North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 90, No. 15, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 22, 2005 Page: 1 of 8
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NORTH TEXAS DAILY
Thursday, September 22, 2005
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS
Volume90 I Issue 15 ntdaily.com
— rw
Floating competition
NT students take water polo to the next
level, Student Life page 3.
1027 71° HOT | INSIDE: ■
Arts, Web ■ Classifieds, 8 ■ Student Life, 3
■ Sports, 4 ■ Views, 7
No students harmed a ter uesday gas leak
Megan Sheehan
Daily Reporter
One hundred to 200 students
were evacuated from the Santa
Fe Square and Traditions Hall
dorms early Tuesday morning
after being notified about a
ruptured gas pipe.
The incident occurred on
Prairie Street while the city of
Denton was trying to repair a
water line underground. During
the water line repair, the workers
accidentally struck a gas pipe,
ripping a hole in the pipe and
causing the leak.
Duane Roberts, associate
director for housing, said he was
notified of the incident at about
10:10 a.m. Tuesday morning. He
was told to evacuate the dorms
immediately for safety precau-
tions.
"Our main concern was to get
the students out of the dorms as
soon as possible before anyone
was hurt," Roberts said.
Fire trucks and the NT police
were called to the dorms to help
with the evacuation.
"We just activated the fire
alarms to evacuate the dorms,"
Fire Marshal Wendell McCloud
said. "There was not really much
else we could do but get everyone
out and wait for help to arrive."
Melanie Sawyer, hall director
for the dorms, said she heard
the fire alarms going off. That
was when she started knocking
on students' doors and telling
them they needed to evacuate
the building.
"I was not really sure what the
reason was for the fire alarms
to be going off," Sawyer said. "I
just started knocking on doors
and telling everyone to leave the
building. Once the dorms were
evacuated ... we found out that
there was a gas leak and that was
the reason for the evacuation."
The gas in the dorms could not
be smelled initially, Sawyer said.
But once she was outside she was
able to smell the gas. Because of
this, the residents were told to
stay off the premises for at least
one to two hours until the pipe
could be fixed.
Students were not allowed to
leave the building in their cars or
smoke cigarettes because there
was a risk of igniting the gas still
in the air.
Also, students were asked to
stay off the premises because
of the danger of inhaling toxic
fumes.
"We didn't want to risk
anybody getting hurt so we had
them stay completely off the
premises," Sawyer said.
NT Police Deputy Chief Ed
Reynolds was on the scene to
help with the evacuation.
"We were called to the scene to
help the students out and to give
them a second option on where
to go until they could return to
their rooms," Reynolds said.
Once the students were evac-
uated from the dorms, Texas
Utility Company was notified of
the situation and was sent in to
patch the damaged pipe.
"TXU has a unit that special-
izes in gas pipes and knows
exactly how to fix gas leaks,
which is why we called them
out to help," Roberts said.
TXU was able to repair the
damaged pipe. The only problem
following the repair was the
students were without hot water
for a short period of time.
Sawyer stated that the hot
water was turned off for about
2 hours, between 11 a.m. to 1:00
p.m., Sawyer said.
"We were told that the leak
was stopped, but we wanted to
take extra precautions to make
sure that there was no way that
gas could get into the dorms,"
Roberts said. "However, the
water is now working, and e very-
thing thing else is also turned
back on."
No one was hurt during the
incident and the residents were
able to return to their rooms
within an hour.
Processors help
decide how
:ees are spent
Leslie Wimmer
Intern
Instructional fees paid by
NT students are not wasted,
according to the University
Policy Manual.
Student instructional fees are
separated into three categories:
course, special service and labo-
ratory fees.
If a professor spends 90
percent to 100 percent of the full
amount of the fee, the remaining
percentage of the money is saved
in a departmental account
created for specific fees.
The sum is used as leftover
funds for students enrolling in
that same course the following
semester. The funds rolled over
are used for the original intended
purpose only, said Jean Bush,
budget director.
For example, if a professor
charges students for paper
clips and camera film, the left-
over funds can only be used to
purchase paper clips and camera
film.
In order to receive instruc-
tional fees, professors are
required to submit a list of mate-
rials and services needed for their
classes along with the approxi-
mate costs to their department
for approval.
Once the department approves
the List, it is sent to the dean
of that particular college, the
NT budget office and then the
provost, Bush said.
After the fee is approved, it
is applied to each individual
student's account.
When a professor spends
between 50 percent and 89
percent of class fees, the
remainder is saved into the
department fee account. The
budget office then communi-
cates with the department and
makes a decision to either lower
the fee for the next semester and
use up the leftover funds or to
eliminate the fee all together.
If less than 50 percent of the
fee is spent, the budget office
requires it to either be lowered for
next semester or eliminated.
Decisions to lower or elimi-
nate fees are made by the budget
office at the end of every fiscal
year, Bush said.
If a student enrolls in a course
that eliminated or reduced its
fee, the budget office will contact
student accounting and the
student will receive a refund or
credit in their account.
"If the student has a $0
balance, removing the course fee
will create a credit balance and
a refund will be processed," said
Susan Sims, assistant director
of Student Accounting. "If the
student has an outstanding
balance, the credit will apply to
that balance."
The policy manual explains
that course fees may include
"copying charges, syllabi, tests,
hand-outs, diskettes, wood, clay,
etc."
Course fees also include
the wages of employees with
responsibilities of distributing
and preparing class supplies,
keeping up with student material
and stocking equipment.
Equipment used by students in
classrooms or laboratories may
be funded through course fees.
A written request, explaining
how students will use and benefit
from the equipment, purchase
order and list of typical uses,
must be sent to the budget office
and approved before students
can be charged.
A copy machine used to copy
class materials is an example
of an allowable equipment
purchase given in the policy
manual.
Special service fees may be
charged to fund the services
of a grader, proctor or tutor. A
child development center fee is
another example given in the
policy manual.
Consumable supplies, such
as copies and syllabi, as well
as equipment purchases and
possible equipment mainte-
nance, require approval from
the budget office and may be
included in the special service
fees.
Laboratory fees are required
under the Higher Education
Code, and all lab courses must
collect a fee between $2 and $30
from each student enrolled.
Students can request a
detailed list of items included
in their course fees from each of
the department offices.
Right oot, red
Liliana Castillo/NT Daily
Patrick Stewart, Carrollton senior, Jessica Starnes, Magnolia junior, and Angela Wright, Dallas sophomore, get tangled up at Twist
and Shout held at Bruce Hall on Wednesday night.
Weather expert explains hurricanes
Thousands are
preparing for
Hurricane Rita, as she
continues on her track
to the Texas' gulf coast.
Jamaal O'Neal, Daily
staff writer spoke with Kent
McGregor, NT associate
professor of cartography,
meteorology and climatology,
about the physical impacts of
Hurricane Rita.
Q: Why is this hurricane
season so intense in the Gulf of
Mexico?
A: You'll get views on one
end that say this is global
warming, and rising sea
surface temperatures, which
isn't entirely true. Then you get
some that point to the fact that
the frequency of hurricanes ...
does have a time when there's
less, and a time when there's
more.
Then you have the fairly
conservative scientist... who
points out that there have been
Rian Johrison/NT Daily
Kent McGregor, NT associate
professor cartography, the
making of maps and charts.
seasons with a fair number
of category four or five hurri-
canes. And in that sense,
this year is not particularly
unusual except that it doesn't
happen real often and our
memories are short.
So often ... we only look at
hurricanes in terms of Atlantic
hurricanes. The Pacific is also
a place where there are a lot of
hurricanes, and they primarily
affect East Asia, and there also
hurricanes that are current in
the Indian Ocean. I heard one
climatologist say that we hear
all this stuff about the Atlantic
Ocean this year, and evidence
of global warming, so why isn't
the Pacific going nuts? If it is
due to some global phenom-
enon, whether there are a
couple of hurricanes in the
Pacific right now, it hasn't been
an especially unusual year for
that part of the world.
Q: What can residents along
the coast expect in terms of
damage?
A: If they're right on the
coast and the hurricane hits
them head on, nearly total
destruction - or a destruc-
tion to a part of the struc-
ture that is serious enough
that it allows either flood
waters in, or allows a tremen-
dous amount of rain water in.
And you end up with damage
to the structure that is much
more significant than it might
look from the side or an aerial
photograph ... I've got photo-
graphs of buildings from the
side, and they look like they're
fairly intact, until you realize
the light you see is on the other
side of the building, and you're
looking straight through the
front door and how the back
wall is no longer in place.
Q: Will this trend of strong
hurricanes continue?
A: If you follow one of the
foremost authorities on hurri-
canes, professor [William]
Gray at Colorado State
University, he has long been
a proponent of the idea that
hurricanes occur in cycles.
And after many years on the
cycle of fewer hurricanes,
now we're getting on the cycle
where they're more than
average... He thinks we're on
a cycle that we're going to see
more hurricanes each year
than we have seen on average
for the next 20 years.
oung onservatives protest under God ruling
Jamaal O'Neal
Staff Writer
NT's chapter of the Young
Conservatives of Texas was
candid about its support for
the U.S Pledge of Allegiance
Wednesday at a protest next to
the University Union.
On Sept. 14, U.S. District
Judge Lawrence Karlton ruled
the pledge's reference to one
nation "under God" violates a
child's right to be "free from a
coercive requirement to affirm
God."
YCT members held signs and
read the pledge aloud, describing
what it meant to them.
"We're trying to bring aware-
ness about the pledge,"Kelsey
Stokes, YCT Executive Director.
"People say it all the time, but
they don't really think about the
words, and what it means."
The "under God" clause was
not added to the pledge until
1954. Kimi King, of NT's polit-
ical science faculty, said judges
have the right to rule in favor of
plaintiffs that disagree with the
pledge of allegiance.
"We've seen pledge of alle-
giance cases that date back to the
1940s," said King. "Whether the
ruling by the judge is correct, is
up to the Supreme Court."
But she said the Supreme Court
usually "dodges" these cases
by using a procedural mecha-
nism, which could become a
problem.
"The supreme court may use
this mechanism to not here the
case at that particular time," King
said. "But sooner or later they will
have to ... it won't go away."
YCT member David Gilmore,
Coppell senior, said acknowl-
edging the "under God" clause
shows solidarity to the main
principles of our country.
"Recognizing an almighty
being as a provider of our rights
means that no man can take
them away," Gilmore said. "If
man gave us our rights, then
man can take it away."
Heather Synder, Southlake
senior, agreed.
"The phrase 'under God' does
not mean God, but ethics," she
said. "What's next, 'so help
me God' from the oath of the
president, and 'God bless
America'?"
But Trey Greer, Leavenworth,
Kan., sophomore, has a different
view.
"The subject over the pledge is
not even worth fighting about,"
he said.
Stokes said Karlton did not
overstep his boundaries, but did
not interpret the constitution
correctly.
"As a judge, he's supposed to
uphold the Constitution," she
said, "For him to go against
something that is so dear to our
country is like him saying we
don't believe in the Constitution
anymore."
Stokes said students responded
positively to the event.
"We are one unit of 50 states
that come together for a common
good," Bradly Waller, Houston
senior, said. "We all love liberty
and freedom, and everyday [the
pledge] is a reaffirmation of that
right."
Emily Hughes/ NT Daily
Young Conservatives of Texas Executive Director Kelsey Stokes
(right), Decatur sophomore, watches for more people to arrive
during the "Pledge rally" Wednesday at the free speech area.
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North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 90, No. 15, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 22, 2005, newspaper, September 22, 2005; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth145253/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.