Channeling Creativity UNT students create fledgling brand after mass Internet following Page 3 Wednesday, April 13, 2011
News 1, 2 Arts & Life 3 Sports 4 Views 5 Classifieds 6 Games 6
Volume 97 | Issue 42
Sunny 82° / 63°
ntdaily.com
The Student Newspaper of the University of North Texas
UNT names new basketball coach BY BOBBY LEWIS
Senior Staff Writer
NEWS: Program to help people detect suicidal tendencies Page 2
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY MEGAN SAINT-JOHN/INTERN
McDonald’s provides customers with nutrition information for all of their menu items. Fries and other food containers are also clearly labeled with nutrition information.
Franchises to post calories BY LINDA NGUYEN & H ARSHITHA R AMESH Interns
SPORTS: Women’s golf team takes second Page 4
VIEWS: Donald Trump sabotages presidential bid with birther claim Page 5
ONLINE: Poll: Who are you voting for in the SGA presidential run-off election?
Follow the North Texas Daily
Chain restaurants may be rewriting their menus as the Food and Drug Administration proposes new regulation that would require chain restaurants and vending machines to have calorie count information on their menus and products. The new FDA rules would require restaurants and vending machine operators with 20 or more locations to post the calorie count information on items, menus and menu boards, allowing consumers to see exactly how many calories they are consuming when they eat out. Places that do not primarily serve food, like movie theaters, are exempt from these new regulations. “This is actually part of a larger bill the health care act mandated to Congress,” said Michael Herndon, the deputy director of strategy for the FDA’s Office of Public Affairs. “FDA was asked to come up with rules, regulations, proposed rules for menus and vending machine nutritional labeling, which is a part of the overall act.”
Ann Afflerbach of the UNT hospitality and management faculty likes the idea of calorie information being available on menus and vending machines for people to see. “I think it’s good because customers can see what they’re consuming,” Afflerbach said. Patrick Lenow, the executive director of corporate communications at dineEquity for IHOP restaurants, which changed its
Lenow in saying the new rules probably will not hurt business. “It won’t hurt because people rarely eat out, and when they do, they want to [enjoy themselves],” she said. Herndon said the FDA does cost-benefit analysis when proposing any changes to their regulations. “As part of any bill or proposed regulation, we do cost
“I think it’s good because customers can see what they’re consuming.” —Ann Afflerbach, Hospitality and management faculty menus to have calorie counts six months ago, said they haven’t seen a dra matic increase or decrease in customers at IHOP. “We haven’t seen any changes in what people order,” Lenow said. “Guests have an idea of what they’re indulging in [before they come in].” A f f lerbach ag reed w it h
estimates,” he said. “I’m going to propose that the cost-percovered-establishment is estimated about $1,100 on average, which is only about a 6 percent reduction in obesity among adults, which is what we need to off-set the cost of implementation.”
See BILL on Page 2
Hands-free faucets harbor bacteria BY MEGAN R ADKE Intern
A recent study out of Johns Hopkins Hospital found that hands-free faucets could harbor more bacteria than the old-fashioned ones. The results of the study were presented April 2 when the society for Health Care Epidemiology of America met in Dallas for its annual four-day conference. Although the hands-free, automatic faucets can help conserve water, researchers said, the faucets have a more complicated valve system that is harder to keep clean. Researchers found the faucets contained the bacteria Legionella, which can lead to Legionellosis or Legionaire’s Disease — an infection caused by the inhalation of infected water droplets. Legionella is typically found in cool, wet conditions, like those found in standing water, cooling towers, and heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. Michael Allen of the biology faculty cautioned that the study — conducted exclusively within Johns Hopkins Hospital — may not prove that all automatic faucets harbor these bacteria, adding that changes such as replacing plastic piping with
PHOTO BY VANESSA REISS/INTERN
A recent study conducted by a team at John Hopkins Hospital has found that hands-free faucets may save water, but can also harbor more germs caused by a harder-to-clean valve system. copper piping could cut down on bacteria in the water lines. “A frustration I personally have with automatic faucets is that, in many cases, they often never get hot, which can provide a sanitizing effect and reduce the numbers of bacteria on several components of the system,” Allen said. Some UNT students said the findings might change the way
they stay germ free. “You don’t have to touch the faucets, so it definitely makes them seem cleaner,” said Jordan Barnett, a fiber and jewelrymaking sophomore . “It kind of makes me not want to use them and use hand sanitizer instead.”
To read the full story visit ntdaily.com
A new era in Mean Green women’s basketball began Tuesday when Athletic Director Rick Villarreal a n nou nc e d the hiring of Karen Aston as the program’s si x t h head coach at a press conference. KAREN A s t o n ASTON brings 17 years of coaching experience to UNT and will replace former head coach Shanice Stephens, who was fired March 17. She’ll be tasked with trying to turn around a team than went 5-25 last season, and won nine games the season before. “All the pieces are there,” Aston said. “This isn’t a broken situation. It’s just one that maybe needs some leadership.” The Arkansas native served as an assistant coach with the Mean Green from 1996 until 1998 under Tina Slinker, the longest-tenured UNT women’s basketball coach in the school’s history at 19 years. Aston said she received a phone call of encouragement from Slinker after accepting the job. “People always ask ‘Why? Why’d you do this? Why’d you do that? Why North Texas?’” Aston said. “To be quite honest with you, I think the best answer I can give is ‘Why not?’” Aston spent the past four years as the head coach of the Charlotte 49ers women’s
basketball team. Aston won 86 games during her time with Charlotte, third most in the school’s history. She also set the single-season school record during the 2010-2011 season by winning 27 games. “First and foremost, we wanted somebody who was a leader,” Villarreal said. “Secondly, I wanted somebody with a great pedigree. It’s really hard to find somebody who’s had the kind of pedigree she has.” Charlotte made the postseason in each of Aston’s four seasons with the team, including a conference championship in 2009, an appearance in the 2011 WNIT Final Four and the school’s secondever NCA A Tournament berth. UNT hasn’t played in the WNIT since 2002 or NCAA Women’s Tournament since 1986, when the school was called North Texas State University. “My passion is about basketball and I’m very committed to being great in everything that we do,” Aston said. “There is an enormous amount of potential here at North Texas to be great.” A ston resig ned f rom Charlotte on April 6 before accepting the position with the Mean Green, where she said she plans to stay a long time. “I don’t plan on telling any young women that I’m leaving again, [because] that was the most difficult thing I’ve ever done,” she said. “I’m not afraid of a challenge. I’m OK to roll up my sleeves and go to work.”
Hispanic students now majority in Texas BY DREW GAINES Senior Staff Writer
For the first time in Texas’ history, Hispanics now account for more than half of the students attending the state’s public schools. Texas public schools are diversifying at a faster rate than in any other state and Hispanics are driving the change. Statistics from the 2010-2011 school year show the group accounted for 50.2 percent of the nearly 5 million students enrolled in grades K-12. “It is one of those things that obviously schools can see on a daily basis and state demographers have tracked for years. They say it will continue to grow,” said Suzanne Marchman, a spokeswoman for the Texas Education Agency. Schools experienced an increase in enrollment by minority groups across the board this school year, but it was the 2.5 million Hispanic students that attained the majority milestone. Much of the group’s growth was concentrated in the early high school grades and elementary school. But there are more than 130,000 Hispanic high school seniors in the class of 2011. However, Texas colleges show Hispanic enrollment is lagging as their numbers grow in public schools. In 2007, 42.5 percent of
Hispanic high school graduates went on to college or trade school compared to 45.3 percent of black high school graduates and 57.5 percent of white high school graduates, according to the TEA.
“They say it will continue to grow.”
—Suzanne Marchman, Spokeswoman for the Texas Education Agency
Thoug h t hese numbers have improved and continue to improve slightly, educators fear that legislative budget cuts to public schools will dampen the resources available to minority students at a time when their enrollment in grades K-12 is surging. “The issue is that some of these students need additional instruction in English literacy, but there is a need for funding to help support these ty pes of programs,” said Holly Eaton, the director of Professional Development and Advocacy and lobbyist for t he Tex a s Cla ssroom Teacher’s Associat ion, a n Au s t i n-ba s e d e duc at ion group representing 50,000 Texans.
See BILLS on Page 2