Sunshine Week: This week The Daily is participating
in sunshine Week, a week to promote open government and freedom of information. much of our content will use information gathered from records requested through OU’s Open records Office.
Opinion: Human trafficking relief organizations cover a wide range of ideologies. (Page 4)
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sGa passes bill to cut funding
Anarchists clear misconceptions
Leaders of associations will lose salary funding KAITLYN UNDERWOOD campus reporter
After months of discussion and editing, OU’s Undergraduate Student Congress passed a bill Tuesday night to cut SGA funding of the salaries for presidents of Greek councils and the Housing Center Student Association. The bill, the “Keeping Our Promise” Act of 2013, effectively cuts all student government funding of presidential salaries for the Interfraternity Council,
Multicultural Greek Council, National Pan-Hellenic Council, Panhellenic Council and Housing Center Student Association. The act comes six months after SGA passed the “Give the Money to the Students Act” in October 2012 that reduced stipends to Greek council presidents. The salary cuts in the new bill will save SGA about $13,000 that can be used for non-administrative purposes, said Sean Bender, Undergraduate Student Congress Chairman. The “Keeping Our Promise” Act does just that; it keeps SGA’s promise
to be good stewards of the student activity fees, President Joe Sangirardi said. Currently, Greek council presidents and the Housing Center Student Association President are the only student organization leaders to receive salary funding from SGA, Bender said. The bill seeks to end unfair favoritism of student organizations, Sangirardi said. SGA should not pick which umbrella organizations receive salary funding, he said. P re s i d e n t o f t h e Pa n h e l l e n i c Association Hana Johnson, President
Group is open to everyone, doesn’t believe in violence against public BENNET HALL
campus reporter
Editor’s Note: Jason Byas is a former Daily columnist and current guest columnist.
Anarchists gathered Wednesday in Oklahoma Memorial Union to discuss anarchism and clear misconceptions people have about the non-political system. Students for a Stateless Society hosted a booth for “Ask
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Student reaches out on webpage
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Golfer feels at home in Oklahoma Coach finds diamond in the rough at 2009 Rolex Tournament of Champions
Sophomore uses site to give advice
DILLON HOLLINGSWORTH sports reporter
HALEY DAVIS
campus reporter
As the posts multiply, more and more emotions pour out through the computer screen. Reaching out for advice, students type out their deepest thoughts and questions, and unlike all the other anonymous visitors, one student lays his reputation and identity on the line in the hopes that his advice will help at least one person in need. Michael Wright, mechanical engineering sophomore, is one of many frequent visitors of the new trend that is OU Confessions, a Facebook page created on Feb. 13 that allows anyone and everyone to post their deepest secrets anonymously. But Wright has not taken advantage of the anonymity this page allows — instead he writes
“We tried golf at the club, and we all were pretty good at it. So we just kept playing, and I started to like it. Since then, I haven’t stopped playing.” eDuarDo castiello, Junior GolFer
In June 2009, OU men’s golf coach Ryan Hybl arrived at the Dalhousie Golf Club in Cape Girardeau, Missouri for the Rolex Tournament of Champions. It was his first recruiting trip as the head coach at OU, and he was looking for golfers who would graduate in 2010. But the golfer who ended up catching his eye turned out to be in the class of 2009. That golfer was a young man from Guadalajara, Mexico named Eduardo Castiello, and Hybl liked what he saw enough to talk to Castiello’s parents, Jamie Castiello Chavez and Sofia Gomez Verea. Over the next few months, things didn’t quite shake out, and Hybl moved on as Castiello got lost in the shuffle. A year later, OU hosted a Texas Junior Golf Tour tournament at Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club, and when Hybl looked at the list of players, a familiar name jumped out at him again: Eduardo Castiello. Castiello was there, in Norman, playing golf at a junior tournament. Hybl was confused. Castiello had graduated; he was supposed to be in college. But he wasn’t, and Hybl wasn’t going to miss this second chance. After he learned Castiello had decided not to go to college that year and instead become a 2010 recruit, he invited Castiello’s parents to talk to him again, this time in his office. At first, Castiello was reluctant to leave his family and friends in Mexico behind to play golf in America, but his father urged him to embrace the new opportunity. “I’m pretty much here because of my dad,” Castiello said. “Because he pushed me to just keep going and try and see if I could get a scholarship.” Shortly after Castiello resurfaced at Jimmie Austin, the young man from Mexico signed up to play golf for OU. Castiello grew up like a lot of kids in Mexico do — playing soccer. One summer when he was about 10 years old, his mom told him and his brothers they should try a new sport. They chose golf. “We tried golf at the club, and we all were pretty good at it,” Castiello said. “So we just kept playing, and I started to like it. Since then, I haven’t sEE GOLF pAGE 6
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aDmissiONs
OU adopts Common App OU joins 500 institutions in comprehensive evaluation
and universities of their choosing, according to the press release. The information required in the application includes traditional criteria such as INDIA MAXWELL class rank, recommendation letters, stancampus reporter dardized testing information and personal OU will begin accepting common admis- essays, according to the press release. The sion applications in fall 2014 so new under- applications can be submitted online or in a graduate students won’t have to submit dif- print application format. ferent applications to each university they This application is also supposed to make apply for. admission a more comThe Common Application, “This simplification prehensive process, allowaka the Common App, will ing students to elaborate will improve be available for incoming more on their accomplishfreshman and transfer stu- prospective student ments and future academic dents on Aug. 1, 2013, ac- access to a college goals, according to the press cording to the March 13 education here at release. press release. The Common App conthe University of “OU’s membership withtains more than 500 instituin the Common Application tions in 47 states in the U.S., Oklahoma.” Inc. association will benefit and now OU will become michael nash, future applicants for admisone of them, according to uniVersitY spoKesman sion by simplifying the colthe press release. lege application process,” “Having just transitioned said university spokesman Michael Nash. to a holistic admissions process in 2012, OU “This simplification will improve prospec- will now be able to further the availability of tive student access to a college education a top-quality education to students across here at the University of Oklahoma.” the country,” Nash said. Students applying for undergraduate schools through the Common App will be India Maxwell able to submit one application instead of indiajanetmaxwell@yahoo.com multiple essays and forms to the colleges
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Online open records
Opinion: database would facilitate student involvement in OU community. (Page 4)
University Gospel Choir incorporates Christian values into life at OU L&A: One member says that fellowship and worshiping with the choir changes things. (Page 8)
VOL. 98, NO. 113 © 2012 ou publications Board Free — additional copies 25¢
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rECOrd rEQUEsTs The Oklahoma Daily regularly asks for access to public information from OU officials. Here is a list of the most-recent requests our reporters have submitted to the university.
Requested document and purpose
Date requested
Amount of water consumed at the University of Oklahoma from city and non-city sources and in total denoted by total gallons of water used for the calendar years of 2011 and 2012 — To see how much water OU used the last two years
march 12
Budget documents related to Gaylord College’s Apple product testing program — To determine the cost of recent Gaylord technology initiatives.
march 13
All contracts OU has with Apple within the last two years — To determine the scope, cost and profit of OU’s deals with Apple.
march 13
Emails to/from administrators with the keywords “parking tickets,” “The Daily,” “Oklahoma Daily,” or “Joey Stipek” from the beginning of Tuesday until the time the request is sent — To monitor any administrative feedback on the issue of FErpA and parking ticket records.
march 13
Michael Nash’s emails since March 11, 2013 — To monitor what the president’s office is communicating about with the community.
march 13
Visit OUDaily.com/openrecords for a full list of requests.
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