North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 89, No. 96, Ed. 1 Wednesday, April 6, 2005 Page: 1 of 12
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April 6, 2005
- WEDNESDAY -
Volume 89 Issue 96
North Texas Daily
The Student Newspaper of the University of North Texas Since 1915
Pohl to ask state for $94 million
JAMES DRAPER
Staff Writer
NT President Norval Pohl is slat-
ed to appear before state legislators
next week to plead the university's
case for $94 million in tuition rev-
enue bonds.
According to Pohl, many other
higher education institutions in
Texas will make similar requests,
hoping to direct the 20-year bonds
toward "education in general."
"Those are the bonds that we're
authorized to sell for construction
of academic buildings, like a library,
heating plant or chemistry build-
ing," he said. "They're not the type
of bonds that you sell to build resi-
dence halls or student unions."
The state generally makes these
authorizations every four years,
Pohl said. In the last round, NT
received funding for one of four
projects it requested, the $27 million
chemistry building.
Pohl suspects the university still
has outstanding bonds for construc-
tion projects that could include the
Environmental Science Building, the
Murchison Fine Arts Building and
the Eagle Student Services Building
— projects completed within the last
20 years with bonds that have yet to
be retired.
According to Pohl, the bonds are
funded within the state's budgeted
amounts to each university. Using
money generated from the state's
designated portion of tuition fees,
legislators estimate how much money
they can add into the institutions'
budgets to service the bonds.
For example, Pohl said, if the
state designates $6 million towards
bond service in each budget, the
university will respond by taking
bonds that can be serviced with that
amount per year.
"The name 'tuition revenue bond'
is a little misleading. It sounds like
we're funding tuition," Pohl said.
Actually, the bond amounts are
what the state guarantees to pay
back. "They build it into our bud-
get," he said.
Pohl met with the leaders of
other Texas institutions in order to
come to a consensus on their main
needs from the state. At a meeting
last summer, the higher education
leaders agreed that with growing
enrollment and increased space def-
icits, tuition revenue bonds should
be the focus.
"We were all bursting at the
seems. We need some relief by build-
ing new facilities," Pohl said.
- see LOBBY
2 -
PLAYING WITH INTERNATIONAL PRIDE
Council stalls
on low-income
housing issues
JONATHAN WHITNEY/NT DAILY
Filip Fenrych, Poland senior, performed a solo violin piece at the opening of the 15th annual Internationa! Week
awards banquet sponsored by the department of International Education in the Silver Eagle Suite Tuesday evening.
Schiavo case spurs seminar
MELISSA TOMLINSON
Staff Writer
NT Student Legal Services
is hosting a seminar today to
help students prepare medical
power of attorney and physi-
cian directives.
After the controversy sur-
rounding the Terri Schiavo case
in Florida, the lawyers in legal
services decided it was a good
opportunity to "acquaint [stu-
dents] with what their options
are," Kathryn McCauley, an
attorney in Student Legal
Services, said.
The free seminar will be held
in the Diamond Eagle Suite on
the third floor of the University
Union from 1 to 4 p.m.
McCauley and another
attorney will be available to
talk to students individu-
ally to discuss or prepare the
legal documents. For students
wanting to prepare the docu-
ments at the seminar, witness-
es and public notaries will be
available to make the docu-
ments binding. The attorneys
will also discuss how to make
changes to existing directives.
"Preparing these legal
documents is relatively easy,"
McCauley said. The docu-
ments consist of only a few
pages in length.
According to McCauley,
the medical power of attorney
"enables someone you desig-
nate to direct your healthcare."
The person designated can be
anyone or a list of people to
make healthcare decisions if a
person is not able to make his
or her own decisions.
McCauley said she worries
especially about students at
NT living far away from fam-
ily members. She said, in the
event family members cannot
be reached, it might be wise
to have an alternate decision
maker such as "a roommate or
significant other."
A physician directive tells
doctors what the person
wants to happen during the
end stages of a terminal illness
or if suffering an irreversible
medical condition.
McCauley said this docu-
ment could help alleviate
controversy like that of the
Schiavo case.
She understands some stu
dents may be squeamish at
the idea of having to make
these decisions.
"We don't like to be
faced with our mortality,"
McCauley said.
It was only in the last few
days that the attorney com-
pleted her own directives. She
said she finally made her wish-
es official because she was not
sure if her family could make
the same choices she would
because of religious beliefs.
Students who cannot
attend the seminar but are
interested in the medical
power of attorney or the phy-
sician directives can make an
appointment with Student
Legal Services. The phone
number is 940-565-2614.
The office provides stu-
dents free legal advice and
help in most instances.
JAMAAL O'NEAL
Intern
City Council members
fielded debate about Denton's
2005-2009 Consolidated Plan
for Housing and Community
Development and the city's
2005 Action Plan at Tuesday
night's council meeting.
Council members agreed that
no action would be taken on
the items, and support for the
plan was mixed from resi-
dents in attendance.
Under the city's 2005
Action Plan, community
development officials want
to continue their efforts in
assisting renters and home-
owners in keeping their prop-
erties. The city budgeted $1.5
million in grant funding to
keep the Action Plan afloat
this year.
The plan also states that
providing outreach programs
for the homeless. The Action
Plan is a part of the city's
2005-2009 Consolidated Plan
for Housing and Community'
Development. The plan aims
to address needs within the
community that effect low to
moderate-income residents.
"I request to place the
People's Clinic within the
consolidated plan," said Stan
Morton, representative of the
People's Clinic of Denton.
He believes placing the
low-cost clinic in the plan
would help fund programs
to ensure that Denton's
low-income residents will
have access to healthcare.
Executive director of the clin-
ic, Tim King, expressed the
same sentiments.
However, some citizens
believe the money is not being
used properly to deal with
the poor, and want account-
ability for where the money
is being allocated.
"There are a lot of poor
here in Denton that could use
that money," City Council
candidate Bob Clifton said
as he addressed the council.
- see COUNCIL
5-
Denton mayor
Euline Brock
was confronted
with questions
from Denton
residents about
funding for the
2005 Action Plan
for Community
Development.
McCauley and another make healthcare decisions if a dents may be squeamish at dents free legal advice and i — —— —'
attorney will be available to person is not able to make his the idea of having to make help in most instances. DA 10 MINTON/N DAILY
Student parent upset over professor's policy
TONY GUTIERREZ on the situation due to state laws nationwide are over the age of 25. started a program last semester ~
Tntpm that prohibit her from discussing; a Non-traditional students are tvpi- called "Source of Success," a series
TONY GUTIERREZ
Intern
Northlake graduate student Rena
Hardeman received a panicked tele-
phone call last October while walk-
ing across campus to take a test for
her Drawing I class. Hardeman's
mother told her that her five-year-
old daughter, Bailey Savoie, was in
the hospital for acute respiratory
distress, causing her throat to close.
Bailey has since recovered from
her life-threatening situation, but six
months later her mother remains in
the middle of an appeals process to
change her final grade for Drawing
I. According to Hardeman, profes-
sor Lari Gibbons refused to let her
make up the missed exam despite
her documentation of Bailey's ill-
ness. Hardeman's grade suffered
accordingly.
Gibbons declined to comment
on the situation due to state laws
that prohibit her from discussing a
student's grades.
Gibbons released a copy of her
class syllabus, which states, "Missed
exams or quizzes cannot be retaken,
regardless of whether an absence is
excused. Signing the contract at the
end of this syllabus signifies that
you understand where and when
the exams will be held."
But Hardeman feels she should
get a break. She faces the same strug-
gles that many non-traditional stu-
dents do: juggling the pressures of
child rearing, marriage and work.
"I take care of four children and
their various extra-curricular activi-
ties like ballet, tennis and various
school activities," Hardeman said.
According to the Commuter,
Off-Campus, and Non-Traditional
Student Services Office, more than
47 percent of college students
nationwide are over the age of 25.
Non-traditional students are typi-
cally either seeking a second degree
or returning to school after a long
absence. They usually work full
or part-time and have children or
other family obligations.
Hardeman returned to school
after graduating from NT in 1989
with a bachelor's degree in busi-
ness administration to pursue a sec-
ond degree in interior design.
"There are a lot of students that
have families," Tasha Hermann,
graduate assistant for the office
said. "We serve as an office to con-
nect students to campus and as a
means to assist them. We get calls
seeking daycare or students with
families looking for housing."
Hermann is in the process of
starting an organization for non-
traditional students on campus.
The non-traditional student office
started a program last semester
called "Source of Success," a series
of workshops.
"A lot of our students want
weekend classes because a lot of
them are working and have fami-
lies, so it's hard for them to go to
class," Amie Trahan, services office
director, said. "Unfortunately, not
a lot of students take advantage of
family weekend. They can show
their kids where they go to school
and what they do."
Hardeman said her other profes-
sors were sympathetic to the fact
that she has a family and allowed
her to take exams administered by
WebCT Vista on a home computer.
"I spend my days in class and
children's activities, and my husband
and I play tag-team and at night with
taking care of the kids," she said.
JONATHAN WHITNEY/NT DAILY
- see GRADUATE
5-
Rena Hardeman, Northlake graduate
student, with her daughter Bailey Savoie, 5.
nside:
VIEWS
It does not take intelligence to
point the blame for 'WMD's.'
LIFE
Curator speaks on the
history of photography.
BEAT
Two Denton bands get a
chance to make it big.
SPORTS
Sports reporters speak their
minds on the MLB season.
WEATHER
High 70 / Low 51
Forecast: Partly Cloudy
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North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 89, No. 96, Ed. 1 Wednesday, April 6, 2005, newspaper, April 6, 2005; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth145214/m1/1/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.