North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 91, No. 87, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 15, 2007 Page: 4 of 12
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March 15,2007
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Human sexuality arouses student interest
P)i| Prado
Staff writer
College students are interested
in sex and voted Health Promotion
2200, "Family Life and Human
Sexuality" as the best class on
campus in a Daily survey
"I am very flattered by it," said
Chwee Lye Cling of the kinesiology,
health promotion and recreation
faculty, who teaches the 11 a.m.
Tuesday and Thursday class in
the Lyceum. "Most young people
attend college and find themselves
in an experimental phase, and
even though most of them have
had some type of experience in
sexuality, they are not skilled. My
course offers a chance to learn
through interaction and commu-
nication."
When Chng, who earned his
doctorate at the University of
Wisconsin at Madison, came to
work at NT in the early 1980s, his
human sexuality class had fewer
than 25 students.
The course objectives include
topics that Chng said rarely are
openly discussed.
"I think students grow up in a
sort of vacuum where they never
talk about sexuality, and certainly
never have a candid discussion
about it," Chng said.
The course, which has grown to
more than 400 students, empha-
sizes issues related to sexual
health from a historical, physio-
logical, social and cross-cultural
perspective, according to the class
syllabus.
"The concept itself is very inter-
esting," said Houston freshman
Andi Minatrea, who is currently
enrolled in the course. "You learn
about sex, but more importantly
you learn about yourself, your
body, the way things work."
The class also includes guest
lecturers whom Chng has known
and worked with for more than 25
years. Recently, during a Thursday
class, Linda Brock, professor of
family sciences at Texas Women's
University, spoke to the class about
contraception and the moral issues
involved wit h making an educated
decision.
"I use people that I trust and
that I have worked with for many,
many years," Chng said. "It adds
to the substance and educational
value of the course."
One class session involved a
discussion of how scrotums rise
and drop to regulate tempera-
ture and produce sperm. Chng
then told a story about taking his
5-year-old nephew swimming,
after which theboytooka shower.
Chng said he heard "loud shrieks
of horror."
"He just kept screaming and
screaming," Chng said. "I went to
check on him and he kept saying
'I dropped them in the pool! I
dropped them in the pool!'"
Chng told the laughing students
that his nephew's testicles had
risen so high into the young boy's
body for warmth that he could no
longer see them.
While he tells stories that make
students laugh, he also talks of
case studies that uphold his teach-
ings, often using the stories of his
subjects to draw relevance to the
material.
One case study Chng describes
vividly is telling his students about
a couple who metin college. Shortly
after graduation th ey married and
eventually had a son.
"They were so happy for that
child, it cemented their rela-
tionship and they felt their lives
complete," Chng said.
When their son was 2, they found
him in his crib, dead of unknown
causes. Some time after that, Chng
said, the couple found themselves
in a lawyer's office after the woman
filed for divorce because she could
not be with a man who "didn't care
about [their son's] death."
"He never cried a tear for him,"
Chng said. "But what the wife did
not know is that every night, he
would go out to the rose bush and
try to cry out the pain of losing
his son."
Such real life case studies, Chng
said, help his students understand
the fallacies of male and female
stereotypes. Chng said he uses
this case study to show that the
majority of men are not emotion-
ally defunct.
"I hope my students can walk
out of my classroom and not be
embarrassed about their sexuality
not be bashful in their interest of
the human body and sexuality,"
Chng said.
Anecdotes have worked well for
Chng and Health Promotion 2200,
he said. He recited one student
evaluation with pride: "Minimal
facts I forget over time, but the
stories I've heard will last me for
many years."
é rans gives students a li t
P)L| /\bel Prado
Staff writer
With more than 31,700 students
and fewer than 11,000 parking
spots on campus, many students
have turned to the eTrans bus
system for alternative transpor-
tation.
Recently, a change in admin-
istration in the NT transporta-
tion office brought a new transit
system that has reduced the
amount of routes but increased
the number of buses working
those routes, thus creating a
frequency-based transit system,
according to Joe Richmond, asso-
ciate director of transportation
for the system.
"It's a system that has proven
extremely effective," Richmond
said. "It has increased the number
of students that are riding the
bus."
In the past five years, use of the
shuttle system has seen a tremen -
dous rise in riders, based on
data obtained from the office of
transportation. Rider figures are
calculated based on how many
times a student boards a bus. In
the scholastic year of 2001-2002,
numbers showed 171,347 board-
time in 2005-2006, there were
1.2 million boardings, signifying
a 720 percent increase, making
the shuttle system the most used
student service at NT.
Richmond said those numbers
are a result of the new transit
model—one that worked well
when he was at University of
Texas at Austin.
"Before, you could have 15 to
20 different routes but the bus
would only come by every half
hour," Richmond said. "That was
just inconvenient. UT works a
system that brought a bus by
every eight to 15 minutes, so if
you missed the bus you didn't
have to wait too long for another
one."
NT's shuttle system currently
runs a combined 179 hours of
service a week through 10 routes
(nine of which serve areas off
campus) and 29 buses running
seven days a week.
"The system is not perfect,
though," Richmond said. "If you
have a 9 a.m. class and plan to
take the 8:40 bus to your class,
odds are you will be skipped over
since we just can't get everyone
to where they need to be in those
Winnie freshman Jack Cravy
said he sees the flaws in the
shuttle system.
"It really becomes a hassle
when they get filled and you have
to stand," Cravy said. "Then they
get held up at stop signs and
red lights and they pull over at
every stop most of the time. So
what should be a five-minute ride
from Victory [Hall] to the General
Academic Building turns into a
15- to 20-minute ride."
Partly because of limited
resources but mostly because
of lack of demand, NT has no
plans to add more buses at this
point, but it plans to tweak the
system to increase convenience
by extending the hours of service
of the Mean Green, North Texan
and Eagle Point routes from 5 to
.10 p.m. Plans to add more ameni-
ties at bus stops, such as phones
and open air sheds, are also in
the works, Richmond said.
"We're always looking to tweak
the system and meet demand,"
Richmond said.
Transportation services keeps
more than 10,000 cars off campus
through increased use of the
shuttle services and plans to
A
Samuel Gonzalez/NT Daily
Students exit a bus on the North Texan bus route Monday afternoon in front of the Univesity Union.
the campus more pedestrian-
friendly, according to the depart-
ment.
Costs are also lower than at
other universities. The NT shuttle
system costs about $40 an hour
to run and about $1.9 million
a year, which Richmond said
is lower than other universities
with about the same enrollment
A partnership with Denton
County TransportationAuthority
and NT, called "town and gown,"
has turned out to be fruitful as
the county authority assumes the
costs of maintenance, fuel and
the bus drivers' wages, Richmond
said. The parnership, in turn, is
allowed to claim NT students
as passengers, which helps the
Richmond said transporta-
tion services are meeting current
demand and encourages students
to voice their concerns to better
the shuttle system.
"I'm always all ears if someone
has an idea to help make the
system run more efficiently,"
Richmond said. "But as of now,
I haven't heard of a need that we
ings and in the same stretch of 8 to 10 a.m. peak hours."
readjust the system to make as NT's.
authority receive federal funds, are not addressing."
N bus driver brightens students days
Rebecca Evans/NT Daily
Bob Miller, bus driver with Denton County Transit Authority, recalls stories of passengers on his
bus Monday afternoon while driving the North Texan bus route.
fin A
aron
P)racamontes
Staff writer
Thirty years ago, he watched
students skate in circles every
night at his skating rink. Today
he drives them to and from class
in his bus.
Bob Miller, 58, a Denton native,
has only been driving buses since
August, but he has gained the
respect and smiles of students.
"Good morning everyone,"
Miller says everyday as he
enters the bus ready to leave
the University Union for the 24-
minute round trip from University
Courtyard Apartments to campus
and back. Miller makes the trip 25
times in 10 hours each work day,
always with a smile.
As the bus approaches an
upcoming stop, Miller announces
the name of the stop to all the
students, giving them an oppor-
tunity to pull the yellow cord to
request a stop.
A buzz is usually followed by a
"thank you" from Miller.
While some students are too
busy on a cell phone, listening to
an iPod or just not paying atten-
tion to the friendly bus driver,
they usually respond on the way
out of the bus.
"Y'all have a great day," Miller
said as students leave the bus,
usually to a smile or a wave good-
bye.
As a teenager, Miller attended
Denton High School, where in
10th grade he landed a job at the
Spinning Wheel skating rink on
Elm Street.
"When I was growing up, it
was the only thing to do in town,"
Miller said. "I just took to it, I
guess."
In 1969, Miller was drafted into
the U. S. Army during the Vietnam
War and was later stationed in
Germany for two years. When
he came back to Denton, he went
back to work at the skating rink.
In 1973, the owner of the rink
sold it to Miller and his brother.
They would go on to own it until
1982, when they sold it to the last
owner, who eventually closed it
down.
"When I worked there, I used
to skate about 40 hours a week,"
Miller said. "I went back and
skated on the day it closed. It
was the first time I had skated in
about 15 years."
After they sold the rink,
Miller and his brother went into
construction together until his
brother decided to retire.
"I was getting too old for that,"
Miller said. "My brother is a little
older than me, so he retired. I
wasn't ready for that so I decided
to start driving the bus."
The first day of school is usually
a hectic day of traffic around
campus, Miller said. It is hard
for small vehicles to get around,
much less a bus.
Miller said he was nervous
because he couldn't make it to
the bus stops at the times he was
required.
"That day I told my supervisor
that, it was the worst day of work
I ever had," Miller said. "They
told me it would get better, and
it has."
Now, Miller says he has grown
to love the North Texan route,
and has gotten attached to the
students who ride it everyday.
"I may not know their names,
but I recognize their faces," Miller
said.
With pleasant greetings,
Miller has begun to be appre-
ciated by students like Jenna
Lappin, Bonham freshman, who
frequently uses the bus when he
is driving.
"I think he's a pretty cool guy,"
Lappin said. "I like how he plays
the radio every once in a while."
Lappin agrees that Miller
should be voted best bus driver
because he is so friendly.
Joe Costanza, Houston junior,
said he had a conversation with
Miller once when he was the only
passenger on the bus.
"He was fun to talkto," Costanza
said. "He told me his daughter had
gone to the University of Texas."
Miller's daughter gave him
advice when he became a bus
driver. She told him to be nice
to the students because some of
her drivers in Austin were rude,
Miller said.
Miller said his mom raised
him to treat others the way he
would like to be treated, so he
never gets tired of being friendly
to students.
"One time I had a girl come up
to me and say 'I want you to know
—you're my favorite bus driver,"'
Miller said. "And it made me feel
really good to hear that because
that's how you know they hear
you talk to them."
CAMPUSPARK
It's a better
way to live!
*
COMMUNITY FUN&
ADVANTAGES FITNESS
INTERIOR
AMENITIES
Individual Leases
Located Close to
Campus
Free Internet
Free Electricity
Free Parking
Free Cable
Computer Lab
Round-the-Clock
UNT Transit*
Limited Access Gates
Seconds from 1-35
Conveniently Located
to Shopping, Dining
& Entertainment
Venues
I Sand Volleyball
I Sport Court
I Barbecue Grills
I Sun Deck with
Outdoor Stereo
System
I Resort-Style
Swimming Pool
I Outdoor Spa
I Fitness Center
i Game Room
I Clubroom with
Big-Screen TV
Complimentary
Gourmet Coffee Bar
All Interiors Fully
Furnished Including:
■ Full-Size Washers and
Dryers in Every Apartment
■ Open Floor Kitchens
■ Private Baths in I
Floor Plans
■ Built-in Desks
■ Nine-Foot Ceilings
■ Bedroom Ceiling Fans
with Lighting
■ Intrusion Alarms Available
■ Deadbolt Lock
for Each Bedroom
■ Planned Social Activities
directions
From 1-35 North, take exit 465A
toward FM-2181. We are south of
UNT on I-35E and Teasley Road.
Head north on the access road to
Meadow Street and turn right.
I
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North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 91, No. 87, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 15, 2007, newspaper, March 15, 2007; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth145442/m1/4/: accessed May 1, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.