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Wednesday, September 19, 2012
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Volume 100 | Issue 10
ntdaily.com
The Student Newspaper of the University of North Texas
Greek recruitment week enjoys record numbers
One of a Kind
ELEANOR SADLER Staff Writer
PHOTO BY JAMES COREAS/VISUALS EDITOR
Art history and education professor Nada Shabout poses for a portrait with a book, “Orientalism.” Created in 2008, UNT’s Contemporary Arab and Muslim Cultural Studies Institute is the only collegiate organization dedicated to contemporary Muslim art.
Keep an eye out for more g reek s on ca mpus t h is semester – this year’s recruitment week saw a re cord number of students joining fratern ities and sororities, coordinators and members of the UNT Interfraternity and Panhellenic councils said. Greek Li fe Coordi nator Danielle Wilcher said about 543 students expressed interest i n joi n i ng a f rater n it y or sorority this semester. I nt e r f rat e r n it y Cou n c i l President Chris Turner, a business operations and supply chain junior, pointed toward a large freshman class and new recruitment methods to explain the increased interest in greek life. “Every year we continue to grow in numbers,” Turner said. “I do not believe the number
was too shocking when you con sider how quick ly t he university is growing.” This semester’s freshman class is the largest in universit y history, totaling 4,444 students, a 9.2 percent increase from last year. Tu r n e r s a id p e r s o n a lized social net working on Facebook, emails, informat ion a l meet i ngs a nd new m a rke t i ng eve nt s help ed generate turnout. Fraternities also went to freshman orientations to boost recruitment. Vice President of Panhellenic Recruitment Kate Morales, a communications junior, said she relied on an open-door policy to get new students excited about joining Greek life. She sa id she wa nted students with an interest in joining a sorority to feel like someone in the sorority was
already interested in them joining. S h e s e nt p e r s o n a l i z e d emails and kept communication with potential members open on Facebook. The new recruit Panhellenic Facebook group this year has more than 200 members — sig n i f ic a nt ly l a rge r t h a n last year’s — and had more posts to get people talking. Topics included where people were living and what potential members were going to major in. These open discussions allowed those planning on going greek to get to know each other better before recruitment week, Morales said. “They are already immersed in college before they get here, and they feel better about going through recruitment because they don’t feel as blind,” she said.
Center cracks cold cases, Support for bike lanes assists law enforcement crosses political aisle JASON YANG
Senior Staff Writer
On August 25, 1963, Hillsboro police officers knocked on the door of the Glaze residence to inform Sylvan and Zeola that their 35-year-old son Kenneth was missing. Officials at the time found Kenneth Glaze’s abandoned car days later, but identified the remains found in the vehicle as female. It appeared Glaze had disappeared from the face of the Earth. In 2005, the Center for Human Identification at the UNT Health Science Center in Fort Worth – with cooperation from the Fort Worth Police Department and Tarrant County Medical Examiner – conducted a DNA analysis on a remaining tooth found in Glaze’s car. It was more than 40 years after Glaze had gone missing, but using new technology, the center was able to correctly identify the remains as belonging to the longmissing Hillsboro man, proving no case is ever too cold to solve. “We do whatever it takes to make identification and hopefully bring resolution to the family.” said George Adams, the center’s founder and program manager of the Forensic Service Unit. The UNT Center for Human Identification specializes in forensic DNA testing to help solve crimes, identify missing persons and combat sexual assault or human trafficking cases. On Monday, Texas Senator
“We do whatever it takes to make identification and hopefully bring resolution to the family.”
-George Adams, UNT Human Identification Center
John Cornyn spoke at the center in support of the bipartisan Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence Registry (SAFER) Act, which if passed would boost Justice Department grant money for local agencies that conduct DNA evidence testing and would help agencies test and eliminate backlogged rape kits. The UNT center is on the frontlines of eliminating those kits – in 2011, it received $654,539 from the Justice Department to help with the backlog, according to the Dallas Morning News. Adding DNA from backlogged rape kits to a national registry would help solve open cases and identify wanted criminals, Cornyn said Monday. The UNT center’s database rivals the national database, Adams said. Since it was established in 2000, the center has helped resolve about 888 missing person cases, 673 with investigative leads and 215 without. The center has collaborated with many law enforcement agencies, medical examiners and coroners from all around the world, including New York, Florida and Chile, where the center helped
identify the remains of political opponents of the Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. “It’s a cooperative enterprise,” Adams said. “Law enforcement receives the case, UNTCHI provides DNA analysis, and NamUS [National Missing and Unidentified Persons System] works with agencies across the country to identify the profile.” Fort Worth Police Department Chief Jeffrey Halstead said the center has helped officers with hundreds of cases, and that its value could not be understated. “Without this relationship, we would be challenged to have successful outcome thanks to the complexity of investigation,” Halstead said. Over the past nine years, the center has received more than $4 million from the Debbie Smith Act, which provides federal grants to local agencies conducting DNA analysis. However, analysts at the center work for free, spending their spare time conducting analyses to solve cases, Adams said.
See CENTER on page 2
JULIE BIRD Staff Writer
Getting Democrats and Republicans to find political harmony on any issue is no easy task, but according to a recent poll, there’s one thing almost everyone can agree on: bikes. The national Princetonconducted survey, commissioned by the advocacy g r oup A m e r i c a Bi k e s, found that 80 percent of Republicans and 88 percent of Democrats, as well as 83 percent of all respondents, supported maintaining or increasing federal funding for bike paths, bike lanes and sidewalks. “What I found most significant from the survey was that 12 percent of all trips [Americans take] are either biking or walking, but only 2 percent of the Congress budget for transportation goes to bicyclists and pedestrians,” said music composition senior Christopher Walker, who writes for the bicycle advocacy group Bike Denton. In July, the U.S. Congress passed a transportation bill that cut federal funding for bike and pedestrian paths by about 30 percent, according to America Bikes. How the funds are used is left mostly in the hands of local and statewide policymakers.
PHOTO BY NICOLE ARNOLD/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Pre-radio, television and film senior Alex Kuykendall and junior Paul McGarrah ride their bikes down Malone Street on Monday afternoon. A recent national poll found that more than 80 percent of Americans support funding for bike infrastructure. Walker said he supports increased funding for bike infrastructure both nationally and locally. He and other Bike Denton members have been vocal in their support of local infrastructure improvements at city council meetings. The Denton City Council showed its support for bicyclists by updating the city’s pedestrian and bicycle plan in February. The plan calls for the redesign of more than 80 miles of roadway over the next 10 years to better accommodate bicyclists and pedestrians. The
first year of the plan will cost about $200,000, funded by the city and two county commissioners. The city will provide better connectivity between education centers, commercial restaurants and retail, recreational areas and neighborhoods, according to the implementation plan. Improving the connectivity and bike accessibility around UNT’s main campus, Apogee Stadium and Discovery Park is also a focus of the plan.
See BIKE on page 2
Professor sees future of retail in digital tech EMILY BENTLEY Intern
As technology progresses with the times, merchants are finding new ways to gain ground in business with new and constantly evolving technology. Richard Last, a lecturer in UNT’s Department of Merchandising and an expert in digital retail, has been involved in e-commerce since its
start. In 1994, he had a major role in helping JCPenney become the first department store online. The site’s launch was successful, opening a new set of doors for the company and contributing to a new platform the rest of the business world would soon begin using in full force. Last has remained heavily
involved in the online retail industry and now directs UNT’s digital retail bachelor’s degree program. “This program is a very valuable thing for a student,” Last said. “There are a lot of career choices in retail, but the real growth is in e-commerce. With the growth in digital retail will come a growth in job opportunities.”
The program not only teaches students how to navigate the world of e-commerce, but shows how every form of technology can be used to a marketer’s advantage. “We are teaching students to use mobile devices, iPads, cell phones, along with different venues of social media to bring traffic into the stores,” Last said. “As technology develops, with it comes new
implications for selling.” The College of Merchandising, Hospitality and Tourism prides itself on creating new opportunities for students. Digital retaining senior Nickolas Wood was majoring in business until he learned about the industry of digital retail. “I’d worked retail before,” Woods said. “However, it wasn’t
until I was introduced to digital retailing that my interest really peaked. The program has been really great for me because it has taught me a lot, as well as presenting me great opportunities like being able to attend the National Retail Federation’s Big Show two years in a row.”
See PROF on page 2
Inside Debate team ranked top 100 in nation News | Page 2
Campus should embrace the “weird” Views | Page 4
Volleyball defeats Baylor for first time since 1983 Sports | Online