News for North Texas
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

UNT, TWU Students Petition To Become ‘Sanctuary Campuses,’ Plan Joint Walkout

/
TWITTER
Students in the University of North Texas library mall at a demonstration on Nov. 9. Students will gather here again today for a walkout, according to instructions in a university petition.

Five stories that have North Texas talking: David Brown will be an ABC News contributor; relieve stress in Dallas’ Anger Room; Matthew McConaughey drives UT students home; and more.

Students at the University of North Texas and Texas Woman’s University are asking administrators to declare their schools as “sanctuary campuses,” in light of Donald Trump’s immigration plans. Hundreds of signatures have been gathered with the hopes of ensuring protection for undocumented and underrepresented members of the campus community.
 
UNT’s petition says the “racially charged and divisive” election makes the “sanctuary” status “urgently needed to uphold and move forward” with the values of the university. Specific procedures are outlined for administrators to follow, including issuing a statement about UNT's commitment to the protection of students, combating hate speech on campus and prohibiting immigration enforcement to come on campus without a warrant. Here’s TWU’s petition.

According to the Dallas Morning News, students at TWU and UNT have planned a joint walkout "in solidarity with thousands of students across the nation demanding for their colleges and universities to become sanctuary campuses." Students from each campus will march at noon today to the Denton Square, where they will meet and hold a protest, according to the Morning News. [The Dallas Morning News]

  • Retired Dallas Police Chief David Brown got a new job. Starting Jan. 1, he will contribute to ABC News, the network announced Wednesday. Brown will help report on issues of gun violence, policing, social justice, race relations, and economic inequality in the U.S. Brown retired in early October after six years as police chief and 33 years total on the force. His retirement came nearly three months after a lone gunman carried out an ambush on police in downtown Dallas. [KERA News]

 

  • There’s a place in Dallas where you can smash things to relieve stress — without any consequences. It’s called the Anger Room. The New York Times recently profiled Dallas owner Donna Alexander and the business she opened in 2008, which apparently did well before and after the election. Sessions spent in the anger rooms are meant to be a nonviolent form of therapy. Alexander charges $25 for five minutes of crushing printers, alarm clocks, glass cups and vases. Prices rise to about $500 for custom room setups, including that one scene from Office Space. [The New York Times]

 

  • Matthew McConaughey is making sure some college students at his alma mater get home all right (all right, all right). The Oscar winner took a turn behind the wheel of a golf cart on the University of Texas campus Monday night to raise awareness about a program to ensure students don't have to walk home alone, the Associated Press reports. Student body President Kevin Helgren says the stunt prompted a big reaction online and he's hoping it encourages more students to use the service. [The Associated Press]

  • Texans have a tendency to take their time saying one-syllable words by making them two. It’s called a diphthong. For example, instead of “mess,” the Texas dialect stretches the word to sound like “May-us.” Used in a sentence: Don’t May-us with Texas. English in Texas is more relaxed; words lean into each other to create a smooth and fluid drawl. Dialect encompasses accent and word choice, and it varies all across the country, not just the Lone Star State. Settle the question “Coke, pop, or soda?” in a recent episode of Think with Krys Boyd. [Texas Standard, Think]