Inside this Issue:

Chicken wire spreads out like a canvas held up by boards of wood

and staples. It’s homecoming time and for many students, it’s time to prepare a float. With more than 100 participants, 50 of those being outside businesses, this year’s homecoming parade is anticipated to be a big success, said Karen Selby, director of

special events. The parade will start at 1 p.m. Saturday at the intersection of Welch and Hickory streets, travel around the Denton Square and will end on Highland sStreet.However, a lot has to happen before a float is parade-worthy.The first step in making a float is designing it and completing all of the paperwork necessary for the judging, said homecoming chairwoman for Pi Beta Phi Stephanie Sabo, Austin sophomore. The hardest step for many is pomping, said Phi Kappa Sigma member Raymond Jackson, Austin sophomore. Pomping is defined as gluing little pieces of tissue paper into the small holes of the chicken wire to create a design. Participants must cut millions of the pieces of paper and either twist the middle of the paper or stick their finger in the middle, in order to then place it in one of the holes of the wire. “So much time is put into

Page 1

More than one thousand

NT students and alumni showed up at the Eagle Point Campus Friday night to watch over 200,000 pounds of wood stacked over three stories tall burn brightly into the autumn sky. As the last major event before the football game, the annual bonfire marked the end of NT’s homecoming week.

“This brings the entire university together,” said Talons president and

Dallas junior Michael Maher. “Honestly, if you think about it, it’s a really simple thing. It’s just a big, giant fire and that’s it, because people love coming to see a big pile of fire.”

Homecoming 2007Students gear up for annual

homecoming parade

Calendar of Events:

Oct. 24- Spirit Wall Competitionshow your Mean Green Pride

through display of spirit wall on the Campus Green

Oct. 25 - Homecoming Pep-rally and Picnic-

11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Shrader Pavilion

Oct 26 - Spirit

March and Bonfire- 7 p.m.- 12 a.m.

at Eagle Point

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“So much time

is put into pomping,” Sabo said.

Students Gear up for annual homecoming parade....page 1

The Tradition Burns on...page 1

Golden Eagles Reunion...page 2

More homecoming events...page 2

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SCRAPPY

WANTS

YOU!!

Continued on page 2

The Tradition Burns on

Continued on page 2

to come join in

the fun and be

apart of UNT

homecoming

2007!

Volumme 1: Issue 1

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The bonfire’s history dates back nearly a century to over 70 years ago in 1935. Preparation for the

2007 bonfire started eight days before the event. More than 5,000 wooden pallets are individually carried into place to make up the structure, each pallet weighig nearly 40 pounds. The bottom five feet of the stack are soaked in diesel fuel to allow for quicker burning. Only Talons members and alumni are allowed to build the bonfire. Each participating member must undergo safety training before they can begin.

Several members stand watch over the structure 24 hours per day. As

the hour approached 9 o’clock Friday evening, with the eyes of over one thousand people watching, 23 Talon torchbearers simultaneously tossed their flames on to the pallets to begin the fast-burning blaze. “Everyone here has put their blood, sweat and tears into this,” said San Antonio senior Nicole Obregon.

Calendar of Events contin...

Oct 27- Athletic Hall of Fame and Breakfast and Induction Ceremony- 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at the Gateway Center Ballroom; Price: $10 (advance) / $12 (at door)

Professional Leadership Program Reunion- 3 p.m. at Mean Green Village - Price is free!

Tailgating -join students, alumni and faculty in the parking lot outside of fouts field before the game for food and festivities

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“Everyone here has put their blood,

sweat and tears into this,” said San Antonio senior and Bonfire Committee head Nicole Obregon.

by : Richard White

Golden Eagles Reunion

It’s a 50-year class reunion for the class of 1957! A luncheon and reception

will take place in honor of them.

11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Silver and Golden Eagle Suites , Oct. 26. Sponsored by: the Office of Student Advancementt

pomping,” Sabo said. “I am at the Sigma Chi house [Pi Beta Phi’s partner for homecoming], over twenty-five hours a week. We are pomping constantly. There is never any time to study or do anything else except

homecoming.”

When picking winners, judges look for

creativity, originality, observance of theme, craftsmanship and most importantly school spirit. The homecoming parade has been a tradition for more

than 50 years. It is a time to connect with the school and the alumni, said Karan Huggins, vice president for many of these contributing to the parade. “Homecoming serves as a time to reconnect, reflect and reminisce,” Selby said. “This annual event promises to bring together university friends and family all with one common bond.”

“Homecoming serves as a

time to reconnect, reflect and reminisce,” Selby said.

by: Summer Baily

Sponsors and Contacts:

Newsletter by: Randi Crowder

Sean Rae- 940.565.3855- sean.rae@unt.edu

Karen Sanchez- 940.565.4373 -karens@unt.edu

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Kathy Higgins- 940.565.3687- khiggins@unt.edu

by the UNT Department of Journalism

Other Events: •Homecoming Picnic and pep rally: Tuesday, Oct. 25 from 11 am to 1 pm

•Spirit March: Friday, Oct. 26 @ 7pm

•Spirit Wall Contest:displayed through the weekend in front of resi-dents halls

•Yell competition: Friday, Oct. 26 after spirit march

Reunions• Golden Eagles Reunion

•College of Business Administration Alumni Appreciation Celebration-

•TAMS alumni reunion

•Model International Organization Ten Year Anniversary and Reunion

•Professional Leadership Program Reunion

Traditions

A long-standing tradition dating back as far as 1935, the annual bonfire brings together

thousands of UNT students and alumni. For more than 70 years many have enjoyed this tradition, and since 2003, the annual Yell Con-test has also taken place near the pond with the flames serving as warmth an light on the often chilly Friday night before game day. Students come out and show their Mean Green pride as they get ready to cheer their team to victory.

ParadeBONFIRE

Game Night

Homecoming 2007

Come on out and join us on game day for the North Texas annual parade-- it’s fun for the whole family! Students, alumni and faculty show their Mean Green Pride. The festivities start Saturday at 1 p.m. The route begins at Welch and Hickory St., travels around the Denton town square, and ends on back on Highland. For more information, or to get involved, contact Karan Huggins at (940)-565-3687!

UNT Mean Green vs. Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders 6:00 p.m. Kick-off $20 Reserved/ $10 General Admission

Every year, thousands of UNT students and alumni come together for Mean

Green Pride. Homecoming serves many purposes for the University including bringing together not only students and alumni, but also the community. Every-thing from parades, to yell contests to the barbecues at Fouts Field before the game, people are uniting together to share in victory for the Mean Green football team. Come join us this year for our annual homecoming festivities and share in the unity and the festivities leading up to the game to cheer North Texas to a victory.

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Place Stam

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Homecoming Prev i ew

University of N

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Denton, TX

76203

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For a brief moment it was as though “she”, and not “he”, had won the Democratic nomination for president.

Sen. Hillary Clinton’s speech at the Democratic National Convention blew the top of Pepsi Center Tuesday night, exciting a room packed to the brim with thousands of tear-ful middle-aged women so overjoyed to see the triumphant return of their champion it was several minutes before she could even get a word out.

In short, she was every inch the presidential contender.Though it’s hard not to impose those feelings upon every

public appearance she has made since almost clinching the nomination.

Her continued support among the 18 million voters her campaign claimed during the primary are as diffi cult to ignore as Bill Clinton’s frequent bouts of sulkiness over not becoming the fi rst First Husband (though he wore a happy, dwarf-like expression for the majority of her speech).

Even if her attitude toward Sen. Barack Obama was less than completely yielding, those hoping for signs of resent-ment in Clinton’s speech were disappointed. Throwing her support behind Obama even before the thunderous applause had subsided, she connected him with every demographic she has a degree of infl uence with in descending order: mothers, Democrats, New Yorkers and Obama supporters, many of whom would be fully content if she was pushed back to the nose-bleed section and soon forgotten.

But she still managed to quiet all the pundits who were gleefully predicting minutes before her speech (and no doubt hoping for) some monumental gaffe that would provide just one more opportunity for Clinton-Obama drama.

Alas, the only jab was mentioning the mother fi ghting cancer whose bald head proudly displayed Clinton’s name, as though she were some kind of modern Amazon donning war paint to fi ght for the Queen.

It’s easy to understand the fervor of these women. And with so many aggrieved at losing the ultimate benchmark for women’s rights to the young upstart from Illinois, the media eagerly played a sympathetic ear to capture those ratings-gold tears shed over the conquered heroine.

Though she kicked off the speech with the obligatory remarks about party unity, the meat of Clinton’s highly anticipated speech wasn’t about party unity behind an Obama banner.

Clinton’s parade of galvanic examples of American women “left out and left behind by the Bush administration” made her real purpose all too clear.

Namely, to funnel the anger of her supporters away from Obama and to convince them that any women interested in her crusade for universal healthcare and equal treatment for working mothers will fi nd a chauvinist tyrant in Sen. John McCain.

Oh, and another Bush to boot.Justifi able or not, her criticisms of McCain on Tuesday

night have not been as effective at pulling the senator towards Bush’s abysmal approval ratings and away from female vot-ers as Democrats had hoped.

A woman interviewed by CNN following Clinton’s speech said she wouldn’t vote for McCain in November, but for Obama to get her vote, he needs “to get me there.”

Obviously, Clinton’s “sisterhood of the traveling pantsuits” still isn’t too keen on embracing the man who has been hold-ing the democratic candidate for months.

Perhaps that can still change. Perhaps when she appears with Obama at his theatrical release to 75,000 people at INVESCO Field tonight, the “sisterhood” will fi nally accept a brother.

Perhaps.

I am writing in regards to reggaeton artist Daddy Yankee’s endorsement of your candidacy for

president at a high school assembly in Phoenix, Ariz. I saw the video this morning on CNN.com. It was one of the top headlines. At f irst I thought I was high, but then I remembered I don’t do drugs. Often.

Initially, I was very upset by the news that Daddy Yankee would associate with someone as un-cool as you. With all due respect, save for the whole POW camp thing, you have about as much street cred as Barney the dinosaur, and Daddy’s decision cut me to the quick.

I almost took his songs off the workout playlist on my iPod, but then I decided that I didn’t want to be on the wrong side of the Daddy Yankee-Don Omar conf lict.

I’m sure your advisors have briefed you on it.

If not, you could just look it up on Wikipedia. I’m told you’re familiar with this site, especially when it comes to writing speeches about the Russian invasion of Georgia.

(Hey, who hasn’t “gotten their ideas” from Wikipedia? I know I have, and I’m sure Joe Biden would have, too, if they’d had it around when he was in law school.)

However, after much reflec-tion on the issue, I’ve come to realize that I’m glad to see your campaign is actively reaching out to Hispanics by garnering the support of respected, relat-able role models within our community. I want to let you know that we appreciate it.

After all, if there’s one thing we l ike more t ha n broken promises a nd empt y rhet-oric about reforming immi-g rat ion law wh i le cut t i ng back on social programs that affect the lives of Hispanic Americans in impoverished neighborhoods, it ’s hav ing Latin Grammy-award winner

Daddy Yankee tell us who we should vote for.

I can’t wait to see who Ricky

Martin endorses! God, I love election season!

I’m sure you were initially confused when your campaign schedu led a meet ing w it h “D a d d y Ya n k e e ,” a nd a Puerto Rican rapper walked in the door. Don’t worry. The Hispanic world is strange and exotic to outsiders, and it can be hard to navigate at times.

Hel l, most people don’t bel ieve I’m ha l f-Mex ic a n unless I walk around with a serape and a jug full of tequila. But may I suggest that if you’re going to start name dropping reggaeton and Spanish hip-hop artists, you should get to know who a few of the players are besides Daddy Yankee.

The line-up runs the gamut of lyrical stylings and hot beats. There’s Wisin y Yandel. There’s

Alexis y Fido. Khriz y Angel. Casa de Leones. Hector El Father. Victor El Nazi. Franco El Gorila. And Pitbull. Stay away from Pitbull, though. His lyrics might lose you the black vote. Also, one of the biggest producers in reggaeton is named Luny Tunes. Luny Tunes actually consists of two people. Contrary to popular belief, neither one is Bugs Bunny.

I think there’s a lot you could learn from this new partner-ship with Daddy Yankee. Back at a performance in 2005, he sang his hit song “Gasolina” from inside a Lamborghini that was slowly lowered into a stadium. I think you should

do the same thing at your next campaign f undraiser. Your donors will love it. The message w il l be especia l ly poignant in l ight of recent f luctuations in the oil market. Dáme más gasolina! Give me more gasoline! Man, I bet the Saudis will f lip when they see that.

You s hou ld a l s o h a v e da ncing g irls w it h you at all times. I suggest you use Cubans. Polling data shows time and time again that they consistently vote Republican, mainly out of spite for Fidel Castro.

In conclusion, while I still probably won’t vote for you, I can rest easy at night knowing that Daddy Yankee will. I’m sure that when he goes into that voting booth on Election Day, he will proudly cast his vote for Sen. John “La Shy Girl” McCain.

That is, unless he’s a real Puerto Rican. Like, the kind that actually resides in Puerto Rico.

T he f u n ny t h i ng about Puerto Rican residents is that even though they’re American citizens, they can’t cast ballots in the presidential elections. It’s one of those funny “let Hispanics in but don’t give them rights” deals. Kind of like your immigration program.

But don’t worr y. I’m sure you’l l get around to f i x ing that problem right after every Puerto Rican who can’t vote doesn’t elect you in to office. And if you keep Castro alive anot her four years, you’ve basically clinched your second term.

Once again, thank you for your time. If you really want me to vote for you, change your policies to something I can get behind. Either that, or get Shakira to endorse you.

It’s really a toss-up for me.

Kirk Cooper is an interna-tional studies senior from El Paso. He may be reached at kirk.cooper@unt.edu.

Daddy Yankee won’t bring McCain Hispanic vote

ViewsPage 7 Thursday, August 28, 2008

Andrew McLemoreViews Editor

ntdailyviews@gmail.com

The Editorial Board includes: Rachel Slade, Matt Goodman, Hailey Persinger, Shaina Zucker, Jessica Harp, Andrew McLemore, David Lucio, Brooke Cowlishaw, Kyle Phillips, Bailey Riley, Sophia Shah and Stan Ascher.

Want to be heard?The NT Daily does not necessarily endorse, promote or agree with the viewpoints of the columnists on this page. The content of the columns is strictly the opinion of the writers and in no way re-fl ects the belief of the NT Daily.

The NT Daily is proud to present a variety of ideas and opinions from readers in its Views section. As such, we would like to hear from as many NT students and readers as possible. We invite students of all creeds and backgrounds to write about whichever issue excites them, whether concerning politics, local issues, ethical

questions, philosophy, sports and, of course, anything exciting or controversial.Take this opportunity to make your voice heard in a widely read publication. To inquire about column ideas, submit columns or letters to the editor, send an e-mail to ntdailyviews@gmail.com.

Note to Our Readers

NT Daily Editorial Board

Nearly a decade into the 21st century, when women are more successful

than ever and surpassing men in earning degrees, it comes as no small shock that an M-R-S (Mrs.) is still expected as the norm.

Ever y t ime I see or hear from my mom, stepmom and aunt, the first question after “How are you doing?” is, “So, are you seeing anybody?” and from my stepmom, “So when are we getting grandbabies?” Fine, no and NO.

Why not? Because I’m going to school to try to make a life for myself. Because maybe my number one goal is not to get married and have babies, but to have a successful career and live a happy life that does not depend on someone else.

And it’s not just me. When I mention my family’s words to my friends, they say, “Oh my gosh. Me, too.”

Being the oldest and barely into our 20s, we feel like fail-ures. My mom was a lready preg na nt w it h m y y o u n g e r sister by the time she was my age. My grandmother told me she was pr e pa r i n g for her third.

M a y b e i t ’s b e c a u s e o u r p a r e n t s a r e from a different world where family life was the norm and the standard by w h ich happi ne s s w a s measured. They don’t mean any harm; they just want to see us happy.

But t hey’re not t he only ones. When we look at a single person, we assume he or she is at least looking for someone, is in some way damaged or undateable or is l iv ing a n ‘alternative’ lifestyle, an alter-native life as the odd one out,

still assuming there is prob-ably something wrong with that person.

W he n c lo s e to ha l f of a l l ma r r iages end in divorce, and they have a 60 percent fai lure rate i n c it ies, s o m e t h i n g doesn’t add up. If most people are single, why t h e s t i g m a

against it?College is a fair excuse, but

you at least ought to have a steady relationship. How many people do you know who are single and not looking because they are honestly OK with it?

And I’ll bet I’m not the only one who has listened to count-less tears from roommates and friends wondering, “Why can’t I just get a boyfriend?”

T h e y p e r p e t u a t e t h e problem of being single by

viewing it as such a miserable state of being. It seems like it might kill them to have a little self-confidence and live life for themselves instead of someone else.

Happiness isn’t limited to fa ir y ta le endings, so don’t count out t hose of us who have something different in mind. I’m not going to rule out ever having a family of my own, but my goals don’t include staking my life, my future and my happiness on someone whom I’ve not even met and who may not exist.

Finding a sou l mate, or whatever that means, is not t he be- a l l and end-a l l, so give it a rest and try finding your own happiness instead of waiting and hoping to find someone to prov ide it for you.

Moniqa Paullet is a graduate student from Plano. She may be reached at mlp0141@unt.edu.

Single still isn’t acceptable in modern society

SHOCKTALK

Nuns’ beauty pageant canceled

ROME (AP) – An Italian priest backtracked from his idea to organize an online beauty pageant for nuns, saying Tuesday he had been misunderstood and incurred the protests of the faithful and local religious authorities.

The Rev. Antonio Rungi had thought of the beauty contest to give nuns more visibility within the Catholic Church and to fight the stereotype that they are all old and dour. The “Miss Sister 2008” contest was supposed to start in September on a blog run

by the priest, who is a theolo-gian and schoolteacher from the Naples area.

But he changed his mind after seeing reports that suggested nuns would be metaphori-cally put on a catwalk. He said what he had in mind was not just external beauty but what he called “overall beauty.”

“I wanted to make a blog on vocations, one where everybody could bring their own experi-ences,” Rungi said by telephone from his town of Mondragone, about 35 miles north of Naples.

Unity uncertain in Clinton speech

Editorial

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE MIAMI HERALD/ MCT

Moniqa Paullet

BY SANYIKA CALLOWAY BOYCE

Young Money Magazine

The content of your MySpace page can hurt your future job opportunities.

M y S p a c e , F a c e B o o k , LiveJournal, Bebo and Xanga are just a few of the most popular social networking sites that have become a virtual mecca for everyone from aspiring musicians to everyday people wanting to connect with a larger world.

These on l ine gat her ing places are ripe with informa-tion, photos, videos, blogs and personal profiles of users who are all proud to showcase their

talent, give their opinions about everything from the war to their favorite potato chips and even vent their frustrations about their stupid boss who wears an oh-so-obvious hair piece.

But could your 4 a.m. admis-sion about the wild party you had that got out of hand, which you’ve long since forgotten about, be the very thing that comes back to haunt you when looking to get accepted into graduate school, applying for an internship or fellowship or, better yet, a well-deserved job?

Consider this, in October 2006 CareerBuilder.com surveyed more than 1,150 hiring managers

about their hiring practices; 12 percent said they check out potential candidates’ profiles on social networking sites as part of their screening process. Even scarier, at least 63 percent admitted to not hiring a job applicant based on what they found.

Yikes! Could your “innocent” picture of last year’s over-the-top Halloween costume keep you from getting to the first rung of the corporate ladder, let alone the corner office?

It could. Companies large and small are increasingly concerned about the image that they have with consumers and being seen as places where

people will want to do busi-ness.

Last December, the popular restaurant chain The Olive Garden fired one of its general managers who’d worked with the company for more than 16 years. The firing was not caused by the employee’s MySpace page, but rather her daughter’s page.

The “Vegas Rule” of “what happens here, stays here,” no longer applies. What’s said on MySpace is echoing all over the world and could affect you (and possibly your parents) in the workplace.

(c) 2007, Young Mone y Magazine/ MCT.

MySpace infiltrates American workplaces

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