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Campus
• Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Campus
Today around campus Student Success Series will have its first seminar of the semester, Finding a Student Job, at noon in Wagner Hall 245.
Thursday, Jan. 26 Rising from Fall Semester Mistakes, a Student Success Series seminar, will be led by graduation coach Casey Partridge at 2 p.m. in Wagner Hall 245. The women’s basketball team will play Baylor at 7 p.m. in Lloyd Noble Center. Young Choreographers’ Showcase, put on by ballet and modern dance majors, will be performed at 8 p.m. Jan. 26, 27 and 28 and at 3 p.m. Jan. 29.
Friday, Jan. 27 “The Empire of Trebizond: The Last Gasp of Byzantium,” a free lecture, will be given at 6:30 p.m. in the A/B room of the Norman Public Library. The fifth annual Beauty and the Beast event, featuring the OU wrestling and women’s gymnastics teams, will take place at 7 p.m. at Lloyd Noble Center. Final day to change from credit to audit for undergraduate students. For more information, contact Enrollment Services. A special TEDx event will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Oklahoma Memorial Union’s Meacham Auditorium.
Saturday, Jan. 28 A track & field competition with Oklahoma Christian University will be going on all day in Norman.
Sunday, Jan. 29 A wrestling dual against Lehigh will take place at noon at McCasland Field House. Divas!, a performance by Professor Bradley Williams’ voice students, will take place at 8 p.m. in Catlett Music Center’s Pitman Recital Hall.
Tuesday, Jan. 31 A forum on how you can study abroad will be led by Education Abroad staff and study abroad alumni at 7 p.m. in Cate Main Social Lounge. Free pizza will be provided.
Thursday, Feb. 2 An information session for students interested in the Journey to Latin America program will be held at 4:30 p.m. in 221 Old Science Hall.
Friday, Feb. 3 The women’s gymnastics team will host a quad meet against Nebraska, Minnesota and Centenary at 7 p.m. in Lloyd Noble Center.
Saturday, Feb. 4 The women’s basketball team will play Oklahoma State at noon in Lloyd Noble Center.
Corrections The Oklahoma Daily has a commitment to serve readers with accurate coverage and analysis. Readers should bring errors to The Daily’s attention by emailing dailynews@ou.edu. In a Page 1 story in Monday’s edition, the Oklahoma City-based newspaper, The Oklahoman, was misidentified. In a Page 1 photo headline in Monday’s edition, the nature of The Earth Cafe and Deli’s move was misreported. The restaurant moved locations within Campus Corner. In a Page 4 column in Monday’s edition, the number of judges appointed by former President George W. Bush was misreported. Only six of the 19 judges were appointed by Bush.
Laney Ellisor, campus editor Kathleen Evans, assistant campus editor Chris Miller, assistant campus editor dailynews@ou.edu • phone: 405-325-3666
Campus Briefs International Students
Union: University Club closed for renovations
Two dozen families needed to host Japanese students for month-long stay
Continued from page 1
Host families are needed for approximately two dozen Japanese students who are visiting campus in February as part of a month-long English language and intercultural program. The Ritsumeikan Intercultural Program, now in its 26th year, will embrace students from Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto, Japan during their temporary stay from Feb. 11 to March 10, according to a press release. The Japanese students will take an intensive English course and participate in multiple activities, including museum trips and tomahawk throwing, program organizer
Heritage, Pioneer, Regents and Scholars rooms, where heating and air conditioning units are being upgraded, according to the Union website. Student groups that use those rooms have been displaced due to the ongoing work. OU Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Friends previously met in various rooms in the Union but has been relocated to Room 280 Wagner Hall for the remainder of the semester, GLBTF president Devin Luxner said. A week before the semester began, Luxner discovered that his organization’s room request had not gone though because the rooms in the Union would not be available until April, he said. That change was unexpected and last minute, Luxner said. “ We a r e t h a n k f u l t o Wagner Hall for reaching out and giving us a meeting place for the rest of the year,” Luxner said. The University Club, a private faculty meeting place and coffee lounge,
creates a really engaged environment.” The TEDxOU event is an independent event to encourage innovative thought within the community, according to its website. It is based on national TED discussions, which stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design. The Vrazel brothers were completely “ecstatic” upon being chosen as speakers. “The fact that it’s come to Oklahoma at last is extremely exciting,” Buck said. “I’m looking forward to being in the audience just as much as I am to the presentations.” A l t h ou g h Tw i np rov ’s website states that the two have been performing for 11 years, Clint said he and his brother were doing improv before they knew what the word meant. “Our parents were storytellers, and [improv] was just a natural part of our life,” Buck said. Over the past decade, the group has come from performing games based on the TV show “Whose Line Is It Anyway” in a friend’s living room to co-founding OKC Improv, a non-profit theater arts organization. OKC Improv has contributed to the growth of improvisation in Oklahoma with the number of improv crews increasing from five to 35 over the past 22 months, according to the organization’s website. “It’s a nice, messy, comedic ecosystem from which things emerge,” Buck said. “We thought it would take a decade. It’s happened so quickly that it’s really indescribable.” Through OKC Improv, they hope to create the first improvisation theater in Oklahoma, but they’re a long way from achieving that goal, Clint said. They have, however, obtained a love for their craft, they said. “Improv is risky; it’s a roller coaster,” Buck said. “When we pull something off as a team ... [and] get that standing ovation from a packed crowd, it’s glorious.” While reminiscing over an 8th-grade memory of formulating hilarious characters, Clint said he fell in love with the act of creating what comes next. “I’ve been chasing that moment again and again to make it happen,” Clint said. “It’s not just a fun way to show off — it’s transformative.”
Bobby Wiggins said. “The students get a chance to sample American culture, as well as Oklahoman culture,” she said. During the first two weeks of the program, the students will stay with a host family. The families must provide beds, meals and local transportation for each student. A small stipend will be given to families to cover expenses. After staying with the host family, the Japanese students will finish their stay in OU’s dormitories. Those interested in hosting a student for this year’s program should visit the Center for English as a Second Language at 1660 Cross Center Drive, Vance House or call (405) 325-6602. Jake Morgan, Campus Reporter
role: Applicants are decreasing, provost says Continued from page 1
Photo Provided
Construction equipment litters the gutted University Club in Oklahoma Memorial Union. The restaurant and bar’s year-long renovation includes an enlarged kitchen, wood-planked floors, booth seating and a private dining room.
will be closed for approximately one full year due to the renovations; however, all club reservations have been accommodated for the tenure of its closure, Union director Laura Tontz said in
an email. I mp rove m e nt s to t h e club include wooden floors, booth seats, a private dining room and an expanded kitchen, according to the Union website.
Membership is expected to increase upon opening in December due to the cutting-edge design, amenities and new menu, club manager Alison Thomas said.
Speakers: Pair hopes to open improv theater Continued from page 1
Wednesday, January 25, 2012 •
Improv acts as an essential mirror for the character of society, Clint said. “One of the founders of improv, Del Close, once said, ‘The job of the improviser is to enchant and to horrify,’” Buck said. “We like to think that you can learn more about people by watching them play.” Drawing on their passion for improv, the brothers have
aptly titled their TEDxOU presentation “Making a Date With Inspiration.” The discussion will center around the improviser’s mindset and what creativity means for the audience in general, Clint said. “We’re going to give them a taste,” Clint said. “And there will be a singalong element,” Buck said with a laugh.
TEDxOU Ken Parker Ghislain d’Humieres Reed Timmer Kyle Harper Julia Ehrhardt Bobby Gruenewald Jeremy Short Clint and Buck Vrazel Courtney Griffin Austin Hartel
VO TE
Nash agrees with Mergler that the pool can be limited by the administrative tasks expected of deans, he said. “The role of dean can be stressful,” Nash said. the role of dean is becoming less desirable, Provost Nancy “Remaining a scholar or teacher may be more appealing to faculty members in higher education.” Mergler said. One of the few female deans at OU, former Jeannine “I do think in the last five years, with legal, financial and Rainbolt College of Education dean Joan Smith, retired administration issues, the appeal of being a dean has diminfrom her position in order to resume ished,” Mergler said. “Applicant pools are teaching, Nash said. The regents officially “In times of tighter smaller, and the jobs are more stressful.” The position is becoming harder with budrestraint on financial replaced Smith at their Tuesday meeting by appointing Gregg Garn, who has spent get constraints placed on OU colleges, she resources, less and 13 years on the faculty at OU, as dean. said. However, progress has been made to fix less applicants are “The role of dean is constantly swirling and changing,” Mergler said. “In times of tighter applying [to be deans].” the gap in male-to-female leadership at OU in other places, Nash said. restraint on financial resources, less and less On Tuesday, the regents appointed Nancy Mergler, applicants are applying.” filled the role of Dennis Aebersold , outgoOU Provost The OU Board of Regents are responsible ing vice president for information technolfor and have final say in hiring deans, accordogy and chief information officer, by appointing Loretta ing to the OU Faculty Handbook. OU attempts to attract a wide range of applicants during Early . “OU is gaining a female in the role of chief informaall stages of the hiring process, OU spokesman Michael Nash tion officer, a position vacated by a male who retired,” said. “The university believes it is important to use that process Nash said. “In addition, the deans of pharmacy (JoLaine and to conduct a nationally advertised search that casts a Draugalis) and nursing (Lazelle Benefield) at the OU Health Sciences Center are both women.” wide net to get a diverse applicant pool,” Nash said.
BAN: New policy aims to better campus health Continued from page 1 have chosen to enact these policies,” Boren said. During his remarks, Boren invited Gary Raskob, College of Public Health Dean and chairman of an advisory tobacco committee who helped Boren formulate the policy, to address the regents as well. Raskob believed the final recommendations took into effect student, faculty and staff feedback while positively impacting campuswide health, he said. “The proposal strikes a balance between protecting people from second-hand smoke, while acknowledging the difficulty of quitting,” Raskob said. Boren is optimistic the policy will overcome difficulties encountered when enforcing a statewide ban already in place, restricting smoking within 25 feet of building entrances, he said. “I think [we encountered difficulties] because we had no set policy and never publicized a program to help people quit smoking,” Boren said. “We’ve had a program, but it hasn’t been highly advertised.” OU Police Department officers will be tasked with enforcing the new policy, Boren said. OUPD officials have been in contact with university administrators regarding enforcement, but the department declined to comment as of press time, OUPD Lt. Bruce Chan said. “The Chief of the OUPD does communicate with the senior administration of the University; however, it is not appropriate for us to comment on the content of that communication,” Chan said. After the regents’ meeting adjourned, Boren said it is not OU administrators’ place to tell people they cannot smoke at all, but they are authorized to restrict smoking on campus. “We’re not saying people can’t smoke,” Boren said. “They can go home and smoke, they can smoke in their cars, so I don’t think we’re stopping the liberty of people to smoke.”
More Online Visit OUDaily.com to read about the other agenda items approved by the OU Board of Regents on Tuesday.
Field: OU first in nation to offer course with hands-on experience, skills Continued from page 1 90 percent of the course outside learning to dig wells and construct eco-latrines while using local materials, course professor Jim Chamberlain said. The course’s hands-on approach is designed to teach students that in the developing world learning what to do
with the materials at hand is crucial, Chamberlain said. Both Sabatini and Chamberlain have spent time in developing nations and know first-hand how difficult it is to transition from the U.S., they said. “You have to adjust to the culture, the language, the food and the living situation,” Sabatini said. If students will be
conducting water sanitation work, they generally have to do so on site, because they often don’t learn it in the U.S., Sabatini said. The opportunity to plan for the class has been exciting thus far, Chamberlain said. “I have taken college students to El Salvador and every time there was something we were asked to do that we
could have better prepared ourselves to do back in the states,” Chamberlain said. “I knew there was a real need [for the class].” Despite the need for the class, OU is the first in the nation to offer it, Chamberlain said. Other universities have taken a more lecture-based approach to the subject matter, Chamberlain’s version
will be the first to take a fieldbased approach, he said. With students from Oklahoma State University, the University of Kansas and the University of Arkansas already showing interest in the course, OU is working to become a regional resource for all students in this area, Sabatini said. The class will be offered by the OU College of
Engineering and is open to all majors, according to a class flier. The information offered could be useful for students planning to do work with the Peace Corps, U.S. Agency for International Development and faith-based organizations focusing on working abroad, according to the flier.
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