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Volume 96 | Issue 46
Stormy 73° / 43°
ntdaily.com
The Student Newspaper of the University of North Texas
UNT works on changing energy sources Board of Regents approves wind turbines
Students rally for a coal-free campus BY ISAAC WRIGHT
BY ISAAC WRIGHT
Students banded together and rallied to support making UNT a cleaner, greener university Thursday as the Board of Regents approved three wind turbines that will help power the new stadium. At 2:30 p.m., the UNT branch of the Beyond Coal campaign had a rally on the campus green to say UNT should become a coalfree campus. About 40 students gathered around a display of 1,500 paper pinwheels made by students that were planted in the ground to symbolize the group’s message. “Our nation needs to move away from fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas and move toward clean energy,” said Jenny Marienau, Beyond Coal organizer. “That change needs to start at universities, which are the forward-thinking bastions of youth and energy.” The event drew guest speakers from UNT and the nationwide campaign. “It can be done, and it can be done soon,” Marienau said. The first speaker was Ed Soph, professor of music and the faculty adviser of the Beyond Coal campaign. Soph said coal is hazardous to the environment and individuals. Texas ranks No. 1 in the nation for coal-fired power plant carbon dioxide emissions, Soph said. For that reason, he called on individuals to educate themselves about the problems. “A lot of people don’t worry because they don’t see anything,”
UN T took a step i n becoming more energy efficient T hu r sday w hen t he Board of Regents approved t he const r uct ion of t h ree wind turbines near the new football stadium. T he b oa r d p a s s e d t he proposa l i n a u na n i mous vote. U N T P resident V. L a ne Rawlins sa id t he proposa l raised questions with some of the board initially because the idea had never been done before. He also said some people had exaggerated ideas about how much power the turbines were generating. “We broke it dow n, a nd we looked at it, a nd f i rst of a l l, t hey a re generat ing some power,” Rawlins said. “Second ly, t hey a re a rea l sy mbol of who we are and what we’re tr y ing to do in the future.” The turbines w i l l power much of t he new stad iu m when in use a nd w i l l a lso prov ide power to the adjacent Eagle Point campus, said L au ren Hel i xon, g raduate research assistant with the Office of Sustainability. T he t u rbi nes w i l l of fset 40 percent of the stadium’s energy usage, Helixon said. At ot her t i mes, t hey w i l l offset about 6 percent of the Eagle Point campus’ usage. Moreover, Helixon said, UNT runs partly on clean energy. A wind farm in Munster gener-
Senior Staff Writer
Senior Staff Writer
PHOTO BY JAMES COREAS/INTERN
Marcio Dasilva, a geography sophomore, places pinwheels to support the three wind turbines that will be near at the new stadium. The event was held on the campus green from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday.
“I think it would set a really great standard for UNT to be one of the first universities to go coal-free.”
—Adam Weitzenfeld Philosophy graduate student
Soph said. “It’s not like a snake at your feet getting ready to bite you. Out of sight, out of mind.” Another speaker at the rally was Kim Teplitzky, the national field coordinator for the Sierra Student Coalition’s Beyond Coal campaign. UNT has great potential to lead the country’s universities in moving away from coal as their main source of power, Teplitzky said. “Texas is ground zero for the work we need to do to invest
in clean energy,” Teplitzky said. “This state has some of the highest renewable energy potential in the nation, but it also has some of the worst air pollution. Change has to start here.” Teplitzky also came to UNT intrigued by the proposal for the wind turbines near the new football stadium, and she said they were a great step toward more clean energy. “One of the coolest things
a university can do is install their own renewable energy,” Tiplitzky said. “It really shows that this university is going in the right direction, and now we just need them to finish the job.” The rally occurred as the board was deliberating on the proposal for the wind turbines. As the rally ended, a call came in and Marienau announced that the board had approved the proposal. The news was met with a cheer. “I think it’s a good first step,” said Adam Weitzenfeld, a philosophy graduate student. “But, I think it would set a really great standard for UNT to be one of the first universities to go coalfree, especially if we make more of an image out of this slogan ‘We Mean Green.’”
ates 40 percent of the energy used by the city of Denton, she said. “If you factor that in along with the turbines, you’re up to almost 80 percent of the stadium’s usage coming from renewables,” she said. The students played a big part in getting this proposal passed, Rawlins said. “It w a s poi nted out numerous times to the board t hat t he students like t his
“They are a symbol of ... what we’re trying to do.”
—V. Lane Rawlins UNT president
idea,” Rawl i ns sa id. “T he boa rd w a s re spon sive to that. That meant something to them, that the students felt strongly about it.” Helixon said the Office of Sustainability is committed to a c oa l-f re e U N T. T he university has set 2040 as its goal for becoming completely green. However, Jenny Marienau, Beyond Coal organizer, and other members of the UNT chapter of the Beyond Coal campaign think the goal can be reached sooner. Science predicts the U.S. needs to stop using coal by 2030 to prevent the harshest effects of global warming, she said. “If t he most prog ressive universities like UNT can’t move away from coal until 2040, then our nation is going to be i n ver y bad shape,” Marienau said.
‘Underdog’ status fuels UNT Spike Lee emphasizes BY BEN BABY Senior Staff Writer When the Mean Green football team travels to Murfreesboro, Tenn., to face the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders, it will not face the team that struck fear into its Sun Belt Conference foes. Instead, it will face a team that has struggled this season with a 3-5 overall record, going 2-2 in conference play. The Blue Raiders, in turn, will go up against a revitalized UNT squad (2-6, 2-4) that demolished a weak Western Kentucky squad and pushed conference-leader Troy to the brink last weekend. The Blue Raiders are coming off a crushing 51-24 loss last weekend to Arkansas State and currently sits fourth in the conference standings. “Every team is probably going to look at us an underdog and think of it as a win,” junior defensive end Brandon Akpunku said. “I feel like [Middle Tennessee] is going to come out here and really try to get their momentum back for the rest of the season off of us, and we can’t let that happen.” Since the beginning of the 2009 season, UNT is 1-10 in games decided by a touchdown or less. This year, the Mean Green is 14 in those types of games, with its lone win a four-point victory against Florida Atlantic. UNT has trailed 7-0 in every game except its matchup against Western Kentucky and has been outscored 89-27 in the first quarter. Over the past four seasons, the Mean Green is 4-25 when the opponent has scored first and 3-13
when UNT puts the initial points on the board. The offense has struggled out of the gate as well, as it has punted or turned the ball over in six of its first nine games. The Mean Green has been able to gain more total yards than 11 of its last 23 opponents, but it has five victories to show for its efforts. “We needed to come out with an urgency and with fire and passion today, and they will go as we go,” PHOTO BY MIKE MEZEUL II/SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER interim head coach Mike Canales said Members of the UNT football team jump in the air to of the team’s prac- celebrate their touchdown against Troy last weekend. tice Tuesday. “If we left our level even higher games he has started, Dasher has and our expectations of how we thrown 10 interceptions and three expect them to play on Saturday touchdowns. Before the season’s by leading our team by today’s start, Dasher was named the preseason conference Offensive example, then we’ll play well.” The Mean Green may be able Player of the Year. Over the last two games, the to expose a turnover-prone MTSU squad, which has the worst turn- Mean Green has been able to capiover margin in the nation. The talize on opponents’ mistakes, Blue Raiders have coughed the forcing four turnovers and not ball up 28 times while forcing nine turning the ball over during that turnovers. MTSU ranks last in the stretch. “You saw last Saturday,” senior SBC in pass efficiency, throwing a wide receiver Alex Lott said. “It was conference-high 16 picks. MTSU quarterback Dwight definitely a different team. Troy’s a Dasher was suspended for the very good team. No one expected first four games of the season after us to be that close to them. [We’re] accepting a $1,500 loan, which just going out and having fun. We violated NCAA rules. In the four have nothing to lose.”
education, hard work BY T.S. MCBRIDE
Contributing Writer Spike Lee, the director with a reputation for being blunt and outspoken, didn’t disappoint the audience that crowded into the Murchison Performing Arts Center on Thursday night. The director of nearly 50 films spoke to about 1,000 people in the Winspear Performance Hall and answered questions after his nearly hourlong speech. He advised students to stay in school and follow their dreams, and he took a moment to call out former President George Bush, who will speak at UNT next week. “Tell him Spike Lee wants to know why it took five days to come to the aid of your own American citizens,” he said, referring to the response to Hurricane Katrina. The lecture was part of UNT’s Fine Arts Series. Tickets for the event sold out at 1 p.m.
T h u r s d a y, said Rebecca Poa linelli, event coordinator for the Murchison. Lee’s lecture covered his college expe- SPIKE LEE rience at Morehouse College and New York University’s film school. He told students they should pursue their dreams, even if it meant defying their parents’ wishes. “Parents kill more dreams than anybody,” he said. “It’s not because they’re evil people. They think that in their infinite wisdom they know better what’s best.” Jannah Rahaman, an elementary education junior who said she was a big fan of Lee’s movies, said she was awestruck. “Everything he said, it was real,” she said. “You could feel it.” Lee took to the stage in khakis and a blue sweatshirt, a white
golf hat perched on his head. He teased the audience. “How about them Cowboys?” he said, prompting a mixture of groans and laughs. He spent the next five minutes ribbing audience members about America’s Team. But most of the lecture centered on valuing education. Lee was critical of the anti-intellectual attitude among black men. He said 50 percent of black males graduate high school. “We have these young kids all across the country failing on purpose,” he said. Making good grades wasn’t a point of ridicule when he was growing up, he added. He also emphasized hard work. He pointed out that reality TV may give the appearance of overnight success, but that it’s scripted. “There’s no such thing as overnight success,” he said. “Whatever you want do you’re going to have to bust your [expletive] to get it.”
Developing Story – Denton K-9 In response to Thursday’s article “Vet calls Denton PD K-9 dog ‘just too skinny,’” the Denton Police Department took Gino, the police dog, to the veterinarian that morning. The veterinarian reportedly ran tests including blood work
and a stool test, all of which came back normal. “Gino has seen the vet multiple times since we’ve had him,” Public Information Officer Ryan Grelle said. He said the veterinarian he saw at Dove Creek Animal Hospital described Gino as
“very healthy and well-cared for.” Grelle also said the veterinarian attributed Gino’s weight to a “high level of activity” and recommended Gino change dog food. Look for a follow-up story in Tuesday’s edition of the Daily for more information.