The Oklahoma Daily

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NORMAN MUSIC FESTIVAL The fourth ann annual festival begins at 6 tonight Check out the special section inside The University of Oklahoma’s independent student voice since 1916

Thursday, April 28, 2011

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Six intersession courses canceled University department cuts classes scheduled for May intersession due to low enrollment numbers, director says CHRIS LUSK The Oklahoma Daily

OU students trying to enroll in May intersession courses have six fewer options to choose from after a university department canceled the classes this week. The OU Intersession department struck six courses from the May schedule because there

were not enough students in each class, said Mark Pelfrey, director of lifelong enrichment and academic programs. Intersession officials evaluated enrollment figures Monday before deciding which classes should be dropped, Pelfrey said. Courses with fewer than five students are typically canceled; however, the professor has the final say, he said. Intersession professors are paid per student,

Canceled courses » Robot Planning and Control » The Making of US Foreign Policy » Programming in Python » Intermediate Spanish* » Western Knights » 1968: Rhetorics of Upheaval *Only canceled one of the six sections

SEE INTERSESSION PAGE 3

RESEARCH

OU HSC discovers possible eye illness treatment New nanotechnology could be tested on humans within a few years, scientists say

STUDENTS LINE UP FOR DISCOUNTED ELECTRONICS

KATHLEEN EVANS The Oklahoma Daily

OU Health Sciences Center researchers discovered a possible way to prevent or treat degenerative eye disease using microscopic particles. OU researchers, along with scientists from the University of Central Florida, developed cerium oxide nanoparticles, called Nanoceria, center spokeswoman Susan Simpson said. These particles work by reacting with toxic molecules within the eye responsible for killing healthy cells and causing SEE EYE PAGE 3

Italian monastery to cost OU $16.5M MERRILL JONES/THE DAILY

Students wait for the OU IT Store to open Monday morning despite rainy weather. The line stretched from the store’s entrance to University Boulevard.

Funds for renovation to come from private donations, Boren says NICHOLAS HARRISON The Oklahoma Daily

Students flock to Campus Corner for sale Store sells out of some Apple products, considers adding additional sale items RACHAEL CERVENKA The Oklahoma Daily

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bout 700 technology junkies attended the opening of the OU IT Store’s three-day sale Wednesday, clearing out three of the store’s Apple products. The first item that sold out was the 13-inch MacBook Pro, which was on sale for $600, OU Information Technology spokeswoman Becky Grant said.

The store also sold out of the iMacs and first-generation 64-gigabyte Wi-Fi iPads, Grant said. She said the IT staff is considering putting additional items on sale today or Friday and will post any new sale items to the store’s Facebook page. The sale began at 9 a.m., but the rainy weather did not stop umbrella-toting shoppers from lining the intersection of University Boulevard and Boyd Street prior to the store opening. Students who arrived one hour before the sale did not get a good spot in line, OU alumnus Narayan Shanker said. Shanker,

who arrived at 8:15 a.m., said the line moved quickly once the sale began. Shanker was in line with two friends, and all three attended the sale to purchase MacBook Pro laptop computers, he said. Shanker had been anticipating the sale for nearly 2 1/2 months and waited to purchase his computer because the IT Store offers the best prices, he said. Laptops were the most popular item sold Wednesday, Grant said. Shanker bought a MacBook for a friend at

SEE SALE PAGE 2

OU Hillel to celebrate Jewish independence today A student organization will celebrate Israel Independence Day from 1 to 3 p.m. today on the South Oval. The event is sponsored by OU Hillel and will feature free food and hookah. “It’s going to be a great time to celebrate the independence of Israel,” Hillel Executive Director Keren Ayalon said. “We encourage anyone who wants to come and have free food and free hookah to join.”

OU Hillel members will offer falafel, pita, hummus and cake, according to the event’s Facebook page. “We plan on having several fun games and activities for people to enjoy,” Ayalon said. “We want people to learn about our culture and heritage, but if we do it in a way that they can have fun at the same time, we will definitely do that.” The block party occurs every year, but this is the first time it will feature a folk-dancing group that

will lead attendees in an old Israeli folk dance, Ayalon said. “We normally have around 100 people show up ... but every year it has grown slightly a little bit,” she said. “We hope to have close to 200 people show up. We know it will be a good time for anyone. Free food, hookah and dancing are tough to beat.”

OU will spend about $14 million renovating a 500-year-old monastery in Arezzo, Italy for its study-abroad programs, according to university documents. This means the university will have spent $16.5 million — including the $2.5 million spent to purchase the historic site, according to documents from the university’s architectural and engineering departments. Uncommitted revenues from the university’s affinity-card agreement and Coca-Cola pouring-rights contract as well as private monies have been earmarked for the project, said Chris Kuwitzky, associate vice president and chief financial officer. Almost $4 million in private funds has been raised thus far and no state-appropriated funds would be used for the project, OU President David Boren said. Boren said he was confident sufficient private funds could be raised. However, revenues earned from monetizing the institution’s utilities systems also might be used, Boren said last week. Boren said he didn’t support the purchase and renovation of the monastery when he was first approached with the idea. “I literally threw them out the door,” Boren said. “It was one of

— Kyle Salomon/The Daily SEE MONASTERY PAGE 2

A LOOK AT WHAT’S ON Visit the news section to read about two OU administrators who received awards, recognition from the university

THE OKLAHOMA DAILY VOL. 96, NO. 142 © 2011 OU Publications Board www.OUDaily.com www.facebook.com/OUDaily www.twitter.com/OUDaily

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