10-13-09 Edition

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Sports

ensemble creates 3-D experience NEWS: Music Page 2 speaker debunks black-hole myths ARTS & LIFE: Visiting Page 3 exists for homecoming court issue VIEWS: Solution Page 5

Loss gives football team “gutwrenching” feeling Story on Page 4

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

News 1,2 Arts & Life 3 Sports 4 Views 5 Classifieds 6 Games 6

Volume 94 | Issue 27

Stormy 67° / 65°

List ranks UNT Texas’ best buy BY A MBER A RNOLD Senior Staff Writer

UNT’s a f fordabi lit y has placed it on the list of 100 Best College Buys for the 14th year in a row. Institutional Research & Evaluation, Inc. compiles an annual list of colleges around the country and rates them based on affordability. A mong t he t hree Texas universities on the list, UNT is considered the most affordable with an annual on-campus average living cost of a little more t ha n $14,000 a nnually. The other Texas colleges named are Abilene Christian University and Texas A&M University. “It’s a choice that we have specifically made to put tuition at a point where it’s affordable,” Director of Admissions Rebecca L ot h r i nger sa id. “There has been very intense planning to utilize money as best we can.” Lothringer said UNT officials try to be as frugal as possible in what they spend to operate the university to avoid passing those costs on to students. Maintaining enrollment and retention of students is one way that UNT keeps tuition costs low, she said. “We can’t say that we absolutely haven’t raised tuition, because the costs of operating the university will keep rising, but we try to only raise it as much as we have to,” she said. Cost is only a small incentive

for students who are considering UNT, said Lothringer, w ho a dde d t h a t U N T ’s programs and educationa l opportunities are much more of an incentive. Cathy Martin, an art history sophomore, felt the pinch of her $22,000-per-year private school tuition at Centenary College in Louisiana. “At a private school, you’re supposed to have private interactions with your professors, but I feel like I get that here too,” said Martin, who pays for school herself through loans and scholarships. UNT also received recognition from the Chronicle of Higher Education as one of five schools in the country to thrive in this economic climate, Lothringer said. “Both of these acknowledgments go hand-in-hand, and it’s a big accomplishment for us,” Lothringer said. UNT’s Timely Graduation Tuition Program also works to keep tuition at a minimum, she said. According to the Web site for the program, students will pay the same university tuition no matter how many hours they take. However, Lothringer said it is important to differentiate university tuition from state tuition. Students enrolled in 12 hours or more are considered full-time, but state tuition requires them to pay an additional $50 per hour for each credit hour more than 12.

America’s 100 ‘Best College Buys’ identifies universities that: • • •

are accredited, four-year institutions offering bachelor degrees. offer full residential facilities including dorms and dining services. had their most recent entering freshman class reporting a high school grade point average and/ or SAT/ACT score equal to or above the national average for entering college freshmen. have an out-of-state cost of attendance for three quarters or two semesters below the national average cost of tuition, fees, room and board or not exceeding the national average cost by more than 10 percent.

ntdaily.com

The Student Newspaper of the University of North Texas

PHOTO BY KAITLIN HOAG/ PHOTOGRAPHER

The Rayzor Ranch development near McKenna Park will fill up with more equipment and machinery so gas drilling can begin near residential areas.

Gas wells a ‘potential disaster’ BY T.S. MCBRIDE

Contributing Writer Calvin Tillman, mayor of DISH, a small North Texas town, said he had noticed the lingering odor of natural gas for years. In fact, he said he wasn’t the only one bothered by the smell coming from the natural gas wells in town, which is about 10 miles southeast of Denton. “We were told over and over again that we were only smelling odorant,” Tillman said, referring to a harmless chemical gas companies add to natural gas as a safety precaution. “The odor would get worse and worse.” In light of the Denton City Council’s recent decision to grant a special permit to drill natural gas wells near residential areas, Tillman’s struggle to get gas companies to clean up their act could serve as a case study of things to come in Denton. DISH was briefly in the news in 2005 when the residents voted to change its name from Clark to DISH in exchange for free satellite TV for the town from DISH Network. In the mid ’90s, companies drilled gas wells around DISH, and since then, Tillman said the townsfolk have been dealing with headaches, nausea and a

persistent bad odor. As mayor, he received regular complaints. Some came from the same few people. Other times, when the smell was particularly bad, he said he would get 15 calls per day. Tillman said he decided to conduct his own test. He bought a gas detector and sampled the air around DISH. “I noticed about 90 percent of the time I was detecting combustible gas along with the odor,” he said. He took his concerns to the well operators. Each time he went to one of the five companies drilling in DISH, Tillman said they would blame the other companies for the problem. “You could never tell where the odor was coming from,” Tillman said. However in March, the companies agreed collectively to conduct a comprehensive air quality test. “They ended up throwing a gas detector in an SUV and driving around for a couple of hours,” Tillman said. When he met with representatives again in June, he was told their study found no evidence of dangerous chemicals. Tillman said he received an anonymous phone call telling

him the companies’ test would not give the information he wanted. The caller said he needed to pay for a toxic organic test and Tillman decided to take the anonymous caller’s advice. He arranged for a the test, which found several chemicals in excess of Environmental Protection Agency requirements. Among the chemicals found in excess were benzene and xylene. Both chemicals have health risks that include cancer. Alisa Rich is president of Wolf Eagle Environmental, the group that conducted the test. She said she is more worried about the high concentrations of carbon disulfide that were found. “It’s a highly explosive chemical with a potential for disaster,” she said. She also said the EPA’s requirements for chemical concentrations were based on the average adult. Children and seniors are at greater risks. Rich said the results in DISH are typical, and she finds chemicals exceeding EPA guidelines about 95 percent of the time. Most of those results are collected in remote, less densely populated areas, she said. “It is not advisable for there

to be [drilling] sites in areas where children live, play or attend school,” she said. “We really put the cart before the horses in this case.” Denton city councilman Jim Englebrecht said he sympathizes with the situation in DISH, but state laws make it difficult to prevent natural gas companies from drilling in residential areas, a situation he thinks will worsen. He said 99 percent of wells were once built in rural areas. “Now, the things have moved into the backyard,” he said. He also said that the compression stations that pump the natural gas into pipelines and are the source of most of the pollution would not be located on the site near McKenna Park. But he also said that it may become necessary to add a compression station later. Englebrecht said in the meantime, if Denton residents have similar complaints to those in DISH, the council will try to shut the wells down. “In the event that we have those sorts of things and they can prove them, I believe we have an obligation to shut them down,” he said. He added that proving such claims is difficult.

Soccer team earns victories in seniors’ final game BY SEAN GORMAN Senior Staff Writer

The UNT soccer team sent its three seniors off with a storybook ending by winning both games during the players’ final home stand of their Mean Green playing careers. The Mean Green (9-4-1, 5-0-1) improved its home record during the weekend to 8-1 this year with two shut outs, giving goalkeeper Mandy Hall, a history junior, 15 for her career. Hall needs two more shut outs to tie Briana Buchanan’s school record. “This win was for the seniors tonight,” Hedlund said. “They have done so much for the program, not just on the field but off the field as well. It was important everyone did their job to make this a special night for Kendall, Kelli and Shockey.” On a frigid Friday evening, UNT extended its unbeaten streak to five games by defeating the Jaguars (2-11-1, 0-5-1) 3-0 on Senior Night. Seniors Kendall

Juett, a sociology major, Lauren Shockey, a journalism major, and Kelli Lunsford, an applied behavior analysis major, were all honored with plaques before the game. “It was great to get a win tonight and get off to a good start for the weekend,” Juett said. “It was a different type of feeling being honored before the game. It’s amazing how fast four years fly by. We tried to enjoy it though and shared some laughs.” Forward Kelsey Perlman, a journalism sophomore, led the Mean Green offense by scoring goals in both the early and latter stages of the contest. “Those seniors have carried us all season and throughout their careers,” she said. The first goal from Perlman came only 5:37 into the game after she directed a bouncing loose ball over the head of Jaguar keeper Katie Berry. No offense from the University of South Alabama ever developed

and UNT secured the win in the 80th minute, when Perlman iced it with her fourth goal of the season. “We’re just happy to get wins this weekend,” head coach John Hedlund said. “We’re first in the conference at this point and right now that’s all we can ask for.” Forward Michelle Young, an undeclared freshman, continued her dominance on offense as UNT defeated the Trojans (6-7-1, 2-3-0) 2-0 on Sunday afternoon. A goal from Young in the 11th minute set the tone early, as she scored following a deflection off of Trojan goalkeeper Ashley Branham. Both teams failed to generate offense from that point on and the intensity rose with one red card and two yellow cards assigned. “There really wasn’t too much tension between the teams,” Young said. “I don’t think the cards being given out represented the feeling of the game.”

PHOTO BY RYAN BIBB / INTERN

Junior forward Dani Watson, a kinesiology junior, works past Troy University defenders during Sunday’s game. An insurance goal in the 85th minute from Young from a Juett assist secured the win for UNT. “Our defense played well all game, it’s our strength,” Hedlund

said. “If our offense can play at the same level as our defense, I don’t see anyone on our schedule that can beat us.” The Mean Green returns to

action next weekend on the road in the Natural State against the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and Arkansas State University.


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