Playing it Safe
Campus group educates students about healthy sex habits Arts & Life | Page 4
Bumping Up
UNT tries to move up the conference standings at home Sports | Page 6
Thursday, October 13, 2011
News 1, 2 Arts & Life 3, 4 Sports 5, 6 Views 7 Classifieds 8 Games 8
Volume 98 | Issue 29
Sunny 79° / 54°
ntdaily.com
The Student Newspaper of the University of North Texas
Tuberculosis case confirmed in UNT student JAVIER LOPEZ Staff Writer
Denton’s second case of tuberculosis was confirmed Wednesday, when UNT sent out a mass Eagle A lert to inform the university community of an off-campus student who tested positive for the infection. “The infected student was removed, and 27 [people] a rou nd h i m t hat had prolonged contact with him were contacted last night and tested,” said Elizabeth With, v ice president for student affairs. TB ex ists in t wo forms:
latent and active. Latent TB can be in someone’s system a nd ca n go u nd iag nosed for years; however, as soon it becomes active it can be fatal, said Dr. Herschel Leon Voorhees, director of clinical services for the Student Health and Wellness Center. A person with latent TB may live his or her whole life without showing symptoms, he said. “[Students] should not be overly worried, and there is low risk at UNT,” Voorhees said. The f irst case of TB in Denton this year was reported on Oct. 5 when a Denton High School student was hospital-
ized for the disease. The student transferred from Ennis High School in Ellis County, where more than 200 people have tested positive for exposure to the disease. DHS is testing 200 students, but results are not yet available. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines t uberc u losis a s a i rbor ne bacteria that affects the lung but can also spread through blood streams to the brain, k id ney a nd spine. If lef t untreated, the disease can be fatal. Of the total 11,182 reported TB cases for the nation in 2010,
California, Texas, New York and Florida account for nearly half. A skin test is the first step in diag nosis, followed by chest X-rays and a bacterial culture. T B is contag ious w it h prolonged exposure of more than six hours and presents symptoms such as weakness, night sweats, fever, weight loss and coughing up blood. Any student with the symptoms mentioned should seek medical attention. The UNT Health Center can be reached at 940-565-2333.
GRAPHIC COURTESY OF MCT
HPV tops causes of mouth cancer NICOLE BALDERAS Senior Staff Writer
PHOTO BY CRISTY ANGULO/PHOTO ASSIGNING EDITOR
UNT alumna Brittany Bevis pets her horse, Theodore. Throughout her career as a horse rider, Bevis has won seven world and reserve world championships, five of them with Theodore.
UNT alumna publishes children’s pony tale
M ARLENE GONZALEZ Staff Writer
UNT alumna Brittany Bevis had been out of college for a year when an idea she had in the fourth grade called her to write a book. Inspired by the 3-year-old she babysits, the world champion horse rider who makes a living writing for Equine Magazine, penned the chil-
dren’s tale “Two Foals, a Dash of Sprinkles and a Cherry on Top!” “I wanted it to be a fun, playful children’s book. It’s a cute story, but there’s a little bit of a religious element based behind the story of how horses get their spots,” she said. The cover of the book features a cartoon likeness
of the 3-year-old heroine of Bevis’ book, a blonde pigtailed girl with blue eyes and rosy cheeks named Madison. Bevis presented the story to Rudolph Alvarado, CEO and publisher of Caballo Press of Ann Arbor. Alvarado said Bevis had initially presented a different manuscript that didn’t work for the publisher, but the
writing impressed him, so he called her. “Oftentimes there’s an author that receives a rejection letter in the mail; it’s just hard maintenance, and sometimes that can give you a wrong impression. I wanted to let her know she was talented,” Alvarado said.
See AUTHOR on page 4
Smoking and alcohol have been replaced by human papillomavirus as the leading cause of oral cancer among men. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 5,700 men were diagnosed with HPV-associated head and neck cancers each yea r as opposed to 1,700 women, from 1998-2003. “Only about 10 to 20 percent of folks are going to show physical signs [of HPV],” said David Arnold, coordinator for the Meadows Center for Health Resou rces. “T he d i f ferent strains of HPV are so different; you could have one of them and never know.” HPV- 16 is the strain of the v irus most directly related to oral cancer development. The virus can lay dormant in carriers, sometimes even for their entire lifetimes, so preventative measures are the best way to remain free of it. “Depending on your perspective, oral sex is safer sex,” Arnold said. “We do recommend using a denta l da m [oral sex condom], which the Health and Wellness Center provides free for students, but regular Saran wrap can also be used.” From a sociological perspec-
GRAPHIC COURTESY OF MCT tive, Arnold said there has been more focus in recent years on the development of female pleasure, a trend sparked from feminist movements. However, with a rise in oral sex rates there is also increased risk of disease. “The CDC does say if you have three or more sex partners, you will be exposed to some form of HPV,” Arnold said.
See CANCER on page 2
Graduation rates dip at four-year colleges during recession D YLAN ROGERS Intern
Despite the prospects of facing a drying, increasingly competitive job market, the majority of college students nationwide who enroll as freshmen at fouryear universities fail to graduate within six years, according to a recent national study. The report from the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research used data collected at the worst of the recession to examine why, “at a time when college degrees are valuable – with employers paying a premium for college graduates – fewer than 60 percent of new students graduated from four-year colleges within six years.” While UNT fits into those sagging national numbers, retention rates are trending upward. The percentage of enrolled
“We should have more students who are taking their classes in a timely fashion.”
-Terry Clower Economics faculty
students graduating from UNT rose from 44 percent in the 2009-10 school year to 49 percent last year, said Troy Johnson, UNT’s vice provost for enrollment management. The 44 percent reported in 2009 was just under the state average of 45.8 percent, according to the institute. Terry Clower of the economics faculty said the declining national graduation rates may
be related to the mounting financial burden of a college education. “I certa inly t hink t hat there could be an economic reason,” Clower said. “We are a publicly supported institution, so a portion of our operating expenses come from taxpayer money, and the taxpayers have some reasonable expectation that we are doing the best that we can to make sure that we are providing an efficient student.” Aside from not finishing on time, many students simply aren’t finishing. UNT’s most recent numbers showed that 79 percent of undergraduate students returned from the previous year, another improvement from the year before, during which UNT retained 71 percent of undergraduates.
Graduation Statistics
25% 49% 79% 60%
of students who take the ACT meet college readiness standards in all four subjects.
of students graduated in 2011. of undergraduate students return from the previous year. of high school graduates pursue a higher education.
More than 50%
of students who enroll at UNT will drop out, transfer or fail to graduate after six years.
See GRAD on page 2
Inside SGA terminates textbook initiative News | Page 2
Volleyball senior wields versatile skill set Sports | Page 5
Protesters should do more than camp out Views | Page 7