CLEAN SLATE
Alpha fraternity moves into first house ARTS & LIFE: PiPageKappa 4 Center provides students with help, resources NEWS: Page 2 should allow others equal respect VIEWS: People Page 6
Mean Green football team seeks turnaround season. Page 4-5
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
News 1, 2 Arts & Life 3 Sports 4, 5 Views 6 Classifieds 7 Games 7
Volume 96 | Issue 4
Stormy 95° / 76°
ntdaily.com
The Student Newspaper of the University of North Texas
Scientists research alligators, chickens JOSH PHERIGO & A MANDA R AVOTTI
Assigning Editor & Intern Muffled chirps squeak out from behind the door of a climate-controlled, windowless storage closet on the second floor of Life Sciences Building B. “They’re calling for their mother,” said biology graduate student Ryan Moore, leaning against a refrigerator-sized incubator filled with un-hatched alligator eggs. “Lucky for us, she’s not here.” Two rooms over, dozens of chicken eggs sit nestled in the comfort of a regulated incubator of their own, rotating automatically every two hours. Both animals are part of an ongoing physiological research project comparing the metabolic rates of different bird species, said Sarah Goy, a biology graduate student heading the egg incubation portion of the project. Researchers hope to gain a better understanding of the development of human lungs. “Surprisingly, chickens and alligators are closely related,” Goy said. “Birds are direct descendants of dinosaurs.” The study focuses on the process through which animals regulate body temperature. It will compare the development of the endothermic metabolic processes of developing chickens with the exothermic processes of devel-
earlier this summer. The 200 alligator eggs were picked up from the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge in Arkansas on July 17 and were immediately put in the incubator upon arrival at UNT, said Edward Dzialowski, the biology faculty member heading the research. They stayed at a constant temperature of 32 degrees Celsius and began hatching during the first week of August. The chirping hasn’t stopped since. “It was quite incredible,” Goy said. “The first egg actually hatched in someone’s hand. It is a fantastic process to watch.” The alligators are two weeks old and several will be kept for as long as a year for further analyses, but most will be humanely put to sleep to allow scientists to study their internal organs. Dzialowski said aside from the scientific value of the study, projects like this are great opportunities for students to gain valuable experience. “It is a valuable thing what an PHOTO BY BERENICE QUIRINO/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER undergrad can do in a lab and Sarah Goy, a biology graduate student, holds a 1-month-old baby alligator, which is part of an experiment on metabolism research. get hands-on experience that you wouldn’t have received in class,” Dzialowski said. “Your prospects stable because their body heat is “It takes robins a week to the ability to walk, search for food oping alligators, Goy said. develop the ability to regulate generated from their surround- are much higher. Anything a Humans are endothermic — and function independently. “Aside from their appearance, their own body temperature,” ings. That data is then compared student can do to be involved they generate their own heat — and the development of chickens they’re essentially small adult Goy said. “They’re born blind and with the chickens and other bird in research should be encourspecies to provide analysis of the aged.” cannot function on their own.” in the egg closely resembles the chickens,” Goy said. The alligators serve as the nega- development of the metabolic For other birds, the developdevelopment of human babies in For multimedia on this the womb, Goy said. But unlike ment process more closely resem- tive control for the study, Goy said. process. story see ntdaily.com Preparation for the study began Their metabolic rates remain humans, chickens emerge with bles that of humans.
Students welcome new jobs, shopping in Rayzor Ranch BY TAYLOR JACKSON Staff Writer
PHOTO BY GREG MCCLENDON/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
UNT alumnae Lara Fronczek and Stephanie Mabe enjoy the atmosphere upstairs at the Hydrant Cafe located at 208 West Oak Street. The Hydrant Cafe is one of several Denton coffee shops that aims to help students relax.
Coffee shops provide calm atmosphere for students Businesses try to help students relax BY LEVI SHULTZ Intern
Since classes started last week, local coffee shops are experiencing a rise in business as students f lock to the counter to buy $5 mochas in order to study and do homework. “This city thrives on word of mouth and local customers supporting local businesses,” said Glen Haas, owner of the Hydrant Cafe, located at 208 West Oak St. But w hy a re st udent s choosing local coffee shops as havens for studying and relaxing? When a long day is over, some st udents look for a place of f-campus or away from home for studying. “As much as they want to
study and be quiet, they want a cool place to hang out,” said Joey Hawk ins, ow ner of Jupiter House, located at 106 N. Locust St., and Jupiter House Europa, located at 503 W. University Drive. Cof fe e shops of fer a n at mosphere t hat students do not get to see on campus or at home. They prov ide students with art, music, and most importantly, coffee. “I get to escape my room and escape campus. [Coffee shops] are always busy, serve good coffee, and there are a lso lot s of good people around,” Michael McDaniel, an entrepreneurship senior, said. This yea r, cof fee shops are trying out new things to engage students in Denton. T he Hyd ra nt Ca fe w i l l host t he Denton C of fe e Lab, a workshop to educate people about different kinds of cof fee, on t he second and third Saturday of each
month. Haa s sa id he wa nts to provide people with knowle dge t hat a l low s c of fe e drinkers to have an educated approach whenever they go to different coffee shops. In Ju ne, Jupiter House began offering new roasts f rom d i f ferent i mpor ters around the world in an effort to expand business in Denton and give students a chance to try new things and acquire new tastes. A r t Si x Cof fe e Hou se, Ju p i t e r Hou s e a nd t h e Hydrant Cafe offer students a cha nce to buy a r t f rom local artists. Coffee shop owners hope students will not only raise their profits, but also realize they have a place away from campus and from home that gives them a chance to enjoy hanging out with friends and have a relaxing atmosphere to study in.
Denton will soon welcome the 900,000 square feet Rayzor Ranch Marketplace to the corner of Interstate Highway 35 and Highway 380, anchored by Denton’s first Sam’s Club and a new Walmart. The retail center will be next to a new housing development, and the Rayzor Ranch plan will encompass more than 412 acres — or 1 million square feet –– with the new marketplace taking up 90 percent of the area, according to RED Development’s website. It also states that the cost of the area is $850 million and counting. Most of the success will depend on its visibility in the community and the new Sam’s Club and Walmart. “It can offer something we don’t have now,” said Linda Ratliff, the city’s economic development department director, referring to the planned amphitheatre for public events and town center, which should be finished by fall 2012. She added that the town center could bring in $134 million in taxes in 20 years with Denton expecting $2 million a year in tax revenue.
PHOTO BY GREG MCCLENDON/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Dustin Smith works outside of Freebirds World Burrito, which will open on Sept. 16 in the Rayzor Ranch retail center on Highway 380. Massive changes and development have come to the Rayzor Ranch area since it was first announced in 2006. T he pla n s c a l led for hundreds of t housands of square feet of retail space to be added to the already clogged intersection, which led to Highway 380 being widened to six lanes. On the opposite side of Denton, near the now-bankrupt Golden Triangle Mall, there was construction on Loop 288 to ease congestion and make it six lanes. Both projects are either completed
or near completion. As the area is building, more signs have gone up. So far the businesses in the marketplace are Freebirds World Burrito, Supercuts, Wing Stop, First Un ited Ba n k, Ch ick-f i l-A, W h a t a b u r g e r, T-Mo b i l e , Mattress Giant, Absolute Smile Dental and First State Bank. Most of these businesses are accepting applications or building with plans to open this fall. Sam’s Club will open Oct. 7 and Walmart will open Oct. 27.
See BUSINESSES on page 2
Obama announces end of war BY A BIGAIL A LLEN Managing Editor
President Barack Obama announced the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq to the American people Tuesday night from the Oval Office as seen on a national broadcast. “Operation Iraqi Freedom is over,” he said. The televised announcement comes after seven and a half years of war, which Obama
called “one of America’s longest wars.” The president praised the work of the soldiers and the sacrifices of the families during the conflict. “Because of our troops and civilians and because of the resilience of the Iraqi people, Iraq has the opportunity to embrace a new destiny, even t houg h ma ny cha l lenges remain,” Obama said. He advised the Iraqi leaders
to “move forward with a sense of urgency to form an inclusive government that is just, representative and accountable to the Iraq people.” A transitional force will remain in Iraq, but U.S. troops must leave the country by the end of next year. For more i n for mat ion about the speech and to read the Editorial Board’s opinion about the announcement, check Thursday’s edition.