North Texas Daily 4/19/2018

Fewer homeless children, chronically homeless in Denton NEWS: PAGE 4

THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2018

VOL. 112 No. 13

NTDAILY.COM

Racist slur on receipt results in student outrage, firing

By Zaira Perez @zairalperez A UNT student demanded Wednesday that the university close Krispy Krunchy Chicken in the Union after an employee typed in a racial slur on her receipt, according to a release from her attorney.

Communications major Chelsea Shaw took to Twitter Tuesday to post a photo of a receipt obtained at 3:22 p.m. from a restaurant at the Union where the cashier typed “N*****” instead of her name. She tweeted she “[doesn’t] understand” and “needs answers.”

UNT Dining Services terminated the employee Tuesday after an investigation, according to a tweet from President Neal Smatresk.

“From listening to discussions in social media, it appears as though assumptions are being made about the race of the person responsible,” Smatresk said in an email to the UNT community Wednesday. “It is important to know that both the customer and employee were the same race, and regardless of other societal views it is my belief that the use of this term is never OK.” In a video interview Tuesday, Bill McNeace, executive director of retail dining

services, said the person responsible for the comment was the cook at Krispy Krunchy Chicken.

“When it became apparent that it happened, [the cook] came out [and] apologized to the manager,” McNeace told the North Texas Daily.

In a Facebook post Wednesday, Shaw’s attorney Justin Moore said it was the cashier, not the cook, who handed her the receipt “instantaneously.” Shaw told Moore the cashier was not African-American — despite the information in Smatresk’s email — and that the cook nearby “never came close to a register,” according to the post.

At the time of publication, UNT had not commented on Shaw’s and Moore’s release demanding the closure of Krispy Krunchy Chicken nor had it released the name of the former employee.

Moore said Krispy Krunchy Chicken has not reached out to Shaw to provide further explanation.

Prominent civil rights activist Shaun King shared the post from Shaw’s attorney on his Facebook page Wednesday morning with the caption, “Nah. NOT OK. And it’s not a damn accident.”

Shaw tweeted that she went to management before posting the picture

online and was told they were unaware who did it.

“Our Mean Green family values respect and prides itself on inclusion,” Smatresk said in a tweet. “It is completely unacceptable and not who we are as a community.”

Shaw did not respond to requests for a comment, saying on Twitter she only wishes to speak with Smatresk. Smatresk has since reached out to Shaw via Twitter to meet with her. Moore did not respond to a request for comment.

Brianna Adams and Jade Jackson contributed to this report.

Tiny Couch with a big impact

Kara, Thomas elected after delayed results

By Zaira Perez @zairalperez Muhammad Kara and Dominique Thomas won the Student Government Association spring 2018 election for president and vice president with 53 percent of the vote, according to the SGA Election Certification Addendum.

Students cast 1,897 votes during these elections compared to 2,809 votes cast last year.

Kara and Thomas are currently the SGA chief of staff and president of the Black Student Union respectively. Results were intended to be published Muhammad Friday but were withheld Kara pending a Supreme Court case appeal.

“We started this journey with the hopes of uniting students of every religion, color and Dominique creed to radically change Thomas our campus community,” Kara said. “Because of [students] casting [their] vote, our students are mobilized to create a more inclusive, equitable and engaged campus community.”

Kara and Thomas ran against SGA Senator Misaki Collins and Ipinowula “Ipi” Adedokun, the head manager for UNT’s Women’s Basketball team.

“I want to thank everyone for the chance to run to be their SGA president,” Collins said in a statement to the North Texas Daily. “Although the election didn’t go in our favor, we are so happy that students had their voice heard in this election. My work isn’t over, and I’m excited to continue with my third year of serving students without an executive title.”

Tiny Couch Productions founder Bob Ralph, left, and audio engineer Jason Champion, right, sit in their home studio. Tiny Couch Productions is a new media company that is highlighting Denton musicians through live sessions. Paige Bruneman

DIY production creates intimate space for musicians

By Amy Roh @rohmyboat Bob Ralph takes the “studio” in “studio apartment” a bit too literally.

Ralph, a longtime Denton local and live music enthusiast, is the founder of Tiny Couch Productions, a space where Denton musicians can do live performances.

Think NPR’s Tiny Desk Sessions, but a Denton version.

“I just love music,” Ralph said. “But I had absolutely no talent. My father was a concert violinist. My oldest daughter is an outstanding violinist, but my sister and I, it skipped a generation. I’ve always enjoyed it, and I’ve

always been fascinated by the recording process.”

The sessions are all filmed in his living room, complete with black makeshift curtains, studio lights, the tiny black couch and Ralph’s pullout bed pushed up against the wall.

“In the venues, you’re at the mercy of the lighting or the sound guys,” Ralph said. “What was motivating was people who [take] cell phone videos, but the sound [quality] was awful. I thought there needed to be something between a cell phone video and a professional music video.”

Since its inception, Tiny Couch Productions has served solely as a way to showcase the creativity and spirit of local artists in true DIY fashion.

“I’ve never had anybody come in here and slouch,” Ralph said. “The passion [and] the amount of work they put in [is what some] people don’t realize. They’ve [practiced] thousands of hours to get to the level they’re at. Just to be able to support that is very rewarding.”

For Ralph, the passion of the artists is what keeps the videos running.

“You know someone is doing something they love when they’re willing to convert their living space into their work area,” songwriter Matt Grigsby said. “He joked the last time I was there that soon he was going to have to give up his bed.”

Before it was 940’s, Ralph co-owned Banter, a bistro

Supreme Court Appeal The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Kara and Thomas violated the Election Code by publicizing their campaign before the date approved by the Election Board. Collins filed the Supreme Court case on April 12.

SEE TINY COUCH ON PAGE 6

SEE SGA ON PAGE 3

UNT alumnus rides the waves of Adult Swim

By Anna Orr @AnnaMOrr97

Women’s golf surges in C-USA final round | page 8 Sabina Pena and women’s golf shoot at the Maridoe Country Club. Their preparation led to a fourth place finish in Conference USA on Wednesday. Courtesy Rick Yeatts

Whether it be during childhood or adulthood, you have probably seen Nick Gibbons’ work.

Before the UNT alumnus’ success on shows like “Jimmy Neutron,” “Aqua Teen Hunger Force” and Adult Swim, Gibbons’ career began on a college campus where he majored in art and minored in radio television and film.

“I loved it, it was some of the best times of my life,” Gibbons said. “I wanted to be an animator, but the closest thing I could find was being an art major [while] also doing film and television.”

During his college years, Gibbons took advantage of the chances he saw to learn more and found himself a home at North Texas Television.

IN THIS ISSUE

“We did a lot of stuff with the TV station and did something every other Saturday night that was on the air from 10-12 — we’d tape segments and get calls from viewers,” Gibbons said. “We had fun — we would shoot segments during the week and have little sketches.”

Gibbons took TV and film classes, wrote scripts and preformed to help point him in the direction of where he envisioned himself going. Ironically, he dropped out of a screenwriting class after a week because he had “no discipline” for it.

Gibbons used NTTV as a chance to get familiar with equipment he knew he would use in the future. With friends working in the equipment room, he was able to take advantage of the equipment and check out cameras whenever he wanted to.

A creative DNA In his last semester before graduating, Gibbons landed an unpaid internship with the animation studio DNA Productions. Gibbons confirms — yes, it is the “Hi, I’m Paul” three-eyed monkey.

After Gibbons graduated in 1995, he joined DNA full time.

“It’s funny because I can say UNT was the reason I got my first job,” Gibbons said. “From that live show [where] we did stick puppet theater.”

At DNA Productions, Gibbons finally achieved his dream to work as an animator. He created content such as the intro for “Weird Al” Yankovic’s show and did animated shorts for shows like “Fat Man.” He says that with a small staff of just 15 people they were like family.

However, two years later the small

SEE ADULT SWIM ON PAGE 7

NEWS

ARTS & LIFE

SPORTS

OPINION

UNT’s Texas Academy of Math and Science to offer new artistic tracks pg 4 TAMS students will have the opportunity to pursue music, design, media or visual arts studies beginning in fall 2019.

Preview: North by North Texas pg 5 A look ahead at this year’s festival lineup hosted

by UNT’s University Program Council.

Tennis is prepared for C-USA tournament starting Thursday pg 8 Entering as the six seed, North Texas meets UAB in the opening round and aims to make a deep run this weekend.

Movies could still be better at representation pg 11 The recent film “A Quiet Place” has the perfect amount of deaf representation, and it sets the bar high for future film industry standards.

NEWS Page 2

North Texas Daily Editorial Board Editor-in-Chief Kayleigh Bywater @kayleighbywater Kayleigh.Bywater@unt.edu Managing Editor Kayla Davis @kaylajeann19 KaylaDavis@my.unt.edu News Editor Sarah Sarder @sarderrr Sarah.Sarder@unt.edu Arts & Life Editor Alec Spicer @Spicer_Alec AlecSpicer@my.unt.edu Sports Editor Matthew Brune @mattbrune25 MatthewBrune@my.unt.edu

THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2018

Understanding free speech at UNT Bryant gets life

By Lizzy Spangler @LizzySpangler Free speech at UNT can be a confusing topic as students wonder where demonstrators such as street preachers and student protesters can express themselves. Not all of the rumors surrounding free speech on campus are true. The university’s free speech policy gives conditional rights to expression across campus.

UNT doesn’t have free speech zones Contrary to popular belief, there are no free speech zones on campus, free speech activities can take place anywhere on campus on any day of the week from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

However, there are areas selected by the university that students can reserve for free speech activities, especially if those activities will require amplified sound or outdoor structures.

The map below illustrates which areas can be reserved for free speech activities, with the rings signifying areas which can be reserved from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. or 5 to 10 p.m. and solid dots signifying areas which can be reserved from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

“The university has merely selected certain

Opinion Editor Nina Quatrino @ninaquatrino NinaQuatrino@my.unt.edu Visuals Editor Jake King @King_Jake1st JakeKing@my.unt.edu

Production Team Design Editor Kelly Fox @kellythefox1 KellyFox2@my.unt.edu Designer/Copy Editor Marshall Cearfoss @JustMarshalling MarshallCearfoss@my.unt.edu Designer/Copy Editor Kaitlin Pennell @k_itlinn KaitlinPennell@my.unt.edu Designer/Copy Editor Kiera Geils @KieraGeils KieraGeils@my.unt.edu Copy Intern Becca Stetson @beccastetson rebeccastetson@my.unt.edu Social Media Manager Kenli Gunter @kenliiiii KenliGunter@my.unt.edu Senior Staff Illustrator Austin Banzon @Austinbanzon99 austintroybanzon@my.unt.edu

Business Director Adam Reese 940-565-4265 Adam.Reese@unt.edu

Faculty Adviser Gary Ghioto 940-891-6722 Gary.Ghioto@unt.edu

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

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Map by Lizzy Spangler

areas on campus that can be reserved in advance to guarantee that location for expressive activities,” Dean of Students Maureen McGuinness said.

“Areas were chosen as not to disrupt teaching and learning in classrooms.”

One can reserve these areas on the Dean of Students website, although it is only required if amplified sound or an outdoor structure will be used.

UNT has a large board that can be reserved to allow for written expression as paper can be taped

to it. The board was created following the October 2016 Black Lives Matter protest at the library mall, when students taped posters to the external Willis Library walls.

Following that protest, a free speech task force made up of students, faculty and staff was created to find a better way for students to express themselves through writing.

“We created a protocol for students to reserve the outdoor structure for written forms of expression,” McGuinness said in an email. “We also designated additional areas for expressive activities using amplified sound.”

The task force dissolved last spring following the completion of its tasks, and there is currently no general task force to oversee free speech at UNT. McGuinness said she would be happy to organize another one should students want to look at that issue.

UNT can place restrictions on free speech While UNT is a public university where free speech is allowed, in certain instances and circumstances, speech can be restricted.

“The university can prohibit activities that fail to comply with the content-neutral time, place and manner restrictions set out in the university’s free speech policy,” McGuinness said in an email.

McGuinness said law enforcement officers can remove people from campus as needed to enforce the law, keep the peace or protect the safety of others.

UNT can deny reservations for designated free speech areas, but reasons for denials can not be content-based. They must be due to scheduling conflicts, incomplete forms, safety issues or submissions by organizations not permitted to reserve space on campus under the policy.

The street preachers who came to campus on March 29 and March 30 were on sidewalks next to city streets, where UNT’s free speech policy does not apply.

“They’re very open about it,” information systems sophomore Ashton Davis said about UNT and free speech. “They will let anybody say anything.”

McGuinness said during her time in college, she was able to expand their knowledge, learn from others and challenge ideas through free speech.

“Our right to free speech offers the same concepts at UNT,” she said. “Just because someone is exercising their First Amendment rights does not mean those are the ideals of UNT, but we must afford our community members the rights and protections under the First Amendment.”

sentence for murder of TWU student News reported that one of Bryant’s attorney’s attempted to convince the jury that Vandagriff died of accidental asphyxiation during consensual sexual activity.

The attorney claimed that in a panic, Bryant bought a shovel from Walmart and attempted to cover his tracks, which would only make him guilty of tampering with evidence and not of murder.

Bryant did not testify.

Prosecutors claimed there was no evidence Vandagriff and Bryant had sex and used the fact that Vandagriff’s heart had been cut out of her body as evidence that the murder was more than an accident, according to the Morning News.

The death penalty was not considered for this case because Bryant was convicted of murder and not of capital murder.

There are circumstantial differences between the two types of crime, according to Texas Penal Code Section 19.02.

By Sean Riedel @SeanRiedel A Tarrant County jury sentenced Charles Dean Bryant to life in prison Monday for murdering and dismembering Texas Woman’s University student Jacqueline Vandagriff in September 2016.

Bryant, 31, was also convicted of tampering with evidence and received 20 years in prison in addition to the life sentence, according to the Tarrant County Felony Clerk’s Office.

Jacqueline Vandagriff was a 24-year-old nutrition junior at TWU when her burnt and dismembered remains were discovered in a blue kiddie pool at Acorn Woods Park near Lake Grapevine on Sept. 14, 2016.

The two were seen at several Fry Street bars together the night before Vandagriff’s body was found.

The Dallas Morning

Jacqueline Vandagriff/ Charles Dean Bryant. Courtesy

Alec Spicer chosen as editor-in-chief for summer, fall Bywater was the features editor when Spicer joined the Daily. She said it has been great to see Spicer’s growth over the last year and a half.

“I think with his ideas, his writing style and his leadership skills, he’s going to make a great [editor-in-chief], and I’m super excited for him,” Bywater said.

Bywater said Spicer has already reached out to organizations like UNT’s chapters of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and the National Association of Black Journalists to build relationships with them.

“I think the big thing [was he] showed that he was thinking about the future of the Daily — not keeping it just internal but seeing what we can do to expand in the future,” Bywater said As editor-in-chief, Spicer said he wants to continue to bring in multimedia content such as turning original content into GIFs and Boomerangs and building on the Daily’s videography.

“I feel like we just started to scratch the surface with what this staff’s capabilities are with multimedia,” Spicer said. “I’m hoping that [with this staff] being under the leadership of someone in broadcast will further what Kayleigh started with video, but I don’t want to just stop at video.”

Spicer said he wants to introduce an interactive aspect to stories on the Daily’s website.

By Zaira Perez @zairalperez A committee of 20 faculty, students and university administrators selected current features editor Alec Spicer to be the next editorin-chief of the North Texas Daily beginning this summer semester and through the fall semester.

Spicer is a broadcast journalism senior who has been on staff since November 2016. Since then, he has been a staff writer for the arts and life section, social media manager, opinion editor (under special circumstances) and features editor.

“The responses [the Daily] has received about the paper being the best it’s ever been makes me want to be able to contribute to that even more,” Spicer said.

Spicer said staff on the editorial board asked him in the fall semester if he would apply to be editor-in-chief for the spring, but he said he wanted more time as a section editor to gain more experience.

He said being editor-in-chief one day was not something he thought would ever be his job when he first joined.

Two other current editorial board staffers applied for the position. Current editor-inchief Kayleigh Bywater said Spicer was a great candidate because of his vision for the Daily to improve on multimedia, social media and relationships with other organizations.

“[With interactive stories] that readers can actually click through, [they can] feel like they’re a part of the story,” Spicer said.

While Spicer was the features editor this semester, he also continued to have access and post on the Daily’s social media profiles, per Bywater’s request. Spicer said he sees the Daily’s social media outreach continuing to grow in the future due to his experience with it.

“I think it’s important that we are on top of [our social media],” Spicer said. “We hadn’t posted on our Instagram in nine months before I took over as social media manager.

I really tried hard for the Daily to have more of a presence in the social media arena.”

Spicer is also the most recent Latino individual in the last several terms to serve as editor-in-chief. During his interview, Spicer said he focused on diversity within the staff and the Daily’s coverage.

“I want to give more opportunity to other people,” Spicer said. “[I think maybe] being Latino allows me to see things from a different angle than some of my previous editors-in-chief.”

Spicer said he also wants to continue to trend on covering diverse topics. He said one of the concerns the committee brought up is how many news outlets act as echo chambers for the same types of voices.

As the opinion editor, Spicer said he wanted to improve the Daily’s opinion section after

Alec Spicer. Photo by Sasha Calamaco seeing comments on Twitter and Facebook about the Daily covering the same perspectives.

Then he wanted to do the same for the features section. “[Diversifying coverage is] how you get the best journalism: when you consider all parties involved,” Spicer said. “We kind of stepped out of the typical features territory this semester. We profiled different politicians — both Democrat politicians and Republican politicians.”

Spicer said he is a very hands-on leader and that his purpose as a journalist and leader is being a good listener.

“I’m much more of a listener than I am a speaker, and that’s no exception [with] my leadership style,” Spicer said.

“I think that’s why this job is a good fit for me. I think when you listen and allow your staff and editorial board to give you feedback and make suggestions, that’s when you have your strongest team.”

NEWS AROUND THE WORLD Southwest Airlines explosion kills one woman The engine of a Southwest Airlines jet exploded at 32,000 feet on its way from New York to Dallas April 17. The explosion caused shrapnel to break a window and a woman was injured by the incident and later died, according to the Denton RecordChronicle. The explosion injured seven other people.

By Devin Rardin

Secret visit with Kim Jong Un

Starbucks to close for training

Fox News host Sean Hannity connected to Trump

New clinical site for NCTA vocational nurses

CIA director Mike Pompeo secretly traveled to North Korea to meet with Kim Jong Un earlier this month, according to NPR. The meeting was made to discuss a possible Trump-Kim summit. President Donald Trump said “a good relationship was formed.” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Trump and Un have not spoken directly.

Starbucks is planning to close thousands of stores across the U.S. on May 29, according to NPR. A statement from the company stated the closings are for “racialbias education geared toward preventing discrimination in our stores.” This is in response to criticism regarding two black men who were arrested without cause at a Starbucks in Philadelphia.

Fox News host Sean Hannity was a client of President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, and The Atlantic Times reported that Hannity employed two other lawyers connected to the president.

The two lawyers are frequent guests on his show. Hannity denied the original accusation that Michael Cohan was his lawyer.

The North Central Texas College Licensed Vocational Nursing Program announced that First Refuge Ministries in Denton will be a new clinical site, according to the Denton Record-Chronicle. This marks the first time NCTC nursing students can get community health clinic experience. First Refuge is a nonprofit that provides free medical and dental service to low-income families.

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THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2018

Local Denton artist, Channing Smith, paints one of two Downtown Mini Mall paintings to auction off at the benefit show. The proceeds will go to the family of the mini mall and vendors. Omar Gonzalez

Children running the concession stand at the Big Benefit Show help people choose what to order. Omar Gonzalez

Founded in 1979, Brave Combo, performs at the Big Benefit Show for the mini mall. The show’s proceeds will go to the family of the mini mall and vendors. Omar Gonzalez

Attendees dance during Brave Combo’s performance at the Big Benefit Show for the Downtown Mini Mall. Omar Gonzalez

Big Benefit Show for the Downtown Mini Mall organizers’ children help at the show by running the concession stand. Omar Gonzalez

Denton artists raise $900 for mini mall

By Devin Rardin @DevinRardin

More than 80 people attended the twelve-hour Big Benefit Show for the Downtown Mini Mall on Saturday at the Parker House in Denton. The show raised $900 for the vendors and owners of the business, a large part of which had to be demolished after a fire in December 2017.

The event was hosted by local venue booking groups DTXBnB Entertainment and Laconic Sound.

“Denton is a unique town in general and I feel like something like this shows people what can be accomplished when you come together,” Laconic Sound co-

founder and owner Cameron Bradley said.

The show featured 20 performers and bands, a variety of food trucks, a raffle provided

by Western Sons Vodka, art vendors and live painting. The two mini mall live paintings are being auctioned off on the DTXBnB Facebook page with bids starting at $75.

Bands played on two different stages and the event was advertised as family friendly until 5 p.m.

“It is a matter of bringing the community together,” Bradley said. “How often do you have an event where you have country, metal, rap indie, singersongwriter, hip hop and a little bit

of electronic music all in one place and within 12 hours?”

All artists performed for free and 7Feathers, a local nonprofit, handled the money raised through the show. All of the proceeds went towards the mini mall.

Laura Barnett of DTXBnB Entertainment played a major role in organizing the event. She says some of the vendors do not have another source of income nor do they have insurance.

“They lost everything,” Barnett said. “They don’t have anything anymore.”

The 4-alarm fire left a carcass of a building and damaged other stores on North Locust Street, including La Di Da, Shop the Barn and Jupiter House. The remains of

the 37-year-old antique mall were demolished on February 7.

“The Denton mini mall, just like Recycled Books, might as well be a historical marker of Denton,” Bradley said. “Anyone who grows up in Denton knows about the Denton mini mall.”

Laura and Rick Barnett of DTXBnB Entertainment initiated the idea for a benefit show and asked Laconic Sound to help. The event was originally intended to be a four-band show at the Abbey Underground but community support helped the event grow.

Laura acquired the Parker House for the event, which usually serves as a haunted house. The location allowed for two stages and an outside venue.

Ashley East, the owner of Parker’s Plantation, which includes the Parker House, responded with an emphatic “yes” when asked if the land could be used.

“We love Denton Square, everyone loves Denton Square,” East said. “It was pretty sad when we heard about [the fire].”

Denton businesses promoted the show and helped the event come together. Bradley said it was one of his favorite events to work on.

“It snowballed into this giant avalanche of awesomeness,” Bradley said.

The show started late and attendance fluctuated throughout the day with about five people at 2 p.m. and more than 20 people

at 5 p.m. The standard price of admission was $10 and attendees could bring a cooler of beer for $5.

The performers included The Faps, Diesel Beast, Brave Combo and Ritchy Flo Magic Show with Vegas. The live painters created portraits of the mini mall and there were several tables of art for sale.

Monique McIntyre, a stained glass artist, sold her work at the event to benefit the mini mall.

“It’s good to support the community,” McIntyre said.

Bradley said he enjoyed working on a project that will benefit the community instead of a project for business purposes.

“They are playing for the love of Denton,” Bradley said.

New dean of UNT Dallas College Kara, Thomas win SGA of Law discusses priorities, vision elections for president, VP SGA CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

By Jacqueline Guerrero @gagaart1 Felecia Epps will serve as the new dean for the UNT Dallas College of Law, the college announced on April 2.

She will be replacing Royal Furgeson on July 1.

Epps has nearly 30 years of experience in law and nearly 20 in higher education.

She began her legal academic career in Felecia Epps 1999 as an attorney at the University of Arkansas Little Rock Bowen School of Law, according to her biography.

Epps’ initial three-year contract will last into 2021, with the option for the university to extend if it wishes. She will receive a $250,000 annual salary as dean.

Epps told the North Texas Daily about her plans, priorities and mission for the college.

Q: What’s your vision for UNT Dallas College of Law, including improvements, changes or growth to the college?

A: My first priority is student success — we want to educate and equip a diverse group of future attorneys with the tools to go out and change the world. We must equip students to be successful in law school, on the bar exam and in the practice of law.

My vision is for our alumni to have experienced a variety of aspects of the practice of law by the time they graduate. Consequently, my second priority is experiential learning. It is important that students graduate with actual knowledge and experience practicing law. This will involve expansion of our Legal Clinic program

to encompass more subjects and to allow students to have a variety of experiential learning opportunities.

My third priority is community service. Lawyers must provide pro bono service, but should also serve as needed in other philanthropic capacities. I plan to develop a signature public service event for the UNT Dallas College of Law. Our major focus must be attaining full American Bar Association accreditation. Once we have achieved that, we will create other programs.

Distance Learning is more prevalent in law schools. An innovative program must include Distance Learning.

Creating a Distance Learning program would increase our reach to students outside the Dallas area.

In addition, we will collaborate with the other UNT Dallas colleges and programs to create interdisciplinary programs or degrees beneficial to all UNT Dallas students. This might allow them to pursue two degrees at once or a joint degree.

We are scheduled to move into our renovated facility, the former Dallas City Hall located at 106 S. Harwood Street, in the summer of 2019. For the moment, that will be the only new physical expansion.

Q: Last May, you ended your term at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University School of Law. How do you feel you will fit in as the new Dean at UNT Dallas College of Law after Royal Furgeson retires this summer?

A: I was attracted to FAMU College of Law because of its mission. Simply stated, the mission is to transform the lives of a diverse student body by legal education and thereby transform the community. UNT Dallas College of

Law has essentially the same mission but is not part of a Historically Black College or University. The mission transcends the HBCU designation. I fit at UNT Dallas because this mission is my life’s work. I believe that education transforms lives for generations.

Judge Furgeson is a legend in the Texas legal community. He was the ideal choice to start the school. He is a hard act to follow. I plan to work hard and move forward with what Judge Furgeson started.

Q: As of November 2017, there was a report saying only 59 percent of student graduates from UNT Dallas College of Law passed the Texas bar exam. Are you going to take action to improve this percentage? How so?

A: Our students come to law school because they want to practice law.

Passing the bar exam is a critical piece to that end goal. The college has an Academic Success Program and a Bar Pass Program. The leaders of those programs are already working on ways to improve the bar passage rate. We will develop a comprehensive program that engages the students before they begin their first year and takes them through the bar exam. This will be a collaborative effort involving faculty, academic support professionals and the administration.

My ideas include: (1) a program before students start law school that will emphasize critical skills (writing and analysis). (2) Continuous review of the curriculum to ensure that it is innovative and effective. (3) Review of the assessments and feedback given to ensure that both are effective.

(4) Benchmarks every year, such as a diagnostic exam, to ensure that students are on track.

The court ruled 5-1 that one vote would be removed from the Kara and Thomas ticket.

Giving Gatorade Delaney Sell, an individual who tabled for Collins and Adedokun, filed a complaint against freshman Victoria Edwards for selling Gatorade at a tabling event for Kara and Thomas.

The Election Board unanimously decided no bylaws were violated because Kara and Thomas were approved by the appropriate university departments to give out Gatorade at their tabling. They said those departments “failed to realize that Gatorade is a Pepsi product,” as UNT is a Coca-Cola product school.

Campaigning began on April 3. Candidates campaigned using tabling, social media and other platforms.

Kara and Thomas’ platform focused on transparency, outreach and projects.

They were supported by UNT’s chapter of the NAACP, UNT’s chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) and the Black Out Alliance.

“This could not have happened without

[UNT students], without a new spirit of inclusivity, a new spirit of unity,” Kara said.

Students voted yes by 88 percent to authorize SGA to update its constitution to include more gender inclusive language. Any changes to the SGA Constitution must be approved by students through a referendum.

The resolution was submitted to the SGA Senate by Collins and two SGA interns, Hanlyn Tyler and Taylor Diaz.

Voter participation in 2018 decreased from 2017. About 5 percent of the student population voted during 2018 elections compared to 8 percent in 2017. The 1,897 votes represent 6.6 percent of the undergraduate population.

“Together we can move our campus forward,” Kara said. “There will be setbacks, but [Thomas and I] promise to listen to you and always to be honest about the challenges we face. But most importantly, we ask that you join us in remaking our student government, re-engaging our fellow students and uniting under the promise, ‘Down the corridors of years, we’ll forget the joys and tears but North Texas, we love.’”

New senators will be sworn in April 18.

Kara and Thomas’ term begins June 1.

Muhammad Kara, left, and Dominique Thomas, right. Photos and illustration by Sara Carpenter and Jake King

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THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2018

NTDAILY.COM

New option encourages inclusion of anti-sex assault section in syllabi

By Zaira Perez @zairalperez

The Denton Point-in-Time count for 2018 was released at an event at UNT On the Square Friday. Jake King/DRC

Annual count shows more than half of Denton’s homeless are unsheltered

By Lizzy Spangler @LizzySpangler The 2018 Denton Pointin-Time homelessness count revealed a large drop in the number of homeless children in Denton County, and a slight decrease in the number of chronically homeless individuals.

The count, conducted by the Denton County Homeless Coalition on Jan. 25, identified 255 people as homeless, with 43 percent staying in an emergency shelter and the remaining 57 percent living unsheltered according to the results.

The number of homeless children decreased to 11, down from 34 in 2017. Results showed 33 people are chronically homeless, down from 39 in 2017.

“It’s definitely great that chronic homelessness has gone down, especially because we only have two housing projects in Denton County that are specifically for people that are chronically homeless,” said Hope Nordon, the count’s coordinating committee co-chair. “That’s always amazing news because the longer a person spends on the streets, the harder it is for them to get back into housing.”

Volunteers used an app to conduct this year’s count, which Nordon said makes this year’s count the most reliable and accurate. “[It’s] different from paper, especially because it uses the geolocation,” Nordon said. “We had a bigger coverage area this year which was great, and we’re hoping to expand next year as well.”

The coalition revealed the count results during a gallery event from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Friday at UNT on the Square, highlighting barriers for the homeless.

“The focus is affordable housing,” said Katie Chapman, chair of the count’s coordinating committee. “The focus is not just service providers advocating for affordable housing, but the community in general understanding affordable housing, understanding that [in] Denton County and DFW as a whole, affordable housing virtually impossible to find.”

The Coalition also promoted the barriers fund, which will serve to provide items such as childcare, utilities, mental health services and basic items like socks and bug spray.

“The barriers fund, we’re

hoping, can act as a kind of universal thing that different service providers can pull from and say, ‘Hey, my client needs to get his car fixed,’ [or] ‘Hey I need clothing for my client who’s got an interview tomorrow,’ and all of those types of things. [It is] just to help promote stability,” Chapman said.

Roxanne Del Rio, the dean of strategic student initiatives and multicultural outreach for North Central Texas College has volunteered for United Way of Denton for about five years. She attended the event as a volunteer to promote the barriers fund.

Del Rio said she volunteers because she works with students who are homeless and hungry and because it is important for their voices to be represented at coalition meetings. “[It is] a misconception that people that are homeless are lazy,” Del Rio said. “It could be people that are homeless are working and can’t make the necessary wages to be able to rent because we don’t have enough affordable housing.”

The full results of the 2018 Point-in-Time homelessness count can be viewed on the Denton County Homeless Coalition’s website.

An example statement about sexual assault prevention has been added to the UNT Policy Course Syllabi Requirements under optional statements and will go into effect in the fall semester.

The initiative is meant to raise more awareness about sexual assault among students.

Student Government Association President Barrett Cole began the initiative in 2017 when she was vice president.

“This initiative is essential for our campus to increase awareness around a topic that is often uncomfortable to talk about,” Cole said. “The sexual assault syllabi language is a way to provide life-changing resources to students where they are at in the classroom.”

Cole and SGA’s governmental affairs director Taylor Willis presented the initiative to the Faculty Senate on March 21. Cole also worked with Willis, Director of UNT Survivor Advocates Renee McNamara, Title IX Coordinator Inya Baiye and Dean of Students Maureen McGuinness to create the language for this initiative.

Survivor Advocates connect students impacted by violence to resources such as counseling, health and legal services.

Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 states no one can be discriminated against on the basis of sex “under any educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.”

The suggested syllabi language has been added to the Course Syllabi Policy 06.049 under optional statements. Cole said it cannot be added to the required statements because a sexual

assault prevention section is not required by the Texas Legislature.

Finance junior Bryan Molina said he thinks it is “crazy” that a sexual assault prevention syllabi statement is not required by the state.

“It’s like they’re waiting to have enough incidents to finally include it,” Molina said. “Excluding something like this could be called ignorance at this point.”

Other Texas universities with similar syllabi suggestions include Texas Tech University, Texas State University and Baylor University.

The example statement will be added to the Teaching Excellence Handbook and will be discussed during new faculty training in August.

The sexual assault prevention syllabi statement asserts the university’s commitment to providing a safe learning environment for students “free of all forms of sexual misconduct.”

It also provides contact information for UNT’s Survivor Advocates who work with the Dean of Students to aid students affected by violence. Their page provides information on how to report sexual misconduct.

“I’m very excited about this endeavor because I think it would really help spread the word about my role on campus and the importance of Title IX on our campus,” McNamara said.

Required statements include accommodation for students with disabilities, safety procedures for laboratory courses and academic integrity. Optional statements at UNT include retention of student records, student conduct within the classroom and SPOT Course Evaluations.

Cole said she believes the syllabi statement will have a wide reach because every student has

syllabi for their classes.

“I hope that providing the information in a way that is accessible by all students, faculty and staff that we can help break down some of the stigmas,” Cole said.

In 2017, the North Texas Daily reported 51.2 percent of 291 survey respondents at UNT agree to some extent that sexual assault is a significant problem on campus.

In 2018, the North Texas Daily reported 13.6 percent of 2,637 respondents reported that they were victims of sexual violence, and 8.9 percent of those students were first-year students and twothirds were female.

International studies senior Manual Zegoua said she thinks this initiative will help with prevention. Zegoua did not know of the different resources at UNT to report sexual assault and seek help.

“For the university to have [guidelines] about what to do is a great initiative,” Zegoua said.

Molina said it is a good thing UNT has considered this initiative.

“Since UNT is primarily a place of learning, having the student experience a sense of comfort while here is a must,” Molina said.

In April, SGA took part in Sexual Assault Awareness Month by hosting an “It’s On Us” week of action with the Dean of Students, Survivor Advocate and the Title IX Coordinator.

The week of action kicked off on April 2. The week’s events included a Town Hall on April 3 and Take Back the Night on April 5.

“Having this information accessible at all times to students could make a real, lasting impact on our campus community,” Cole said.

Members of Student Government Association speak during a meeting in 2017. File

TAMS to include music, design, arts curriculum in fall 2019

By Sean Riedel @SeanRiedel

i’ve gotta go!

940.535.5555

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

UNT’s Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science students will have the opportunity to incorporate arts into their studies under a new curriculum that will be implemented in fall 2019.

The program will add music, media arts, visual arts and design to the existing tracks in science, computer science and engineering.

“We wanted to give our students the opportunity to also be able to develop their talents and think across the disciplines and also see what opportunities they can find at the interface of the areas of art and STEM,” TAMS Dean Glênisson de Oliveira said.

TAMS is a two-year residential program established in 1988 that allows early college entrance for gifted high school students who “tackle real-world problems, working on solutions and breakthroughs in fields ranging from healthcare to energy consumption,” according to the UNT TAMS website.

“Everyone that goes to TAMS will continue to have advanced courses in STEM, and that’s at the core of what we expect of all students that come to TAMS,” Oliveira said. “This is just an opportunity for people to dive a little deeper into other areas.”

The three new curricular tracks will give students opportunities to develop their interests to prepare for careers that combine knowledge of science, technology, engineering and mathematics

with an artistic foundation, de Oliveira said.

“We’ve always had artistic people in TAMS,” Oliveira said.

“Our students have multiple intelligences and multiple talents and so for us to make this type of training and education more systematic will just help those types of students to just flourish and to do well in their many interests.”

UNT accepts 374 students into each class of the TAMS program.

TAMS biology senior Linda Harl said she is impressed by the coming changes to the TAMS curriculum.

“With modern technology and how we’re progressing these days, art and math and science are related,” Harl said.

“I think it’s really interesting how they’re bringing that up and TAMS is taking a step in the right direction. I don’t think it would have changed my track, but it would have been really interesting to have those people around because you can learn from them.”

The five tracks all require courses in biology, chemistry, math and physics, as well as required UNT core curriculum courses in English, history and political science.

The music track will require students to take courses in aural skills, music as communication and music theory in the College of Music and take lessons for an instrument.

Students who choose the visual art and design track will be required to take courses in

art appreciation, art history and design through the College of Visual Arts and Design while students in the media arts track will study video writing and production through the Department of Media Arts.

Additionally, each track will require specific admission criteria, according to a UNT press release.

TAMS biology senior Michelle Sanchir said she is grateful for her TAMS experience and that she thinks the curriculum changes will improve future students’ experiences.

“I think it will really add to the interdisciplinary experience,” Sanchir said. “In this changing world, these additional tracks are necessary, and I think it [will add] a new sense of community here.”

Oliveira said there are numerous possibilities in the world for people who can think across disciplines.

“What we are trying to do, generally, is to prepare students for jobs and careers that may not even exist yet,” Oliveira said.

“These students are supposed to acquire a sufficient number of tools that will enable them to be productive in certain markets. I think they’re going to be able to use their creativity to do well with that strong foundation in STEM and bring a number of things to the table.”

The curriculum change will be implemented in fall 2019 to allow time for coordination between the numerous departments in generating cohesive tracks.

ARTS & LIFE Page 5

Chaplain acts as spiritual guide at Denton County Jail

By Nikki Johnson-Bolden @nikkinikxo Barriers and security play a large role at the Denton County Jail.

When visitors enter, they walk up to a glass window and are given a visitors pass in exchange for their IDs. Phones are forbidden anywhere past the waiting area and are put away in a locker. To gain access to the general population area, you pass through a sliding door to be let into another gated section by an officer.

In the midst of all of those barriers and the strict, procedural environment of the jail is chaplain Luke Callender’s office. Callender, who has been Denton County Jail chaplain since 2011, does his best to bring a sense of warmth to the inmates from his small office in the general population wing.

He spends his days answering correspondence requests from inmates asking questions about books of the Bible or other things related to religion.

“To be the person who tries to offer care at the lowest they ever get is not a fun task, but it is a meaningful one,” Callender said.

One of the biggest responsibilities Callender carries is delivering news of death to inmates, which is something he takes very seriously.

Before starting his position as chaplain, Callender worked nights as an officer starting in 2007. Through his years of working in the Denton County Jail, he has come to view inmates through a lens of understanding and compassion.

“You run into decent, good people who are in jail uniform,” Callender said.

Sergeant Robert Brazell has worked with Callender for close to 11 years, facilitating the process of communication between Callender and inmates.

“Anything that comes through to him as far as somebody’s religion or passing of a family [is when we interact],” Brazell said.

Calendar’s impact has not been lost on those he encounters. Brazell himself has witnessed the influence his presence has had on the Denton County Jail.

“He has tons of grace, and he has brought an element of softness in hard, hard situations for the inmates,” Brazell said.

Working in a county jail and having a personal life may seem to be two different worlds, but for Callender, it’s fairly easy to balance due to the common thread between the two: his faith. In fact, it’s his faith that allows him to give deep consideration when counseling inmates, which has made him realize that going

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Chaplain Luke Callender discusses the importance of being a spirtual leader and helping inmates. Callender has been the chaplain at the Denton County Jail since 2011. Kelsey Shoemaker through hardships, such as family deaths, can be even more difficult because of the type of environment they are in. “[It’s hard] to [deliver news of death] and not hurt with them,” Callender said.

“I try not to pick that up and put it down.

I want to offer those people continuing care.”

Callender is a 2008 UNT alumnus with a bachelor’s in music. Although the two fields are not as obviously connected on the surface, he feels his time studying

music at UNT has helped prepare him to be the chaplain he is today.

“I learned in writing music that if you don’t have your audience in mind, what you’re trying to communicate is going to fall flat,” Callender said.

As he has received questions from people who are in different places in their journey with religion, Callender discovered that being genuine and honest while interacting with inmates is the best way to connect with them.

“I do find people rediscover their

faith, many come to faith and some are reminded of the fact that God doesn’t leave them,” Callender said.

While the context of his work as a chaplain might seem dark on the surface, his main focus is to be a spiritual leader to inmates and offer them positivity as best he can.

“When I see people discover the Lord cares for them, seeing people reach a measure of freedom while [they are] here [is my favorite thing],” Callender said.

The Dose: ‘Isle of Dogs’ will

leave you stranded, unmoved

By Zach Helms @ntdailyZack Wes Anderson has always been a hit or miss director, in my opinion.

While his prowess behind the camera is undeniable, it’s his choice to refine his style rather than experiment with something new that has always been a dice roll.

While he’s directed “Fantastic Mr. Fox” — one of my favorite movies of all time — he’s also made one or two very odd projects recently that seem to lack spirit and soul beyond the unique visual style he’s known for.

It pains me to say “Isle of Dogs” falls squarely in the middle in comparison to his existing filmography. While “Isle of Dogs” is his most visually inventive film to date, it struggles to find a real reason to be.

I’ve felt on several occasions upon watching his films that Anderson has forgotten the function behind the innovation he’s been praised for. “Isle of Dogs” comes off as another one of his films ripe with distinct and wonderful visuals, but with animation and writing style choices that lack direct function to the story.

The movie follows a pack of dogs, who along with thousands more, have been banished to an island made up of trash. The Japanese city of Megasaki is facing multiple diseases perpetuated by dogs, thus making them illegal. The pack, voiced by Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Jeff Goldblum, Bryan Cranston and Bob Ballaban, stumble upon a boy who has made his way to the island to find his dog.

The cast of dogs are fantastic, delivering oddball humor and disjointed scripting to the standard of previous Anderson movies. The visuals greatly compliment these characters as well, creating a very dry tone throughout.

This extremely vivid interpretation of Japan is beautifully realized, and is without a doubt Anderson at his peak in terms of his visual creativity. Every shot is used to show off superb artwork and aggressively sell you on its world.

There truly isn’t a single frame out of place — not one shot that doesn’t use perspective or clever use of depth of field.

Complimenting this is a quirky story that does do just enough to keep me interested for the most part.

It was all so captivating that I almost forgot to ask why. Anderson’s appeal has always been his visual distinctiveness and sense of humor. His trademarks are all here, but you get the sense that he’s checking off boxes as he made this movie. There is no soul here.

Though there are several other forms that this movie could have taken, it seems that the only justification for the choice of animation was because it’s one of the only things making him immediately recognizable as a director.

Perhaps this is where personal taste comes into play most, but the movie also lacks any substance among its characters as well. There are protagonists, but at no point do you find yourself feeling any sort of attachment to them.

A moment came about an hour into the film where it seemed several cast members were dead, and I assumed as such because sometimes

Courtesy Facebook Anderson likes to follow the rules of artistic and visual priority more strictly than the rules of maintaining well-written characters. His choice to let characters compliment and feed into the style of the movie was clever the first few times he did it, but his insistence on continuing this trend leaves him feeling like a director that’s not evolved with time.

In the case of “Isle of Dogs,” it feels like a movie suffering from a tired style of writing — it feels like every other Anderson movie. I say this is personal taste because some people see his work for its set design and clever use of camera technique. Many love him for the very reason I’m knocking him. But his work here feels extremely similar to the last five movies he’s done. No one is likable. No one is really “the good guy.”

Things just kind of happen to facilitate the next impressive thing he wants you to look at.

Another issue I have with the movie is related to Anderson’s style of storytelling. He has a habit of introducing many characters relatively late into his movies, and often times, these new characters are unrelated to the established cast in any way.

Anderson does it again here, opting for the perspective of a dog activist group as well as a scientist working toward a cure for the disease.

They are all protagonists in relation to the narrative, but they are hardly interesting. It’s impossible to empathize with them, and I did not care whatsoever about how their story lines concluded. Again, it’s Anderson’s regurgitation of insistence on rehashing the trademark tactics he has come to be known for.

I do not think Anderson truly understands why his fans love him. For me at least, the reason I used to love him so much was his desire to innovate and his spirit of experimentation in an industry that’s very stale and safe.

His input on design and animation was exciting for me because it represented change to a very dull status quo, not because it was cool to look at (don’t get me wrong, this movie is gorgeous). But it feels like he has short changed himself here. He’s painted himself into a corner by relying on tropes and designs he’s used before, rather than taking the spirit he once had and trying something totally new.

“Isle of Dogs” is without a doubt an incredibly beautifully constructed movie. The only problem is that it feels like Anderson is trying to perfect themes of his previous work rather than create something truly new and unique.

My Rating: 3.5/5

For UPC’s 2017 North by North Texas music festival, pop-rock artist Jessie Frye sings to the crowd in the Syndicate lounge.

Frye was the only artist at NXNT last year who was a Denton native. File

North by North Texas will bring music, festival season to the comfort of campus

By Bria Graves @callmeBREE_ With SXSW gone just as fast as it came and the second weekend of Coachella on the horizon, the music festival season continues its way through the nation — and it isn’t missing its stop in North Texas.

University Program Council is hosting its fourth annual North

by North Texas festival at the Union on April 27, giving students a day full of live music and fun.

The festival will start at 2 p.m., opening with a build-your-own flower crowns and other art activities. Music acts will take the stage beginning at 4 p.m. and will run until 9:30 p.m. Popcorn and cotton candy machines also will be set up, and Insomnia Cookies is providing free cookies for attendees.

While Beyoncé will not be at UNT to give a two-hour, historic performance, Clarissa Medrano, media arts junior and UPC live music coordinator, is certain that students will be entertained.

“This year we’re trying to expand and make NXNT as big as possible for students,” Medrano said.

NXNT is moving from its music roots and expanding to make things more interactive for students. The festival this year will feature short films from UNT’s Short Film Club, face painting and flower crowns for students to make.

For this year’s itinerary, UPC has put together a diverse group of musical acts to satisfy the needs for the diverse student body. Ariel & The Culture, The Low and Plenty

and Nautilis are three acts set to perform at NXNT. The headliner for North by North Texas was voted on by the UNT student body and was awarded to SoMo. SoMo, also known as Joseph Morales, is a Texas native who made No. 1 on the iTunes Chart and recently released his album “The Answers” in 2017.

Ariel & The Culture, a rhythm and blues/soul/hip-hop group, is comprised of Texas Woman’s University and UNT students.

The group formed in November 2017 after being asked to perform together for a syndicate session for UPC. “We’re looking forward to playing in front of a new audience and playing new music,” lead vocalist Jason Bobadilla said.

The group performs original music, as well as covers of other popular R&B and hip-hop groups.

“Having a diverse group of artists is an essential part of creating a well-rounded campus,” Bobadilla said. “There aren’t a lot of R&B groups performing and coming out of Denton.”

Folk group The Low and Plenty and instrumental band Nautilis were both chosen after being featured in UNT’s Battle of the Bands.

“I wanted to have bands that won battle of the bands perform at NXNT because UNT students chose them, and this whole festival is for the students,” Medrano said.

Putting on a festival for the entire student population is no easy feat, however. Medrano, along with a group of 13 other committee members, have worked together for quite some time to produce NXNT.

While budgeting for any festival is difficult, the money needed in order to organize NXNT is allocated from UNT student service fees.

Though this year’s festival isn’t set to start until April 27, UPC is already looking toward the 2019 version of the festival.

“Once this year’s festival passes, we will look at the analytics from this year [to] see what worked and what didn’t work to plan for next year,” Medrano said.

Although Medrano won’t be planning NXNT in 2019, she hopes to see more interactive features added to festival as well as more big-name artists to headline.

“One thing we want people to get from this is that everything we’re doing is for the student body so that they can have fun,” Medrano said. “I want students to come out and know what UPC has to offer for the students.”

All events taking place at NXTX will be free to UNT students, including food. Students can expect to get creative, eat tasty treats and listen to Denton and UNT-based musicians, all within the comfort of campus.

“Finals [are] coming up, so I want students to be able to come to North by North Texas and be able to relax, unwind and have some fun before their weekends are taken by studying,” Medrano said.

“This festival is run by students for the students, so the whole team has a good understanding on what students want.”

More information on UPC’s North by North Texas festival can be found on the UPC Twitter page.

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Living room live: Tiny Couch Productions TINY COUCH CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 near the Denton Square on West Oak Street which also operated as an art gallery and a live music venue. As an avid music lover, Ralph rubbed elbows with jazz musicians, local bands and poets who frequented the stage.

“I ran the music side of it, and during that time, I met an awful lot of wonderful artists and musicians who came across our stage,” Ralph said. “I just fell in love with it.”

But shortly after, Banter closed its doors for good.

“When we sold Banter, I really missed that experience because I would run sound for three or four nights a week, and all of sudden I wasn’t,” Ralph said.

To make up for the void, Ralph began following artists and musicians to film their shows around town. Ralph would then send the footage to Dentonradio.com for use between segments.

It was the summer of 2016, and he was a middle school science teacher at the North Texas Collegiate Academy. It was a project he had the time for.

As the break winded down, Ralph prepared to pack away the summer gig. But it wasn’t that easy.

“Last summer we videoed 42 or 43 artists, and I told everybody at the end of the summer, ‘OK, I’m done because school’s back, I can’t do it,’” Ralph said. “But the phones started running again.”

Jacquelyn Krogulski (left) and Rayne Riverstone (right), the founder of the Mermaids of Denton, pose by the poolside at this year’s mermaid meet. The Mermaids of Denton’s annual meet took place on April 14. Ashley Gallegos

Masquerading mermaids Denton’s mermaid club welcomes all

By Slade Meadows @SladeSe7ens Many people think of mermaids as mythical creatures who f lirt with Peter Pan, lure sailors to their deaths and star in fictional Animal Planet documentaries. But little do they know, they can often be found in the Denton pools and waterparks.

The mermaid community consists of people from all around the globe who enjoy swimming and/or cosplaying as a mermaid or merman. They swim with monofins, which sometimes include colorful fabric tails enveloping the legs, and cost anywhere from around $50 for a basic monofin to hundreds of dollars for a higher end model.

“When I was six, I saw The Little Mermaid, and I loved to swim too,” said Rayne Riverstone, founder of Mermaids of Denton. “Every time I went in the water, I just swam as a mermaid. Unfortunately, we grew up kind of poor, so I had to wait until I was an adult and have a job of my own, and then I could buy my own fin.”

Mermaids of Denton was founded five years ago by Riverstone as a way for her to connect with other people within

the mermaid community. She took the initiative and created the group when she moved to Denton and realized there was not already a group in place.

The group is growing and now has around 80 members who participate in the monthly MerMeets.

“I think everyone has their own reasons,” Riverstone said.

“I swim because I just love swimming, and I love doing it. I like seeing everyone’s face when they go, ‘Oh my goodness!

There’s a mermaid, wow.’

Especially the kids — the little ones — go, ‘Mom, look. It’s a mermaid, it’s a mermaid! Oh my goodness!’ It really just makes their day.”

Riverstone loves to inspire children to live out their mermaid fantasies just as she was inspired as a child. She comes to the pool prepared with monofins for both children and adults to give mermaiding a try.

“I have a ton of monofins,” Riverstone said. “Maybe not a ton, but I do try to have a lot so that everybody can get a turn to try and see if they like being a mermaid, and obviously they do. They beg their parents to buy them a tail, and then next month you’ve got new little mermaids swimming in the pool.”

The first children Riverstone

Rayne Riverstone, founder of the Mermaids of Denton, assists Czeslawa Kays with putting on her tail. Ashley Gallegos

inspired were her own. She has three girls and one boy, all of whom are learning to swim with the tails. Her eldest daughter, 11-year-old Czeslawa Kays, began swimming without a fin at 2 months old and with a fin at around age 4 or 5.

“I like hanging out with my mom and being a mermaid,” Kays said. “I like swimming with tails, but now that I can actually swim with tails underwater, I like doing tricks. I do like the air blow kiss — a bubble kiss — and I’m trying to do it where you blow it and there’s a little ring coming out.”

However, Riverstone is inspiring more than children.

While many of them love mermaiding, so do many adults.

The mermaid community is comprised mainly of adults from all age demographics and genders and is growing every week.

Jacquelyn Krogulski, a premed biology junior at UNT, purchased her first monofin recently and has been using it on a tri-weekly basis.

“I’ve been swimming since I was little,” Krogulski said.

“I grew up in a resort, so mermaiding kind of came naturally to me. As soon as I found out that you could actually do this as a normal person, I went and bought my tail, and I was like, ‘Yes!’” Several of the mermaids agree that the hobby has become more mainstream in recent years, largely thanks to movies and popular culture.

“I remember growing up, there were not a lot of people really getting together and doing this,” said Malie Long, a 31-yearold stay-at-home mom and member of Mermaids of Denton.

“Now that it’s getting a little more out there, there’s more groups, and it’s a lot of fun.”

Many people interested in mermaiding are concerned with the difficulty of learning to

swim with a monofin, but most of the members agree the feeling comes almost naturally.

“It was like I was born to do it,” Long said. “It was not hard.

I think growing up when you are a little girl or boy, you just do it when you swim. It comes naturally to you if you love it, and so I think growing up pretending definitely helps you get there.”

Whether a person has always wanted to be a mermaid, or they just saw “The Little Mermaid” for the first time last week, the Mermaids of Denton maintain that they are all-inclusive and excited to meet new people.

“We accept everybody,” Riverstone said. “I’m like Jesus, everybody is welcome, you know.

Come and be part of our group [and] if you don’t have a tail, that’s OK. I will hook you up with a tail. If you have the heart of a mermaid, you are a mermaid.”

Tiny couch, big reach Ralph said the start to Tiny Couch Productions was quite simple.

“I got an old banter chair, and I still had a lot of the microphones, cables and mixing boards from the old Banter days,” Ralph said. “I used a Sony two-track recorder into a mixer because all I had was a voice and a guitar. It was literally bare bones. I was trying to get just above the cellphone quality.”

Maintaining the production hasn’t always been sweet music though, as there were bumps in the road that have since been smoothed out. His computer used to take three hours to render a song, but his son has since helped to render one in just a few minutes now.

Recently, he enlisted the help of Zero Buffalo founder and songwriter Jason Champion to help with audio.

“It’s constantly evolving, constantly getting better,” Ralph said. “Jason and I started trying some studio mics to see how we may be able to utilize it in this space, so we’re always pushing the boundaries a bit.”

Ralph said he never says “no” to recording with an artist.

Whoever contacts him and whoever he wants on Tiny Couch Productions’ YouTube channel will all work.

“He genuinely enjoys all the music that comes through his living room,” Grigsby said. “He’s the one doing the music community a service but he counts himself as lucky. He’s just that kind of guy.”

For Champion, Tiny Couch is the perfect opportunity to help up-and-coming talent who want to make making it on the scene a reality.

“Both Bob and I have been involved in Denton’s music scene at least since the early ‘90s,” Champion said. “If we just feel like we helped the music community grow in some ways, maybe some young artist [can] have a chance to get their music out there and get exposure, then I think we feel like we’ve succeeded.”

As he nears the end of his time as a teacher, Ralph said he is looking forward to the future of Tiny Couch Productions.

“This is my last semester in the classroom,” Ralph said. “I’m going to retire and take this wherever it goes and have fun.”

The Jewish and Israel Studies Program presents a free public talk by

Dr. Günther Jikeli Visiting Associate Professor for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism, Indiana University

The New Antisemitism in Europe Coming from the Right, the Left, Muslims, and the Mainstream How do European Jews experience the rise of antisemitism?

What are characteristics of perpetrators from the right, the left, and among Muslims? How does the new antisemitism relate to the crisis of liberal democracies?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

April 26, 2018 Willis Library Forum, Room 140.

4:30-6:00 PM 1506 W Highland St, Denton, TX

NTDAILY.COM

THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2018

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Nick Gibbons of ‘As Seen on Adult Swim’ surfs through success staff of 15 jumped to a staff of 150 within a month following the success of a little show called Jimmy Neutron.

Gibbons was responsible for the lip sync of the show and was kept around to do “odds and ins” of production.

“It was cool being a part of something from the very beginning,” Gibbons said.

“Also, it was cool seeing [my] name in the credits for the first time.”

While the success of Jimmy Neutron was satisfying, it didn’t distract Gibbons from his personal goals.

“I started to do my own films in my own hours,” Gibbons said. “When work was over. I would just hang around and play around with the equipment. I would stay until 2 in the morning and work on my own.”

After five years with DNA Productions, Gibbons set his sights on New York. There, he did quality control with Blue Sky Studio on movies like “Ice Age.” He enjoyed the work but still wanted to focus on his own creativity.

“My wife was nice enough to say ‘just quit and focus on writing and comedy for a bit,’” Gibbon said.

In 2008, Gibbons moved to Atlanta, Georgia where he was hired as an editor/producer of the Adult Swim show “Aqua Teen Hunger Force.”

“

If Nick were a whale, his mouth would be an everspewing blowhole of amazing, original ideas — and a few really terrible ones.

“

ADULT SWIM CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

“It’s a strange show because if you’re editing you’re basically the director of the episode — you puppeteer the characters,” Gibbons said. “After you get all the audio and then move forward with video you put together characters.”

Along with “Aqua Teen Hunger

Force,” Gibbons worked as a creative editor on “Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell.” Gibbon says because it was shot on a blue screen, there was a lot of reliance on his editing.

His editing made quite the impression after catching the attention of David Willis, co-creator of “Aqua Teen Hunger Force”, “Squidbillies” and “Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell.”

“Nick is a joy to work with,” Willis

said. “He’s a creative polymath, an editing wizard and a graphics genius.

He should be the star of more TV shows, but he doesn’t have time because he’s too busy making TV shows for other people.”

It wasn’t just his editing skills that kept him around, however.

“If Nick were a whale, his mouth would be an ever-spewing blowhole of amazing, original ideas — and a few really terrible ones,” Willis said. “But he defends all with equal fervor! He should not defend the terrible ideas, though.

I have to say that his ideas are bad in order to keep his self-esteem in check, so he’ll keep working for us.”

‘As seen on Adult Swim’ In January 2017, Gibbons was asked an odd question.

“They asked me if I could kill an hour talking about a beach towel,” Gibbons said. “And I said, only an hour?”

This odd question was the beginning of Gibbon’s own show, “As Seen on Adult Swim.”

The hour consists of Gibbons improvising comedy, while also selling merchandise related to Adult Swim.

Gibbons says he loves having his own show and that it feeds his need to both act as a content creator and an actor.

“I love doing it, the show is basically an hour of me doing improv,” Gibbons said. “It’s funny because it’s an internet show so it’s cool having a show not a lot of people know about.”

A producer of Adult Swim Digital, Sally

Nick Gibbons. Courtesy YouTube Skinner, has worked alongside Gibbons for five years and says he makes it look easy when in reality it’s difficult.

“We look like we are just messing around but it’s actually hard to work with a live show especially with an ecommerce integration,” Skinner said.

“He is definitely willing to work harder than anybody. He’s a super hard worker and makes it looks effortless.”

Skinner says Gibbons is the opposite of a diva and can read the energy of a room and call the shots in ways that are still very democratic.

“He entertains all ideas but is very good at picking what’s best for the show while also indirectly managing all of it,” Gibbons said. “He tells us what is needed without demanding.”

Soon, Gibbons and Skinner will put their talents together to create what Skinner described as a “spin-off of ‘Good Morning America.’” She said having creative freedom is great but not at all straightforward.

When reminiscing about his college days, the advice Gibbons has for UNT student is simple — never stop creating.

“You won’t be good at it at first, but keep working at what you want to do,” Gibbons said. “If you don’t like the situation you’re in you can change it. It may be hard but nothing worthwhile is easy.”

“As Seen on Adult Swim” can be viewed at 8 p.m on Wednesdays on the Adult Swim website.

Nick Gibbons. Courtesy Adult Swim

UNT Students face-to-face with City, County, State candidates for office

ON A A NEW MUSICAL MADE IN AMERICA Book by Doug Wright Lyrics by Amanda Green Music by Trey Anastasio and Amanda Green Directed by Michael Serrecchia

Music Direction by michael childs

MEET THE CANDIDATES

: April 26-28,, 2018 at 7:30pm : April 29,, 2018 at 2:00pm

Hosted by UNT Rotaract and North Texas Daily.

Fry St. Tavern on April 23rd from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

TICKETS $10- $15

For tickets:

940-565-2428

. . danceandtheatre.unt.edu AA/EOE/ADA

University Theater RTFP Building 1179 Union Circle Denton,, TX 76203

All students are encouraged to participate in this first ever event.

North Texas Daily

SPORTS Page 8

THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2018

NTDAILY.COM

Healthy, prepared for C-USA postseason

By Deondre Jones @deondrejones34 North Texas enters the Conference USA tournament, Thursday in Norfolk, Virginia as the No. 6 seed and will play No. 11 seed, University of Alabama at Birmingham in the first round at 3 p.m. The team has overcome several setbacks but is rejuvenated heading into the post season.

The Mean Green are carrying some momentum coming into the tournament, especially after a convincing 4-1 win against the University of Texas at Arlington in their home finale. Head coach Sujay Lama is hopeful this level of play will carry over into their first match.

“We feel good with where we are now and what we’re about to do,” Lama said. “Now it’s about going out there having fun playing freely, joyfully and aggressively.”

The Mean Green had a rough regular season, going 8-13, their worst since 2006, Lama’s first year with the team. North Texas fought injuries, youth and lineup shuffling throughout the season as well as facing a tough schedule to prepare them for conference play.

Lama believes, heading into tournament play, none of the regular season wins or losses carry over. Instead he just wants his team to have a clear mindset and remember the original goal heading into the season.

“This is a brand new season, right?” Lama said. “It’s a 0-0 [record] for everybody. This is what we’ve prepared for all year long, and this what we look forward to. Our schedule and the grind that we went through the whole year coupled with the adversity that we’ve faced has prepared us for this moment.”

The Mean Green have shuffled double’s lineups recently, which has led to promising results.

Lama decided to split up junior Tamuna Kutubidze and sophomore Alexandria Heczey.

This has given the team much needed flexibility knowing that their top three players are playing on separate courts, thus increasing their chance of winning the doubles point.

Heczey has been playing doubles with freshman Nidhi Surapaneni for the past three matches. They went unfinished in their first match together against the University of Tulsa, then picked up a loss the next week against Southern Methodist University. However, things started to finally click for them last weekend as they picked up a dominant 6-1 win against UTA. Heczey believes having a partner like Kutubidze early in the season has made the transition to her next duos partner easier as she uses what she learned from Kutubidze.

“I have a lot of respect for her, and she taught me a lot,” Heczey said. “Now I feel like I have to do the same with Nidhi. I have a lot of trust in her, and she has a lot of trust in me.”

Kutubidze, meanwhile, has been doubles partners with sophomore Haruka Sasaki for the past two matches, and the pair has been undefeated, boding well for them heading into the tournament.

Kutubidze, who has been battling synovitis in her elbow the past few weeks, says the wins have definitely boosted her confidence in recent weeks.

“Mentally, I wasn’t there the last three weeks, but against UTA, I clinched the match, and it helped me a lot,” Kutubidze said of her singles win. “On my MRI

I found out nothing was torn, so mentally I think I’m in a better position.”

Junior’s Maria Kononova and Minying Liang will continue being partners throughout the tournament, presumably as the No. 1 doubles team. This duo is 5-3 overall this season.

The doubles point will prove to be crucial for North Texas in this tournament. While the pairings being used going in have the confidence and record of winning, overall the Mean Green are 18-29 this season in doubles matches.

But they know what they are capable of when the combinations are clicking.

“I’m very positive about my team and my teammates,” Kononova said. “I know how hard we’ve been working and how high we set our goals. I know everyone’s gonna do their best and compete to win.”

Throughout the season, injuries have marred a talented Mean Green team’s record, but Lama and company know what they are capable of when their bodies are right.

“We are as healthy as we’ve been all season long,” Lama said. “The starters are back and healthy. We just have to make sure that they keep doing what they’re doing, which is preparing their bodies for the competition.”

In the first round, the Mean Green take on the 11-seeded UAB team who finished the season 1112 and 1-2 in C-USA play.

The Mean Green have Kononova at the one seed who has been a top 60 player in the country for the majority of the season. Meanwhile, the Blazer’s No. 1 seed, Alex Shchipakina, ended the season with a 6-11 record all as the top seed.

If the Mean Green can steal the doubles point, the pressure

North Texas freshman Nidhi Surapaneni hits the ball during a match against Louisiana Tech on Jan. 27. Sara Carpenter will shift to the singles matches which favors North Texas on paper. If the Mean Green make it out of the first round, they will meet the three seed Old Dominion University in the second round on Friday at 2 p.m.

“Coach Tjia is a really good friend of mine and is a terrific coach [at UAB], so I have a lot of respect for what he is doing

there, and he does a great job,” Lama said. “We know that they are going to come out aggressively and we have to prepare ourselves. This is the the conference championship, so we have to be ready right off the go.”

Despite the season not going the way the Mean Green wanted it to go, North Texas remains upbeat and ready to take on the

challenge of being a lower seed in this conference tournament.

“It’s not the regular season we were hoping for, but I think everything happens for a reason,” Lama said. “I really feel good about coming into conference this year, and I feel that something special is brewing.”

Softball swept over weekend

By Luis Diosdado @luis_diosdado9

Lauren Cox finishes her swing at the Maridoe Country Club. Courtesy Rick Yeatts

Final round elevates women’s golf

By Simreen Kheraj @simreenkheraj North Texas headed to Fort Myers, Florida to compete in the 2018 Conference USA Women’s Championship Monday through Wednesday and finished with a score of +32, good for fourth in the conference, a result which exceeded expectations.

North Texas started the first round of the tournament in seventh place but were able to move up the leaderboard throughout the course of the threeround tournament. The University of Texas at San Antonio finished in first place finishing 10 over par.

“It’s an awesome way to finish the year, on a high note,” head coach Michael Akers said. “The goal was to get in the top five, and you just play one shot at a time, one hole at a time, and try to make birdies. They made a lot of birdies today and it was just a lot of fun.”

The Mean Green showed improvement throughout the tournament as they started with a score of 306 in round one and finished round three with a score of 287, tying for the third-best single round in the

history of the program and the lowest total for a day of any team across all three days of the tournament.

In his second season, Akers was blown away with his team’s performance and loved to see the improvement as a team. Last season, the Mean Green came in 10th place and the year before that, they came in dead last.

“The team has improved dramatically over the last two years,” Akers said. “Two years ago we took last in conference, and now we’ve moved all the way to fourth. I feel like next year we’ll do even better. Right now, I’m just thrilled to move up the leaderboard today and post the best round of the day and I’m very excited for Lauren and Sabina to get top five.”

Sophomore Lauren Cox and, junior Sabina Pena finished the tournament in the top five, tied for fifth place. Both golfers were also named Conference USA All-Tournament team.

Pena, who finished with a score of +4 to par, has been consistently improving through the course of the season and is pleased to see it pay off.

“I’m definitely more confident, and I know it’s only going to get better from now on,” Pena said. “I knew

that every shot counted, and I never gave up. I have been wanting to shoot under par all year, and I finally did it on my last round so it’s a good way to go out.”

Cox, who also finished with a score of +4 to par, showed progress through each three rounds, and was instrumental to the team making the late push.

“I feel like I got better as the week went on,” Cox said. “Round one was just okay, round two was a bit better, and round three was really good so it was good to see an improvement.”

The trend of starting out slow in the first round and giving it their all in the third round is nothing new for the team, as it occurred throughout the season.

After their performance, North Texas is confident and prepared to take on their 2018-2019 season, but for now, they’ll enjoy what they have accomplished this season.

“I’m very happy with the path that we’re on and know that next year is going to be even better,” Akers said.

“I’m very proud of the progress that we’ve made. I already received texts from recruits about the finish that we had today.”

After dropping consecutive games against the University of Texas at El Paso on Saturday afternoon, North Texas could not find a way to bounce back and fell to the Miners 4-3 in a tension filled game three.

The Mean Green suffered their first three game sweep of the season as a result.

“UTEP outplayed us in every facet this weekend,” head coach Tracey Kee said.

“They pitched better than we did, hit better and just had more timely hitting when we did.”

Freshman pitcher Hope Trautwein took the mound and tossed six strong innings while allowing only one earned run on six hits, striking out two. The defeat gives Trautwein back-to-back losses for the first time in conference play.

“I thought Hope threw a great game,” Kee said. “It was night and day from yesterday’s game. She could’ve carried yesterday’s performance over to today, but she didn’t, so credit to her.”

The Mean Green struck first in the bottom of the second off a three-run home run from sophomore catcher Nicole Ochotnicki that would contribute to the only runs for North Texas.

Just one inning later, UTEP capitalized off an error to bring the game to within two.

The Miners then used a solo home run and two more Mean Green errors in the fourth and fifth innings to take the lead.

All three Mean Green errors led to runs in UTEP’s favor.

“The only word I could use to describe our defense was atrocious,” Kee said. “If you give a good hitting team like UTEP more outs than what the game calls for, you’re probably going to always end up on the losing side.”

However, North Texas would make the contest interesting in the top of the seventh inning.

Sophomore outfielder Katie Clark started the final frame with a leadoff walk and advanced to scoring position by a sacrifice bunt from sophomore infielder Lindsay Gregory.

Following that, sophomore infielder Lacy Gregory ripped a ball into left field, and Kee waved Clark around third base to try and tie the game. A very close play at the plate ruled Clark out at the plate for the second out of the inning.

After sophomore outfielder Camille Grahmann came in and ran for Lacy Gregory at second base, junior infielder Sam Rea found a hole and sent a single past the first base side. Kee risked it all again by sending Grahmann to score, but a throw from the Miners’ right fielder had Grahmann beat by a full step to end the game.

North Texas will now likely fall into the middle part of the C-USA standings, just one week after holding the first place spot.

“We have to clean things up,” Kee said.

“We have to get back and work hard and realize that we have to take advantage of the conference games we have left.”

North Texas sophomore Lacy Gregory throws the ball in a game against Houston Baptist University on April 11 at Lovelace Stadium. Sara Carpenter

NTDAILY.COM

Soccer freshmen hungry for more responsibility

By Matthew Berger @Bergersthoughts North Texas soccer is on a 23-year run unlike any other in Mean Green history. The team has never had a losing season dating back to 1995 when head coach John Hedlund took over the new program in its first season.

One of the keys to Hedlund’s success has been his ability to recruit from the area and having young players buy into the goals of the program.

The Mean Green finished 14-4-4 last season and earned a trip to the NCAA tournament after winning the Conference USA tournament. It was North Texas’ fifth NCAA tournament appearance overall and third in six seasons.

One of the main reasons for the program’s success last season was the stellar play of the freshman class.

Three of the top six goal scorers and two of the top four assist leaders for the Mean Green last season were freshmen.

After losing two seniors from last year’s squad, 10 of the 23 players currently on the roster are freshmen heading into their second season with the team.

Freshman Ariel Diaz was one of the top goal scorers for the Mean Green last season, finishing tied for second in goals and tied for fourth in assists. Her 17 points were tied for second on the team in just her first season. However, Diaz, like all of the underclassmen on this roster, is not satisfied.

“I want to be better with my team [by] playing with more confidence and better communication,” Diaz said. “Developing

our communication as a team will help us out better on the field.”

Diaz’s seven goals are tied for the fourth most scored by a freshman over the last five seasons. A staggering 18 of the Mean Green’s 49 goals were scored by freshmen last season, including two game-winners.

After being introduced to the winning culture of the program, Diaz and her teammates now know what to expect heading into the fall. The plan going forward is to show the new crop of freshmen how to continue their run of success.

“Individually, I know how to motivate myself more, being more confident in myself by taking more shots,” Diaz said.

“I can come out here and put in extra work. Being a striker or forward on the team, I feel I have to work harder due to my responsibilities on the team.”

Another freshman who had an immense impact on the team last year was midfielder Brooke Lampe. Lampe finished with four goals and nine total points last season, including shooting a blistering 75 percent of her shots on goal.

Lampe was under the wing of senior defender Tori Phillips last season, and with her graduation, will now be playing a pivotal role in Hedlund’s formation this fall.

After a successful campaign with the Mean Green, Lampe knows what it will take for this team to keep moving forward.

“We had a standard set for us freshmen when we came in, and we need to keep that bar raised for the freshmen coming in,” Lampe said. “So now that we

Page 9

THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2018

North Texas freshman midfielder Brooke Lampe kicks the ball in a game against Indiana University on Sept. 10. Sara Carpenter have done it, can we do it again?”

Lampe, like the rest of her teammates, has one goal in mind each season, and that is to get a ring. It has become almost customary, but in order to achieve this, Lampe understands working on fitness will be one of the things she looks to improve on from last year to this year, individually.

“One of our goals from the freshmen class is to get a ring each year,” Lampe said. “If our seniors did it, why can’t we? I can always get better, and one of my biggest things is getting into better shape. For helping out the team, I need to be able to last a couple more minutes.”

Defensively, the Mean Green were

one of the best teams in the country last season. The team allowed just 18 goals in 22 matches for a goals against average of .789. In 11 of their 22 games, the defense held their opponent scoreless.

Freshman Logan Bruffett is one of the defenders who suffocated C-USA offenses last season and even added one goal of her own over the course of the season.

Playing with her fellow teammates has helped Bruffett grow from an incoming freshman into her sophomore season.

“Confidence on the field with the ball and [with] the other players is how I have grown over the year,” Bruffett said.

“Not feeling like a new player and feeling more comfortable with the team has helped me grow a lot.”

After one season with the team and with the success they had on the field, Bruffett and her young teammates are hungry to make this one of the more successful classes in program history.

With the track record of this program, that is no easy feat, but they are ready to try.

“Taking every practice seriously helped us realize we are a part of something huge,” Bruffett said. “Now that we got a ring amd started a run of our own, we are hungry to get another one and another one.”

Softball leaves 8 stranded in loss to Abilene Christian

By Mattew Brune @Mattbrune25

University of North Texas Mean Green Men’s Golf competes at the Four Seasons golf course during the Spring Break Challenge in Dallas on March 12.

Courtesy Rick Yeatts Photography/Colin Mitchell

Preview: Men’s golf exudes confidence while entering C-USA Championships

By Joshua Paveglio @joshpaveglio North Texas has emerged as one of the favorites entering the Conference USA Championships which begins Sunday and goes through Wednesday.

The championship is at the Par 72 Texarkana Country Club in Texarkana, Arkansas. North Texas enters the tournament as the second highest ranked team from golfstats.com at No. 60. Second only to University of Alabama-Birmingham who is ranked No. 38, also joined by three other top 100 ranked teams.

The champion of the C-USA tournament will receive automatic berth to the NCAA regionals, and the Mean Green are confident they can come out on top.

“We are going into the Conference USA tournament with the mindset to win,” head coach Brad Stracke said. “I feel like the guys are confident in each other and know they are prepared to play at Texarkana Country Club.”

With the Mean Green’s improvement in the rankings, the competition they have faced as of late has also improved in terms of rankings. In their final tournament before the C-USA Championships, North Texas tied for eighth at the Aggie Invitational in a loaded field of ranked teams.

In the tournament before that, the Mean Green found themselves surrounded by highly ranked teams again in the Hayt, resulting in an 11th place finish out of a number of teams due to a strong under-par finish from juniors

Ian Synman and Thomas Rosemueller.

These two juniors have been leaders of the team throughout the season both on the course and off of it. They lead the team in average shots per round of players who participated in all four tournaments.

“I’m very confident going into the conference tournament,” Rosenmuller said. “We’ve been playing really well, and I think our team is going to do great this week. We’ve been preparing well.

Everyone is on track, so I think we can show up with a lot of confidence and ready to golf.”

Nothing but this tournament has been on the mind of North Texas over the past month, and the hope is all of the preparation translates to a C-USA Championship.

“We’ve been practicing out at some courses that have some harsher conditions than Texarkana, preparing for just how the golf course is going to play, so I think we have an advantage practicing out at these courses over the other teams,” Rosemueller said. “My game is getting a lot better, and I’ve been getting better in a lot of areas where I needed to. My short game is really good, my putting is really good and I’m hitting the ball really well. Giving me the confidence that I can have a really good result individually at Texarkana Country Club.”

Mentally, confidence has been the primary focus for the team heading into this tournament.

The expectations for the conference tournament are high, and there is a confidence the Mean Green will meet

expectations. The course promises to have tough conditions over the four days, but the Mean Green feel so good going in that the course is not a concern for them.

“Honestly I’m very confident,” freshman Vitek Novak said. “I feel my game getting better, and I’m finally to the point where I’m tapped in, and I’m feeling very confident going into conference. We deserve it. We’ve been working hard. Coach and everyone has been preparing us very well to get us to the highest level possible. I think we are in a good spot and need to take advantage of it.”

The Mean Green have been challenged by high ranking teams throughout the season, and this will be one of the few tournaments where they are one of the favorites going in. While it’s a different mindset, the team is oozing with confidence and can not wait to use it to their advantage.

Stracke as well has high expectations in his team on Sunday, and he hopes to advance to the regional tournament.

“I know the guys are looking forward to playing in the conference championship,” Stracke said. “This year’s team is complete from top to bottom, so our confidence is very high.”

In a year where multiple North Texas sports brought championship hardware to Denton, men’s golf hopes to be the next team to do so.

“I’ll be very confident going into conference, and we all believe we can go there and steal it,” Novak said. “All of the guys and myself are confident going in. I hope we can come back with a big smile on our faces because we deserve it.”

Another midweek game equaled another struggle for North Texas.

The Mean Green lost to Abilene Christian 3-1 Wednesday night and are now 2-3 in their last five midweek games.

North Texas (22-21) left eight players on base, while the Wildcats (18-20) left none stranded.

“It was a well pitched game by both teams,” Kee told Meangreensports.com.

“Hope threw a two hitter and lost and I think she understands she made two mistakes. For a young pitcher she hung in there. Offensively we just could not get a timely hit and they did.”

The bottom of the fifth inning epitomized what went wrong for North Texas Wednesday night at Lovelace Stadium.

The Mean Green had bases loaded with no outs after a walk, single and single from a bunt. Sophomore catcher Nicole Ochotnicki was walked which brought in the lone run of the game but kept the bases loaded with no outs.

Coming up was the four, five and six batters in the lineup, almost a guarantee to score at least one run, if not two to tie the game.

But that never came to fruition as a sophomore designated hitter Lacy Gregory lined out, junior third baseman Rhylie Makawe’s contact led to a force out at the plate and then sophomore right fielder Hannah Rebar flew out to center field.

“We can’t have bases loaded with no outs and not do something with the four five six hitters up,” Kee told Meangreensports.com. “That’s pretty much what it came down to.”

North Texas got on base with seven walks in the game and their lone RBI in the contest came off of a walk.

There was a total of five hits between the two teams and as Kee said, it was a pitchers game.

Freshman pitcher Hope Trautwein did what she has done all season for the Mean Green, only allowing two hits, one walk and three earned runs while striking out two in 7.0 innings.

All three of the Wildcats runs came in the top of the third inning and after that, Trautwein bounced back to shut down Abilene Christian while waiting for the run support that never came.

“They were aggressive and putting the ball in play a lot, so we did a great job of managing them,” Trautwein told Meangreensports.com. “They just hit it when they needed it and we didn’t.”

The Wildcat’s pitching was split between Hannah Null and Calie Burris. Null got the win, pitching 4.0 innings and only allowing one hit, three walks and no runs.

Burris came in to close out the game and got the save with 3.0 innings pitched, allowing two hits and one earned run.

“It just comes down to situational hitting and we weren’t able to execute,” Ochotnicki told Meangreensports.com. “We were getting hits just not the timely ones we needed.”

Next up: North Texas plays host to Florida International University Saturday in a doubleheader at 1 p.m. then 3 p.m.

North Texas freshman Hope Trautwein pitches in a game against Houston Baptist University on April 11 at Lovelace Stadium. Sara Carpenter

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THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2018

NTDAILY.COM

Ochotnicki commands from behind plate

By Luis Diosdado @luis_diosdado9

This season, Nicole Ochotnicki has been a different player both at the plate and behind it.

It shows in her numbers, but it goes beyond that for this year’s resurgent softball team.

Ochotnicki — or “Ocho” as the team calls her — has established herself as the backbone of the squad according to her teammates and coaches throughout the season. A role that goes past her .304 batting average, which is up from the .202 average she had as a freshman.

With head coach Tracey Kee being a former catcher herself, Ochotnicki has perhaps the largest burden to bear when it comes to her head coach. An expectation she has thrived on in her sophomore season.

“Ocho is one of the best catchers I’ve ever coached,” Kee said. “I’m incredibly hard on catching when it comes to technique, demands and just taking leadership.”

Much like a couple of Kee’s other players, discovering Ochotnicki was somewhat of an accident.

Kee attended a local tournament in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in hopes of acquiring a different player she had her eye on. While waiting to see that recruit play, Kee decided to watch a different game that featured Vista Ridge high school, a school she had never heard of.

That’s when Ochotnicki just happened to draw attention to herself with something she does everyday.

“I remember seeing her behind the plate, throwing from her knees with her great

arm strength,” Kee said. “It’s amazing because I basically just stumbled upon her. It just one of those, ‘Well, we found one’ situations.”

Ochotnicki was more than excited for the offer, as playing collegiate softball was something she had been striving toward since her sophomore year of high school.

“I really wanted to play at a Division I or Division II and hopefully get some money and get to go to school,” Ochotnicki said. “When North Texas came up and I had my visit and meeting with the coaches, I knew this was going to be a good fit for me.”

In her freshman season for the Mean Green, Ochotnicki struggled to produce offensively.

Despite playing in 49 games, she only totaled just one home run and seven RBIs while ending with the second most strikeouts (36) and the second least amount of walks (8) on the team.

This year, Ochotnicki is currently top five on the team in batting average, hits (38), home runs (5) and RBIs (20).

“She’s a completely different player as a sophomore,” Kee said. “I think her confidence and understanding the expectations in what her roles are have really just allowed her to settle in.”

Not to mention, Ochotnicki also has a pair of walk-off hits to her name, as well as some big at-bats that contributed to North Texas’ two wins against Florida Atlantic University back in March.

“If I go up there nervous, it really doesn’t help the situation at all,” Ochotnicki said of her late game mindset. “I just go up there with the mindset of, ‘I just need to get a hit or anything to score

North Texas sophomore Nicole Ochotnicki slides into third base March 3 at Lovelace Stadium. Jake King a run.’ But I know if I don’t do it, then I’m confident someone else behind me will.”

Kee views Ochotnicki’s background as a catcher as an advantage at the plate, especially when it comes to the close game situations.

“When you’re catcher, you see and receive a lot of movement, and Ocho is just one of those who utilizes her experience behind the plate and carries it over,” Kee said. “As for handling the pressure, it’s just hard to get her upset, and that’s just her personality.”

Ochotnicki is also the lone player on the North Texas roster to start and play every single game up to this point in the season, and she has done it all while working with three brand new freshman pitchers on the mound.

“Ocho works her tail off back there to get our pitches called strikes and block for us really well,” freshman pitcher Maria Priest said. “She’s just a great teammate. If you’re struggling, she’s always there to encourage you and pick you up.”

Having a tight relationship

with the pitchers is one of the main keys to Ocho’s success, and it is something she prides herself on.

For Ochotnicki, Priest and the rest of the pitching staff, that is one thing that has been in progress since the fall.

“I try to just talking to them and figuring out what they need from me,” Ochotnicki said. “While they’re learning how to work on their game, it’s important that I’m also learning to understand whatever is happening. I think learning alongside them helps build the

relationship.”

Ochotnicki still has two years in a Mean Green uniform left after this season, but hopes to make an impression on the program with the kind of player she is, rather than the numbers she puts up.

“I want to be known as a hard worker,” Ochotnicki said. “I hope to be someone that others look up to and say, ‘I want to work as hard as her.’ The freshman already come up to me for advice, and the only thing I can tell them is to just keep improving.”

JuCo star brought in to provide scoring spark

By Matthew Brune @Mattbrune25

North Texas sophomore point guard Ryan Woolridge (0) drives the ball against Jacksonville State at the Super Pit on March 21. Jake King/DRC

COLUMN

Leaving transfers give McCasland flexibility

By Matthew Brune @Mattbrune25 In a tidy 13 months after the hiring of Grant McCasland, all but two players from the disastrous Tony Benford era are no longer in the North Texas men’s basketball program. Now, McCasland has three players coming in who were redshirted last season, and with the recent transfers, he has a ton of f lexibility in recruiting in an attempt to construct a team of his liking.

With the offseason shuff ling complete, the process of resetting the North Texas men’s basketball team is just about done.

Sure, sophomore guard A.J. Lawson and junior guard Allante Holston were good role players last season, but for most of the season, they felt like filler pieces.

McCasland was forced to put the square pegs in a round hole and did so effectively for a majority of the season.

It’s not fair to judge Lawson off of a season where he was injured and never felt comfortable in the system, but with those two moving on, along with redshirt

sophomore Khalil Fuller, three of the bottom six players in player efficiency rating are gone. Lawson and Holston were borderline elite defensive players, and I raved throughout the season about their ability to guard opposing wings, but they simply could not score. Holston and Lawson ranked bottom two on the team in effective field goal percentage.

They were a large reason why the defense was ranked No. 95 in the country — up from No. 222 in the season prior — but Lawson wants and needs the ball on offense, and Holston is only effective catching with two feet in the paint.

McCasland thirsts for shooting, and he will have plenty next season.

The two remaining Benford players are sophomore guard Ryan Woolridge and redshirt sophomore guard DJ Draper, both of which will be juniors next season.

Of the other 14 players from the 201617 roster, seven transferred and seven eventually finished their playing career with North Texas.

Finally, this team is all Grant McCasland. He loves Draper and Woolridge who were sixth and first in minutes played, respectively, and both of them contributed on both ends.

Now, let’s move onto next season. Even though no recruits have been formally announced, we know the team returning is already better than last year’s. At least on paper and at least when healthy.

Woolridge along with sophomore Roosevelt Smart and freshman Zachary Simmons are all locks to start. A fringe

lock is redshirt freshman guard Umoja Gibson based on what he showed in the preseason and the first two games of the 2017 season.

The fifth spot will tell a lot about how McCasland wants this team to operate.

If he starts junior guard Jorden Duffy, there will not be a lot of defense or size from that lineup. Truthfully, there are not a lot of defensive wings on this team as it is currently constructed, besides maybe redshirt sophomore Jahmiah Simmons.

But this roster is not done yet, not even close. McCasland only has ten players on the roster currently, so it’s safe to assume he will be bringing at least three or four more players. According to a source close to the team, we should know a lot more about recruits by the end of the week.

As I mentioned earlier, my expectation is a few versatile wings with size from high school or junior college since they are so guard heavy right now, but who knows.

McCasland has already shown us he is more than capable of making something out of nothing, so just imagine when he gets a roster he crafted.

It’s a scary thought, but a thought which has reinvigorated the bloodline of basketball at North Texas.

Now that the transfers are out of the picture and nest season’s roster begins to gain clarity however McCasland chooses, the truth now stands directly in front of us.

The reset of the men’s basketball program is over. Thankfully, it’s time to win.

With freshman guard Lauren Holmes departing from the team after a season where she was the second leading scorer, head coach Jalie Mitchell needed scoring for next year.

As a result, she signed junior college player of the year Velma Mitchell, a 5-foot-9-inch guard with two more years of eligibility to pair with junior guard Terriell Bradley.

The likelihood of bringing in a freshman who can score over 10 points per game is low, so Mitchell went the junior college route to find a player ready to score as soon as they get onto campus.

As a freshman at McLennan Community College, Mitchell averaged 17 points per game on nearly 40 percent shooting from the field and 33 percent from 3-point range and was named the conference player of the year in her first season.

In her sophomore season, Mitchell averaged 14.4 points per game shooting 39 percent from the field and 34.3 percent from behind the arc in only 26.7 minutes per game.

She was originally committed to University of LouisianaMonroe out of Rockdale High School where she was a McDonald’s All-American nominee.

After a season where the Mean Green were without a second double-digit scorer, Mitchell aims to be the new jolt of energy besides Bradley, Buckner and the rest of the returning roster. Also, they will be getting back a bevy of players who missed the 2017-18 season with injury.

Coming off of a season when North Texas finished 11th in the conference but advanced to the Conference USA tournament semifinals, Jalie Mitchell is searching for consistency on the offensive end to pair with her defense which ranked near the top of C-USA in almost every statistical category.

The Mean Green finished with a 17-14 record overall, the first winning season in 12 years and have improved in overall record in all three seasons of Jalie Mitchell’s tenure.

North Texas head coach Jalie Mitchell discusses a call with a referee that went in favor of their opponent, Louisiana Tech, March 8 at the Ford Center at The Star. Jeff Woo/DRC

OPINION Page 11

THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2018

NTDAILY.COM

Age is just a number

By Brianna Adams @bribriixo

Illustration by Austin Banzon

Recent film appropriately captures Deaf community

By Rachel Herzer @coolrachdoritos There’s a new movie out called “A Quiet Place” starring John Krasinski and Emily Blunt, and I haven’t seen it yet. But if you’ve ever been on the internet before, you know that you don’t need to actually watch a popular, newly released movie to figure out what happens. Everyone on Twitter has you covered there.

From what I understand, it is about a small family that, I guess, lives in some sort of bunker and has to go about their daily living in silence — no speaking or loud noises — because they live under the constant threat of some monsters attacking or something.

(I told you I haven’t seen it — that’s

the best I got.)

But the important thing to note about this film is that the director (also Krasinski) pushed to include an actual deaf actress, Millicent Simmonds, as one of the main characters.

It cannot be expressed enough how important it is to actually seek out marginalized communities and include them in media.

Especially in instances like this when a person from that group has real life experiences that will make a role much more authentic.

People outside of such a group will never be able to fully encompass what it is like to experience life within the group, therefore, they can’t play the role as accurately or genuinely.

Even if they could, the role still deserves to be filled by someone from the actual communities that have been snubbed and misrepresented for years.

This is not groundbreaking by any means — it should be standard in the film industry by now. But unfortunately, Hollywood still has some leaps and bounds to make when it comes to accurate

representation of certain groups.

The world is a really big and diverse place. It’s time we start seeing stories about people other than able-bodied, thin, attractive, white, straight and cis-gendered people because they exist, and they deserve to feel understood in media the same way hegemonic societal groups are.

In your day-to-day life, does every individual you come across look, act, think and feel exactly like you? Probably not. So why are so many Hollywood films so homogenous?

I know the answer to that question (fat cats in the industry are mostly straight, white, old men, and this lack of diversity flows down into the content they produce), but I digress.

The film industry needs to get creative with its casting, make more of an effort to tap into oppressed groups — especially when telling stories that involve them — and, in general, stop casting the same actors all the time. Jennifer Lawrence can only play so many dramatic blonde women.

The age old stereotypes about younger girls dating older guys needs to cease and desist.

Of course maturity is an issue, but let’s be frank.

Women mature way faster than men. I figure women who date up just want to balance out the invisible emotional scales.

I want to be clear that I am not trying to insult all younger guys, and I’m not saying that every 21-yearold frat boy is immature.

What I’m saying is that it is 2018, and we are all stuck in the middle of the hookup culture era.

People don’t want long-term relationships or marriage anymore.

Young people want to be young and enjoy loads of “no strings attached” sex.

21-year-old guys think relationships right now are too expensive and a waste of time. Disagree if you want, but any woman who’s spent more than a couple of minutes on Tinder knows exactly what I’m talking about. It’s not uncommon for the first message to simply read, “sex?”

I got more thoughtful words from a crumpled up letter thrown at me from the kid across the aisle in kindergarten.

Now the problem with the hookup culture is not the fact that young people want to stay single while they’re in school and getting their lives together. The problem is that young people are getting older, but this mentality is not aging.

This “no labels” mentality is spreading like a stage four malignant tumor into the hearts of millennials and Gen X-ers alike.

So what if you don’t want to have sex on the first date? What if “Netflix and Chill” is not your idea of a good time? What if the guy you like only ever takes you out for ramen and Bud Lite because that’s all sex is worth to him? I say simple solution: date older.

There is nothing wrong with dating older.

Think about why people date in the first place — to get to know each other.

Speaking from personal experience, guys from NY dream big and live for opportunity. Guys from Penn State are intelligent and confident of what they bring to the table. Guys from Georgia are laid back and live everyday like it’s a vacation. And after two years here, I’m still figuring out the guys from Texas.

Sure, these are shallow observations that merely generalize entire populations of people. But these are my observations and experiences that grant me the knowledge to make an informed decision on whether or not to date older. Older guys know that watching a movie while holding each other’s sweaty palms every time you get together is not going to get you enough face time to learn about one another.

Older guys know that having dinner and watching the sunset on the patio while having a few drinks gives you just enough to do without taking away opportunity for heartfelt conversation.

Unfortunately, younger guys do not have the capability nor desire just yet to be so creative.

This is one of the reasons girls date older guys. Not to betray or insult their peers, but to seek happiness and content within themselves at a certain point in their lives as they mature. Or maybe she just simply is attracted to older guys with more defined features which come from age and experience.

Whatever her reason may be, I think it’s time she stops receiving looks of disgust when she expresses her attraction to an older gentleman or introduces him to her friends and family.

Illustration by Austin Banzon

Why short films are so important

By Kenya Menjivar @kenya_menjivar Pixar just released the first clip of “Bao,” a sweet story of a lonely Chinese mother suffering from empty nest syndrome, and it looks like it will be a true heart warmer.

The sneak peak opens with a mother who has just finished cooking a dumpling and is sitting at the kitchen table. She suddenly hears a noise come from the dumpling, and the dumpling suddenly transforms into a baby, with legs and arms popping right out of it.

The mother becomes enthusiastic, and her expression shifts to a loving stare.

Pixar animated shorts have always

caught my attention. They are short and endearing, yet within those handful of minutes, everything comes together. Not to mention they are owned by Disney, another powerhouse for animation.

Disney has a reputation for telling great kid’s stories. Whether it creates princesses or makes toys come to life, the animation is appealing to the eye.

Short films definitely capture the attention of the audience, since the time is shorter than a feature film. You don’t have to wait an hour or so for the ending — a perfect film for the impatient movie-goer.

As a devout Disney/Pixar fan, I appreciate the many different types of stories told. This animated short will be different because of the director and her background. Chinese-CanadianAmerican director Domee Shi, the first female director to direct a Pixar short film, has based this story on her own experiences, according to Cosmopolitan.

With personal ties and real-life experiences, any story can be told. Yes, short films are brief, but the information placed must be thought-out. Cutting out

the right amount of footage and clips is crucial for the influence of the film.

There is so much room for uniqueness.

One of the most memorable animated shorts Pixar recently produced with was “Inner Workings.” This film expressed its message with no words and pure emotion.

I think we all have to realize the significance of these films. They were made for our enjoyment, just like feature films. But there is a difference, and different isn’t always bad.

This film will only be eight minutes long, thus giving us the opportunity to replay it over and over again.

Short films have been a part of Walt Disney’s company since the 1920s.

“Bao” will be coming out in June as the introduction for the much-anticipated “Incredibles 2.”

Look at it this way: with every short film placed before a movie, we are basically given a mini gift.

Enjoy the uniqueness. Embrace it as a gift.

Illustration by Gabby Evans

Flying cars, holograms and commercial space travel are closer than you think

By Oriana Valderamma @orianavalls Picture this: One morning you wake up and you’ve traveled to the future.

You are having your morning coffee and instead of FaceTiming your best friend, you hologram her. You say, “call best friend,” and her hologram appears in your living room.

You later check your clock and realize you’re

running late for work. (Let’s be honest, this probably won’t change in the future.) Lucky for you, Uber can get you there fast, faster than you can imagine. You order a ride, and a few minutes later, a modern Uber helicopter flies up to the curb outside of your house.

You take off and spend 10 minutes in the air for a trip that would normally take 45 minutes in a car.

As you are working away at your dream job, you get a text from your mother. She tells you that your family vacations have to be rescheduled for next month because one of the cousins got bad with flu.

I know what you’re thinking — the flu? It’s the future. Well, just think of a futuristic flu, OK? Anyway, where was your vacation spot supposed to be? At Interstellar Inn on the planet Mars. Because in the future, people can book a flight on a transborder at any NASA station to fly off to the moon and back — literally.

Now, everything I tell you might sound like it came from a futuristic fiction novel. The flying cars,

the holograms, the commercial spatial travel — they all sound like those things we imagine as kids.

We asked ourselves, “What will the future will look like?” But, what would you do if I told you that this hypothetical future might actual come true 10 years from now? Well, it might.

All of these inventions are in the process of being made as we speak.

Uber is already partnering with NASA to create the very first “flying taxi,” and the company said it will begin testing the first few prototypes in the city of Los Angeles starting in 2020. Uber plans to launch the final product in 2023.

In just five years, our dreams of futuristic flying cars might actually become a reality.

For holograms, we may be closer than you think.

Last September, cinema camera maker RED created a phone that can project holograms from its screen.

The price is set at $1,200 — expensive, I know — but it’s a start. Before you know it, holograms will be part

of our everyday lives.

And lastly — and most interesting in my opinion — is the mysterious and complex space travel.

In 2015, NASA finally announced that by 2030 they would send humans to Mars. This plan has been thought-out in detail. In 2020, a rover called MOXIE will be sent to the Red Planet to “pull carbon dioxide from the thin Martian atmosphere and turn it into pure oxygen and carbon monoxide,” according to NASA. In other words, we are turning an inhabitable air and turning into breathable air for when humans try to populate Mars in 12 years.

These technological advances are closer that you think. The future we dreamt of when we watched “Back to the Future” or Princess Leia’s iconic holographic appearance from “Star Wars,” or even the intergalactic travel from Marvel films, is really close to coming true.

Page 12

THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2018

NTDAILY.COM

Virtual reality is the technological advancement we need

By Spencer Kain @spencer_kain Virtual Reality has exploded over the past couple of years. What started out as simply just a cool concept has expanded into all reaches of entertainment medium.

Whether it was video games, phone applications and feature films, virtual reality has made itself known in a world obsessed with the next best technological advancements.

For the few who are still out of the loop about virtual reality: virtual reality, often referred to as VR, is a system in which you wear a headset that covers your eyes, at which point you are almost quite literally pulled into the world of whatever you are watching or playing like never before.

I had the opportunity to try a VR

system when it first came to the tech scene, and I can attest to the many similar statements made about how great it really is.

When I tried it, I was playing a Batman game, and I have never felt more absorbed in the world of “The Dark Knight” (and that’s me saying this after having watched all of the Batman movies countless times.)

What I’m saying is VR may very well be the next best thing.

So, we know it works for video games, but imagine if VR was used in feature films?

Imagine watching a Batman movie, but for the action scenes, you put on a VR headset and you can literally be Batman.

How cool would it be to actually feel like you are living inside the world of a movie?

This month, a movie called “Ready Player One” is going to be released, and it’s all about the world of VR and video games. There were even talks about incorporating actual VR into the moviewatching experience instead of just relying on techniques the filmmakers used behind the scenes to incorporate VR while making the film.

Unfortunately, no VR headsets will be given out at the theaters to wear while

watching the movie, but we may not be far off before everyone in attendance at a movie will be wearing those headsets.

If it ever gets to the point where VR is widely used in filmmaking, it would completely change the traditional movie

viewing experience for the better. We all want to live in the worlds of our favorite movies, and with VR, we would be able to.

Technology and filmmaking may still have some work to do before VR is more widely incorporated into each field, but I

can very much see a future where the way we watch movies or play video games is significantly altered by the very ambitious advancement that is virtual reality.

Illustration by Austin Banzon

Forget about artists with sexual harassment and abuse accusations

By Spencer Kain @spencer_kain Last year, a ridiculous amount of entertainers, artists and powerful executives were accused of sexual harassment by a massive majority of people.

I’m sure I don’t have to remind you of how disgusting and serious of an offense this is, but apparently, some artists need the additional reminder.

Recently, a number of “famous” rappers have been under fire due to accusations of

sexual harassment and abuse. In the era of the #MeToo movement, this still should not be such a horrific epidemic.

A list of some of the artists who have been accused of sexual harassment and abuse recently include Chris Brown, XXXTentacion, Kodak Black, Nelly, Lil Pump and 6ix9ine, but the list goes on and on.

How sad is this, though?

These artists have been accused of either sexual harassment or abuse recently, and they are still able to make music and still somehow gain the popularity they have.

I am completely baff led by it all.

Despite my personal opinions of the quality of music some of these artists produce, I am still in absolute confusion as to how these artists still have careers.

With such serious accusations building up against them, why

are they even allowed to still make music and release it to the public so they can make a profit?

I would like to think maybe some people are just unaware about the accusations

surrounding these artists, but it surely does not excuse any of their actions. But with today’s world being so heavily inf luenced by social media, I am not sure how most of their fan

bases would not know of these accusations.

Most teenagers get their news from Twitter. Knowing these artists’ fan bases consist mostly of teenagers, I wonder how they

wouldn’t be at least aware of these accusations.

Unfortunately, most of these fans either do not know about these accusations or, the more common alternative, most of their fans will simply choose to ignore the accusations about an artist they really like, which is the worst possible thing they can do.

It is now 2018, people. It is time to forget about these artists who have been accused of such serious offenses.

Forget about their music even if you like it, forget about what they are doing in their life because they no longer are relevant. What’s left of 2018 should be filled with unproblematic entertainers.

Illustration by Austin Banzon

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