NTDaily 9-28-11

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Forever Young Forward earns weekly conference award Sports | Page 5

Groovy Gallery

Series on the Square features student musicians Arts & Life | Page 4

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

News 1,2 Arts & Life 3,4 Sports 5,8 Views 6 Classifieds 7 Games 7

Volume 98 | Issue 20

Sunny 94° / 68° The Student Newspaper of the University of North Texas

ntdaily.com

State SAT scores fall, UNT’s rise NICOLE BALDERAS Senior Staff Writer

PHOTO BY JUN MA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Oskar Forsberg sits eating fish and chips at a portable table set up outside the Angry Friar food truck. Dave Wilson, owner of the eatery, serves made-to-order fish and chips on UNT’s campus Monday through Friday from 5-10 p.m.

City considers food truck permits A LEX M ACON

Senior Staff Writer Hot dog stands and mobile t aquer ia s c ou ld soon be springing up around Denton if the cit y approves a new ordinance currently in the works. Last week the Denton City Council held a work session to discuss possibly changing the city ordinance on mobile food tra ilers to follow t he lead of cities like Austin and Portland, where food carts are in abundance.

T he c u r rent c it y ord inance states that a mobile food trailer may only stay stationa r y for 15 minutes. Temporar y permits can be obtained to allow food carts at events and festivals. Ku r t Ha n sen, bu i ld i ng i n s p e c t or f or t he c it y ’s bu i ld i ng i n spe c t ion a nd consumer health department, said the city council has been very positive about changing the mobile food trailer ordinance. “ We’r e g oi n g t o s t a r t

meeting and make an ordinance,” Hansen said. “I think it’s a go.” Hansen said his department, which oversees the regulations and permits of Denton’s food service industry, would have a new ordinance ready for the City Council to vote on in about two months, and Denton residents could see food trailers around town as early as January if it passes. Hansen said he studied food trailer ordinances in cities like Portland and Austin – which

has about 1,400 permitted food trailers – and would model Denton’s ord i na nce of f of those. O w ners of mobi le food t ra i lers wou ld have to get permits f rom t he cit y a nd apply with local landowners before finding a place to set up shop. “W hat will be interesting is when we begin to see the creativity of entrepreneurs [in the area],” Hansen said.

See CARTS on page 2

In t he same year t hat UNT accepted its hig he s t-r a n k i n g i n c o m i n g freshman class, the U.S. average score in the critical reading section of the SAT fell to the lowest number in 40 years. On a scale of 2400, the reading, math and writing sect ions of t he SAT a re all weighted the same at 800 points each. Although Tex a s’ average read i ng score is 13 points less than the national average of 497, Texas has seen a greater increase in participation than most states as 147,960 students of the 2011 graduating class took the test. In an effort to become a Tier One research university, UNT admissions officers are becoming slightly more stringent about whom they admit to the university. “What’s happening is for every two students admitted one is not admitted,” said Warren Burggren, provost a nd v ice president for academic affairs. “We’re debunking the open admission myth. The quality of our students is continually getting better.” The universit y is c u r rent ly ad m it t i ng 65 percent of its applicants, including f reshmen a nd transfer students.

High school SAT scores UNT freshman scores U.S. average SAT critical reading score Math & Reading Scores UNT 2011 1105Freshman average 1011 U.S. Average 989 State average 65%

Freshmen & transfers currently admitted to UNT

UNT only takes into account read i ng a nd mat h scores during admission, and this year, the university accepted a freshman class with an average of 1105, four points more than last year. This number is more than 100 points higher than the state average of 989 and still greater than the national average of 1011. “The research universit y that we envision is one that has the best undergraduate[s] in the state,” Burggren said. “When we compile this list of the top 50 research programs, many of them had the best undergraduate programs.”

See SAT on page 2

Possible smoking ban catches Denton’s attention MELISSA R ATLEY Staff Writer

The Denton City Council is consider i ng a smok i ng ban for city workplaces, bars and restaurants, similar to comprehensive ordinances passed in surrounding areas including Dallas, Highland Village and Flower Mound. John Cabrales, public information officer for the city of Denton, said initial reactions have been mixed, but the city is still in the research stage regarding the ordinance. “We will probably see initial results as early as December, a nd we w ill move for wa rd from there,” Cabrales said. T he proposa l w a s f i r st introduced by Denton resident Rebecca Smith-Murdock at the Sept. 6 Cit y Council meeting during the citizen reports segment. During her presentation, Smith-Murdock backed up her proposal with economic statistics from El Paso and Houston

after their ordinances were put into effect, and said both cities had no negative effects from their respective smoking ordinances. Business owners are gearing up for any issues the potential ordinance may bring. Brandon Martin, a bartender at Hooligans, said he is aware of the proposal, but he doesn’t think the ordinance would have an effect on the bar’s business. “I think most people would deal with it,” Martin said. “People realize that it will eventually happen, but I don’t believe that it would hurt us.” The current UNT policy for smoking on campus prohibits smok ing in buildings and university-ow ned vehicles. Smokers must be 25 feet from PHOTO BY REBEKAH GOMEZ/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER any building on campus out of Tiffany Kennard, a rehabilitation counseling graduate student, smokes outside Big Mike’s Coffee Shop after getting a cup “respect for others,” according of coffee on Tuesday. to policy 9.8. and they need to hear from UNT Student Government nance, which would affect the across campus. “The students should express students before a decision is Association President Blake UNT Denton campus, would Windham said a city ordi- likely see a mixed opinion their opinions to the Council, reached,” Windham said.

Census revises same-sex couple results (MCT) WASHINGTON — The U.S. Census Bureau on Tuesday sharply revised downward its estimate of the number of same-sex households across the country, reflecting confusion over how to accurately count gay and lesbian couples that have gained varying degrees of legal recognition of their partnerships over the past decade. Unlike with factors such as race, gender and household income, the Census Bureau doesn’t attempt to count gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals. Only

in the 2000 census did it start to count same-sex households, and demographers say the wording of the forms may have led to an unusually high number of inaccurate responses. The bureau said there were approximately 646,000 same-sex households in the United States in 2010. It originally counted more than 900,000 same-sex households in 2010, but then estimated that as much as 28 percent of that count was actually opposite-sex. “I applaud the bureau for trying

to provide the most accurate information,” said Gary Gates, a demographer at the University of California-Los Angeles who specializes in the gay and lesbian population and reviewed the Census Bureau’s revisions. “The problem is, people can make mistakes.” In spite of the downward revision, Gates said the census might have actually undercounted same-sex couples. “I’ve been one of the voices saying to the bureau that ‘the way you’re measuring has serious

problems,’ “ he said. He suggested changing the wording from husband/wife or unmarried partner, combined with sex variables, that the form currently uses. He suggested using the simpler categories used in Canada and Great Britain for couples: Opposite-sex husband/ wife, Same-sex husband/wife. “It’s a way to get much more accuracy,” Gates said. “Unless they do that, they’re never going to fix this problem.”

See CENSUS on page 2

An ongoing poll conducted on NTdaily.com asked website visitors if the city should implement a citywide smoking ban. As of Tuesday evening, 49 percent of 95 people who voted said they would like to see the ban happen. About 35 percent said they thought businesses should decide for themselves. Six voters said they go to Denton bars because they can smoke, and eight people voted that they didn’t care either way. “When people go out to a bar, any idea of health usually goes out the door when you have a few beers, so when you light up, it shouldn’t be a big deal,” said Matt Lanier, an emergency administration and planning junior. Denton’s current hea lt h code prohibits smok ing in city-owned buildings as well as schools and stores, and also requires restaurants to designate a smoking area in their establishments.

What’s Inside NEWS:

Students protest Berkeley’s “anti-affirmative action” event Page 2

ARTS :

Program improves students’ relationship skills

Page 3

VIEWS:

Tax breaks for oil companies hurt schools

Page 6

SPORTS:

Getting to know UNT’s special teams weapon

Page 8


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