Mean Green meets Missouri Softball team hosts charity event Page 3
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
News 1, 2 Arts & Life 4 Sports 3 Views 5 Classifieds 6 Games 6
Volume 97 | Issue 34
Sunny 61° / 44°
ntdaily.com
The Student Newspaper of the University of North Texas
Presidential candidates debate issues Homecoming reform, parking top discussion
BY ISAAC WRIGHT Senior Staff Writer
ARTS & LIFE: Student has lifelong love for Mean Green Page 4
ARTS & LIFE: Jazz pianist’s music echoes throughout the world Page 4
Student candidates squared off to discuss key issues facing UNT students as voting for the Student Government Association presidential election approaches next week. Four presidential candidates and their running mates spoke to a crowd of more than 100 students Tuesday night in the University Union Silver Eagle Suite. Each candidate opened with an explanation of his or her platform and goals. They then responded to four topics posed by the debate’s moderator Brian Lain of the communications faculty and UNT’s debate team director. Lain said the four categories were chosen by gauging st udent opi n ion t h roug h research and feedback from a YouTube channel created prior to the debate. Homecoming reform Pending SGA legislation would create a court of homecoming nobles in which candidates would run as individuals. Lain asked candidates to explain their stance on the issue. Presidential Candidate Sarah Fox, a development and family studies junior, and running mate Sean Smallwood, a political science sophomore, are co-authors of the bill. Fox said she supports the concept of homecoming candi-
PHOTO BY BERENICE QUIRINO/VISUALS EDITOR
Blake Windham, a Student Government Association presidential candidate, talks to students after the debate. The debate took place Tuesday night at the Silver Eagle Suite in the University Union. dates as individuals. “Even completely taking the whole point of GLBTQ out of it, people want to see individuals running, not couples,” Fox said. Candidate Valerie Gonzalez, a journalism junior, said she was also in favor of the proposed reform. She said she would create a homecoming committee to address the issue in the future. “We need to have both sides,
open communication and dialogue,” Gonzalez said. Presidential candidates Blake Windham, a biology senior, and Kellie Hill, a marketing junior, both said they disagree with the current proposal, but for different reasons. Windham said he opposes the homecoming reform because he believes couples should still run as one man and one woman for
homecoming king and queen. “If we want to open the debate again, it shouldn’t be a situation where only 40-plus people decide. We should open it back up to students,” Windham said. Hill said she opposes the idea of individuals running for the homecoming court because she said she wants to remain true to the couples
tradition. Instead, Hill said she is in support of allowing same-sex couples to run for the homecoming court. “Homecoming is a time of cooperation, spirit and pride for our university,” Hill said. “The more we isolate students, the less of a community we promote.”
See SGA on Page 2
Voluntary separation Coaching changes kick off spring ball program trims faculty VIEWS: Student opposes smoking ban Page 5
ONLINE: Watch video from the SGA presidential debate
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Program available for senior faculty BY JOSH PHERIGO & M ATTHEW CARDENAS
Managing Editor & Staff Writer More than two dozen UNT faculty members have applied for the voluntar y separation program that began accepting applications March 8, Provost Warren Burggren said. T he prog ra m, mea nt to trim the university’s budget, offers senior faculty members lump sum buyouts equal to a
le c t u r e r s a nd l i br a r i a n s qua lif y for t he prog ra m if they have served 15 consecutive years at UNT. Will McKee of the public service faculty came to UNT in 1978. A f ter a 36-yea r teaching career and with a grandson on the way, McKee said the prog ra m wa s too good to pass up. “For me, it’s t ime,” sa id McKee, 64, who looks forward to a f lex ible schedu le t hat would a llow him to travel. “I want to spend more time with my family.” He sa id t he prog ra m
“We didn’t know what to expect. We were surprised about the enthusiasm in the first few days.”
—Warren Burggren, Provost
year’s base salary if they quit and relinquish their tenure. Burggren said universit y officials are looking to free up money that can be reinvested in UNT’s growth. So far, 28 faculty members have applied for the program, Burggren said. “We didn’t know what to expect,” he said. “We were surprised about the enthusiasm in the first few days.” Tenured faculty, administrators with tenured faculty a p p oi n t m e n t s , p r i n c i p a l
provides an opportunity for facu lt y members to create their own academic paths. “I’m goi ng to c ont i nue being engaged academically,” McKe e s a id . “T he d i f ference is where you show up to work.” The Division of Academic Affairs is accepting applications until April 22. Fac u lt y mem b er s h av e seven days to revoke t hei r appl icat ion a f ter it’s submitted and should receive payment by Sept. 15.
PHOTO BY JAMES COREAS/SENIOR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
The Mean Green football team’s spring season is under way. For a closer look at how coaching changes are affecting the team’s plans in 2011, see page 3.