Friday, March 2, 2012

Try as it may, OU still struggles to get students to basketball games (Page 7) The University of Oklahoma’s independent student voice since 1916

F R I DAY, M A R C H 2 , 2 012

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

HigHer eDucation

reps to seek student feedback about ou University being evaluated to determine if it will remain accredited SAM HIGGINS

Campus Reporter

OU will undergo an accreditation process starting Sunday in which students, faculty and staff can input their thoughts on OU. The Higher Learning Commission

will send 12 representatives to evaluate OU for institutional accreditation, which looks at the whole university, not just specific programs, law professor Michael Scaperlanda said. Scaperlanda compiled OU’s self-evaluation for the accreditation, which happens every 10 years.

The commission will evaluate OU in five categories: mission and integrity; preparing for the future; student learning and effective teaching; acquisition,

discovery and application of knowledge; and engagement and service, according to the commission’s website.

Representatives will hold an open session with students 3 to 3:50 p.m.

Monday in the Oklahoma Memorial Un i o n ’s Me a c ha m Au d i t o r i u m, Scaperlanda said in an email. Students will have the opportunity to talk with two to four of the evaluators.

stuDent goVernMent

see EDUCATION Page 2

GO And dO give opinions to accreditors in order to gather input from member of the university community, Higher learning Commission accreditors will host open sessions for: Students: 3-3:50 p.m. Monday in the Oklahoma Memorial Union’s Meacham Auditorium

Faculty: 3-3:50 p.m. Tuesday in the fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art’s Sandy Bell Gallery Source: Michael Scaperlanda

ForMer stuDent

recYcLe

No contest in 13 spring elections

Staff: 3-3:50 p.m. Monday in the Oklahoma Memorial Union’s Traditions Room

College to stream Shadid’s funeral

Students submit paperwork to run for 19 campus positions

Service to be aired at 2 p.m. Saturday

CHASE COOK

Managing editor

The next UOSA president, vice president and two other upper-tier student government positions will be decided in uncontested elections, according to documents filed by the candidates before Thursday’s deadline.

Letters junior Joe Sangirardi and junior Rainey Sewell were the only students who filed election papers for UOSA president and vice president. Sangirardi filed for president while Sewell filed for vice president.

The Housing Center Student Association President and Student Bar Association President are also uncontested races.

However, the Campus Activities Council chair will be a contested race between industrial engineer junior John Fraser and human relaMORE ONLINE tions junior Vicky visit oUdaily.com Vargas. for the full story Industrial engineer junior and oudaily.com/news election board chairman Cole Jackson said four students applied before the deadline Thursday, and he was worried that could be a problem. However, he said plenty of applications were submitted on the last day.

Ten of Student Congress’ 15 electable districts -- totaling about 26 seats -- are uncontested races, according to election documents.

The next step for the candidates is to attend the election board’s mandatory meetings, Jackson said.

Candidates can start campaigning March 12 and continue to do so until voting begins April 3.

SAM HIGGINS

Campus Reporter

Photos By Kingsley BUrns/the daily

Kenneth Buser dumps a bucket of food scraps into the Couch Restaurants food digestor on feb. 14. The machine, which was manufactured in Broken Arrow, uses enzymes and a rotating blade to digest leftover food guests leave on their plates.

Investing in digestion OU starts grinding foods to lessen landfill impact EMMA HAMBLEN Campus Reporter

A new technology is helping to lessen Couch Cafeteria’s impact on area landfills.

The Organic Refuse Conversion Alternative food processor is located in the cafeteria’s dish room and converts food waste into nutrient-rich water that can be deposited directly into the sewer system instead of being transported to see DIGESTER Page 2 A list of things that can and cannot be put into the food digester.

coLLege oF arcHitecture

Students team up to remodel Pauls Valley hotel Architecture pilot program works to complete restoration outside Norman CONNOR SULLIVAN Campus Reporter

The OU College of Architecture will remodel an old nearby hotel that was damaged in a 2009 fire.

The Alvis Hotel in Pauls Valley suffered fire damage in Sept. 2009.

This is a pilot program for

the college, professor Ron Frantz said.

The students, alongside Frantz, will assist in the remodeling of the hotel, which was built in the late 1800s, he said. The Alvis property is working toward being registered with the National Register of Historic

Places.

It once was rumored to be an old brothel, but that is a myth, according to the Chamber of Commerce.

Since the property will be a nationally recognized historic location, it opens the project up to tax credits and federal funding to allow the students a large amount of leeway, Frantz said.

This project will allow for the participating students

to have a professional opportunity to design outside Norman, according to the college’s website.

Frantz said he has worked with owners of the Alvis property in the past, and Larry and Jenny Wallace currently own the property.

Larry Wallace, a former construction worker, received the property with the

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noW onLine at

OUDaily.com view the live stream of anthony shadid’s funeral. oudaily.com/news

The Daily’s open record requests

occupy must shift focus to large, direct protests

Requested document and purpose

Date requested

Groups should prioritize definite action on specific issues over the physical occupation of spaces. (Page 4)

all funding applications for the 2012-2013 academic year submitted to the uosa Budget committee. — To learn more about the number of student organizations that request funding and the amount of funding requested.

Monday

LiFe & arts

a list of sciQuest’s fees for the services and applications it provides — To learn how much the university is paying for the new purchasing software.

Tuesday

contracts between ou and all those registered in 2011 as lobbyists for ou and ou Medical center — To gather more information about the terms and conditions of those contracts and the fees OU is paying to have lobbyists.

wednesday

Want to spice up your need something to do this weekend in norman? bland ramen noodles?

Spend some time at a bluegrass festival or go see “The lorax.” (Life&arts)

• Grant evert, architecture graduate student • Khoi nguyen, architecture senior • Samantha norman, interior design senior • Hunter Read, acrhitecture senior • Herve Sivuilu, architecture senior

see DESIGN Page 2

eDitoriaL VOL. 97, NO. 113

AT A GlAnCe student workers

The funeral service for Anthony Shadid, a journalist from Oklahoma City and former OU student, is Saturday.

Shadid’s m e m o rial service will be held at 2 p. m.

Saturday in antHonY Oklahoma sHaDiD City and will be streamed live by the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Shadid, 43, was a journalist working on assignment for The New York Times in Syria, according to the news organization.

He died from an apparent asthma attack in Syria.

Shadid was born in Oklahoma City and attended OU in the 1980s before graduating from the University of WisconsinMadison with bachelor’s degrees in journalism and political science, according to a press release. Shadid was scheduled to receive an Honorary Degree from OU in May, and the university plans to present one posthumously.

“The OU family is deeply saddened by the death of Anthony Shadid, one of our most outstanding former students,” OU President David Boren said in a release.

Shadid won two Pulitzer Prizes for his work. He recently was interviewed by an OU graduate about his work and upcoming book, and the article is featured in this month’s edition of “World Literature Today.”

Take your Ramen recipes to the next level using onions and veggies with advice from a Daily reporter. (Page 3)

eriKa PhilBriCK/the daily

freshman erica Brewer performs her bar routine during a meet earlier this season. The Sooners will honor their four seniors during their meet against the defending national champions, Alabama, tonight. (Page 6)

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• Friday, March 2, 2012

Campus

Laney Ellisor, campus editor Kathleen Evans, assistant campus editor Chris Miller, assistant campus editor dailynews@ou.edu • phone: 405-325-3666

TODAY ON CAMPUS The softball team plays LSU at 6 p.m. at Marita Hynes Field.

The women’s gymnastics team competes against Alabama at 7 p.m. at Lloyd Noble Center.

A presentation by the OU School of Art & Art History and the Visual Art Student Association called “A Veritable Menagerie” will take place from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art’s Lightwell Gallery.

Photo Provided

OU architecture students investigate the shell of a burnt-out hotel in Pauls Valley. The group will help create plans to restore the building, such as reopening it with restaurants, shops or a music club.

Design: New plans to include club, retail stores Continued from page 1

SATURDAY, MARCH 3 The women’s tennis team plays Oklahoma State at noon at the Headington Family Tennis Center.

The men’s basketball team plays Texas A&M at 3 p.m. at Lloyd Noble Center.

A performance of various songs from Disney films by the OU School of Musical Theatre will take place from 5 to 6 p.m. in the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art’s Sandy Bell Gallery.

A lecture about Walt Disney and his innovations in animation will be given by Walt Disney Family Museum executive director Dr. Richard Benefield from 6 to 7 p.m. in the Mary Eddy and Fred Jones Auditorium.

Mozart’s “Don Giovanni,” performed by the OU Opera Theatre, will take place at 8 p.m. in the Reynolds Performing Arts Center.

SUNDAY, MARCH 4 The softball team plays Iowa at 11 a.m. at Marita Hynes Field.

The men’s tennis team plays Arizona at noon at the Headington Family Tennis Center.

An opportunity to have transcripts reviewed by representatives from OU’s seven colleges will take place from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

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 about graduation rates in Thursday’s edition, OU’s graduation rate was misreported. The number reported — 67.8 percent — represents the six-year sampling of students and is not representative of the 2005 students.

requirement on the contract that he refurbish the building, he said.

Currently the location still is showing severe fire damage, but Frantz and his students are looking to change that. The class has 17 students, and five were selected on work on the remodelling.

“It is a great mix of students in different disciplines and from different places,” Frantz said.

All students in the class have visited the site to give input to the designers. They took their first trip about two weeks ago to begin developing ideas.

The design team is looking to reopen the old site with possible restaurants, shops or a community

Continued from page 1 The staff will have a similar session 3 to 3:50 p.m.

Monday in the Union’s Traditions Room. The faculty can share their views 3 to 3:50 p.m. Tuesday in the Sandy Bell Gallery in the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art. OU has performed a selfstudy for the past year and a half to meet the criteria and requirements of the commission’s evaluation, Scaperlanda said. He finalized the draft in early January based on reports from five

interested in being a part of the design process, and they are showing interest in adding a music club, retail stores, apartments, a

9

committees and feedback from the public.

The evaluation is important because it serves as a check on OU to performs its duties, Scaperlanda said.

“Through our association with other universities in the [commission], we ask them to check on us to make sure that we are doing what we are supposed to be doing as a place of higher learning,” he said.

It also gives OU the chances to learn and improve from these universities.

“In turn, we check on them,” he said. “We also learn from each other, and

“Through our association with other universities in the [commission], we ask them to check on us to make sure that we are doing what we are supposed to be doing as a place of higher learning.”

Michael Scaperlanda, law professor

thereby advance as institutions. For example, students in unaccredited schools are ineligible for guaranteed student loans, and credits from unaccredited schools don’t transfer.”

The commission is an independent institution, according to its

website. However, the U.S. Department of Education recognizes it.

OU has been accredited by the commission since 1913, which it was first formed, according to the OU website.

The commission accredits more than 1,000 colleges and universities in 19 states.

Digester: Bacteria aid break down Continued from page 1

crisis line

325-6963 (NYNE)

OU Number Nyne Crisis Line

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except OU holidays and breaks

Located off HWY 9 and Chautauqua 405.329.GOGA Monday Thursday 8-8pm Friday 8-6pm Saturday 10-4pm

garden, Frantz said. The students also are looking at adding a third floor to the site.

The Wallaces are

Education: Process happens every 10 years

help is just a phone call away

number

Photo Provided

A photo of Pauls Valley’s Alvis Hotel in 2004, before it was damaged by a 2009 fire. A group of students from OU’s College of Architecture will partner with a local organization to restore the building.

bowling alley and possibly a museum to the floor plan as well, Larry said.

Should the music club be added, it will be the first club of its kind in Pauls Valley, he said.

The designers also will work with Samantha Robb, director of Main Street Pauls Valley, a non-profit organization in the Pauls Valley, Frantz said. Robb will assist to make sure the designs of the property most benefit the town.

Frantz said he wants to have all final recommendations for the property submitted by May, just in time for the end of the semester.

“We are looking forward to working with the Wallaces to create something nice out of the old hotel,” Frantz said.

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landfills.

The processor, which was installed during the fall semester, works specifically with food that is scraped off plates and into trash cans, OU Director of Board Operations Frank Henry said.

Once the processor is in use, an auger churns the waste while enzyme-rich water breaks down the food, Henry said.

Before a new machine is used, it must be filled with water, inoculated and allowed to sit for a number of days, Director of Housing and Food Services David Annis said.

Black pellets within the machine house bacteria, which breaks down the food and converts the waste into gray water, Annis said. Once the process is complete, the water is safe to deposit in the sewer system.

The processor uses an “eco-friendly ... biological process to digest organic food waste,” converting it into gray water within 24 hours,

Partially digested food churns inside the food digestor. The machine is an economical way to elimiate food waste, H&F spokeswoman Lauren Royston said.

Kingsley Burns/The Daily

according to the website of Totally Green, the company that produces the machines.

“You won’t see anything like this in public schools yet,” Henry said. “This is pretty much cutting-edge technology.”

Couch Cafeteria’s processor is one of 50 such machines that have been installed in federal buildings across the country, but OU is the only university in Oklahoma that currently has one, Annis said.

As of now, there are no plans to install additional machines on campus, although Housing and Food has looked at machines that are similar but convert food

waste into mulch instead of gray water, Henry said.

“It’s the first step in what we see as an environmental movement within Housing and Food Services,” Henry said.

Students throwing away their own food present challenges as to how similar machines would work in the Oklahoma Memorial Union and other restaurants across campus, Annis said.

However, Housing and Food is in the process of finding solutions in order to present students with the option of contributing to more environmentally conscious practices while on campus, Annis said.

Friday, March 2, 2012 •

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OUDaily.com ››

LIFE&ARTS

A classic children’s story comes to theaters, and the bluegrass festival comes to town. Find out what you should be doing this weekend.

Lindsey Ruta, life & arts editor Mariah Webb, assistant life & arts editor dailyent@ou.edu • phone: 405-325-3666

COOKING WITH COCO

Ramen doesn’t have to be bland LIFE&ARTS COLUMNIST

Coco Courtois PHOTOS BY COCO COURTOIS/THE DAILY

oudaily.co.co@gmail.com

W

e all have had ramen. It’s cheap, easy to cook and tastes OK... sort of. But after a while, a meal of watery, tasteless noodles and powdered seasoning might bore you. It bored me.

The good news is, it doesn’t have to bore you.

Those noodles can be used for so much more.

With a few vegetables, ramen can turn into a delicious, homemade Chinese noodle dish that will make you question the dishes you eat in your local Asian restaurants.

To revamp your ramen into a fresh dish for two, here’s what you need: • A pack of instant noodles per person • An onion • A green bell pepper • Salt and pepper Now, here’s what you do with those ingredients: Bring a pot of water to a boil and drop in your noodles for 2-3 minutes.

Once the noodles are tender, remove them and drain.

Chop up your onion and brown it in a frying pan with butter or oil. I recommend sesame oil. You don’t want to turn the heat on too high when you start to brown the onions. Browning should be a slower process so the onions have time to sweat and increase their flavor. Make

1 2

Left: The final product of the recipe. One skillet makes enough to serve two people, Coco said. For a little bit of variation, he recommends adding some type of meat or a little curry powder for a spicy flair.

Below: Browning the onions and bell peppers is an important part of the recipe, Coco said. You don’t want to brown the vegetables at too high a temperature because they will cook too quickly and not be as flavorful.

AT A GLANCE Cost breakdown Two instant noodles: 40 cents One onion: 42 cents One green pepper: 52 cents Total: $1.34 for meal a for two Compiled by Coco Cortois

sure you’re browning for a few minutes.

Once the onions start to color, chop up the green pepper and add it to the pan.

When they begin to get caramelized, add the powdered seasoning that comes with the noodles

3 4

— beef or pork flavors work well for this recipe — and salt and pepper to your taste.

Now you can add the noodles into the frying pan, give it a good stir, and let the noodles simmer at a low heat for 10-15 minutes. You even can add some soy sauce if you have any on hand. The noodles will soak up the sauce and seasoning while they simmer, giving them a stronger flavor Now you’re done. Take out your chopsticks — give it a try, even if you aren’t that skilled — and enjoy your own version of Chinese noodles.

After you’ve mastered that, you can change it up a bit and try different takes on this recipe.

Throw in some chicken

5

or pork flavored seasoning or exchange the green bell pepper for a red or yellow pepper. Do you like your dishes with a little spice? Try adding some curry to give your noodles that extra kick.

This is just one example of the many ways you can shake up your typical noodle meals without breaking the bank. Pasta is a college student staple, but it doesn’t have to be bland.

Another cheap and easy meal can be made with pasta. It’s useful to cook a bunch at the beginning of the week and keep it in a plastic storage container.

When you get hungry, throw it in a skillet with a few slices of bacon. The bacon grease will revive the cold pasta and add some flavor.

After that, you can pour

a sauce of your choice over the pasta and bacon. Then you can add some meat — I recommend ground beef or sausage for the flavor, and they can be bought frozen in bulk. If meat isn’t in the budget, add a shredded cheese of your choice and turn the heat down to low. Let it simmer for 10-20 minutes. Like the previous recipe, this will allow the pasta to soak up the flavors.

Whether you change it

up and branch out to other pastas or stick to the basics, the important thing to remember is this recipe makes an affordable and delicious meal from an average package of instant noodles. It’s perfect for a student budget and more importantly it’s delicious.

Coco Courtois is a French exchange graduate student studying journalism.

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Reader comment on OUDaily.com ››

• Friday, March 2, 2012

“There are plenty of things about Americans Elect not mentioned that should make one skeptical of it. Like the fact that it doesn’t disclose who donates money. And how is Americans Elect taking away emphasis from the “two” party system if all of the leading candidates in the drafting process are either Republicans or Democrats? (oustudent55, RE: ‘EDITORIAL: Americans Elect creates opportunity to improve political process’)

Opinion

Mary Stanfield, opinion editor dailyopinion@ou.edu • phone: 405-325-3666

Editorial

Occupy must make focus clear Our View: Occupy must adapt to stay relevant and over permits and regulations — legitimate or not be more effective.

— made it seem like the movement wanted special treatment.

Winter has waged quite the war on Occupy enThe tactic of occupation clearly had its time and campments across the country — almost as violent- place. It made the movement, in a sense. But it’s ly as the one waged by police forces. Between winter time for Occupy to move beyond the public parks weather and heavy police crackdowns, many of the and focus on specific issues they actually can affect.

Occupy encampments have disbanded or Several occupations have held events in dwindled. the last few weeks aimed at specific targets The Our View But that doesn’t mean the movement is that would help further the overall aims is the majority opinion of over. of equality and justice for the 99 percent.

The Daily’s In fact, you’ll probably be hearing a lot Occupy Norman chose corporate prisons, nine-member more from them as the weather improves.

Occupy Portland focused on soaring tuition editorial board The Occupy Wall Street group told The in higher education and several Occupy New York Times the key to the occupations’ groups now are shifting their concentraspring resurgence is a shifted focus. That group will tions to the NATO and G8 summits in May. begin to turn away from the occupation of spaces Now, this certainly is not the first time occupaand concentrate instead on large-scale events, and tions have used such events. Events like those have it hinted that other Occupy groups would follow been a significant part of Occupy’s strategy from suit. the beginning. But they have not been the primary Occupy Oklahoma City and Occupy Norman focus, at least not for every occupation. certainly seem alive and well, with active Internet These events have the potential to create real presences and upcoming events. We hope this change on specific issues. They also sparked new means these local Occupy groups are following the attention for Occupy at a time when the movement national trend away from physical occupations and is in danger of obsolescence or creeping obscurity. toward larger protests that will capture more atten- And they side-stepped the complaints of disorgation — and support. nization and vagueness that opponents have long Arguably, it was the physical occupation of pubharped on. lic spaces that first earned the Occupy movement Because it is a citizen-organized movement to its media coverage, loyalty and notoriety. It set the bring attention to issues of inequality and get the movement apart from protest movements that general populace engaged in important social iscame before in its widespread application of the oc- sues, we’re rooting for Occupy. We’re rooting for cupation concept. them to awaken, inform and engage the citizens of It was clear occupiers were there to stay. And the this country in this crucial time. constant visual reminder of their presence in major But, occupiers, it’s time to come out of the tents cities kept their talking points — or, at least, their and make your presence known. It’s time to fight existence — on the front page (once media outlets specific battles so no one can claim not to know finally picked up the story in large numbers, that is). what you stand for. It’s time to cash in on the name But that occupation tactic also has been the you have made for yourself by using a definite, loud source of some major criticisms of the movement. presence to attack the fundamental problems leadIt certainly gave the impression of inactivity at ing to the inequality you seek to end. times; we often questioned what could be accomComment on this at OUDaily.com plished by sleeping in a public park. And conflicts

We published an editorial, “Minority diversity vital for higher education in U.S.,” Wednesday arguing that affirmative action policies are good for universities, even though it seemed OU’s policy had not had an effect on rates of racial minority students.

After NewsOK.com reported Thursday that no universities in Oklahoma have affirmative action policies, we verified that OU does not have an affirmative action policy in regard to admissions decisions. It does have an affirmative action hiring policy, administered by the Equal Opportunity Office.

In light of this new information, we stand behind our initial argument that affirmative action policies are good for universities and would be good for OU. In the same way that Texas saw a dramatic increase in the number of racial minority students after implementing its policy, an affirmative action policy would help increase diversity at OU.

Column

Electives can expand interests, enhance degree

I

There also are those people who feel completely relieved when natural disasters fall beyond the U.S. borders despite how many foreigners died. For the same reason, they can’t be bothered by a few hundred people, who don’t speak English, dying in a fire when there are award-winning singers who are dead.

Place of birth and whether or not someone gets caught seem kind of arbitrary as factors to determine whether or not to care about their death.

It becomes clear upon further inspection that if you support the continued criminalization of drugs and feel particularly sorry for Houston’s death, you need to pick one of those judgments and drop the other. Because you support putting millions of people just like her in danger of being murdered.

Gov. Chris Christie ordered all New Jersey flags to fly at half-staff in honor of Houston. Perhaps he should keep them there indefinitely. They could symbolize every person he’s helped die early by putting them in violent prisons for the same drugs Houston did, or by empowering gangs through making people operate outside the law to buy those same drugs.

He probably won’t, though. Most of those who care about Houston’s death but not about the 358 Honduran prisoners won’t change their evaluations of the events.

That’s because Christie probably doesn’t even see the possibility that he’s acting inconsistently. The death of a major celebrity from his state is very visible to him.

The incarceration of other drug abusers and the gang violence in poor neighborhoods caused by his enforcement of the war on drugs, by contrast, is completely invisible to him.

The death of an award-winning musician is pretty visible to everyone. Tragedies suffered by victims who are not only foreign, but also prisoners, are invisible.

Also invisible are the illogical reasons for that calloused indifference.

Therein lies the biggest tragedy of all. People refuse to do even the slightest bit of thought to put their reactions to current events in any kind of larger context.

In turn, the worst tragedies keep happening, or at least continue to be made possible by the inaction that comes from ignorance.

It’s up to you to break that cycle. Be on constant watch for any unconscious biases you might hold that make you dehumanize others.

Don’t let yourself trivialize anyone else’s death just because they broke the law. Seek out the unseen impacts of those laws. Above all, stay consistent.

Jason Byas is a philosophy junior.

Paige Willet is a broadcast and electronic media senior.

Don’t trivialize someone’s death

W

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.

read an article a Opinion columnist few years ago, soon after I began college, about the supposed death of the liberal arts degree.

Traditionally, “liberal arts” means that you have taken a wide variety of courses and are wellPaige Willett rounded in a number of paigewillett@ou.edu different areas. This may sound like a “jack-of-alltrades, master-of-none” degree, but the author of the article asserted that people should be “well-rounded” individuals of the liberal arts and the disappearance of the degree is a shame.

Being the arrogant freshman I was, I thought it was nonsense. It is right to point out that in today’s society and economy most students see getting a specified degree as the most sensible option.

You may spend hours, months, years agonizing over which degree plan to pick or which field is right for you. I was lucky. I picked one major before I began college and have managed to stick with it.

However, I have now changed my mind about the article. I think there is a way to keep aspects of the liberal arts degree through electives, and I see the value in knowing a wide variety of AT A GLANCE subject matter.

Suggested I had a rewarding expecourses rience last semester when I took a class on Western • African and African perceptions of Africans American Studies: Africa and Africa as an elective. and the Diaspora, a 2000It brought up differences level course. between America and the • Women and Gender multitude of African culStudies: Gender tures I had never considand Interpersonal ered before.

Communications, a 3000I enjoyed the class and level course.

• Modern Language, immediately followed it Literature, and Linguistics: up with a course on huJapan through Film and manitarianism in Africa Literature, a 3000-level to supplement my knowlcourse. edge. After these classes, I • Religious Studies: think I am a more globally Introduction to Religious minded individual, able Studies, a 1000-level to use the critical thinkcourse. ing skills I learned across • Philosophy: Introduction courses. to Ethics in Health Care, a 1000-level course.

With enrollment quickly approaching, I encourage everyone to take courses out of the ordinary. With a multitude of choices, it’s tempting to pick the easy way out and take classes filled with easy, familiar subject matter.

Challenge yourself by engaging with a subject you never have before. You could find a new interest, forge a new hobby or unexpectedly start a minor. Knowing several subject areas can only serve to make your major stronger.

Studying different cultures also can change the way you look at the world. In a time of hyper-globalization, employers are looking for culturally conscience and sensitive individuals.

College is a time to expand your horizons. Use the electives to your advantage to add a unique twist to your professional portfolio or to combine areas of study not traditionally seen side by side. The results can be surprising.

Column

hen Whitney Opinion Columnist Houston dies, it’s a tragedy.

When 358 Honduran prisoners are burned alive because the guards can’t find the cell keys and firemen aren’t allowed in, it’s a statistic.

Jason Byas That much was noted last jason.l.byas-1@ou.edu week at the end of Kayley Gillespie’s column about the many disturbing things that obsession over celebrity deaths says about our culture. Her point was well-noted, and I’d like to take the time to consider one of the more chilling aspects of that difference in public reaction.

Everyone by now is aware that Houston battled with a crippling drug addiction. Does anyone lament the fact that she was never thrown in prison for possession or use?

No, when people talk about the need to wage a war on drugs and link incarcerating non-violent offenders to principles of justice, there seem to be some unspoken exceptions.

No one gets upset that some sense of justice was lost by none of the last three presidents having ever gone to prison for their admitted past drug use.

Many of those same people’s — including, of course, the presidents themselves — attitudes abruptly change when the question is moved from those with privilege and wealth to faceless, nameless addicts.

Considering the prevalence of non-violent drug offenders imprisoned around the world, all that really kept Houston from roasting alive while guards refused to let firemen help her — and getting very little American press coverage when it’s all over — was location of birth, wealth and not being caught.

Yes, it’s very sad she suffered from drug addiction, despite multiple freely-chosen attempts at rehabilitation. But that was beyond a luxury for those who have been thrown into violence-infested cages for those same health problems, let alone those 358 Hondurans.

Part of the reason people cared more about Houston’s death than those Honduran prisoners was that many people don’t see the Honduran prisoners as human beings.

For example, many are largely indifferent to prison rape under the judgment that victims somehow “deserve it” for having broken the law.

In the same way, there are those who nonchalantly say they can’t feel that sorry for criminals, and implicitly view breaking the commandments of government as a sin worthy of joining hundreds of other cursed souls in an earthly lake of fire.

Corrections

The Oklahoma Daily is a public forum, the University of Oklahoma’s independent student voice and an entirely student-run publication.

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160 Copeland Hall, 860 Van Vleet Oval Norman, OK 73019-2052

phone:

405-325-3666

Opinion Editor Visual Editor Photo Chief Online Editor Copy Chief Advertising Manager

email:

dailynews@ou.edu

Letters should concentrate on issues, not personalities, and must be fewer than 250 words, typed and signed by the author(s). Letters will be edited for accuracy, space and style.

Students must list their major and classification.

To submit letters, email dailyopinion@ou.edu.

Our View is the voice of the Editorial Board, which consists of nine student editors. The board meets at 5 p.m. Sunday to Thursday in 160 Copeland Hall. Board meetings are open to the public.

Guest columns are accepted and printed at the editor’s discretion.

Columnists’ and cartoonists’ opinions are their own and not necessarily the views or opinions of The Oklahoma Daily Editorial Board.

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One free copy of The Daily is available to members of the OU community. Additional copies may be purchased for 25 cents by contacting The Daily business office at 405-325-2522.

Friday, March 2, 2012 •

Classifieds Oklahoma Jim Rogers For President

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Make extra summer $$! SOONER BLOOMERS, seasonal retail garden center, now hiring for spring season, April, May & June. Full & Part time positions, call Debbie at 405-476-2977 for interview.

SUMMER EMPLOYMENT! Fun Valley Family Resort, South Fork, Colorado needs students for all type jobs: kitchen, dining room, housekeeping, stores, maintenance, office, horse wrangler. Room/board, salary, bonus. For information and application write to Student Personnel Director, 6315 Westover Drive, Granbury, TX 76049 DEL RANCHO IN NORMAN is hiring additional dependable, smiling faces! We need cooks and carhops! Apply in person at 2300 W Lindsey!

Westside, 3003 River Oaks Dr, #159, 2/2.5/2, 1330 sq ft, $122.5K. 642-9154, zillow.com

Being

NUMBER ONE is nothing to celebrate.

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Sign TODAY for MAY! Brick houses 2-5 bl W of OU. Wd fl, CH/A, Ref, Range, W/D. 3bd: $990 to $1500 2bd: $660 to $900 1bd: $500 to $550 Call Bob (Mr Robert Furniture) 321-1818

But new treatments offer hope.

Join Lung Cancer Alliance in the fight against this disease.

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Mental Illness – What a difference a friend makes.

Spring Specials

HOROSCOPE

By Bernice Bede Osol

Copyright 2012, Newspaper Enterprise Assn.

FRIDAY, MARCH 2, 2012 It behooves you to do everything in your power to increase the number of your business contacts in the coming months. The friends you make through your workaday activities are likely to turn out to be of enormous help to you.

$445 $515 $440 $510 $700

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) --Your chart indicates an inclination to overindulge to your detriment if you’re not careful. Go ahead and have fun, but try to keep moderation in mind at all times.

Previous Solution

Monday- Very Easy Tuesday-Easy Wednesday- Easy Thursday- Medium Friday - Hard

Instructions: Fill in the grid so that every row, every column and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9. That means that no number is repeated in any row, column or box.

favor. If you wait too long for verifiable information, the tides may shift against you before you know it.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) -- Avoid getting involved with friends who only have commercial matters on their mind. If you begin to deal with them, you could come out on the short end of the stick.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) --If you feel the luck of your companions is superior to your own and you have an opportunity to ride their coattails, latch on with everything you’ve got.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) -- Personal gains are likely to come about in a sporadic fashion. Thus, you may have to act at the exact moment they hit, because in the next second your chance could vanish.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) --Whenever someone whose judgment you trust regarding social matters offers you advice, don’t be insulted and let it go in one ear and out the other.

You could benefit greatly from it.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) -- You catch on to things pretty quickly and, as such, you’ll have the ability to employ the good ideas of others to your own ends. Use this gift wisely.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) --Don’t rock the boat in a joint endeavor if your counterpart already has the situation well under control.

Your input could be disruptive instead of constructive.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) -- Watch out, because material conditions are likely to fluctuate for you. You can be fortunate one minute, but unless you immediately take advantage of it, you’ll lose out when things take a turn for the worse.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) --Provided you don’t let negative companions convince you otherwise, something that you’ve longed for can be achieved as you envision.

Stay positive at all times.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) -- Follow your instincts when events are telling you that trends are running in your

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) -- Be supportive when your mate is making a presentation to others. If you disagree with any of what she or he says, discuss it privately and let your spouse make the corrections if needed.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) -- You could be fortunate in developments that require you to subordinate your interests on behalf of others. You’re smart enough to know that thinking solely of yourself can produce paltry benefits.

Universal Crossword Edited by Timothy E. Parker March 2, 2012 ACROSS 1 Give away the ending 6 Ready for the operating room, briefly 10 Centers of activity 14 Feet in some meters 15 Hold in abomination 16 An egg in Caesar’s salad 17 Cranium’s contents 18 “___ Country�

(Churchill novel) 19 “... ___, whatever will be ...� (Doris Day lyric) 20 Beachfront building?

22 “What’s your sine?� subj.

23 Be a borrower 24 “Ditto!�

25 Bull’s-eye, for one 29 Bug-repelling wood 32 “___ Melancholy� (Keats) 33 Rookie 37 Banquet posting 38 Dainty table decoration 39 Popular cookie 40 Stardom?

42 Ringmaster 43 Wall Street transaction 44 Acts stealthily 45 Machine shop tool 48 ___ du Flambeau,

3/2

Wisc.

49 Collection of miscellaneous pieces 50 Place to stay in central London 57 Deported Pakistani in a “Seinfeld� episode 58 “In ___ of flowers ...�

59 Friendless 60 “My Cup Runneth Over� singer Ed 61 Entrance for a collier 62 Computer geeks 63 By ___ (from memory) 64 Beige and ecru 65 “To your health!� is one DOWN 1 A boy and his sis 2 “Legal� opener 3 “Toe� of the Arabian Peninsula 4 “Bartlett’s� abbr.

5 Coin portrait since 1909 6 “Terrible Twos,� for one 7 Balsa boat 8 “Along with all the rest� abbr.

9 Parisian pop 10 Place for Hollywood’s Jodie?

11 Above-board

12 Knickknack shelf item 13 Grown-up bug 21 Astonishment 24 Creation on the sixth day 25 Hospitalized patient’s state, perhaps 26 “Beware the ___ of March!�

27 Lease 28 Place of many trials 29 Breaking and entering, e.g.

30 Challenging to corner 31 “L.A. Law� star Susan 33 Wellmannered 34 Predatory dolphin 35 Cause a stench 36 “Nay� and “uh-uh�

38 A type of

evidence 41 A lode off one’s mine?

42 Cast a spell over 44 Utter 45 Type of pneumonia 46 1836 Texas siege site 47 Dalai Lama’s country 48 Clumsy oafs 50 Bed-frame crosspiece 51 1871 Verdi opera 52 Blood carrier 53 Another word for margarine 54 One-third of a WWII film title 55 Airs the final episode of 56 “___ we forget�

PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER

3/1

Š 2012 Universal Uclick www.upuzzles.com

LIVE WELL By Ruby Deswit

6

• Friday, March 2, 2012

OUDaily.com ››

SPORTS More online at

The OU women’s gymnastics team will host defending national champion Alabama and will honor its seniors tonight at Lloyd Noble Center.

Greg Fewell, sports editor Kedric Kitchens, assistant sports editor dailysports@ou.edu • phone: 405-325-3666

| GYMNASTICS: Top-ranked Sooners host defending champ No. 4 Stanford on Saturday | TENNIS: Men host Arizona Wildcats at noon Sunday

WOMEN’S GYMNASTICS

WOMEN’S GYMNASTICS

Top-ranked gymnast Focused senior brings out leads team by example best in teammates, herself Team remains confident, calm with Stone’s spirit

Megan Ferguson hopes to leave OU with no regrets

JAMES CORLEY Night Editor

JAMES CORLEY Night Editor

Megan Ferguson has a nickname her teammates and coaches like to call her: “Momma Bear.”

The senior said the nickname started because, even since her freshman year, she likes to look out for her teammates on the women’s gymnastics team and always has their best interests at heart.

And Ferguson said the n i ck na m e i s s o m e w hat fitting.

“I kind of feel like a mom,” she said. “I want to see them doing their best. I just want to make sure that everyone is happy. I want to see everyone succeed.”

Ferguson’s roommate, junior Kayla Nowak, knows her better than most people on the team, and Nowak said Ferguson definitely is like a mom to the team.

“A lot of people turn to her with problems and stuff,” Nowak said. “She always knows what to do if something was ever going on.

She’s always there looking out for us.”

Coach K.J. Kindler said Ferguson is very nurturing but also directive.

If Ferguson sees the team needs to shift focus or go in a different direction, she steps up and says so, even if she’s one of the gymnasts who need to make a change, Kindler said.

Ferguson’s virtues are those of a good leader — not a leader who rules with an iron fist but one who genuinely wants what’s best and isn’t afraid to say so.

And her direction is valuable not only because she knows what to do but also because she’s done it before.

Ferguson is ranked No. 1 on beam, No. 2 on floor and

MELODIE LETTKEMAN/THE DAILY

Senior gymnast Megan Ferguson poses in front of the Sam Viersen Gymnastics Center. Ferguson said she wants to be able to say she did all she could to be the best she can be before leaving gymnastics.

Sooner seniors

already has.

“I don’t think she could ever walk away thinking that there was one little thing she didn’t do the best she can do,” Kindler said. “Not very many people can do that. I don’t know that Megan will have many regrets.”

Junior Brie Olson said Ferguson’s qualities make her a great leader by example because she is able to demonstrate to her teammates through her gymnastics what they should be striving to be.

And they are.

“In everything she does, she’s trying so hard to make everything how she wants it,” freshman Erica Brewer said. “You just want to say, ‘I want to do that, too,’ so you make every turn count because she shows us how to do it.”

Candace Cindell: The Spark Tasha Kelley: The Inspiration Sara Stone: The Role Model Megan Ferguson: The Leader

No. 3 on bars in the country, and she got there by relentlessly giving everything she has to bettering herself and her gymnastics.

She said her goal, as she walks out of the door at the end of this season, is to have left nothing behind.

“When I step out of here, I don’t want to say I could have done more, I could have done better,” she said.

Because of Ferguson’s unyielding dedication to taking every natural talent she possesses, examining it and honing it while she’s here, Kindler said Ferguson won’t have to worry about achieving that goal because she

OU gymnast Sara Stone can be just as loud as she can be quiet.

Outside the gym, the senior’s teammates say she is positive and happy.

“Sara is the biggest goofball ever,” junior Kayla Nowak said. “She’s always cracking jokes and saying goofy things.”

Stone’s lighthearted spirit is something that defines her, said Kristin Smith, former Sooner gymnast and current graduate assistant with the team.

They were teammates Smith’s last two years in college, and they’ve developed a strong friendship in the four years Stone has been at OU, Smith said.

“She has the best personality of anyone,” Smith said. “She’s always in a good mood; she’s always smiling; she’s always laughing. She’s a lot of fun to be around.”

Stone’s happiness comes from her confidence in herself, Smith said.

“She’s very confident in herself — not just her gymnastics but as a person,” Smith said.

Stone carries her upbeat attitude with her into practice, where freshman Erica Brewer said Stone radiates positivity that is contagious, especially when gymnasts are a little down.

MELODIE LETTKEMAN/THE DAILY

Senior gymnast Sara Stone poses for a photo Thursday. Stone said she takes a big breath before each time she competes to maintain a sense of calm that allows her to be her best.

Sooner seniors

Candace Cindell: The Spark Tasha Kelley: The Inspiration Sara Stone: The Role Model Megan Ferguson: The Leader

But Stone had to grow into what she is today. When she first arrived on campus, she was very quiet and had to step out of her comfort zone a little bit each year, coach K.J. Kindler said.

Stone said she wasn’t quite prepared for what college would be like as a freshman.

“I was just really overwhelmed and didn’t really know what to expect,” she said. “Then after my first year, I just learned that being focused works for me.”

Since then, Stone perfected her focus for gymnastics, and it evolved into a calmness that speaks volumes to her teammates even though she isn’t saying anything, senior Megan Ferguson said.

“You’ll never see her nervous; even if she is, she’ll

never show it,” Ferguson said.

“That helps a lot of the girls, I think, because they can look at her when we’re in a tough situation, and she’s a rock.

“Our team wouldn’t be what it is without Sara.”

Stone said the important thing is to remember to breathe. She takes a huge breath before each routine to release everything, and she said she’s good to go.

Gymnastics requires athletes to be calm or nervousness takes over. Stone gives everyone the illusion she’s calm even if she’s not, which gives the rest of the team confidence, Kindler said.

“I think she brings out the best in everybody, not just herself,” Smith said.

Stone’s clear head and good decision-making makes her a prime example of leadership, Kindler said.

“She’s definitely someone [the gymnasts] look to and look up to and strive to be like,” Kindler said.

Agnes M. and Herbert True Family Lecture

QUOTE BOARD OU women’s gymnastics’ Megan Ferguson “I kind of choose to kind of limit myself to being a gymnast and a student right now because I don’t want to waste what energy I have on other things. I’m kind of saving myself to do my best.

I don’t want outside things getting in the way of that.”

Megan Ferguson, senior gymnast

“Megan is a little energizer bunny. … You put her out on a routine and you know she’s going to do the best that she’s ever done before. She’s probably one of the biggest competitors that I’ve ever met.

I think that’s something really valuable.”

Natasha Kelley, senior gymnast

“She is an amazing gymnast and person. She is very consistent — you know that when she goes, she’s going to hit almost a perfect routine.”

Sara Stone, senior gymnast

“She’s a little spunky personality, a burst of energy that’s always there and present in the gym. … It’s good to know you have one person you can go to if you need to talk about

anything who wouldn’t judge you and would be there to support you. That’s Megan.”

Kayla Nowak, junior gymnast

“Megan is a very generous person and a very grateful person — two words that you wouldn’t always associate with someone who’s 22 years old. She gives of her time, her opinions, her motivation freely. … She’s just that kind of kid — she squeezes every last ounce of juice out of the orange.”

K.J. Kindler, OU coach

www.stridesofmarch.com

Presented by

We’re hosting our 1st Annual Strides of March Half Marathon, Dogwood Dash 5K and Children’s Puppy Dash!

All proceeds will benefit our substance abuse recovery programs.

Join us in promoting wellness and recovery within our community because healthy families stay together.

Date: Sunday, March 18, 2012 Time: 8:00 am at Lake Stanley Draper 8301 S.E. 104th St., Oklahoma City, OK 73165 Email: questions@stridesofmarch.com Register to race at: www.signmeup.com/79778 OKC Metro Alliance, Inc. is a not for profit, 501(c)3 company.

The Recovered Image: The Faith and Reason of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien and the Inklings

Dr. Zaleski, with her husband Philip Zaleski, has just completed an intellectual biography of the Inklings, a literary group at Oxford University in the 1930s to the 1950s. C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien were members of the Inklings. She will talk about the influence of faith and reason upon their literary work and their world view.

Presented by Dr. Carol Zaleski Dr. Zaleski has been a professor of World Religions at Smith College since 1989. She has a Ph.D in the Study of Religion from Harvard University and has published several books on the topic of religion.

March 7 7:30pm Bell Courtroom at the OU School of Law There will be free parking directly south of the main (fountain) entrance to the OU Law School

SPORTS

Friday, March 2, 2012 •

7

8

Sports

• Friday, March 2, 2012

Softball

Sooners prepare for four-game weekend

Right: An OU student tries, without much success, to get the empty OU student section involved at an Oklahoma men’s basketball game earlier this season at Lloyd Noble Center.

Low attendance is typical for early season games against lesser opponents. However, OU has struggled to bring in fans even for big games.

Photos by Astrud Reed/The Daily

OU to take on LSU, Iowa after coming home victorious against North Texas

The university has tried big discounts, prizes and free admission, but ...

Tobi Neidy

Where are the students?

Sports Reporter

By R J Yo u n g • S p o r t s Re p o r t e r ben williams/the daily

Freshman Sharane Campbell shoots a free throw in a sparsely populated Lloyd Noble Center. Though the women’s basketball team has been competitive nationally during coach Sherri Coale’s tenure, the team ranked fifth in the Big 12 conference in average attendance last season.

ATTENDANCE: Students ‘lifeblood’ of OU athletics Continued from page 7 they don’t come to see women’s games.�

Over the last 10 years, Dowdell says, the women have been every bit as competitive as the men — if not more so. “I’d like to see it filled up,� she says.

So would Charlie Taylor.

***

astrud reed/the daily

Available seats have been abundant for OU basketball games this year, and the athletic department has tried, unsuccessfully, to bring in fans with several discounts and promotions this year.

C

atie Brothers sits with her legs crossed as she watches the Oklahoma women’s basketball team contest Iowa State in early January. Her arms are straightened, and her hands are interlocked across her right kneecap.

Brothers claps as junior forward Joanna McFarland scores the Sooners’13th and 14th points with an easy layup midway through the first half. They’re down by four against the Cyclones at home. “She was wide open,� Brothers says.

She says she’s at the game in part because most of her friends aren’t in Norman — and the game is free — but she’s also an avid sports fan.

It’s a big night for the Sooners.

It’s the start of Big 12 women’s basketball.

Brothers is located in the designated student section. The seats around her are haphazardly filled with few behinds belonging to the life blood of the university — its students.

She says she doesn’t think a lot of students are at the game because

they are away from campus during the break. It also might hurt that the game is in the middle of the week, too, she says.

Then she takes on the expression of a pensive philosopher and says, “But we are starting Big 12.�

At this point in the season, 15 men’s and women’s basketball games have been played by the Sooners in Lloyd Noble Center, but Brothers says she never has seen the student section filled to its capacity. “Never full,� she says. “It’s kind of

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sad. I wish it was full.�

And for the life of her, she can’t understand why but doesn’t fault the OU athletic department. “I feel like they give away free stuff,�

Brothers says. “I mean, when they give away free stuff when you walk in — like right away, free stuff — more people come to those. People get that stuff and leave. “I think we’re a football school, and that’s just people’s main focus.�

One section north of Catie Brothers sits Linda Dowdell. The graying older woman is dressed in blue jeans and a weathered crimson Oklahoma Sooners sweater.

Dowdell says she’s been a season ticket holder since 1998, but she couldn’t summon a memory in which the student section was filled for a women’s basketball game. She says she doesn’t know what it would take to fill the student section but, like Brothers, doesn’t blame the university for the students’ poor attendance. “I think they promote it well,�

Dowdell says. “I just don’t know why see attendance page 8

Two days after the Sooners dropped Iowa State, 80-51, Charlie Taylor sits behind his desk in his office. Taylor is Oklahoma’s assistant athletic director of marketing and he has taken a break from figuring out how to sell the last tickets for the weekend’s highly anticipated matchup between Oklahoma’s men’s basketball team and Kansas.

As the director of marketing for the Los Angeles Avengers from 2001 to 2004, Taylor increased ticket sales 75 percent and in-game attendance by 34 percent. He landed a job in the Arena Football League’s office as director of partnership services in August 2004 and spent four years there before OU hired him to his current position in the athletic department.

Taylor said because he and department officials believe Oklahoma’s student body is the lifeblood charlie of its athletic taylor program, they launched the Sooner Nation program in fall 2007 to entice OU students with opportunities for prizes in exchange for attending more home sporting events.

In addition to the program, student tickets for some OU athletic events, such as women’s basketball games, are free. For men’s basketball games, student season tickets were cheapened to $40 earlier this year — taking $100 off the initial sale price.

AT A GLANCE Big 12 total attendance Overall attendance per game for Big 12 programs from 2010-11, the most recent season with data available.

Men’s games 1. Kansas — 16,436 2. Texas — 13,669 3. Kansas State — 12,652 4. Iowa State — 12,110 5. Missouri — 11,112 6. Oklahoma State — 10,447 7. Texas A&M — 9,000 8. Oklahoma — 8,563 9. Texas Tech — 8,513 10. Baylor — 6,994

“We felt this would be a great opportunity to get a message out,� men’s basketball coach Lon Kruger said to a crowd of students and media when the athletic department announced the discount in November. “We need students in the building to create the atmosphere that we hope to have.�

In an economically poor environment, it can be hard for students to afford even the $5 it costs for a single men’s basketball game ticket. Taylor doesn’t blame them, though. “The students are our world,� Taylor says. “They’re massive to us.�

Taylor is amicable about the rigors of being college student and knows his competition for fans at home games includes television and the Internet. Those two avenues alone have given fans more ways to consume OU’s product than ever before.

Instead, he chooses to keep trying to create a unique game experience for all OU fans — namely the season-ticket holders and students. He believes the makings of a truly spectacularly event begins with a full student section. “The one differentiating factor is our student section,� he says. “Everything about college athletics is revolving around the students. It always is; it always will be.�

Taylor later spends his Friday afternoon working on

WoMen’s games 1. Iowa State — 9,370 2. Baylor — 7,933 3. Texas Tech — 7,043 4. Texas A&M — 6,104 5. Oklahoma — 5,490 6. Texas — 4,710 7. Kansas State — 4,068 8. Kansas — 2,405 9. Oklahoma State — 2,273 10. Missouri — 1,539 Source: ncaa.org

“Everything about college athletics is revolving around the students. It always is; it always will be.

It’s the unifying element that makes Oklahoma special.�

Charlie Taylor, OU assistant athletic director of marketing

the conundrum of why more students don’t attend games not called football while doing everything in his power to sellout Saturday’s men’s basketball game.

*** Saturday. Game day in Norman.

The Sooners welcomed one of the top basketball programs in the nation: Kansas.

Heading into the contest in Norman, the Jayhawks were running up the polls with a 13-3 record — one more win but the same amount of losses as the Sooners.

Star players Steven Pledger and Thomas Robinson were virtually equal in scoring: 18.2 points per game for Pledger and 17.5 for Robinson. Pledger was shooting the basketball so well for the Sooners, he was on pace to break the school record for 3-point shooting percentage

UP NEXT vs. Texas A&M When: 3 p.m. Saturday Watch: Big 12 Network

in a season.

Both teams had played superlative basketball in the first two months of the season. So well, in fact, the game warranted being shown on national television.

From the tipoff through the first half, the game was tight.

At the first scheduled timeout, unranked Oklahoma was ahead of perennial Big 12-favorite Kansas.

But the lead didn’t last long. By the time the clock showed 11:44 left in the half, the Jayhawks were up, 18-13, over the Sooners.

Then came the run.

Oklahoma ended the first half with a 34-33 lead over Kansas — causing the crowd to throw itself into frenzy. It was the first time all season fans in Lloyd Noble were crazy for Sooner hoops.

Kansas guard Travis Releford kept the Jayhawks in the game with 16 points in the first half. He’d end the game with a career-best 28 points and would prove instrumental in leading the Jayhawks in their come-from-behind 72-61 victory over the Sooners that Saturday afternoon.

Taylor attended the game and watched the crowd show its appreciation for OU’s firsthalf play. The next morning, he recalled watching the Sooners run into the locker room to shouts of goodwill and boisterous applause. “That moment was approaching electric and magical,� Taylor said in an email. “The crowd and atmosphere were great, but if I compare it to other moments when [Lloyd Noble Center] was going crazy, there was one important ingredient we needed.� “When we have a full student section, it really doesn’t compare to anything else.�

It’s taken nearly a month into the 2012 season to happen, but finally, No. 8 Oklahoma (10-3) softball returns to the friendly confines of Marita Hynes Field, opening its home slate against LSU at 6 tonight. The contest also begins a nine-game stretch for the Sooners in the state of Oklahoma.

After a stretch of 13 road matches, including three games against nationally ranked teams, the Sooners finally open up home action at the OU softball Key Opponent complex.

Marita Hynes Field — Rachele Fico named after OU’s secYear: ond head softball coach Junior — opened in 1998, three Position: years after Gasso moved Pitcher to Norman. Since the Hometown: opening, the Sooners Oxford, have defended their field Conn. successfully with a 286Season stats: 47-1 overall record.

Fico currently has a .37 ERA With only three losses in six games this season. coming into the season home opener, OU redeemed itself Wednesday night after posting this season’s first multiple-game losing streak to finish up the Cathedral City Classic last weekend.

The Sooners are coming off a 4-1 win over North Texas to increase their overall record against the Mean Green to 22-0.

Junior ace Keilani Ricketts is internationally known for her pitching pyrotechnics, but the Mean Green also witnessed how potent Ricketts is with a bat.

While striking out 14 UNT batters, Ricketts also plated three of the Sooners’ four runs, going 2-for-3 with three RBIs. Her home run in the top of the fourth inning was Ricketts’ second launch this season.

But LSU brings a stout pitching arsenal into Norman, including Rachele Fico who has compiled a 5-1 record while posting a .37 ERA in 38 innings.

The Tigers (9-4) are riding a six-game winning streak after beating Alcorn State, 2-0, last Sunday. Although LSU is not nationally ranked, the team is standing just outside the standings after receiving 15 votes this week.

After OU faces LSU on Friday and Saturday afternoon, the Sooners will match up against Iowa for a pair of games to round out the weekend.

Melodie Lettkeman/the daily

Freshman infielder Jessica Vest scoops up a ball during the Sooners’ exhibition victory over Odessa last fall. The Sooners went undefeated in the fall season but have struggled lately, losing two in a row Saturday and Sunday in Palm Spring, Calif.

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OU basketball players shake hands with fans after a game this season. Under new coach Lon Kruger, the team has made an effort to involve Sooner fans, including opening practice to the public.

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SPORTS

Friday, March 2, 2012 •

7

8

Sports

• Friday, March 2, 2012

Softball

Sooners prepare for four-game weekend

Right: An OU student tries, without much success, to get the empty OU student section involved at an Oklahoma men’s basketball game earlier this season at Lloyd Noble Center.

Low attendance is typical for early season games against lesser opponents. However, OU has struggled to bring in fans even for big games.

Photos by Astrud Reed/The Daily

OU to take on LSU, Iowa after coming home victorious against North Texas

The university has tried big discounts, prizes and free admission, but ...

Tobi Neidy

Where are the students?

Sports Reporter

By R J Yo u n g • S p o r t s Re p o r t e r ben williams/the daily

Freshman Sharane Campbell shoots a free throw in a sparsely populated Lloyd Noble Center. Though the women’s basketball team has been competitive nationally during coach Sherri Coale’s tenure, the team ranked fifth in the Big 12 conference in average attendance last season.

ATTENDANCE: Students ‘lifeblood’ of OU athletics Continued from page 7 they don’t come to see women’s games.�

Over the last 10 years, Dowdell says, the women have been every bit as competitive as the men — if not more so. “I’d like to see it filled up,� she says.

So would Charlie Taylor.

***

astrud reed/the daily

Available seats have been abundant for OU basketball games this year, and the athletic department has tried, unsuccessfully, to bring in fans with several discounts and promotions this year.

C

atie Brothers sits with her legs crossed as she watches the Oklahoma women’s basketball team contest Iowa State in early January. Her arms are straightened, and her hands are interlocked across her right kneecap.

Brothers claps as junior forward Joanna McFarland scores the Sooners’13th and 14th points with an easy layup midway through the first half. They’re down by four against the Cyclones at home. “She was wide open,� Brothers says.

She says she’s at the game in part because most of her friends aren’t in Norman — and the game is free — but she’s also an avid sports fan.

It’s a big night for the Sooners.

It’s the start of Big 12 women’s basketball.

Brothers is located in the designated student section. The seats around her are haphazardly filled with few behinds belonging to the life blood of the university — its students.

She says she doesn’t think a lot of students are at the game because

they are away from campus during the break. It also might hurt that the game is in the middle of the week, too, she says.

Then she takes on the expression of a pensive philosopher and says, “But we are starting Big 12.�

At this point in the season, 15 men’s and women’s basketball games have been played by the Sooners in Lloyd Noble Center, but Brothers says she never has seen the student section filled to its capacity. “Never full,� she says. “It’s kind of

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sad. I wish it was full.�

And for the life of her, she can’t understand why but doesn’t fault the OU athletic department. “I feel like they give away free stuff,�

Brothers says. “I mean, when they give away free stuff when you walk in — like right away, free stuff — more people come to those. People get that stuff and leave. “I think we’re a football school, and that’s just people’s main focus.�

One section north of Catie Brothers sits Linda Dowdell. The graying older woman is dressed in blue jeans and a weathered crimson Oklahoma Sooners sweater.

Dowdell says she’s been a season ticket holder since 1998, but she couldn’t summon a memory in which the student section was filled for a women’s basketball game. She says she doesn’t know what it would take to fill the student section but, like Brothers, doesn’t blame the university for the students’ poor attendance. “I think they promote it well,�

Dowdell says. “I just don’t know why see attendance page 8

Two days after the Sooners dropped Iowa State, 80-51, Charlie Taylor sits behind his desk in his office. Taylor is Oklahoma’s assistant athletic director of marketing and he has taken a break from figuring out how to sell the last tickets for the weekend’s highly anticipated matchup between Oklahoma’s men’s basketball team and Kansas.

As the director of marketing for the Los Angeles Avengers from 2001 to 2004, Taylor increased ticket sales 75 percent and in-game attendance by 34 percent. He landed a job in the Arena Football League’s office as director of partnership services in August 2004 and spent four years there before OU hired him to his current position in the athletic department.

Taylor said because he and department officials believe Oklahoma’s student body is the lifeblood charlie of its athletic taylor program, they launched the Sooner Nation program in fall 2007 to entice OU students with opportunities for prizes in exchange for attending more home sporting events.

In addition to the program, student tickets for some OU athletic events, such as women’s basketball games, are free. For men’s basketball games, student season tickets were cheapened to $40 earlier this year — taking $100 off the initial sale price.

AT A GLANCE Big 12 total attendance Overall attendance per game for Big 12 programs from 2010-11, the most recent season with data available.

Men’s games 1. Kansas — 16,436 2. Texas — 13,669 3. Kansas State — 12,652 4. Iowa State — 12,110 5. Missouri — 11,112 6. Oklahoma State — 10,447 7. Texas A&M — 9,000 8. Oklahoma — 8,563 9. Texas Tech — 8,513 10. Baylor — 6,994

“We felt this would be a great opportunity to get a message out,� men’s basketball coach Lon Kruger said to a crowd of students and media when the athletic department announced the discount in November. “We need students in the building to create the atmosphere that we hope to have.�

In an economically poor environment, it can be hard for students to afford even the $5 it costs for a single men’s basketball game ticket. Taylor doesn’t blame them, though. “The students are our world,� Taylor says. “They’re massive to us.�

Taylor is amicable about the rigors of being college student and knows his competition for fans at home games includes television and the Internet. Those two avenues alone have given fans more ways to consume OU’s product than ever before.

Instead, he chooses to keep trying to create a unique game experience for all OU fans — namely the season-ticket holders and students. He believes the makings of a truly spectacularly event begins with a full student section. “The one differentiating factor is our student section,� he says. “Everything about college athletics is revolving around the students. It always is; it always will be.�

Taylor later spends his Friday afternoon working on

WoMen’s games 1. Iowa State — 9,370 2. Baylor — 7,933 3. Texas Tech — 7,043 4. Texas A&M — 6,104 5. Oklahoma — 5,490 6. Texas — 4,710 7. Kansas State — 4,068 8. Kansas — 2,405 9. Oklahoma State — 2,273 10. Missouri — 1,539 Source: ncaa.org

“Everything about college athletics is revolving around the students. It always is; it always will be.

It’s the unifying element that makes Oklahoma special.�

Charlie Taylor, OU assistant athletic director of marketing

the conundrum of why more students don’t attend games not called football while doing everything in his power to sellout Saturday’s men’s basketball game.

*** Saturday. Game day in Norman.

The Sooners welcomed one of the top basketball programs in the nation: Kansas.

Heading into the contest in Norman, the Jayhawks were running up the polls with a 13-3 record — one more win but the same amount of losses as the Sooners.

Star players Steven Pledger and Thomas Robinson were virtually equal in scoring: 18.2 points per game for Pledger and 17.5 for Robinson. Pledger was shooting the basketball so well for the Sooners, he was on pace to break the school record for 3-point shooting percentage

UP NEXT vs. Texas A&M When: 3 p.m. Saturday Watch: Big 12 Network

in a season.

Both teams had played superlative basketball in the first two months of the season. So well, in fact, the game warranted being shown on national television.

From the tipoff through the first half, the game was tight.

At the first scheduled timeout, unranked Oklahoma was ahead of perennial Big 12-favorite Kansas.

But the lead didn’t last long. By the time the clock showed 11:44 left in the half, the Jayhawks were up, 18-13, over the Sooners.

Then came the run.

Oklahoma ended the first half with a 34-33 lead over Kansas — causing the crowd to throw itself into frenzy. It was the first time all season fans in Lloyd Noble were crazy for Sooner hoops.

Kansas guard Travis Releford kept the Jayhawks in the game with 16 points in the first half. He’d end the game with a career-best 28 points and would prove instrumental in leading the Jayhawks in their come-from-behind 72-61 victory over the Sooners that Saturday afternoon.

Taylor attended the game and watched the crowd show its appreciation for OU’s firsthalf play. The next morning, he recalled watching the Sooners run into the locker room to shouts of goodwill and boisterous applause. “That moment was approaching electric and magical,� Taylor said in an email. “The crowd and atmosphere were great, but if I compare it to other moments when [Lloyd Noble Center] was going crazy, there was one important ingredient we needed.� “When we have a full student section, it really doesn’t compare to anything else.�

It’s taken nearly a month into the 2012 season to happen, but finally, No. 8 Oklahoma (10-3) softball returns to the friendly confines of Marita Hynes Field, opening its home slate against LSU at 6 tonight. The contest also begins a nine-game stretch for the Sooners in the state of Oklahoma.

After a stretch of 13 road matches, including three games against nationally ranked teams, the Sooners finally open up home action at the OU softball Key Opponent complex.

Marita Hynes Field — Rachele Fico named after OU’s secYear: ond head softball coach Junior — opened in 1998, three Position: years after Gasso moved Pitcher to Norman. Since the Hometown: opening, the Sooners Oxford, have defended their field Conn. successfully with a 286Season stats: 47-1 overall record.

Fico currently has a .37 ERA With only three losses in six games this season. coming into the season home opener, OU redeemed itself Wednesday night after posting this season’s first multiple-game losing streak to finish up the Cathedral City Classic last weekend.

The Sooners are coming off a 4-1 win over North Texas to increase their overall record against the Mean Green to 22-0.

Junior ace Keilani Ricketts is internationally known for her pitching pyrotechnics, but the Mean Green also witnessed how potent Ricketts is with a bat.

While striking out 14 UNT batters, Ricketts also plated three of the Sooners’ four runs, going 2-for-3 with three RBIs. Her home run in the top of the fourth inning was Ricketts’ second launch this season.

But LSU brings a stout pitching arsenal into Norman, including Rachele Fico who has compiled a 5-1 record while posting a .37 ERA in 38 innings.

The Tigers (9-4) are riding a six-game winning streak after beating Alcorn State, 2-0, last Sunday. Although LSU is not nationally ranked, the team is standing just outside the standings after receiving 15 votes this week.

After OU faces LSU on Friday and Saturday afternoon, the Sooners will match up against Iowa for a pair of games to round out the weekend.

Melodie Lettkeman/the daily

Freshman infielder Jessica Vest scoops up a ball during the Sooners’ exhibition victory over Odessa last fall. The Sooners went undefeated in the fall season but have struggled lately, losing two in a row Saturday and Sunday in Palm Spring, Calif.

UNIVERSITY THEATRE SCHOOL OF DANCE PRESENTS

Are you on Twitter?

astrud reed/the daily

OU basketball players shake hands with fans after a game this season. Under new coach Lon Kruger, the team has made an effort to involve Sooner fans, including opening practice to the public.

BUY SELL TRADE VINTAGE CLOTHING 318 E. MAIN 12-6 M-SAT NORMAN OK 405-310-6771

Stay connected with the sports desk for news and updates about Sooner sports by following the action at

@OUDailySports

X

8 p.m. MARCH 7-10 3 p.m. MARCH 10, 11 RUPEL J. JONES THEATRE

OU Fine Arts Box Office Expires on May 31, 2012

(405) 325-4101

IN YOUR OU ARTS DISTRICT ou.edu/finearts/events

The University of Oklahoma is an equal opportunity institution.

For accommodations on the basis of disability call (405) 325-4101.