11-18-10 Edition

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Response to Bush

To watch a video about the Study Abroad Fair that took place Wednesday, visit ntdaily.com.

Students on both sides air their views on the former president’s visit. See ntdaily.com.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

News 1, 2 Arts & Life 5, 6 Sports 3, 4 Views 7 Classifieds 8 Games 8

Volume 96 | Issue 49

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ntdaily.com

The Student Newspaper of the University of North Texas

Faith, humor, disruptions drive Bush speech Bush discusses life during, after presidency

bors’ yard,” Bush said. “Former President George W. Bush had a plastic bag on his hand, picking up that which I had dodged for eight years. Life is good.” He focused much of the speech BY JOSH PHERIGO on the important role he said his Assigning Editor faith plays in his life. He also emphasized his belief in the sepaTwo years after leaving office ration of church and state. amid dismal approval ratings, a “The government should never refreshed former President George say ‘you’re not equal if you happen W. Bush returned to the limelight to believe any certain religion,’” with a speech about the accom—Anthony Schenk Bush said, as the crowd erupted plishments, regrets and values Applied arts and science senior in a chorus of applause. “We’re that defined his two terms. all equal.” Speaking to the sold-out crowd At the conclusion of his Bush shifted from serious to of more than 7,000 Wednesday evening in the Coliseum, Bush, humorous, telling anecdotes 40-minute speech, UNT President who is promoting his recently about life in and out of the White V. Lane Rawlins took the stage with released autobiography “Decision House. He spoke about the first Bush to read questions from the Points,” didn’t shy away from an time he walked Barney, the family audience. After being asked what early tongue-and-cheek jab at his dog, through their Dallas neigh- he felt was his great accomplishment while in office, Bush “toughborhood. national caricature. “We’re walking down the ened it up” by offering to address “I try to stay out of the limelight — except for selling my book,” street and he spots my neigh- his biggest regret as well. He said he felt his greatest accomplishment was being elected to a second term, while his biggest disappointment was “not bringing Osama Bin Laden to justice.” He also expressed regret about the national perception that developed during Hurricane Katrina that he didn’t care about the situation. Bush defended his decision to stay in the Florida elementary school classroom after learning of the Sept. 11 attacks, saying he made the decision to project calm to the children while the TV cameras were rolling nationally. Anthony Schenk, an applied arts and sciences senior, said he thought it was important to come see Bush’s speech. “I thought it was interesting that he conceded a few of his mistakes,” Schenk said. “He made amends and he was pretty humorous about it.” The speech was interrupted on three occasions by demonstrations from student activists. About 15 people were escorted from the room after they stood from their floor seats and began PHOTO BY MIKE MEZEUL II/SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER chanting and waving banners Former President George W. Bush speaks to a mixed crowd of UNT students, fac- that read “Give back the $$$.” ulty and alumni Wednesday night in the Coliseum. He spoke as part of the Distin- Two other students were escorted guished Lecture Series. during separate disruptions. Bush said with a chuckle. “Which comes as a shock to some people in this country who didn’t think I could read, much less write.”

“It was interesting that he conceded a few mistakes.”

PHOTO BY ZAC SWITZER/ INTERN

History senior Chris Netek, library science graduate student Aron Duhon and anthropology graduate student Jason Netek trade words with undeclared business sophomore Austin Markey outside of the Coliseum at Bush’s lecture Wednesday night. The students gathered to protest Bush speaking on campus.

Student groups protest outside Coliseum BY DANIELLE BICE Intern

An entourage of nearly 100 protesters yelled through megaphones, waved f lags and held posters that read “No more money for Bush’s crimes,” “Rethink Afghanistan” a nd “A r r e s t Bu s h” on Wednesday night outside of the Coliseum. The protesters gathered to object to George W. Bush’s speech, which began at 8 p.m. Some campus organizations were at the rally, including the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance, International Socialist Organization, Students for Justice of Palestine and Queer Liberaction. “We don’t agree with Bush being allowed to come to campus to speak here,” said Irfan Hussain, a finance senior and member of Students for Justice of Palestine. “The war crimes that have occurred in

Palestine during his presidency — he is also responsible for [those].” Although there were several reasons the protesters organized the rally, calling Bush a war criminal was central to their chants. “I believe that he and his administration were criminals because of the fact that he sanctioned water boarding, and that is a form a torture,” said Chitra Bhatt, a biology and political science freshman and member of the FMLA. The protesters also objected to paying Bush “with their tuition money.” “I do not agree with paying a multimillionaire from my tuition money to come out and speak at the same time that UNT is facing drastic budget problems and a hiring freeze to drive 45 minutes and lie to us about a war,” said Aron Duhon, a library science graduate student. While about 100 protesters were present around 5 p.m., the number dwindled as the night went on. However, at about 7 p.m., Bush advocates started to strike back.

“I think this is a true Texan here, a true American and a war hero,” said Ryan Prokof, a criminal justice junior. “I think that it’s a load of crap that these people are disrespecting a true American.” Police stood by as people from both sides yelled at each other and arguments progressed. “Although everyone is entitled to their opinion, there’s no other reason to be out here [protesting] than just absolute ignorance,” said Hamilton Brooks, a pre-law junior. “You’re supposed to support the country that you live in.” Denton residents were there to give their voice as well. “We now have former president George W. Bush admitting publicly that he knowingly did sanction torture,” said Jim Goodnow, a Vietnam veteran and Denton resident. “Not only do we have others tortured under his directions, but now our men and women are vulnerable, and that just isn’t my America.”

Watch an audio slideshow of the protest at ntdaily.com

Ban on earmarks Students, faculty, staff offer A-train input could touch UNT BY JOSH PHERIGO

BY A DAM BLAYLOCK Senior Staff Writer

The red wind that swept through Congress in last week’s general election gave Republica ns a dom ina nt majority in the House and a slightly stronger minority in the Senate. With a nationa l def icit rapidly approaching $13.8 trillion, UNT, like many institutions, faces tuition hikes and budget cuts, but may face another financial obstacle in the next year: a Republican ban on legislative provisional grants, or earmarks. “There is a moratorium on earmarks in the Republican Party in the House,” said Rebekah West, staff member of Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Texas Dist r ict 26, a nd executive director of t he Congressional Health Care C a u c u s . “C o n g r e s s m a n Burgess supports that.” Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., reversed his stance on earmarks, announcing in a speech he presented Monday on the Senate floor that he would back a ban in the Senate. “There is simply no doubt

Assigning Editor

that the abuse of this practice has caused Americans to view it as a symbol of the waste and the out-of-control spending that ever y Republican in Washington is determined to fight,” McConnell said. With Republican support for the ban in the House of Representatives and the Senate, some of the univer-

“Congressman Burgess supports that.”

—Rebekah West Staff member for Rep. Michael Burgess

sity’s methods for getting money for things like research may change. Since 2005, a lobby ing firm known as Congressional Solutions Inc. has represented UNT in D.C., said Deborah Leliaert, vice president for University Relations, Communicat ions a nd Marketing.

See BAN on Page 2

A joint panel of officials from the UNT Transportation department and the Denton County Transportation Authority sat before a group of about 25 students, faculty and staff Wednesday in a public forum to a nswer quest ions a nd seek input about the coming A-train. The meeting, which took place at noon in University Union 411, was the final opportunity for the public to talk with DCTA staff members about the proposed service schedules before they are finalized at today’s board meeting. For an organization that has dealt exclusively with bus service since its creation, DCTA CEO Jim Witt acknowledged that it faces some new challenges in providing commuter rail service. “We are on the verge of embarking on a whole new mission,” Witt said. “It’s like a mission to Mars for us. We are going to attempt to do it in the most efficient and sustainable way possible.” The project, which began with a county wide vote in 2002, features 21 miles of rail, five new train stations and

eig ht m i les of hi k ing a nd bi k i ng trails. It will r un f rom dow ntow n Denton to Carrollton. The DCTA line w i l l DEE c on ne c t t o LEGGETT t he Da l las A rea Rapid Transit system to provide area residents rail access to much of the Dallas area, Witt said. Dee Leggett, DCTA v ice president of communication

Leggett said. Fares make up about 15 percent of the $15 million annual budget with sales ta x revenue ma k i ng up t he rest. She sa id t he ra i l ser v ice w i l l generate econom ic development throughout the county, but t hat w it h ha l f-a-cent per ever y ta x revenue dol la r going back to DCTA, it will take several years for the train to begin paying for itself. UNT Police Chief Richard Deter heads the parking and transportation departments at the university. When asked if UNT plans on using student

“We are on the verge of embarking on a whole new mission. It’s like a mission to Mars for us. ”

—Jim Witt Denton County Transportation Authority CEO

and planning, gave a brief presentat ion deta iling t he service plans and mitigating revenue shortfalls that she said have reduced the amount of hours and trains DCTA can afford to operate. DCTA is financed through sales tax revenue and fares,

transportation fees to pay for student A-train fares — as is done for DCTA bus service — Deter was quick to respond. “We’ve had discussions about that, but right now we are not financially able to subsidize student ridership,” Deter said. The university is working

to provide discounted tickets and offer fare packages for commuting students, he said. Chris Walker is a senator who represented the Student Government Association at the meeting. He said the SGA is considering raising the $3.50 transportation student fee by a dollar to help the university provide additional coverage for students to use the A-train at a lower cost. T h e pr op o s e d s e r v i c e plans would prov ide peakhour service in the morning a nd evening to accommodate commuters. Options for special event, Saturday and Friday evening ser v ice are pending based on the board’s decision, Leggett said. Sustainability will be the deter m ining factor in t he board’s decision, Witt said. UNT students, faculty and staff are projected to make up about 60 percent of the ridership. Witt assured the attendees t hat t heir interests will figure into the board’s decision. “We want to provide the level of service UNT and the community is asking for,” Witt said. “The question is what can we afford to provide without cutting from current services.”


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11-18-10 Edition by North Texas Daily - Issuu