Celebrating 100 Years of Journalism Excellence VOL. 108 No.7
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2016
NTDAILY.COM
Denton to change council, improve city appearance By Madison Wilie
BRING ON THE PUNCHES Denton boxing gym provides hope and escape for Flint native
By Austin Jackson Detached from the beige brick of an unused stripmall, a sanctuary of sweat called Jimenez’ Old School Boxing Gym hides behind the shadow of Duffy’s Auto Service shop and a Chevron where food stamps are accepted and their slot machines, according to the clerk, are to “win fun only.”
A step from the asphalt to the concrete slab brings the unique nostalgia of eighth grade P.E. rearing back before it punches you right in the face. But after taking a few steps inside, the smell, like the skill and strength that produced it, grows on you. The gym, built by Joe Jimenez and operated primarily by his son, Ben, a 22-year-old computer
science junior at UNT, is a home away from home for many. “They call boxing a poor man’s sport,” Ben said. “Most people who box are kids that go to get off the streets. In Denton, you get the occasional rough house one, but most come here on word of mouth.”
SEE BOXING ON PAGE 7
Boxer Corey Richards warms up at the gym with the punching bag at Jimenez’ Old School Boxing Gym in Denton. Originally from Flint, Michigan, Richards came to Denton and refound his passion for boxing. Sara Carpenter
Campus UNT’s claim to Norah Jones is trivial at best After a weekend of covering Norah Jones, a writer opens up carry brings little change By Kyle Martin
After campus carry debates, this semester has seen few problems
Incase you weren’t aware, Norah Jones, the brilliant and acclaimed jazz singer, musician and Texas native, is a UNT alumna. She attended UNT for a short time to study jazz in 1997, and left Texas for
By Kayla Davis Editor’s Note: Some sources in this story are anonymous due to the contentious nature of the campus carry law and for their own protection. As midterms are approaching, students are in the thick of the semester. But this semester is not like previous ones. UNT joined seven other states on Aug. 1 in allowing concealed handguns onto their university campuses. And despite the heated debate from faculty, staff and students on the campus carry policy, UNT seems pretty quiet so far. A criminal justice graduate student received their license to carry in May and has been carrying a handgun on campus since August. “I guess the only difference now is that I now have peace of mind if something was to go awry,” the criminal justice student said. Though the graduate student participates in campus carry, they said they would only pull out their gun as a last resort, relying on verbal communication and stunning techniques first. “Even if there was a situation where I needed to draw my weapon, I don’t keep a bullet in the chamber,” the student said. “So as a last defense mechanism,
SEE CAMPUS CARRY ON PAGE 3
Norah Jones performs in front of hundreds for Oaktopia 2016 Sept. 23 in Denton. Kyle Martin
New York City in 1999. By 2003, she was a Grammy award winner in “Record of the Year,” “Song of the Year” and “Best Female Pop Performance” for her single “Don’t Know Why,” written by American singer-songwriter Jesse Harris. Jones met Harris during her time at UNT after giving him and a few of his band members a ride in her 1971 Cadillac. From there, her career took off and she became everything that she is today with her roots grounded in Texas. But is she really as grounded in the university as she is played out to be? When she was in town for Oaktopia, I covered her closely. I saw her interactions with UNT administrators, the press and locals closer than most people that weekend. That week, she was invited back to
campus. Jones attended a lecture wherein a packed, standing-room only recital hall was filled with students and faculty for a question-and-answer seminar over Jones’s career. Those in attendance got some of Jones’s insight on her time in the music industry, what it means to be a musician, her influences as she rose to fame and even a little about her time at UNT. At the event, UNT President Neal Smatresk presented her with a Presidential Medal of Honor, the most prestigious award the president is allowed to give out. The Presidential Medal of Honor, and all it’s esteem, has only been awarded to one other UNT student. George Dunham, a 1988 graduate who worked in radio broadcasting and commentary
The Denton City Council launched the early stages of the process to review the city charter on Tuesday. In a previous work session, the council held a discussion regarding potential revisions to the charter and requested a resolution be prepared for Oct. 11. The charter has not been revised since 2009 and the conversation was originally spurred by citizens’ call for a formal ethics ordinance to be adopted by Denton local government. But with only one vote for a change to the charter every two years, the prospective changes include more than provisions relating to ethics. “We’re dealing with a wholesale rewrite,” Mayor Chris Watts said. “Potentially, on the charter, on some very, very important decisions.” First assistant city attorney Aaron Leal presented the seven areas for possible modification to the current charter discussed during the prior meeting. Currently the mayor and two members of the council are elected at-large, meaning they can be voted for by all citizens of the city. Potential alterations will see the makeup of Denton city government change, with six proposed single-member districts and one at-large mayoral district. But in order to make changes to the city charter, each council member must appoint three Denton citizens to a review committee. The 21 nominees will then be broken into sub-committees of seven and asked to reflect over changes formally prepared by the council. Council members also discussed the progression of recruiting a city auditor and the process of hiring a city manager. Over the next months, the council will meet with staff and give direction over a series of candidates for both positions. The brochure for the city of Denton was approved and will pursue adequate candidates for the position of city auditor. The city auditor finalists will be chosen and interviewed by the council in early January. The Downtown Reinvestment Grant Program, a program that provides cash reimbursement grants to businesses for improvements to buildings in the downtown area, will also see changes. Improvements may include new awnings, signs and utility upgrades for certain businesses. The council will continue to deliberate over whether the grant should be extended to any small businesses on Fry Street, Dallas Drive and on the Interstate-35 corridor.
@MadisonBWilie
SEE NORAH JONES ON PAGE 5
‘Locker room talk’ video dominates second presidential debate By Julia Falcon The second presidential debate Sunday evening was a slugfest between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump courtesy of the moderators, CNN’s Anderson Cooper and Martha Raddatz, of ABC. It’s heralded as a political game changer. Though there was some conversation about the humanity crisis in Syria and equality in the United States, much of the hour-and-a-half town hall debate focused on the character of the candidates, Trump hitting Clinton with the deleted emails and President Bill Clinton’s sexual scandal, and Clinton jabbing Trump on the recent discovery
of a video which shows him making lewd comments about women. Clinton and Trump did not shake hands in the beginning of the debate at Washington University in Saint Louis. But by the end of the exchange, the two complimented each other, only when prompted by a question, ending the debate on a positive note. The video was mentioned in the beginning of the debate. Trump summarized it as “locker room talk” and reminded the nation he would destroy the Islamic State. “I’m not proud of it,” he said. “I apologize to my family. To the
SEE DEBATE ON PAGE 2
Photo Contributions | Gage Skidmore Graphic Illustration | Tomas Gonzalez
IN THIS ISSUE NEWS
Special Care pg 3 The United States Supreme Court is hearing a case about special education rights across the nation. A story inside details how the law affects Denton County.
ARTS & LIFE
The Dose: ‘Birth of a Nation’ pg 5 Preston Mitchell went to see “Birth of a Nation,” which fell short of becoming a masterpiece. But, he said, director Nate Parker has a lot of promise in his career.
SPORTS
Midseason, Football Is Improving pg 6 As Mean Green football reaches midseason, sports writer Clay Massey reflects on the season so far, and offers an explanation on how the team is improving.
OPINION
More About Trump’s ‘P----y’ Talk pg 8 The editors of this newspaper do not approve of Trump’s lewd video. But more importantly, the reaction to the video is a big problem for Republicans and their leaders.