Monday, March 12, 2012

Boren lists plans for considering housing policy (opinion, page 4) The University of Oklahoma’s independent student voice since 1916

M O N DAY, M A R C H 12 , 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

sTUdeNT GoVerNMeNT

candidates allowed to begin campaigning Campaigns expected to wait until after students return from spring break CHASE COOK

their campaign material Managing Editor registration forms and preStudent government can- sented materials Friday at d i d at e s f o r t h e UOSA’s office to ensure they UOSA spring 2012 are within election guideelection can begin lines, UOSA election board placing signs, chairman Cole Jackson said. passing out fliers and camCandidates are required paigning today. to submit the forms, or they Candidates submitted will not be allowed to use any

materials when campaigning, according to UOSA’s Code Annotated. Otherwise, the candidates only can submit an official profile and campaign orally.

While candidates can begin campaigning today, Jackson said he thinks the candidates will do most of their campaigning after spring break.

The candidates don’t want to put all their signs up and

risk losing them or having to pick them back up before spring break starts, Jackson said.

Voting for spring 2012 UOSA candidates will take place April 3 to 4. Candidates can campaign until the polls close April 4, but they cannot campaign within 50 feet of any polling locations or university computer labs during the voting days, according to the Code Annotated.

AT A GLANCE spring election candidates Students will vote in April for the following positions: Uosa president and vice president — juniors Joe Sangirardi and Rainey Sewell campus activities council chair – senior John Fraser and junior Vicky Vargas

Students showcase Peruvian culture

student bar association president – graduate student Camal Pennington housing center student association chair – senior Allie Kallmann Source: UOSA election filing

sTUdeNT MedIa

Board selects 3 future editors Daily, yearbook leaders hired FROM STAFF REPORTS The Oklahoma Daily

eriKa pHiLBriCK/tHe daiLy

University College freshman Marcus Peasant, Peruvian Student Association member, (right) ends the “Anaconda” dance, which celebrates the great anaconda of the Peruvian Amazon. The anaconda is both feared and honored, and it is celebrated to bring good fortune for crops. The fourth annual Peruvian Culture Night was held Saturday in the National Weather Center and drew a large crowd to get a taste of Peru’s vibrant music, dance and food.

sTUdY abroad

research

Middle East course not at full capacity

Local homes to be test subjects

Program has sports for 20 students to participate, but only 16 have applied

Goal to reduce or eliminate hazards of developing land PAIGHTEN HARKINS Campus Reporter

BENNETT HALL

Campus Reporter

An inaugural Middle East study-abroad program has not yet met its participant limit, though an Education Abroad administrator said the trip still will take place whether more students apply.

AT A GLANCE Sixteen students have Itinerary applied to take part in OU’s Journey to the Middle East June 10 — Arrive in program, though adminIstanbul, Turkey istrators had intended to June 25 — Arrive in Tel Aviv, allow up to 20 students drive to Jerusalem to participate, Education Abroad director Alice July 8 — Depart from Tel Kloker said.

Aviv for Oklahoma City “We have a goal of running this program with 16 students, although the program is going to happen at this point regardless of how many end up committing,” see ABROAD paGe 2

In an unassuming residential development in north Norman, 17 homes are being used in research to combat ecological problems in a major local water source.

The houses look no different than those on surrounding streets. They are colored in varying shades of neutral tans, each with a two-car garage and a carefully manicured front lawn.

What makes them distinct is the subtle placement of a redirected down spout on the house and a flower bed on the edge of the house’s lot and the street.

These small differences are components of a rain garden and are part of research

CHeLsea Lott/tHe daiLy

Reid Coffman, landscape architecture professor, talks Friday about the rain gardens he is overseeing. The Oklahoma Conservation Center sponsored a grant for his team to monitor the water through this division.

being done by OU associate landscape architecture professor Reid Coffman in conjunction with The Little River Best Management Practices Project, Coffman said.

The goal of the project is to clean up Lake Thunderbird

edITorIaL VOL. 97, NO. 119

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see RESEARCH paGe 2

GO AND DO board meeting WHEN: 9:30 a.m. April 20 WHERE: Copeland Hall

The Daily’s open record requests

Let’s bring public access issues into the light

Requested document and purpose

Date requested

Sunshine Week, starting today, shines a spotlight on the importance of freedom of information. (Page 4)

all construction contracts regarding the renovation of cate center’s Quad 1 — To learn more about the terms and conditions of those contracts and to gather more information about the cost of renovating part of Cate Center.

March 5

LIFe & arTs

all requests to change rooms within the residence halls made to housing and Food services from the 2010-2011 academic year to present — To gather more information about the number of room-change requests made each semester and students’ reasons for making them.

Thursday

Uosa election results for the last 10 years — To learn more about election winners and voter turnout.

Friday

culture showcased during Pokémon series fails to transform over decade Iranian music festival See and hear Saturday’s event, part of The Masala World Music Concert Series, with an audio slideshow. (Multimedia)

and reduce or eliminate the hazards of developing land for residential use, Coffman said.

Rain gardens look like flower beds but are placed

S t u d e n t M e d i a’s Publication Board on Friday hired the students to lead The Oklahoma Daily and Sooner yearbook in the upcoming summer, fall and spring semesters.

Board members voted unanimously to select Laney Ellisor as The Daily’s editor in chief for fall 2012 and spring 2013. Ellisor, professional writing j u n i o r, i s The Daily’s campus editor this LaNeY semester.

Cur re nt eLLIsor editor in chief Chris Lusk, journalism senior, was hired to the same position for the summer. The board also selected journalism sophomore Teegan Burkhard as Sooner yearbook’s editor in chief for next year.

Ellisor said she applied for The Daily’s editor position in order to keep the organization moving forward.

“The Daily has made great strides this academic year toward becoming one of the best student newspapers in the nation,” she said. “My goal as editor is to maintain that success and improve upon the work we have done.”

Ellisor ran for the job uncontested. Sooner yearbook’s editor in chief position featured two applicants, as did The Daily’s summer editor job.

Despite years of work, Pokémon games still struggle with same issues seen in “Red” and “Blue” games. (Page 7)

CHeLsea Lott/tHe daiLy

Sophomore outfielder Destinee Martinez is up to bat Sunday against Indiana. The Sooners beat the Hoosiers, 4-1, to win their 10th straight game after sweeping the rest of their competitors during a weekend tournament. (Page 3)

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• Monday, March 12, 2012

OUDaily.com ››

Campus

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

A former Daily staff member won an award at the annual FOI Oklahoma Sunshine Conference for his commitment to using open records in his reporting

research: Gardens used to clean run off water Continued from page 1 at the end of the front lawn, right by the street.

These gardens are filled with plants containing little moisture and surrounded by a bed of rock-like, clay-based engineered substrates made to absorb half their volume with water, Coffman said.

Right now, water flows from homes in developing areas through bulldozed areas, collecting sediment before it runs off into lakes, landscape architecture graduate student Leslie Novotny said.

The purpose of the gardens is to slow the water flow, thereby cleansing it at the source, Coffman said.

Regardless of how simple the changes are and how small the effect on the landscape, the team’s research is working to prove that the practices are worth implementing.

“It’s code, and the way they’ve always been doing t h i n g s,” No v o t n y s a i d .

“Builders usually don’t change the ways they do things unless there’s a really good reason [to change it].”

Today around campus “A Young Talent in Oklahoma” will be open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art’s Lightwell Gallery.

A lecture about course credit through CLEP and Advanced Standing, part of the Student Success Series, will take place from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in Wagner Hall.

The men’s tennis team will compete against Louisville at 5 p.m. at the Gregg Wadley Indoor Tennis Pavilion.

A film screening of “Prom Night in Mississippi,” followed by a Q&A with director/producer Paul Saltzman, will take place at 7 p.m. in Oklahoma Memorial Union’s Meacham Auditorium.

“By the Bog of Cats,” presented by the Peggy Dow Helmrich School of Drama, will take place at 8 p.m. in Beatrice Carr Wallace Old Science Hall’s Lab Theatre.

Reid Coffman, landscape architecture professor, talks Friday about the rain gardens he is overseeing.

After three years of research, they will determine if these types of green neighborhoods are worth the added cost. The goal of the program is to clean up Lake Thunderbird and reduce or eliminate the environmental hazards of developing land for residential use. chelsea Lott/The Daily

Despite conflicting with building codes, Coffman said the research is worth undertaking.

“We’ve actually broken a bunch of codes and laws having to do this, and it doesn’t look crazy at all,” he said.

In addition to the rain-garden research, Coffman is researching an ecological landscape known as green roofs, which he has been working on since the early 2000s.

A green roof is composed

of plants placed on a structure’s roof. This addition can reduce energy consumption because the plants help keep the building cool. They also can store and clean rain water or be designed for food production, Coffman said.

“All roofs can benefit from green roofs … Flat roofs of suburban sprawl benefit the most,” Coffman said.

Both rain-garden and green-roof research focus on hydrology, which Coffman

addresses when teaching a green-roofs class at OU, architecture senior Diane Cocchiara said. “[Hydrology] is a very easy, simple way to fix things. It’s nice to educate people about it,” she said.

Coffman’s work centers on the idea that some of societies’ issues can be solved with sustainability or environmental responsibility if the design problem is framed in ecological theory, he said.

abroad: Trip to take students to historic sites

A free concert by the OU Percussion Chamber will take place at 8 p.m. in Catlett Music Center’s Pitman Recital Hall.

Continued from page 1 Kloker said.

The trip will take students to historic sites, such as the Blue Mosque and Grand Bazaar of Istanbul, and the Temple of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, according to the program’s itinerary.

It is not unusual for new study-abroad programs to face recruitment challenges in their first year, Kloker said.

“There is not a core of returned students on campus that can spread the word among their peers,” Kloker said.

Kloker has not heard specific security concerns with the program addressed by prospective participants or parents, she said.

Though there is unrest in the Middle East, Israel generally is stable, OU Judaic and Israel Studies program director Norman Stillman.

“There certainly is danger and unrest in the surrounding countries, but Israel is actually an island of stability in the midst of that troubled region,” he said.

Stillman lived in Israel in 2010 with his two grandchildren and never would have brought them if he felt it to be a danger to them, he said.

As for security at Hebrew

Tuesday, March 13 “By the Bog of Cats,” presented by the Peggy Dow Helmrich School of Drama, will take place at 3 p.m. in Beatrice Carr Wallace Old Science Hall’s Lab Theatre.

An art exhibit called “Where is the Green Sheep?” by Mern Fox will take place from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. in Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art’s Dee Dee and Jon R. Stuart Classroom.

WEdnesday, March 14 A lecture about adolescent males’ attitudes about singing in choir by Mark Lucas will be held at 5 p.m. at Catlett Music Center, Room 131.

Historical interpreter Bill Barker will interpret the writings of Thomas Jefferson at 5:30 p.m. in Oklahoma Memorial Union’s Meacham Auditorium.

“By the Bog of Cats,” presented by the Peggy Dow Helmrich School of Drama, will take place at 8 p.m. in Beatrice Carr Wallace Old Science Hall’s Lab Theatre.

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.

University, where the program will conduct the Jerusalem segment of its classes, Stillman said security protocols include gated entry to the campus, guard stations and bag checks.

“One never feels unsafe,” Stillman said.

Molly Oberstein is an OU student spending the semester at Hebrew University and said security concerns occur

outside university grounds.

“I attended a music festival this weekend, which took place about 20 minutes away from the border with Gaza,” Oberstein said in an email.

“The event was originally set to be canceled due to the violence following Israel’s killing of Palestinian militants Friday. Although the festival occurred anyway, it ended two hours early due to the

threat of Katyusha rockets being fired from Gaza.”

The areas closer to Israel’s bordering countries are where the real threats lie, Oberstein said.

“As evidenced by the mandatory draft and the presence of bomb shelters in places such as my apartment, the realities of life here are very different from those in the U.S.,” Oberstein said.

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Monday, March 12, 2012 •

3

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SPORTS

The No. 2 OU women’s gymnastics team posted its second-lowest score of the season in an upset loss to No. 3 UCLA on Sunday in Los Angeles.

Oklahoma

12

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

Indiana

1

Sooners roll in spring festival Softball rides hot bats to 5-0 record during weekend

WEEKEND RESULTS OU Spring Festival

TOBI NEIDY

Game 2: OU 14, Indiana 0*

The No. 8 Oklahoma softball team (20-3) unloaded on opposing pitchers, extending its winning streak to 10 consecutive games after sweeping all six games in the Oklahoma Spring Festival this weekend in Norman.

The Sooner offense outscored its opponents, 48-2, including 17 home runs by seven different OU batters.

“We’ve been so anxious to get out there that we’ve been swinging early and swinging at bad pitches,” coach Patty Gasso said. “But this weekend, the team settled in, and the hitting performances were just infectious.”

After posting 19 homers last season before being benched due to ulcerative colitis, junior catcher Jessica Shults posted five home runs, eight hits and eight RBIs in 16 at bats.

The five homers brings her overall season total to seven, putting her back in the hunt to take over OU’s single-season home run record (20) held by Lisa Carey (2000).

Shults’ 40 career home runs puts her on pace to break OU’s career home run record (56) set by Amber Flores (2010).

“It’s nice to start hitting the ball hard,” Shults said. “I’ve got the protection of Keilani (Ricketts) behind me, and I’m starting to see better pitches.”

Game 3: OU 5, Wichita State 0

Game 1: OU 13, Wichita State 0*

Sports Reporter

Game 4: Canceled Game 5: OU 4, Indiana 1 Game 6: OU 12, Indiana 1* *Ended in five innings

CHELSEA LOTT/THE DAILY

Junior pitcher Keilani Ricketts prepares to hurl a pitch to the plate during Sunday’s doubleheader against the Indiana Hoosiers. The Sooners won both games, including a 12-1 run-rule in the second game of the day.

UP NEXT Judi Garman Classic When: Thursday through Saturday Where: Fullerton, Calif.

Info: OU will face DePaul, Michigan, Virginia, Penn State and Washington

Not to be outdone by her battery mate, junior ace Keilani Ricketts also had a volatile offensive weekend,

posting three homers with four RBIs in 12 at bats.

The Sooners opened the Oklahoma Festival with an explosive 27 combined run performance during Friday’s doubleheader against Wichita State and Indiana.

Gasso wasn’t just pleased to see that her team was able to inflict the 8-after-5 college run-rule; she also was thrilled to see that the team had taken to heart what was

being taught in practice.

“We’ve talked about just not wasting at bats, managing your counts and knowing what counts to swing in,” Gasso said. “It was nice to see that come out this weekend because this is what we are capable of.”

The Sooners returned Saturday to complete one game before rain forced officials to postpone the rest of the action until Sunday

evening. OU beat Wichita State, 5-0, after scoring runs in each of the game’s final three innings.

During Sunday’s doubleheader against Indiana, the Sooners outscored the Hoosiers, 16-2, to complete the sweep of all opponents for the second consecutive weekend.

OU closed out the festival with a 12-1 win that was highlighted by home runs from Shults, freshman Lauren Chamberlain and sophomore shortstop Javen Henson. But all three home runs were outdone by the fourth-inning grand slam by freshman right fielder Erica Sampson.

Sampson blasted her first career home run, a four-run bomb over the left-center field fence, after Chamberlain was hit by a pitch to give OU an 11-point lead.

“It was a big deal for me because [Indiana] hit Lauren (Chamberlain) with a pitch with the bases loaded to get to me,” Sampson said. “It just shows you can’t do that to anyone in our lineup.”

WEEKEND ROUNDUP BASEBALL

The Sooners finished 2-2 at the Nike Showcase this weekend in Eugene, Ore., after dropping the final game to Oregon State by a score of 11-7.

Oklahoma bounced back from an opening loss to Connecticut by beating both West Virginia and Oregon.

Daily staff reports

M GYMNASTICS

No. 1 OU moved to 11-1 with a win over No. 8 Michigan on Saturday at Lloyd Noble Center. The Sooners won four of the six event titles en route to the 355.5-348.95 victory.

Junior Jake Dalton led Oklahoma with three individual event titles Saturday, while junior Chris Stehl added one on rings.

Daily staff reports

TRACK & FIELD

Junior thrower Tia Brooks won an NCAA indoor championship in the shot put Saturday with a throw of 62 feet, four inches.

The throw makes Brooks second all-time in the event and the second female ever to throw 62 feet or better.

Daily staff reports

W TENNIS

OU split its matches with Kansas and Kansas State over the weekend, topping the Jayhawks, 5-2, and getting upset, 4-3, by the Wildcats.

Kansas State ended a 10-game losing streak against ranked opponents when it topped the No. 40 Sooners on Sunday.

Daily staff reports

OU STUDENTS YOU ARE INVITED! Informal Discussion

Fouad Ajami

Scholar and Author on the Middle East Fouad Ajami, one of the most outstanding scholars on the Middle East, is the author of The Arab Predicament, The Vanished Inam, Beirut: City of Regrets, The Dream Palace of the Arabs and The Foreigner’s Gift: The Americans, The Arabs and the Iraqis in Iraq. He is a frequent guest expert on the Middle East and the Anderson Cooper CNN news program.

He is a widely published essayist whose writings – comprising some 400 essays, reviews and columns of opinion – have appeared in such publications as Foreign Affairs magazine, for which he serves on the editorial board, and New York Times Magazine, as well as other forums in the United States and abroad.

He has headed Middle Eastern studies programs at Johns Hopkins, Princeton University and at the Hoover Institute at Stanford.

5 p.m.

Tuesday, March 13

Sandy Bell Gallery Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art Please respond by calling the Office of Special Events at 325-3784 or email specialevents@ou.edu.

For accommodations on the basis of disability, call the Office of Special Events at (405) 325-3784. The University of Oklahoma is an equal opportunity institution.

4

Reader comment on OUDaily.com ››

• Monday, March 12, 2012

“i’m a guy and find the idea of a transvaginal ultrsound disgusting. generally speaking as a male or female human being, i want to make medical decisions for myself with my doctor’s guidance rather than a nonmedically trained politician ...” (kdbp1213, RE: ‘EDITORIAL: Transvaginal ultrasound amendment unnecessarily invasive’)

OPINION EDITORIAL

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

?

It’s your information, too

» Poll question of the day

Our View: This Sunshine Week, join us in highlighting the importance of freedom of information and transparency.

To cast your vote, log on to

open records and open meetings laws could be strengthened. We will continue these efforts.

Though few strides have been made toward our most important request — that a specific time Today marks the first day of Sunshine Week, a limit be placed on filling open records requests in national initiative to spark discussion on the imOklahoma — the legislature has made strides on portance of freedom of information. another important improvement.

Last semester, we wrote much in The state legislature is expected this space about the importance of to vote next week on House Bill AT A GLANCE transparency in government and 2379, which would create an online Sunshine icon other public operations. We dediopen records request portal through In honor of Sunshine Week, cated ourselves to focusing on these which the public could make faster, which is this essential issues, bringing informaeasier requests for information. This week, The Daily tion to the public and advocating for will save time and money for both will embed this icon of a greater legal protections. the average citizen and the governsun inside each article for Most importantly, we made it clear ment, and we urge our legislators to which the reporter used this isn’t about journalists having pass it quickly. public documents to help some special, privileged access to inreport the story.

Then there is HB 1085, which formation. This is about the public’s would apply open records and open right to access, about every citizen’s meetings laws to the Oklahoma right to be informed about what their government legislature. Currently, the legislature is unfairly or public officials are doing. exempt from these requirements. The House will Public information belongs to all of us. These consider the bill later this week, and it must be are our documents and our meetings, detailing passed to ensure that Oklahoma’s legislators are actions taken with our tax money by our officials. accountable to the public.

Public officials have been elected or chosen to repOn the local front, President David Boren has resent the citizens who pay their salary and are af- just announced his intention to meet with stufected by their decisions. dents this semester about the possibility of genderThey owe the public transparency — and, thus, neutral housing next fall. accountability — in return for that representative We call on him to make these meetings open to power. the public and advertise their time and place so all In order to help bring attention to and advocate members of the OU community may stay involved, for this essential right to information, we decided be informed and have a chance to express their to illustrate how we use open records and to adopinions. vocate for stronger legal protections. We created a But this isn’t just The Daily’s fight. We hope other box on our front page to track the records requests organizations on campus — from student groups we make and how long it takes for to academic departments to the adthese requests to be filled. ministration — will stand with us in Now, we’re going one step further. declaring a commitment to the pubThe current feature allows readlic’s right to know.

See all the open records The Daily has requested ers to stay informed only about the Help us educate this community and what the status of most recent records requests that about these important issues and each request is. have not yet been filled. But we advocate for greater freedom of inoudaily.com/openrecords also want readers to have access to formation protection for Oklahoma’s all the requests we make and the citizens. amount of time it took for those requests to be Speaking of citizens, this all comes down to you. filled.

This is a fight for your right to know, for your right So we have created a new page on OUDaily.com to hold your public officials accountable. that will house weekly updates about all the reThis is your fight. cords requests made by The Daily.

So educate yourself about freedom of informaIn addition, in honor of Sunshine Week, we will tion issues, consider making an open records rebe attaching a sunshine icon to some of our stories quest or attending an open meeting to find out this week to indicate which stories reporters used more about your government and be willing to public records. stand up to fight for these essential rights.

In tackling these issues last semester, we also wrote a series of editorials detailing ways the Comment on this at OUDaily.com

OUDaily.com

GUEST COLUMN

Socialized medicine isn’t all bad

L

ike usual, I woke up sometime last week with a stuffy nose and puffy eyes. Like usual, I didn’t do anything about it and assumed both would disappear sooner or later. Unfortunately, things worsened, and I finally realized I had a sinus infection — in Europe! If I had been back in Oklahoma, everything would have been fine; I could have called the doctor’s office, made an appointment, waited 24 hours, then driven to the clinic and left with the same prescription I always leave with.

But I’m in Austria. A vast wasteland of coffee drinkers, bikers, recyclers and, perhaps the worst, government-run health care workers. Austria has a high standard of compulsory state-funded health care, where all citizens and employers have to contribute to the system — or, if you watch Republican debates, what President Barack Obama supposedly implemented in the U.S. As I was walking the 15 minutes to the doctor’s office, a sudden terror took hold of me as I remembered what Republicans had been telling me for the last several months in interviews and debates: Countries with socialized medicine have to limit their care to a certain number of people, they have to let seniors die earlier, and the quality of care plummets dramatically.

I turned the corner and saw the office building just across the street. “Oh no,” I thought, “has Ceftin, my magical sinus infection drug, even made it to this far off, backward land?”

I assumed not, since Republicans keep telling me my selection of treatments will be diminished under “Obamacare.”

I rang the doorbell to the office. When the nurse opened it, she asked me if I had Austrian health insurance. Luckily, I had just enrolled in a program the week before for $50 a month, so she told me the visit would cost nothing. “Great,” I said skeptically, thinking what kind of dangers lay behind her nice white outfit and smile.

Then I saw it: the waiting room. The biggest fear of any free market, choice-oriented protector of private health insurance. She gave me a seat near the door and told me to wait a few minutes and the doctor would be with me as soon as possible.

Needless to say, I had the same worries of most conservatives: I would never be seen because of the tremendous waiting lists, or even die in the room.

After 14 minutes, I had to go to the bathroom. I was just as shocked as Rick Santorum would be when I found a condom machine above the toilet, but I was blind-sided when I heard “McKnight” called from a doctor ready to treat me.

I sat in his office and explained my medical history. He asked me what prescription I normally was given by my home practitioner, and I told him, Ceftin.

“Do you have it here yet?” I sheepishly asked, and he wheeled around to his computer and began typing.

A few minutes later, he printed out and handed me two prescriptions: one for a two weeks supply of Ceftin, and one for a special nose rinse. As he led me out of his office and back through the less frightening Waiting Room, I noticed it was filled with seniors. “How funny,” I thought to myself, because I remember Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., explaining to me how socialized medicine would in fact make seniors “die sooner.”

I left the office and wandered the streets of Graz, Austria, looking for a place to drink a coffee and recycle at the same time (if possible) and was overcome with delight since I had survived my horrid experience with socialized medicine.

Doug McKnight is a German and history junior who is studying abroad in Austria.

Would you attend meetings to discuss a gender-neutral housing option for OU?

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

OU must think carefully about gender-neutral housing plan My record of more than 17 years at the university demonstrates I have great respect for the viewpoints of all of our students. I carefully consider student ideas, whether they come from individual students or from groups, large or small. Great universities are places where there is a free marketplace of ideas and where the right of free speech is strongly supported.

The manner in which ideas are discussed also is extremely important. Sadly, in our country today, we have become overly polarized and have lost the ability to discuss issues with civility and mutual respect. The breakdown of thoughtful and civil discourse is a grave threat to our country’s future.

In the debate on housing policies, we in the OU community have a chance to become a role model for others by carefully, respectfully and reasonably discussing the issues involved in a way that will reach the wisest result.

We must reject shouting matches, making unilateral demands and failing to take adequate time to come to the best decisions.

I intend to engage with students who want changes in a thoughtful discussion. Representatives of the advocates of changes will be invited by me to my office to discuss I see no reasons these issues. I commit to giving serious consideration why I cannot reach to every point that is raised. a decision and More than one meeting likely announce it well will be required.

Fortunately, we are not before our students under any artificial time enter housing in deadline. The administraAugust for the fall tion can make changes in the implementation of housing semester. policies without any requireDAVID BOREN, ment that they be approved UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT by the OU Board of Regents.

The general regent’s policy only requires first-year students to live on campus, except for special circumstances. I see no reasons why I cannot reach a decision and announce it well before our students enter housing in August for the fall semester. When I make that decision, I will publicly announce it and give the reasons for it.

Our goal is not to adopt a policy as quickly as possible.

Our goal must be to enact the wisest policy and to have it in place for the fall semester.

During the past two years, those in charge of housing administration already have acted — at my direction — to resolve many difficult situations for individual students.

We must be clear that our first priority is to find ways to make each OU student feel valued, respected, comfortable and, above all, safe. With that priority clearly in mind, we must seek the best method to accomplish this goal.

Even among those schools who have adopted some form of what is known as gender-neutral housing, there is huge variation in the methods used.

We also must be sure that we do no harm. One student recently said to me that we must be careful not to re-segregate our campus. We must not unintentionally lose the human-rights gains we have made. When I first became president, students could pick their roommate, suitemates, hallmates and residence halls. The result was de facto segregation by race, religion, economic status, sexual orientation and social prominence. I changed those rules because I deeply believe diversity is a great strength.

When we live with and associate with people unlike ourselves, we come to no longer think of them in stereotypical terms and prejudices are cast aside. Whatever we decide to do must not move us backward.

I am very proud of the spirit of our university community. OU can be an example to our country by the careful, civil and thoughtful way with which we come together to make decisions.

David Boren, university president

Do you have thoughts and views about issues affecting the university community?

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Monday, March 12, 2012 •

Life&arts

Tomorrow ›› The School of Art and Art History showcases the work of high school students with its new exhibit, “Young Talent in Oklahoma.”

Performance review

Singers remember Guthrie Life & arts columnist

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

Movie review

‘Project X’ is one party moviegoers should not miss

I

Westlee Parsons Westlee.A.Parsons-1@ou.edu

W

alking through the Brady Arts District in Tulsa transported me back to another time, and when I entered the theater, I was in an old opry that was filled to the brim with fans waiting patiently for a spectacular night to begin. There was no dress code, but many people were in their Sunday bests, torn up blue jeans and cowboy hats with starched Wranglers.

The audience was mostly made up of older folks, with a few college-age people scattered throughout the historical Brady Theater. There was not an empty seat in the house.

These were the people of Oklahoma, and they were ready to pay tribute to one of the state’s greatest artists, Woody Guthrie.

Michael Wallis, an Oklahoma poet, started the evening off by reading some of Guthrie’s own words.

The reading set the reddirt-Oklahoma-folk tone that would carry the audience through the rest of the evening.

Guthrie’s son, Arlo Guthrie, kicked off the show with “Talking Dust Bowl Blues,” and everyone cheered and sang a long.

Guthrie explained how his father would sing his songs sometimes by talking at you.

He then welcomed Old Crow Medicine Show to the stage. The band played their cover of Guthrie’s “Union Maid,” which appears on its album “Big Iron World.” The big bluegrass band’s performance was a great rendition and energized the crowd.

From there on various artists such as Tim O’Brien, Jimmy LaFave, Rosanne Cash and The Del McCoury Band paid their own homage to Guthrie with covers of his songs.

With every act, I felt an overwhelming sense of

help is just a phone call away

9

number

crisis line

325-6963 (NYNE)

OU Number Nyne Crisis Line

Christopher Smith/The Tulsa World

All the performers of the Woody Guthrie Centennial Concert, including Taylor Hanson, Rosanne Cash, Nora Guthrie, John Mellencamp, Arlo Guthrie, Del McCoury, Tim O’Brien and Hanson perform “This Land is Your Land” Sunday at the Brady Theater.

See more online Visit OUDaily.com to read the full review oudaily.com/life&arts

pride that brought a smile to my face. Each act was a great tribute, and the crowds increasing applause confirmed they thought so too.

The second half of the show began with a plaque dedication to Guthrie’s hometown, Okemah, followed by a performance of The Flaming Lips.

Then, they played “Do You Realize,” and everyone

5

under the age of 40 swayed and hollered for it. It became the Flaming Lips show for 20 minutes with no tribute to Guthrie other than two distorted songs that were so abstract no one could tell what Guthrie songs they were.

Arlo Guthrie and his two sons took the stage to play a Leadbelly song. Leadbelly was a longtime friend to Guthrie. Arlo Guthrie then shared stories of his father.

One of my favorite stories told how Guthrie wrote a song after reading “The Grapes of Wrath.” Soon after the song came out, he received a letter from John Steinbeck saying, “You little

bastard, it took you 12 verses to say what took me an entire novel.” The audience roared in laughter.

There was no more space on the Brady Theater’s stage for the closing act, as every performer of the night came out to sing “This Land is Your Land.” Not a person in the audience was sitting down for this final number.

Guthrie’s legacy still is alive and well and has continued to inspire musicians.

Westlee Parsons is an English literature senior.

f there’s anything we’ve all seen movAt a glance ies about, it’s the ‘Project X’ crazy teen party.

One would think we’d tire of them by now, but there’s something inherently entertaining about watching a group of kids, usually nerds, put together a party that gets out of control.

The plot is simple.

It’s high school student Thomas’ (Thomas Mann) 18th birthday, and for whatever reason, his parents have decided to Starring: Thomas Mann, leave him home alone Oliver Cooper, Jonathan Daniel Brown for the weekend. His two Rated: R best friends, Costa (Oliver Run time: 88 minutes Cooper) and JB (Jonathan Daniel Brown), decide Hollywood - Spotlight 14 to throw him the party of 1100 N. Interstate Dr. the year, hoping to bring 1:25, 4:10, 7:30 and 10:10 themselves out of nerdp.m. today through Thursday dom and into the land of the cool kids.

With the help of their See more online cameraman Dax and a Visit OUDaily.com few FIip video cameras, to read the full review they set out to document oudaily.com/life&arts the experience, resulting in the movie you see in theaters.

At more than one point, I thought, “all right, surely that’s it. Nothing crazier can happen,” only to be defied again and again. With a pounding soundtrack and what had to be over a thousand teenage extras, this movie really does represent the “most epic party of all time!”

In the end, you can’t deny the entertainment value of this movie. It’s well made, well-paced, well-acted and genuinely funny. It walks the fine R-rated comedy line between hilarious and disgusting with grace.

When all is said and done, you’re sure to walk out of the theater satisfied, and, above all else, wishing you could have been at that party.

Erin Roberts is a University College freshman.

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MONDAY, M MONDAY Marchh 12, 12 2012 20

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Because you’ll be extremely capable of realizing an ambitious objective, the progress that you’re looking for can be made in the year ahead, albeit with a bit of hard work and a lot of effort on your part. Move onward and upward, and don’t stint the elbow grease.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) --An interesting development could occur that would elevate your hopes and expectations. Just because something sounds too good to be true doesn’t mean that it lacks potential.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) --Give money matters top priority, because this could be one of those rare days when you can effortlessly reach your financial goals and fatten your bank account in the process.

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.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) -- Meaningful projects that you personally direct have excellent chances for success. Apply your best efforts toward getting what you really want.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) -- Most of the time, it is unwise to rely totally on your hunches while ignoring your logic. Today, though, could be one of those rare exceptions when you won’t want to discount your intuition.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) --If a face-to-face meeting concerning an important involvement with another becomes necessary, don’t use a surrogate, even if you think that person could do a better job. You need to handle this in person if you want the credit that will eventually come.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) --If a face-to-face meeting concerning an

important involvement with another becomes necessary, don’t use a surrogate, even if you think that person could do a better job. You need to handle this in person if you want the credit that will eventually come.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) -- Your optimistic outlook will be one of your greatest assets. You’ll use it effectively to further your personal interests by minimizing all insignificant negatives.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) -Persons will be supportive when you get them to understand how they can benefit from a collective involvement. Spell everything out without holding back any of the details.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) -- This can be a better than usual day for negotiating important agreements.

The key to success will be ensuring that a project yields equal benefit to all parties involved.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) --Financial trends look unusually positive, especially regarding dealings in which you’re personally prepared to work hard for what you hope to get.

Think big.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) -- If there is someone of the opposite gender whom you’re desirous of impressing, don’t come on too strong. In fact, be a bit standoffish and try to let him or her make the first move.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) -- Don’t hesitate to press for a close if there’s an important matter that you want to wrap up. It’s one of those days when you could get exactly what you want.

Universal Crossword Edited by Timothy E. Parker March 12, 2012

ACROSS 1 Bit of elbow encouragement 5 Material at a yard sale?

11 1 or 11, in twenty-one 14 “I changed my mind� on a computer 15 Fermi or Caruso 16 Bird’s horn?

17 Constantly 19 “Gimme a ___�

20 Chunk of lawn 21 Adopt, as a cause 23 Poe’s middle name 26 Tenth mo.

28 “Do not open ’til ___�

29 Cosmetic 31 Bad looks 33 “Warm� or “cold� ending 34 “Survivor� genre 36 Show disagreement, in a way 41 Misses on the moors 42 ___ Grande 44 Forever and ever 47 Launder with chemicals 50 Animal’s resting place 51 ___ Moines, Iowa 52 Fine-twisted thread 53 Singer’s quivery effect 56 Demand

3/12

payment 57 Be green around the gills 58 Handyman’s storage unit 64 X-ray dose unit 65 Hostile attack 66 A stone’s throw away from 67 Barnyard abode 68 Big name in private planes 69 “Spare me the ___ details�

DOWN 1 “Aye!� sayer 2 Abbr. for Jesse Jackson 3 “To Autumn,� e.g.

4 ___ fin (shark feature) 5 Repel (with “off�)

6 So-so link?

7 Sis counterpart 8 Beam fastener 9 Boardwalk coolers 10 Business name abbr.

11 Take as a given 12 “Julius ___�

(Shakespeare tragedy) 13 Glut 18 “... in ___-horse open sleigh�

22 Aster relative

23 Had a course 24 Bad outcome for the home team 25 Prefix meaning “stone�

26 Black-andwhite treats 27 Poison pill contents 30 Bit of hair 31 “Badlands� star Spacek 32 Degree in mathematics?

35 More bad looks 37 Bank vault installation 38 Surname in cosmetics 39 “Iliad� warrior 40 “Don’t touch that ___!�

43 Number of even primes 44 Knot-tying sites

45 Wild West Show prop 46 Easy to handle 48 Collection of members 49 Fur, in a mukluk 51 Elevator entryways 54 Ending for “psych�

55 ___ Star State (Texas’ nickname) 56 “Anti-art� movement 59 “Alamos� or “Angeles� preceder 60 A finished movie is in one 61 “The one� played by Keanu 62 “... silk purse out of a sow’s ___�

63 “Give it a shot!�

PREVIOUS PUZZLE PUZZLE ANSWER PREVIOUS ANSWER

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GIVE ME A HAND By Lester Hamm

LIFE&ARTS

Monday, March 12, 2012 •

PokĂŠmon

7

fails to evolve

Game series lacks innovation despite more than a decade to solve problems

L

L

ike many students LIFE & ARTS COLUMNIST my age, I have fond childhood memories of trapping animals and training them to fight other animals for sport.

I am, of course, referring to the countless hours I spent playing the PokĂŠmon roleSteven Zoeller playing games on my Game stevenv.zoeller@gmail.com Boy Color.

I vividly remember playing through “PokĂŠmon: Red Versionâ€? for the first time. It was a glorious addiction. I earned all the gym badges, trained most of my PokĂŠmon team to level 100 and acquired all of the original 151 pocket monsters by a grueling process of walking back and forth in tall grass for hours on end.

The subsequent installments in the series also were big during my childhood and even well into my adolescence. In the final analysis, I’ve probably clocked in about 1,000 hours ILLUSTRATION BY JAMES CORLEY of playtime for the series total.

That said, that number likely won’t increase in the foresleek, but they play like they were originally designed for an seeable future. Alas, I no longer play the PokÊmon RPGs. No, it’s not because I’ve outgrown them — I’ve just grown 8-bit system.

While one struggles to find any major improvement made weary of the brand’s refusal to innovate. to the series formula by the most recent PokÊmon games, it’s We might as well face it: The PokÊmon franchise is in decline. After more than a decade of installments, the core for- not at all hard to spot instances of decline.

For example, the plot, which formerly was passable, has mula has become stale and boring. been awful ever since Team Rocket was replaced by other The newest games haven’t made any major positive changes, and, in some ways, they’ve actually made it worse. more gimmicky, badly dressed villains with hilariously stuIt’s maddening how many of the same problems that hurt pid motives.

Readers who remember Team Aqua and Team Magma the first PokÊmon games also plague the new ones. from the third generation will know what I’m talking about.

For one, movement on the world map still is restricted PokĂŠmon designs, too, have gotten noticeably worse. The to a grid. Also, random encounters with wild PokĂŠmon still classic designs merely took inspiration from occur when walking through tall grass or swimming. “The PokĂŠmon series real-life animals, whereas the modern deoutright copy them and swap their Worst of all, HMs still are a thing — why has refused to evolve. signs colors. As a result, many of them look bland do I need to teach my Lapras how to use Rather than adapt to or ugly. “surfâ€? or my Scyther how to “cut?â€?

I think these examples of degeneration These are problems that have plagued the modern technology stem from a general lack of enthusiasm on series since its inception, but they have yet to fix its longstanding the developer’s part. My only suggestion to to be addressed. remedy this is to cut down on the too-freproblems, the By now, the avatar should be able to move in more than four directions. We franchise continues to quent releases.

It’s hard to be excited about a game series should be able to discern where PokÊmon carry the stamp of its if a new installment comes out every year. are hiding by their rustling in the grass. And Like many gamers, I love the PokÊmon birds should be able to fly, with or without lowly origins.� formula, and it always will remain a cheran HM. ished part of my childhood. However, just because our Gameplay elements aside, there are bizarre cosmetic traits that also have seen little to no update between games. best memories of the franchise are from a decade ago, that PokÊmon cries still sound cacophonous and tinny. Towns doesn’t mean it should remain stuck in that era.

I hope that when Nintendo releases its next two PokĂŠmon and cities still are unrealistically small and disorganized.

The Pokedex entries still are written at the first-grade level. I games, PokĂŠmon Black 2 and PokĂŠmon White 2, this fall, it will include some real innovations. could go on.

But I shan’t hold my breath.

The PokĂŠmon series has refused to evolve.

Rather than adapt to modern technology to fix its longstanding problems, the franchise continues to carry the stamp of its lowly origins. The latest generations may look Steven Zoeller is a journalism sophomore.

AT A GLANCE Evolving look of PokÊmon The game series began with 151 original PokÊmon in the first generation installments. Each creature was inspired by real animals but weren’t exact copies. For instance, Pikachu (above) shares a lot of the same characteristics with a mouse, but its coloration, tail, and long ears make it clear it isn’t a mouse.

As later generations added more and more PokÊmon — the most current featuring 649 — the designers got lazy. Here are a couple of the good classics compared to new disasters.

The Good Wartortle: This is a badass turtle with a cool tail and ears.

It exudes toughness. It’s from the first generation.

Scizor: This Bug/Steel-type PokÊmon is memorable because of its sleek design and crimson coloring. It’s from the second generation.

The Bad Combee: This is an awkward fusion of a honeycomb and a bee.

It’s too strange to be truly cute yet too cute to be taken seriously.

It’s from generation 4.

Vanillish: This PokĂŠmon is designed after an ice cream cone.

Nothing admits that your game designers are out of good ideas quite like a sentient ice cream cone. This monstrosity is from generation 5.

Compiled by Steven Zoeller

AT A GLANCE PokĂŠmon timeline (U.S. releases) 1999: “Yellowâ€?

1998: “Red� and “Blue�

First generation

2001: “Crystal�

2000: “Gold� and “Silver�

2005: “Emerald�

2003: “Ruby� and “Sapphire�

Second generation

2004: “FireRed� and “LeafGreen�

2009: “Platinum�

2007: “Diamond� and “Pearl�

Third generation

Fall 2012: “Black 2� and “White 2�

2010: “HeartGold� 2011: “Black� and “SoulSilver� and “White�

Fourth generation

Fifth generation

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Life&Arts

• Monday, March 12, 2012

Theater review

Gritty ‘Bog of Cats’ captivates audience Life & Arts Columnist

Left: Afraid of losing her daughter, Josie — played by Jennifer Pearson — Hester, played by Anna Fearheiley, murders her. Hearing Hester’s mournful cries, The Catwoman, played

by Chandler Ryan (left), rushes to her side. “By the Bog of Cats” was part of this weekend’s Puterbaugh Festival.

Marina Carr, the play’s author, was selected as this year’s Puterbaugh Fellow, in conjuction with World Literature Today.

Mariah Webb mariahwebb@ou.edu

T

he OU S chool of Drama in conjunct i o n w i t h Wo r l d Literature Today produced “By the Bog of Cats” by Irish playwright Marina Carr this weekend as part of the 2012 Puterbaugh Festival.

Director Susan Shaughnessy very successfully executed this beautifully written play, loosely based on the tragedy of “Medea” by Euripides.

This play was a very difficult one. Not only in subject matter, but also in age range.

The characters’ ages varied from seven years old to elderly. This can prove very challenging for a university in the casting process. It becomes even more difficult, however, in a lab theater when audience member are only feet away from the action and can easily see the makeup.

These difficulties, however, were simply non-issues for the cast of this show. Flawless makeup, in addition to successful movement work, left no question in my mind as to the age of each character.

Although the entire cast performed excellently in each of their roles, Anna Fearheiley was a standout in the role of Hester Swane. Her performance was bone-chilling in every aspect, from her precise Irish dialect to the intensity of acting.

Another stand out was Chandler Ryan in the role of The Catwoman. Every aspect of her character was believable. She was hilarious at times and effectively tragic at others. It is not a simple feat to effectively play an old blind woman, but there was not a second she was on stage when I believed otherwise. Her dynamic with every character was unique and perfect, specifically, with Kevin Percival as Father Willow and Fearhiley as Hester.

Other noteworthy performances include Alli Trussell as Caroline Kennedy and

Bottom: Drunk and mad with rage, Xavier Cassidy, played by Phillip Wiles (left), threatens to kill Hester Swane, played

by Anna Fearheiley, in a performance of “By the Bog of Cats” Friday evening.

AT A GLANCE ‘Bog of Cats’ cast list Hester Swane — Anna Fearheiley Carthage Kilbride — Samuel Boeck Josie Kilbride — Jennifer Pearson Mrs. Kilbride — Kourtney Kimbrough Monica Murray — Christa Ruiz The Catwoman — Chandler Ryan Xavier Cassidy — Philip Wiles

Samuel Boeck as Carthage Kilbride. Carr’s flawless writing presented us with no obvious antagonists. These two characters are the ones who have taken everything from Hester, and yet they both were loved and hated by our anti-heroine.

In a speech to Caroline, Hester mentions there are two sides to her feelings toward the girl. The first loves her as the innocent child she once baby-sat. The second side could allow Hester to slit her throat and not feel an ounce of guilt.

Trussell’s performance effectively evoked both of

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these feelings toward her character. I wanted to dislike her, but there was a helpless innocence and true desire to do right that made disliking her impossible.

OU’s performance of “By the Bog of Cats” was flawlessly gritty and heart wrenching.

Bravo to the entire cast and crew on creating a fantastic theatrical experience. When the audience has been in the theater for two hours but felt like it has only been 10 minutes, you are doing it right.

Mariah Webb is a University College freshman.

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