Sunny 74° / 42°
Treasuring Tradition North Texas Irish Festival pays homage to roots SCENE | Page 4
Friday, March 2, 2012
News 1, 2 Sports 3 SCENE Insert Classifieds 4 Games 4
Volume 99 | Issue 28
ntdaily.com
The Student Newspaper of the University of North Texas
Stovall, Scoular halls slated for demolition I SA AC WRIGHT
Senior Staff Writer The UNT Student Government Association will vote next week on whether or not to send the proposed Union expansion to a student vote, but a plan is in place to make space for the proposed new facility. Two buildings – Stova ll and Scoular halls – are on the chopping block and would be demolished to make way for the construction. The 2005 Campus Master Plan called for t he demolit ion of t he buildings, according to Union Director Zane Reif. The halls would be replaced by modular buildings, which the university would lease for about three years. UNT would have the option to purchase t hem fol low i ng t he lea se period, according to Raynard Kearbey, associate vice chancellor for system facilities. “They’l l look good, but they’re not intended to be permanent,” Kearbey said. “But, one thing I make sure of in my job is that they will meet
code, they will be built to standard. They’ll be high quality, but they’ll never be as good as a permanent building.” The programs and services housed in Stovall and Scoular
“... they’re not intended to be permanent.” —Raynard Kearbey Associate Vice Chancellor for System Facilities halls would be moved to the modular buildings. The buildings would be located on the site currently occupied by the Church of Christ Community Center on Welsh Street across from the Union Circle parking garage. “ T he u n i v e r s it y ow n s that,” Kearbey said. “That’s going to be demolished, and we’re going to place modular
Defying Gravity
building units on that site and relocate those functions from Stovall and Scoular into these buildings.” Scoular Hall, which was built in 1947, currently houses the UNT fashion design program, is home to the faculty offices for the Dance Department and houses numerous dance studios for the classes. “If they are going to tear Stovall down, they have to build us anot her building that has the same amount, or more, studio space that this one does,” dance senior Nikki Secrest said. “As long as they do that, we’ll be fine.” Dance professor Mary Lynn Babcock said she is unsure what the loss of Stovall Hall will mean for the department but said the building is no longer in the best condition. “I think the building is very old and it should be demolished or, at the ver y least, it needs to be renovated,” Babcock said. “At the ver y most, it [t he depa r t ment] should be moved to another building.”
PHOTO BY TYLER CLEVELAND/VISUALS EDITOR PHOTO BY COLIN DOBKINS/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
The Church of Christ is slated to be replaced by buildings to house the dance and fashion design programs. The buildings would be modular in design.
Matt Thomas, a lawyer who practices parkour with a group on campus, side flips over business sophomore Nichole Lawrence on the Library Mall on Thursday. “We’re taught to walk on paths, but parkour unlimits you,” said Thomas about the exercise of “self-expression.” Parkour practitioners overcome fear and hurl themselves over walls and across buildings. Lawrence wants to train in Europe - “the architecture is amazing,” she said.
Man arrested for alleged vandalism Student’s health app places first Brief
I SA AC WRIGHT
Senior Staff Writer A man was arrested after a UNT police officer caught h i m a nd a woma n a l legedly graffitiing an image of a nude woman on the north side of the Joseph A. Carroll Building in downtown Denton on Wednesday at 3:40 a.m., accord i ng to t he sher i f f ’s report. Tom Reedy, public information officer for the Denton County Sheriff’s Department, said the UNT police officer approached the suspects and they ran opposite directions. The man, Nicholas Cassiani, 24, wa s a r rested, but t he other suspect, an unidentified Caucasian woman, f led the scene. “He had a br ush a nd a bucket of white liquid – probably glue,” Reedy said. “He also had pictures of a nude female, and there were also pictures of the same type in his car.” A search of Cassiani’s car
ISA AC WRIGHT
Senior Staff Writer
PHOTO BY CHELSEA STRATSO/SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Nicholas Cassiani and an unidentified female were caught allegedly graffitiing at the north side of the Joseph A. Carroll Building at about 3:40 a.m. Wednesday. Cassiani, 24, was arrested, but the other suspect fled the scene. revealed more painting materials and wallpaper. Some of the illustrations in his car were marked with the signature “SUB,” which has been
seen on other graffiti painted downtown, according to the sheriff’s reports. Reedy said Cassiani was cha rged w it h cr i m i na l
mischief of more than $1,500, a state felony punishable by up to two years in prison. Cassiani posted a $12,000 bail and was released.
A UNT student won first place and $500 in the mobile health category of AT&T’s Hackathon competition in Dallas for an application that would help people with disabilities use mobile devices more easily. Computer science senior Christopher Rust developed his app, “ReAPPbilitation,” in about eight hours at the Hackathon, which was held Feb. 17 and 18. Rust’s app for Android phones features an interface with large buttons on either side of the phone’s screen to scroll through letters and numbers. “It’s almost like a carousel,” Rust said. “It replaced the standard keyboard in an Android tablet. Whenever you go to type, the app comes up in its place.” The Hackathon is a competition held in cities across the county in which students from area universities design apps.
T h e r e were more t ha n 113 st udent s competing at the Da l las event. R u s t CHRISTOPHER s a id t he RUST concept for the app was created in a directed study program with electrical engineering professor Kamesh Namuduri. Na mudu r i sa id he had a f r iend d iag nosed w it h mu sc u la r d y st rophy – a disorder that impairs movement – and he wanted to explore ways to make communicating for disabled individuals easier. “I n t he s e i nd i v idu a l s, the brain is very active, but they cannot communicate,” Namuduri said.
See APP on Page 2
Inside Program promotes student creativity News | Page 2
UNT football team’s schedule released Sports | Page 3
Turning out the tunes at 35 Denton Scene | Page 6