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Volume 98 | Issue 4
Cloudy 103° / 78° The Student Newspaper of the University of North Texas
ntdaily.com
New law expands college vaccination DANIELLE BICE Staff Writer
NEWS: UNT to create first school of pharmacy in North Texas Page 2
ARTS:
Local weaving exhibit celebrates 40th year Page 4 PHOTO COURTESY OF TIFFANY HILLAN
Sundown Collaborative Theatre is a group of UNT students and alumni who create their own material. They performed five shows in New York City this past week.
Denton theater group weathers Irene, earthquake PABLO A RAUZ
VIEWS: Nods and Shakes: Bachmann links disasters to deficits Page 7
Staff Writer
The Sundown Collaborative Theatre, a group of UNT students and alumni, braved t he impact of last week’s e a r t hq u a k e a lon g w it h Hurricane Irene to compete in the New York International Fringe Festival. The festival, according to its website, hosts more than 200 acting companies over 16 days across 20 New York venues. The group was scheduled to perform from Aug. 22 to 28, but after earthquakes and the threat of Hurricane Irene
forced the city to shut down public transportation Friday, the weekend’s performances were cancelled. “It was definitely the last thing we expected to happen, but I don’t think it ruined anyone’s experience there,” said Cody Lucas, the group’s artistic director. “It was an honor to be there and we at least got to perform three of our shows.” The company began in 2007 with six theater students who had a passion for theater, Lucas said. The company performs original plays as well as the classics, such as
Sha kespeare’s “Macbet h.” Over time, the group gained a reputation among the local theater circuit and is best known for its original mater ia l a nd out-of-t he ord inar y performances with a distinct approach to theater, he said. “We try to do the kind of shows that don’t get done of ten a round here,” sa id Robert Linder, board president of the theater company. “Shows that the university and the community theater don’t really do.”
A new state law will require all students new to a college campus under the age of 30 whether they live on or off campus to be vaccinated for bacterial meningitis beginning in January 2012. The Jamie Schanbaum and Nicolis Williams Act was signed into law in May and is an expansion of the Jamie Schanbaum Act of 2009, which was named after the University of Texas at Austin student who contracted the disease as a sophomore in 2008 and survived. Bacterial meningitis can result in brain damage, hearing loss, learning disabilities or, in most cases, death, according to the website for the Centers for Disea se Cont rol a nd Prevention “It’s important that all college students get the vaccine because college students tend to be a little bit higher at risk,” said UNT director of clinical services Herschel Voorhees. “Anybody who lives in close quarters is at the highest risk.” Under the old law, all entering students had to receive the meningitis vaccination if they were to live in campus residence halls beginning in the fall 2010 semester. It is a section on the student housi ng appl icat ion t hat students must provide proof of a meningitis vaccination, said Sarah Shivers, special assistant for business operations in UNT’s department of housing.
Under t he new law, a l l students will have to provide proof of a meningitis shot in the past five years at least 10 days before the start of the semester. “I think the bill is a good idea. It will keep more people safe by preventative measures. I don’t think it’s invasive at all,” fashion merchandising junior Lauren Gerold said. Bacterial meningitis is rare, w it h less t han 2,000 cases each year nationwide, but can be devastating if contracted, Voorhees said. Te x a s A & M Un i v er sit y st udent Nicol i s W i l l ia m s contracted bacterial meningitis while living off-campus a nd died, which led State Senator Wendy Davis (D-Fort Worth) to expand the law to include all students. “A v e r y s a d c i r c u m stance to the incident is that Nicolis actually applied for on-campus housing but they didn’t have enough,” Davis said. “If he had gotten into on-campus housing, he would have been required to get the vaccine and he’d still be alive today.” One of the conf licts of the bill is the price of the meningitis vaccination, which on average costs $120. However, the shot is not only for the individual student, but also for the safety of all of the students attending college, Davis said.
See COLLEGE on Page 2
Early Warning Signs of Bacterial Meningitis: Symptoms can develop over several hours, or can take one to two days. • • • • • • • •
High fever Headache Stiff neck Vomiting Nausea Confusion Sleepiness Discomfort looking into bright lights As the disease progresses, patients may experience seizures.
See ACTORS on Page 2
A-train to have new railway car fleet by summer 2012 A LEX M ACON
Senior Staff Writer By next summer, passengers of the DCTA A-train will be riding a fleet of eco-friendly state-ofthe-art railway cars complete with new amenities. T he Denton Cou nt y Transportation Authority received two new Swiss-made rail cars for the A-train, with nine more to be added by next summer. The new rail cars are part of a $73 million deal with Switzerlandbased Stradler Bussnag AG. The A-train is currently using older rail cars leased from the Trinity Railway Express while the remaining vehicles are being constructed in Switzerland. The two cars arrived in Lewisville last week, and the other vehicles will be shipped to North Texas upon completion. Each of the new rail cars can hold up to 200 people, according to a press release from the
DCTA. The vehicles will contain bike racks for riders’ convenience and allow for a boarding level equal to the platform to accommodate disable passengers. The A-train will continue to operate using the older Trinity Railway Express vehicles until at least next summer, said Tom LeBeau, DCTA vice president of rail program development. DCTA officials hope to start testing the new rail cars in the coming months, but they won’t be available to the public until summer 2012, according to the press release. Testing will occur on Sundays to avoid interfering with the normal passenger rail schedule. Although officials expected use of the A-train to pick up with the start of the school year, some students are unhappy with the costs of using the rail. “I’m concerned for students who need to use it every day
$73
million deal with Switzerland-based Stradler Bussnag AG
200
number of passengers each new rail train holds
2
number of new cars that arrived last week
because they have to shell out a hundred dollars just to use it for a month or two,” said Regina Hall, a general studies junior. The A-train to Denton has been up and running since July, and commuters in North Texas can expect to see the DCTA’s next generation of rail cars up and running by next summer.
PHOTO BY ASHLEY-CRYSTAL FIRSTLEY/SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Two new A-train rail cars arrived in Lewisville last week. A total of nine more cars are expected to arrive by next summer. The rail cars are a part of a $73 million deal with Switzerland-based Stradler Bussnag AG.