North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 90, No. 12, Ed. 1 Friday, September 16, 2005 Page: 1 of 12
twelve pages : ill.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
NORTH TEX
Friday, September 16, 2005
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY Ü
S ID rns RiEf
On today's back page, photojournalism student Jason Kindig
shows you what Denton's pro wrestling is about, page 12.
GameDay
NT faces Tulsa Saturday,
see the home opener
preview, Sports page 10
88761£ Cloudy
DAILY
Volume 90 I Issue 12
ntdaily.com
SPEAK UP
Piano senior lets her voice be
heard, Student Life page 5
inside:
Arts, 6
Classifieds, 1
Student Life, 4
Sports, 9
Student Series, 12
Katrina
evacuees
speak up
Displaced
residents share
their stories
Vanessa Martinez
Daily Reporter
NT social work students were
able to visualize the devastation
of Hurricane Katrina through
the eyes of its victims Thursday.
Three hurricane victims, Lorenzo
Ford, Edie Gill and Kevin Scott,
stayed at the New Orleans
Super dome when the hurricane
hit. They shared their stories
with a human diversity class at
2 p.m. in the General Academic
Building, room 104
Ford, a social worker from New
Orleans with eight years of case
manager experience, wanted to
give a more personal account of
Katrina's aftermath.
There was chaos, with 40,000
people trying to find shelter and
trying to settle within their own
area in the Superdome, Ford
said.
"Because there was no super-
vision on the upper parts of the
dome, violence occurred," Ford
said.
The people staying in the
Superdome were forced into
survival mode, he said. They
had nothing.
"It was like living on the
street," Ford said. He also said
that toilets were backed up and
people were forced to relieve
themselves wherever they
could.
Ford elaborated on some of
the horrors he and the other two
visiting speakers witnessed, such
as a man committing suicide in
front of everyone. Some evacuees
stopped a rape that occurred
on the upper level of the dome.
People were doing drugs all
around.
Ford said he wanted to
emphasize his frustration of
not knowing what was going to
happen to them. The govern-
ment did not take the situation
seriously, he said.
While in the Superdome, evac-
uees were not allowed to leave.
Those caught were retained and
imprisoned, said Gill, a teacher
in New Orleans.
The speakers said President
Bush flew over New Orleans in a
helicopter close to the ground to
provide cool air for the evacuees,
but instead he caused a "sea of
debris" to erupt from the trash
on the streets.
The visiting evacuees also
witnessed the mayor taking
pictures of the horrific scenes
while flying over.
After the storm passed, evac-
uees were in line for over six
hours, waiting for buses to relo-
cate them. They were allowed
only one bag on the bus.
Gill saw two people die and
others passing out from the heat,
while waiting in line.
She felt as if she was in
"captivity a prisoner, with
soldiers with guns."
All three speakers said the law
enforcement officials were hostile
to them. They said the media and
government portrayed them as
blacks that took advantage of a
situation, and that blacks are
always doing something they are
not supposed to be doing.
The evacuees were in survival
mode, searching for food and
water, and these efforts were
seen and reported as looting,
Scott said.
"The president let us down
because they took too long, the
governor and the mayor couldhave
forced them to evacuate imme-
diately," Gill said. Now she feels
that, because of this, they cannot
depend on the government.
"Everyone should have been
taken care of," she said.
The evacuees heard from the
news that the mayor of their city
relocated his family to a house
he bought in Dallas.
"So, they knew it was going to
be bad, but they didn't tell us,"
said Scott, a New Orleans truck
driver.
Gill feels that Katrina was
sent by God to get New Orleans
straight, to force the people there
to come together as one.
See Katrina on page 2
Lecture series begins
with ExxonMobil
Michael Hernandez
Staff Wr iter
The NT College of Business
Administration begins its
Distinguished Lecture Series at
10 a.m. Friday in the University
Union's Silver Eagle Suite C.
Scott Nauman, a manager of
the Exxon Mobil Corporation,
will present a speech titled "The
Outlook for Energy."
"It's an opportunity for the
students to interface with busi-
ness executives in the area," said
Julie Espinoza, corporate rela-
tions officer for the College of
Business Administration.
Nauman has worked for Exxon
since 1982. He represents Dallas-
based ExxonMobil's corporate
planning department and will
discuss researching and devel-
oping new forms of energy.
Nauman's speech is pertinent
because of the rising cost of fuel,
said Amy Buresh, marketing
specialist for the College of
Business Administration.
"There's so much [students]
can learn from personal experi-
ences of business professionals,"
she said. "It's good for students to
be exposed to that. It gives them
inspiration."
The lecture is free.
The series includes three
lectures scheduled for this
fall and three for the spring
semester.
The College of Business
Administration uses the lectures
to build a rapport with the busi-
nesses, which could help in
contacts for students, Buresh
Nauman
said.
Scott Ball,
vice president
of national
accounts for
the BUNN
Corporation
and NT
alumnus, will
speak Oct. 14. Wynn Watkins,
senior vice-president and
director
of communications and
public affairs for the J. C. Penney
Company Inc., will present the
final fall lecture Nov. 18.
The spring lineup of speakers
includes Brian Briscoe, manager
of media relations for the Texas
Motor Speedway, Ka Cotter,
vice chairman for the Staubach
Company and Don Medlin, pres-
ident for Scarbrough-Medlin and
Associates, Inc.
Espinoza tried to reel in some
big names for the series, she said.
She contacted Mark Cuban, Troy
Aikman, Dallas Mayor Laura
Miller and Texas Sen. Kay Bailey
Hutchison (R-Dallas).
Only Miller and Hutchinson
bit, Espinoza said.
Miller and Hutchinson's
offices advised Espinoza to keep
in contact and the women might
be available at later dates, she
said.
There may not be the allure
of celebrity associated with
the speakers like there is with
Aikman or Cuban, but the
companies represent a wide
variety of fields that could
appeal to many different majors,
Espinoza said.
Presenting the facts
ol
Liliana Castillo/NT Daily
Photographer Bill Owens presents his work during a lecture in the Visual Arts Building Thursday. His book "Leisure"
will be featured in an exhibition at Photographs Do Not Bend Gallery, 3115 Routh St. The show opens on Saturday with a
reception and book signing from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and will hang through Oct. 22.
Panel debates Patriot Act 's value
Brandon Kilgore
Daily Reporter
A panel of four NT professors
and an FBI agent held a public
discussion about the contro-
versial Patriot Act at 2:30 p.m.
Thursday in the Lyceum.
The Model International
Organization hosted the discus-
sion, with over 100 students in
attendance, which explored the
Patriot Act and its effect on civil
liberties. The Patriot Act passed
after the Sept. 11 attacks.
Each member of the panel
took turns sharing their view-
points and knowledge on the
Patriot Act before opening up
the floor to questions.
Wendy Watson of the political
science faculty said Congress
did not have enough time to
talk about all the issues before
passing the Act.
"The idea of doing something
on the fly that is that significant
is troubling," she said.
Many provisions, including
some of the most controversial,
will expire Dec. 31 if Congress
does not renew them.
Among them is section 215,
which allows federal agents
to seize the information and
belongings of terror suspects,
including business, medical and
library records.
The American Civil Liberties
Union Web site reports that over
400 local governments and seven
states have passed symbolic reso-
lutions in protest of the Patriot
Act.
"The FBI and Department of
Justice have been remiss in not
participating in these sorts of
public conversations about the
Patriot Act," said Tom Petrowski,
supervising special agent from
the FBI's Dallas division.
Public discourse on the Patriot
Act has been largely one-sided,
which "has resulted in a great
amount of misinformation, a
general lack of understanding,
and unnecessary concern,"
Petrowski said.
A Department of Justice Web
site, http://www.lifeandlib-
erty.gov, designed specifically
to defend the Patriot Act, said the
law allows federal law enforce-
ment officials to use techniques
already in use for other types of
non-terror investigations.
" [The media] will take an old
national security law ... and it
will be portrayed as part of the
Patriot Act," Petrowski said.
Watson said that many of the
provisions in the act are harm-
less. She said the tasks America
has given the FBI are "almost
impossible."
The Patriot Act is widely criti-
cized by civil rights groups like
the American Civil Liberties
Union, which believes the law
infringes on citizens' constitu-
tional rights.
Milan Reban of the political
science faculty agrees, in part.
"Our constitutional guar-
antees are under considerable
stress, but it's not just due to the
Patriot Act," he said.
David McEntire, of the
Emergency Administration and
Planning faculty, also agreed.
"There is always a chance
that power and authority can
be abused and rights can be
infringed upon," McEntire
said.
He said some sacrifices have
to be made, warning "we really
don't have the capabilities ...
to deal with weapons of mass
destruction."
acuity Senate runs out of time for SGA
Chelsea Douglas
Daily Reporter
There are already over 2,100
names on the list.
The Student Government
Association has enlisted the
help of the student body when
it allowed them to sign a petition,
wishing to contest the proposed
plus/minus grading system last
Friday. Volunteers consisting of
freshman interns, Student Senate
members and other supporters
circulated the petition across
campus, in classes and various
student organization meetings,
hoping to get a signature.
"This kind of grading scale
worked in high school, but not
in college," said Teresa Mendes,
Fairfax, Va., sophomore, who
signed the petition. "I'm defi-
nitely against it."
The petition was brought
to Faculty Senate's meeting
Wednesday, in hopes of swaying
the vote of the faculty - but after
three and a half hours of other
deliberations, there weren't
enough faculty senators present
to vote.
"We had a small amount of
time to conduct the petition and
surveys and most of the students
opposed the system," said
Marcedes Fuller, San Antonio
sophomore and SGA director of
relations, communications and
marketing. "Intime, I think it will
prove even greater results."
David Hall, Richardson junior
and SGA president, said the asso-
ciation opposes the new grading
system because it puts NT grad-
uates at a competitive disad-
vantage.
Whether going for graduate
school or finding a job, other
schools in the area, such as UT-
Austin, Texas A&M, Oklahoma
University and Texas Tech
University do not employ plus/
minus grading, giving their grad-
uates an advantage, he said.
"It's too early to know where to
turn next, but the bigger the stack
[of names], the more convincing
it is to whoever we have to speak
to," Hall said.
The petition is available to sign
at the SGA office, located in the
Student Life Suite on the second
floor of the University Union.
Professor explains
ex-gay narratives
Kimberly Rand
Daily Reporter
The language behind
"coming out" stories was
analyzed at "Ex-gay and Ex-
ex-gay Transformation Stories:
The Narrative Creation of New
Selves" Thursday night.
Amy Peebles, a professor from
Truman State University, was the
event's lecturer.
"Narratives are a basic
capacity for making sense out
of life," Peebles said. "It relates
a coherent sense of self to a
coherent sense of story."
All of the narratives Peebles
used for reference during her
lecture were research from
her dissertation, when she was
pursuing her doctorate degree in
Linguistics at the UT-Austin.
Peebles explained the differ-
ence between ex-gay and ex-ex-
gay by examining the language
from each of their narratives.
An 'ex-gay' is a person who is
a self-identified Christian who
claims to have transformed,
Peebles said. They gain a moral
conviction against gay prac-
tice.
An 'ex-ex-gay' is defined as
being not able, or willing, to
transform. After attempting to
transform, ex-ex-gays find it to
be unnecessary and impossible,
Peebles said.
"Homosexuality is not an
innate and unchangeable part of
the self," Peebles said. "Instead,
it is externalized as a problem to
be overcome."
These narratives establish the
relationship from self to others
and moral wo rid-views, Peebles
said. They represent a religious
and sexual identity conflict.
Narratives are considered
to be a testimony of one's life,
Peebles said. Some narratives
Emily Hughes/NT Daily
Amy E. Peebles from Truman State University speaks about gay
transformation Thursday evening in the Language Building.
are coming out stories, where
a person decides to embrace
their gay identity and chooses
either to follow a Christian path,
in their own way, or reject it
completely, she said.
Ex-gay narratives have a
common factor. Many ex-gays go
through sanctification, a process
of learning and growing through
Christ, she said.
For people going through
this experience, every day is a
process of learning who they
are, Peebles said.
"You don't just wake up one
morning and not know yourself
from yesterday," Peebles said.
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 90, No. 12, Ed. 1 Friday, September 16, 2005, newspaper, September 16, 2005; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth145250/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.