North Texas Daily - 6/1/17

Living Learning Community coming to Rawlins Hall

THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 2017

VOL. 110 No. 1

PAGE 3

NTDAILY.COM

Living restrictions push sex offenders to Denton

By Nina Quatrino

Handheld devices are banned under the new ordinance which seeks to increase road safety by limiting when people can and cannot use their electronic devices on the road. Jake King

TURN IT OFF, PUT IT DOWN Denton bans use of handheld devices while driving

By Alexander Willis A new law will go into effect June 1 that prohibits drivers from using a handheld device for any purpose while operating a motor vehicle in Denton. The ordinance is stricter than previous laws concerning phone usage while driving.

Violation of the new ordinance will be considered a Class C misdemeanor and carries a fine of up to $500.

The ordinance does not ban the use of GPS units, including mobile devices that are mounted in the vehicle.

The ordinance also allows for the use of hands-free devices, such as a Bluetooth headset. Phone docks and hands-free devices are readily available ranging from $10 to $30, and Cars cross US-288 Loop at Colorado Boulevard, one of the busiest roads in Denton, Texas. Jake King

A slew of recent ordinances have pushed some homeless sex offenders and registered sex offenders out of certain neighborhoods and into cities and counties with less restriction, such as Denton.

With the City of Denton having three main Texas colleges and universities each within miles from one another, these ordinances have caused a number of sex offenders to take up residence around the campuses.

This means the chances of a college student having a next-door neighbor that is a registered sex offender is a real possibility.

“Because Denton is Denton, we feed [homeless offenders] and find housing for them,” Denton Police Detective Scott E. Miller said. “There are some blackout areas [where they are not permitted], near high schools, elementary schools and some areas surrounding [UNT].”

But because most background searches do not pull up minor cases, many registered sex offenders move into apartment complexes without question. Some could even live in student housing units, not technically affiliated with surrounding college or university polices.

“It’s [Texas] law that we can’t tell them no, or where not to live,” Miller said.

According to the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 62.153, all registered sex offenders have the freedom to become employed, or be students at UNT, as long as they continue to report to UNT police seven days prior to attending or employment.

“It’s all up to the management,” Miller said. “It’s not their fault if they didn’t know.”

Miller has been working with registered sex offenders for the past seven years and believes there is a stigma and dramatization about the amount of sex offenders alone in Denton County.

“As of today, there are 136 registered sex offenders in Denton County,” Miller said. “Out of the 136, three are female offenders…30 are homeless. Most look like average people. Some are older, some are younger – it’s not like they really stand out.”

Sex offenders in Denton are mainly charged with indecent exposure, failure to register as sex offenders and sexual conduct with a minor.

SEE OFFENDERS ON PAGE 2

SEE BAN ON PAGE 2

How UNT uses SPOT evaluations

By Nina Quatrino

At the end of every semester, students are encouraged to fill out their professor’s teaching evaluations. In the same way that students are graded throughout the semester, the evaluations provide students with the opportunity to “grade” their professors based on personal and academic experiences in the course, both positive and negative.

The Student Perceptions of Teaching, also known as the SPOT evaluation, is the official student-faculty evaluation system at UNT. They are required to be given out to students at the end of every semester, under the Texas House Bill 2504.

After conducting a comprehensive review of various evaluation systems, UNT selected SPOT as their preferred system. SPOT is delivered

by IASystem, originally from the University of Washington.

Colleges and departments throughout UNT use the results of the SPOT evaluations to assess teaching performance and effectiveness.

The university then pays close attention to the responses and response rates.

“We encourage every student to fill out SPOT evaluations because they provide feedback, but also they are more meaningful if everyone fills them out,” said Marilyn K Wiley, College of Business Dean.

Prior to SPOT, teaching evaluations were conducted in the classrooms on paper. Students filled out surveys anonymously while their professors left the room and dropped them into a manila folder for later review. Now with the entire system online, students have the freedom to express their experiences with the course in SPOT reviews and on websites like Rate My Professor.

But with the freedom to complete the surveys at the students’ leisure comes another challenge.

“Online surveys historically have lower response rates,” Vice Provost for Academic Affairs Christy Crutsinger said.

When comparing the turnout of paper evaluations and online student evaluations, the main difference is the ratio of students and responses.

“If it was 10 percent [of the students who responded], that’s different than if it were 90 percent of the class saying ‘every semester, this professor is a terrible teacher,’” Wiley said.

“Because they are anonymous, it can be hard to tell. But usually there are two extremes of distributions; those who like [the course] and those who dislike [the course].”

In a poll conducted by the North Texas Daily’s twitter account, students were asked to vote

SEE SPOT ON PAGE 6

Anything but ordinary frozen yogurt experience

By Kayla Henson

Yogurt Bliss is a frozen yogurt store in Denton where the specialty item is known as Muggles. These Muggles are similar to a frozen yogurt shake with a theme, this one referred to as “Campfire.” Jake King

In a booming business center 10 minutes from the Denton Country Club lies a small yogurt shop with a big twist.

Despite Yogurt Bliss’ deceptively sleek, gray interior, the real color comes from its extraordinary, unique dessert that draws crowds from all around North Texas.

Beyond the ordinary frozen yogurt options normally offered, Yogurt Bliss raises the bar through their introduction of Muggles - mugs filled with frozen yogurt that can stack anything from donuts to giant marshmallows on top of it.

“We wanted to create something fun but still keep yogurt as the main concept,” co-owner Judith Garcia said.

Along with her husband Gabriel Cortez and their

On Hickory Street heading east from the UNT campus, a notice sign is posted on an outdated bus Route stop for Route 9, which has been removed completely from the DCTA Denton Connect bus system following major changes that began May 15. Katie Jenkins

DCTA changes Denton bus routes

By Kate Baroni

New changes to the Denton County Transit Authority bus routes went into effect May 15, according to a DCTA press release.

These are the largest changes made to the bus routes since 2006, the year DCTA took over from the LINK bus system.

“These extensive service changes are intended to better meet the needs of transit riders in Denton,” DCTA President Jim Cline said in the press release. “Denton passengers can look forward to increased peak-period frequency, additional frequency in hightraffic areas and better connectivity between Denton Connect routes and A-train.”

Peak-period frequency refers to weekday service hours that experience a high number of passengers.

The changes were made as the result of a Comprehensive Operational Analysis done in March of last year. The COA was conducted to determine how DCTA could better serve the community.

“A majority of our Denton Connect Routes operated on a 40-minute frequency all day,” DCTA Communications Manager Adrienne Hamilton said. “With the new services changes, riders will be able to experience more frequent bus service now in 30-minute peak and 60-minute off-peak frequencies.”

SEE YOGURT ON PAGE 4

IN THIS ISSUE NEWS

Professor receives royalty check pg 3 UNT Chemistry Professor Guido Verbeck received a $10,000 royalty check.

ARTS & LIFE

Twilight Tunes pg 5 The Denton Main Street Association will host free music all summer.

OPINION

Financial Aid pg 7 If students aren’t applying for FAFSA, there needs to be a federal info resurgence.

SEE DCTA ON PAGE 2

NEWS Page 2

THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 2017

WHILE WE WERE AWAY...

NTDAILY.COM

Denton bus routes experience largest changes since 2006 DCTA CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Denton City Council Elections The City of Denton held city council elections for four districts on May 6. Gerard Hudspeth won District 1, defeating Emily White and Fran Hawes. Hudspeth will replace Kevin Roden. Keely Briggs ran unopposed in District 2. John Ryan won District 4, defeating Amanda Service. Ryan will replace Joey Hawkins. Ryan had previously served on city council for District 2 in 2015.

Runoff Elections District 3 will have a runoff election on June 10 between candidates Paul Meltzer and Don Duff. Jason Cole also ran in District 3, but a late entrance into the race hindered his level of support. Duff, a Robson ranch resident and one of the main supporters of the tax freeze, received 43 percent of the vote to Meltzer’s 38 percent. Of Duff’s 1,239 votes, 1,204 of them came in one district. Meltzer won four of the 10 precincts, with three not recording a vote.

Hamilton mentioned that University of North Texas students should see “an improved passenger experience” due to increased frequency and “better connectivity.”

Routes 1 through 9 have all experienced some level of change, varying in degree.

Some routes have been renamed, while others were removed altogether. On the FAQ page of their website, DCTA lays out the specific changes being made to each route.

The changes made to Routes 7 and 8 pertain to UNT’s campus the most. Route 7 will serve Rayzor Ranch and Mesa along Bonnie Brae Street, as well as provide service to the

UNT campus. Route 8 will no longer serve Eagle Drive or the area around the community service complex (previously Sack ‘n Save), however, it will provide service to the UNT campus.

During peak hours of travel, which are 6:30-9:30 a.m. and 3-7 p.m., there will be a bus from Routes 7 and 8 departing every 15 minutes for the UNT campus.

Route 4 saw the most change. This route now acts as a connector along the north and east sides of Denton. The stops on University Drive from Ruddell Street to Nottingham Drive have been removed, but service to the Denton County

Administrative Complex, Department of Public Safety Office, Medical City Denton, Rayzor Ranch, and Unicorn Lake have been added.

This route will not serve the Downtown Denton Transit Center, but will offer transfer opportunities to other Denton Connect routes.

Route 3 will no longer stop on Morse Street and Denton County Offices. The loops around Cardinal Drive and Oriole Lane will also now be served on both inbound and outbound trips.

Route 5 will now travel north on Bell Avenue to Coronado Drive to Locust Street, and will no longer serve Windsor Drive

west of Bell, Fallmeadow Street or Gardenview Circle. Service to Evers Park and the North Branch Library will be provided along Locust Street.

Route 6 will no longer service the west side of Texas Woman’s University along Oakland Street, Locust and Elm Streets.

It will now follow Bell Avenue from the Downtown Denton Transit Center to Windsor Street and serve western parts of the previous Route 5. Evers Park and the North Branch Library are served along Windsor.

Route 9 is no longer in service.

These passengers can now ride on either Route 7 or 8 instead.

@Baroni_0543

Tax Freeze Proposition 1, a property tax freeze on residents 65 and older, as well as those with disabilities, who qualify for a homestead exemption passed with a vote of 51.4 percent.

This means that those who qualify for the freeze will not see their property tax increase from year to year, as long as they remain in the same property. Those opposed said the freeze would shift the tax burden to younger generations, while those in favor said it helps those with a fixed income.

UNT Crime Several instances of sexual assault on the northwest side of UNT’s campus have been reported in the past month. UNT released a crime alert on May 19 detailing the launch of an investigation into the assaults. The male involved in the assaults has been described as having a large build, with his race unknown. According to the alert, he has been unknown to his victims and has carried out the assaults by entering into the victims’ homes. The investigation is ongoing. UNT and Denton police advise students to take proper safety precautions, such as not answering the door late at night for strangers, and reminding students to keep their doors and windows locked. The university also has counseling services, which can be reached by calling 940-565-2741.

North Texas Daily Editorial Board

Reece Waddell | Editor-In-Chief James Norman | News Editor Kayleigh Bywater | Arts & Life Editor Preston Mitchell | Opinion Editor Colin Mitchell | Visuals Editor

Production Team Julia Contarelli | Design Editor Kayla Davis | Designer/Copy Editor Kelly Fox | Designer/Copy Editor

The Denton County Transit Authority posted a graphic of the old and new routes for Denton Connect buses on their website back in February.

Photo Credit: www.dcta.net/news-events/entry/february-open-house-meetings

Stricter law bans phone usage while driving BAN CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Exceptions include using a handheld device to seek emergency assistance or to report an emergency, though it’s recommended drivers pull their vehicle to the side of the road and only do so when safe.

While previous Denton laws governing phone usage were restricted to texting, this new ordinance bans all usage of handheld communications devices, including voice calls. Drivers may still answer or terminate a voice call while using a hands-free system.

“The [previous] policies were harder to enforce,” said Denton Police PIO Brian Cose. “It was difficult to prove someone was actually texting.”

Accidents caused by distracted drivers using handheld devices have been a cause for concern for years. The National Safety

Council, a nonprofit public service organization, reports on average 1.6 million crashes per year are directly caused by cellphone use.

Teens are more prone to distracted driving habits, with on average 11 teen deaths directly attributed to texting while driving a year. The National Safety Council also reports a total of 3,154 deaths in 2013 caused by distraction-related crashes.

The ordinance is not without its critics, however.

Voted on in December 2016 by the Denton City Council, the ordinance passed with a 6-1 vote, with Council member Sara Bagheri being the only member opposed. Council member Gerard Hudspeth of District 1, who was just elected this May, is also critical of the ordinance, and said in its current form, he would not have voted for it.

“Why wouldn’t you include all distractions, or more distractions?”

Hudspeth said. “Why didn’t [they] include pets? Is it because it’s not as easy as a target?”

Hudspeth called the previous laws concerning phone usage while driving “enforceable” and argued that a straight fine does little to change behavior, suggesting community service as a better method.

While teens and young adults are often at the center of distractionrelated accidents, a large number of UNT students support the ordinance.

“I think it’s a good thing,” music senior Jacob Nydegger said. “I’m from San Antonio, and they’ve already implemented something similar there. It’s distracting, and I’ve definitely seen too many people

using their phone while driving already.”

Some students would like to see the restrictions on phone usage while driving become even stricter.

“I think ear pieces should go too,” computer science junior Matthew Greene said. “Anything that takes your focus off of the road should go.

All the time I see people not reacting to green lights when they’re at a stop.”

Other students, like computer engineering sophomore Udeeka Weerasinghe believe the new penalty is a bit steep.

“Sometimes I’m just changing a song on my phone, so $500 is a bit much in my opinion,” Weerasinghe said.

@Zubadascana

Sex offenders able to be employed, attend UNT

Business

OFFENDERS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Adam Reese | Director 940-565-4265 adam.reese@unt.edu

“Out of the seven years I’ve been working with offenders, I’ve had only one re-offend,” Miller said. “Most of these guys are just doing their time.”

Tania Wen, a UNT accounting BS/MS graduate, said she would like to know how this kind of information is classified, as there are instances of relationships between younger people where one of the children gets reported.

“I always heard Denton was sketch, so I’m not too surprised there,” Wen said.

Faculty Advisor Gary Ghioto | 940-891-6722 gary.ghioto@unt.edu

To pitch a story, or contact the Editor-in-Chief, please email northtexasdaily@gmail.com

Before becoming the overseer of sex offenders in Denton county, Miller used to be an undercover agent, posing as a minor to catch sex offenders. But when NBC’s Dateline picked up on the idea in 2004, local chatroom numbers started to drop, and predators became even harder to arrest by Denton PD. “[Offenders] weren’t going to give up information easily,” Miller said. “You could bait them, but they wouldn’t go for it.”

Now, sex offenders and

predators are documented every day. Miller said that the offenders know they are being watched, their records are public, and everyone knows where they are at all times.

Everything is public.

Despite the level of scrutiny and observation, some students are still scared and believe more should be done.

“Apartment complexes should look into better background checks, especially in a college town,” said Jorjia West, Texas

Woman’s University fashion merchandising and marketing junior .

As for safety, Miller recommends to always know your surroundings.

“You have to protect yourself,” Miller said. “Don’t walk anywhere at night alone, if you’re out at the bar and you don’t see your drink, even just for a second, don’t drink it. You are your own protection.”

@ninaquatrino

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President Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement. The Paris Agreement would establish global efforts to curb global warming.

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The Golden State Warriors face off against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Tip off is at 9 p.m. Thursday.

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UK General Election candidates debated Wednesday. Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn made an appearance, but current UK Prime Minister Theresa May did not attend.

NTDAILY.COM | PAGE 3

New Living and Learning Community coming to Rawlins Hall

By Devin Rardin A Living Learning Community in Rawlins Hall focusing on first generation African-American males will start in Fall 2017.

Living Learning Communities, or LLCs, are wings dedicated to a specific group of people within the residence halls on campus. The new LLC for Rawlins is called MARTIAL Eagles, which stands for Male Alliance for a Rigorous, Transformative, and Interdisciplinary Approach to Learning.

The heads of the new LLC are Harold Woodward, the executive director for student retention initiatives, and Candi Harris, student services coordinator. Their goal is to work with populations at the At the southern side of campus on Maple Drive and Avenue D is UNT’s newest residence halls, Rawlins Hall. This hall is home to the honors college students, UNT highest risk of attrition.

At UNT that population is first generation African-Americans, SERVES Living and Learning Community, and soon the new MARTIAL Eagles LLC. Katie Jenkins according to Woodward.

“LLC’s have a pretty good track record for producing students who students can learn more about the application. “[I want] to help students transition from high school into the are successful academically,” Woodward said. “I thought this would The LLC will focus on the history and culture of African-American college rigor we have here,” Harris said. be an excellent chance to see if we could develop a program that could males in the US, specifically through the lens of music. Woodward Woodward hopes students in the LLC will embrace the work attract first generation male students.” thought this theme would capture interest while being intellectually required in college, interact with each other while not remaining MARTIAL Eagle students will attend a one-hour seminar and are stimulating. isolated to the group, and be prepared to take on leadership roles required to take the three-hour sociology core course: Introduction to They will start by studying African-American music in plantation during their college career.

Race and Ethnicity in America. Even though the LLC is focused on societies followed by spirituals, blues, jazz and modern music.

“We hope to demonstrate that with the right attention these African-Americans, any first generation male student can join. The “I want the students to develop an appreciation for how the lifetimes individuals, in spite of being in the high-risk category of first application process revolves around two essay questions. of individuals actually influence music,” Woodward said. “I want generation African-Americans, can excel with the right approach,” It is generally first come, first serve, but they are looking for them to critically access music as an art form.”

Woodward said. students that will commit to the program, according to Harris.

Woodward will teach on the theme of music and history while @DevinRardin MARTIAL Eagles will have a table at freshman orientation where Harris will focus on academic success.

UNT professor receives royalty check for intellectual work

By Sean Riedel

Guido Verbeck. UNT

UNT professor Dr. Guido Verbeck was recently awarded a $10,000 royalty check from the university for his patented intellectual property that could shape the future of illegal drug detection.

Verbeck, an associate professor of chemistry, has been working at the university for 11 years.

He has several degrees including a doctorate from Texas A&M University, and has been developing new technology for many years.

Most recently, he developed a technology that can detect clandestine drug labs, hazardous materials and chemical weapons.

Combining his technology with a vehicle, Verbeck created what he calls a “mobile chemical unit.” This mobile unit is a 2015 Ford Fusion Energi hybrid sedan, equipped with an advanced mass spectrometer.

“We started to build the car initially on oil and gas well management, and it worked well,” Verbeck said. “But we were really surprised at

how well it worked for clandestine drug labs.”

Verbeck said the technology is able to find the sources of chemicals from far distances, allowing the mobile chemical units to detect these chemicals without having to enter private property.

The royalty check comes as part of an agreement between the university and Verbeck, which states that researchers who develop new intellectual property at the university will split the revenue 50-50 between researcher and university.

Michael Rondelli, associate vice president for innovation and commercialization in the Office of Research and Innovation, said in a press release that this is only the first of many checks for UNT and Verbeck.

“We expect a lot more as this exciting new technology gets to marketplace,” Rondelli said.

“It’s not just about making money but about having a positive impact on our communities.

Providing a path for research like this to get to the marketplace can impact the Dallas-Fort

Worth area in a big way.”

UNT President Neal Smatresk praised the work of Dr. Verbeck, as well as that of Michael Rondelli.

“Dr. Verbeck is a brilliant researcher whose innovations and big ideas make the university and the world a better, safer place,” Smatresk said. “Mike works hard to help faculty get patents, business partnerships and recognition so our faculty don’t have to ever be distracted from their important work. We’ve got a great team, and I’m so proud they both are part of the UNT family.”

Verbeck, who continues to work on new developments, said that UNT is becoming a very technology driven university.

“This is a good time at the University of North Texas,” Verbeck said. “These new ways of doing things at the university are really great.

It’s beneficial to all of us.” @SeanRiedel

Ban on sanctuary cities causes concern

By Sarah Young and Samuel Boyd After signing the sanctuary city ban into law on May 7, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott stressed the importance of safety and elected officials following the law as the reason for the bill.

“There are consequences,” Abbott said in a Facebook Live video before signing the bill. “Deadly consequences to not enforcing the law.”

The ban has received opposition and worry from citizens such as Cynthia Sanchez, a Denton resident and the child of undocumented immigrants, as the ban could result in protections provided by sanctuary cities being stripped.

While the definition of a sanctuary city is murky, the term is generally used to describe a jurisdiction with policies that provide protections to its immigrant population by limiting cooperation with the federal immigration enforcement program, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

As a border state, Texas has the second highest number of undocumented immigrants in the U.S at just under 1.5 million, according to data from the Migration Policy Institute. With such a high population of undocumented immigrants, Texas has been the focus of conversation surrounding sanctuary cities.

While no cities in Texas designate themselves as a sanctuary city, that hasn’t stopped several cities and

counties from setting up precautions to help protect their immigrant population.

Among these is Dallas County, whose Commissioners Court passed a resolution in February that stresses the importance of immigrants to the Dallas community and calls for “local law enforcement agencies to end nonessential collaborations with ICE,” as well as Houston, whose county sheriff cut ties with ICE in February and ended their sheriff department’s participation in ICE’s 287(g) program. Austin has also stressed a priority to not cooperate with federal immigration statutes.

But despite these cities’ refusal to work with federal enforcement, there has been state backlash against the concept of any city that takes these preventative measures.

On May 7, after a 16-hour session, the Texas House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 4 on a party-line vote.

The bill requires local governments to enforce federal immigration law as well as honor all ICE requests to turn over individuals for deportation.

If these local agencies do not comply, the city could face severe fines as well as a possible withholding of state funds. In addition, police chiefs and sheriffs could potentially be prosecuted by the state for failure to uphold immigration laws, now made a Class A Misdemeanor by the bill.

In an official statement, Sen. Charles

Perry (R-Lubbock) , the author of SB 4, thanked the House for passing the bill.

“It is imperative that we uphold the rule of law and keep our communities safe,” Perry said in the statement. “It is a bad day for Texas when officials sworn to enforce the law, help people who commit manslaughter and sexual assault evade federal immigration detainers.”

Despite this, some fear the bill will not simply affect criminals, but lawabiding immigrants as well.

Statistics from several studies suggest that crime rates are often lower among immigrant populations, and information from the Social Security Administration confirms that undocumented immigrants pay $13 billion in taxes every year.

SB 4 targets these immigrants, with no discrimination as to the kind of citizen an immigrant might be, as the bill allows law enforcement agencies to question the immigration status of anyone that they legally detain.

Many fear this will not only increase racial profiling by local law enforcement officers, but also discourage undocumented immigrants from reporting crimes due to fear that their immigration status may be questioned.

“We’re not exaggerating the effects of this,” District 75 Rep. Mary Gonzalez (D) said in an opposition speech that outlined some of these fears. “You’re protecting rapists because women will

not be able to come out.”

The concerns of racial profiling are also severe enough that some people even fear it will affect their day-to-day lives. Sanchez said it has caused her to go out and do things for her family to avoid having something happen to her parents.

“I’m terrified. I’m terrified for my family,” Sanchez said. “What happens if my mom goes out to get groceries and never comes back?”

Many critics of the protections afforded by sanctuary cities argue that undocumented immigrants should go through the proper channels to become legal citizens. Opponents however, note the difficulties, both monetary and logistically, in becoming a legalized citizen.

In some instances, the wait time to get a green card can be up to 10 years.

Emily Martinez, an integrative studies major at UNT and Canadian immigrant, recently acquired her green card after several months and approximately $2,800 in fees. Her family has lived in the United States on visas for most of her life, but she acquired her green card after marrying a U.S. citizen.

“I don’t understand how people can sit here and listen to my story and the process I’ve gone through as a very privileged person from a very privileged country, and expect people to come from

third-world countries,” Martinez said.

“How are they going to pay these fees? It just confuses me. I don’t understand how people can put their middle finger in the air at these people.”

What is being called “anti-sanctuary city” legislation goes all the way up to the federal level, with President Donald Trump signing an executive order in January that directs the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Attorney General to defund any jurisdictions that does not comply with federal immigration law.

Ninth Circuit Judge William H. Orrick blocked Trump’s executive order on April 25, declaring that threatening to take away federal funds from cities not cooperating with federal immigration law was unconstitutional.

Trump responded the next day by posting a tweet that called the ruling “ridiculous” and ending it with the president vowing to “see you in the Supreme Court.”

What this case taken to the Supreme Court might mean for the future of sanctuary cities is still unclear, because undocumented immigrants may still struggle with protections if cities enforce SB 4.

“I hope more cities step up for doing what is moral and right,” Sanchez said.

“Sometimes the law isn’t ethical.”

ARTS & LIFE Page 4

THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 2017

NTDAILY.COM

Denton shop offers gifts from around the world

By Kate Baroni

Once a year, Beth Klein scours through various stores and vendors in the city of Tucson, Arizona, shopping until she can shop no more. She searches, haggles, bundles and ships everything back home to her Denton gift shop, Sleeping Lizzards, which boasts crafts from around the world.

“Sleeping Lizzards is a cornucopia of wonderful

things you don’t need to survive, but you need to have beauty and creativity in your life,” Klein said. “It’s a place where we like to have everything you can’t find at Walmart.”

Klein, 53, is a joint owner of the store with Roxane Clark, 48. The two local artists have run the business together since its beginning. They have one other

Shop owner Beth Klein organizes pendants at Sleeping Lizzard on the corner of West Parkway Street and North Elm Street. Klein and co-owner Roxane Clark have owned Sleeping Lizzard for 23 years. Cameron Roe

employee, Shari Cobb, 55, who has been with the pair for 18 years.

“People are always asking if we’re hiring, but no one ever quits,” Klein said jokingly.

Klein initially had a wholesale business but sold it so she could spend time with her daughter, leaving her with a ton of product she couldn’t make a return on. Clark approached Klein with the idea to rent a storefront for $100 a month, and the two decided to try it out. Twenty-three years and three locations later, Sleeping Lizzards remains a Denton staple.

The store is a maze of color and variety. Clothes, postcards, jewelry, soap, stones and artwork plaster every shelf, aisle and wall. It’s an adventure for customers to make their way through the shop, stopping often to look at the many various items.

“Honestly, we have a sink,” Klein said. “When people say ‘everything but the kitchen sink,’ we even have the kitchen sink. We have just about everything.”

Klein’s own style is clearly reflected through her shop. Her glasses are hip and stylish, and she wears multiple necklaces of various lengths over a bright orange shirt with a pink floral pattern. There’s a lot to notice.

Some of the store’s staples are sourced locally by Klein from the Dallas Market Center, a wholesale trade center. Most of the treasures in the shop, however, are acquired from crafters all over the world, from India to Peru to Germany. Klein and Clark also make products of their own.

Clark’s passion lies in her homemade soaps, which come in many unique themes. There are event and holiday themes, like baby shower bars and even a bar shaped like a bag of candy corn.

Being a silversmith, Klein’s specialty is jewelry production. She graduated UNT with a business degree, but her passion has always been in art.

Whenever she isn’t working behind the counter, she’s

working away in her studio in the back of the store.

Klein has even offered jewelry making classes at her studio in the past for as low as $25. Though lately, she’s been spending more time with her granddaughter, leaving less time for classes.

Still, if a group of three or more people approach her with interest, Klein is willing to work with their schedules to set something up. The classes are very informal, and Klein enjoys them most when her students make a get together out of the class.

“If somebody says ‘I want to have a party, or my book club wants to do this instead of discuss the book,’ let’s get together, pick a project [and] we’ll do that project,” Klein said. “It’s great fun when it’s a party.

They can bring wine and refreshments.”

Klein has invested an admirable amount of time, effort and money into her shop over the years, coming to the conclusion that it’s been the best investment she’s ever made. There have been plenty of ups and downs, some lulls and booms in business, but one thing has always remained the same — the spelling of the store’s name is a hot item of contest.

Many people have puzzled over why the store’s name has two z’s. Once, a customer emailed the shop solely to inform Klein and Clark that they had misspelled the word “lizard.” Admittedly, the mystery behind the bizarre spelling isn’t quite what you might think. Their stories are just as whimsy and unique as their store.

“When we first opened, we were thinking in terms of signage and our logo,” Klein said. “Since [the name] is plural we were going to take the z’s and turn them into intertwining lizards, and we just never got around to it.”

@Baroni_0543

Local yogurt shop gains attention with Muggle treats YOGURT CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 friend Eric Mauk, Garcia began creating the concept for Muggles last December, and even held a New Year’s Eve taste testing party for family and friends to try the new creations.

The partners found an opportunity to try their concept out in a business after the former family who ran Yogurt Bliss moved, leaving the business to them in mid-February.

The idea for the Muggles stemmed from “playing around on Pinterest,” Garcia, the main creator for the recipes, said. Although the original idea came from Pinterest, Garcia creates all the recipes herself and continues to taste test new possibilities.

“We were wanting to make something different than usual,” Garcia said. “Muggles are all about creating anything but ordinary experiences.”

On April 1, Muggles were officially added to the menu and released to the public, resulting in an hour long wait line snaking out the door.

The reviews began to pour in shortly after, giving the business five out of five stars on Facebook Review. Facebook quickly became the company’s main source of advertisement.

Stacking up over 2,000 likes in the span of two months, the page also has an excellent engagement rate of customers liking and sharing pictures of the gigantic dessert mugs.

Yogurt Bliss employee and UNT alumna Juan Loya found this job ideal for releasing his creative passions while also following specific recipes set by Garcia.

“As a creative person, I like building the Muggles,” Loya said, adding the finishing chocolate syrup to a S’mores Muggle.

“They’re fun to make, and I like adding pizazz to the normal yogurt people are used to.”

Loya began working at Yogurt Bliss in early March and has seen a noticeable difference in customer size since the Muggles were released.

Birthday parties and large gatherings were soon planned after the release as people wanted to try the Muggles for themselves.

Despite the restricted interior of the store, Loya noted that most groups flow in and out, usually not staying longer than 20-30 minutes.

While there are many options to choose from, including everything from S’mores to Unicorn Muggles, Garcia assured there are several new flavors and ideas to come starting this summer.

“Starting the first week of June, we will be starting a Muggle of the Month, most likely based on that month,” Garcia said. “Like how we did the Bunny Muggle in April. We try to fit an ongoing theme or holiday for the given month.”

Muggles of the Month will only be available that month unless they are in demand enough to be added to the menu. For the month of June, customers can look forward to Coffee Muggles and Mini Muggles, which will provide an alternative to the towering mugs.

At the moment, Yogurt Bliss is open Sunday to Friday from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturdays. They will begin to extend closing hours to 10 p.m. in June.

As for any future plans for the company, Garcia is hopeful to open more sites, possibly exclusively featuring Muggles.

“We definitely see it growing and aspire to open more locations in the DFW area,” Garcia said.

PRESENTS

@kayla_hensonn

Yogurt Bliss runs on a build-your-own model, in which customers start with their own base flavor of frozen yogurt and then add as much or as many of any topping they would like. Jake King

HALF-OFF EVERYTHING SALE

JUNE 8, 2017 1701 BRINKER ROAD–NEXT TO WALMART MON-SAT 9AM-8PM | SUN 11AM-7PM

NTDAILY.COM | PAGE 5

Changing times on the Denton Square

By Kayleigh Bywater & Rachel Kressin

The Denton Square’s history extends beyond the Courtyard As Julie Glover takes long, drawn out strides down West Hickory Street, she stops, taking in the barren streets and empty shops surrounding her.

One family sits on the Courtyard Lawn, sharing a picnic while surrounded by silence.

An older woman quickly scurries into the Downtown Mini Mall, anxious to see what new trinkets and knick-knacks were added since the day before.

The parking spots are empty.

While these snapshots images are from Glover’s memory, she carries them with her every time she currently sees the Square bustling with people, patrons and parties.

Back in the 1990s, this was a daily sight on the Square. Storefronts were boarded up, visitors were scarce and morale was low. The Square was not the popular tourist attraction that it is today.

Instead, it kept tourists away.

“We would have something planned, and we would be so excited for it to get started,” Glover said. “And then nothing happened for another seven or eight years after that.”

From the ground up

Percussionist Tony Donate, of the musical group A Taste of Herb, plays with his band at the courthouse lawn of Denton’s downtown square.

The group played as the nights featured entertainment for the event “Twilight Tunes,” a program developed by the Denton Main Street Association. Katie Jenkins

Music at twilight

Twilight Tunes provide song and dance on summer nights

With the funky tunes of brass music in the background, children dance with each other at the courthouse lawn in downtown Denton on Thursday May 25. Many families and Denton residents were enjoying their evening listening to “A Taste of Herb,” a tribute band for Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. Katie Jenkins

By Kayla Henson On a warm, windy Thursday night in Denton, dozens gathered on the green grass of the Courthouse Lawn to enjoy the summer breeze and free music. With lawn chairs, blankets and food in hand, families and friends wave at familiar friendly faces as they find open patches of lawn to unwind.

Guitars are strummed and drums are tapped as the band of the week begins tuning their instruments and the crowd begins clapping in anticipation.

The sun dims over the towering courthouse. The community’s dancers stretch their limbs, ready to express themselves through the music. This is a regular Thursday night on the Square. It’s Twilight Tunes.

The Denton Main Street Association hosts the free Twilight Tunes gathering every Thursday night on the lawn of the Denton County Courthouse during the summer months. Friends and families gather to enjoy live music, conversations, food and drinks while children run around the yard.

On May 25, Taste of Herb took their usual spots with their instruments in hand. Their third year playing Twilight Tunes, they are no stranger to Denton’s lively community. The band pays tribute to famous musician Herb Alpert, most famously known for his hit instrumental song “Rise.”

Jon Wier, lead band member, trumpet and flugelhorn player, started the band five years ago with the help of his friend Joe Cripps from the Denton Brave Combo music group. Wier has been

blind for the past nine years, though it has not hindered him from consistently performing for audiences all over the country.

Twilight Tunes and bands like Brave Combo, known for its many accolades, such as two Grammy wins, are why fans such as Elizabeth Fitzpatrick come out week after week. Fitzpatrick is one of the many who find themselves taken over by the funky music enough to dance in front of the crowd.

“Dancing just feels freeing,” Fitzpatrick said, breathless after a full set of songs. “I can’t not dance.”

Once the music begins, dancers, both old and young, sway and shake in front of the crowd as the band belts out groovy music. As more people begin to gather and let loose, the onlookers slowly get up from their lawn chairs and join.

Though Fitzpatrick is one of the first ones to get up and dance, Denton resident Lynn Brooks is right behind her.

“I’ve gone to every Twilight Tunes for the past 21 years,” Brooks said, beaming with pride. “[I’ve] never missed a single one.”

A sound man and electrical technician throughout the 1980s, Brooks has been interested in music his entire life. The free music Twilight Tunes has to offer makes every Thursday summer night in Denton a special one.

“Any opportunity to dance, I’m there,” Brooks said.

Besides the opportunity for song and dance, Twilight Tunes also gives Dentonites the opportunity to gather together, with some attending the festival through many generations.

Donna Kerner, a Denton resident of over 60 years, tries to never miss Twilight Tunes. She remembers the memories she has shared with her family at this event over the past 14 years, things she hopes to never forget.

“My daughter is 24 now, when she was 10 I had her birthday party out here [Twilight Tunes],” Kerner said. “I brought all the girls out, we had pizza and they danced to the Twilight Tunes.”

The Denton community shares the same sentiment in supporting Twilight Tunes attendance.

A Beth Marie’s ice cream cart can be found located adjacent to the band, offering cold comfort in the summer heat. The UNT athletic program also made an appearance with fun games for kids and donation buckets passed around during the concert to help benefit their program.

While Twilight Tunes will only be going on for a few more weeks, people are already gearing up for what’s next.

“All these people coming together having community enjoying outdoors, not sitting and watching a TV, and having local artist play,” Wine Squared owner Brook Ray said. “There’s nothing else like that.”

Rachel Kressin contributed to this article. @Kayla_hensonn

Since the mid-1800s, the Square and the Courthouse have been focal points in Denton – through both good and bad times.

Just like many towns, the Square has gone through trial and error alongside cosmetic mishaps and unfinished projects.

While Glover didn’t begin to step foot into the everyday actions of the Square until 1994, the desire for a new and improved Square was already felt among many.

“The thing about revitalization in downtowns everywhere is that they didn’t deteriorate overnight and they won’t come back overnight,” Glover said. “It was a long, slow process to get from where we were in the late 80s, when there was hardly anyone downtown and we were only about 50 percent occupied, to where we were when I joined.”

When Glover joined in the mid 90s, only about 85 percent of the storefronts housed some sort of business.

And while 85 percent may seem like a good percentage of occupancy, what really matters is what type of stores called the Square home.

Glover said that 95 percent of the businesses then were some sort of retail shop, mainly antique shops. Out of all the opportunities for business ventures back then, the Square only housed two restaurants.

“People were using the businesses for ridiculous things,” Glover said. “For the longest time, there was a room next to the pawn shop that was actually a storefront, but they were using it as a store room. They could have been making so much more money leasing that spot.”

Making changes

The biggest shift to the Square’s business came in the early 2000s, when a Houston-based developer bought the block known popularly as “Fry Street.”

“He wanted certain things that he couldn’t get, so he just had a fit and tore everything down,” Glover said. “He ran tenants out.”

The developer shut down local favorites on Fry Street, including what is now known as The Abbey Inn and More Fun Comics and Games. Popular businesses at that time, like the beloved pizza restaurant The Tomato, were left with nowhere to go.

Slowly, business started making its way to the Square. Restaurants and shops that were run out by the developer made their way to a permanent home downtown.

When one door closed, another one right down the street opened.

“It’s kind of a sad thing that Fry Street had to fail for us to thrive,” Glover said. “But it was a big boost to Downtown because the kids had to find a new place to eat, drink and hang out.”

Now, the Square is home to 30 restaurants and bars, allowing people to immerse themselves in the shop and dine experience that the Square desperately needed to offer.

And while the restaurants and shops on the Square seemed to be packed, things aren’t always

easy on the other side.

Because of the boom of the Square, businesses are thriving and suffering in unison. Rent has skyrocketed, competition is high and space is limited.

The Chestnut Tree Teahouse and Bistro is one of the longest running shops on the Square. The retail space turned restaurant has been in business for 23 years, coming in at a time where the Square wasn’t as known and trying to thrive in a time where it’s the focal point of North Texas.

“We’ve been here before there were more than 15 restaurants downtown,” owner Suzanne Johnson said. “Because there was nothing downtown, rent was cheap. Now, rent is [too] expensive.”

Glover said some restaurants pay around $17 per square foot per year, with retail and office spaces coming in a little less. Some larger spaces on the Square can cost more than $5,000 a month in rent alone. That doesn’t include other utilities, content, product or money to keep running every day.

“There’s numbers when you’re writing your business plan – 30 percent of cost will be rent and utilities,” Johnson said. “There are businesses downtown that pay $8,000 a month in rent, and so if you’re talking $8,000 times 12, you have to do a lot of sales to cover rent [alone].”

That’s why properties along the Square and Fry Street, especially pertaining to restaurants, have a hard time staying afloat.

“We have these businesses come in downtown, and after a year they close,” she said. “And that’s incredibly sad. But we’re in the hospitality program, and it takes at least two years to recoup your money. At least 75 percent of all restaurants fail within two years of business.”

Looking forward

As the second Twilight Tunes festival of the year kicked off, Andy’s bartender Mae Baugh waited anxiously for the night of music to begin. Sitting in a blue lawn chair with a beer in her hand and her friends by her side, it was a typical Thursday night on the Square for her.

Baugh has been coming downtown almost every day for 10 years and has seen both the downtown area and the numbers of visitors grow every year.

“A lot of stuff has changed,” Baugh said. “But all of it has been relatively good. I think the Square is moving in a good direction.”

With newer faces, however, come seasoned Dentonites.

Carolyn Trussell has lived in Denton for more than 50 years and has experienced every stage of the Square’s “new beginnings.”

“I’ve seen the good and the ugly,” Trussell said.

She’s watched all the buildings be covered with slipcovers in order to “modernize” the Square.

She’s seen the boarded up stores. She’s witnessed the changes.

And although Trussell said she isn’t a huge fan of all the improvements, she knows they were necessary.

“I miss some of the older shops from back in the day and the closeness of the community,” Trussell said. “When I came to Denton in the early ‘60s, the city did not have near the population we have now. But luckily the Square has grown alongside Denton while keeping us in mind.”

While the Square has experienced its ups and downs, Glover said that it all lead to where the Square is today.

Glover said they have big plans in the works for the Square – some that will make residents happy and others that may cause frustration. But in the end, she said it’s about doing what’s best for the community.

They’re still taking down the slip covers, they’ve just managed to get all the boards of the windows and they’ve still got a lot of changes to make.

“There are some people who don’t appreciate it,” Glover said. “There are always people who wish things never change and things could go back to how they were. None of that looks good to me in the rearview mirror. The Square isn’t a museum, it’s ever-changing.” @kayleighbywater @rachel_kressinww

NTDAILY.COM | PAGE 6

Blind Spanish professor inspires through perseverance

By Sean Riedel Walking into a classroom in the Language Building, a man with a dark goatee and shaved head taps the ground with a long white stick with a red tip. The cane helps him to know if there are objects in his way, as well as helping him find his way to the front of the room.

Once at the front, he sets down his bag, pulls out his laptop and then sets it up. He plugs in headphones so the computer can read off the list of students names to him for attendance.

“Justin, are you here?” he asks.

“Yes, Professor Fuentes,” Justin said, hopping up to grab a flash drive from Professor Fuentes and get the days PowerPoint set up.

Eric Fuentes, 33, is a professor in the UNT Spanish department, teaching different Spanish courses throughout the week. He received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Spanish from UNT, and has been here ever since.

While Spanish is commonly one of the harder languages to learn at UNT for a majority of students, he has achieved these accomplishments while also being blind.

Fuentes was diagnosed with the vision disorder retinitis pigmentosa, or RP, at age 13 after having

vision troubles his entire childhood.

“It’s a hereditary disease,” Fuentes said. “I got it from my mom. Moms give it to their sons, and sons give it to their daughters. It first attacks your night vision, and then your peripheral vision and then your central vision.”

The middle of three boys, Fuentes’ older brother also suffers from RP, having been diagnosed a year after Fuentes. However, his brother only recently began to experience the deterioration of his sight.

While learning he had a vision disorder was rough on Fuentes, he said it was an even bigger challenge since he was diagnosed during the already awkward time of middle school.

“The challenges growing up was just dealing with the fact that you’re being told you’re never going to be able to see,” Fuentes said. “I became very introverted and struggled with depression throughout middle school and high school, missing out on ‘normal stuff’ like getting your license at 16 and playing on the football team. I always wanted to play on the football team, but they’re like, ‘You’re blind, you can’t do that!’”

Fuentes said he always thought of teaching as one of his only career options.

“I knew I wanted to teach, I just didn’t know what subject,” Fuentes said. “Honestly, Spanish was kind of the only thing I was making As in, so I was like, ‘I’ll just teach this.’”

But teaching is only one of Fuentes’ passions. He has also been playing music since he was a teenager.

“I play the bass guitar, it’s my home instrument,” Fuentes said. “I play the guitar, a little bit of drums and a little bit of keyboards.”

Fuentes used to play music gigs in and around Denton, having been in several bands. He and his older brother have always been in the same band.

Fuentes credits his love for playing music as the foundation for many of his friendships.

“I really got into playing guitar and bass, and from that I made some deep relationships,” Fuentes said.

“Actually, that’s how I met my wife. She was at one of our gigs.”

Fuentes and his wife Megan met in 2006 and have been together ever since, having married in 2010.

“My wife is the sweetest woman you’ll ever meet,” Fuentes said. “She does more than any other wife does for a husband. And she gives up a lot of her free time, and a lot of her freedoms just to help me. She’s the best woman I know.”

One of Fuentes’ favorite activities is simply spending quality time with his wife.

“We love to do what we call ‘Square Dates,’ where we just go down to the Square and grab a meal, and then just walk around and listen to the live music,” Fuentes said. “It’ll sound lame, but probably the thing I love the most is just being around Megan. Anytime she and I can do something together, that’s probably my favorite time of the day.”

While RP might stop Fuentes from doing some things, like playing football, he also knows the things he does despite RP have benefited him the most.

Fuentes hopes that being a visually impaired educator will add to his students learning experience as well as their overall gratitude for their every day lives.

“I guess I’d like to think it makes them feel more part of the class, you know, like ‘Professor Fuentes needs me to be there today’ kind of thing,” Fuentes said. “I get to have a different kind of relationship with my students.”

@SeanRiedel

Custodian committed to Pohl Rec since its opening

By Omar Mir As the first ray of sun finds its way through the darkness of the night, the doors of the Rec Center unlock to welcome the early risers and workers who are ready to take on another day.

People stream in throughout the 18 hours of the day in which the facility is open. While Fridays and Saturdays are slightly shorter days, it certainly does not mean the attendance is any less. An average of 4,000 members of the UNT community walk through the Rec doors daily, leaving behind footprints, sweat stains and dirty equipment.

The entrance of the double-layered doors separates the outside world from this fitness mecca. Every morning, gracefully dodging her way through a stampede of foot traffic, Maria Lopez goes about her day. Along with her trusty vacuum cleaner, she goes to work on the carpets in the entrance like clockwork.

Although she doesn’t speak much English, you can her humming songs as you pass by.

While some would be put off by peoples’ careless footsteps on the carpet or their hasty strides, Lopez isn’t. “[I don’t stop] until my body says enough,” Lopez said.

Lopez is one of the many custodians at the Rec Center. While she works to keep the floors and treadmills clean, her life stretches on outside of the walls of the Rec. “She’s been with us since day one, since when we

opened,” said Chris Lawrence, Associate Director of Facilities. “She’s the only custodian we have here that’s been with us that long. She’s as much a part of our team as anybody else.”

Lopez has made her way into the hearts of many at UNT, but her journey to taking care of the Rec and getting to know those in it hasn’t been easy.

Lopez was born in Durango, Mexico to an agricultural family. As a child, she lived on a ranch and remembers her time there with a quaint smile. Her smile accentuates the multiple wrinkles on her face but still shows a glimpse of the young, impressionable girl that once gleefully ran around with her siblings before she had to move away in search of a new life.

Lopez was only 11 years old when she found herself on the other side of the border, working as a nanny at a house in El Paso. There she took care of seven kids, helping raise them while also growing and learning herself.

She loves taking care of kids, and boasts as a proud grandmother with 10 grandkids. When she’s not at work, she spends her free time with them.

“I wish I could take more time out to see them, they are growing up so fast,” Lopez said.

Eventually, the kids she nannied grew up, and so did Lopez. In search of more work, she ended up in Arkansas working at a poultry farm.

Lopez got married in Arkansas and had her first child when she was 22. After having eight children,

UNT custodian Maria Lopez stands on the upstairs track, her work place mapped out behind her. Lopez has been a custodian for the Rec Center since its opening in 2001, taking personal care in maintaining it. Katie Jenkins her husband ran away in search of a younger woman, breaking her heart and leaving her by herself to raise the children.

The pain she felt because of her former husband is much too common from where she comes from, so she distracts herself from any negative thoughts by doing what she loves most.

At the Rec, she goes about her day, moving from one part of the facility to the next. There are hundreds of workout machines, several rooms for fitness classes, basketball courts, an indoor soccer facility, multiple swimming pools, elaborate locker rooms and bathrooms. Each piece of equipment and each room require her attention during her regular seven-hour shifts.

In addition, Lopez also spends her time making sure the administration side of the building is in perfect condition.

There is no area of the entire facility that is not covered during her workday.

“I think she takes pride in this place, just like the rest of us,” Lawrence said. “She has a very similar mindset as far as ownership of the building.”

Lopez is not alone in this her task of hygienic excellence. Her sidekick for the past seven years has been Walter St. John, a fellow custodian and friend.

“She’s a fast learner and a hard worker [because] she’s been in the cleaning business so long,” St. John said. “I never have to show her anything.”

While most people who work out at the Rec

Center go home at the end of the day, Lopez only has an hour in between working at the Rec and her other job. Lopez works from 8 p.m. until 2 a.m. cleaning three more clinics around the Denton area.

Lopez loves working, and only has time to spare for her 99-year-old mother and her grandkids if she ever gets time from work.

But despite the hustle and bustle, she never takes a breath for herself – it’s always for the benefit of others.

“When I was young, we used to drink organic milk and eat natural beans from the farm,” Lopez said with a laugh, reflecting on her drive and ambition. She attributes her customs and traditions to why she works so hard now.

Lopez might not be the definition of the normal “American Dream,” but she’s living her own dream.

Lopez said this has only been possible through two things - her hard work and the freedom to do so, following in the footsteps of hundreds of thousands of other immigrants who have come to find a better life in America.

So while students make their way to their cycling class or are jogging their stress away, Lopez is more than happy to assist in a way that may not be as commonly appreciated.

“I have no regrets,” Lopez said. “I believe whatever God has given me is enough.”

@omarmir27

Professors graded through SPOT SPOT CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

940.535.5555

...because even the best of us can be a DICK

whether or not they filled out SPOT evaluations or left comments on websites, such as “Rate My Professors.”

Of the 82 poll participants, 57 percent of students said they always fill out their teacher evaluations “no matter what,” implying students did them regardless of their experience in the course.

However, 19 percent of voters said that they never do their evaluations.

“Currently, our spring response rate is 56 percent, which is trending upwards each semester,” Crutsinger said.

This upward increase in student participation is present in the results of the poll, most likely due to the reward of extra credit.

“Professors are encouraged to promote student participation at their discretion under UNT’s Academic Freedom and Academic Responsibility policy,” Crutsinger said.

“Recommendations for awarding extra credit for completing SPOT are limited to an entire course reaching a certain percentage – not at the individual student level.”

Even though SPOT evaluations are important and it is encouraged students participate fairly, this survey is not the only factor used to evaluate UNT professors.

“Faculty are evaluated based on their contributions in teaching, research and service, depending upon their rank and workload,” Crutsinger said. “When evaluating

teaching effectiveness, faculty include other important metrics in their teaching portfolios beyond student evaluations, such as sample course syllabi, innovative pedagogical teaching methods, peer evaluations, teaching philosophies, undergraduate/graduate advising, etc.”

While SPOT evaluations are only one form of evaluation, they can become an issue if misused, something Jennifer Lane, a division of vocal studios professor at The College of Music said has happened before.

“In my opinion, student evaluations of teaching serve best when used to improve teaching through self-reflection, peer observation and honest face-to-face dialogue with students,” Lane

said.

Despite some students misusing SPOT, Lane said the College of Music takes SPOT evaluations very seriously.

“Students may view themselves as customers and professors as vendors,” Lane said.

“Professors often view themselves as scholarly intellectuals, scientists or artists and the students simply as students who have much to learn before they can function in the field, or in the case of undergraduates, the area of study. This is a cultural and generational issue in which many misunderstandings can occur.”

@ninaquartino

OPINION THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 2017

Page 7

NTDAILY.COM

A call to increase financial aid awareness

By Preston Mitchell Another semester awaits for nearly 85 percent of college students. This means another semester of dealing with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid – affectionately known as FAFSA. A 2016 analysis from NerdWallet found that recent high school graduates lost out on $2.7 billion in Pell Grant money due to “incomplete or unsubmitted” FAFSA forms. While these forms take an average of 30 minutes to complete, according to their website, there is still work to be done on their end to ensure students are consistently informed about financial aid.

While economists can point out deadlines and errors – two legitimate ways that students miss out on aid – the lack of awareness encouraging college enrollment is a definite fault on the fiscal crowd. Although every U.S. citizen is eligible for FAFSA,

the disproportionate means by which applicants receive aid is an ample cause for concern.

Enter “the Bennett hypothesis,” which originated in a 1987 New York Times column by William Bennett, President Reagan’s education secretary at the time. The piece laid his skepticism of financial aid increases bare, believing that they “enabled colleges and universities blithely to raise their tuitions, confident that federal loan subsidies would help cushion the increase.” Bennett’s observations of “our greedy colleges” partially stemmed from the rise of college tuitions “that exceeded inflation” in 1980.

So why is this hypothesis still hotly debated three decades later? Because no one has been able to disprove it. In fact, a July 2015 report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found a credible lwink between financial aid and tuition increases.

Since the availability of credit was expanded for homebuyers before the Great Recession, home prices were inflated “above their worth” as a result.

This influenced revisions of Federal Direct programs and Pell Grants between 2006 and 2008 to limit such inflation. According to USA Today, “yearly student loan originations grew from $53 billion to $120 billion between 2001 and 2012” because of the revisions. “Average sticker-price tuition rose [by] 46 percent” within the same time frame.

Therefore, the increased expenses of attending college necessitates proper financial aid awards. Increased expenses discourage many high school graduates from applying for FAFSA in the first place. A July 2016 study from the National College Access Network surveyed 150 low-income high school graduates between the ages of 17 and 20, finding that half of them had not applied for aid. Based on

their data, most non-applicants were “misinformed or uninformed about what financial aid [was].” In turn, they weren’t going to deal with something they didn’t fully understand.

Now it falls on educators and politicians to expand financial aid information. Many high school graduates live without college from a lack of economic awareness, and many college students drop out from overwhelming loan debt.

Truth be told, FAFSA makes college more affordable for U.S. citizens. But without further enlightenment from our Department of Education and beyond, plenty of young brilliant minds will never undergo a four-year college experience. Even worse, universities will be more incentivized to jack up tuition costs and discourage those minds from beginning or completing a higher education.

@presto_mitch

The benefits of owning pets in college

By Julia Falcon

Where Texas will go without one-punch voting

By Amanda Dycus On May 18, t he Texas Senate passed House Bill 25 w it h a 19 -11 vote. This bill eliminates t he voting but ton a llow ing automatic choosing a ll of Democratic or Republican candidates. It made par tisan voting a no -brainer, and decreased t he need for people to ex tensively research each candidate. To t he major it y of Texas senators t hough, t his was a problem.

The bill is intended to focus more on indiv idua l candidates instead of par t y af f iliations, but opposition says t hat it w ill heav ily inf luence t he voting pat ter ns of minor ities, and t hose who need assistance in t he voting boot hs. Yet t here seems to be no immediate reason for assuming t his w ill negatively impact minor ities, and t he bill didn’t come as a sur pr ise.

Democratic opposition is quite possibly based on prev ious bills t hat have disenf ranchised A f r ican-A mer ican and Hispanic voters in t he past, such as voter ID laws and redistr icting laws. But House Bill 25 on paper is fairly neutra l.

Texas was one of t he last of nine states in t he U.S. to still have t he single par t y selection but ton, according to t he Da llas Mor ning News. To most senators, it was a simple bill, passed w it h good intentions but most ly to just get t hrough t he process and join t he major it y of t he U.S. However, eliminating t he but ton does not eliminate par t y loya lt y, or t he presence of straightvoting. It merely ma kes voting a lit t le more time consuming for t hose people who go in k now ing t hey w ill do so based purely on t heir par t y.

In t he senators’ per fect world, get ting r id of t his but ton encourages voting based upon a candidate’s va lues and campaign promises. It could ma ke loca l elections more impact f ul in people’s lives. Cer tainly af ter President Dona ld Tr ump’s election, opposition pressed t he impor tance of loca l elections, say ing t hat if we paid more at tention to t hem, we would encourage bet ter politicians to r un for t he presidenc y.

Yet loca l politic s can be incredibly

inaccessible. They are not covered on highprof ile news stations and t hey require people to actively research candidates.

Sometimes, t his research may not even be possible, as many candidates are older and don’t have websites emblematic of t heir stances. Sometimes, t he most you can k now about a candidate is t heir name, par t y or slogan seen on t he side of t he road.

Some ba llots a lso contain over 50 candidates, meaning voters have to go t hrough and read each person’s name before voting, whereas w it h t he one-punch but ton, voting could ta ke f ive minutes or less. Sma ll cities w it hout t he resources to multiple voting sites would a lso have to dea l w it h t he back lash of longer lines, so voters would have to wait longer to vote, and t hen it would ta ke longer for t hem to properly vote.

The key t hing to remember here is t hat t his is not a new idea. Texas is one of t he last states to ban t his but ton and in t he 41 ot her states, voters still show up to suppor t t heir candidates. According to Rep. Ron Simmons (R- Car rollton), who aut hored t he bill, Nor t h Carolina eliminated t he but ton last year and t here was negligible change in voter t ur nout.

The rea l issue is t he accessibilit y of loca l elections. The one-punch but ton made loca l elections simple but now in Texas, t hey won’t be. It w ill be up to candidates to push t heir issues harder and be more approachable. House Bill 25 is likely to be implemented in September 2020, an election year, so politica l coverage w ill hopef ully encourage voters to do t heir research – no mat ter t he convenience.

@AmandaDycus

All illustrations by Samuel Wiggins

Growing up, I was always surrounded by animals. Cats, ducks, pigs, fish, you name it.

When I moved out of my mom’s house and into my one-bedroom apartment in Denton, it took me a while to adjust to how oddly quiet it was without having a meowing alarm clock.

I was never left alone. I always worked, attended class or hung out with friends. But last April, I adopted a kitten from an animal shelter in McKinney, which had been “code red,” meaning that this shelter was full of animals and offered adoptions for $25 versus the standard $60.

Many animal shelters across the country euthanize the animals who are left over and not adopted. This is a rising problem, and groups such as PETA or ASPCA suggest to adopt pets in lieu of shopping for them.

Although this shelter has been sporadically code red for months now, they continually struggle to bring people in to adopt and clear out the shelter.

Each year, approximately

2.7 million dogs and cats are euthanized because they could not find homes. By adopting a furry friend from the shelter instead of shopping, you could help shrink that number.

Adopting from the shelter also helps fight puppy mills, which breed dogs solely for the income the pups bring in. Dogs that are bred in these mills are often kept in stacked cages, producing dogs with health and emotional issues.

In Denton, many apartments and other residences allow pets to live there for a price, while some don’t. This leaves students and their pets with no other choice but to return to the shelter because of the price, or because their home doesn’t allow the furry roommate.

With the number of animals entering the shelters is higher than the number of animals leaving the shelters, the never-ending cycle of overflowing shelters continues.

Most students have jobs, full-time class schedules and extracurricular activities. Having a pet is like having a child, and these difficulties come with new

perspectives and life lessons to be learned. I’ve learned a lot in the short few months of owning my cat, Lana.

The perks of adopting from your local shelter include cheaper adoption fees, fighting puppy mills, already being housebroken, generally all shots, microchipping and spay and neutering are taken care of. Not to mention making a new best friend.

Since I adopted Lana, I have felt a more maternal instinct. I worry about her when I’m leaving for a 12-hour shift at work, I wonder what she is thinking when I’m focused on something else and in general, I can tell how much she has made an impact on my life.

I feel so much more responsible than I did before, I am learning more about being a pet owner and surprisingly, learning more about myself.

Coming home to a dog, cat or even a pig who is excited to see you and sit in your lap makes all the emotional difference in your stressful life.

@falconjulia22

Living through meditation is essential to mental health

By Garron Weeks Growing up as a teenager in the 21st century, I felt constantly under pressure to have an image and social status. As I made mistakes and ran through a gamut of imperfections, these worries would keep me up at night. I’d toss and turn in bed thinking about every little detail of my life and would do anything to distract myself from that feeling of anxiety. My mistakes and imperfections piled on top of each other through the years and as a result, my anxiety and depression led me to hit rock bottom. But it wasn’t until I hit rock bottom that I saw the world in a different light.

Growing up through grade school feels like an eternity, as if the boring classes, bullies and social anxieties would never end.

Because as kids, that’s all we knew. Once I graduated high school, I felt liberated.

But my demons would later return, as I continued to dwell within my thoughts.

I tried enrolling in therapy to talk about my problems, but I still dwelled on them. I tried prescription pills, but they would numb my emotions, cloud my head or make me groggy. I tried connecting more with religion, but still felt my anxieties controlling me. But it wasn’t until I began researching on the internet how to better my mind that I came across meditation.

Meditation seems intimidating at first because of the way that our brains have been developed to operate. With our cell phones, we have the world at our fingertips.

With clocks, we live by times and schedules.

Meditation, however, is where one relaxes and becomes in the present moment. I had always grown up with this weird perception that meditation was only something monks did and seemed like a waste of time in such a short life. Yet, the technique of meditation is simple

and straightforward. But it is our own expectations and judgments that make the practice complicated.

The easiest way to get into a state of meditation is to listen to the world around you and focus on your breath. Listen to the hum and buzz of the world, and your breath going in and out. It’s easy to forget that breathing is natural and it just happens to us. We don’t

need to focus on it, but once we do, it seems unfamiliar and very much in the present. Once one enters the meditative state, sensations of relaxation and clarity will come upon the person.

However, negative thoughts may creep back into the head. As contemporary philosopher Alan Watts once said, “It’s important that you don’t try to repress those thoughts by forcing them out of your mind. Because that will have precisely the same effect as if you were trying to smooth rough water with a flat iron.” The brain will create thoughts regardless, since it is a reflexive organ towards its environment and experiences.

I believe that it’s essential for human beings – especially college students – to understand the importance of living in a meditative state, as it allows you to let go of the worldly desires and anxieties. You do not have to sit cross legged in a field to meditate. One can come into this state at any time by just focusing on the breath in the present moment.

Beginning to practice meditation can seem very foreign, but fortunately in Denton, there are many places offering guided sessions in meditation and yoga.

For myself, I studied for many months before I really grasped the practice. Thanks to meditation practice, I am finally at peace with myself.

@GarronWeeks

NTDAILY.COM | PAGE 8

Post-graduation blues? It’s OK to be uncertain of life after college

By The Editorial Board We hope you’re all celebrating the summer as much as possible. Chances are that you’ve either graduated, you’re almost there or your close friend has donned the cap and gown and called college quits. For such conditions, you’re probably panicking as to what your future will appear to be after grasping the black diploma book and walking the requisite stage.

We’re honestly every bit as frightened as you are, which is OK. Judging by the way universities are structured nowadays, degrees guaranteeing good jobs are not as certain as they may have been for previous generations.

One score and ten years ago, tuition and fees at public four-year colleges cost an average of $2,699 – according to a 2007 College Board study. By the time the study was published, the average tuition and fees of public fouryear colleges were about $6,185 – a nearly 129 percent increase over the course of 20 years.

Now we pay even more money to complete college, on top of working part-time jobs, taking internships and

studying for the sole purposes of self-marketing and reasonable grades.

Occasionally, students have to work multiple jobs to fill in the budgeting gap that federal aid sometimes can’t.

In fact, a February North Texas Daily report found that “about 75 percent of the student population received some [financial] aid for the 2016 year.” While it’s understandable that millions of dollars can’t help everyone, those limitations do little for students struggling to make it through college.

The pitfalls of class only increase despondencies within an individual, which can naturally sour life after college.

Fortunately, recent graduates and those are who are soon-to-be are in a much better time than before, especially in regards to post-collegiate employment. The Washington Post once reported that “only 17 percent of May 2014 [had] jobs” lined up after graduation, which sadly made for over 4 out of 5 unemployed graduates. Now, based on new data from the National Association of Colleges and Employers, employers “expect to hire 5 percent more [recent] college graduates” from this year’s class than last year’s class.

Essentially, employers are beginning to pay closer attention to us and our worth to businesses and corporations nationwide. They are consistently posting job listings online in an effort to diversify the age range of their companies. Since economic pundits generally cite a person’s early 30s as the average age to buy homes, most employers visit multiple websites to strike the right marketing paradigm for millennials. And who knows millennials better than we do?

Whether you graduated weeks ago or you’re gearing up to do so, the most recommendable preparations are self-marketing and side jobs.

Whether you graduate college at 19 or in your late 20s, statistics alone dictate that we’re not expected to have our lives together right off the bat.

Even if you appear to be set, using social media to maintain professionalism outside of the workplace will take you further in the eyes of employers. A 2015 study from Jobvite found that 92 percent of recruiters check their applicants’ social media – primarily LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

It is also important to seize the scholarship resources and in-house job opportunities that their college offers. Although resume-building is imperative, you don’t necessarily have to work a surplus of jobs to look occupationally acceptable. If time and sanity are both of your necessities, apply for on-campus jobs and scholarships to stay afloat.

Both avenues are close to classrooms, and make the college experience much easier to swallow.

Rather than letting stress overtake confidence, take comfort in the decision to attend college anyway. Doing so means that we’ve taken the first steps toward adulthood, and receiving that diploma is still an aspiration every college student should aim for. As we said before, we’re all frightened about the bigger transitions ahead.

But at this age, the ability to surprise ourselves is more valuable than anything else.

@ntdaily

Illustration by Samuel Wiggins

Views from the third culture: The life and times of an international youth

By Jynn Schubert I’m a third culture kid, which is any person who spent a significant part of their developmental years in a country or culture other than the one on their passport. The product of globalization – meaning myself and many other children of “expats” or “expatriates” – end up partially belonging to several countries and cultures without truly feeling membership of any.

My life, akin to the chapters of a book, has been split into segments. Some are longer, some are shorter. All of them are just as important to the story and make it what it is.

What that means is different for everybody: a mixture of unique, if not all great, experiences that nobody else will have.

For me, it refers to living in three different

countries, going to seven different schools, attempting to learn three non-English languages and failing in the process. I couldn’t tell you where my hometown was even if you offered me $100.

It means cool situations like learning how to carve a wooden bow from tribe warriors in Kenya.

It means tragic events like being “redeployed” back to the United States when I was nine years old because of civil unrest in my non-incumbent home of Chad, while my mother stayed behind. It means smaller matters like trying to understand my little sister, who has grown up around so many different languages that she can interchange them mid-sentence.

But more challenging than having to navigate language and cultural barriers was explaining to

people in third world countries that my mom was the reason we traveled and that yes, my dad was happy to raise two strong girls and take care of things at home.

It mostly means not being fully understood by anybody except for your siblings. The nomadic feeling you live with as a result of your travels makes it easier to fit in everywhere, at the cost of never really feeling like you belong anywhere.

Who am I? My passport says I’m an American, but I have felt more at home during week-long trips than I have at my permanent address. This is the kind of question I ask myself often, sometimes on a daily basis.

It wasn’t until my recent experiences, many of which were from college, that a third culture kid

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lifestyle has been proven to not necessarily be a bad thing. During my teenage years, I constantly had to defend stories of my life from being labeled lies. Now I can share my experiences in an environment that values the diversity of people and their journeys.

I wouldn’t trade the life I’ve lived for anything.

I know that wherever I go, I can offer a unique perspective that can’t be replicated.

Growing up the way I did might not have been easy, but it taught me that home is much more than simply a place.

@JynnWasHere

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