UNT program resolved more than 15,000 missing persons cases NEWS: PAGE 2
THURSDAY, MAY 17, 2018
VOL. 113 No. 1
NTDAILY.COM
UNT holds funeral for veteran, custodian By Devin Rardin @DevinRardin
SEE FOUND ON PAGE 3
Native America Student Association members (from left to right) Ruth Thunderhawk, Emilia Gaston, Inti Huaman, Naomi Niyah, Jared Sandal and Casey Reed. Will Baldwin
Reconnecting native disconnect
Native American Student Association revives pride By Amy Roh @rohmyboat On Tuesday nights, members of the Native American Student Association trickle into a small, dingy classroom in the language building. Only six people with their own unique experiences and backgrounds have gathered to revive the Native American Student Association both for the UNT community and for themselves. Emilia Gaston is the president of the Native American Student Association, one of the main members who has been pushing to bring back the organization that naturally became stagnant after a year. Native American Student Association was founded in 2016 and was active for a full calendar year, but Gaston said when the seniors graduated, the group dissipated. “We’re getting back up and running now, and it has
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One of my main issues was lack of representation because it felt like for a while I didn’t know anyone else who [belonged to] my culture.
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Two family members of a deceased graduate student and custodian were found after a nearly yearlong search by UNT officials, the UNT police department and UNT facilities, according to UNT spokesperson Leigh Anne Gullett. UNT held a public funeral at the Dallas Fort Worth Margaret King National Cemetery on Wednesday for Margaret King who died at age 67 last year. King’s niece flew in from Atlanta to attend the funeral and her half-sister flew in from California but did not make it in time for the service. “I am really proud of the university for doing right by her and making sure she had a proper burial,” Gullett said. “[The university] went the extra mile in trying to find her family and find people to be [at the funeral].” King, a Haltom City resident, was found unconscious at Lot 26 near Bain Hall on Sept. 14, 2017. She was taken to Texas Health Resources Denton where she was pronounced dead, according to initial reports from the North Texas Daily. Medical examiners told the Denton Record-Chronicle King died of natural causes. UNT officials hoped sharing her name would notify friends or family of her passing. The police contacted the facilities custodial manager and King’s former supervisor, David Barkenhagan, and found she had no emergency contacts. Her body went to the Fort Worth medical examiner, and coroners could not find any next of kin. Barkenhagan talked to other employees where she worked at the Physical Education Building. Everyone said she was a friendly
- Native American Student Association member Ruth Thunderhawk
taken us a full year even to get people to come to the meetings,” Gaston said. “It’s about people finding us and people knowing that we’re here because that’s how it was for me in the greater Dallas community.” The members come from different experiences and are descendants of various tribes, like the Comanche, Northern Cheyenne, Lakota Sioux and Navajo tribes. Many of them said they grew up learning about the culture and having some experience with the reservation but did not have direct and consistent contact. “I grew up knowing that I was Native American but, not having any connection to that culture like many other predominantly non-Native people, our heritage is a few generations removed,” Gaston said. “I grew up going to powwows and observing culture but not having a direct connection to that community.”
SEE HERITAGE ON PAGE 4
UNT proclaimed a Purple Heart school By Devin Rardin @DevinRardin The Military Order of the Purple Heart (MOPH) proclaimed UNT a Purple Heart University for its support of the combat wounded and veterans during a ceremony May 3 in the University Union. “This is a good university, and it has been really good to the veteran population here,” Director of Student Veteran’s Services James Davenport said. “I am proud of what we do here.” The MOPH is a veteran’s organization comprised of individuals who have received the Purple Heart, awarded to those who are wounded or killed in service. The Dallas-Fort Worth chapter of the organization recognized UNT for its service to veterans. “The Purple Heart is not something someone goes into the military wanting to get, but they end up earning it because they have made the commitment to serve,” said William Dwiggins, veteran’s educational coordinator for the North Texas district of the Texas Veterans Commission. The process for becoming a Purple Heart institution is based
on the number of Purple Heart recipients in the faculty and staff, student and alumni populations. UNT will join other Purple Heart organizations such as UNT Dallas, UNT Health Science Center, Texas A&M University and Liberty University. Davenport said that between 2,400 and 3,400 veterans attend UNT every semester, and UNT brings in employers to help them when they graduate and holds a separate graduation ceremony to honor veterans.
Davenport also personally gives veterans tours of the university. “It’s a big honor because evidently, in [MOPH] research, this university does some very impressive things with the veteran population,” Davenport said. Hazlewood helps Texas veterans at many universities, but Davenport said UNT does not put a cap on the number of veterans or dependents that can use the
SEE VETERANS ON PAGE 3
Jamie Adams measures one of the costumes he designed for the show, Hands on a Hardbody. Rachel Linch
Behind the scenes of technical theatre By Rachel Linch @rachel_linch
Military pins on display at the Student Veterans Office. They represent a service member’s achievements through their military career. File
North Texas Daily @ntdaily @ntdaily
NEWS
Behind every costume designed, light hung and set piece created for a theatre production is a passionate person. Technical theatre is the other world of theatre that is essential when it comes to creating a full theatrical experience. “We are the visual storytellers that help support the actors and give a full environment for the play to take place,” scenic design lecturer Donna Marquet said. For the UNT Department of Dance and Theatre
IN THIS ISSUE
UNT moves the Mayborn into College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences pg 2 UNT provost Jennifer Cowley announced last week that the Mayborn School of Journalism would be moving and is going to begin sharing curriculum with the Media Arts department.
final production for the spring semester, “Hands on a Hardbody,” there were six different technical theatre departments. The musical production is set in East Texas and focuses on a competition that awards a truck to whoever can keep their hands on it the longest. Within each of the six departments, there are many different layers of people all dedicated to creating a smooth, perfect technical experience that the audience is so invested in they don’t even realize it’s there. Each person behind every backstage aspect of the
SEE THEATRE ON PAGE 5
ARTS & LIFE
OPINION
Spiritual awakenings leads some to answers pg 4 Beautiful Incarnations, a local New Age astrological shop, looks to help others discover themselves through zodiac and astrology.
In defense of liberal arts majors pg 8 Liberal arts majors get a lot of flack for picking “easy” majors, but their passion and the valuable skills they learn will project them to greater heights than just fast food jobs.