Friday, February 17, 2012

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National Guard should remain open to all (opinion, page 4) The University of Oklahoma’s independent student voice since 1916

F R I D A Y , F E B R U A R Y 17, 2 0 1 2

W W W.O U DA I LY.C O M

2 011 G OL D C ROW N F I N A L I S T

aCadEMICS

Sooners earn more a’s, records show see GRADES paGe 2

40

International Studies

Journalism and Mass Communication

Honors College

Fine Arts

Education

Continuing Education

Fall 2011

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SaFETY

rESEarCH

THEFT

Boren OKs safer paths

Grant extends cancer studies Program to add new researchers

Improvements on crosswalks to begin next week

SAM HIGGINS

Campus Reporter

CHRIS MILLER

Assistant Campus Editor

Improvements to the pedestrian crosswalks on Lindsey Street between student housing areas and the South Oval will begin next week, OU President David Boren announced Thursday. The improvements will include using reflective paint and increased markings of crosswalks, according to a press release. Boren directed both Housing and Food Services and Facilities Management to coordinate the improvements, which eventually will include the installation of lighted crosswalks similar to those on Elm Avenue, daVId according to BOrEN the release. The D aily reporte d We d n e s d ay t hat Housing Center Student Association officers had advocated for improvements to the speed bumps and crosswalks after a biker suffered a concussion after hitting a speed bump at night and losing control of her bike. “I want to thank those students … who brought this need for more defined crosswalks and more notice of speed bumps to my attention,” Boren said in the release. No exact timetable is available for the completion of the crosswalks, Facilities Management Director Brian Ellis said. “The lighted crosswalks ... will take some time to coordinate and plan with the City of Norman,” Ellis said in an email.

pHoto iLLustration By Carey FLaCK/tHe daiLy

Three cellphones and two wallets were stolen from the Huston Huffman Fitness Center this semester despite security cameras installed in the facility. The OU Police Department has conducted sting operations in the past to catch aspiring thieves.

Huff working to deter crimes OUPD, fitness center increase efforts to catch thieves, stop robberies SEAN LAWSON

Campus Reporter

Video cameras installed in the Huston Huffman Fitness Center are not working out to prevent all crimes. Since January, three cell phones and two wallets have been stolen from the center, according to police reports. The report also showed about $3,200 worth of property has been stolen from the center since the beginning of the academic year. “The university environment is a target rich for thieves,” OU Police Department Detective Scott Gibbons said. “Not many places in the state beside other universities have so many bikes or laptops in one area.” The majority of items stolen are cellphones, particularly iPhones,

Carey FLaCK/tHe daiLy

The OU Police Department has in the past placed “dummy iPhones” into the cubbies at the Huston Huffman Center and reprimanded thieves attempting to steal them.

according to police reports. by serial offenders.” “About 50 percent of the larcenies Detectives conducted two sting at Huffman are crimes of opportu- operations inside the center hoping nity,” Gibbons said. “However, the see THIEVES paGe 2 rest of these crimes are perpetrated

SPOrTS VOL. 97, NO. 103

© 2012 OU Publications Board FREE — Additional copies 25 cents Campus ........................ Classifieds .................. Life & Arts ................. Opinion ...................... Sports .........................

Engineering

60

Earth and Energy

80

Fall 2002

University College

Percentage of a’s in OU colleges 100

Business

The percentage of A’s given in OU colleges has increased over the past 10 years, and A’s were the most common grade given in all but one college

in classes. OU colleges match this national trend, showing a 2-percent average increase in the percentages of A’s in the past 10 years, according to the records. In fall 2002, colleges gave 51.22 percent A’s compared to 53.87 percent in fall 2011.

Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences

Assistant Campus Editor

with a decrease in C’s, D’s and F’s, according to the research. The Daily received records of the percentages of A’s in each college over the past 10 years, which takes into account the grades of any students receiving grades in classes offered in those colleges, not necessarily just majors. It also excludes people who did not receive a letter grade

Architecture

KATHLEEN EVANS

during the fall 2011 semester. In July 2011, a team of researchers looked at the percentages of A’s on a national level and found the top grade accounted for 43 percent of all letter grades in 2008, an increase of 28 percent since 1960, according to research published in the Teachers College Record. The rise in A’s corresponds

Arts & Sciences

OU colleges giving out more top grades than lower grades

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NOW ONLINE aT

The Daily’s open record requests

Oklahoma falls to OSU in tough 19-18 bout

Requested document and purpose

Date requested

The No. 12 OU wrestling team lost a close match to topranked Oklahoma State on Thursday night. (Page 7)

Spending records for UOSa, Campus activities Council, graduate Student Senate and Student Congress for the past three academic years — To monitor purchases and allocations made by four branches of UOSA.

LIFE & arTS

The agreement between OU and SciQuest resulting in CrimsonCorner — To learn what the university is paying for that purchasing software and to gather information about the terms and conditions of the agreement.

Wednesday

Utility bills for new and old buildings of comparable size on the OU Norman campus from Jan. 2011 to present — To compare the energy use and costs of new and old campus buildings.

Wednesday

Kick a caffeine addiction Huff expands fitness options after demands with alternatives Instead of overloading your body with caffeine, learn about four more healthful options to kickstart your day. (Life & arts)

A reception held Thursday at the OU Health Sciences Center celebrated a $30.25 million grant that will allow the Peggy and Charles Stephenson Cancer Center to expand its cancer research. In a re c e p t i o n t h a t began at 1 p.m. in the Charlotte Jackson Seminar Room, OU President David Boren p r a i s e d t h e To b a c c o Settlement Endowment Tr ust grant, saying it b ro u g ht p e o p l e f ro m across Oklahoma together with the common goal of fighting cancer. The grant will establish the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust Cancer Research Program at the cancer institute, according to a press release. The new program will accelerate cancer research by providing the supp or t ne cessar y to recruit new cancer researchers to the state and support the development of necessar y research technologies that are essential to high-quality cancer research, according to the release. The trust was established through a constitutional amendment approved by Oklahoma voters in November 2000, according to the Oklahoma state government website. The trust was voted into Oklahoma’s Constitution November of 2000. It sets aside money given to the state each year from four of the largest tobacco companies to compensate for taxpayer money lost from smoking-related disease, according to the website, and is projected to give Oklahoma $2 billion over the course of its first 25 years of existence.

If you are looking for a new way to get fit, the Huston Huffman Center now offers group fitness tai chi classes. (Page 6)

KeLsey HiGLey/tHe daiLy

Nick Crossley, energy management sophomore, climbs a wall during the “Cupid Comp” on Thursday at the Huston Huffman Center. The center holds climbing competitions every semester. (Visit OUdaily.com to view a photo gallery)

Feb. 8


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