NTDaily 9-29-11

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Baring it Almost Burlesque dancers thrive in Denton Arts & Life | Page 3

Net Work

Freshman leads UNT soccer team between the pipes Sports | Page 5

Thursday, September 29, 2011

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

Volume 98 | Issue 21

Sunny 97° / 66°

ntdaily.com

The Student Newspaper of the University of North Texas

Experts weigh in on Grove balcony collapse ISAAC WRIGHT

Assigning Editor The balcony collapse at The Grove apartments in Denton on Sept. 3 should have never happened because decorative balconies with doors that access them are prohibited by building codes, industry experts said. Three men attending a party the early morning of Sept. 3 were taken by helicopter to a Fort Worth hospital after the thirdfloor balcony they were standing on fell to the parking lot below. All three men sustained injuries and one was in serious condition following the incident.

According to police reports obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request filed by the Daily, witnesses reported that people attending the party had been walking off and on the balcony to smoke cigarettes during the hours before the collapse. Witnesses also reported the three men injured were not engaging in reckless behavior while on the balcony. The three men were identified in police reports as Antonio Garcia, a 24-year-old UNT student, Grant Draper, 24, and Garrett Draper, 22. Building codes specifically

professor in the construction engineering program. “Building codes aren’t just city of Denton building codes; they’re national. You just can’t have a door that opens up into nowhere.” A statement issued by Campus Crest, the North Carolina-based company that owns The Grove, the morning after the incident, said the balconies were decorative and not meant to be load bearing. The three men accessed the balconies through an unlocked door that led onto them.

restrict doors that lead onto unsafe landings, said Guy Brown, owner of a Dallas-based architecture firm that designs residential, office and retail buildings. “That’s probably an architect’s nightmare,” Brown said. “You cannot have doors that go out onto something that’s going to fall down.” Althea Arnold of the engineering faculty also said the doors and balconies The Grove installed should not have been allowed. “If you have a door, it must have a landing that meets building codes,” said Arnold, assistant

PHOTO BY CRISTY ANGULO/ASSIGNING PHOTO EDITOR

The Grove apartment complex located on Fort Worth Drive has come under scrutiny after three men fell from a balcony at the complex in the early morning of Sept. 3. The Grove maintains its balconies are decorative and non-load See GROVE on page 2 bearing, yet they are easily accessible by door.

Yodels, beer, games highlight Oktoberfest Fund committee seeks new green projects R EBECCA RYAN Staff Writer

PHOTO BY AMBER PLUMLEY/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Kenny Tee, a finance graduate student, and Xiaoshu Li, a merchandising graduate student, pose in the character frame Wednesday night at Oktoberfest. DAISY SILOS Staff Writer

A group of 10 students stands abreast holding a beer mug full of water at

arm’s length. The object of the game, called “makrug,” is to hold the mug the longest, but contestants drop like flies. Not because the mugs are heavy,

but because they realize how funny it looks to stand in front of 350 people fiercely grasping a beer mug.

See OKTOBERFEST on Page 4

UNT’s Sustainability Council is offering members of the UNT community an opportunity to be involved in deciding which green projects UNT takes on. Through the “We Mean Green Fund,” students, faculty and staff are able to submit proposals for environmental projects, which will be reviewed and approved by the Sustainability Council’s student-majorit y subcommittee, according to the council’s website. “We want to empower students to make a difference and control what their money goes toward,” said Nicole Cocco, a student services representative for the Office of Sustainability. “We need more students on the council for there to be a more legitimate representation of students.” Students pay a $5 fee each fall and spring semester to go toward UNT’s We Mean Green Fund, which currently has about $200,000. The fee was approved in a special election during Earth Week 2010 and went into effect fall 2010. Since its creation at the end of the spring 2011 semester, the

subcommittee has been working to verify that all of its policies and bylaws correspond with UNT policies, as well as accepting and analyzing incoming proposal applications. “Our committee is supposed to be the voice of the students,” said Breana Hyche, an international studies senior and council chair on the student committee for the Green Fund. “We would like a minimum of 10 students before we take action.” The subcommittee is required to have at least five students and three non-students. As it stands, the group is made up of four established members and five who are in the process of becoming members, but it’s still looking for more representation. “I, personally, like the different rainwater recycling areas and would like to see more,” Hyche said. “However, I am more interested in seeing the innovative and creative ideas of students and staff around campus. We want to appeal to everyone, from art students to engineering students.”

See GREEN on page 2

University continues Florida moves primary vote asbestos removal efforts A MY SKAGGS Intern

UNT is in the process of an ongoing project to identify and analyze asbestos-containing material in all of its buildings, in order to comply with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Code of Federal Regulations. A number of UNT buildings were constructed with building materials containing asbestos, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists as a carcinogen. “It’s good for people to know that asbestos exists in these buildings,” said Matt Moncus, asbestos manager for UNT’s Risk Management Services. “But they should also know that there is a process in place that has been established for many years, and we definitely follow that process.” Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral commonly used before 1996 in building construction because it has strength and resistance to fire and heat. Risk Management Services has found asbestos in floor tiles, drywall, roofing felt, various forms of insulation, and inside cement in some of UNT’s build-

ings, Moncus said. Asbestos is found in friable and non-friable forms. Friable asbestos is considered most harmful because it can be crumbled easily by hand, causing it to

“It’s good for people to know that asbestos exists in these buildings.”

-Matt Moncus UNT’s asbestos manager

become airborne. In this form, asbestos can be breathed in, which can lead to health risks including lung cancer, according to the CDC website. Non-friable asbestos is in a form that cannot be crumbled by only hand pressure and therefore is not considered an immediate threat, according to the EPA. This form can become harmful if it is damaged during renovations or demolition.

Since 1996, UNT has followed National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants, which stipulate that materials containing friable asbestos are abated through contracts with a trained asbestos removal companies. However, abatement is not required for non-friable asbestos because it is not considered a threat. UNT’s Risk Management Services created a management system in accordance with the Texas Department of State Health Services. “The mission of the asbestos program is to protect and promote the physical and environmental health of the people of Texas from asbestos,” according to the department’s website. The plan, also available online, contains removal procedures, a permit system and requirements for training courses. “From personal knowledge, I know they’re well trained. From personal experience, I have found them very helpful. I wouldn’t worry,” said Rick Reidy of the engineering faculty. More information is available at: https://web3.unt.edu/riskman/ index.php?section=index.

(MCT) WASHINGTON — Florida’s expected move to set a late January primary will force other states to move their nominating contests ahead in kind, pushing the start of the Republican presidential sweepstakes closer to – and perhaps even earlier than – New Year’s Day. Florida House Speaker Dean Cannon said state Republican leaders have agreed to move the state’s presidential primary up by more than a month in order to make sure the nation’s largest swing state will go fifth in the nominating pecking order. That decision, first reported by CNN, will be formalized Friday by a panel named by Republican Gov. Rick Scott and legislative leaders. The move violates rules established by the party’s national committee that were intended to delay the nominating process until February. Those rules say only four states – Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina – can hold nominating contests in February, and other states must wait until the first Tuesday in March. Flor ida leaders have intended for their contest to

be next in that lineup, and are setting the date for Jan. 31 since other states have already moved to or are keeping their contests in February. “Florida’s rightful position is fifth. We will have to go no earlier than Jan. 31,” Cannon told The Orlando Sentinel. “We think that’s the right date.” States that move ahead of the established RNC window face penalties including slashing the size of the state’s delegation to the national convention. It is unclear whether the

party will follow through on that threat, particularly since Florida is home of the party’s 2012 convention. Iowa’s caucuses, the first of the nominating contests, had tentatively been scheduled for Feb. 6, and Florida’s move could push that date to the first part of January, if not earlier. M a t t S t r a w n , I o w a’s Republican Party chairman, reaffirmed to the Des Moines Register on Wednesday that his state “will be first.”

What’s Inside NEWS:

Library dean calls on students to help with budget shortfall

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182 album, ARTS & LIFE: Blink concert successful

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SPORTS:

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VIEWS:

Volleyball team travels to the Bayou to open Sun Belt play

Student: City-wide smoking ban a solid solution

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NTDaily 9-29-11 by North Texas Daily - Issuu