University of North Texas

Drones have gotten international notoriety because of their ability to take out bad guys (and, at times, bystanders). Sometimes, they’re described as killing machines. But drones can also save lives.

Mariachi music has a long history, dating back to 18th century Mexico. How do you get the younger generation interested in this old tradition of guitar strumming, violin playing and passionate singing? We checked out a mariachi summer camp for middle and high school kids at the University of North Texas at Denton.

Nearly 20 percent of all Texas public school students don’t speak fluent English. The challenge for teachers is how to communicate with these students and help them learn. A group of future teachers from the University of North Texas got some practice recently by traveling to Seville, Spain.

Two years before 9/11, Michael Hayden took the top job at the National Security Agency. He spent the next decade at the top of the nation's intelligence structure and presided over a data-collection revolution.

Hayden's a security consultant now, and he'll be speaking in Dallas at noon Tuesday: It's part of the University of North Texas' Kuehne Speaker Series on National Security. (Tuesday's speech is sold out.) He took a break in his busy international travel schedule for this week's Friday Conversation.

Middle school can be a tough transitional period. Students leave the comfortable nest of elementary school and face new challenges like harder classes and older kids.

Young people who are in the country illegally face many tough questions.

Can they get a job? Will they get deported?

A year ago, the Obama administration implemented a program that allows some undocumented immigrants to stay in the country temporarily. As of September, 93,277 applications from Texas have been accepted and 72,408 have been approved. But thousands more still haven’t applied.

The University of North Texas System Board of Regents voted unanimously today to name Neal Smatresk president of UNT.

Smatresk succeeds V. Lane Rawlins, who announced in March that he would retire at the end of the year.

Rawlins will stay on until Feb. 3, when Smatresk will start work.

A new study by the University of North Texas shows more than half of the 350 Census tracts in Dallas are moderate or high-blight areas. Those are neighborhoods with neglected, rundown or abandoned buildings. 

A lot of non-profits preach music education for kids, but a local jazz legend is keeping his simple.

Every year, Freddie Jones hands out about a dozen trumpets to young people with a little talent and a lot of drive. But once the instrument changes hands, the work’s just starting.

The Texas Association of Business (TAB) wants Governor Rick Perry to veto the education bill that reduced end-of-course high school exams from fifteen to five. But given how many lawmakers voted for the measure, odds seem against it.  

Although far fewer young people smoke today than in years past, nearly 1,000 kids become smokers each day across the US. In Texas, 17.4% of high school students smoke. And when they buy cigarettes, the three most heavily advertised brands are most popular: Marlboro, Newport and Camel, according to the government's National Survey on Drug Use and Health. To raise awareness about the dangers of tobacco, kids in Texas are rallying, holding flash mobs and hosting health fairs. 

We consulted UNT’s Steve Wiest, the jazzman who directs the famed One O’Clock Lab Band, about the particulars of terrible tunes. Turns out, there is an explanation.

Pro hockey might have to slash its entire season as a lockout that started last September drags on. So why can't hockey kick up the revenue it needs for sustainable profit? Maybe because of cities like Dallas that lack a broad, enthusiastic fan base, says Todd Jewell, a sports economics professor at the University of North Texas in Denton.

In a shrinking economy, you wouldn’t expect the Dallas art scene to burst with new growth.  Commentator Joan Davidow believes four small, out of the way art spaces are enlivening the area art scene.

A plant that grows quickly and cheaply in Texas may become an alternative to building materials that are non-biodegradable, and may someday change the way businesses like Brown's Boat Repair in Mesquite operate.