North Texas Daily 11/2/17

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Torres’ hat trick leads soccer past Middle Tennessee State PAGE 7

VOL. 111 No. 10

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2017

NTDAILY.COM

Distinguished Lecture Series brings Reddit co-founder to UNT By Sean Riedel Staff Writer Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of the website Reddit, spoke about his career as an entrepreneur on behalf of UNT’s Distinguished Lecture Series in the university’s auditorium Wednesday evening. Reddit is a social news aggregate and discussion board with numerous channels and online communities for

people to be a part of. The 34-year-old co-founded Reddit in 2005 with his friend from college, Steve Huffman, who now serves as the company’s sole CEO. The two attended the University of Virginia and originally pitched an idea for a website called MyMobileMenu, or MMM, to startup accelerator Y Combinator. The pitch was declined, but Y Combinator co-founder Paul Graham encouraged the duo to come up with another idea.

Enter Reddit. “It’s because of the internet that we even started,” Ohanian said. “It’s because the world is not flat, that the world wide web exists. [That’s how] we were able to compete on the global stage and actually win.” Ohanian talked about the struggles of striving for perfection early on in the process of creating Reddit. “So many founders get caught up over perfection because we

were trained to worry about our grade when we submit the test, or submit the paper,” Ohanian said. “Entrepreneurship is like that paper that you get to submit infinity number of times, which is both horrifying and wonderful.” Ohanian spent time talking about the nature of social media sites in the last decade and people’s online façades.

SEE REDDIT ON PAGE 3

Cirque du Horror runs successfully spooky ninth annual performance

Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian talks to students and guests during the Distinguished Lecture Series. Reddit is currently the fourth most trafficked website in the U.S. Rachel Walters | Staff Photographer

TAMS budget cut in half, adds arts to program By Julia Falcon Senior News Writer State officials made budget cuts this summer to the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science (TAMS), an academy for 11th- and 12th-grade students. Jennifer Evans-Cowley, provost and vice-president of Academic Affairs, announced the cuts at the Faculty Senate meeting in early October and said the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) prominent academy will begin to focus on arts as well. The decision for the cuts was decided in a state Senate meeting, where government officials cut the budget in half. Funding for the TAMS program comes from a variety of sources with the main source of funding coming from the Texas Education Agency, along with the UNT budget and funding from families. TAMS Dean, Glênisson de Oliveira said funding from those sources goes to operations, cost of running, infrastructure, vans, computer maintenance and salaries. “The largest expenditure by far is scholarships,” de Oliveira said. “All TAMS students receive a significant amount of scholarships.” Each student in the TAMS program receives a scholarship to cover all tuition, regular university fees and books.

SEE TAMS ON PAGE 2

New exhibit reflects on late Musicians perform during the horror-themed performance, Cirque du Horror, at Dan’s Silverleaf. Cirque du Horror is meant to portray a simpler time of youth and make-believe. Dan’s Silverleaf hosts this performance during October. Victoria Nguyen | Staff Photographer

By Austin Wagner Staff Writer A mysterious man with his face painted red comes out to the stage, reciting frightening lines. The genius and mastermind with sharp horns sent shivers down spines as the show began to start. David J. Pierce introduced himself as the composer and director of the Cirque du Horror show at Dan’s Silverleaf, marking the ninth year of the production. The show kicked off with

the iconic character, Grampula, reciting jokes and witty banter. “Why didn’t the skeleton cross the road?” the fanged marvel asked. “He didn’t have the guts.” The joke sent the observing crowd into a fit of laughter as the first act of the performance commenced. Members of the audience seemed to be discerning differences between this year and last year, while others were in awe, watching the play for the first time. “We’ve come four or five times,

each year consecutively, and here we are this time too,” said Steve Hamlen, an attendee and Denton resident. “There are different scenes and skits each year. It’s like old theater style.” Hamlen is friends with some of the cast and Pierce, and he knows a few behind-the-scenes secrets about the play that was still unfolding. “There are some new things this year, and one of those is the crank,” Hamlen said. “It’s [basically] this big contraption that spins and

shows a bunch of spooky art done by some really talented artists in the area.” The crank showed a chilling representation of children being trapped in a snow globe after envying the carousel inside. The art was terrifying yet beautifully enticing, and the audience couldn’t help but gawk at the spectacle. “Pierce is a genius,” Hamlen said. “This is his show. He writes and directs it, and he changes it every year.”

20th century AIDS epidemic By Camila Gonzalez and Joshua Cassidy Staff Writers UNT Special Collections put together an exhibit on the AIDS epidemic of the late 20th century, with a focus on the NAMES AIDS Memorial Quilt and other quilts memorializing those who lost their lives to the virus. The exhibit, entitled “Threads of Remembrance,” traces its roots in two ways. The first through the NAMES AIDS Memorial Quilt that was put on display at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. 30 years ago. The other is through North Texas’ response in the early and middle stages of the AIDS epidemic under the leadership of the Dallas and Fort Worth chapters of the NAMES Project Foundation. The quilt is composed of over 49,000 panels displaying 96,000 names, each a victim of the AIDS virus.

SEE HORROR ON PAGE 5

SEE QUILT ON PAGE 3

Parker House lures in thrill-seeking Freshman star Teakell thriving for Mean Green volleyball By Matthew Brune Senior Sports Writer visitors for haunting Halloween fun By Ashlee Winters Staff Writer Down a long gravel road and hidden among a patch of trees looms a tall house with a dark past. Haunted by its history of murder, torture and black market activity, former residents and victims of the Parker House still roam the property today waiting for people to visit the eerie grounds. Parker House is a haunted house attraction that opens every year during the month of October, bringing in large crowds of eager visitors each weekend. “We have so many different attractions and such a strong storyline, and I think that really makes us stand out from other haunted houses,” Parker House actress Adrienne Jones said. The main attraction, the Parker House Mortuary, was a family-run morgue until the death of Mr. and Mrs. Parker due to a plane crash. The tragedy left their daughter, Mary

Parker, to continue the family business on her own. However, her actions soon turned dark when she began to realize business was plummeting. “The mortuary started going downhill, so Mary Parker decided she would have to make money somehow and began selling body parts and organs on the black market,” Jones said. Also featured is the Ratliff Sanitarium, where hundreds of patients experienced abuse, neglect and corrupt treatments from the doctors. Near the house is a cemetery haunted by Mary Parker’s victims, and the surrounding forest hides a family of cannibals waiting for people to wander into their clutches. “We have our graveyard where all the zombies are,” Jones said. “Then you head up the trail, and that’s where you get to meet all the sadistic backwoods hillbillies. Then you come up to the sanitarium, where we have these doctors doing all sorts of crazy

SEE HOUSE ON PAGE 5

Freshman outside hitter Barbara Teakell hits the ball in a game against Rice University. The Mean Green won the game 3-1. Rachel Walters | Staff Photographer

IN THIS ISSUE

NEWS

ARTS & LIFE

UNT’s College of Education receives grant of almost $3 million pg 2 The College of Education at UNT received a 5 year, $2.7 million grant to help improve language and English services within the Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District.

Denton’s Day of the Dead Festival celebrates fall holidays with coffins and culture pg 4 The Square was filled with games and attractions Saturday during one of the city’s most anticipated yearly events.

In her first recruiting trip to UNT, freshman Barbara Teakell went on a tour of the campus with her family. She did not enjoy herself. Rain poured down on the family and intense winds rendered umbrellas almost useless. It led Teakell to doubt whether or not it was meant to be. “I don’t know about this,” Teakell said to her parents at the time. As someone who loves and embraces her faith, it almost felt like a sign pointing the Celina High School star away from North Texas. But head coach Andrew Palileo insisted on her giving the university another chance. “It just wasn’t a very good vibe [my first visit],” Teakell said. “Then I talked to [Palileo] on the phone, and he said he wanted me to come in [again] and tour the campus. I said,

SPORTS Preview: Mean Green look to spoil homecoming in Ruston pg 7 After an exciting 45-38 win over Old Dominion last week, the Mean Green are in the C-USA West again. A road win over La. Tech would do wonders for the team’s chances.

‘OK, that sounds good.’” On the following visit, there was better weather, and Palileo made sure she got a much-improved North Texas experience. “I came in with an unsure mindset because I already got the weird vibes,” Teakell said. “Then I got here and fell in love with it. I fell in love with the campus, then we went out to eat with the girls and the coaching staff.” After having played for assistant coach Vinh Nguyen on the North Point club team, the young outside hitter easily caught the eye of the North Texas coaching staff with her athleticism and 6-foot-1-inch frame. “When we first started recruiting Barbara, she did well with her team, and it was fun to watch her play,” Palileo said. “We talk a lot about high character kids and integrity, and she fit that mold.”

SEE VOLLEYBALL ON PAGE 6

OPINION UNT’s Thanksgiving break isn’t very filling pg 8 Thanksgiving break is too short. It does not accommodate for out-of-state students or provide enough time for students to enjoy time with their families.


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