North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 90, No. 19, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 29, 2005 Page: 1 of 12
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NORTH TEXAS DAILY
Thursday, September 29, 2005
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS
Volume90 I Issue 19 ntdaily.com
Volleyball goes down
Horned Frogs drop NT in three, Sports
page 8.
TAKEaction
Volunteering takes big strides in
Denton County, Student Life page 4
787 50° Cool
inside:
■ Arts
,6 ■ Classifieds, 12 ■ Student Life, 4
■ Sports, 8 ■ Views, 11
Aid applications
rise with tuition
Gina Heath
Daily Reporter
As public university tuition
rises each year, more students
are applying for financial aid,
said Carolyn Cunningham,
director of financial aid.
"So far this year, there has
been a 7.4 percent increase in
the number of students who
have applied for financial aid,
as compared to last year at the
same time," she said.
Cunningham said the total
number of students who have
applied for aid this year so far
has reached 19,820.
That is 1,361 more students
than last year at this time.
"I anticipate that by this
year's end, the number of appli-
cants will reach a total of 23,000
students, but that does not mean
all of those students will be qual-
ified for the aid," she said.
Rising tuition has made
some students alter the way
they attempt to complete their
degrees.
Andrea Torres, Irving sopho-
more, said expenses have been
much harder for her this year.
"Last year, my parents weren't
together, so I only claimed my
mother for financial aid," she
said. "Now, my parents are back
together, so the government says
I already have enough money,
which I don't."
Torres said she takes out
more short term and immediate
loans, which is hard because the
interest builds up.
"I've had to pick up a lot more
hours on my job to pay for it all,"
she said.
Some students have
changed schools as prices have
increased.
Sanja Mohammed, Dallas
graduate student, said one of
the reasons she chose to attend
NT is that the prices were afford-
able.
"I went to the University of
Texas at Dallas for three years,
and prices were increasing,"
Mohammed said. "Cheaper
tuition is one of the reasons I
came here."
Some students have an easier
time paying for school because
they are on scholarships andfinan-
cial aid, but costs still add up.
"I'm on an academic schol-
arship, so it's not necessarily
as hard for me," Keary Mason,
Denton sophomore, said. "The
other fees such as books do add
up, but it's still manageable."
Marquita Anderson, Dallas
senior, said she has not noticed
a change this year.
"It's not harder for me to pay
for school this year," she said,
"I'm on scholarship and I have
financial aid help me out, too. I
really don't have to pay for much
out of pocket. I have a few loans
I'll have to eventually pay back,
but it's OK, it's worth it."
Storm sweeps Denton
David Minton / NT Daily
A crew from Denton Municipal Electric secured a powerline at
Panhandle and Fulton streets after a tree took down a line.
Jamaal O'Neal
Staff Writer
Students and residents were
caught off-guard after a cluster
of strong thunderstorms roared
through the area around 5:30
p.m. Wednesday.
Strong winds with wind gusts
of up to 60 mph, quarter-size hail
and heavy rain blanketed parts
of NT and Denton.
On campus, at the intersection
of Avenue C and Highland Street,
students were seen hopping
around a fallen tree limb lying
on the sidewalk.
And at the intersection of
Bernard and Sycamore streets,
a young pecan tree fell close to
a white Mitsubishi car parked
on the street.
The Denton Police station
lost power during the storm.
Police dispatcher Pannell, who
would not give her first name,
said phones at the station rang
off the hook.
"I think things are finally
starting to calm down," Pannell
said. "It's just after a storm hits,
everyone calls."
At the intersection of
Panhandle and Fulton streets,
a tree fell directly on a power
line, causing residents east of
Fulton Street to lose power.
Some Panhandle Street resi-
dents stood on their front porch
and waited for city crews to
clean the storm damage. Others
checked to see if anyone was
harmed.
Brandon Hobon, Denton
police officer, was the first
police officer to respond. After
dispatching for more help, he
removed the limb.
Within minutes, other neigh-
borhood residents pitched in,
using saws and axes to chop
the tree down. One neighbor
even brought water to those who
helped to remove the tree.
See Storm on page 3
Emily Hughes / NT Daily
Lydia Hartman of the social work and addictions faculty speaks about her views on the movie "Farmingville" while Karla Zarate,
Houston senior, listens last week as part of Hispanic Heritage Month.
N s Hispanic, black populations rising
Will Wooten
Daily Reporter
For the first time since the late
1820s, whites are no longer the
majority population in Texas,
according to the Census Bureau
in a report released in August.
Hispanics and blacks now
make up 50.2 percent of the 22.5
million residents of Texas. This
is largely due to the increasing
Hispanic population, which
has grown to 33 percent.
Whites comprise 49.8 percent
of the population and blacks are
around 17 percent.
"I think it's a good move-
ment," said Priscila Cardenas,
Dallas senior and president of the
League of United Latina American
Citizens. "It will bring Hispanic
issues into the light, including
economic and health areas.
People are going to start taking
the Hispanic organizations into
their considerations."
NT has seen a change in the
make-up of its students. In 2002,
8.7 percent of NT students were
Hispanic, 10.1 percent were black
and 71 percent were white.
The tentative numbers for the
fall 2005 semester have shown
an increase in Hispanics to
10.2 percent and blacks to 11.4
percent with a decrease in whites
to 66.9 percent.
"By 2040 in Texas, seven out
of every 10 college students are
going to be non-Anglo," said
Roberto Calderón of the history
faculty.
With these changes in the
population of Texas, the face
of Texas is changing and many
other changes will follow.
Change in Education
In Texas, Hispanics comprise
43.8 percent of the total student
body of all public schools. But in
2003, Hispanics only made up
33.9 percent of all graduating
students, according to the Texas
Education Agency.
"One of the biggest challenges
facing this state and many other
states is encouraging these kids
to stay in school," said Bernard
Weinstein, director of the Center
for Economic Development and
Research at NT. "What's worrying
is that Hispanics have a very high
dropout rate from high school.
In some districts, it's as high as
60 percent."
According to the Texas
Education Agency, only 77.3
percent of Flispanic students
graduated from high school in
2003, compared to 81.1 percent of
blacks and 89.8 percent of whites.
Hispanics made up 67.4 percent
of the dropouts in grades seven
and eight, and 7.1 percent drop
out in high school.
Hispanics have the oppor-
tunity to go to college but they
need to have the requisite pre-
university education to qualify,
Weinstein said.
The rise in Hispanics also
brings up another question,
about the curriculum and text-
books used in the Texas educa-
tional system.
"When I walk into [my]
classroom in 35 years and two-
thirds of my students are non-
Anglo, shall their story and their
community and their history be
more equally represented in the
textbook?" Calderón said.
Things that are important to
Hispanic heritage and history are
left out of textbooks right now,
but slowly it has been getting
better. These things include
events important to Hispanics
and people, such as Antonio
Lopez de Santa Anna, and they
should be more prevalent in the
curriculum in Texas, Calderón
said.
Change in Economics
The reason that most
Hispanics come to the United
States and Texas is for employ-
ment, Weinstein said.
Over half, or 53 percent, of the
Hispamcpopulationinthe country,
(18.3 million people) are foreign-
born, with ten million coming
from Mexico alone, according to
the U.S. Census Bureau.
"I don't think there is any ques-
tion but that Latinos have been a
plus for the Texas economy and
that's been true for a long time,"
Weinstein said. "I think for the
most part Latino immigrants
are taking jobs that otherwise
wouldn't have been filled."
The median income of
Hispanic households in the
United States is $34,241. About
one-fifth, or 21.9 percent, of
Hispanics live in poverty. About
80 percent of Hispanics work in
lower paying jobs like service,
sales, construction and trans-
portation.
See Hispanic on page 12
Deadline approaches for student regent
Laura Sandifer
Daily Reporter
Applications are scarce for the new
student regent position, approved by the
Texas Legislature in May. The deadline to
apply is Friday by 5 p.m.
A new student regent position is now
required for all Texas public universities.
The student will only be allowed to partic-
ipate in discussion and will not count as
a voting member. They cannot make or
second motions and will not count for
quorum.
Students will be appointed by Governor
Rick Perry and sworn in Feb. 1.
Although the Student Government
Association has dispersed over 20 appli-
cations, Samantha Weber, SGA vice presi-
dent, said they were "sitting at zero applica-
tions" just a week ago. Only a few students
have applied since then.
"We don't know how many have actually
applied," said Marcedes Fuller, director of
relations, communications and marking
for the SGA.
But Fuller said he does know that it is
not enough.
Fuller and Weber hope that the new
student regent will become a strong voice
for the students.
"We want them to be an example of
the student body, for the student body,"
Fuller said.
Ashley Stange, New Braunfels junior,
said she believes that the student regent
will "make students' opinions more prev-
alent and easily heard."
Tom Acebo, Burleson sophomore, said
he thinks the student regent "can make
a difference" by helping the NT Board of
Regents "become aware of how students
feel about key issues."
Acebo thinks that the Student Regent
should be someone who's "not afraid to
speak up" and who "knows what they're
talking about."
Primary concerns among students are
parking problems, the proposed plus-
minus grading system and high tuition
rates. There is hope that the new student
regent can help sway the board to favor
students' wishes on these issues.
"Hopefully, they'll knock this whole
plus-minus grading system out of the
air," Christian Collins, Houston sopho-
more, said.
SGA, provost discuss plus/minus scale
Paul Wu
Daily Reporter
The Student Government Association continues
to push for a plus/minus solution. The SGA is
sitting on over 3,040 petition signatures that are
continuing to pour into the SGA offices and circu-
lating in classrooms across campus.
"I'm trying to get meetings with the appropriate
people to keep this movement pushing forward,"
said David Hall, Richardson junior and SGA pres-
ident.
Flail spoke with Howard johnson, provost and
vice president for academic affairs, Wednesday to
discuss courses of actions to compromise or repeal
the new grading system's legislation.
"It went really well," Hall said. "He shed light onto
other options and he gave me some help. We want
the students to know that there is still hope."
Johnson supports the recommendations made
by the Academic Affairs Committee and the Faculty
Senate to install the new grading system.
"I think what we need to do is work together
and work through this," Johnson said. "I've been
on both sides of the plus/minus system, as a
student, and I was involved with plus/minus as a
faculty member ... The most important thing in
any grading system is that the students need to be
clear and the faculty needs to be clear of the expec-
tations. And that's not to say that they're not. But
that's the most important element that we have in
any grading system,"
The SGA said that NT undergraduates' grade-
point averages would be used as a tool to compare
other institution's students, such as UT-Austin
and Texas A&M University-College Station, when
applying for graduate school.
Johnson explained how institutions would recog-
nize the various types of grading systems.
"The grading system used is indicated on the
transcript and those instructions will be explained
on that transcript," Johnson said. "We evaluate the
entire transcript, and it [the instructions explaining
the grading system] should be quite visible."
Johnson said the university has to learn how to
read many different transcripts from other insti-
tutions.
"We have international students and ... we
wouldn't want to minimize one's potential because
we didn't understand how to interpret their tran-
script," he said
Samantha Weber, Houston senior and SGA vice
president, said people are saying they will switch
institutions if the plus/minus system goes into
effect.
Johnson said he hopes this does not happen.
"I think this is an outstanding institution,"
Johnson said. "I feel they would lose out on an
awful lot if that happened."
Hall reported the SGA would do their best
to correct any rumors they become aware of
concerning the plus/minus system's function.
Some of these rumors are the system will not go
into affect if 3,000 petition signatures are attained,
the system will only affect incoming students next
year and the grading system has been changed to a
plus/minus system where any "A" will be counted
as a 4.0.
The new grading system will have a plus /minus
format for all letter grades except for the letters
"F0" and "A." There will be an "A," "A-," "F" and no
"A+," as indicated in the Faculty Senate's minutes.
Brittany Dawson /NT Daily
Student Government Association Director of
Relations, Communications and Marketing
Marcedes Fuller, San Antonio sophomore,
counts signatures for the petition against the
new plus-minus system.
An "A" will be scored as a 4.0, and an "A-" will be
counted as a 3.7.
The Academic Affairs Committee and the Faculty
Senate recommended the new grading system,
and it is intended to be instated for all NT under-
graduate students in 2006.
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North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 90, No. 19, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 29, 2005, newspaper, September 29, 2005; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth145257/m1/1/: accessed June 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.