North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 97, No. 44, Ed. 1 Friday, April 22, 2011 Page: 1 of 12
twelve pages : ill.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
(¡
T
Swan Song
Popular Gravity 'sends off' local cafe
See insert
Friday, April 22, 2011
Volume 97 I Issue 44
Windy
89° / 70°
North' J [exas D ai] y
News 1,2
Sports 3
Classifieds 4
Games 4
SCENE see insert
O ntdaily.com
The Student Newspaper of the University of North Texas
NEWS:
Why George
Maxey rocks
Page 2
\
SPORTS:
South Alabama
defeats UNT
Softball team 5-0
Page 3
E:
Visit the Daily
online for this
week's Campus
Connection
Campus
Connection
Follow
the North
Texas Daily
f
State bill sets highest U.S. speed limit
Law wouldn't
affect current
Texas roads
By Stacy Powers &
Ann Smajtrla
Senior Staffer & Intern
Everything's bigger in Texas
and, soon, the speed limit could
be too.
A bill has been floating
around in the Texas House
of Representatives that could
raise the maximum state speed
limit to 85 mph, making it the
highest in the nation.
The law would give the Texas
Department of Transportation
the option to raise the speed
limit to 85 mph on certain
roads, said Kelli Petras, a
spokesperson for the TXDoT.
But it won't automatically raise
the speed limits on any roads
nor will it affect any existing
roads.
'"It's disappointing that the
speed limit issue was mistak-
enly reported as something
for current roads," said Lois
Kolkhorst, a state representa-
tive, in a press release sent out
April 8. "There is nothing in the
bill to change current speed
limits on any existing Texas
highway or interstate."
Petras said the roads that
could be affected would be new
construction roads built on or
after June I. Even then, TXDoT
M
Photo Illustration by Berenice Quirino & Anam Bakali/Visuals Editor & Intern
A new state bill would increase the maximum Texas speed limit to 85 mph but would only affect some future highways.
would have to conduct a year-
long "speed test."
"There is a very strict frame
for raising the speed limit,"
she said.
TXDoT recently raised the
speed limit on one West Texas
road, Petras said. They moni-
tored incidents on the road
three years before the change
and three years after the
change, and found that acci-
dents actually went down after
the speed limit was raised.
She said there were an
average of 88 fatal accidents
per year before the raised
speed and an average of 63
fatal accidents per year after.
"Speed is not always the
determining factor of safety,"
she said. "Speed limits that are
too low are just as hazardous
as speed limits that are too
high. This is because drivers
assume that the road is "safer"
and are more inclined to speed
and drive dangerously."
There are some rural areas
where the law allows for an
80-mph speed limit, but
TXDoT has kept the speed
limit at 70 mph, she said. This
is because some factors have
to be considered, such as the
physical condition of the road
and number of people driving
on it.
See SPEED on Page 1
Students plan for life after college
By Bkiitm Barnett
Staff Writer
On May 14, thousands of
UNT seniors will walk the
stage, receive their diplomas
and begin the next part of their
life journey.
Many of these seniors have
already begun planning what
they will do when they drive
away from the UNT campus
for the last time.
"Obviously we see an
increase in the amount of
seniors who come to see
us at this time," said April
Kuykendall, an associate
director at the Career Center.
"We get a feel for what they
are looking for and help them
find jobs in industries they are
interested in."
Students who use a career
center at least four times a
semester are more likely to
find jobs and have a higher
median salary, according to
the Career Center's website.;
Cassie Shanahan, a biology
senior, is hoping to start
medical school in the fall of
2012.
"I have a job lined up as
a physician's scribe at Cook
Children's hospital in Fort
Worth," she said. "My job
is temporary, so I'm not too
stressed, but it will be inter-
esting to see how the new
health care policies will affect
my future in medicine."
For seniors and other
students looking to score a
job, Kuykendall recommends
using the Eagle Network.
"'The first thing
we do is help
them with their
resume"
—April Kuykendall,
Career Center
This network can be
accessed through a student's
MyUNT account, and lists
opportunities for student
employment, internships,
and part-time and full-time
employment, according to the
website.
Students have an adviser
assigned to them by major,
Kuykendall said.
"Walk-ins are also welcome,"
she said. "They are not guar-
anteed to see an adviser, but
someone will be able to help
them."
The center also offers help
with writing cover letters,
resumes and interviewing,
she said.
"The first thing we do is
help them with their resume,"
she said. "We also hold mock
interviews."
Phylicia Jasper, a hospitality
management senior, had an
interview with a hotel Tuesday
and got the job Wednesday.
"In hospitality, there are
so many opportunities, so I
wasn't worried about finding
a job in my industry," Jasper
said. "I will be working at
the Hilton Lincoln Centre in
Dallas as a full-time guest
service agent."
Jasper will join the nearly
93,000 UNT alumni working
in the Dallas-Fort Worth area,
according to UNT's Division
of University Relations,
Communications and
Marketing.
The Career Center is hosting
a few events during the final
weeks of the semester to help
students with their last minute
job searches.
See GRADUATION on Page 2
Study: Alcohol and energy,
a dangerous mix for drivers
By Megan Radke
Intern
A recent study published by
a UNT professor found that
people who mix alcohol and
energy drinks could be more
likely to drive drunk.
The study showed bar
patrons who consumed energy
drinks mixed with alcohol
were three times more likely
to exceed the legal limit to
drive a vehicle, and were four
times more likely to drive once
leaving the bar.
"Mixing alcohol and
caffeine can help overcome the
sedating effects alcohol can
make you feel, but you're still
very impaired," said Dennis
Thombs of the social and
behavioral sciences faculty at
UNT's Health Science Center.
"You may feel like you're OK
to drive, but you aren't. The
caffeine makes a person feel
more alert."
Thombs conducted the study
with a team of researchers who
interviewed customers as they
exited bars, asking a series of
questions and testing their
blood alcohol levels.
"We don't do the usual ques-
tionnaire to sober students.
We actually go out to where
this is happening," said
Thombs, who has researched
alcohol and drug abuse for
eight years.
See RESEARCHERS on Page 2
HIV-in ected organ
donations considered
By Linda Nguyen
Intern
People who are
LHV-positive might soon be
allowed to donate organs
if the Center for Disease
Control OKs a proposal
meant to decrease the
mounting wait time for
patients on transplant
lists.
The change would repeal
a 23-year-old amend-
ment to the National
Organ Transplant Act that
prevents people infected
with the human immu-
nodeficiency virus from
donating organs. Repealing
the amendment would
allow HIV-positive organs
to be donated to people
who are already infected
with the virus, but there are
many factors to consider,
said Anthony Curran of the
biology faculty.
"The difficulty of
allowing people that are
HIV-positive to donate
organs is that there are
many different strains of
LIIV," Curran said. "Each
strain has to be treated
with a different suite of
medicine and drugs."
He said doctors would
need to treat both strains
of the virus and keep both
from replicating, which can
be difficult.
"It's difficult enough to
match the tissue compat-
ibility, but to also try
and match the HIV strain
would be impossible," said
Curran.
With more than 110,000
Americans waiting for
organs, supporters of the
change said any new dona-
tions would help.
Brandi Perez is the clin-
By the
numbers
-110,000 Americans are
waiting for transplants
-3,225 Americans
between 18 and 34
received transplants in
2010
-12,188 estimated
number of HIV-infected
Americans between the
ages 20 and 29
-3,225 Americans
between 18 and 34
received transplants in
2010
-500 to 600 HIV-infected
livers and kidneys would
become available if the
law were changed
-179 HIV-positive people
received livers or kidneys
in 2010
-9 HIV-positive people
received livers or kidneys
in 2000
Information from The New
York Times, Centers for Disease
Control and United Network for
Organ Sharing
ical champion for organ
donations at Parkland
Hospital in Dallas.
"As of the end of March,
we've had three donors,
which has saved nine lives,"
Perez said. "Last year, we
had 24 donors, which saved
88 lives."
Curran cautioned that
the repeal would n't fix the
need for donors.
See ORGANS on Page 2
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 97, No. 44, Ed. 1 Friday, April 22, 2011, newspaper, April 22, 2011; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth165015/m1/1/: accessed July 3, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.