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Volume 99 | Issue 39
ntdaily.com
The Student Newspaper of the University of North Texas
UNT to add six electrical vehicle charging stations M ACKENZIE YELVINGTON Contributing Writer
Du r i ng it s meet i ng on Monday, the We Mean Green Fund subcommittee approved a proposal to bring six electric vehicle charging stations – equipped with a 60-inch charger as well as a handicap-accessible charger – to the Radio, Telev ision, and Film Building, the Murchison Performing Arts Center and Wooten Hall.
The WMGF subcommittee will pay ECOtality a total of $65,737 for electrical and data work, excavation, repaving, restriping and the required signage. ECOtality will provide the equipment and cables free of charge and also grant UNT $13,500 for installation. “I am hoping this will encourage people in the Denton area to have more either hybrid or electric vehicles,” said Helen Bailey, director of facility
management and construction and facilities representative for the WMGF subcommittee. International development sophomore Matt McCallum and Brad Holt, UNT alumnus a nd senior v ideog rapher for Un iversit y Relat ions, Communications and Marketing, proposed the EV charging station project. They originally submitted separate proposals, but the Office of Sustainability put them
in contact to tackle the project together. “Between us, the Office of Sustainability and facilities it really was a group effort; we just started it,” McCallum said. Currently, the University of Texas at Arlington, University of California Los Angeles, University of Colorado and Vanderbilt have EV chargers on campus. UTA outgrew their original infrastructure of one charging station that was donated to them and had to
install two more stations due to demand, said Jeff Johnson, UTA director of maintenance and special projects. “It has to start somewhere,” said Evan Carpenter, WMGF subcommittee vice chair and sociology pre-doctoral student. He said the subcommittee was most concerned about the cost associated with the installation of the chargers and how much of students’ money from the WMGF would be spent.
“Once people realize how much they are saving by not buying gas, it really is worth it,” said Holt, soon to be owner of an electric Tesla Roadster Model S. The Tesla Roadster is one of the top of the line EV’s on the market. The Chev y Volt and the Nissan Leaf are two standard-priced EVs currently offered, but many more are schedu led to be released soon.
SGA approves safety proposal BEN PEYTON Staff Writer
PHOTO BY PATRICK HOWARD/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Senior Will Atterberry punts the ball during football practice Wednesday. Atterberry punted the ball 43 times for 1,799 yards (41.8 avg) in seven games of action before missing the last five due to injury in 2010.
UNT football team begins practice KYLE H ARTY
Contributing Writer The Mean Green football team opened its spring practice season Wednesday afternoon, looking to build off momentum from its fall campaign. During head coach Dan McCarney’s first year at the helm, the Mean Green set a home attendance record and finished with a 5-7 record, one victory shy of becoming bowl game eligible. Nine starters on offense and six on defense return from last year’s squad, including redshirt-junior quarterback Derek Thompson and junior linebacker Zach Orr. However, the team lost a number of key contributors, including all-everything running back Lance Dunbar
– who ran for more than 4,200 yards in his UNT career – and veteran defensive starter Brandon Akpunku to graduation. Despite the losses on both sides of the ball, McCarney isn’t concerned by the challenge. “The work ethic of this team is just outstanding,“ McCarney said. “The momentum is rolling in this program, you can see it.” The offense lost veteran lineman Matt Tomlinson to graduation, but four starters return to the offensive line, including sophomore Cyril Lemon, who became the first UNT offensive lineman to win all-conference honors as a freshman since 2000. “We’ve progressed a lot,” junior wide receiver Brelan
“The momentum is rolling in this program, you can see it.” —Dan McCarney Head football coach
Chancellor said. “Everybody’s coming together, and we’ve become a stronger team.” McCarney, who was eager to get back on the field after suffering a stroke in February, ran with his usual enthusiasm from drill to drill and appeared to be in shape. “I tried to be the best patient in the history of patients,” McCarney joked. “Five weeks with no physical activity for
me was horrible, but I’m back now and I feel great.” Senior tight end Daniel Prior said he likes McCarney’s coaching style and is happy to have him back with the team. “I really like him,” Prior said. “He’s high-energy and brought a great staff in and really built this place up.” The newest addition to McCarney’s staff is defensive
coordinator John Skladany, a 30-year coaching veteran who coached with McCarney for 11 seasons at Iowa State. Skladany joined the staff after coaching at Central Florida, where his defense finished ninth in the country in total defense and scoring defense last season. “Joh n is li ke fa m i ly,” McCarney said. “He can teach, he can motivate, and he can elevate the performance of his players. He’s one of the best in college football.” Spr i ng prac t ices w i l l continue through April leading up to the spring game on April 21 at Apogee Stadium. All practices are open to the public, and a list of practice times and dates are available at MeanGreenSports.com.
At Wednesday’s Student G ov e r n me nt A s s o c i a t ion meeting, the Senate unanimously passed a proposal to place either proper crosswalks, yield signs or both in high traffic areas around campus that are currently lacking proper safety precautions for students. College of Arts and Sciences S e n a t o r A d a m H a s l e y, co-sponsor of the resolution, said the safety issue was discovered during one of SGA external committee’s monthly safety walks through campus. “At the biggest crosswalk, Maple, students were literally having to sprint in front of cars to get across,” Hasley said. To fix the safety concerns, SGA supports and requests that a crosswalk, yield to pedestrian sign, or both be built on or near the intersection of Avenue D and Eagle Drive, Traditions Hall across North Texas Boulevard, and the path between Honors Hall and Mozart Square on Eagle Drive, as well as on or near Maple and Welch streets, according to the passed resolution. “Having to cross that [intersection of Maple and Welch] every day and knowing that I have a position to do something in the Senate really prompted me to get involved in this resolution,” said Honors College Senator Andrew Crosswhite. The proposals will be sent to UNT’s administrators as well as City of Denton’s Streets and Traffic Control for further action.
See SGA on Page 2
Donations increase for Emerald Eagle Ball HOLLY H ARVEY
Senior Staff Writer The Emerald Eagle Ball doubled the number of sponsors from last year and raised almost $400,000 to help financially challenged students receive an education through the Emerald Eagle Scholars program. The money raised goes toward scholarships for students in the program, which was started in 2007 to fund students in their studies at UNT.
This year’s ball was held Feb. 25 at Apogee Stadium, where students and sponsors could interact and see students’ progress, according to Lilyan PradoCarrillo, Emerald Eagle Scholars program coordinator. “The [Div ision of ] Advancement office has strong relationships with donors, and people donate because they like the mission of the program and the success rate,” PradoCarrillo said.
The Office of Development focused this year on increasing donations and getting a larger donor base, said George Wendt, assistant v ice president of advancement services. “We made a concer ted ef for t back in October to solicit potential sponsors, and we started very early soliciting for various companies,” Wendt said. “We made over 150 solicitations for the sponsorships.”
The number of sponsors for this year was 33, with 18 new sponsors donating to the program. Three hundred and ninetyt wo people at tended t he ba ll, where UNT President V. Lane Rawlins offered to use unrestricted budget money to match donat ions up to $25,000, Wendt said. “During the ball, we had a pledge of over $40,000,” Wendt said. “An anonymous
donor said they would match anything above $25,000, so we were able to match over $40,000.” St udent s mu s t h av e a household i ncome of less than $35,000 to be eligible for the program and typically come from low-performing h ig h s c ho ol s , a c c or d i n g to Emera ld Eag le Schola r A nt hony Gilbert, a performance freshman. “I think that students who
come from t he most dif f icult or tr ying backgrounds end up succeeding the most,” Gilbert said. Gilbert spoke at the ball about his journey to UNT and what the program has meant to him. “The ba l l is technica l ly a fundraiser, but it’s about putting a face to the program,” Gi lber t s a id . “It ’s a bout bridging the gap between us and sponsors.”
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