said. “There’s not a day that goes by that I see Hallie that she’s not that small, and it comes from the upbringing she’s had.”

FOOD

Taste-buds tingled by foodies near and far at Taste of North Texas

By Victoria Monteros Staff Writer @ToriLaSuper Nothing Bundt Cakes owner Jim Shehan doesn’t waste any time in describing his goal in reaching out to the people of Denton. “[The goal is] to get as much cake as I can in everybody’s mouth,” he said.

Taste of North Texas provided that opportunity for a plethora of local businesses to market themselves and provide samples, as well as raise money for the community. The 27th annual Taste of North Texas was held in the UNT Super Pitt on March 31, with around 32 vendors participating in the event.

Originally a fundraiser for UNT’s athletic department, it evolved into an event for the Kiwanis Club and proceeds from tickets benefitted the Denton Kiwanis Children’s Clinic.

“It’s a local event that everybody

gets involved in to support the community,” Beth Marie’s area supervisor Margaret Rich said.

“It’s about the children’s clinic and we’re all about supporting the children’s clinic.”

The Denton Kiwanis Children’s Clinic provides little to no cost medical, prescription and dental assistance to children in need in the Denton area. Taste of North Texas seeks out the best businesses and invites them to the event.

From small, local favorites to larger chains that run throughout DF-W, all kinds of restaurants, bakeries and bars throughout the country came and showcased their best items. Sprouts Farmer’s Market, which will soon be opening their first location in Denton, made its mark as a newcomer to the festival.

“We’re really excited just to be in Denton,” Sprouts regional marketing specialist Caty Strawther said. “We’re slowly

starting to kind of get involved in community events because Sprouts is really rooted in that.”

Also present at the event were El Guapo, Paschall Bar, Palio’s Pizza, Zera’s Coffee, Audacity Brewhouse and many more.

Since it started, Taste of North Texas has grown larger each year it’s been held, with different vendors dishing out complimentary items that visitors can sample. The Candy Store showed up for a 19th time, making them the business with the most appearances at the event.

“It’s grown really since the first year we did it, until a couple years when it slowed down a little bit, and I have no idea whether that was economy or what it was,” The Candy Store owner Robb Bertlesen said. “But last year it rebounded a little, this year it’s back to where it used to be. It’s big.

It’s good.”

The Candy Store brings a huge

assortment of items from their store every year, like chocolates and coffee it takes pride in. The fact that it continues to roast coffee beans in this technique that has become more uncommon, and Bertlesen has attributed much of the growth of clientele to Taste of North Texas since it gives it the opportunity to spread the word about the business and what it’s all about.

“We don’t scale down or do sample stuff,” Bertlesen said.

“We bring the stuff directly from our store. We brew coffee here directly on site rather than make it ahead of time and bring it.”

Although Taste of North Texas had a lot to offer for those who had more of a sweet tooth, it had plenty to offer to those who cared to indulge in more savory treats.

Businesses like Mom’s Place brought Southern comfort food to the table, bringing macaroni and cheese with bacon.

“We have recognition. People know us by the name and we see our customers here all the time,” Mom’s place owner Steve Smith said. “We just bring comfort food so as long as it gives comfort to people that’s what we’re happy with.”

While Mom’s Place provided a touch of the South, El Guapo’s Tex Mex Restaurant offered a flare from south of the border, and served chips and queso, “Mexican voodoo shrimp,” chicken empanadas, fajitas and other TexMex inspired items. El Guapo’s owner Michael Zambino’s expectations for the event were summed up in one word.

“Pain,” Zambino said, quoting Mr. T from the famous film Rocky Balboa. “Expectations are to run out of food…. We’re usually the last ones standing so we keep having food brought out until the very last minute.”

The main goal is to promote

businesses and attract new customers. But some businesses, like food distributor Ben Keith, just like the fact that they can participate in a local event and work toward a good cause.

“For us, it’s a little bit unique because we’re not really promoting our business because the attendees here aren’t buying from us. The people who are buying from us are the vendors here,” said Ben Keith chef Patrick Mitchell. “But we do want to give back to the community so whether we’re promoting our business or not, it’s great to give back.”

Ben Keith is based out of Fort Worth and operates in 11 different states. It has been established since 1906, and takes pride in giving back.

“We’re just committed to doing this,” Mitchell said. “Even if we don’t get any new business out of it, it’s a good cause.”

NTDAILY.COM | PAGE 5 ECO-FRIENDLY

SCRAP Denton hosts recycled work of art students at First Friday event

By Nikki Lyssy Staff Writer @Blindnikkii Jazzy guitar music gently strummed above friends swapping “hellos” and “oosand-ahhs” over the variety of crafts and artwork displayed in local art supply shop SCRAP Denton as several gathered on April Fool’s Day not to prank each other, but to showcase talent.

First Friday is a collaboration between the UNT College of Visual Arts and Design and SCRAP. The two began working with one another to feature pieces of work done by students. The event began last year and this

year’s coordinator, Camille Ritchie, is both a SCRAP intern and UNT alumnus.

“Hopefully these kids that come and experience SCRAP that see their art on display will realize how important recycling and reuse is,” Ritchie said. “Many of the things they can find at SCRAP are low-cost, which can really come in handy.”

The event encompassed the community and served as the introduction to a new Dentonthemed coloring book that was designed by SCRAP. Ritchie explained that several artists contributed to the creation of the coloring book, and that it’s process of design was highlyanticipated.

“SCRAP reached out to the community to send us submissions of people’s favorite spots in Denton, and they just had to draw it in black and white, scan it in and send it to us,” Ritchie said.

“There’s about 25 [selections], and the coloring book is Denton-themed.”

To choose what art appeared for the gallery featuring the several pieces from CVAD in the show was a “process,” Ritchie said.

“The professors chose the top five finalists out of their class, and they sent them to us, and we basically got 25 pieces and loved them all, so we made room for all of them,” Ritchie said.

Interior design freshmen Sier ra Tur ney and Blue Gardner show off their recycled designs for sale at SCRAP Denton during the Fir st Friday event. Paulina De Alva | Staff Photographer

Lecturing design professor Deanna Ooley heard about SCRAP through her boss while looking for ways for her students to become involved in the community. “[SCRAP] is a fantastic not-for-profit,” Ooley said.

“And I thought, ‘We can make something happen so that the students are involved with their community and aware of resources to help them make art in the future.’”

Ooley spoke about what it felt like to have her students’ work featured at the event and highlighted how hard they had worked.

“I’m very proud of them. The work is exceptionally good.

I can tell that they worked hard — their craftsmanship is very good and they used color,” Ooley said. “Most importantly, they used 75 percent recycled materials, a criteria for the project.”

Ooley explained that all of her students’ pieces have excellent qualities about them.

“All of them are totally different,” she said. “They have different contrasts in texture and scale, and some of them even make noise.”

Photography freshman Hudson Ingram had a camera bag featured in the show and explained how he became involved with SCRAP. “In my Design II class, [our professor] made it a project requirement for us to get materials from SCRAP and make something with them, and from there I purchased a lot of my cloth materials and used those to help me build the camera bag.”

Making the green camera bag featured in the show was an emotional process, Ingram said.

Frequent Scrap customer Madeleine Mathis shops their selection of donated fabric at the First Friday event. Paulina De Alva | Staff Photographer “I referenced other camera bags [to help me make mine],” Ingram said. “It just looks like a regular bag, but it was made with a camera in mind. The time it took me [to make it] was somewhere between 5070 hours.”

She was also frank when explaining the overriding emotion of producing the project, explaining her frustration when going through prototypes. Nevertheless, the sewing involved in the camera bag’s creation was a soothing process.

“I’m pretty excited about it,” Ingram said on how it feels to have a piece that the entire community will see.

“I’m honestly really happy that they would pick me for

my art that I’ve created, and just to have it there makes me feel really honored.”

Ritchie said the event played a large role in furthering the community ideals of Denton.

“It’s really fun reaching out to people in Denton — finding musicians that are willing to play on a volunteer basis and donating their time to the community,” Ritchie said.

“The community is coming out to see what students are doing surrounding school and art. The coloring book represents artists in Denton that aren’t necessarily going to school. It’s really cool to see a collaboration of artists, musicians and people come together.”

TECHNOLOGY

Digital duo delves into video gaming industry with new title

By Nikki Lyssy Staff Writer @Blindnikkii Video games are now unprecedentedly popular and get played ever y day for fun with top-notch technology utilized to ma ke them more immersive than ever before.

But for computer science seniors Zachar y Corley and Steven Kenney, video games aren’t only a fun way to pass the time, but a career path.

Both students are ser ving as inter ns at From the Future Games, a company based on the Square.

Corley’s involvement in the video game industr y began at a young age.

“I remember playing older games like Diablo 2 and asking my dad to defeat the boss because I was still rather bad at the game,” Corley said.

“I got better as I got older and grew more and more interested in creating my own games.”

Kenney’s path into gaming is different than Corley’s.

Once a chemistr y major, he discovered his love for gaming while in the process of changing his major.

“I liked computer science when I entered college, but became discouraged by a couple things and came back around to it when I felt like I really didn’t know what I wanted to do,” Kenney said.

Kenney decided to switch to computer science after one of his advisors told him UNT has a gaming cer tificate.

Corley explained how they became involved with the company by ta king different classes to qualify and receive it.

“I took Game Development with Dr. Parber r y last semester,” Corley said. “The whole course is project-based and in the end Dr. Parber r y hosts a game contest with judges from the gaming industr y.”

The judges for the contest were a par t of From the Future Games and happened to be seeking out inter ns.

This semester, Kenney and Corley juggle classes with their inter nships.

“Now I’ve been programming and helped a little with one game. Mostly I’ve been working on how to program for iOS and working on a new app that they’ve got contracted for,” Kenney said.

“It’s [an app] that’s already out, but I’m recreating it and From the Future will possibly be upgrading it.”

A nor mal day for Kenney and Corley consists of several projects. They typically wake up early, star t programming, go to class, come back and do some more work for another class. All on top of working a couple days out of the week.

“I usually work in the mor ning, so I wake up early and head to the office,” Corley said. “After a few hours there, I head to my first class, and then don’t get home ‘till late in the evening.”

Kenney said he has enjoyed lear ning from top-notch professionals in the industr y he hopes to be a par t of one day.

“Getting a chance to work with people who are in the industr y for awhile [has been my favorite par t],” Kenney said. “[That] and getting to lear n what they’re doing and

knowing they want me to do my best. They don’t expect a whole crazy amount from me, necessarily..”

Business manager Libby Mitchell spoke to the work ethic of Kenney and Corley.

“Both of them have a ver y good grasp on program and design, which is what was needed for the projects we have,” Mitchell said. “For us, Zach and Steven both bring fresh and new perspectives to our company. They are both eager to lear n and have a thirst for knowledge in a competitive industr y. It is really great to see.”

Individually, each of them bring something unique to the table to enhance the company.

“They had the programming skills from the get-go, which was a great help to ever yone,” Mitchell said. “It was also

obvious that they both enjoy the work. No problem is too big for Zach, and Steven finds ever ything interesting and exciting.”

Mitchell is hopeful that From the Future Games’ relationship can continue with UNT in the future.

“Being a gaming and developing company, it is always helpful to use inter ns and then to get them involved early so they know what the field has to offer,” Mitchell said. “We will have need in the future, for ar tists, designers, marketers and producers. It is a great industr y to be involved in and much of the technology is groundbreaking.”

MUSIC

Bands move beyond standard genres with DIY style

By Maritza Vega Contributing Writer

On stage with a grey sweatshirt and an electric guitar in his hand, lead singer of indie group Blessin’ William Austin Clay began to sing about onion rings and French fries.

Onto his last song, the crowd reacted positively. As a “doit-yourself,” or DIY, musician, he sometimes improvises his songs on stage. Other times his music is pre-recorded.

“Thank you,” he said, waving to an audience of about 30 people.

Like Clay, many of the bands brought together for the event on Thursday, March 10 at Rubber Gloves are heavily inf luenced by the indie DIY music culture. In DIY, the bands produce their music, merchandise and any form of advertising.

At Trick Burn, a DIY concert event, the idea is to be musicians without relying on the music industry to make their music.

Josh Serrano, a local Denton musician, created

Trick Burn in 2015 originally as an outlet for his own solo material. Before the event he was already getting involved with his own DIY projects but had never gotten to perform them. It wasn’t until later that he started recruiting the rest of his band members when he started to get more shows.

“I like the full-band feel,” Serrano said. “So I got people who I’ve played music with before and friends and people who have reached out about the music and just kind of started a band.”

Serrano described the DIY music scene as subsistence agriculture, elaborating on the fact that he makes music for himself, like the people who plant fruits and vegetables in order to sustain themselves.

Sometimes it may overlap with other genres, but at the end of the day, it all comes back to him. He doesn’t consider DIY as a genre, but a mode or a style.

“It’s kind of like having a shadow,” he said. “I wouldn’t even say it’s as conscious as venting. It’s like something that gets casts from just like

being alive.”

And to high school senior Owen Misterovich, the DIY scene is different in Denton than Springfield, being involved with his own DIY group called Paddlefish. The group paid Denton a visit during its tour traveling from Springfield, Missouri on their spring break.

“In Springfield, there’s a DIY scene, but it’s kind of hard to explain,” Misterovich said, sitting back on the green chair. “It’s kind of like everyone is in the same scene. Even if you’re in a metal band versus in a jazz band, they’ll play the same shows. Here, there’s a theme to each show.”

The band formed from Misterovich’s desire to start a band. As soon as his friend Blake Nieman received a bass guitar for Christmas, he got together with him and created Paddlefish. Misterovich was inspired by his older brother’s musical taste that included bands such as Dinosaur Jr. and Sonic Youth. His older brother, a sound engineer, helps with the recording of

their band’s music.

They were aware of Trick Burn through Clay after meeting him when Blessin’ was touring.

Misterovich mentioned Paddlefish always wanted to do a small tour.

This is their first time leaving home.

“I’ve never been to Denton or Austin. I’ve never been in Texas at all,” Misterovich said.

Austin’s interest in DIY

began when he performed with the band Blessin’ around the Denton area and after touring together, he decided to take on his solo project.

In relation to DIY, Austin finds it as a great way to express transgressive ideas since the audience is a lot more open-minded. He finds it a lot easier to interact directly with an audience as a solo performer and states that the crowds in DIY are more

accepting.

As a solo performer this year he plans to go on a twoweek tour over the summer to Seattle in pursuit of finding inspiration for his own DIY style.

And in regard to his music, Austin reminisced on a positive note.

“It’s okay to cry,” he said.

“I’m very proud of when I cry.”

(940) 387-2214 www.lillianmillerdental.com Free Wisdom Teeth Consultation

SPORTS Page 6

THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 2016

NTDAILY.COM

UPCOMING GAMES Thursday •None Friday •Softball: vs. Kansas (Lawrence, KS) – 5 p.m.

•W Golf: Texas Tech Invitational (Lubbock, TX) – All Day Saturday •Softball: vs. Georgia Tech (Lawrence, KS) – 11 a.m.

•Softball: vs. Kansas (Lawrence, KS) – 1:30 p.m.

•Track & Field: Baylor Invitational (Waco, TX) – All Day • W Golf: Texas Tech Invitational (Lubbock, TX) – All Day Sunday •Softball: vs. Georgia Tech (Lawrence, KS) – 9 a.m.

•Tennis: @ Houston (Houston, TX) – 12 p.m.

Monday •M Golf: Jim West Intercollegiate (Austin, TX) – All Day Tuesday •M Golf: Jim West Intercollegiate (Austin, TX) – All Day Wednesday •Softball: @ Oklahoma (Norman, OK) – 6 p.m.

FASTER, BETTER, STRONGER

Graduate student Chastity Stewar t has a careerbest time of 7.92 in the 55-meter hurdles.

Courtesy | Nor th Texas Athletics

Steady diets and sleep schedules preparing track and field for daunting weekend

By Alex Lessard Associate Sports Editor @alexjlessard Track and field athletes train tirelessly to be able to compete in multiple events at maximum performance levels in short time frames. Some even take part in up to a dozen events any given week.

From April 14-16, Mean Green track and field’s stamina will be put to the test. While the majority of the team will head to Wichita, Kansas for the K.T. Woodman Classic, its distance runners will travel to California for a pair of three-day events – the Bryan Clay Invitational and Mt. Sac Relays.

This will mark the first time in both the indoor and outdoor seasons that the team

will participate in two events in one weekend, leading head coach Carl Sheffield to make adjustments to practice intensity.

“We start to kind of back off a little bit,” Sheffield said.

“The first few meets in March, we were racing to train. Now, we’ll start to put people in positions in events that are going to put them in place for conference competition.”

As the competition heats up, it becomes even more paramount for the athletes to take care of their bodies.

Keeping a steady diet and maintaining consistent sleeping habits may not be things people associate with the lifestyle of an average college student, but Sheffield said planning in advance helps his team stay prepared,

especially for a long weekend.

“How they eat immediately after practice and the number of hours of sleep [they get] have everything to do with recovery for high-caliber competitions,” Sheffield said.

“When we relax the volume of training, the body tends to compensate and come back at a higher level.”

Graduate hurdler Chastity Stewart likely won’t have a large workload in Kansas but certainly has experience running multiple events in the same day. Due to her versatility as a competitor in the 4x100 and 4x400 relays as well as the 100 and 400 meter hurdles, Stewart is frequently used as a jack-of-all-trades for North Texas.

“I think it’s just what your body’s accustomed to [and]

how you’ve trained,” Stewart said. “I’ve trained to be able to get through a weekend with four races. But I definitely commend the distance runners, because it takes a lot to do what they do.”

Preparation tactics are similar across the different events, but Stewart said having less ground to cover during her races provides an advantage distance runners don’t have. Rather than loading up on carbs the night before a race to have maximum energy, Stewart relies on tilapia and broccoli as staples in her diet.

“Because my races are so short, I just want to eat things that don’t make me heavy the day before,” Stewart said.

Meanwhile, distance runners like senior Bryce McAndrew often

have different priorities.

McAndrew said he goes to bed at 10 p.m. and tries to get eight hours of sleep every night, also loading up on carbs like spaghetti either one or two nights before a big race.

However, neither of those tactics prove to be beneficial without properly hydrating.

“I don’t want to overhydrate the day before, but I think it’s really important,” McAndrew said. “You just feel better when you’re more hydrated in the middle of a race when it starts getting tough.”

In the big picture, physical preparation is only half the battle. To get ready to run the first 5k of his career on a track, McAndrew said mental toughness is vital.

“You just have to go in with

a mindset,” McAndrew said.

“It’s going to feel like a lot longer of a race compared to what I’m used to.”

After the upcoming jam-packed weekend, the Mean Green will compete in just two more events before the Conference USA Championships from May 12-15. Many of the team’s members will be aiming to hit their respective Olympic trial times to qualify for regional competition in what Sheffield said is one of the most competitive times of the year.

“How you do here will dictate how the rest of the weeks go,” Sheffield said.

“You want to see a progression of consistently faster times.

The better you start April, the better you’ll end up in May.”

SOFTBALL

Softball still relying on defense-first approach

By Reece Waddell Senior Staff Writer @ReeceWaddell15

In a day and age where Stephen Curry drains 40-foot three pointers on a regular basis and college football offenses have converted to high-octane attacks, it’s easy to see how the mantra “defense wins championships” has gotten lost.

That is not the case for North Texas softball or head coach Tracey Kee. Last season, the Mean Green had the best fielding percentage in Conference USA at .978 percent, a trend that carried over into 2016.

Through 34 games, North Texas continues to flash the leather with a fielding percentage of .980 while committing just 17 errors, the fewest in C-USA. “[Defense] has always been something I’ve prided myself in building teams that are defensively

strong,” Kee said. “We spend a lot of time on it. We teach a system that’s very black and white.”

To build those teams, Kee stresses the importance of fielding, throwing and catching to ensure her players are fundamentally sound. During a practice last week, junior pitchers Jessica Elder and Stacey Underwood, and freshman pitcher Lauren Craine spent well over 30 minutes working on the same drill.

After fielding a ground ball from the circle, each would fire a throw to first, second or third base, where another pitcher would catch it and occasionally apply a tag to an imaginary runner.

“We come out and work really hard on defense,” junior infielder Kelli Schkade said. “It’s always been our strong suit. You can’t win games if you don’t have good defense. It’s as simple as that.”

But in order for the defense to have a chance to make plays, pitchers

Senior catcher Bryana Wade (23) fields a ball in front of home plate and gets ready to throw it to first base against Nicholls State. Dylan Nadwodny | Staff Photographer must keep the ball in the yard and not give up hits.

For the game plan to work, Kee teaches her pitchers to “pitch to the defense.” Instead of focusing on

Traffic Tickets Defended In Fort Worth, Arlington, Euless, Grapevine, Southlake, Hurst, Keller, Forest Hill, White Settlement, Colleyville, Bedford, North Richland Hills, Richland Hills, Watauga, Hultom City, Crowley, Mansfield, Pantego, Dalworthington Gardens, and elsewhere in Tarrant County.

JAMES R. MALLORY Attorney at Law (817) 924-3236

3024 Sandage Avenue Fort Worth, TX 76109-1793

www.JamesMallory.com Mastercard Visa Discover No promise as to results.

Any fine and court costs are not included in fee for legal representation.

striking every batter out, Kee prefers for pitchers to hit their spots and let the defense make the necessary plays behind them.

So far, the strategy has worked.

Along with having multiple web gems to its credit, North Texas has also turned eight double plays this season and ranks sixth in C-USA. “It gives us a lot of confidence,” Schkade said. “The pitchers believe in us, too. They’re comfortable on the mound because we’re comfortable behind them.”

A shortstop who patrols the middle of the infield, Schkade is responsible for fielding ground balls in the hole, covering second base and reining in throws from senior catcher Bryana Wade – something that is not always an easy task.

Wade has thrown out 59 percent of runners attempting to swipe a bag this year, gunning down 13-of-22 opposing baserunners before they’re able to slide in safely.

Freshman infielder Rhylie Makawe (21) fields a ball between home plate and the pitchers mound and prepares to throw it to first base against Marshall.

Dylan Nadwodny | Staff Photographer “[Wade] is hard to catch,” Kee said. “She gets rid of it so quickly.

I think her timing this year with [Schkade] is a lot better than it was last year. Together, those two are doing a great job of shutting down running games.”

Schkade and Wade are no strangers to Kee’s defense-first approach, having spent multiple years in her program. But according

to Kee, even the Mean Green’s newcomers have bought into Kee’s tutelage, which was crucial considering the high volume of newcomers.

“We have a lot of freshmen and junior college kids that have really bought into the system, and we’ve played some tough teams,” Kee said.

“So I’m pleased with our defense all the way around.”

NTDAILY.COM | PAGE 7

SOFTBALL

Softball tapping into Texas and Oklahoma talent hotbed

By Clay Massey Staff Writer @Clay_FC

Taking batting practice from the lobbed pitches by assistant head coach Natalie Kozlowski, Choctaw, Oklahoma native Bryana Wade drives a ball to deep center field.

As her teammates cheer, the ball sails over the outfield wall with ease. On the very next pitch, the senior catcher steps back in the box, hits the rewind button and does the exact same thing.

Wade is one of just four Oklahoma players on the Mean Green softball team, the rest of the roster being from Texas.

“I think a lot of people overlook Oklahoma,” Wade said. “People overlook the smaller, unknown areas like North Texas and Oklahoma. We played travel ball in Texas more than anything. There’s better competition in Texas.”

While California is considered the true hotbed of softball talent, Texas is slowly becoming one of the top states producing top-tier softball talent. Texas A&M University and Baylor University, both ranked in the nation’s Top 25, feature a very Texas-centric rosters.

While Baylor has some California players sprinkled in, A&M only features one nonTexan.

“There’s a hotbed in this area, especially D-FW” Kozlowski said. “With so many people and great teams locally, we don’t

have to go outside our area to recruit.”

Most of the roster is from smaller towns in Texas but still played competitive travel ball.

Head coach Tracey Kee and company do almost all of their recruiting from the travel ball

The North Texas softball team stands at the edge of the infield for the playing of the alma mater after a win against the University of Tennesee-Martin during the Mean Green Spring Fling Tournament. Dylan Nadwodny | Staff Photographer

the girls play in high school.

While the team stays local with recruiting, the coaching staff tries to find the girls with talent who are not being recruited by power conferences, according to Kozlowski.

“We go after the kids that are a little bit under the radar – kind of the diamond in the rough,” Kozlowski said. “We want that kid with a lot of upside.”

Junior right-handed pitcher Stacey Underwood is the perfect example of what the Mean Green was looking for.

Underwood hails from Hico, a small town in north-central Texas, where the high school played softball at the 2-A level.

Underwood was one of the only players on her team to play competitive travel ball. While she was not directly recruited to Denton, she was spotted as an aforementioned “diamond in the rough” at a small community

Erica Wieting | Staff college near her hometown. “[High school softball] was more of like a practice to me,” Underwood said. “But then when I would go to my club team, I think this is where I’m going to get recruited from. No one was going to come watch me in Hico.”

Both Kee and Kozlowski coached at Eastern Carolina University before they move to Denton. The staff never focused on recruiting local Carolina girls when at ECU, instead turning their attention to landing top talents from California and Hawaii.

The move to Denton opened up a new world of possibilities.

Being located right near the heart of the talent bed in D-FW, the two changed their mindsets to a more homegrown approach.

“Here it’s just great,” Kozlowski said. “There’s so much talent literally in our

backyard.”

Texas stands out on its own because of the travel softball that is played when the recruits are in high school. The teams are scattered throughout the state and have coaches that are willing to do the most to prepare players to play at a Division I level.

Every North Texas player was involved in some type of travel ball in high school, and some of them even played on the same travel teams before moving to Denton.

“These travel teams compete on a national level,” Kozlowski said. “There’s a lot of people to choose from, and the coaches from these teams are doing a really good job.”

Wade has first-hand experience on how good Texas travel teams can be, but she was on the other side of the coin.

Wade and her travel team from

Oklahoma regularly competed against Texas teams, trying to catch the eyes of coaches and compete against better teams.

She said she knows what made some Texas teams so good.

“There’s a lot of power in Texas,” Wade said. “That was my biggest takeaway from Texas.

There’s power in Oklahoma, but it’s nothing like Texas.”

If the trend continues, North Texas will be recruiting out of its backyard for a long time, which could mean good news for the Mean Green.

“People come to Texas because softball is competitive,” Underwood said.

“Softball in Oklahoma is extremely competitive. As a whole, I would say Texas and Oklahoma are one of the stronger areas to recruit from.”

North Texas football confident implementing new offense despite WR inexperience FOOTBALL CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

plays and chances to score on essentially ever y down.

For this to work, however, playmakers are needed at vir tually ever y skill position.

“Ever y position is big, to be honest with you,” Littrell said.

“If you think about a position in this system, they’re all ma king plays. That’s what we pride ourselves on, spreading the ball to as many different positions as possible.”

Unfor tunately for Littrell and Nor th Texas, offense was not the team’s strong suit last season. In 2015, the Mean Green ranked 117th in the Football Bowl Subdivision in total offense, managing just 3,841 yards. Additionally, the Mean Green compiled only 19 offensive touchdowns last year, the third-worst mark in

the FBS. The top team, Baylor University, had 85.

To add to Littrell’s conundr um, Nor th Texas’ receivers are relatively inexperienced. Of the 11 wide receivers on the Mean Green’s roster, only four have played a game in a Nor th Texas unifor m. Tallied together, Nor th Texas’ receiving cor ps has combined for 649 yards and three receiving touchdowns.

For a scheme that requires numerous threats on the outside, those statistics are not exactly ideal.

“Ever y receiver wants the ball,” Smiley said. “And you’re going to get the ball. A lot. I definitely think we have the talent to [ma ke it work].”

Because the spread offense is predicated on throwing

the ball, route r unning for receivers is a cr ucial par t of ma king the system function.

In years past, receivers at Nor th Texas were almost equally as focused on blocking for r unners as getting open downfield and hauling in passes.

That mentality has changed since the Littrell ar rived.

“Route r unning is ver y impor tant,” sophomore wide receiver Tee Goree said. “If you don’t get your depth on the route and you don’t r un the cor rect steps on a route, the defensive back can cover you. You have to be ver y detailed with your route just to get open.”

Despite Littrell’s offense being one of the most fastpaced in college football, receivers on the team say

they do not find it difficult to execute. Instead, Goree attributes the scheme’s simplicity to Littrell’s coaching techniques.

“In this offense, you know what you have to do,” Goree said. “Last year the offense was a bunch of difficult stuff. The coaches teach this offense so we can lear n it. The offense itself isn’t simpler, but the coaches are better.”

To help ease the transition of implementing a new offense, Littrell took an unor thodox approach, which included doing away with something many teams use on a daily basis.

“We don’t have playbooks here,” Littrell said. “Really.

We don’t use playbooks. It’s too simple. We don’t have

Senior wide receiver Connor Davis looks to catch a ball during practice. Colin Mitchell | Senior Staff Photographer

Redshir t Sophomore wide receiver Tee Goree (3) catches a ball during practice drills. Colin Mitchell | Senior Staff Photographer enough [plays]. If you have those big, thick playbooks, you can’t play fast. So we don’t do them.”

Even though several of Nor th Texas’ receivers have yet to play in an FBS football game, there is no shor tage of faith in their ability to engineer the “Air Raid.”

With an almost entirely new coaching staff and offense in place, the Mean Green

is anxious to tur n things around and put points on the board after a lackluster 2015 campaign.

“I’m ver y confident in all the guys we’ve got,” junior r unning back Jeffrey Wilson said of Nor th Texas’ wide receivers. “Any day I’ll put them up against any receiving cor ps that’s in the college league right now.”

NTDAILY.COM | PAGE 8 SWIMMING

Youth, improved times excites swimming and diving for upcoming season

By Torie Mosley Staff Writer @toriemosley After finishing last season fifth in Conference USA, North Texas swimming and diving went 7-4 in dual meets this year and finished fourth at the conference championships in February.

The Mean Green had seven seniors graduate this spring and have 19 underclassmen returning.

Head coach Brendon Bray said the depth and experience the team will retain next season excites him about the potential to compete at a higher level.

“This team’s so different because last year and the year before, we’ve had completely different personnel, and that is our new core of swimmers now,” he said. “To

know that they’re this good in the beginning stages of their career is what’s exciting.”

The team had a losing streak near the beginning of the season, but picked up speed heading into conference play.

“We’ve had some ups and downs,” Bray said. “There’s a couple of events where a B finalist could’ve been an A finalist, but I think this is the first year that we’ve had a core group of people that all [were] in the mix to score. I’m happy with what we did, but we can be a lot better.”

Sophomore Sarah Vaisse was honored as Conference USA CoSwimmer of the Week in January and ranks second in school history in both the 100 breaststroke and the 200 IM. Additionally, sophomore Claudia Kitching placed second in

the 200 breaststroke and third in the 100 breaststroke at the C-USA Championships.

However, one of the Mean Green’s top performers joined the team halfway through the year, just when things were starting to heat up.

Freshman Rebekah Bradley won first place in the 200 backstroke at the C-USA Championships, becoming the first North Texas swimmer or diver to win first place at the meet in school history. The New Zealand native was named C-USA swimmer of the week twice in a row in February, becoming the second Mean Green swimmer to win multiple weekly awards in school history.

Bradley also holds the fastest time in school history in the 100yard backstroke, the second fastest

The home of the North Texas swim team is the back of the Pohl Recreation Center.

Dylan Nadwodny | Staff Photographer MEAN GREEN QUICK HITS Football holds first spring scrimmage with Littrell The Mean Green football team had its first scrimmage on Monday, April 4, just two weeks after beginning spring practices. Athletes on both sides of the ball made big impressions with newly hired head coach Seth Littrell’s staff, including junior running back Willy Ivery (two touchdowns) and redshirt sophomore linebacker Brandon Garner (three interceptions). The team will have three more weeks of preparation before the Green-White scrimmage on April 23.

Snyman named C-USA men’s golfer of the week Freshman Ian Snyman earned the Conference USA men’s golfer of the week honor after posting his third top10 finish of the season at the Aggie Invitational. It is the second time this season that the South Africa native has received the award. His performance fueled a fourth place finish for the Mean Green ahead of five nationally ranked programs, including Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Baylor.

McAndrew shines for track and field at Texas Relays As part of a flurry of quality performances from the senior class, distance runner Bryce McAndrew notched a career-best time of 4:01.28 in the mile at the Texas Relays, good for a third place finish. The following day, McAndrew and three other seniors earned the Mean Green’s second podium finish in the distance medley relay. The Austin native’s anchor leg time of 9:53.60 was the second fastest time in school history.

Tennis remains undefeated in Denton The Mean Green tennis team topped both Memphis and UTSA this week to improve to 7-0 in Denton this season.

The team fell to No. 45 New Mexico in a home match on March 11, but it was relocated to the Bent Tree Country Club in Dallas due to rain. Head coach Sujay Lama’s squad is 4-2 in its past six matches and has just two remaining on the schedule before the Conference USA Championships from April 11-14.

time in the 200-yard backstroke and third fastest time in the 50-yard freestyle.

“She’s just started to scratch the surface on what she can do,” Bray said. “She has goals like a lot of them do to be at the NCAA Championships, and she’s within sight of that. I think she’ll be a lot better and will continue to improve.”

The freshman has only been with the Mean Green since January. She finished high school in New Zealand in December, but has adapted to life in Texas quickly.

“Here, everything’s bigger. It’s Texas after all,” Bradley said. “New Zealand’s just a lot smaller, and the competition’s smaller.”

Bradley said she misses her friends and family back home more than anything and doesn’t get to see them every day like she used to.

“It sucks sometimes, but I’m glad I’m here competing at UNT and getting better every day,” she said. “Everyone’s been nice and helping. I couldn’t have asked for better people.”

Bradley became roommates with her sophomore teammates Lauren Tidwell and Deneen Carter shortly after arriving to Denton. This is the freshman’s first semester in college and her first experience competing against collegiate competition.

Bradley has quickly sketched her name in the North Texas record books, but said she isn’t too worried about how many medals or awards she gets.

“It’s really nice to have the statistics and medals and stuff, but it’s really the times that I care about and qualifying for competitions,” Bradley said. “All

Junior Emily Rush, left, and freshman Rebekah Bradley pose for a photo after practicing at the Pohl Recreation Center. Dylan Nadwodny | Staff Photographer of that’s really unique, but I really care about my times and the people I meet throughout my time here.”

Junior Emily Rush will return as one the teams few seniors next season and said she’s excited to see what the young North Texas squad can do next year.

“It’s exciting to watch them because they have so much more time to get better,” Rush said. “I’m the old one now, so it’s kind of intimidating sometimes.”

With so much to look forward to next season, the Mean Green has one common goal.

“Our goal is to be represented in NCAAs,” Bray said. “We need to move up in the conference, challenge at the conference championship, challenge to have people leading in events, but it’s also important to have people represented at the highest level. We need to continue to improve. That’s always priority number one.”

TENNIS

New doubles pairings giving tennis late-season spark

By Alex Lessard Associate Sports Editor @alexjlessard

For the North Texas tennis team, getting off on the right foot this season was a tough task to pull off. Four of its first five matches were on the road, and the Mean Green limped out of the gates to a 1-4 start.

Head coach Sujay Lama’s squad bounced back in a big way with four consecutive victories, but still could not seem to find a rhythm in doubles play. Through 15 matches, North Texas took the doubles point just five times.

“I’ve been doing this for 22 years, and honestly, it was kind of a new experience,” Lama said.

“My teams have always taken pride in doubles and have always done really well in doubles. We’ve always been the ones that put the pressure on our opponents.”

As a result, Lama knew a change was needed. The Mean Green is now going with four brand new doubles teams in order to get back on track, pairing three of its freshman with senior and junior counterparts.

Lama said what he likes most about the new pairings is the mixture of youth and experience, especially with senior Agustina Valenzuela and freshman Tamuna Kutubidze. With four freshmen on this year’s roster, adapting to doubles play and staying consistent has been an ongoing battle.

“We started so well, but I think

Freshman tennis player Maria Kononova laughs with teammate freshman Tamuna Kubtubidze during a practice. Courtesy | North Texas Athletics it’s still a freshman thing,” Kutubidze said. “We don’t know what to expect, and you’re a bit confused. But I think we’ll work it out and find a solution.”

Youth hasn’t been all that bad for North Texas, however. In fact, the best doubles pairing for North Texas this season features two freshmen – Kutubidze and Maria Kononova.

The duo got off to a blazing start on its way to an 8-6 record – something Kutubidze attributed to the chemistry between herself and

DON’T LET YOUR POTENTIAL GET TIED UP.

her teammate.

“She can understand me, and I can understand her without saying a word,” Kutubidze said. “The movements I make, she can know where I’m going, like where I’m running or what I’m doing. If I was serving, she knew where I would serve.”

After dropping three doubles matches in a row in early March, Kutubidze asked Lama to switch up the pairings. Although she plans on playing with Kononova in doubles professionally this summer, she said she thought it was best if they took a break.

“At times, it can be stale playing with the same person the whole time,” Lama said. “Sometimes you just need some change.”

On the flip side, Valenzuela has grown accustomed to constant

change. Kutubidze will be her fourth doubles teammate of the season.

Valenzuela said she prefers singles to doubles because she has more control of her performance, but has enjoyed her couple of weeks alongside her new doubles partner.

“I’m starting to figure out what she likes and what she doesn’t,” Valenzuela said. “But of course it’s more beneficial if you’ve been playing with her the entire year.”

Valenzuela has posted a 5-8 record with her three doubles partners but said dropping the doubles point has aided the team in a way. The Mean Green has gone on to win four matches after losing the doubles point this season.

“Maybe because we were in a hole, always having to fight and dig, we were able to bring our best in singles,” Lama said. “I think that’s

when the freshmen have to mature quicker. You have really fight back as a group to win a match when you lose the doubles point.”

So far, the switch is working out just as Lama imagined it would.

North Texas has earned the doubles point in two of its three matches since making the change, going 4-2 overall along with three unfinished contests.

As long as the new lineup continues to impress, Lama said he will not make any changes from the rest of the season all the way through the Conference USA tournament.

“Looking at the way they’ve come, the way they’ve meshed and the way they’re playing together, I’m very optimistic and positive that we’re going to be a force in doubles,” Lama said.

Breakthrough to a brighter future with an MBA from UNT’s College of Business. Find out more at our information session.

Saturday, April 9th @ UNT Register Here: bit.ly/1iJs5cy

BUSINESS LEADERSHIP STARTS HERE

Seniors Agustina Valenzuela, left, and Anastasiya Shestakova congratulate each other after a point against Central Arkansas. Dylan Nadwodny | Staff Photographer

OPINION Page 9

THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 2016

NTDAILY.COM

INTERNATIONAL

‘Minding the gap’ as an American abroad

By Sidney Johnson Staff Writer @sidjohn87 We A mer ica ns have the power to cha nge ma ny th ings on th is pla net, but one th ing rema ins una ltered: ou r A mer ica n persona outside ou r borders. Stigmatized as loud-mouthed a nd entitled before ou r individua l cha racter is dissem inated, we a re ultimately k nown for ou r poor behavior abroad.

Un fa i r or not, th is cha rge holds a foundation based on the actions of some of ou r citizens in recent yea rs.

Un iversit y of Vi rgin ia st udent Ot to Wa r mbier was recently sentenced to 15 yea rs of ha rd labor in a Nor th Korea n pr ison for foolish ly stea ling a propaga nda poster f rom the Ya ngga kdo I nter nationa l Hotel in P yongya ng. T he nation’s st ate-r un media, K NCA, st ated Wa r mbier’s thef t was considered a n “act

of hostilit y” aga inst Nor th Korea. W h ile he will li kely ser ve none of h is a llot ted days swinging a picka xe, it is at the ver y least a nationa l emba r rassment a nd headache for those cha rged with secu r ing h is ret u r n.

Wa r mbier, a brother at U VA’s T het a Ch i, con fessed that a deaconess f rom Fr iendsh ip Un ited Methodist Chu rch in Wyom ing, Oh io offered h im $10, 0 0 0 if he ret u r ned with a t rophy f rom the secluded nation.

Un for t unately, the chu rch’s sen ior pastor st ated that deaconess didn’t exist a nd Wa r mbier wasn’t even a member of the chu rch.

A lthough I sympath ize with Wa r mbier’s predica ment a nd feel h is cr ime does not f it h is pun ish ment, I a lso underst a nd that a n A mer ica n must be on thei r best behavior wh ile abroad, especia lly visiting a nation as in fa mous a nd f ier y as Nor th Korea.

Last sum mer I at tended a st udy abroad prog ra m in

L ondon, Engla nd a nd lea r ned a good way of being su re you a re not the recipient of a ny disda in f ul looks or color f ul fou r-let ter-words is simply being awa re of the customs a nd doing you r best to act li ke you belong there. But consciously com m it ting a cr ime, li ke in Wa r mbier’s case, is different a nd on ly rein forces the negative bra nd we have been unable to scratch off.

Ever yone in the K im dynast y is without a sense of humor rega rding A mer ica ns — apa r t f rom Den n is Rodma n — a nd Wa r mbier undoubtedly k new th is before he entered the count r y.

T hough the “nationa l th reat” rhetor ic is a n exaggeration, but K im Jong-un is the “Supreme L eader” of h is count r y a nd ca n ja il whoever is brave enough to act up when visiting. To th in k he wouldn’t jump at the cha nce to emba r rass a n A mer ica n abroad is na ïve.

We must show utmost

Courtesy| openclipar t.org respect wh ile in a nother count r y a nd M r. Wa r mbier is lea r n ing th is lesson in a n un for t unate way. Ou r Bill of R ights is a br ight-red cape

we A mer ica ns must remove when leaving the for t ress of solit ude that is ou r count r y — some, un for t unately, forget th is. Mind the gap” in

cult u res when abroad, don’t be M r. Wa r mbier. Exercise you r best judgment — it’s a cold world out there.

ADDICTION

We need to treat addiction as a health issue, not a criminal one

By Morgan Sullivan Senior Staff Writer @sadsquadch A Texas town made headlines recently for a stint on Facebook, where the local police department sent

out a message urging all heroin and cocaine users to come to the police station and get their drugs tested for Ebola. Although some might find this humorous, it delves into a deeper problem the United States has – one where nearly half of federal prisoners are held for drug crimes, according to

A Texas town sent a message on Facebook urging heroin users to bring their drugs in to be tested for Ebola. Courtesy | Wikimedia Commons

ThinkProgress.org.

Compared to the rest of the world, the U.S. has some of the strictest and draconian of drug laws. In many other parts of the world, drug crimes are treated as a public health issue, not a criminal one. If the war on drugs, as well as the failed eighteenth amendment, has proven anything, it’s that prohibition is not an answer to the complicated question of substance abuse. Governments have a responsibility to their constituents to actually deal with the issue at hand – not simply lock up anyone and everyone caught with drugs.

After all, it is called drug addiction for a reason. In another vein of thinking, a town in Massachusetts is piloting a program dedicated to helping those in need, instead of putting them in handcuffs. The program is simple – if you or someone you know is struggling with a drug problem, simply come to the police station and ask for help. The officers will even dispose of drugs or paraphernalia for users. No one gets arrested. No one is charged with a crime. Help is set in motion.

This idea is revolutionary for the U.S., but not so much everywhere

else in the world. Most countries in doctor doesn’t reprimand you on your the European Union treat drug use bad form. Drug addiction is a serious as the aforementioned public health epidemic plaguing our country. Drug issue. The Netherlands, Germany addiction should be treated like every and Denmark have even opened “fix other addiction: with compassion and rooms” where serious drug users can without judgment.

We’ll never better our country if bring their illegal drugs and consume we continue locking away thousands them under supervision of a nurse.

Portugal decriminalized all drugs in of people who could improve our 2000, and in 2001 began focusing on society, but are disenfranchised treating drug addiction. People caught because they are unable to find help. with drugs that can be consumed in Potential thinkers, painters, carpenters, 10 days or less are referred to special architects, teachers and mathematicians courts known as “commissions for are sentenced to waste their days in drug addiction dissuasion,” instead of cells instead of overcome addiction and change our world because of how being sent to criminal trials.

Even China, which has a system of we treat substance abuse. It’s time to justice often bordering on authoritarian, change that. treats drug crimes as a minor administrative offense.

The powerful punishments allow the government Editorial Board to send people deemed as “drug addicts” to Editor-In-Chief...................Nicholas Friedman compulsory detoxification nicholas.friedman1@gmail.com....@NMFreed for up to three years.

News Editor...............................Dalton LaFerney Basically, the world apart laferneyd@gmail.com.............@daltonlaferney from the U.S. sees drug Arts & Life Editor.........................Matt Payne addiction for what it is: a mattpayne1994@gmail.com........@MattePaper health issue. When you pull Sports Editor......................................Scott Sidway a muscle while running, the s.sidway@gmail.com.....................@ScottyWK

North Texas Daily

Visuals Editor..............................Kristen Watson kristenwatson2@my.unt.edu............@kbwats

TERM LIMITS

The deal with congressional term limits

By Preston Mitchell Staff Writer @Presto_Mitch

T hese d ays, t er m l i m it s a re a lot l i ke we e d lega l i zat ion. As much a s p e ople wa nt t hem to happ en, d ist r ust f u l p ol it icia ns st i l l ma nage to have it t hei r way, a l l t he wh i le wi n n i ng re - ele ct ion. T h is is c er t a i n ly t he ca se for Cong ress si nc e 2 010, when approva l r at i ngs consist ent ly aver age d a roug h 15 p erc ent towa rd House a nd Senat e memb er s. Under t hese u nb el ievable low approva l r at i ngs for cong ressmen, accord i ng to Ga l lup Pol l, t he fact t hat neit her D emo c r at s nor Republ ica ns f u l ly cont rol t he House or Senat e ha s ent ic e d wa r i ness f rom t he A mer ica n p e ople.

Cont r a r y to p opu la r b el ief, Oba ma isn’t to bla me here. Rat her, f i nger s shou ld b e p oi nt e d at Cong ress for h istor ica l ly blo ck i ng h is p ol icies a nd, more i mp or t a nt ly, for t he lack of reg u lat ion on U. S. t er m l i m it s.

For some elusive rea son, t er m l i m it s have on ly appl ie d to U. S. president s t hus fa r i n A mer ica n h istor y. Ele ct ions for new House memb er s r u n bi-a n nua l ly wh i le senator s get si x yea r s i n of f ic e a f t er each ele ct ion - - not to ment ion b ot h of whom a re f re e to r u n a s ma ny t i mes a s t hey’d l i ke, wh i le each Supreme Cou r t just ic e ha s a l i fet i me app oi nt ment.

W h i le t h is a l lows p ol it ica l t enu res to b e sea sone d, it a lso bl ist er s t he issue of losi ng

“

touch wit h t he publ ic. Re - ele ct ions a nd l i fet i me i ncu mb encies ma ke l it t le sense b e cause A mer ica’s p ol it ica l la ndscap e is a lways cha ng i ng.

For i nst a nc e, t he lat e 196 0 s a nd 1970 s were a l l ab out a cou nt ercu lt u re t hat reje ct e d t hei r pa rent s’ va lues for prot est s a nd f re e dom. T he ‘8 0 s br ief ly rei nt ro duc e d t hat old pat r iot ism wh i le t he c r ack epidem ic, wh ich spa n ne d wel l i nto t he ‘9 0 s, plag ue d lower cla sses nat ionwide. Consider t he cha nges t hat have o ccu r re d i n t he U. S. i n a l l t hat t i me, t hen at t empt to hold you r lu nch dow n k nowi ng t hat some represent at ives have held t hei r seat, u n i nt er r upt e d, t hat ent i re t i me.

T he overlyi ng p oi nt is: ma ny ag i ng p ol it icia ns ca n’t ke ep up wit h t he t i mes, yet t hey hold t hei r p osit ion i n gover n ment, u lt i mat ely h i nder i ng t he pac e by wh ich prog ress o ccu r s.

T h roug hout Oba ma’s ad m i n ist r at ion, ma ny of h is p ol icies have b e en blo cke d

by Cong ress, who f i nd it s resp e ct ive b o d ies u nable to work co op er at ively l i ke t hey were desig ne d to do. It’s c reat e d qu it e t he g r id lo ck i n Wa sh i ng ton — one where ou r leader s a rg ue ab out t he problem s of budget def icit s, m i n i mu m wage, a nd how “sa l ient ” such topics a re r at her t ha n work toget her const r uct ively.

I f t er m l i m it s cou ld b e a mende d, we wou ld n’t have to wa it for some one’s deat h to replac e t hat seat wit h a ph i losoph ica l ly mo der at e p er son l i ke Mer r ick Ga rla nd,

“ With legal restrictions, we could interchange rotten apples for those oranges in a seamless fashion.”

a s obst r uct ion ist s wou ld so on f i nd t hem selves i nel ig ible for re - ele ct ion.

T he sa me pr i nciple a l lowe d us to pa ss a law rest r ict i ng a president to t wo t er m s appl ies here — to o much p ower, for to o long, ca n cor r upt even t he st r a ig ht est of a r rows. Wit h lega l rest r ict ions, we cou ld i nt ercha nge rot t en apples for t hose or a nges i n a sea m less fa sh ion.

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 For Advertising, please call 940-565-3989 or email adsales@unt.edu

NTDAILY.COM | PAGE 10

PANAMA PAPERS

Panama Papers just the tip of the iceberg

The Editorial Board North Texas Daily

Sunday, April 3 did not begin with the promise of anything out of the ordinary.

The presidential race was as much of a train wreck as it had been for the last eight months, Villanova was gearing up to play No. 1 ranked North Carolina the following day and most people had no reason to suspect that the end of their weekend would bring about anything particularly exciting.

This was not the case for everyone, however.

After months of intensive investigation and research, in coordination with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, German newspaper “Süddeutsche Zeitung” released what is now being called the largest release of classified information in the history of data journalism.

The “Panama Papers” dwarfs any leak and successive broadcast of information that came before it, and will soon, if it has not already, become the mold of successful journalistic practice for this generation. Its magnitude cannot be accurately judged because it is unpredictable — to speculate on its eventual impact on multiple countries across the world this early in the game is ultimately fruitless. Only time will reveal how deep and wide the reaches of these revelations will take us.

The Panama Papers leak has

enlightened the world to questionable activities of Mossack Fonseca, a law firm within the state the papers are named after. Since the inception of the firm in 1977, it has specialized in the creation of shell companies, allowing those who invest their money through the firm to stash their cash and successfully evade taxes or public scrutiny under the blanket of what appeared to be legitimate business.

What separates this exposé from its predecessors are those who have already been implicated as as having connection, whether direct or indirect, with Mossack Fonseca: Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and Lionel Messi, to name a few. With the now-former Prime Minister of Iceland having stepped down in the days since the leak, and thus lending pockets of credibility to the cause of these journalists, it is not difficult to see how this might continue to unfold.

While no Americans have yet to be named as being involved in this conspiracy, which crosses international borders, it could be determined that this is due to the vast amount of information still to be disseminated. With over one terabyte, or 1,000 gigabytes, of information given to reporters by an anonymous whistleblower, it could almost objectively be stated that this is just the tip of the iceberg.

At the risk of seeming self-praising, the Editorial Board must commend the over 100 journalists involved in the exposure of this information — for both

their willingness to put themselves at odds with those of enormous influence, wealth and power, and being committed to doing their jobs with integrity. We urge

those still uninformed on the situation to follow the story as it progresses, as we feel comfortable in saying this is only the “tip of the iceberg,” so to speak.

In an age of globalization, it would seem that despite the curvature of the Earth, the world is, indeed, flat.

RELILGIOUS FREEDOM

Samuel Wiggins | Staff Illustrator

SQUIRRELS ON CAMPUS

Jake Bowerman | Staff Illustrator

DAILY DIVERSION BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE - REALD 3D [PG-13] 1050 100 225 605 950 BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING 2 [PG-13] 1150 230 500 730 955 MIRACLES FROM HEAVEN [PG] 1115 200 440 720 1000 HELLO, MY NAME IS DORIS [R] 1225 250 515 740 1020 THE BOSS [R] 715 1015

ZOOTOPIA [PG] 1130 215 455 750 1030 THE DIVERGENT SERIES: ALLEGIANT [PG13] 1245 415 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE [PG-13] 1125 205 1025 GOD’S NOT DEAD 2 [PG] 1250 400 710 1010 EYE IN THE SKY [R] 1120 155 445 725 1005 MEET THE BLACKS [R] 1230 300 530 800 1035 I SAW THE LIGHT [R] 1240 355 705 1005 HARDCORE HENRY [R] 700 1000 THE GI FILM FESTIVAL CINEMATIC SALUTE 700

R T E O S H U T IQ PO L UT R S O O ’ U N Q O I T L N T E S D IR E F OR ST 1010 W. University (next to Movie Tavern) 3969 Teasley Lane @ Robinson Road

NEED CASH NOW? Let Us Buy Your Books!

Rent Them Back For PAY A WAY Presented by:

$1

VOERTMAN’S

940.387.1313 1314 W. HICKORY www.voertmans.com

MAKE YOUR OWN HOURS

&

Advertising Sales - Apply Within Email Resume to adsales@unt.edu

CHOOSE YOUR OWN INCOME North Texas Daily Advertising Dept. (GAB 119)

Entertainment Listings Thursday, April 7 Open Mic 7:00 PM @ Audacity Brew House Trivia Night 8:00 PM @ Mulberry St Cantina

the Arts Monk’s Monthly Market 1:00 PM @ The Bearded Monk Arts and Crafts Fair 2:00 PM @ Mulberry Street Cantina

Friday, April 8 “Mary Poppins” Returns to Musical Form 7:30 PM @ Campus Theatre

Sunday, April 10 First Annual Crawfish Boil 1:00 PM @ East Side Free Roll Texas Hold Em Tournament 6:00 PM @ Jack’s Tavern

Sierra Ramos | Special Contributor If you love music, live theatre and the movie “Mary Poppins,” then you’ll want to see the theatrical production of the 1964 smash hit (nominated for 13 Academy Awards) presented by the Denton Community Theatre. The“supercalifragil isticexpialidocious” fun will begin at 7:30 on Friday, April 8 at the Campus Theatre, 214 W. Hickory St., Denton. Ticket prices are $22 for adults, $18 for seniors (62+), $15 for students (college included) and $10 for kids 12 and under. For more information, contact the Denton Community Theatre at (940)3821915.

Saturday, April 9 Duck Commander 500 NASCAR Doubleheader @ Texas Motor Speedway Denton Community Market 9:00 AM @ Historic Park of Denton County North Texas Book Festival 9:00 AM @ PattersonAppleton Center for

Monday, April 11 I Heart UNT Day all day 26th Annual University of North Texas Don January Gold Classic 10:00 AM @ Trophy Club CC Tuesday, April 12 TWU Presents SoMo 6:30 @ Texas Woman’s University Tennis Court Parkin Lot Musical Tuesdays 7:00 PM @ Sweetwater Grill and Tavern Real Texas Radio Live Broadcast 7:00 PM @ LSA Burger Wednesday, April 13 Yoga Wednesdays 8:30 AM @ Golden Triangle Mall Drawing Class 10:00 AM @ A Creative Art STUDIO Live Music 7:00 PM @ LSA Burger Thursday, April 14 Scrappy Exhibit & Ice Cream 1:00 PM @ UNT Union Building Mary Poppins 2:00 PM @ The Campus Theatre Open Mic at Audacity Brew House! 7:00 PM @ Audacity Brew House Trivia Night 8:00 PM @ Mulberry St Cantina

SPACES FILLING FAST FOR FALL 2016!

+

SAVE

$150 WITH ZERO DEPOSIT

CITY PARC AT FRY STREET UPTOWN APARTMENTS U CENTRE AT FRY STREET PROUD SPONSOR OF NORTH TEXAS ATHLETICS

AMERICANCAMPUS.COM Fees subject to change. Limited time only.