Closer to milestone
takes precautions against flu virus NEWS: UNT Page 2 stay connected with Skype ARTS & LIFE: Students Page 4 stirred by Obama speech VIEWS: Controversy Page 6
Soccer coach Hedlund one victory away from 200 Page 8
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
News 1,2 Arts & Life 3,4 Sports 5,8 Views 6 Classifieds 7 Games 7
Volume 94 | Issue 7
Stormy 92° / 72°
ntdaily.com
The Student Newspaper of the University of North Texas
UTA student congress may end newspaper BY CAROLYN BROWN Senior Staff Writer
Students at the University of Texas at Arlington will lose the ability to read their morning newspaper if the school’s student congress passes a measure to stop the presses. The school’s student government introduced a resolution that would restrict its student newspaper, The Shorthorn, to an online-only version as part of a series of environmentally friendly initiatives. Any changes will require further research and discussion, The Shorthorn editor-in-chief Marissa Hall said. The Shorthorn’s staff is working on improving the paperís Web site, which has fewer readers than the print version, she said. “There’s ways to be creative online. We have to learn to adjust and work in different ways,” Hall said. “It’s not anything to get upset about at this point.” Newspapers that go exclusively online tend to do so for business rather than environmental reasons, Neil Foote of the UNT journalism faculty said. Newsprint is one of the biggest costs for a paper to maintain, and as ad and subscription revenues decline, newspapers have to cut back. Other money-saving practices used by newspapers include smaller print size and narrower margins, he said. The movement of more papers to exclusive online formats in the future will depend on whether advertisers decide they want more online ads, he said.
“A lot of people like to cuddle up with a paper. How could you do that with a computer?”
—Neil Foote UNT journalism professor
At present, there is still a sense from many readers that they want paper editions of the news. Readers who were brought up reading a daily print version often like to continue the tradition, Foote said. “A lot of people like to cuddle up with a paper. How could you do that with a computer?” he said. Former North Texas Daily adviser and journalism faculty member Tracy Everbach said the paper is not yet ready to go entirely online. Student newspapers are different from city newspapers because they are available for pickup on campus, Everbach said. Students are more likely to pick up a copy and read it on the way to class than they are to look up stories online, she said. “Perhaps in the future it might be practical to have an onlineonly version, but I still think a paper version is vital on campus,” Everbach said. A change to online-only content for the NT Daily would have serious consequences for the paper, NT Daily director Jacqi Serie said. “If our print edition ceased to
See the editorial about this issue on page 6 exist, the organization as a whole would probably shut down,” she said. In a single fiscal year, ad revenue for the NT Daily averages $265,000 for print ads and $5,000 for online ads, she said. If the Daily were to continue operating, staff positions would have to be completely redefined, and some full-time positions would have to be made part-time, she said. Ad revenue for The Shorthorn could not be determined at this time. After numerous attempts, Dakota Carter, president of the UNT Student Government Association, could not be reached for comment about the SGA’s stance on the issue. Some UNT students said they liked both print and online versions of news, but did not feel too strongly about either. “It depends on the setting,” Tony Steadman, an international studies freshman, said. “If it’s spur of the moment, I prefer online. Settings where there’s a long wait — definitely a newspaper.”
PHOTO BY KHAI HA / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Junior midfieleder Lindsay Lackore butts heads with junior Texas Tech midfielder Maggie Fete. The game went to overtime with UNT wining 2-1.
Soccer team 3-1 after weekend Read the full story on page 8 and visit ntdaily.com for multimedia
Officials offer venue for student opinions on meal plans BY C YNTHIA CANO Intern
Students dissatisfied with the lack of options offered in their meal plans may get the chance to voice their opinions. On Sept. 11, the first Student Food Adv isor y Committee will meet in Crumley Hall to address student concerns on meal choices. “We want to set up a structure for a good, active food committee and get general feedback from students of the current dining system,” Executive Director of Dining Services Bill McNeace said. A mong t he issues to be discussed at the meeting will be the introduction of a new system allowing students to use their meal plan in places other than regular cafeterias. McNeace said the university is working out the details to take over private contractors who are doing business
PHOTO BY JIMMY ALFORD / PHOTOGRAPHER
UNT will begin a new program in fall 2010 that will allow students to use meal plan fees to buy food outside dorm cafeterias. in places like the University Union. This will allow students to eat in these establishments as part of their meal plan. “When students purchase food from these places, the amount will be charged and
deducted from t heir mea l plan,” McNeace said. “That way they won’t be limited to just eating in the cafeterias and will have more variety and choices.” It is this lack of options that
has struck a nerve with some UNT students who said they find the lack of variety upsetting. “I don’t like that at lunch they don’t ever change the menu,” Maggie Kelly, a jour-
nalism sophomore, said. Kelly said brea k fast and d i n ner a lways have more variety but being able to eat somewhere else wou ld be beneficial because sometimes she doesn’t have the time to run to a cafeteria and still make it to class on time. Su z ie Tow n s end, jou rnalism sophomore said this new program would be more cost effective because she feels her current meal plan is too expensive. “I usua lly just buy food elsewhere and keep it in my dorm,” Townsend said. “I’m a vegetarian and there are not enough cafeterias where I can eat.” Others like Caitlin Hopson, an undeclared sophomore, said they have opted for a meal plan that better fits into their lifestyle without feeling like they are throwing money away by not eating cafeteria food. “I have the eight-is-enough
plan because sometimes I would be too busy to eat,” Hopson said. This plan allows her to eat eight meals each week at the time she chooses, for almost half the cost of a seven-day meal plan. M c N e a c e s a i d U N T ’s meal plan system is already different from other universities because it does not limit the number of times students can eat throughout the day. He said he hopes that implementing this new system will better improve the quality of the dining program. “The ultimate goal will be to put as much money back on the student’s plate by making sure they are satisfied with the dining options throughout campus,” McNeace said. For more information on the first student food advisory committee meeting, visit the Housing and Dining office in Crumley Hall.
UNT competes with Texas schools for research funding BY CAROLYN BROWN Senior Staff Writer
A new bill aimed at creating more national research universities in Texas went into effect Sept. 1, giving UNT a chance to win money for research projects. Texas House Bill 51 provides several programs to help establish and maintain national research universities in Texas. One of the highlights of House Bill 51 is the Texas Research Incentive Program,
which prov ides matching state funds for private donations received for research purposes. Using the program, universities will provide accounts of gifts received after Sept. 1 to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, which will then evaluate and distribute money from the $50 million program throughout the next two years. Seven universities are participating in the program: UNT,
Texas Tech University, the University of Houston, and the University of Texas campuses in Arlington, Dallas, El Paso, and San Antonio. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has designated these universities as emerging research universities. The board will develop and manage the program. The bill resulted from a discussion about the need for more Texas national research universities.
The discussion has been going on for at least the last 30 years, Jack Morton, vice chancellor of governmental relations, said. UNT reported $2.9 million from nine donors, with a potential state match of $1.7 million, according to a Dallas Morning News article on Sept. 2. Some students said they liked the idea of the program. Kim Aldy, a graduate student, said she thought it would be useful for obtaining money in a
difficult research climate. “Right now funding is really tight for scientific research,” Aldy said. “It’s really hard to get funding from national institutes such as the National Institute of Health. It’d be really great to have funding from the state to keep ground-breaking research going.” Megan Pogue, an accounting senior, said the program would help boost UNT’s reputation. “I think research is beneficial for the university because it
can raise our recognition in the academic world and professors can get more papers published,” Pogue said. The program will be used for all types of research, not just scientific research, UNT President Gretchen Bataille said. UNT is putting together the donor and gift accounts, which will be sent in this month, she said.
See NATIONAL on Page 2