North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 98, No. 21, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 29, 2011 Page: 1 of 8

Baring it Almost
Burlesque dancers thrive in Denton
Arts & Life | Page 3
Net Work
Freshman leads UN'' soccer team between the pipes
Sports | Page 5
i
TEXAS
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Volume 98 I Issue 21
97° / 66°
Nrth T =:x LP ally
News 1,2
Arts & Life 3, 4
Sports 5, 6
Views 7
Classifieds 8
Games 8
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The Student Newspaper of the University of North Texas
Experts weigh in on Grove balcony collapse
Isaac Wright
Assigning Editor
The balcony collapse at The
Grove apartments in Denton
on Sept. 3 should have never
happened because decorative
balconies with doors that access
them are prohibited by building
codes, industry experts said.
Three men attending a party
the early morning of Sept. 3 were
taken by helicopter to a Fort
Worth hospital after the third-
floor balcony they were standing
on fell to the parking lot below.
All three men sustained injuries
and one was in serious condition
following the incident.
According to police reports
obtained through a Freedom
of Information Act request filed
by the Daily witnesses reported
that people attending the party
had been walking off and on
the balcony to smoke ciga-
rettes during the hours before
the collapse. Witnesses also
reported the three men injured
were not engaging in reckless
behavior while on the balcony.
The three men were identified in
police reports as Antonio Garcia,
a 24-year-old UNT student, Grant
Draper, 24, and Garrett Draper,
22.
Building codes specifically
restrict doors that lead onto
unsafe landings, said Guy Brown,
owner of a Dallas-based architec-
ture firm that designs residential,
office and retail buildings.
"That's probably an architect's
nightmare," Brown said. "You
cannot have doors that go out
onto something that's going to
fall down."
Althea Arnold of the engi-
neering faculty also said the
doors and balconies The Grove
installed should not have been
allowed.
"Ifyou have a door, itmusthave
a landing that meets building
codes," said Arnold, assistant
professor in the construction
engineering program. "Building
codes aren't just city of Denton
building codes; they're national.
You just can't have a door that
opens up into nowhere."
A statement issued by Campus
Crest, the North Carolina-based
company that owns The Grove,
the morning after the inci-
dent, said the balconies were
decorative and not meant to be
load bearing. The three men
accessed the balconies through Photo by Cristy Angulo/Assigning Photo Editor
an unlocked door that led onto The Grove apartment complex located on Fort Worth Drive has come under
them. scrutiny after three men fell from a balcony at the complex in the early morn-
ing of Sept. 3. The Grove maintains its balconies are decorative and non-load
See GROVE on page 2 bearing, yet they are easily accessible by door.
odels, beer, games highlight Oktober est
Photo by Amber Plumley/ Staff Photographer
Kenny Tee, a finance graduate student, and Xiaoshu Li, a merchandising graduate student, pose in the character frame Wednesday night at Oktoberfest.
Daisy Silos
Staff Writer
arm's length. The object of the game, but because they realize how funny it
called "makrug," is to hold the mug looks to stand in front of 350 people
A group of 10 students stands abreast the longest, but contestants drop like fiercely grasping a beer mug.
holding a beer mug full of water at flies. Not because the mugs are heavy,
See OKTOBERFEST on Page 4
und committee seeks
new green pro; ects
Rebecca Ryan
Staff Writer
UNT's Sustainability Council
is offering members of the UNT
community an opportunity to be
involved in deciding which green
projects UNT takes on.
Through the "We Mean Green
Fund," students, faculty and staff
are able to submit proposals for
environmental projects, which
will be reviewed and approved
by the Sustainability Council's
student-majority subcom-
mittee, according to the coun-
cil's website.
"We want to empower students
to make a difference and control
what their money goes toward,"
said Nicole Cocco, a student
services representative for the
Office of Sustainability. "We need
more students on the council
for there to be a more legitimate
representation of students."
Students pay a $5 fee each
fall and spring semester to go
toward UNT's We Mean Green
Fund, which currently has about
$200,000. The fee was approved
in a special election during Earth
Week 2010 and went into effect
fall 2010.
Since its creation at the end
of the spring 2011 semester, the
subcommittee has been working
to verify that all of its policies and
bylaws correspond with UNT
policies, as well as accepting and
analyzing incoming proposal
applications.
"Our committee is supposed
to be the voice of the students,"
said Breana Hyche, an interna-
tional studies senior and council
chair on the student committee
for the Green Fund. "We would
like a minimum of 10 students
before we take action."
The subcommittee is required
to have at least five students
and three non-students. As it
stands, the group is made up
of four established members
and five who are in the process
of becoming members, but it's
still looking for more represen-
tation.
"I, personally, like the different
rainwater recycling areas and
would like to see more," Hyche
said. "However, I am more inter-
ested in seeing the innovative
and creative ideas of students
and staff around campus. We
want to appeal to everyone,
from art students to engineering
students."
See GREEN on page 2
niversity continues
asbestos removal ei Forts
Amy Skaggs
Intern
UNT is in the process of an
ongoing project to identify and
analyze asbestos-containing
material in all of its build-
ings, in order to comply with
the Environmental Protection
Agency's Code of Federal
Regulations.
A number of UNT buildings
were constructed with building
materials containing asbestos,
which the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention lists as a
carcinogen.
"It's good for people to know
that asbestos exists in these
buildings," said Matt Moncus,
asbestos manager for UNT's Risk
Management Services. "But they
should also know that there is a
process in place that has been
establishedfor manyyears, and we
definitely follow that process."
Asbestos is a naturally occur-
ring mineral commonly used
before 1996 in building construc-
tion because it has strength and
resistance to fire and heat.
Risk Management Services
has found asbestos in floor tiles,
drywall, roofing felt, various
forms of insulation, and inside
cement in some of UNT's build-
ings, Moncus said.
Asbestos is found in friable
and non-friable forms. Friable
asbestos is considered most
harmful because it can be crum-
bled easily by hand, causing it to
"It'sgood for
people to know
that asbestos
exists in these
buildings,'
-Matt Moncus
UNT's asbestos manager
become airborne. In this form,
asbestos can be breathed in,
which can lead to health risks
including lung cancer, according
to the CDC website.
Non-friable asbestos is in a
form that cannot be crumbled by
only hand pressure and therefore
is not considered an immediate
threat, according to the EPA. This
form can become harmful if it is
damaged during renovations or
demolition.
Since 1996, UNT has followed
National Emission Standards
for Hazardous Air Pollutants,
which stipulate that materials
containing friable asbestos are
abated through contracts with a
trained asbestos removal compa-
nies. However, abatement is not
required for non-friable asbestos
because it is not considered a
threat.
UNT's Risk Management
Services created a management
system in accordance with the
Texas Department of State Health
Services.
"The mission of the asbestos
programis to protect and promote
the physical and environmental
health of the people of Texas
from asbestos," according to the
department's website.
The plan, also available online,
contains removal procedures, a
permit system and requirements
for training courses.
"From personal knowledge, I
know they're well trained. From
personal experience, I have found
them very helpful. I wouldn't
worry," said Rick Reidy of the
engineering faculty.
More informationis available at:
https://web3.unt.edu/riskman/
index.php?section=index.
lorida moves primary vote
(MCT) WASHINGTON —
Florida's expected move to
set a late January primary
will force other states to move
their nominating contests
ahead in kind, pushing the
start of the Republican presi-
dential sweepstakes closer to
- and perhaps even earlier
than - New Year's Day.
Florida House Speaker
Dean Cannon said state
Republican leaders have
agreed to move the state's
presidential primary up by
more than a month in order to
make sure the nation's largest
swing state will go fifth in the
nominating pecking order.
That decision, first reported
by CNN, will be formalized
Friday by a panel named by
Republican Gov. Rick Scott
and legislative leaders.
The move violates rules
established by the party's
national committee that
were intended to delay the
nominating process until
February. Those rules say
only four states - Iowa,
New Hampshire, Nevada
and South Carolina - can
hold nominating contests in
February, and other states
must wait until the first
Tuesday in March.
Florida leaders have
intended for their contest to
be next in that lineup, and are
setting the date for Jan. 31 since
other states have already moved
to or are keeping their contests
in February
"Florida's rightful position
is fifth. We will have to go no
earlier than Jan. 31," Cannon
told The Orlando Sentinel. "We
think that's the right date."
States that move ahead of the
established RNC window face
penalties including slashing
the size of the state's delegation
to the national convention.
It is unclear whether the
party will follow through on
that threat, particularly since
Florida is home of the party's
2012 convention.
Iowa's caucuses, the first
of the nominating contests,
had tentatively been sched-
uled for Feb. 6, and Florida's
move could push that date to
the first part of January, if not
earlier.
Matt Strawn, Iowa's
Republican Party chairman,
reaffirmed to the Des Moines
Register on Wednesday that his
state "will be first."
What's Inside
k* CTATC. Library dean calls on students
to help with budget shortfall
ARTS & LIFE: Blmklf2albu™',
concert successful
Page 2
Page 3
p, jd1 Volleyball team travels to the
Bayou to open Sun Belt play Page 6
17TETA7C. Student: City-wide smoking
V W O. |3an a so)jj solution
Page 7
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