Hazing 101

     In the last three years, four Greek organizations have been disciplined for hazing by the Dean of Students as stated in an email sent to over 36,000 students last Tuesday.

The Greek chapters that have been disciplined over the last three years for hazing are: Lambda Theta Alpha, Beta Mu Chapter; Alpha Epsilon Pi, Mu Gamma Colony; Sigma Phi Epsilon, Texas Beta Chapter; and Pi Beta Phi, Texas Epsilon Chapter that are a part of the Pan-Hellenic council. 

Jonathan Zerulik,   senior associate of student affairs, is in charge of handling any hazing accusations. He is also in charge in the type of punishment the group receives.

“What happened and the risk involved in the activity tells us what we should do,” said Zerulik. “It can be from someone drinking a gallon of milk to someone being forced to do push-ups.”

Zerulik states that someone submits a report and an investigation begins to see if there is adequate evidence to consider it hazing. They notify the group or individual they are under investigation and allow each party to share their side of the story.

Once they put together the evidence to see if it constitutes as hazing; then the group is put on probation. Probation can include no social events, new member activities to be supervised, and completion of an educational program on hazing.

The email went on to further explain that hazing does not have to be committed on campus in order for organizations to be punished. If someone knows of hazing, encourages it, or participate in the hazing process they will be prosecuted as well. Fines can range from $500-$10,000 and jail time depending on the crime.

            The hazing policy is available on the UNT website and explains what the university considers as hazing. Any type of activity that can risk a person’s mental and physical health is defined as hazing. 

Brianna Medonza, alumni of the Pi Beta Phi chapter, gave her opinion on the school’s definition of hazing.

“What I’ve learned is that it all boils down to perception,” Medonza said. “The definition of hazing is so vague that ultimately any activity could be classified under one of those categories by an outsider with a vivid imagination”

A group of students known as Peer Advocates advise students and groups on the Code of Conduct.  Their mission is to provide support and information to groups during the discipline process.

“There [are] a lot of stereotypes about hazing, such as only fraternities and sororities haze or hazing only involves drinking,” Kai Henderson, one of the Peer Advocates, said.  “A student who is getting hazed may not recognize it is hazing due to the hazing activities not fitting with the stereotype,”

  Anyone can call and report activities they believe to be considered hazing.  The number is 940-369- STOP (7867) and it will notify the school immediately.

Restaurants Shave Calories Off New Menu Items

Day Wednesday

Date: 10/8/14

Time: 1 minute 58 seconds

Program: ME

• Which topics were covered during the listening slot? Lifestyle,trends

• Specifically, discuss your impressions concerning the depth of the coverage, competency, accuracy and newsworthiness of the stories you hear? 
• It wasn't too much in depth it was very brief. However, the content was good because it talks about people counting calories now that rules have been made at restaurants in N.Y and Washington, D.C.  It definitely is newsworthy because people are always talking about going on a diet and finding ways to stay healthy

• If you aren't an active listener to NPR, discuss what it's like to get information in a radio format. Do you like it? Did it engage you? Will you be coming back to NPR for your news fix? 
• For this particular piece I would be okay with listening to NPR. I didn't need a visual to stay focused with this one. I was engaged in the story only because I love healthy foods and always wanted restaurants to publicly display the nutritional value with each meal. It impacted me to continue to watch what I eat.

• What particular story or stories grabbed your interest? Give a brief description of the story and tell me who was the reporter. What impressed you the most about the journalism? If you were not impressed, what went wrong with the piece? How was sound used in the story?
• The story was discussing how restaurants have to display the amount of calories in each othe meals now. Restaurants are tweaking their menus calling it "Read them before you eat them." The reporter was Allison Aubrey. What impressed me the most was the statistics she provided such as how Starbucks has 400 calories in one drink and there are 1700 calories in one Johnny Rockets double meat burger. Fast food chains are cutting calories on the newer items by 60 calories instead of cutting calories on the signature items. 

Kansas Holds On to Same Sex Marriage Ban

Day Tuesday

Date: 10/7/201

Time: 2 mintues and 9 seconds

Program: ATC 

• Which topics were covered during the listening slot? Hard news, Politics 

• Specifically, discuss your impressions concerning the depth of the coverage, competency, accuracy and newsworthiness of the stories you hear. I thought it had a narrative lead to it. It was newsworthiness because same-sex marriage has been legalized and Kansas wants to oppose it.  It was very accurate in reporting Kansas stance on the issue and providing feedback from a lesbian woman who wants to get married in Kansas. The LGBT has been battling for same sex marriage laws so the fact that SCOTUS finally made a decision is ground breaking news. 

• If you aren't an active listener to NPR, discuss what it's like to get information in a radio format. Do you like it? Did it engage you? Will you be coming back to NPR for your news fix? I liked the authors voice in this story. It was very soothing and he enunciated very well. He made me engaged in the story. I will be coming back to NPR for more breaking stories because they get directly to the point with the most important information first. 

• What particular story or stories grabbed your interest? Give a brief description of the story and tell me who was the reporter. What impressed you the most about the journalism? If you were not impressed, what went wrong with the piece? How was sound used in the story?  It grabbed my interest because my best friend is gay and I know she wants to be able to get married without the hassle of the government. Not only that but the state is trying to override SCOTUS,which is one of the highest forms of government. The republican governor does not want to implement the new law because of citizens dissatisfied with the SCOTUS decision. There wasn't much sound used beside the voices of the author and interviewees.  I was impressed with how the story was organized. The story had good transition from topic to speaker.  The reporter was Stephen Korando. 

Apple says iOS Encryption Protects Privacy; FBI raises crime fears

Day: Wednesday

Date: 10/8/14

Time: 3 minutes and 54 seconds
Program: ATC 

Which topics were covered during the listening slot?  Technology, government 

Specifically, discuss your impressions concerning the depth of the coverage, competency, accuracy and newsworthiness of the stories you hear:
I was impressed with the depth of coverage it provided with a lot of insight about how the encryption on the iPhone operates. I like how it was relevant because the iPhone 6 came out not too long ago and it was sold out in various stores. They did an great job on providing excellent quotes from both parties.I got to hear what Apple's view was about the situation as well at the FBI's. It allowed me to construct my own opinion about whether or not the government should be allowed access.

If you aren't an active listener to NPR, discuss what it's like to get information in a radio format. Do you like it? Did it engage you? Will you be coming back to NPR for your news fix?
I am in the middle of whether or not I like to get my information from the radio. While the voices were pleasant to listen to I prefer to have a visual. I will probably occasionally utilize it if I want to be updated on current news and I am on campus but not while I am at home.

What particular story or stories grabbed your interest? Give a brief description of the story and tell me who was the reporter. What impressed you the most about the journalism? If you were not impressed, what went wrong with the piece? How was sound used in the story?

It was a very interesting story because it dealt with the FBI wanting Apple to stop making products that encrypt the data where neither the FBI or Apple can gain access. Apple stated they wanted to protect the privacy of the phone user but the FBI warned it could block valuable information they would need to solve cases.  This article goes back to the Edward Snowden case where he leaked information about the NSA monitoring the public's conversations. The reporter was Brian Naylor.  What impressed me the most was the flow of the program it was very easy to listen to and follow. I was mostly interested in this piece because I do have an iPhone and lately celebrities have been getting hacked. 

The first Greek Life Center at UNT

The first Greek Life Center is at UNT

The opening of the nation’s first Greek Life Center in April is dedicated to provide various resources and help establish Greek unity.

During the building’s construction, the Greek life department was located in a temporary room in Stovall Hall. The department is now housed in the 6,000 -square-foot building on the corner of Welch and Highland streets. Greek alumni donated $2.3 million for this particular project in hopes of uniting UNT’s chapters, Jason Biggs, assistant dean of students for Greek life said.

Biggs, who serves as the liaison between national headquarters and the local chapters, is proud of the UNT’s administration for completing this project.

                  

“The building has enhanced the services and programs,” Biggs said.  “It also has allowed us to implement new ones.”

Brittany Tok, a biology major and member of Kappa Delta, works at the Greek Life Center as a Greek Ambassador. Greek Ambassadors are in charge of promoting the benefits of Greek life throughout the community.

“Whether you are Greek or not, it’s a welcoming place for anyone,” Tok said. “This center brings a lot of people together.”

The center also has a conference room and chapter room for Greeks to reserve in order to have events, dinners, and meetings.

Kamaeron Willard,  a member of Omega Psi Phi and SGA vice president, finds the Greek Life Center very useful for his chapter.

“Coming from a fraternity that doesn’t have housing, it’s nice to have a place where we hold events,” Willard said. “We can also hang with other different chapters and bond together as a Greek community.”

The Greek Life Center also offers many resources that can be useful for academic success. The center partners with the Learning Center to provide one- on-one tutoring. The program, called “Drop-In Tutoring," is offered from 7- 9 p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays with no appointment necessary, Bigg said.

On Bid day, which is the last day of recruitment when prospects receive bids to join chapters, the Greek Life Center will provide tours of the Greek houses. This allows the potential new members to get a glimpse of Greek life.

The public is invited to attend the center’s ribbon cutting ceremony at 3 p.m. on Nov.8 during Homecoming weekend.

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In the famous words of Jay Z, one of my favorite rappers, allow me to re-introduce myself my name is Shania. Shania Grace Jackson as my birth certificate would state. I didn't discover I had a middle name til the 3rd grade and I have been telling people my full name ever since. I actually go by Nia because people think my name is pronounced like sha-ni-uh (as in Shania Twain) when really it's sha-nee-uh.  I am a junior studying Public Relations with a minor in Marketing. I currently attend the University of North Texas where I am the PRSSA Chapter president.  I want to go into the entertainment, beauty, or food public relations field. Lets just say I love to eat, shop, and be entertained. I want to land a job where I can manage social media accounts for a company. Social media is revolutionary and the power of how it can help a business profit is amazing! From my Tumblr, Pinterest, WordPress, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn account you can say I am obsessed with social media. I have a niche for beauty blogs, watching makeup tutorials til 2 a.m. and looking up smoothie recipes on Pinterest. I love to explore and learn new things.I am a college student who is learning who she is while developing new skills through the process.

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