Students, use your voice on Higher Education Day (Opinion, Page 4) The University of Oklahoma’s independent student voice since 1916
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2 011 G OL D C ROW N F I N A L I S T
T U E S DAY, F E B RUA R Y 21, 2 012
ACADEMICS
HIGHER EDUCATION
Graduation rate hits high mark
State funds lobby’s focus
JAKE MORGAN Campus Reporter
OU’s six-year graduation rate has jumped 3.3 percent to 67.8 percent , making it the highest in state history for a public university. This latest number represents the graduation rates for students who entered the university in 2005. The climb signifies how OU is taking its place among the nation’s top universities, President David Boren said in a press release.
A 3.3 percent increase is substantial, said Becky Heeney, director of Graduation Office. “Even a 1 to 2 percent jump is nice,” Heeney said. The university has seen relatively consistent increases during the past 20 years, Heeney said. “We were really hopeful for a [large] increase, and I see nothing but positive in our future,” she said. The combination of the student body’s academic
excellence and university programs that facilitate graduation has contributed to the increase, Heeney said. One program in particular, OU Cares, focuses on the roadblocks students face on their path to graduation, including financial woes and time management issues. Heeney said the program has offered a resource network to teach students about the graduation process. Graduation rates are calculated based on the percent of first-time, full-time students who graduate within six years.
AT A GLANCE OU grad rates, 1990-2006 80%
Six-year rate
70%
Graduation Rate
67.8% of fall ’05 first-time students have graduated in six years, OU officials say
67.8% in 2005
Four-year rate
60% 50%
36.6% in 2006
40% 30% 20% 10%
JACQUE ENTWISTLE ’90 ’91 ’92 ’93 ’94 ’95 ’96 ’97 ’98 ’99 ’00 ’01 ’02 ’03 ’04 ’05 ’06
Year GRAPH BY CHRIS LUSK/THE DAILY
GREEK ALLY
First training session canceled
Fraternity eyes 2nd Stompdown title
Low participation leads to cutting first meeting EMMA HAMBLEN Campus Reporter
A Saturday meeting of a group intended to increase acceptance of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender members in the greek community was canceled due to a lack of participants. After being formed in the fall, the Greek Ally training program’s first meeting of the spring was canceled, said Quinn Cooper, Women’s Outreach Center intern and Greek Ally Task Force member. “We had to cancel bec au s e t h e nu m b e r o f people we had signed up didn’t meet our minimum number to have the training,” Cooper said. Each of the four greek councils was represented at Greek Ally’s first training in October, an outcome event organizers had hoped for, Cooper said. Despite the cancellation, many of the people who had signed up for Saturday’s training have re-registered for a training in March, Cooper said. It’s important to unite the greek and GLBT communities, Cooper said. “We want to connect greek students with resources to better understand the unique needs of the LGBT community,” Cooper said.
CHELSEA LOTT/THE DAILY
Damion Thornton (right) leads members of Phi Beta Sigma’s stomp team while they practice their routine on Thursday in Dale Hall. The fraternity won last year’s Stompdown competition along with a $1,500 cash prize. Team members say they began to work on their routine in November and have been meeting for an hour and a half each week to bring home another victory this Saturday. (Page 7)
Student plays music
Professor seeks to expand students’ religious outlooks Campus Reporter
RICARDO PATINO/THE DAILY
In a world where conflicting religions can have explosive consequences, an OU professor is researching three major world religions and teaching the importance of understanding other religions. Charles Kimball, director of the OU Religious Studies Program, is investigating the relationships between religion and politics — two things his mother told him not to talk about in public — in Islam, Christianity and Judaism in the U.S. and the Middle East, he said.
SPORTS VOL. 97, NO. 105 © 2012 OU Publications Board FREE — Additional copies 25 cents
OU students will lobby for increased funding for Oklahoma’s colleges and universities during today’s Higher Education Day activities at the state Capitol. About 44 student delegates will participate in the annual event, which is intended to remind legislators that higher education issues affect students, faculty and staff both at OU and across t h e s t a t e, O U Hi g h e r Education Day coordinator Steve Sichterman said. “We’re just trying to get up there and provide students’ stories about why higher education is so important,” Sichterman said. “We want to state the case for why ... funding should increase or at l e a s t n o t d ro p a n y further.” Students have worked the past month to schedule 70 meetings with legislators during the day, and they plan to contact every member of both the House and Senate w h i l e a t t h e Ca p i t o l , Sichterman said. “It’s an event where we’re able to show that students are interested in the issues legislators deal with,” Sichterman said. “We plan to contact every legislator, even if it’s just
RELIGIOUS STUDIES
ARIANNA PICKARD
Yan Zhang, an OU botany graduate student, plays the guqin for Focus on Arts and Sciences Week on Monday. The guqin is the oldest Chinese instrument with a simple structure but a complex playing style. The College of Arts & Sciences is hosting events all weeks to help bring attention to the different cultures. The event showcased Chinese instruments such as the hulusi, a gourd flute.
WHERE: Alpha Phi sorority, 1401 S. College Ave.
Campus Reporter
SEE EDUCATION PAGE 3
GO AND DO Greek Ally WHEN: 1 to 4 p.m. March 10
Students to visit Capitol to stress need for funding
What sparked his research was the way Judaism, Islam and Christianity have similar historical figures but different understandings and ways those understandings play out practically and politically, he said. “I’m very concerned to work on things in ways that have practical applications in the world,” Kimball said. “I’m tackling issues that are very explosive right now.” There is debate about the relationship between religion and politics, and there are multiple places in turmoil about it, he said. We need to
understand how the two intersect so we can make reasonable, well-informed decisions about how to deal with them, he said. O n e re s u l t o f h i s re search is his book “When Religion Becomes Lethal: The Explosive Mix of Politics and Religion in Judaism, Christianity and Islam,” published in 2011. Kimball analyzes why Islam, Christianity and Judaism often lead to violence and how to create a more hopeful future, he said. Kimball is interested in SEE VIEWS PAGE 2
The Daily’s open record requests
Oklahoma hosts Aggies for final time in Big 12
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OU women’s hoops will look to bounce back from a loss to Iowa State tonight when the Sooners host A&M. (Page 5)
Post-season bowl expense reports for the two football seasons prior to the 2010-2011 Fiesta Bowl — To gain a better understanding of the OU football team’s costs accrued.
Friday
Friday
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SPORTS
Contemporary author unknown, still relevant
Sooners prepare for this year’s NFL draft
Budgets for winter road maintenance for the past 10 years. — To learn more about how much funding comes from student fees and what happens to money leftover due to mild winters such as this one.
Friday
David Foster Wallace is not well-known posthumously, but he should be on your personal reading list. (Life & Arts)
Five former OU football players will participate in the NFL draft combine this week with hopes of being drafted. (Page 5)
Total squirrel fees accumulated for each of the past 10 years. — To gather information about the money OU receives from squirrel fees and what percentage of all student fees squirrel maintenance accounts for.
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RICARDO PATINO/THE DAILY
Bob Lemon (right) pours coffee for math junior Laurence White during a lecture on the cultural impacts of coffee houses in Vienna, Austria. The lecture which was held on Monday was the kick off event for Focus on Arts and Sciences week. (OUDaily.com)