Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Think before you advocate for ‘Stop Kony’ (opinion, page 4) The University of Oklahoma’s independent student voice since 1916

W E D N E S D A Y , M A R C H 14 , 2 0 1 2

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

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

STUDENT LiFE

integrity Council to recruit members Student-run group seeks candidates with diverse views SEAN LAWSON

Campus Reporter

The student-run Integrity Council tasked with determining policy on a range of academic issues is recruiting

new members.

Student participants will have a voice setting precedent on issues including the sale of notes, legality of test banks and the criterion for expulsion due to academic misconduct, council director Greg Heiser said. “ The council is looking to expand the number

UOSA

of councilors and replace members that are leaving this year,” Integrity Council chairman Zekiel Johnson said. “Councilors’ recommendations on specific cases and specific policy issues are taken directly to the provost, who makes all final decisions on these matters.”

The council will recruit

heavily for two weeks during March in order to bring in a diverse group of candidates, Johnson said.

“Integrity Council strives to be composed of students from every background, so there is literally no student that is unqualified,” Johnson said. The council does not discriminate based on

academic program, GPA or any protected class, he said.

Because of a new code implemented in August of last year, students will have more responsibility than ever before, council associate director Breea Clark said.

“For the first time ever

GO AND DO integrity Council open house WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday WHERE: Gaylord Hall’s Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Auditorium

see COUNCIL page 2

STORY LABEL

Sooners jazz up concert hall

Speech to give UOSA updates

Speaker praises Arab Spring

Address to detail future plans

Middle-East scholar supports recent uprisings

CHASE COOK

SAM HIGGINS

Managing Editor

Campus Reporter

OU student leaders will share their accomplishments and future plans during the State of the UOSA Address at 9 a.m. today in Oklahoma Memorial Union’s Beaird Lounge.

The event will feature updates on projects and tasks completed this term, UOSA President Hannah Morris said.

The speech is similar to the State of the Union, but instead of only the president, it will feature the leaders from each student government branch, she said.

“It’s an opportunity to come and meet the student government leaders,” Morris said. “[Students can] learn what student government did and what they plan to do for them.”

The speeches will take place after a breakfast is served to those attendees who made reservations, according to the address invitation.

Even if students didn’t make a reservation, they can still attend the event free of charge, Morris said.

A scholar and author specializing in Middle Eastern affairs delivered the keynote speech at a President’s Associates Dinner Tuesday at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History.

Fouad Ajami, who has worked with CNN anchor Anderson Cooper during the Egyptian uprisings last year as well as publishing work in The New York Times Magazine and Wall Street Journal, was introduced by OU President David Boren at a reception held before the dinner at the Fred Jones’ Jr. Museum of Art. “ He ha s re c e i v e d a series of truly remarkable awards,” Boren said.

“Some of the most prestigious awards sought after in this country and

ty JoHnson/tHe daiLy

The OU Jazz Band performs Tuesday in Catlett Music Center’s Sharp Concert Hall as part of the Sutton Concert Series. The group played a wide variety of songs, including an interpretation of John Brown’s “I Feel Good.” To read more, visit OUDaily.com.

see AJAMI page 2

FACULTY

Gender disparity present for OU faculty Male professors higher in number, level of degrees

GO AND DO State of the UOSA Address

HILLARY MCLAIN

WHEN: 9 a.m. today

Campus Reporter

WHERE: Oklahoma Memorial Union’s Beaird Lounge

Male professors at OU outnumber female professors 320 to 71, according to the 2011 OU Factbook.

Of the 367 professors with doctoral degrees, 63 are women, according to the factbook.

Fewer women may occupy these jobs because the number of women now in college has not yet influenced traditional gender disparity, Steed School of Accounting director Frances Ayres said. “ There w eren’t many

INFO: Leaders giving speeches: Hannah Morris, UOSA president; Laura Bock, UOSA vice president; Alyssa Loveless, Undergraduate Student Congress chairwoman; Derrell Cox, Graduate Student Senate chairman; and Melissa Mock, Campus Activities Council chairwoman.

women in the profession 20 or 30 years ago,” Ayres said. “Now there’s a lot more women actually graduating … The mix is changing, but it takes time for it to catch up.”

Ayres was one of the first women to graduate from thes doctoral program at the University of Iowa, she said.

Being one of few women didn’t stop Ayres from chasing her goals; it helped to have a network of women in her profession nationally, she said.

Now, if women want to be career-focused, they can.

That would have been more difficult to do 30 years ago, she said.

“I just really think that the business world is changing a

lot,” Ayres said. “There’s a lot more women CEOs. Women are breaking into the glass ceiling in a lot of ways.”

Attracting women to the accounting field may be more difficult in Norman, because many women are in dual-career families and may wish to live in larger cities, she said.

More women also may go into other non-traditional fields like the sciences or engineering with similarly difficult curriculums, Ayres said.

During the fall 2010 semester, there were 271 more male students than female on the Norman campus, according to the 2011 OU Factbook.

This number dropped to 205 see GAP page 2

SpORTS VOL. 97, NO. 121

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NOW ONLiNE AT City council candidate speaks to students Candidate Greg Jungman spoke about his platform to Undergraduate Student Congress . (News)

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sourCe: 2011 ou FaCtBooK; grapHs By James CorLey/tHe daiLy

Requested document and purpose

The Sooner bats have been scorching thus far in 2012, as the team currently leads the Big 12 in home runs. (page 5)

LiFE & ARTS The Song Writers Association of Norman hold open mic nights for local musicians. (page 8)

professors

The Daily’s open record requests

Softball off to hot start at the plate this year

Local songwriters help aspiring locals’ passion

Full-time faculty members

meLodie LettKeman/tHe daiLy

Bobbicakes, 2307 W. Main St., features custom cakes and cupcakes made with fresh buttercream and cream cheese frostings. The shop is owned by Norman resident Bobbi Hawkins. (page 7)

Date requested

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

Friday

Campaign material registration forms for the spring 2012 campus elections — To examine the impact of unopposed candidates.

Friday

Non-identifying grade data for various courses — To compare the data to that of “weed-out” courses identified for several colleges.

Monday

The number of messages sent between Goddard Health Center doctors and their patients using RelayHealth.com — To learn how often patients use the site to communicate with their doctors.

Tuesday

Visit OUDaily.com/openrecords for a complete list of The Daily’s requests

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• Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Campus

OUDaily.com ››

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

Undergraduate Student Congress changed the inauguration date for UOSA student leaders at the group’s most recent meeting on Tuesday.

Ajami: Activism a step to ‘salvation’ COUNCIL: Continued from page 1 New code to ensure fairness

Today around campus 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.

A concert featuring the Holmberg String Quartet will take place at 8 p.m. in Catlett Music Center’s Pitman Recital Hall.

Tickets are $5 for students, OU faculty and staff and $9 for adults.

THURSDAY, MARCH 15 A benefit concert for the Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts featuring Broadway stars Paul Bogaev, Brent Barrett and Teri Bibb will take place at 8 p.m. in the Reynolds Performing Arts Center.

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.

around the world, including a five year MacArthur Prize fellowship for his creativity and his scholarship.”

Ajami was the director of Middle East Studies at the John Hopkins University from 1980 to 2011. He has authored several books on the Middle East and has been a strong support of America’s military involvement Iraq.

He is a naturalized citizen who was born in Lebanon, raised in Beirut, and now lives in New York.

During his remarks, Ajami expressed an optimistic perspective on the recent Egyptian uprisings.

“Suddenly Arabs were claiming and owning their o w n h i s t o r y ,” h e s a i d .

“Suddenly I wasn’t hearing that much about America and Israel.”

The uprisings were a necessary first step toward representation for all Arab people, Ajami said.

“I thought this was the beginning of salvation, when a people claim their own history and accept responsibility for what they have done,” he said.

Continued from page 1

Sam Higgins/the daily

Fouad Ajami, senior fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institute and CNN commentator, speaks Tuesday at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art. During his speech, Ajami praised the Arab Spring uprisings.

Ajami feels that the events of Sept. 11 only represent one period of Arab history, and now a younger generation can take control and make a new history, he said.

Ajami also likened the uprisings of the Arab Spring to a prison riot.

“The prisoners rioted and they didn’t know what the world was like outside of the prison walls but we should give them a chance to find out,” he said. “If this rebellion had remained in Egypt it would have amounted to nothing.”

students will play an active role in the investigatory process of the Integrity Council,” Heiser said. “The students will help investigate cases of academic misconduct to ensure fairness and maintain a voice for students during the investigation.”

The council was founded in 2004 with five members, Heiser said. The organization has since grown to include over 50 students.

Since its founding, students and faculty have served together at hearings to determine the guilt or innocence of other students, Heiser said.

“We think it is important that students have representation on the board,” Clark said. “The most important thing is fairness, and student representation is a vital part of that.”

Gap: Education levels not yet caught up to jobs Continued from page 1 more male students than female during the 2011 spring semester.

Nationally, there are currently more women than men with college degrees.

Women over the age of 18 have earned 1.6 million more bachelor’s degrees than their male counterparts, according to the 2011 U.S. Census.

Women over the age of 18

with master’s degrees outnumber men by 1,692,000, according to the census.

There are fewer women living in Oklahoma compared to the U.S. Women make up 50.8-percent of the national population, while Oklahoma is 50.5-percent women, according to the U.S. Census.

Assistant finance professor Evgenia Golubeva has nothing to complain about,

despite being one of few women in her department, she said.

“I don’t feel like you have to necessarily have other women with you to feel like you belong,” Golubeva said.

“I’m very well respected.”

Golubeva said though professional finance is generally male-dominated, it is not because there are obstacles in the way of women.

Women are actually welcomed in the profession, because there are so few, Golubeva said.

“I don’t feel any kind of discrimination or any kind of arrogant chauvinistic attitude from men toward women on any level,” Golubeva said.

“In my profession, if there are fewer women it has got to be because fewer women are interested.”

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NEWS

Wednesday, March 14, 2012 •

WEATHER

Unexpected warm weather to continue across the U.S.

1

Some states have increased risk of wildfires CHICAGO — Break out the beach towels, flip-flops and baseball bats: Warm weather is arriving early across much of the U.S., even in northern states where perplexed residents are swapping their snow shovels for golf clubs.

The unseasonably warm weather was pushing throngs of people outside to play Tuesday from the Plains to New England, where March is feeling like May with temperatures ranging from the high 60s to low 80s — smashing dozens of record highs.

Boaters were cruising along the river in downtown Chicago amid one of Illinois’ warmest winters on record.

G o l f e rs w e re s ma cki ng balls at a central Minnesota course that opened weeks earlier than last year.

And an ice-breaking mission on Maine’s Kennebec River on Tuesday was the shortest in recent memory — because the Coast Guard found no ice. “ I t ’s a l m o s t l i k e w e skipped winter and now we’re going to skip spring, too,” said Gino Izzi, a senior meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Chicago office.

Forecasters are predicting that temperatures will likely remain unusually high through March.

Izzi said the weather pattern is a random but normal fluctuation. A jet stream moving north to south on the West Coast is pushing an opposite, seesaw effect

2

NATION NEWS BRIEFS 1. KANSAS CITY, MO.

Romney won’t be filling out a March Madness bracket Mitt Romney clearly is not running to be the nation’s top sports fan.

The GOP presidential candidate says he won’t be filling out a college basketball tournament bracket, an annual tradition for millions of Americans including President Barack Obama.

“I’m not plugged in well enough this year to do that,” Romney said Tuesday during a brief exchange with reporters traveling with him in Missouri.

Basketball player and fan Obama is making his NCAA tournament predictions public for a third straight year. ESPN on Tuesday revealed Obama’s Final Four: Kentucky, Ohio State, Missouri and North Carolina. ESPN said it would unveil the president’s entire bracket on Wednesday.

The Associated Press

2. TRENTON, N. J. MELODIE LETTKEMAN/ THE DAILY

Hanging out between two trees on the North Oval, Max Nowakowski, University College junior, reads Kaffir Boy for his African History midterm Monday, March 12. After checking the weather on his phone, Nowakowski brought his hammock to campus to relax and study.

in the rest of the nation.

Atmospheric patterns, including the Pacific phenomenon known as La Nina, have kept cold air bottled up over Canada and contributed to the warmer winter in snow-accustomed parts of the continental U.S. Tuesday’s warm weather was raising some concerns, including upping the risk of wildfires. The usually warm, dry and windy conditions prompted six North Dakota counties to declare fire emergencies and institute burn bans.

Another effect of rising

temperatures: Americans’ belief in global warming, according to a December poll that found 62 percent of people believed the Earth was getting warmer, an increase from previous polls. Nearly half of them based that belief on personal weather observations, University of Michigan and Muhlenberg College researchers found.

In Minnesota, golfers were greeting the sunshine at the Eagle Valley Golf Course in suburban St. Paul that opened Tuesday — weeks earlier than last year’s chilly, soggy spring start. Within an

hour of its post-lunch opening, dozens of players were on the course, head golf pro Dan Moris said.

“We’re hoping this is a sign of good things to come,” Moris said.

Nearby, new city residents Katie and Chris Anderson said they were surprised by the weather because of Chicago’s legendary cold winter.

“I was really ner vous about moving here,” Katie Anderson said. Her husband added: “We expected the worst.”

The Associated Press

City officials agree on contract to refill toilet paper dispensers Officials in New Jersey’s capital say they’ve resolved a fight over toilet paper.

Trenton’s The Times newspaper reports Mayor Tony Mack’s administration will move forward with an emergency purchase of toilet paper and paper towels. Supplies of both dwindled in city buildings while the administration and City Council quarreled over a contract to resupply city government.

The stalemate began last September. The council twice rejected a $42,000 contract for a year’s supply of paper products because members raised concerns about a high unit price for hot-drink cups.

Before the $16,000 emergency contract was announced Tuesday, officials said paper towel and toilet paper dispensers were nearly depleted in senior citizen centers, police headquarters, the fire department and other city offices.

The Associated Press

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• Wednesday, March 14, 2012

OUDaily.com ›› Letter to the editor

OPINION

Invisible Children’s campaign against Joseph Kony needs more than online attention in order to put an end to war crimes and kidnapping.

EDITORIAL

You are not Ugandans’ savior Our View: The Stop Kony campaign silences

Ugandan voices.

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

?

» Poll question of the day Have you engaged in social media activism in support of the Stop Kony campaign?

To cast your vote, log on to

You’ve probably seen or heard of the “Kony 2012” documentary created by Invisible Children, Inc. about child soldiers in Uganda. With the YouTube video becoming the most viral video of all time, the Twitter tags trending and a widespread Facebook campaign, it would be hard to miss.

In the days since this effort has gained popularity, it has been targeted by loud and earnest critic — who often were countered by even louder outcries from supporters.

We could point out the concern about Invisible Children only using one third of their income on direct aid or remind you that sharing a YouTube video doesn’t actually help the people of Uganda.

We could add our voices to the cacophonous debate.

But we prefer to focus on the only voices that really matter: those of Ugandans.

It would be easy to answer the common criticisms against this campaign, as many have, with the claim, “At least they’re trying to do something. Even if it accomplishes very little, what harm can it do?”

Indeed, “What harm can it do?” is exactly the question we should all be asking.

COLUMN

Invisible Children makes atrocities, crimes invisible

O

AP FILE PHOTO

Joseph Kony, leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army, answers questions in this 2006 file photo. A video by the advocacy group Invisible Children about the atrocities carried out by Kony has gone viral.

AT A GLANCE History lesson on Uganda

Spreading violence Behind the demands to “Stop Kony” is the call for militarized intervention in the region. This call is an excellent excuse for the U.S. government to send even more aid and weaponry to the nation, cementing ties with what Adam Branch, senior researcher at the Makerere Institute of Social Research in Uganda, calls a “war-crimes-perpetrating military and its brutal, corrupt, human-rights-abusing dictatorship” in an oil-rich nation.

With its misleading, emotional propaganda, Invisible Children is urging Americans to support the U.S. government’s continued militarization and exploitation of Africa. Well-meaning citizens, desiring at least in some small way to help, actually are contributing to the very same interventionist policies that led to these problems in the first place.

In a March 9 essay in National Geographic, Anywar Ricky Richard, a former child soldier of the Lord’s Resistance Army and director of Friends of Orphans, writes of perceptions of Invisible Children in northern Uganda: “They are not known as a peace building organization and I do not think they have experience with peace building and conflict resolution methods. I totally disagree with their approach of military action as a means to end this conflict.”

Oh, and the military and dictatorship that America would be supporting? A 2010 U.S. State Department report profiling them includes a long list of abuses, including arbitrary killings, sex trafficking, sexual abuse of children and, yes, use of child soldiers.

Ultimately, U.S. consumers are driving the resource-driven conflicts in the region, purchasing products created through the theft of African resources. Centuries of what Branch calls “exploitation and devastation” by Western nations has created a climate of war, chaos and poverty in Africa.

The Western world is responsible for the conflict in Uganda. America helped start it, and U.S. policies are helping sustain it. That does not give privileged white armchair activists the responsibility — or the right — to demand military intervention to “save” Uganda. America’s presence there will do nothing but make things worse.

White Man’s Burden This entire campaign represents the rapid spreading of damaging, racist sentiments. The White Savior Complex has gone viral.

The Stop Kony campaign teaches us white activists from the West must band together to save the poor, helpless black populace. It ignores the progress already made by Ugandans and local campaigns. It takes the voice and agency away from Ugandans and places the opinions and actions of white Americans in the spotlight. But what else is new?

Ugandan-born TMS Ruge wrote, “It is a slap in the face to so many of us who want to rise from the ashes of our tumultuous past and the noose of benevolent, paternalistic, aid-driven development memes. We, Africans, are sandwiched between our historically factual imperfections and well-intentioned, road-tohell-building-do-gooders.”

It’s not as easy as a bunch of white activists coming in and deciding things must change. The Stop Kony campaign, and your involvement in it, is a privileged ego-trip that allows white activists with no accountability to the culture they “represent” to ride in and

Since none of this “revolutionary” social media awareness-raising has included facts or historical context, here’s an (incredibly simplified) overview. Joseph Kony is the leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army, a rebel group that has been waging war against the Ugandan government. At least, it was, until that government forced the group out of the country in 2009.

Before this defeat, back when the Ugandan civil war was raging full force, Kony and his army used despicable, inhuman tactics. They abducted young children from their homes, forcing the girls into sex slavery and handing the boys weapons.

He was a brutal, violent leader of a guerilla force that terrorized parts of Uganda for years.

That much, the Invisible Children documentary got right.

What the film ignores is the historical and cultural context of the Ugandan conflict. It

ignores the widespread human rights abuses by the Ugandan government, which the U.S. helped to install. No where does it mention that this war has subsided or that Ugandans are now focused on rebuilding communities and rehabilitating victims.

And it blatantly disregards both the role Western states played in creating the unstable environment in Africa and the continuing harm inflicted by the American government and American consumer interests.

The current conflicts in Africa can trace their roots back to Western colonialism, when states like the U.S., Britain and France carved up the region according to their own interests, with no regard for the different ethnic groups that lived there. Now, many African nations see violent clashes between disparate ethnic groups vying for control of the country.

OUDaily.com

drown out the voices of Ugandans.

Sooner students weigh in Invisible Children’s on the Kony controversy. work, at least this part of it, oudaily.com/opinion is contributing to keeping these populations invisible.

Branch wrote about the concerns he has heard from Ugandans about the Invisible Children Project, identifying “their portrayal of Africans as helpless children in need of rescue by white Americans, and the fact that civilians in Uganda and central Africa may have to pay a steep price in their own lives so that a lot of young Americans can feel good about themselves and a few can make good money.”

But what do we do?

So you saw this video and you’re horrified at the situation in Uganda. That’s good. It is important to be aware of suffering and struggles throughout the world. But before you demand that the American government put on the white armor, climb on the white horse and intervene in another country’s affairs, try asking yourself what this country already has done to contribute to the problems there.

That is what you can and should be doing if you care about the situation in Africa or the suffering in any other part of the world. Do some research.

Understand the context for these conflicts. Identify the ways American policies and interests have contributed to or outright caused them. Then figure out how to keep that from happening again.

It is not about doing something — anything — to help the situation in Uganda or anywhere else. It is not about clicking a button or watching a video or buying a wristband. It is not about making yourself feel better. It is about joining Ugandans to do what must be done to protect their lives and freedom.

And that requires more than a 30-minute, emotionally masturbatory YouTube video — it requires listening to the voices of those actually affected and giving them a louder voice than your own.

Comment on this at OUDaily.com

ver the past OPINION COLUMNIST week, it is evident a case could be made against American college students even trying to be concerned with world events.

It probably would fail, but playing apathy’s advocate Jason Byas wouldn’t be too hard. jason.l.byas-1@ou.edu After all, at least when the average young adult was busy not caring about things like the continued occupation of Afghanistan or American drone-strikes over Pakistan, they weren’t actively supporting them. The same cannot be said of the military intervention in Libya and definitely not of U.S. involvement in Uganda.

Of these two instances when it became hip to be a hawk, the latter has had much more forceful support from this generation’s wave of socially conscious imperialists. The beginning of their insatiable war hunger can be traced back to a video titled “Kony 2012” that made its way around Facebook thanks to a never-ending supply of “slacktivists.”

The “Kony 2012” video description tells us it “is a film and campaign by Invisible Children that aims to make Joseph Kony famous — not to celebrate him but to raise support for his arrest and set a precedent for international justice.”

It’s not until more than eight minutes into the video that the viewer is educated about Kony. It’s a shame, too, because Kony certainly is a monster. As leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army, he spends his time as a cult-leader warlord who abducts children to force girls into sex slavery and boys into his vast army of child soldiers.

After a couple of minutes, the brief explanation of who Kony is ends and the video returns to what seems to be its main purpose: framing an African civil war in a way that makes American Internet activists the central focus.

The video quality is exceptionally poor, and much of the content is recycled from older videos when the leaders of Invisible Children first stumbled in shock onto the fact that there are major problems in the Third World and decided they were the messiahs Africa needs. At least when Rudyard Kipling voiced a similar paternalistic worldview to support American colonization of the Philippines in “The White Man’s Burden,” it was admittedly poetic.

However, the main issue to consider with Kipling’s poem obviously isn’t its aesthetic quality but its horrifying ethical content. And the major gripe with Invisible Children isn’t over its cheesy film-making style but with its rationalizing of American military presence, while subsequently emitting a “Western savior” complex that places its quest for self-righteousness above actually helping people and, with a certain dark irony, doing its part to make war crimes invisible.

The last one is especially concerning, considering the stated purpose of the organization is to do the exact opposite. But its role in masking atrocities becomes clear as soon as one considers who the 100 military advisers the U.S. sent to Uganda in October — whom Invisible Children wants to make sure you support keeping there — are advising.

Uganda’s government certainly is not much freer of theocratic despotism than Kony, having attracted international attention recently when only barely deciding against a bill that would have made homosexuality punishable by death.

While Kony turns young girls into sex slaves, the Ugandan military has been accused of widespread rape during its looting of the Central African Republic. And turning boys into child soldiers? The Ugandan military does that, too.

So when Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., gives his support for Invisible Children in the video by saying, “of all the problems that are out there, none is more severe than one that mutilates and takes the lives of little kids,” perhaps he should start by not aiding a military that uses child soldiers.

Another good place to start is cutting off military funding to Yemen, Chad and the Congo, all of which use child soldiers and enjoy the financial support of the U.S. This generation of American youth quickly are taking on a foreign policy outlook almost indistinguishable from the neoconservatism they claim to hate.

Rather than buying into the next pseudo-humanitarian group that wants you to support throwing in with another authoritarian government, real differences can be made elsewhere. It’s more important to get our government to stop destroying the rest of the world than declaring ourselves the ones to save it.

Jason Byas is a philosophy junior.

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Wednesday, March 14, 2012 •

OUDaily.com ››

SPORTS

The OU baseball team gave up four runs in the bottom of the ninth, losing to Dallas Baptist by a score of 7-6 on Tuesday night in Dallas.

softball

Sooner bats lead Big 12 After weekend dominance, OU’s stats best in league

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

column

No. 1 OU on a roll to success

T

Tobi Neidy

Sports Reporter

After spending a weekend talking about how her team was so hungry to hit that batters were chasing balls out of the strike zone in order to put the bat on basically every pitch, coach Patty Gasso predicted that if the line-up could just settle down, there would be no stopping this Sooner team at the plate.

That may qualify for the understatement of the year.

With two days of practice to get ready to host the Oklahoma Spring Festival last week, the stars aligned perfectly and Gasso’s prophecy came true as OU outscored last weekend’s opponents a whopping 48-2 in the five-game sweep.

“We’ve played some tough competition a couple of weeks ago,” Gasso said. “But from those two weeks we are such a different style team now. It’s exciting to see what this new team can do.”

So far this season, the Sooners have combined for 34 home runs — 17 of those coming during last weekend’s action alone — which are 10 more than the next closest Big 12 opponent.

And the stats just keep getting better.

The Sooners have the most runs batted in (131) of any team in the Big 12 while their on-base percentage (.430) and slugging percentage (.569) both rank first.

Match these stats up with the Big 12’s best pitching staff that has combined for a .83 ERA, and you certainly can see that this team is becoming the dominant force in the conference.

The one intangible part of the game that is setting OU apart from its conference foes is learning how to play the game its own way.

5

rebekah cornwell/the daily

Junior catcher Jessica Shults prepares to take first base as she watches ball four zoom by in the second inning of the Sooners’ 8-0 victory over Austin Peay on March 6 in Norman. Shults, the team’s home run leader a year ago, is on pace to set OU’s single season home run record.

“We talked about zoning in on our pitches, not just strikes,” junior catcher Jessica Shults said. “When you start zoning in on your pitch, you start to focus better and get into a natural rhythm.”

Shults, the team’s home run leader a year ago, came into the festival with just two bombs. After posting 15 and 19 home runs in each of her first two seasons, the Valencia, Calif. native was far from being on pace with her past performances.

But in true redemption fashion, the starting catcher went yard five times — twice in two different games — to

put herself safely back into OU’s single season home run record hunt.

“I’ve always been hitting the balls hard,” Shults said.

“But now I’m starting to settle down and make them get out of the park.”

All three of Shults’ home runs during Sunday’s doubleheader against Indiana cleared both fences at Marita Hynes Field, proving that Shults is getting her swing back after taking a large part of last year’s postseason off due to illness.

But it wasn’t Shults’ return as the power hitter that has surprised the Sooners’ head coach.

“After missing the most important part of our season, Shults watched her team from the outside,” Gasso said. “I’ve been excited to see what she’s been doing to get back to this point.”

Seeing the rest of the Sooner bats come alive in almost every inning last weekend was something even Gasso couldn’t forecast.

“The 17 home runs this weekend was just exciting to see,” Gasso said. “To see all of what we talked about in practice come together and unwind on these opponents was just incredible.

“But that’s just what we are capable of doing.”

he OU men’s gymSports Columnist nastics team held Saturday’s meet against No. 8 Michigan at Lloyd Noble Center to preview the venue before the team hosts the NCAA championships at Lloyd Noble in April.

Greg Fewell In reality, though, the No. greg_f@ou.edu 1 Sooners have been previewing the NCAA championships since the season first began.

Possibly the toughest part of the entire season for the Sooners was the first half. After the Rocky Mountain Open in Colorado Springs, Colo., the team had a string of three straight road meets against five of the nation’s top ten teams.

A week after the Rocky Mountain Open, the team hit the road to take on then-No. 2 Ohio State. OU posted a season-high score of 353.150 in the contest, absolutely annihilating the home team. Then, the Sooners hit their first road bump, losing to the new No. 2, Illinois. OU only posted a 347.7 in the meet, its second lowest score of the season. However, that may have been just what the team needed to go from good to great.

Since the Sooners’ one loss of the year, they have been on a roll unmatched by the rest of the country.

“NCAA season’s first right now,” junior Jake Dalton, member of the U.S. national team, said. “Just finish off the season. Hopefully we get things together. We’ve got a young team, and we need to start picking up things a little bit better and end the season on a high note.”

Dalton and his teammates seem to be taking those words to heart. The Sooners have not scored less than 350 points in their four meets following the loss to Illinois.

In three straight weeks, the Sooners have hosted No. 12 Iowa, No. 2 Stanford and No. 8 Michigan. OU was not happy with simply claiming victories over the teams either. The Sooners have been putting on a show for the home crowd.

First, the Sooners set a season-best with a 356.25 mark against Iowa. Then, the team put together a near flawless performance against defending national champion Stanford, posting an NCAA-best 357.05.

“I told our guys after our competition when we beat Stanford, ‘this is how you win championships,’” coach Mark Williams said. “Because we finished really well.

The last two events, parallel bars and high bar, there weren’t many mistakes.”

OU continued its string of championship-caliber performances Saturday against Michigan, posting a 355.5.

The stakes will certainly be higher and the pressure much greater at NCAAs. However, if the regular season is any indication, OU should be a heavy favorite going into the April 19 qualifiers on its home turf.

Greg Fewell is a journalism senior and the sports editor for The Daily.

Oklahoma Spring football update Junior college Metoyer finally transfer arrested ready to step up

Washington set to fill void at end

Receiver Courtney G a rd n e r, w h o re c e n t l y signed to play football at Oklahoma next year, was arrested in Nevada over the weekend for obstructing a police officer.

According to a report from the Reno Gazette-Journal, the car Gardner was riding in was stopped around 1 a.m. Sunday by a sheriff’s deputy. The driver of the vehicle, Ardian Smith, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.

A spokesman for the Washoe County Sherrif ’s O f f i c e s a i d t h e re w e re five occupants in the car, and it smelled of alcohol and marijuana. The arrest was Gardner’s second misdemeanor.

R i v a l s . c o m h a d R . J. Washington rated as the OU will hold two No. 1 defensive end in the scrimmages, one on March nation coming out of high 15 and another on the 31, school. leading up to the annual However, entering his sespring game April 14. nior season, the Fort Worth native has yet to start a game for the Sooners and only has intensity and leadership 23 tackles in his collegiate role during the offseason. career.

However, Sooner fans Daily staff reports should expect that to change this year.

First off, Washington ended last season with a big performance in the Insight Bowl, racking up two sacks while going against a possible top-10 NFL draft pick.

Since then, coach Bob Stoops has been giving the senior rave reviews, saying he has picked up his

After going to prep school for a year to get his grades up, 2011 signee Trey Metoyer, who has been enrolled at OU since January, is ready to hit the field for the Sooners.

The 6-foot-2, 198-pounder was the No. 2 receiver in the nation coming out of high school, and he has been showing his new coaches with his performance this spring.

“He’s a little bit stronger, more physical type guy than we’ve had here lately on the outside,” offensive coordinator Josh Heupel said. “And he’s a competitive kid, too.”

Coaches say Metoyer is in the mix to get immediate playing time for next year’s squad.

HIGHLIGHTING OR COLOR

WHAT’S NEXT Spring Football

ally burt/the daily

Senior Michael Heredia performs his floor routine during Saturday’s meet against No. 8 Michigan. The Sooners swept the team event titles on the way to their third score of 355 or higher.

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To a friend with mental illness, your caring and understanding greatly increases their chance of recovery. Visit whatadifference.samhsa.gov for more information.

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A discarded interest from the past might be resurrected and revitalized in the year ahead, and it could turn out to be surprisingly profitable. This will be due not only to the correct timing, but to some new allies who know what they’re doing.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) --A friend who is in need of a strong shoulder to cry on is likely to come to you with some frustrating burdens. Fortunately, among all his or her peers, you are the best one to lean on.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) -- Most of the effort you expend on behalf of others will go unrewarded or unappreciated, even though you probably won’t mind. A few people, however, will offer thanks.

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.

Joe!

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) -- Direct your creativity toward gratifying a personal objective that you’ve been fearful to try. Chances are that what you do will be clever and fun and will give you much satisfaction.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) --Something that has caused you nothing but frustration recently can be taken care of if you make it your prime target. If it’s a priority, you can wrap it up once and for all.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) --Be sure to acknowledge those who assist you.

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SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) -- There is plenty of justification for your positive outlook. If your hopes and expectations appear to be a bit high to others, don’t let their negative thinking cause you to believe otherwise.

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AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) -Before involving yourself in a huge endeavor with others, thoroughly investigate it. Detailed scrutiny will reveal its attributes as well as its shortcomings.

Universal Crossword Edited by Timothy E. Parker March 14, 2012

ACROSS 1 CD- ___ (storage devices) 5 Attack with a knife 9 Moves like a crane 14 Very large-scale 15 Like permed hair 16 “Fame� actress Cara 17 Puente of Latin jazz 18 Bittersweet coating 19 Avian abodes 20 What excavating equipment is designed for 23 Money shelter 24 Kind of fair 25 Quack medicine 27 With 7-Down, place in Israel 28 Shaped by machine, as wood 32 Vacuum cleaner part 33 Columbus called it home 34 Acts sulky 35 Structures where air is blown at high velocities 38 Sarcastic “Cheers�

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AT&T 37 Anti votes 38 Sauerkraut, essentially 39 Apt rhyme for “anticipated�

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3/13

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LETS GROOVE By Potter Stern

Wednesday, March 14, 2012 •

Life&arts

7

OUDaily.com ›› The Sutton Concert series continued Tuesday night with OU Jazz bands getting their groove on in the Sharp Concert Hall.

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

Local Businesses

Cupcakeries springing up in Norman Sean Thomasson, Crimson and Whipped Cream barista, packs up a to-go order of cupcakes for a customer Sunday. This local sweet shop uses as many local products as possible in their cupcakes in order to give back to the community. Crimson and Whipped Cream is the closest cupcake shop near campus, located on Campus Corner.

Bakeries give back to community by donating food, money to charities Rachael Cervenka Life & Arts Reporter

After the March 1 reopening of Norman bakery Cookies ‘n’ Cards, six cupcake shops now call the small college town home.

With the exception of Cookies ‘n’ Cards, all these cupcake places have sprung up in the past few years.

Despite the number of shops, each Norman cupcake place is different in its own way, said Holly McGowen, owner and baker at Sweets and Spurs, which opened in October.

“Even with our cupcakes, everybody has their own style, their own flair and taste and way they present their cupcakes, and really I think Norman offers something for everyone,” McGowen said.

She said she thinks each bakery targets a unique market, but different styles of cupcakes aren’t the only thing setting shops like Sweets and Spurs apart.

Five of the cupcake shops in Norman — including Sweets and Spurs — are locally owned. With an ideal demographic, it may come as no surprise that Norman is no longer home to only local shops.

Norman saw the arrival of one chain this year with the popular Gigi’s opening up in September. With big name brands moving in, local shops may need to prove to their community that they are worth investing in.

“Cupcakes are popular right now, you don’t know what the future is going to hold,” McGowen said.

AT A GLANCE Norman’s Cupcake shops Crimson and Whipped Cream, 331 White Street Opened July 2010 Locally owned Sweets and Spurs, 215 34th Ave. Opened in October Locally owned Cookies ‘n’ Cards, 115 12th Ave. Re-opened in March Locally owned Emma J’s Bakery, 1334 N. Interstate Drive Opened in July Locally owned BobbiCakes, 2307 W. Main St. Opened in August Locally owned Gigi’s Cupcakes, 1636 24th Ave. Opened in September National chain Compiled by Rachael Cervenka

Cookies ‘n’ Cards manager Bob Brown said his shop doesn’t only keep customer loyalty through its sweet treats, but also through the store’s business practices.

“Sometimes when people come in on a budget, we let them slide,” Brown said.

“That’s what we should be doing for each other, that is what the community needs more of,” he said.

Cookies ‘n’ Cards also is involved with Food and Shelter

Kelsey Higley/The Daily

for Friends, a homeless shelter in Norman, Brown said.

The shop donates baked goods to the shelter on a regular basis, as well as to other Norman organizations, he said.

Another local baker y, Crimson and Whipped Cream, also donates to local organizations each, barista Lauren Stotts said. Two weeks ago the store donated 400 cupcakes to a Junior League event in Norman, she said.

Crimson and Whipped Cream also offers customers the Keep It Local OK Card, a program that encourages Norman residents and local shops to buy from other local vendors.

Crimson and Whipped

“Even with our cupcakes, everybody has their own style, their own flair and taste and way they present their cupcakes, and really I think Norman offers something for everyone.”

Holly McGowen, Sweets and Spurs owner

Cream gives a 10-percent discount on drinks and baked goods to card owners, she said.

Stotts said the shop owners also try to buy local products, especially during the summer and fall when strawberries and other local produce is seasonal.

The shop relies a lot on repeat customers, so loyalty is important, she said.

McGowen said her shop gives back to the community

as well by donating leftover products to local organizations in Norman. McGowen tries to buy local produce, such as pecans, when available, she said.

“We want to give back to the community,” she said.

Sweets and Spurs also is involved with several local causes at the local high schools, McGowen said.

Gigi’s owner J. Brent Clark said there is room for everyone in Norman’s cupcake

marketplace.

Clark said each store offers customers different things — whether they’re chains or what he calls “mom and pop shops.”

The Norman Gigi’s also gives back to the community, Clark said. Gigi’s regularly donates to local charities and student organizations on campus, he said. The store also participated in this year’s Chocolate Festival.

Ultimately, local store owners need to focus on their own shops and what they bring to the community, McGowen said.

“Everyone has different reasons for supporting different businesses,” she said.

“Some like local and some like what tastes the best.”

College of fine arts

Broadway stars help Sooners show talents, raise funds Fundraiser kicked off Tuesday night to benefit college

GO AND DO ‘Another Show’ WHEN: 8 p.m. Thursday

Jalisa Green

Life & Arts Reporter

Broadway stars and students come together this week to help raise funds for the College of Fine Arts.

Under the direction o f gu e s t d i re c t o r Hu g h Wooldridge, musical theater students, OU’s Sooner Singers and guest artists from Broadway performed a showcase at the College of Fine Arts 21st annual Arts!

Arts! Arts! fundraiser on Tuesday night.

The Sooner Singers also will perform with the guest artists in Thursday’s show, “Another Op’nin’, Another S h ow ,” w h i c h o p e n s at 8 p. m. i n t h e Re y n o l d s Performing Arts Center.

The show is hosted by Wooldridge, a Broadway director, and will feature the Sooner Singers singing songs from the golden era of Broadway, said Linda Tiller, College of Fine Arts development officer.

Both the show and fundraiser benefit the college’s enrichment fund, which

WHERE: The Reynolds Performing Arts Center, 540 Parrington Oval PRICE: $15 INFO: Fine Arts Box Office at 405 -325-4101

Ricardo Patino/The Daily

Barry Switzer mingles at the “Arts! Arts! Arts!” fundraiser Tuesday at the Skirvin Hilton in Oklahoma City. Switzer was blown away last year at the fundraiser and hopes more people will go see the students’ talents this year, he said.

helps fund study abroad, teaching projects and seminars for faculty and students, Tiller said.

Tiller said the opportunity to have both Wooldridge and the guest artists was a

great learning experience for fine arts students.

“We are fortunate again t h i s y e a r t o h a v e M r.

Wooldridge work with OU musical theater students and Singing Sooners... For

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the first time we have three Broadway performers working with them,” she said.

Mu s i c a l t h e a t e r s t u dents Alex Gilbert, Storm L i n e b e r g e r, J a m a r d Richardson, Perry Sook and Ethan Spell began working a week ago on choreography and music with Broadway performer Teri Bibb, Brent Barrett, and musical director Paul Bogaev.

Musical theater junior Jamard Richardson said he felt privileged to work with such accomplished individuals.

“As a performer, making connections with fellow performers and directors is a key component to success, and I am thankful to

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“I’ve invested four years into the music program, so being able to raise money for future generation performers means a lot. It’s allowing us, the students, to showcase our own talents in an exciting way.”

Amber Garrison, vocal senior and Singing Sooners member

dean Taylor and the university for those connections.”

Vo c a l s e n i o r, A m b e r Ga r r i s o n , a m e mb e r o f Singing Sooners, said this week’s events are more than just regular performances.

“I’ve invested four years into the music program, so being able to raise money for future generation performers means a lot,” Garrison said. “It’s allowing us, the students, to

showcase our own talents in an exciting way.”

Tiller said that while the fundraising is important for both the students and the college, she takes pride in the opportunity to show off students.

“For me, it’s about the people and seeing their faces light up in the quality of the performance from our students work,” Tiller said.

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Life&Arts

• Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Community

Songwriters come together for passion Norman musicians create association for local talent

GO AND DO SWAN open mic WHEN: 7-9 p.m. Tuesday

Courtney Goforth Life & Arts Reporter

It was 4:30 a.m. and the police report he had read three days before in newspaper continued to brew in his mind, while his fingertips were ready to release accompanying chords on his electric guitar.

Richard “Daddy” Love re a d , “ R o b b e r h i t s t h e Waffle House” and didn’t see news — he saw a song.

That night, he laid in his bed with sunglasses on, set up a camera and recorded the song that had flourished so easily from the news article.

“A robber hit Norman’s Wa f f l e Ho u s e a c o u p l e of hours before the sun/ Witnesses told police a man walked right in and brandished a gun.”

Whether the song hits them in the middle of the night or is meticulously planned and engineered, 6 0 s o n g w r i t e r s a ro u n d Norman have come together to share their passion.

After performing original songs once a month with a small group at Borders bookstore, Love and cofounder Michael Bendure decided they needed to start something with legitimacy, and in 2009, the Song Writers Association of Norman was created under the Norman Arts Council. “ There was this great sense of camaraderie bet w e e n t h e p e r f o r m e r s, unlike the competition you w ould expect from other musicians and artists,” cofounder Bendure said. “Musicians are usually known to be loners and take things on ourselves and be isolated and suffer in silence kind of thing. But, this was a group of people who consistently enjoyed playing together.”

Love and Bendure, who also is the director of communication for the Fred

WHERE: Michelangelo’s, 207 E. Main St.

Nikki Self/The Daily

Bob Deupree sings Tuesday during the Song Writers Association of Norman’s open mic night. The association encourages songwriting, especially through the requirement of original songs performed at their open mic portion of their monthly meetings at Michelangelo’s.

“Musicians are usually known to be loners and take things on ourselves and be isolated and suffer in silence kind of thing. But, this was a group of people who consistently enjoyed playing together.”

OUDaily.com

Ever y first Tuesday of the month, the association holds a meeting at Michelangelo’s and on the second and third Tuesday of the month, they host an open mic night for their members to take turns performing original pieces.

Occasionally, when there is a fifth Tuesday of the month, select members also play at The Abner on Main Street.

The association also provides members opportunities to perform in larger settings, such as Norman Music Festival, where they will have their own stage for the third consecutive year.

“All in all, we’re a cheap date,” Love said. “What is important is when we are playing our songs in front of someone, we can connect with them.”

SWAN embraces songwriters from all disciplines: fence builders, retired engineers, the co-owner of Café Plaid, director of communication at Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, professors, students, computer guys and housewives, he said.

“If you know you’ve got music in you, you have to find an outlet for it,” Love said. “Stop ignoring it and do something constructive and healthy for it.”

“Daddy” Love hopes to see songwriter festivals in the future and develop SWAN’s community of songwriters, no matter the age or the inspiration.

created the association not to critique, but to encourage other songwriters to Learn more information grow, he said. about the Song Writers The organization brings Association of Norman. in other professionals to oudaily.com/life&arts educate members about copyrighting their songs, Michael Bendure, Song Writers association of Norman how to run soundboards, competing with each other. cofounder prepare for shows, perform It is very supportive and we Jones Jr. Museum of Art, written music for the last 22 and write better music. are just trying to get everygrew up in Norman and years.

“SWAN has a very col- body to get better and reafalways felt that Norman’s “People who are song- l ab o rat i ve, c o m mu n i t y firm to them, ‘Yes, you are a music scene had potential. writers, a lot of them don’t feel,” Love said. “We are not songwriter’.”

L o v e c r e a t e d know it yet,” Love said.

NormanMusicScene.com “They’re not sure. The deal in 1999 to create an on- is, once you do it, you are. line presence for local tal- It doesn’t mean you are a ent and has been writing good songwriter or a profhis own music since high itable songwriter, but I am The Institute for the American Constitutional Heritage school. a songwriter however you & The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation present Bendure picked up gui- look at it.” tar when he was 13 and has The music lovers

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