North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 117, No. 4, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 19, 2019 Page: 2 of 6
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NEWS
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2019
NTDAILY.COM
Page 2
North Texas Daily
Ll
OPTION
Editorial Board
Production Team
iiaa
Business
Faculty Adviser
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F
^JNT
EST. 1916
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NTDaily-Artsandlife@unt. edu
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@nikjobo
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Opinion Editor
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@spencer_kain
NTDaily-Opinion@unt.edu
Editor-in-Chief
Rebecca Najera
@rebeccanaj era42
NorthTexasDaily@unt.edu
Visuals Editor
Will Baldwin
@willvsboredom
NTDaily-Visuals@unt. edu
Design Editor
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@BrielleMThomas
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Sports Editor
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Managing Editor
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NTDaily-Editor@unt. edu
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NEWS AROUND THE US
By Jasmine Carrillo
Pentagon halts Border Wall
project due to cost
The Defense Department is stopping the
production of three border wall projects
in California and Arizona due to lack
of funding, according to Politico. The
project has authorization for 20 miles
of infrastructure with the budget of $2.5
billion. The Defense Department will not
be able to cover the cost of the planned
border project, according to Politico.
Oklahoma woman arrested after
threatening school with AK-47
18-year-old Oklahoma woman, Alexis
Wilson, was arrested after allegedly
making threats against her former school,
McAlester High School in Pittsburg
County, Oklahoma, according to CNN.
Wilson allegedly showed her coworker
videos of an AK-47. Wilson’s bond was
set at $250,000 and she is due in court on
Sept. 27, according to CNN.
Illustration by Jeselle Farias
to some, as companies like Bird and Lyft
continue to place them in cities across the
country. Some UNT students can be found
“zipping around” campus on their own
personal electric scooters, Sietren said,
similar to the models used by VeoRide.
Human development and family science
senior Elora Dannon said she has wanted
electric scooters on campus for some time
because of their convenience and novelty
when compared to conventional bikes.
“I like how the [VeoRide] bikes give
people an alternate way to get around but
I really don’t want to bike around in this
hot weather,” Dannon said. “I would use
[scooters] to get around not because I have to,
but because I want to. I’d scoot to the Square,
to my campus, to my friends’ houses. I feel
like even people that drive would do that,
especially if they park off campus and walk.
I could see a lot of people using them on the
Square, too.”
Texas Women’s University accepted
VeoRide bikes like UNT, but a spokesperson
for the university said scooters will not come
to their campus in light of safety concerns.
“We have a focus on health and well-
being and the bicycles were great because
it helped support our strategic initiative of
getting people outdoors,” TWU Director
I
Sections of the Eagle Commons Library beneath Sycamore Hall closed off due to mold.
Image by Ricardo Vazquez Garcia
semester I stayed on the floor
above what was sealed off for the
mold treatment and I didn’t stay
for more than thirty minutes
because I started coughing.”
Eagle Commons Library
said on Twitter that while they
wanted to assure students the
mold in the library is “just
ordinary mold,” students with
sensitivities should avoid the
book areas while they are still in
containment.
Students and faculty can
report suspected mold by
contacting the Work Control
Desk at 565-2700 or filling out
an online indoor air quality
report for Risk Management
CAUTION > cau:
By Brooke Colombo
@BrookeColombo
The basement floor of Eagle
Commons Library in Sycamore
Hall is set to open for student
use in two weeks after closing
for mold removal, Associate
Vice President for Facilities
Dave Reynolds said.
“Right now, we’re waiting on
final results,” Reynolds said.
“They’ve finished the cleanup,
but we’re waiting on some final
analysis on the humidity in the
air in that area. We should be
wrapping that up in the next two
weeks just to be safe.”
Facilities was first made
aware of the mold back in March,
but over the summer they
realized the mold had continued
to grow. Risk Management
Services were brought in to
evaluate the mold.
“We had mold on books in
the book stacks, as well as down
in the basement utility room,”
Reynolds said. “We may bring
in Risk Management from the
university to help us do an
evaluation of how much mold is
there and if it’s something that’s
Arizona court rules designers can
refuse service to same-sex couples
The Arizona supreme court ruled that
two designers are not required to make
wedding invitations for same-sex couples
in a 4-3 ruling on Monday, according to
CNN. Neither state nor federal civil rights
accommodation statues protect sexual
orientation. Both owners seek to operate
their business “consistent with their
religious beliefs,” according to CNN.
HOUSING CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
that were offered and accepted
the buyout, remains unaware
of receiving the $350 refund for
the housing application.
“Unless that was a part of the
$1,000, they never specified,”
Bridges said in regards to
wondering when the original
$350 would be received.
Aside from unrest about
getting issued the full refund,
the $1,000 and housing pre-
payment, students said they
still find this whole housing
situation to be a mess.
A communications major
who is an RA spoke on behalf
of the issue but wanted to
remain anonymous due to their
position.
“This is veiy unfair because
people who paid in advance
to get these singles [rooms],
ended up with a roommate and
those who got doubles [rooms]
ended up with triples,” the RA
said. “It caused a lot of conflict
within the residents themselves,
parents and the staff overall.”
Following their precious
statement, the RA found this
buyout to be an “inconvenience”
and “not a smart option at all,”
saying that RAs worried about
students not being able to find a
stable living situation and or not
being able to find transportation
to and from campus.
Students of the university did
say they find that this situation
should have been handled more
properly and UNT should have
not have accepted as many
students as did.
As of right now, freshman are
still rooming with RAs as long as
needed.
world.
Smatresk emphasized that
UNT is becoming a minority-
serving institution.
“If we’re going to get more
first generation students as well,
we need to improve the cultural
competence of our campus,”
Smatresk said.
Accounting senior Melva
Yanes said she wanted to hear
more about what Smatresk
had to say about the growing
Hispanic population at UNT.
“I wanted to see more
emphasis on [how] they’re going
to be able to help minorities and
first generation students,” Yanes
said. “Like what is their plan
to keep more students coming
to campus, especially for first
generation students who need
scholarships.”
UNT Director of Analytics
Ryan Fellers said Smatresk had
a good focus on strategy.
“There were enough actual
metrics in some of the slides that
we can align to,” Fellers said. “I
think if we can put [the metrics]
as things we can attain we can
show progress.”
The strategic five-year plan
will be presented to the UNT
System Board of Regents in
November.
Eagle Commons Library basement set to reopen following mold treatment
h
T £
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Emmy-award winning journalist
Cokie Roberts dies at 75
Emmy-award winning journalist and
political commentator Cokie Roberts
died on Tuesday, according to ABC
News. Roberts was a renowned broadcast
journalist for ABC News, and was
inducted into the Broadcasting and Cable
Hall of Fame. She died due to breast
cancer complications at age 75, according
to ABC News.
“We have had some requests
this semester that were affected
by the area being closed,” Sittel
said. “But [we] made do and
were able to find alternative
resources. We have a lot of
online databases that have
similar content if not the same
content.”
However, the extra study
space that has temporarily
been lost by the basement floor
being closed off has affected the
library, Sittel said.
“As far as student spaces, we
are seeing that we’re busier this
semester,” Sittel said. “We can’t
gauge the impact, but we can say
we think that we are in need of
that space.”
Interdisciplinary Art and
Design Studies senior Olivia
Barringer said she used to
regularly visit the Eagle
Commons Library prior to the
cleanup, but has had to stop
going due to her increased
sensitivity to mold.
“Last semester I noticed
the bottom floor had parts
that were being cut off for
mold treatment,” Barringer
said. “When I went back this
Services.
“We always ask people - if
you see something, report it to
us,” Reynolds said. “In some
of the older residence halls,
people can help us out. If you
get dehumidifiers plugged in,
keep them operating. Don’t
leave doors and windows
propped open competing with
the air conditioner. In some
rooms, like at College Inn,
you can turn the temperature
controls. Don’t make it too
cold, don’t make it too hot, and
don’t turn the fans off. [Those
are] kinds of things that can
help us prevent [mold] from
occurring.”
of Communications Amy Evans said. “The
scooters are not something that helps people
in that regard. Between that and some of the
issues we’ve seen in Dallas and some other
cities, we think at this time we are not going
to entertain them on campus.”
A handful of universities currently
incorporate the newly available VeoRide
scooters, including the University
of Maryland College Park, which in
August introduced 70 electric scooters,
150 electrically-assisted bikes and 70
conventional VeoRide bikes to their campus
of 41,000 students.
Briggs said UNT has upped its ridership
of VeoRide bikes around four times more
last year’s rates, and that areas with scooters
tend to see improved ridership over VeoRide
bikes.
“The universities that we partnered with
are happy to see more folks taking advantage
of this alternate form of transportation,”
Briggs said. “That’s the whole reason we’re
there. You can beat parking, traffic and
congestion issues. We help people move
around to more locations. What we’ve seen
on other campuses seems like a great way to
do it.”
By Michelle Nguyen
@BrookeColombo
UNT president Neal
Smatresk discussed a five year
plan to improve the university
to a full audience of students,
faculty, alumni and donors at
the Murchison Performing Arts
Center during his 2019 State
of the University address on
Thursday.
He began his address
by talking about UNT’s
accomplishments in the past
year, which includes a record
breaking number of new
faculty members, transfers and
graduates as well a record for the
largest ever incoming freshman
class.
“The best news is that
enrollment topped 39,000,”
Smatresk said. “This is about
Tropical storm Imelda forms
near Texas coast
Tropical storm Imelda has made
landfall on the Texas coast on Tuesday
afternoon, according to The Weather
Channel. Imelda will bring heavy
rainfall which could lead to flooding. A
tropical storm warning has been issued
and flash flood warnings are in effect
for Houston and the surrounding areas,
according to The Weather Channel.
feet.”
Smatresk’s five year strategic
plan includes three parts:
student empowerment and
transformation, people and
processes and scholarly activity
and innovation. With each part,
he presented goals, initiatives
and metrics.
Increasing research
expenditures, such as non-
stem research funding, is one
way Smatresk said he plans to
increase scholarly activity.
“We’re still not producing the
kinds of research dollars that
we should for a university of our
size,” Smatresk said.
Along with pursuing
moving up within the Tier One
universities, Smatresk said he
wants to increase the amount of
doctoral students who graduate
at UNT.
Smatresk’s vision with
culture is to attract, develop
and celebrate the campus
community. He said one of his
goals was to decrease graduation
time, emphasizing the Save
and Soar program and how it
could help students graduate
within three years by getting
discounted winter and summer
semesters.
“We need to learn how to
rwr
•»' u _ I “
j III
UNT president Neal Smatresk gives his State of the University address at the
Murchison Performing Arts Center on Sept. 12,2019. Photo by Theophilus Bowie
1,200 students more than we
had last year.”
UNT also raised $75 million
in research expenditures, and
$60 million in gifts and pledges,
half of the money coming from
the Brint Ryan fund. Retention
in four and six year graduation
rates have also increased to an
almost 80 percent rate of first
year retention.
“This number really puts us
in the ranks of the best [public
universities] in the country,”
Smatresk said.
Graduation rates have also
increased by 4 percent to 39
percent, which almost hit
Smatresk’s 40 percent goal.
“We’re training a first
generation population,”
Smatresk said. “We’re trying to
teach them that they can come
here and make it, and if they
fail they can get back up on their
UNT unsure about allowing electric scooters on campus
By Carter Mize
@MizeCarter
UNT has participated in preliminary talks
with VeoRide, the provider of bike sharing
services around Denton, about possibly
introducing electric scooters on campus in
the future, a VeoRide representative said.
Matt Briggs, VeoRide’s regional general
manager for the Texas region, said UNT
officials have expressed some interest
in electric scooters when approached by
VeoRide, but cite safety concerns as a main
factor to consider before adopting the
technology.
“There are obvious concerns from
[UNT’s] end,” Briggs said. “It’s just
something that’s never been done before.
Bikes are obviously an older technology and
motorized scooters are newer so there’s a
lot more considerations. There will be a lot
of planning, a lot of coordination. We’ll be
working very closely together in how we roll
that out, but we are optimistic in the future
of our partnership with UNT.”
George Stieren, senior communication
specialist for UNT Transportation Services,
expressed doubts regarding the possibility
of VeoRide scooters on campus because of
safety concerns. Stieren said UNT shouldn’t
expect to see changes in VeoRide services
anytime soon.
“There are no plans to change to change
that policy [on scooters] right now,” Stieren
said. “If we were to change that policy,
that would be a much bigger conversation
than transportation. That would probably
need to be up to the president’s office.
Student services and the Office of Disability
[Accommodation] would weigh in on that.
While VeoRide is a great partner, I think
there’s a lot of layers to that we would need
to filter through.”
Electric scooters may be a familiar sight
within our cleanup capabilities,
or if it’s gone beyond that
threshold, and we need to bring
in a professional firm.”
Sycamore Hall was originally
built in 1937, but has had several
renovations over the years
that Reynolds said may have
contributed to the growth of
mold in the building.
“It’s not expected, but
certainly not unexpected
to see mold show up in an
older building,” Reynolds
said. “Probably some of those
renovations were more thorough
than others, so, we’re finding
some things where we’ve got
opportunities for warm, humid
outside air to come in and
mix with the air conditioning.
That creates that opportunity
for condensation and mold,
especially if it’s an area that is
not heavily used or darker.”
Despite the entire
basement level being closed
off, Government Information
Librarian Head Robbie Sittel
said that floor is primarily
government documents and
materials, which are not highly
sought after.
State of the University address focuses on five-year strategic plan
limit the increase of student
debt,” Smatresk said. “This
is a national issue, and we’re
dedicated to making sure our
students can graduate in a
timely fashion.”
Smatresk also discussed
efforts to envision what the
campus would look like in 2050
and beyond, talking about the
first group of 25 students who
began a three year accelerated
program at UNT’s Frisco
Campus.
In terms of the student
empowerment aspect of the
plan, Smatresk said he wants
to instill a growth mindset and
resilience on first generation
students.
“We’re never going to take
our eye off the ball on improving
retention,” Smatresk said. “If we
don’t retain [students], we can’t
give them a chance to get out on
the job market.”
Another one of Smatresk’s
goals is to expand internships
and research experiences.
“Corporations will take
a student with a one point
lower GPA if they’ve had an
internship,” Smatresk said. “We
need to find more corporate
partners to make sure our
students can move out into the
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Najera, Rebecca. North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 117, No. 4, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 19, 2019, newspaper, September 19, 2019; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1281518/m1/2/?q=Lamar+University: accessed June 9, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.