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Group trains students in tango See a slideshow at ntdaily.com Read the story on Page 3
Thursday, September 17, 2009
News 1, 2 Arts & Life 3 Sports 4 Views 5 Classifieds 6 Games 6
Volume 94 | Issue 13
Cloudy 78° / 62°
Deferred scholars get additional time Potential students given second chance BY CAROLYN BROWN Senior Staff Writer
ntdaily.com
The Student Newspaper of the University of North Texas
“It’s a good opportunity to further prepare oneself.”
—Mildred Bynum
W hen Br ya n Bout wel l coordinator for wasn’t accepted to UNT transfer programs for Fall 2008, he was upset. However, his rejection letter arrived with another chance: an orientation in the fall, a n i nv it at ion to U N T’s complete 12 hours of transferable core-course hours Deferred Scholars program. w it h a 2.5 g rade “Init ia l ly, I was point average and disappointed complete t h ree because I didn’t get St udent Suc c e s s i n a nd obv iously Ac t i v it ie s to b e I wanted to get in ad m it ted i n t he right off the bat,” said spr i ng, By nu m Boutwell, a commusaid. nication design sophDeferred scholars omore. “But then I Bryan can go to commuwas kind of relieved Boutwell nity colleges, fourbecause I didn’t know what I wanted to do and I year institutions or even outfigured another semester of-state institutions for their would help me before I trans- transfer credits. “It’s def initely a good ferred.” Established in 2003, the oppor t u n it y to f u r t her Deferred Scholars program prepare oneself to succeed allows students who weren’t at the University of North initially admitted to UNT to Texas,” she said. T he St udent Suc c e s s spend a semester at another institution and complete Activities has three catecoursework and activities gories: Academic Success, Personal Development and before transferring to UNT. T he prog ra m ha s 171 Social Success. Defer red schola rs ca n students enrolled for this year, said Mildred Bynum, at tend at h let ic e v ent s, coord i nator for t ra nsfer meet with professors and get involved in school clubs programs. “Luckily, we had an over- at UNT or their institution whelming response, which is to qualif y for the Student Success Activities. great,” Bynum said. T he St udent Suc c e s s The Office of Admissions issues inv itat ions to t he Ac t iv it ies were ea s y to program after look ing at complete, Boutwell said. He went to a UNT football students’ high school class ranks and standardized test game, spoke with counselors scores, said Christine Wagner, and took a campus tour to assistant director of admis- meet the requirements. The only major problems in sions. T he of f ic e c on s ider s the program came up during students who rank in the registration, Boutwell said. Because deferred scholars first, second and third quarters of their graduating class, attend transfer orientation in January, he registered after Wagner said. Boutwell enrolled in the many classes were already program for the Fall 2008 full. Although he had to work semester before transferring to UNT for the Spring out an alternative plan,he 2009 semester. While in the said he ended up doing better program he attended Tarrant than he thought he would. “Ev er y t h i ng i s f i ne,” County College where he took 15 hours and transferred 12 Boutwell said. “It worked out for me because I really of them. St udent s mu st at tend wanted to go here.”
PHOTO BY INGRID LAUBACH / INTERN
(From left) Third-graders Lauren Shivers, Duke Richey and Zoe Hutton practice during a level two violin class of the UNT String Project on Tuesday.
Area children study music under future ‘string’ teachers BY GRACIELA R AZO Senior Staff Writer
Eight third graders gather around their music teacher in a circle, violins under their chins with one boy behind a cello as they all play a D major scale in unison. This class is just one part of UNT’s String Project, an initiative to give music education students experience in teaching string instruments to children, as well as give area grade-school students an early start at learning a musical instrument. The String Project began i n 20 0 0 t h roug h a g ra nt f rom t he A mer ica n St r ing Teachers Associat ion w it h the National School Orchestra Association. Di rec tor a nd professor Karrell Johnson said there is a great demand for this kind of program so local children aspiring to play an instrument can get an early start. “There is a strong need to begin students as early as you can because of the coordination needed for a string instrument,” Johnson said.
The program is designed to train children from second grade through high school to coordinate with other musicians, a valuable skill when playing in school-sponsored orchestras. The String Project has 90 to 100 students enrolled each year with 12 music education students teaching the weekly classes. Classes are divided up into experience levels as well as the four types of instruments taught: violin, viola, cello and string bass. A not her goa l of t he program is to give the UNT students practice at teaching children. “T he ma i n t h i ng we’re looking to do is to not only teach the kids to play, but to train our future teachers,” Johnson said. Cecilia K ha za li, a music education junior, has been teach i ng w it h t he St r i ng Project for t wo yea rs. She joined to get teaching experience before she graduated. “It is a good opportunity for the students to get experi-
“I think they get really excited about playing with a group of kids that is motivating them to play.”
—Alison Hall Music education sophomore
ence with a classroom setting and figure out what works and what doesn’t work instead of hav ing to put yourself out there in a real job,” Khazali said. Khazali teaches three violin and v iola classes per week with students ages 8 to 14. She s a id t he c h i ld r en b e n e f i t f r om t h e s m a l l teaching groups as opposed to the larger classes they would attend in regular schools. T he more e x per ienc e d String Project classes have about six students and two teachers. “T hey lea r n a lot f rom being outside of the school setting and having different approaches to t he v iolin,” Khazali said. “I think it helps them out a lot as far as reper-
toire goes because they get more personal attention.” Alison Hall, a music educat ion sophomore, is beg inning her first year as a String Project teacher and said she sees the classes as a way for her students to get an early sta r t on t hei r i nterest i n music. “I t h i n k t hey get rea l ly excited about playing with a group of kids that is motivating t hem to play,” Ha ll said. As for the personal benefits she gains from the class, Hall said teaching is helping her figure out her own teaching style. “I am learning how to talk to k ids and expanding my knowledge on how to educate people,” she said.
Chief district judge explains evolution of U.S. Constitution BY CHRIS SPEIGHT AND JOSH P HERIGO
Senior Staff Writer and Intern Wednesday marked the 222nd anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution. Standing in a packed room in the Silver Eagle Suite, Chief Judge William F. Downes of the District of Wyoming discussed how the U.S. Constitution stands the test of time. Several years ago, Senator Robert Bird of W. Va., decided it would be good if the country paused once a year to recognize the drafting of the constitution, said Eddie Meaders, principal lecturer and undergraduate academic advisor for political science. “One of the big debates we have today is, how do you interpret a document that was written in 1787,” he said. “One of the things about the U.S. Constitution is a lot of the language is very vague with terms like ‘due process’ and ‘equal protection.’”
Downes, a UNT alumnus, said over time the people change, while the constitution merely adapts. When the constitution was first drafted, it only applied to white, Anglo-Saxons. “When we became a nation, when this constitution was enacted, people of color didn’t have value,” Downes said. “They were treated as cattle in American society, but over time it became apparent to people of conscious and informed judgment that we could not treat people in such a despaired way.” He said another reason the constitution changed over time was because there wasn’t one person writing it. “You look at something like the constitution, which was a collaboration, and a compromise lots of times, and then you’re trying to figure out, well what does it mean,” he said. Downes said discussion and recognition of our Constitution
is important because of the fluid make-up of our society. “If we are going to be true to the purposes of our founding, we have to provide the opportunity for happiness,” he said. “There’s nothing in the constitution that says we have the right to be happy. But we do have the right to pursue happiness and we need to make sure that people have an equal opportunity to do it.” As to the Constitution withstanding the test of time, Meaders said the United States is on the right track. “The country is still going,” he said. “We still have this concept of rule of law, everything that our government does can ultimately end up in front of a group like the Supreme Court.” The final interpretation the Constitution ultimately lies with the Supreme Court. “Sometimes their definition of what the constitution means may not be politically
PHOTO BY KAITLIN PRICE/PHOTOGRAPHER
Chief District Judge William F. Downes of the U.S. District Court in Wyoming talks to UNT students Wednesday. popular,” Meaders said. “It’s the people’s constitution and if the people want to change the fundamental law, the constitution provides for that.”
Trayton Oakes, president of the college republicans at UNT, said he respects and supports the constitution. “While the constitution is not
a perfect document it leads to the creation of the freest and most prosperous nation that the world has ever known,” he said.