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Volume 94 | Issue 45
Cloudy 72° / 54°
ntdaily.com
The Student Newspaper of the University of North Texas
Homecoming vote to stay on schedule BY CAROLYN BROWN
senate. Sergea nt-at-A rms Kev in Sanders noted that the court was The student referendum on the same-sex Homecoming issue not required to read a vote count will continue as scheduled after if it was unanimous, and that he last night’s Student Government supported Carter’s decision to ask Association Supreme Court Reynolds to fill in for Jean. “Our constitution says the presappeal. Stephen Benavides, a polit- ident can appoint the Advocate ical science junior, lost his fight General as he pleases,” he said. against the referendum in a two- “He asked the senate’s approval part appeal beginning with last even when he didn’t have to, so he week’s court decision against actually took an extra step.” The senate voted him. unanimously not to grant “Making decisions a mistrial. that are arbitrary and on The senate approved the fly because they’re L eig h Sm it h, a n convenient goes against American history senior, the whole purpose of and Tori Kuhn, a busihaving rules of law in ness freshman, for posiplace,” he said. tions on the election Benavides argued his STEPHEN board. case to the court Nov. 5, BENAVIDES The senate approved asking them to invalidate the referendum and impose Annalisa Vargas, a history junior, the changes contained in the orig- as a senator for the Honors inal same-sex Homecoming legis- College and Taylor Toynes, a political science sophomore, as lation. He also lobbied the court to a senator for the College of Arts create trial and appellate courts. and Sciences. Reynolds returned to represent The court voted unanimously that it did not have jurisdiction to the SGA again at the substantive appeal. implement the bill. During the court hearing, Benavides called for a mistrial during his procedural appeal in Benavides argued that the senate’s rejection of the bill discrimithe senate’s meeting. He argued that Advocate nated against same-sex couples General Cameron Jean needed to and asked the court to rule the be present, and that the substitute, Homecoming bylaws unconstiBrandon Reynolds, a marketing tutional and implement the origsenior, was not sufficient because inal bill. Reynolds said Benavides should he was not properly appointed for have talked to senators about why the semester. He also argued that the court they voted against the bill, and that should have publicly disclosed a the brief presented did not fully include the major points brought vote count. The student vote will begin via up during oral argument. The court unanimously ruled www.untsga.com from Nov. 16 that it could not implement or add through Nov. 20. If students vote “yes,” same-sex wording into the SGA’s bylaws couples can run for positions on or constitution, and that the Homecoming bylaws were not the Homecoming court. A vote “no” means the Student discriminatory because they do Senate will revisit the issue in not mention the nature of couples’ relationships. future meetings. Reynolds said he agreed with SGA president Dakota Carter pointed out that he sent an the verdict. “I feel that they made the e-mail to all the senators asking whether they had any objections correct decision and they made to Reynolds standing in for Jean their opinion very clear,” he and received support from the said. Senior Staff Writer
PHOTO BY MELISSA BOUGHTON/PHOTOGRAPHER
Fraternity Alpha Tao Omega and sorority Chi Omega were trying to raise $500 for the Make-a-Wish Foundation on Wednesday by letting students pay to smash a donated car. Lawrence Pritchett, a psychology sophomore, takes a swing at the hood of the car during the one-day event.
Greeks smash car to help children BY JOSH PHERIGO Staff Writer
Unsuspect i ng st udent s beca me on lookers a nd pa r t ic ipa nt s We d ne s d ay in a beating that involved sledgehammers, sororities and money. A nd t he bat t er e d c a r doesn’t look too good as a result. The car bash fundraiser was for a good cause, said Ju s t i n B o g a r d u s , pr e s ident of fraternity Alpha Tau Omega, which co-sponsored the one-day event with other greek organizations. “Our annual car bash helps raise money for the Make-aWish Foundation,” Bogardus said. “We’d like to raise at least $ 500 to surpass last year’s goal.” Students speculated that the victim was an “old Ford
Thunderbird,” which they subjected to blows a f ter donating at least $1, Bogardus said. Rya n Young, a fashion merchandising sophomore, is a member of the Chi Omega sorority, which also sponsored the event. She said the groups try to grant one wish per semester and that each wish requires about $3,000 of fundraising. Young said t he hardest part of the event was actually asking people for money, w h ich she descr ibed a s sometimes being “a litt le awkward.” But helping such a worthy cause was well worth the mome nt a r y d i s c om f or t , Young said. “Hitting the car isn’t as easy as people might think,” said Young, “I missed the first
“I missed the first time I swung, but eventually, I made good contact.”
—Ryan Young Fashion merchandising sophomore
time I swung, but eventually, I made good contact.” The car, donated by the locally owned Denton Auto Salvage, was decorated with blue and orange paint and sported t he Greek letters representing the organizations hosting the event. The groups painted it Tuesday night, Young said. Fraternit y member Jack Mione, a risk management junior, said that despite the orange and blue paint, his third year destroying a car
for charity was better than ever. “The material is mostly sheet metal, so it bends relatively well,” said Mione, whose baseball jersey read “smash” above the large number 14 on the backside. “I’ve been doing good work on the T-top section of the roof, but I don’t know if it’s coming down.” T he c a r ba sh i ng took place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wed nesday on t he law n out side t he I n for mat ion Sciences Building.
Fry Street restaurant hosts fundraiser for slain student BY MORGAN WALKER Staff Writer
Students heading to Public House this weekend for food and drinks w ill a lso have a chance to contribute to a growing cause. The Public House will host a fundraiser starting at 5 p.m. Saturday for t he Mela nie Goodwin Scholarship Fund. The fund was established
here, she impacted every single person she met.” The f und of fers severa l scholarships including those awa rded to one or more members of the Praise Band or Choir and used to assist w it h educat ion ex penses, retreats, camps, trips or performances for the Denton Wesley Foundation, according to www. melaniegoodwin.org.
“[Melanie Goodwin] would be delighted to see this. When she was here, she impacted every person she met.”
—Gracey Oh Goodwin’s friend and marketing senior
in honor of Melanie Goodwin, a UN T st udent who wa s murdered in September 2007. Gracey Oh, a marketing senior, sa id she f irst met Melanie Goodwin when they came to UNT in 2006. “I t h i n k she wou ld be delighted to see this fundraiser,” Oh said of Melanie Goodw in. “W hen she was
Goodwin was involved at the Wesley Foundation, part of the United Methodist Campus Ministry on Maple Street. Byron Crain, owner of the Public House, met Melanie Goodwin when she worked as a promoter for Red Bull. Crain said once he watched the episode of “Primetime Crime,” an ABC program, that
featured Melanie Goodwin’s tragic stor y, he wanted to contribute by having a fundraiser. “After spending an afternoon meeting with them personally, you can just see what good people they are,” Crain said of the Goodwins. From 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., a silent auction will feature tickets for Dallas Cowboys, Mavericks and Stars games, as well as autographed jerseys for bid. Those who make donations throughout the day will receive raffle tickets for a chance to win other small prizes. From 8 p.m. to 11 p.m., there will be a date auction in which students will be able to bid on 10 to 20 fraternity members for a future date, Crain said. After 11 p.m., a cover charge will be enforced, which will go toward the fundraiser as well. “Hopefully we can make a little bit of good out of it and keep Melanie’s name alive,” Crain said. Her mother, Peggy Goodwin, said the idea for the scholarship began while the family planned the memorial service. She sa id her daug hter was involved with Theater
PHOTO BY DREW GAINES/PHOTOGRAPHER
Two years after the tragic murder of UNT student Melanie Goodwin, her boyfriend Ali Valencia, a general studies senior, and friend Gracey Oh, a marketing senior, will honor her through a fundraiser at the Fry Street Public House on Saturday. Arlington, in her hometown. “Many of the kids she was involved with at the theater were there on scholarship because theater classes are expensive,” Peggy Goodwin said. A le Va lencia, a genera l studies senior, said he knew Melanie Goodwin for about a year and they dated until her
death. “It’s so awesome that two years later she’s still impacting people’s lives, and people still want to give and show support,” Valencia said. People can also contribute to the scholarship fund by purchasing the new single by OneWill, “So Beautiful,” which was heard at the “Life
Well Loved” concert held in honor of Melanie Goodwin last spring. All proceeds from sales of the single will help provide scholarships to students majoring in theater, journalism, music, performing arts, voice or radio, television and film, according to the RIP Melanie Goodwin Facebook page.