Monday, April 8, 2013

The University of Oklahoma’s independent student voice since 1916

heADs oR tAils?

opinion: Texas A&M student senate shouldn’t hide hate l&A: Bioshock offers infinite enjoyment (Page 11) behind ‘freedom’ (Page 4) M O n DA Y, A P R I L 8 , 2 013

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

2 012 S I LV E R C R O W N W I N N E R

Chess match comes to life Actors fight for strategic victory ARiANNA PiCKARD Campus editor

heather BroWn/the Daily

Members of the Medieval Fair wait in line at the Royal court to meet the King and Queen on saturday.

Fairgoers travel back to Renaissance Vendors, performers offer free weekend of family entertainment ARiANNA PiCKARD Campus editor

Roughly 300,000 people escaped modern life and stepped into another era at the 37th annual Medieval Fair Friday through Sunday at Reaves Park.

Run through the Oklahoma Center for Continuing Education, the free fair featured 30 food vendors, 521 other vendors peddling

crafts, games, entertainment and education exhibits and thousands of people dressed in medieval attire, said John Angier, the fair’s logistics coordinator.

The fair also featured jousting, a human chess game and people dressed in costumes of every sort.

As Oklahoma’s largest single weekend event, the fair averages about 300,000 attendees, Angier said. The highest attendance at the fair was seven or eight years ago when 600,000 people came to the event.

Employees at the fair gauge the attendance by

measuring the substance in the privies, or portable toilets, when they’re emptied out at the end of each night, Angiere said. There is a formula that can be used to estimate the amount of people at the event from the amount of substance in these toilets.

The fair was held on the South Oval when it was first started 37 years ago, but outgrew it and moved to OU’s Duck Pond at Brandt Park, which it then outgrew and was moved to Reaves Park at Jenkins Avenue and Constitution Street, Angier said.

Fairgoers partake Falconers teach in costume contest audience medieval Competition features contenders decked out in medieval-style clothing PAiGHtEN HARKiNs

Campus Reporter and assistant editor

Pirates, assassins, princesses, elves, maidens and the pope were among those in the menagerie of masked people hoping to win the Saturday leg of the Medieval Fair’s daily costume contest.

The outfitted individuals flaunted their costumes at around 1:30 p.m., going on to the chess board-themed Camelot Stage and introducing themselves, telling whether their costumes were hand-made or store-bought and then giving a little twirl. go anD Do For the winner of the For costume teen portion of the contest, who goes by the name Lady enthusiasts, Swynford, winhere is another Katherine ning the contest was just a costume fun part of the day, which contest she says was ultimately made by getting to hang coming in June around the king and queen What: soonercon of the fair all day, she said.

22, a science-fiction “The king is hilarious,” fantasy media Swynford said. convention Swynford’s costume, a creamy white dress, comWhen: June 28 to 30 plete with head jewelry resembling Princess Leia’s Where: reed from Star Wars, was handconference center, made mostly by her mom, midwest city, okla. but she helped a little, she said.

Each contestant got about five minutes on stage to strut their stuff and let the judges know the effort that went into their medieval display.

However, for at least one judge, a few minutes were all she needed. see CONTEST Page 2

oud-2013-4-08-a-001,002.indd 1

history of raptors Group rescues 23 birds this year

across the audience to and from their handlers.

“It’s so much different than seeing them in a zoo mOllY EVANs because you’re virtualCampus Reporter ly two inches away from A group of bird rehabilita- this bird,” Aanonsen said. tors impressed and informed “They all have their peraudiences with nearly a sonalities, and they’re difdozen species of Oklahoma’s ferent, every single one of avian wildlife at Norman’s them.”

Medieval Fair Friday through Peregrine and saker falSunday. cons, sharpThe Royal hinned “It’s so much sand Gauntlet Birds red-tail of Prey, an ordifferent than h a w k s a n d ganization of seeing them in great horned licensed falconand Eurasian ers and volun- a zoo because e a g l e o w l s teers based in you’re virtually were featured Coweta, Okla., in the show, two inches made its 17th a n d s e v e rtrip to Reaves away from this al other spePark to educate cies were kept bird.” fairgoers, collect at the Royal donations and G a u n t l e t ’s BoB aanonsen, share their pastent in the masteR FalConeR sion for their renorthwest cuperating raptors, said Bob area of the fairgrounds.

Aanonsen, Master Falconer.

The American kestrel, Aanonsen and his team of rough-legged hawk, ferruvolunteers put on a 30-min- ginous hawk, red-shoulute show on the Camelot dered hawk and Northern Stage of the fairgrounds harrier are also classified three times daily Friday as birds of prey by their through Sunday. Vested in keen eyesight, hooked medieval-themed threads, beaks and sharp talons, acAanonsen discussed biolo- cording to the Oklahoma gy, ecology and conservation Department of Wildlife while the various species of owl, hawk, and falcon soared see FALCONERS Page 2

Artists create natural tattoos Henna made from plant-based dye

A man in black armor stood over a woman in a long gold and brown dress repeatedly striking her face with his fists. She eventually stopped moving. Another woman in a jester hat jumped from the sidelines and joined them on the white and black-checkered platform.

She charged toward the man, snatched his sword and mockingly pranced around him while he chased her. He got another sword and they proceeded to duel. She turned a somersault, grabbed another knife and knocked the armored man to the ground, striking him with the knife.

“Pawn takes rook in exchange for the queen.

Check-mate,” the jester announced, and the crowd watching yelled “Huzzah!”

This was the final scene of the human chess game performed by members of a local non-profit called the Arthurian Order of Avalon at the Medieval Fair this Friday through Sunday on the Camelot stage at Reaves Park.

The human chess game is a 25- to 30-minute play, said Brendan Agnew, who plays the part of King Arthur and is the president see CHESS Page 3

Women’s gym wins fourthstraight regional Sports: ou’s no. 2 women’s gymnastics team hosted and won an ncaa regional on saturday at lloyd noble center. (Page 8)

NADiA ENCHAssi

assistant Campus editor

Tamara Vanderhoof has been drawing intricate, temporary tattoos on people’s skin in her booth at the Medieval Fair for 17 years.

“I’ve always been an artsy, craftsy person,” Vanderhoof said. “And I realized henna wasn’t something being done at these types of events.”

Henna is a form of design, she said. It’s a custom whose origins date back to thousands of years ago in countries from Africa and Asia.

This art of temporary tattooing took its name from the flowering plant from which the designs are made, she said. In its dried, powdered condition, the red-orange lawsone, or hennotannic acid, present in henna plant leaves is small enough to penetrate skin cells and dye many different surfaces such as skin, fingernails, hair, leather, silk and wool.

“Henna often just seems see HENNA Page 2

Students should be allowed to hand out condoms Opinion: contraception should not be limited by a school administration’s religious beliefs. (Page 4)

VOL. 98, NO. 126 © 2012 oU Publications Board FRee — additional copies 25¢

insiDe toDay campus......................2 clas si f ie ds................5 life& ar ts..................10 o p inio n.....................4 spor ts........................8 Visit OUDaily.com for more

Facebook

facebook.com/ouDaily

Twitter

twitter.com/ouDaily

4/7/13 11:01 PM

2

news

• Monday, April 8, 2013

Campus

Arianna Pickard, campus editor Paighten Harkins and Nadia Enchassi, assistant editors dailynews@ou.edu • phone: 405-325-3666 oudaily.com • Twitter: @OUDaily

Tamara Vanderhoof temporarily tattoos Moore resident Kim Diuguid with henna Sunday at Norman’s Medieval Fair.

Continued from page 1 like Barbie doll cake decorating,” Vanderhoof said. “But it can be really beautiful and takes a lot of practice.”

Henna can be applied with many traditional and innovative tools, including cones, syringes, brushes or fingers, she said. After time, the dried-up paste is scraped away leaving the desired stained design, she said.

Henna tattoos are orange soon after application but darken in a few days to a reddish-brown, she said. They can last a couple of weeks, up to over a month, depending on how long the henna stays on, the placement, individual skin types, washing habits and other factors.

Clayton Roberts became Vanderhoof’s work and life partner nine years ago, when they met at her henna booth at a county fair in Arkansas, she said.

Arkansas is now home to the duo, but they travel yearround, sharing their talent at similar events nationwide.

“Norman is lovely, and the people are great,” Roberts said. “It’s a pleasant atmosphere, and we both really enjoy it.”

The City of Norman’s ordinance prohibits smoking and alcoholic beverages in city parks, according to the Medieval Fair website. Pets are allowed, though leash laws are strictly enforced.

“The rules make this a very family-friendly venue,” Roberts said. “Everyone is generally in a good mood, there’s less trouble and a dog pretty much everywhere you look – it’s fun.”

Their henna tattoos average between $15 and $20, depending on the intricacy. Still, they work with people’s budgets, because the experience is worth more than the money to them, he said.

3

chess: Court jester intervenes to seal win Continued from page 1

Henna: Artist duo contest: Costumes integral to fair, judge says displays design talent Continued from page 1

Blayklee Buchanan/The Daily

Monday, April 8, 2013 •

Jennene Stanley, contest judge and professional costume-maker, who was dressed in a maroon and tan dress with a floral pattern she made herself, said as a judge she looks for costumes that were homemade. Past that, she wants to know if they are completed, with no undone stitches or hastily put together fixes, she said.

She also wants the costumes to be body-appropriate.

“That doesn’t necessarily mean the person has to be skinny. It just needs to look good on their body,” Stanley said. “My favorite example is someone showing up as Princess Leia with Jabba the Hutt’s figure.”

To Stanley, though, costumes don’t just make for a fun spectacle. They’re an integral part of the fair, she said.

Looking around the fair, which was packed with people of every age, many were dressed in some kind of costume, spanning well out of

Today around campus India Night will take place at 7 p.m. in the Oklahoma Memorial Union’s Meacham Auditorium.

Paighten Harkins/The Daily

Taylor Funk from OSU-OKC takes a bow after presenting his costume of the eighth Doctor from Doctor Who.

the reach of the medieval times, including mermaids or modern video game characters like Ezio Auditore from the Assassin’s Creed franchise.

One year, a group of people showed up to the fair as Star Trek characters, Stanley said.

“It’s always an adventure to see who shows up,” she said.

Plainly-dressed people

waited in the line to get a frozen lemonade, followed by a member of an imagined royal court, dressed in a long flowing dress with braided hair — and no one gave her a second look, unless to admire her costume.

“It’s a weekend that anyone can wear just about anything and not have to worry about getting thrown in the

loony bin,” Stanley said.

Th e c o s t u m e c o nt e s t ended around 3 p.m., and as the winners were announced, the menagerie of people dressed as pirates, angry blacksmiths, satyrs, creatures who look like a human with the feet and tails of a goat, and more dispersed into the crowded park to continue the weekend festivities.

falconers: Gauntlet glove protects trainers Continued from page 1 Conservation.

The team has taken in 23 rescues this year from all over Oklahoma that have sustained injuries from predators, hunters and cars and contracted diseases from insect bites including West Nile virus and even malaria in the past, Aanonsen said.

“It’s kind of a slow year,” Aanonsen said. “Usually we’re probably up to around 90.”

Jessie, a 3-year-old Harris’ hawk, proved the instinctive

independence of the raptors during the group’s first show of the weekend. Her name is from a Latin root meaning “to seize,” Aanonsen said.

In one demonstration, Jessie flew well beyond the hooked arm of trainer, Shannon Cole, to perch on a tall tree several hundred feet above and behind the audience of the outdoor stage.

“She has quite the attitude, but we have learned to work with each other,” Cole said.

“She makes my life complete along with my husband, although I like her sometimes better than him.”

Within a couple minutes, Aanonsen lured Jessie from the treetop with raw bits of food.

However, it’s always a possibility that the birds don’t return to the trainer’s gauntlet, the Kevlar glove protecting the trainer’s forearm from 200 to 700 pounds of talon pressure depending on the

species of raptor, Aanonsen said.

Gaining trust through training is part of the rehabilitation process, Aanonsen said.

See more online Visit OUDaily.com for the complete story oudaily.com/news

Lecture: Heritage Foundation fellow Andrew Kloster will give a lecture on student’s free speech rights at 5 p.m. in the Oklhoma Memorial Union’s Frontier Room.

Wednesday, April 10 A softball game against North Texas will take place at 6:30 p.m. at Softball Complex & Marita Hynes Field.

A lecture by Victoria’s Secret CEO and president Sharen Jester Turney about giving with style. The event is part of the OU Women’s Philanthropy Network and will last from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Oklahoma Memorial Union’s Molly Shi Boren Ballroom.

Thursday, April 11 A reading, wine and cheese reception will be held at 7 p.m. in the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History. It will feature author Kelly Barth, who will talk about her experience as a lesbian from a conservative background.

A lecture explaining the term “jihad” will be help from 6 to 9 p.m. in the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art. The event is part of Islam Awareness month.

Do you want to see your organization’s campus event here?

Visit OUDaily.com/events/submit to add your entry.

Record requests The Oklahoma Daily regularly asks for access to public information from OU officials. Here is a list of the most-recent requests our reporters have submitted to the university.

Requested document and purpose

Date requested

All records related to the amount of money funding the Max Westheimer Tower and where the funding is coming from. — To see how much money is going toward the tower

April 4

All 990 tax form documents for the last 10 years as it relates to OU Foundation — To see how much OU Foundation pays in taxes

March 27

The total cost for the last three years to run the Parking and Transportation department — To see how much money goes to the Parking and Transportation department

March 27

Arecord of all records requested by The Daily since January 1, 2012. — To see which records have been filled.

March 27

of the Arthurian Order of Avalon. The characters act as the chess pieces, and when one of them takes another, there’s a fight to see who gets to take the square.

The fights are all prewritten like a choreographed dance using dull but real steel sword s, Agnew said.

“It’s kind of our bread and butter,” Agnew said.

The performance features Arthurian legends and ideals of chivalry and knighthood by combining drama with martial arts, Agnew said.

Participants start rehearsing about seven months before the fair and learn how to use weapons and wear armor, a lot of which is made by participants.

The part of Dagonet, King Arthur’s jester, was played

by Kate Robertson, who said she brings comedic relief to the performance when situations get too serious and steps in to fight when someone is in trouble.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re a woman; you can still kick some serious butt,” she said.

Robertson said she beca m e i nt e re st e d i n t h e Medieval Fair when she attended it as a “wee child” and was entranced by all the people in costumes singing, dancing and jousting.

“I said I want to do that. So I did,” she said.

When Robertson isn’t turning somersaults and going sword-to-sword with dark knights on a giant chessboard, she entertains at various parties, she said.

“I take flaming balls on the ends of chains, and I swing them about my body in a way that one might consider dancing,” she said.

She said she also performs by tying herself in ribbons in the air and swings back and forth on trapezes.

Robertson has some

Arianna Pickard/The Daily

Kate Robertson, playing the part of the jester Dagonet, kicks her opponent to the ground in the human chess game at the Medieval Fair Saturday.

AT A GLANCE Arthurian Order of Avalon • A non-profit organization in Norman dedicated to medieval life and history for the purpose of entertainment and education.

• Activities include feasts, dance, music, fight choreography, jousting, riding and armor-crafting.

• In addition to performing at the Medieval Fair of Norman, members also participate in the Iron Thistle Festival April 27-28 in Yukon and SoonerCon, a science fiction convention June 28 to 30.

Source: Brendan Agnew, president of the board of directors of the Arthurian Order of Avalon

gymnastics experience and a lot of dancing, martial arts and combat choreography experience, she said. She began studying pre-medicine at OU but switched her major to acting. She left school before graduating because she decided no one would really care if she had an acting degree or not.

One woman watching the human chess game on

Saturday, Diane McCall, said Dagonet the jester was her favorite character.

“I really liked Dagonet – she was a lot of fun,” McCall said.

McCall said she’s come to the fair about seven or eight times throughout the years and likes to learn about how people lived in the medieval era.

“It’s a part of history, part

of the past,” she said. “The way they used to do things is interesting and fun to see how far we’ve come - we have all the conveniences, and how it was back then is just interesting.”

Robertson said she thinks it’s important for people today to learn about the Medieval times so history doesn’t repeat itself.

“History is always important, isn’t it? Something about we’re doomed to repeat it,” she said. “Hopefully not this era though - I think repeating it right here is good enough.”

After 14 years of participating in the fair, Robertson said it’s a place where she can connect with old friends whom she only sees once or twice a year.

“This fair will always have a very soft spot in my heart it’s my home,” she said. “I’ve been here forever, and I’m sure to keep coming back. It’s home.”

human Rights

Visit OUDaily.com/openrecords for a full list of requests

Corrections The Oklahoma Daily is committed to serving readers with accurate coverage and welcomes your comments about information that may require correction or clarification. To contact us with corrections, email us at dailynews@ou.edu.

A review of “Evil Dead” in Friday’s paper inaccurately stated that the original “The Evil Dead” was released in the U.s. 1981. While it was released in 1981, it did not hit U.S. theaters until 1983.

Visit OUDaily.com/corrections for an archive of our corrections

HOW TO CONTACT Us Newsroom office: 405-325-3666

To report news: dailynews@ou.edu

Advertising office: 405-325-8964

Letters to the editor: dailyopinion@ou.edu

Business office: 405-325-2521

Editor in chief: dailyeditor@ou.edu

Student’s project backed by Clintons Freshman works to aide Nepal’s poor Atiba Williams Campus Reporter

An OU freshman met former President Bill Clinton at a global initiative conference Friday and started her journey toward alleviating poverty in Nepal.

When University College freshman Kanchan Amatya first saw Baseri, a remote village in west Nepal, she knew she had to do something about the villagers’ living condition.

There are no direct roads - Amatya had to hike for days and cross rivers - but when she finally got there, the scenery inspired her, she said.

“It was an eye-opening experience,” she said. “Being from Kathmandu [Nepal’s capital], I thought it was impossible that places like this existed, especially in my country.”

Baseri is green, mountainous and beautiful, but children have to walk for hours for supplies, Amatya said.

Amatya first heard about it from her schoolmate, Penna Lama, who was born in Baseri and had to leave behind everyone she knew

to pursue an education in to start the fish farms, she Kathmandu, Amatya said. said. Armed with knowledge A f t e r h e a r i n g a b o u t of how fish farms work, the Baseri, Amatya decided to villagers are expected to pay do something about the vil- back the loans at a 5 percent lagers’ poverty, she said. interest.

At her high school, the Clinton looks at the nuUnited World College of the merous projects submitRed Cross Nordic in Norway, ted to the Clinton Global Amatya orInitiative ganized e a c h y e a r, “Being from several Amatya said. f u n d r a i s - Kathmandu [Nepal’s Clinton then e r s, s h o w s 16 capital], I thought chooses and cafes projects, and it was impossible the winner with Save t h e Fu t u re that places like this i s c h o s e n Generation, by popular s h e s a i d . existed, especially in vote.

She used Amatya’s my country.” the funds to project, Kanchan Amatya, help put in“Sustainable University college frastructure Fish Farming Freshman in Baseri Project” is in schools, she the top four said. in the nation, according to But that wasn’t enough. the Clinton Global Initiative “I felt like I needed to do University website. more,” Amatya said.

Although her project did She devised a project that not win, being in the top four involved Baseri villagers. means that her project will She decided they should still receive funding and supuse these ponds as fish port, Amatya said. farms and teach villagers Amatya was supported about fish farming in their rice paddies to provide a way for the villagers to receive income, Amatya said.

Amatya’s project will provide the villagers with loans to purchase supplies needed

by Craig Hayes, coordinator of the Davis United World College scholar program at OU, she said. When he heard about the project, he immediately got the word out to faculty, staff, and students.

“To think that her project is now in the top four in the nation? There is no sliding that … that’s an amazing accomplishment,” Hayes said.

Amatya represented OU at the sixth annual Clinton Global Initiative Meeting on Friday. Besides Clinton, the three-day conference featured fashion designer Kenneth Cole and Stephen Colbert, news satirist.

Amatya saw this as an opportunity to network and raise funds for Baseri, since she met many powerful and accomplished people at the conference, she said. Amatya has also been selected for a private dinner with Chelsea Clinton, Bill C linton’s daughter and board member of the Clinton Foundation.

“This is a big opportunity for change,” Amatya said.

Graphic Designer

We’re looking for a Graphic Designer who has passion for innovative, impact-making design to join one of the most unique art and creative teams in the country! This position is located at our corporate offices in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. We need a go-getter with a portfolio that shows a finely tuned eye for design, sense of color, composition, layout and typography. We need a team player with a mind for marketing and a sense of attention to detail.

We need a live wire who’s ready and willing to meet the design demands (be they large or small) of an ever-growing company.

Please visit theArt/Creative Art/Creative linkunder under Please visit Corporate Careers on our Hobby Lobby Corporate Careers on our website for details or send your website resume andat Hobbylobby.com/careers 8-10 portfolio samples to for requirements and details. hlartdept-graphic@hobbylobby.com

oud-2013-4-08-a-001,002.indd 2-3

4/7/13 11:01 PM

4

Reader comment on OUDaily.com ››

• Monday, April 8, 2013

“You only watched one episode of The Walking Dead and decided it wasn’t original? Moreover, you watched the finale of the third season and reached your verdict? How did you even know what was going on in the episode?” (RenownedGenius, RE: ‘The zombie craze should die a violent death’)

OPINION

Mark Brockway, opinion editor Kayley Gillespie, assistant editor dailyopinion@ou.edu • phone: 405-325-3666 oudaily.com/opinion • Twitter: @OUDailyOpinion

THUMBS UP: Judging by the number of students running around campus with their moms this weekend, OU’s annual Mom’s Day was a big success for everyone involved.

Column

Editorial

Don’t hide discrimination Campus condoms should be allowed behind religious freedom A Our view: Discrimination based on sexual

sectors of the campus population who normally might not have access to services centered on their needs. For example, OU provides quiet rooms in the library geared toward religious students who need to pray or meditate. It would The Texas A&M University Student Senate is at- be wrong to deny students access to this service just because some students did not agree with tempting to cut off services for GLBTQ students. particular religious beliefs.

The senate passed a bill allowing students to opt We respect the religious beliefs of students. out of student fees for organizations they disagree Individuals never should be compelled to parwith for religious reasons.

The language in the bill was changed at the last ticipate in organizations against their religious minute to mask its real purpose, to deny affiliation, no matter what that affiliafunding to the GLBT campus resource tion might be. But using religious reaThe Our View center. Twenty-four hours before the bill sons to deny rights to other groups is not is the majority was passed, the name had been the “GLBT a valid expression of religious beliefs. opinion of Funding Opt Out Bill.”

A university should not, for example, The Daily’s Singling out one campus organization deny funding to an Islamic student ornine-member editorial board ganization because some members of to lose funding because of their sexual orithe student body disagree with their beentation ideology is dangerous and offenlief system. Likewise, a person cannot sive. It is clear the bill had nothing to do stop paying taxes supporting war for religious with funding, but was instead a feeble attempt to express a warped political belief on a soapbox at beliefs. We hope Texas A&M’s student legislators Texas A&M. will learn this lesson before they start running Student governments should be concerned with for office after graduation. protecting student’s rights, not singling out groups We all have to pay student fees for resources for discrimination. we don’t use or even disagree with. Judging by Luckily, Student Body President John Claybrook the fitness of The Daily’s editorial board, none of agreed and quickly vetoed the bill before it could us are frequent Huff visitors, but we still support get any further. But the passage of the bill exit through fees.

One of our student organizations here at OU, posed a troubling current at Texas A&M — the bill the GLBTF student organization, will be sendpassed with a 35-28 vote.

The text of the original bill questioned whething a care package to the center to show support er the GLBT center was a “worthy” use of student and solidarity. We encourage you to send a note with the package to show your own support. fees in providing a “welcoming environment for Contact Keith Strasbaugh, who is organizing vulnerable populations” at Texas A&M. The bill OU’s care package, at kstras@ou.edu to show admits the center is beneficial, but questions your support. whether it is worthy of funding. The authors of By the senate’s own admission, the resource the bill were as confused about the purpose of center provides a valuable service to Texas A&M the bill as we are. If Texas A&M student senators can’t write the legislation correctly, they shouldn’t students. If the student senate is worried about certain organizations not supporting the views make decisions threatening these “vulnerable of students, maybe they should introduce a bill populations.”

Universities fund campus organizations like this to allow students to opt out of funding student one because minority populations are vulnerable government. and need special resources to address concerns specific to their needs. Student organizations provide valuable resources and experience to smaller Comment on this on OUDaily.com orientation is unnacceptable for any student organization, especially for members of student government.

t some point during Opinion COlumnist our time at OU we have been handed condoms. Student groups educate other students about safe sex once or twice a year by handing out male condoms and pamphlets on the South Oval. The inforSarah Sullivan mation is basic, yet vital as it sullivan.sarah313@gmail.com details how to use a condom.

Recently, administrators at Boston College threatened members of the Students for Sexual Health organization with expulsion for providing male and female condoms, along with information regarding safe sex practices. To ensure students were educated and prepared, Boston College Students for Sexual Health designated dorm rooms across campus as a “Safe Sites.” The buildings and room numbers for the Safe Sites were listed on the group’s website. Students could knock on the door and ask for condoms and safe sex information, according to organization’s website. The entire process is quick and discreet.

Boston College administrators were outraged. Boston College is a Catholic Jesuit college and a privately funded institution. Boston College decided the best course of action was to send cease and desist letters and threaten students who did not comply with expulsion.

I understand the importance of religious beliefs, but safe sex practices are crucial to the health of college students.

Contraception is a private choice. The students at the college were not pushing the use of contraception on students.

They were simply making condoms available to those who made the personal choice to use them.

Officials at Boston College claim contraception distribution goes against its Catholic beliefs. Other Catholic colleges support Boston College’s course of action. “If a student or student group was doing something like this on our campus, we would ask them to stop,” Providence College spokesman Steve Maurano said in a report by the Boston Globe.

Denying contraception was deemed unconstitutional in 1965, according to Griswold v. Connecticut. Because of this, Boston College does not have the right to outlaw the education and practice of safe sex on their campus.

Many feel Boston College’s actions infringe on personal rights. So many, in fact, the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts got involved. In a statement given to the Boston Globe, Sarah Wunsch, an attorney for the union, called the disciplinary action against students inappropriate. “The students have rights that are at stake here,” Wunsch said. The union said it will take legal action if Boston College does not rethink the decision to expel students.

We have the right to protect our bodies and educate ourselves in a way that makes that possible. Boston College’s decision infringes upon that right. Boston College officials need to look beyond their own religious beliefs and put student health first.

Sarah Sullivan is a professional writing junior.

Column

The “r-word” should be eliminated from our vocabulary

T

he word “retard” is Opinion Columnist a noun defined as “a mentally handicapped person,” according to the New Oxford American dictionary. Following the definition of the noun in parentheses, the dictionary definition says, “Often used Alex Niblett as a general term of abuse.” alexandra.g.niblett@ou.edu “Abuse” means using something for a negatively improper use, misusing something or causing damage or harm in some way. There is nothing positive or okay about it.

Many people use this word casually, whether they are directly or indirectly talking to someone else. While the person who said it is likely being sarcastic or kidding, it’s not a joking matter to everyone.

It’s time to stop using the words “retard” or “retarded” in the form of an insult, whether you use it lightheartedly or not. This word may not carry much meaning to some, but to many who are mentally challenged, the word is offensive and hurtful.

For this reason, Special Olympics began promoting a campaign called “Spread the Word to End the Word.”

Soeren Palumbo, a co-founder of the campaign, said in an email interview this is an education and engagement campaign aimed at bringing awareness to the hurtful and dangerous consequences of the words “retard” and “retarded.”

He explained how this campaign came to be and why the message behind it is so meaningful and important. “[My colleague and I] thought to ourselves that generally, most people don’t like causing others pain and therefore, there must have been a lack of awareness regarding the effect that this word has on people with intellectual disabilities, as well as their friends, families and colleagues,” Palumbo said.

inappropriately used too often. In a blog post as a response Besides the Special Olympics, Palumbo explained how to a particular tweet, he expressed how ‘retard’ carries a college students are also actively playing a role in the heavy meaning and is more detrimental than some people campaign. realize.

“This was an issue that could be championed by young On Oct. 22, author and political commenpeople, especially college students. We de“By addressing tator Ann Coulter tweeted, “I highly approve signed an engagement event and called on this source of pain of Romney’s decision to be kind and gentle to student leaders at colleges and universities to bring this issue to their campuses through experienced by people the retard.”

Stephen’s response? “After I saw your pledge drives,” Palumbo said. with intellectual tweet, I realized you just wanted to belittle Spread the Word to End the Word has disabilities, Spread the President by linking him to people like reached several hundred colleges and universities, as well as thousands of high schools the Word is improving me,” Stephens wrote.

He went on to explain his emotional and plans to continue spreading. lives.” thought process after reading her tweet, and The more people learn about the rippling Soeren Palumbo, I recommend you read his response. His reeffects of this word, the sooner people may Spread the word co-founder sponse to the Coulter’s tweet clearly conveys think twice before using it out of context. his message to her and the world that it’s im“By addressing this source of pain expepolite, degrading to use the word. rienced by people with intellectual disabilities, Spread the This is a perfect example of how the word may impact Word is improving lives,” Palumbo said. “At the same time, someone in a way you may not have realized.

Spread the Word brings together people with and without Maybe I’m just biased and feel sentimental about this intellectual disabilities as collaborators and partners in topic because I’ve witnessed firsthand how the r-word emoadvocacy.” tionally affected my mentally challenged cousin and my Campaigns like Spread the Word are great in advocating aunt, but I think it’s important to be mindful of how people change, but change doesn’t just start with a campaign; it feel. We don’t always realize our impact on others until we starts with you. By eliminating the usage of the words “resee it for ourselves. tard” or “retarded,” you’re being kind and considerate by If you can’t come up with a word to replace ‘retard,’ open acknowledging concerns and feelings of others who feel disup a thesaurus; I’m sure you’ll find an equally compatible respected by the terms. word. There is not a good enough reason why you can’t subThe proposal to stop using these words is not asking stitute it. Please show your respect. It’s one small change we much; all you have to do is think before you speak. Is it too can make in our lives that can make a bigger difference in hard to find another word to use? Even if the word is not diother people’s lives. rected or used toward someone mentally challenged, the If you’re interested in learning more about the campaign, continuous use of the word preserves the ideology that mentally challenged people are people of incompetence and stu- you should visit www.r-word.org pidity by solidifying a negative association with the words.

Special Olympics athlete John Franklin Stephens has Downs Syndrome and finds the use of the word ‘retard’ to be Alex Niblett is a journalism junior.

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

Mary Stanfield Kyle Margerum Arianna Pickard Dillon Phillips Emma Hamblen Mark Brockway

Editor in Chief Managing Editor Campus Editor Sports Editor Life & Arts Editor Opinion Editor

contact us

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

oud-2013-4-08-a-004.indd 1

Ryan Boyce Visual Editor Hillary McLain Online Editor Blayklee Buchanan Night Editor Alissa Lindsey, Lauren Cheney Copy Chiefs Kearsten Howland Advertising Manager Judy Gibbs Robinson Faculty Adviser

phone:

405-325-3666

email:

dailynews@ou.edu

Letters should concentrate on issues, not personalities, and must be fewer than 250 words, typed and signed by the author(s). Letters will be edited for accuracy, space and style. Students must list their major and classification. To submit letters, email dailyopinion@ou.edu.

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

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

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

To advertise in The Oklahoma Daily, contact advertising manager Kearsten Howland by calling 405-325-8964 or emailing dailyads@ou.edu.

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

4/7/13 10:30 PM

Monday, April 8, 2013 •

CLASSIFIEDS

J Housing Rentals

Fax: 405-325-7517 Campus Address: COH 149A

DEADLINES

HELP WANTED

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES Christian Counseling in Norman Andrea Hart, LCSW 405-204-4615 Grace-river.org

Line Ad ..................................................................................3 days prior Place line ad by 9:00 a.m. 3 business days prior to publication.

Display Ad ............................................................................3 days prior Classified Display or Classified Card Ad Place your display, classified display or classified card ads by 5:00 p.m. 3 business days prior to publication.

Theo’s Marketplace Fine Furniture and Accessories is now hiring. Great opportunity working PT/FT for an established furniture store in Norman. Great work environment, flexibility, and good pay! Sales experience required, design experience preferred. Apply Mon-Fri. 10-6, 3720 W. Robinson Brookhaven Village 364-0728.

PAYMENT s r

r

TM

Payment is required at the time the ad is placed. Credit cards, cash, money orders or local checks accepted.

RATES There is a 2 line minimum charge; approximately 42 characters per line, including spaces and punctuation.

(Cost = Days x # lines x $/line) 10-14 days.........$1.15/line 15-19 days.........$1.00/line 20-29 days........$ .90/line 30+ days ........ $ .85/line

Classified Display, Classified Card Ad or Game Sponsorship

Contact an Acct Executive for details at 325-2521.

2 col (3.25 in) x 2 inches Sudoku ..............$760/month Boggle ...............$760/month Horoscope ........$760/month

We’re looking for students with the drive to take on an active leadership role in their community. Sound like something you’re looking for? Our flexible scheduling and student-centered approach make the Community Assistant position ideal for busy students. If you are looking to be challenged, work close to home, and increase your marketability look no further than The Reserve on Stinson. Becoming a staff member is a great way to meet new people, make a difference in your community, and develop skills that will make your resume stand out in the crowd.

We offer exciting leadership opportunities in a fast-paced, high energy environment.

If you are looking to learn something new while having fun and meeting new people, a position at The Reserve on Stinson is tailor-made for you! To learn more about the position, or to apply: www.reserveonstinson.com/contactus/joinourteam. The Reserve on Stinson is a property of EdR, one of the nation’s leading providers of collegiate housing. www.EdRtrust.com

APTS. FURNISHED

$5,500-$10,000

PAID EGG DONORS. All Races needed.

Non-smokers, Ages 18-27, SAT>1100/ACT>24/GPA>3.00 Contact: info@eggdonorcenter.com

Utilities PAID, incl. wireless internet, cable, parking, quiet, furnished, share kitchen & bath. Male students preferred.

ONLY $220/month. 329-2661

A drunk driver ruined something precious. Amber Apodaca.

The Cleveland County Family YMCA is seeking Swim Instructors & Lifeguards!

Apply in person at 1350 Lexington Ave. EOE

Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk.

Buffalo Wild Wings is now hiring all positions. Apply in person daily 2-4pm. 2601 South Service Rd. Moore, OK 73160 Bent River Cattle Company & Seafood is now hiring all positions, M-F 9-4pm. 2701 S I35 Frontage Rd. Moore, Ok 73160 Wanted: 29 Serious People to work from home using a computer. Up to $1500-$5K PT/FT www.AmpedBizOnline. com

U O ?

Y Y H E T R R A O W S : r o f W g n i k NE o o l s i

Line Ad

1 day ..................$4.25/line 2 days ................$2.50/line 3-4 days.............$2.00/line 5-9 days.............$1.50/line

HELP WANTED

HELP WANTED

Photo by Michael Mazzeo

Phone: 405-325-2521 E-mail: classifieds@ou.edu

classifieds@ou.edu • phone: 405-325-2521

Services

PLACE AN AD

5

2 col (3.25 in) x 2.25 inches

a m o klah

Crossword ........$515/month

POLICY The Oklahoma Daily is responsible for one day’s incorrect advertising.

If your ad appears incorrectly, or if you wish to cancel your ad call 3252521, before the deadline for cancellation in the next issue. Errors not the fault of the advertiser will be adjusted. Refunds will not be issued for late cancellations.

O e h T

y Dail

life , s u p

s)

&

rt o p s , arts

m

(ca s r orte ts p e s R s i n a n i c m i Colu e techn n Onli editors y Cop ners s t s i g l i Des journa s to er o h h p P a gr o e d Vi

The Oklahoma Daily will not knowingly accept advertisements that discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, religious preference, national origin or sexual orientation. Violations of this policy should be reported to The Oklahoma Daily Business Office at 325-2521.

Help Wanted ads in The Oklahoma Daily are not to separate as to gender. Advertisers may not discriminate in employment ads based on race, color, religion or gender unless such qualifying factors are essential to a given position.

t a e n i l u n d o e . y u l o . a i App d e m t n e d tu

™ & Š 2003 The Jim Henson Company

All ads are subject to acceptance by The Oklahoma Daily. Ad acceptance may be re-evaluated at any time.

s

OU Student Media is a department within OU’s division of Student Affairs.

The University of Oklahoma is an equal opportunity institution.

HOROSCOPE

By Bernice Bede Osol

Copyright 2012, Newspaper Enterprise Assn.

Eats flies. Dates a pig. Hollywood star.

LIVE YOUR DREAMS Pass It On. www.forbetterlife.org

It’s the NUMBER ONE cancer killer.

NO MORE EXCUSES. NO MORE LUNG CANCER.

lungcanceralliance.org

help is just a phone call away

9

number

crisis line

325-6963 (NYNE)

OU Number Nyne Crisis Line

8 p.m.-4 a.m. every day

except OU holidays and breaks

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.

oud-2013-4-08-a-005.indd 1

MONDAY, APRIL 8, 2013 Based upon a recent experience, your attitude is likely to undergo a positive revision in the year ahead.

This new dynamic outlook will enable you to emphasize the personal qualities that serve you best.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) -- It isn’t likely that you’ll tolerate anything that inhibits your mobility and independence. Loose chitchat poses a distraction you will find especially annoying.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) -- You’ll be more self-assured at the onset of an undertaking than you will be as matters progress. Don’t allow self-doubts to distort your positive outlook.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) -- It’s OK if your instincts urge you to take on more than is expected of you, as long as you don’t step on anyone’s toes in the process.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) -- The possibilities for you achieving all of your objectives today look to be pretty good, as long as you make a game plan first and don’t try to alter them along the way.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) -- The secret to achieving what you want is to not put any limitations on your thinking. You need to be free to use the entire scope of your smarts and imagination.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) -- The perceptions of some of your associates might be keener than yours.

Just because you fail to see as they do, don’t belittle their hunches.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) -- Someone you like might require extra compassion. Don’t try to reach this person through reason; he or she needs emotional help, not logic.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) -- One of the worst things you can do at this point is goof off. If you fail to keep up with your responsibilities, a hard rain is going to fall.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) -- There are times when it is wise to allow your heart to rule your head, and this might be one of them.

Make a point to go out of your way to be nice to someone who needs some kindness.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) -- This can be a very productive day if you dedicate yourself to your undertakings. Make it a rule not to begin anything you have no intention of completing in a timely fashion.

Universal Crossword Edited by Timothy E. Parker April 8, 2013 ACROSS 1 Dogtrot and canter, for two 6 Home for la familia 10 Potential Guinness entry 14 Approximating word 15 Before much longer, poetically 16 Margarita garnish 17 “Violet� or “sound� introduction 18 Wonk 19 Shark stimulus 20 Gardener’s device 22 Cysts 23 More common name for caustic soda 24 Issue 26 Juicy tidbit 30 Seedsman 32 Touched the tarmac 33 Geraint’s better half 35 Bowler’s challenge 39 Violin’s predecessor 41 Sash for Madame Butterfly 42 Master of march music 43 Jerry and George’s TV buddy 44 Match up 46 Vacation idea 47 Potter’s apparatus 49 Be unable

4/8

to let go 51 Territory 54 Large Australian bird 55 Fortuneteller’s sign 56 Rummage 63 Move merchandise 64 Egyptian symbol of eternal life 65 Hawaiian island or porch 66 Great Lake name 67 Free from contaminants 68 Rose petal oil 69 One who tints fabrics 70 Bygone despot 71 Landline or mobile DOWN 1 Caesar’s France 2 Empowered 3 Very small quantity 4 Gang territory 5 Groom’s place 6 Pond glider 7 From the beginning again 8 Sight for ___ eyes 9 First name of two U.S. presidents 10 Some sill decorators 11 Duck with soft down 12 “You’re ___ friends�

13 Quick and to the point 21 Lovett or Waggoner 25 Untidy state 26 French grape-skin brandy 27 Fat in a pat that spreads 28 Umbrella spokes 29 Watch that runs without batteries 30 Delphic figure 31 The Valkyries answered to him 34 Wine bouquet 36 Angler’s decoy 37 Goddess symbolized by a cow 38 It’s played nightly on base 40 Pacific Coast salmon

45 State of unconsciousness 48 Completely absorbed 50 Potato sack cloth 51 Wandered about 52 Board of manicurists 53 Barbara Eden played one 54 Standard anesthetic, once 57 Weight of obligation 58 Gumbo need 59 It precedes much testimony 60 Do ___ others as ...

61 Indian restaurant bread 62 Urgently desperate

PREVIOUS PUZZLE PUZZLE ANSWER PREVIOUS ANSWER

4/7 4/5

Š 2013 Universal Uclick Šwww.upuzzles.com 2013 Universal Uclick www.upuzzles.com

AN OLD SEED By Wilbur Fleming

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) -- If you go out gallivanting, leave word as to how you can be reached.

Someone is going to be very anxious to get in touch with you, and you won’t want to miss him or her.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) -- When dickering over a commercial matter, you should be firm about your terms. It will cost you both money and the advantage if you let yourself seem weak.

4/7/13 8:47 PM

6

advertisement

• Monday, April 8, 2013

PE-ET

Top 10 Senior Honor Society 2012-2013 Samuel P. Clancy Nick Coffey Shawn D. Deines Michael Elliott John W. Fraser Elizabeth A. Huggins Nicole K. Jenkins Krishna H. Suthar Lena Tenney Becky M. Wood 2013-2014 Nickolas M. Aguilera Julie S. Bock Tyler E. Campbell Kassidy Cook Cale L. Curtin Evan Fry Patrick McSweeney Alexis M. Taitel Brette Throckmorton Corbin Wallace

COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE Outstanding Academic Achievement in Architecture Anna B. Price Outstanding Academic Achievement in Construction Science Jason M. Denny Outstanding Academic Achievement in Environmental Design-General Sara E. Bartlett Outstanding Academic Achievement in Environmental Design Pre-Architecture Gabriela G. Cantu Outstanding Academic Achievement in Interior Design Delphine S. D. Modern

COLLEGE OF ATMOSPHERIC AND GEOGRAPHIC SCIENCES Ralph and Margaret Olson Geography Scholarship

Lara McLellan Kelsey Bowman

School of Meteorology Undergraduate Academic Achievement Award

The Professor Thomas Jay Hill Outstanding Senior in the Natural Sciences Ashley Higgs The Thatcher Hoffman Smith Outstanding Senior in the Professional Programs Candace Ramirez Outstanding Senior in the Social Sciences Becky Wood The Reverend Dr. Henry P. Roberson Outstanding Senior in the Humanities Award Lena Tenney The Cortez A.M. Ewing Public Service Fellowships Kenneth L. Meador Akash Patel Laura Shapiro Alexis Taitel CARL ALBERT AWARD Jerod Coker

GEORGE HENDERSON JR. AWARD Taylor Hornsby

oud-2013-4-08-a-006,007.indd Custom V

The University of Oklahoma

CAMPUS AWARDS PROGRAM

Dylan W. Reif

Jennifer E. Tate

GAYLORD COLLEGE OF JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATION Highest Academic Achievement in Advertising

Kaitlin E. Phillips

Highest Academic Achievement in Broadcasting and Electronic Media

Elijah T. Hull

Highest Academic Achievement in Journalism

Zachary B. Hedrick

Highest Academic Achievement in Professional Writing

Sarah K. Lobban

Highest Academic Achievement in Public Relations

Katherine N. Chrisman

JEANINE RAINBOLT COLLEGE OF EDUCATION Outstanding Senior in Early Childhood Education

Megan Thompson

Outstanding Senior in Elementary Education

Afton Green

Outstanding Senior in Foreign Language Education

Graciela Perez

Outstanding Senior in Language Arts Education

Rachel Renbarger

Tyler Dettmann

Outstanding Senior in Special Education

Rachel Hunter

MULTIDISCIPLINARY STUDIES Multidisciplinary Studies Outstanding Senior

Gabe Ikard

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES LEADERSHIP SCHOLARS Jeremy Allen Lucy Mahaffey Ana Mohammad-Zadeh Luke Bartz Krishna Manohar Lars Berg Shelby Breit Daniel Meschter Iman Chaudhry Tina Nguyen Emily Cole Jordan Nix Kristen Damphousse Johnson Ong Parisa Pilehvar Sarah Grebennikov Molly Hall Margaret Sine Cole Townsend Taylor Hamstra Johannah Walker Kathryn Hillis Saba Imani Katherine Williams Elizabeth Knapp Melissa Zanabria Dania Maduro

WALTER NEUSTADT AWARD

Amy Davenport, Fitness and Recreation

J.R. MORRIS CAMPUS LIFE AWARD Sean Bender James Cook Laney Ellisor Joe Sangirardi Rainey Sewell Matt Shandy Corey Still Vicky Vargas

Alan Witten Outstanding Senior Award Khanh Le Huy Pham Thang Nguyen Ha

Mewbourne School of Petroleum and Geological Engineering Outstanding Senior Award Caroline Hawkins

BIG MAN AND BIG WOMAN ON CAMPUS Big Man on Campus Nickolas M. Aguilera Joshua T. Christopher Kassidy Cook Parker J. Dooly Evan Fry Gabe J. Ikard Jeffrey J. Moseley David Postic Jack B. Renfroe Mubeen A. Shakir Michael Williams Big Woman on Campus Julie S. Bock Brittany Burge Hana Y. Johnson Merrilea Place Madeline C. Ratcliffe Erica B. Romano Caitlin Rother Helga Skaftason Rachel Simpson Alexis M. Taitel Brette Throckmorton Vicky Vargas Pooja Vijayvargiya Monrada Yamkasikorn

Amanda Coffin

Outstanding Senior in Social Studies Education

Charles N. Gould Outstanding Senior Award Uyen Thi Thanh Nguyen

Estwing Hammer Award Hoang Huy Bui Jennifer P. DiGiulio

Outstanding Senior in Mathematics Education Outstanding Senior in Science Education

MEWBOURNE COLLEGE OF EARTH AND ENERGY

David W. Stearns Outstanding Senior Award Ellen Marie Rosencrans

School of Meteorology Faculty Recognition for Outstanding Performance as an Undergraduate

Keegan Long-Wheeler

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

advertisement

Outstanding Junior Award Marissa Mercado

THE PRESIDENT’S AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING TRANSFER STUDENTS

Recognizing excellence in the areas of scholarship, character, leadership and service to the university community. This award is the highest honor bestowed to transfer students by the university community.

Brian P. LeBaron Li Yang

THE PRESIDENT’S AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING FRESHMEN

Recognizing excellence in the areas of scholarship, character, leadership and service to the university community. This award is the highest honor bestowed to freshmen by the university community.

Nicole Antonio Angel Star Boardingham Jenny Carmichael Emmi Coatney Sam Johnson Avery Marczewski Aaron S. Murray Derek Nguyen Emily A. Owens Ally Renfroe Cole E. Townsend Margaret Ruth White

COLLEGE OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIES Admiral William J. Crowe Outstanding IAS Student Award Walter Allison Board of Visitors Study Abroad Scholarship Natalie Dickson Alexander Reisner Lindsay Hefton Hillary Medina Alexis Taitel Ambassador Edward J. Perkins Scholarship Emily Farris Molly Marie Bachmann Andy Tofa Millie Schafer Sitzman Scholarship Molly Marie Bachmann Brianna Russell International Activism Award Anna Przebinda St. Elijah’s and Anthony Shadid Middle East Award Ty Isom CIS Student Athlete Travel Abroad Scholarship Ashley La Follette Heather House Paul and Rose Sharp Outstanding International Student Scholarship Hamed Al-Refaee Yoshi and Koko Sasaki Japanese Scholarship Mikiko Imura Sue Williams Service Award Monrada Yamkasikorn Ana Ruiz Nava The Cleo Cross International Scholarships Yoon Sun Choi Delphine Piguet Fatoumata Cisse Pradeep Adhikari Alexandra Gerea Jorge Quintero Rouzbeh Ghabchi Diego Rodriguez Ting Ting Goh Rokiatou Soumare Josephine-Joy Hammond Xinyu Sun Taiwo Omotoso Monrada Yamkasikorn Anh Phan

THE PRESIDENT’S AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING SOPHOMORES

Recognizing excellence in the areas of scholarship, character, leadership and service to the university community. This award is the highest honor bestowed to sophomores by the university community.

Arthur Dixon Matt Epting Kylie Kay Frisby Conor McBride Daniel Meschter Ana Mohammad-Zadeh Jake Patrick Morgan Allison Nguyen Jake Pasdach Robin Lee Rainey Anna Searcey Neal Walia

REGENTS’ AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING JUNIORS

Recognizing excellence in the areas of scholarship, character, leadership and service to the university community. This award is the highest honor bestowed to juniors by the university community.

Nickolas M. Aguilera Darcy K. Bray Brittany Burge Joshua T. Christopher Evan Fry Linh N. Nguyen Whitney Parker Mubeen A. Shakir Alexis M. Taitel Brette Throckmorton Pooja Vijayvargiya Corbin Wallace

THE MOLLY SHI BOREN VOLUNTEER AWARDS Evan DeFilippis Beth Huggins

LETZEISER HONOR LIST AND MEDALISTS

Sophomore Award Connor Walters

WEITZENHOFFER FAMILY COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS

The Letzeiser Awards are presented annually in memory of the late Alexander Letzeiser as a stimulus of good citizenship and achievement. These are the highest awards presented during the Spring Campus Awards Program. The selections are made each year by a student/faculty/staff committee and are based on leadership, scholarship, and service to the university.

Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts Outstanding Senior Alison Ann Walsh

LETZEISER HONOR LIST

The F. Donald Clark Award for Excellence Cassandra Tatiana Ogan

Victoria J. Antonio Maggie Cannon Katie Chrisman Amanda Easton Paulinna Huynh Madison Jackson Miranda Konowitz Ashley O. Osborn Rachel L. Renbarger Rachel L. Simpson Vicky Vargas Alie Walsh Becky M. Wood

Andrew D. Belliveau Niki Bray Samuel P. Clancy Nick Coffey Shawn D. Deines Parker J. Dooly John W. Fraser Gabe J. Ikard Zach Lanier Oliver Li David Postic Karl B. Schaettle Mubeen A. Shakir

Three medals — bronze, silver and gold — are presented to three men and three women who are selected as the most outstanding.

BRONZE MEDALIST Amanda Easton Samuel Clancy SILVER MEDALIST Miranda Konowitz Nick Coffey GOLD MEDALIST Becky Wood Mubeen Shakir

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

The Elmer Capshaw Award for Outstanding Senior in Art History Page Anne Grossman The Elmer Capshaw Award for Outstanding Senior in Media Jall Cowasji The Elmer Capshaw Award for Outstanding Senior in Studio Arts Michael Langston Hatcher The Elmer Capshaw Award for Outstanding Senior in Visual Communication Sarah Jane Eskew Dance Partners Outstanding Senior Award Austin Blair Lintner The Van Heflin Award from the School of Drama Rachel Sophia Arditi The Outstanding Senior Award from the School of Music Cassandra Tatiana Ogan

MICHAEL F. PRICE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS Outstanding Senior in Accounting Lisa Bierema Outstanding Senior in Economics Ali Browning

Outstanding Senior in Architectural Engineering Carlos Chang

Outstanding Senior in Energy Management Eric Lyle

Outstanding Senior in Civil Engineering Amanda Oehlert

Outstanding Senior in Entrepreneurship Maddie Jackson

Outstanding Senior in Environmental Engineering Eric Tichansky

Outstanding Senior in Finance Hunter Kaestner

Outstanding Senior in Environmental Science Alexandra Marsh

Outstanding Senior in Human Resource Management Austin Woods

Outstanding Seniors in Computer Science Soneldo Sta Iglesia Timothy Stamper

Outstanding Senior in International Business Parker Dooly

Outstanding Senior in Industrial & Systems Engineering Thai Dinh Outstanding Senior in Computer Engineering Bradley Pirtle Outstanding Senior in Electrical Engineering David Vreeland Outstanding Senior in Aerospace Engineering Gina Bishop Miranda Konowitz Outstanding Senior in Mechanical Engineering John Conder Outstanding Senior in Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering Devin Griffith Outstanding Senior in Engineering Physics Jeshurun Chisholm

Outstanding Senior in Management Information Systems Shawn Deines Outstanding Senior in Marketing and Supply Chain Management Jacy Bennett

JOE C. AND CAROLE KERR MCCLENDON HONORS COLLEGE

Monday, April 8, 2013 •

7

PRESIDENT’S TROPHY RECOGNITION Outstanding Housing Center Adams Center Outstanding Sorority Kappa Kappa Gamma Outstanding Fraternity Beta Theta Pi Outstanding Commuter Students Rosemarie Zanabria Helga Skaftason

MELVIN C. HALL Leadership-Scholarship Award

Rosemarie Zanabria

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE PACE Award

Top 1% of the freshman class recognized for participation, academic achievement, community service and excellence

Sheryar Adil Angel Boardingham Kendall Burchard Angela Cai Jennifer Carmichael Joseph D’Amato Melissa Dang Syleste Davis Matthew Dehr Claire Demetree Emily DeSantis Ashten Duncan Jillian England Jessica Freeman Hunter Graham Alexis Hall Ian Hammond Kathryn Hillis Amber Hubbard Jed Johnson Jessica Lanza Lucy Mahaffey Krishna Manohar Avery Marczewski Silas Martin Haley Morrow Avik Mukherjee Phillip Ngo Quang Nguyen Tina Nguyen Derek Nguyen Jacob Odgers Megan Pritchard Ally Renfroe Jay Scambler Abby Tiedeman Amanda Tomlinson Cole Townsend Benjamin Trabing Olivia White Margaret White Zackery Zounes

FERN L. HOLLAND AWARD Alexis M. Taitel

PAUL SHANOR MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP Christine Bird

Outstanding Leadership in Honors Perspectives Akash Patel Kyra Wharton Outstanding Leadership in an Honors Colloquium Steven Kirk Lena Erickson

SOONER PARENTS Mary Ellershaw Heckendorn Outstanding Student Mother Award Ashley Sokoloski

4/7/13 8:41 PM

8

• Monday, April 8, 2013

SPORTS

OUDaily.com ›› The No. 1 OU softball team swept No. 17 Baylor during the weekend at Marita Hynes Field to kick off Big 12 conference play with a bang.

Dillon Phillips, sports editor Jono Greco, assistant editor dailysports@ou.edu • phone: 405-325-3666 oudaily.com/sports • Twitter: @OUDailySports

Women’s gymnastics

men’s gymnastics

OU chases NCAA title after fourth-straight regional crown

Sooners capture 20th conference championship in Colorado Springs, garner 2013 MPSF coach- and gymnast-of-the-year honors

Sooners head to Los Angeles for championship Cecily Tawney Sports Reporter

T h e No. 2 O k l a h o m a women’s gymnastics team cruised its way to a fourthstraight NCAA Regional title in a defeat over Stanford, Penn State, Washington, Iowa and Southern Utah on Saturday at Lloyd Noble Center.

The top-seeded Sooners p o ste d a tea m s c o re o f 1 9 7 . 3 7 5 , a h e a d o f s e co n d - p l a c e S t a n f o r d ’s 196.800. The two teams will advance to the NCAA Championships in Los Angeles from April 19 through 21.

“It never gets old,” coach K.J. Kindler said. “This is our fourth-straight year of winning a regional, and I think it says a lot for how far our program has come and where we’re going.”

Oklahoma’s advancement to the Championship is the 10th straight for the Sooners and 13th in OU history.

The S ooner ’s opened the night on vault and continued with strong performances on bars and beam before closing the night on floor and posting their highest events score of the meet with a 49.425.

“Floor was a great rotation. It was impeccable,” Kindler said. “I couldn’t have ended it better if I had scripted it out.”

OU’s second-ranked men’s gymnastics team won its 20th conference title Saturday at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Conference Championship in Colorado Springs, Colo.

The Sooners beat No. 4 Stanford, No. 9 California and No. 11 Air Force to claim their 12th conference crown in 15 years.

“I’m ecstatic for the performance our team did today,” coach Mark Williams said. “When I looked at this team early in mark the season, I didn’t expect a whole lot in williams terms of overall team success throughout the entire year, but they’ve met and exceeded all the expectations I’ve had for them.”

OU won five of the six individual event titles and took home the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation coach and gymnast of the year awards, which went to coach Mark Williams and junior Presten Ellsworth, respectively.

“It just makes today’s win even better,” Williams said. “We certainly look presten forward to the challenge of the NCAA Championships coming up, and I think ellsworth we put ourselves in a good position to contend for another national title.”

Staff Reports

astrud reed/the daily

Junior Taylor Spears performs an aerial back walkover during OU’s Jan. 18 meet against Denver.

Spears won the beam, tied for first in the vault and had the highest all-around score in the win.

Ju n i o r Ta y l o r S p e a r s won her eighth all-around title of the season while the Sooners individually claimed five event titles — sophomore Rebecca Clark and Spears sharing the bar title, Spears sharing the beam title and senior Brie Olson and freshman Haley Scaman sharing the floor title.

With the last meet in front of their home crowd this season, the gymnasts fed off of the fans’ energy.

“They were right there

with us the whole time, cheering for every routine,” junior Madison Mooring said. “To look up and just see them all cheering for you is a great feeling. They make us perform even better because we know that they love us, and we love them.”

Following the meet, Kindler was announced the South Central Region Coach of the Year while assistant coaches Lou Ball and Tom Haley were named South Central Region Assistant

Coaches of the Year.

With a bye week ahead, the Sooners will waste no time to prepare, and they are ready to w ork hard f o r t h e i r f i r s t Nat i o na l Championship title.

“We are striving to be our best,” Mooring said.

“We need to put ever ything we have out there for Nationals.”

Cecily Tawney ctawney@ou.edu

NBA

Knicks silence Thunder in OKC New York extends win streak to 12 Jeff Latzke

Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY — Driving to the basket in cr unch time, Raymond Felton slipped to the floor and lost the basketball in the process. All he could do was lunge back at it and bat it toward J.R. Smith as the shot clock ticked closer to zero.

For the second straight possession, Smith beat the buzzer — this time with a 3-pointer — and the Knicks closed out a 125-120 victory against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday. “ He makes plays like that. He makes tough shots.

Sometimes I think he likes to take the tougher shot than the easier shot. They still go in,” said teammate Carmelo Anthony, who had 36 points and 12 rebounds while moving ahead of Kevin Durant to become the NBA’s top scorer.

“That shot, it was a nail in the coffin.”

Smith finished with 22 points, including the two biggest shots of the game.

He connected on a 23-foot jumper from the right wing as the 24-second clock expired to put New York up 117-113 with 1:30 to play, then swished a 3-pointer with 56.8 seconds left that all but sealed New York’s 50th win of the season.

“It was just a freak

accident, a great play,” Felton said. “I slipped, knocked the ball to him and he did the rest. He knocked down the big shot.”

The victory was the Knicks’ 12th in a row and put them at 50 wins for the first time in 13 years. They also moved 2 1/2 games ahead of Indiana for second place in the Eastern Conference and moved onto the doorstep of clinching the Atlantic Division title.

Russell Westbrook had 37 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists for Oklahoma City, which fell a game behind San Antonio for first place in the West with five games left.

The Thunder had gained control of the race for first by beating the Spurs but were unable to complete a threegame sweep of San Antonio, Indiana and New York in a less than 72-hour span.

“We’re good. We’ve got five more games to go,” said Durant, who scored 27. “We lost a tough one. This team, they shot the ball well tonight. They hit some tough shots all night. We forced them to shoot some tough ones and they hit them.

“You’ve got to tip your hat to them, but other than that, what’s the need to panic for?

We’re good.”

Anthony’s scoring average improved one-tenth of a point to 28.44, while Durant’s stayed about the same at 28.35.

“I try not to think about

michelle nehrenz/the daily

Sophomore Alec Robin flips during his floor routine on Feb. 23 against Air Force in Norman. OU won, 440.300 - 420.050.

FREAKY FAST sue ogrocki/the associated press

Thunder forward Nick Collison (4) collides with Knicks center Tyson Chandler (6) under the basket during OKC’s 125-120 loss.

that,” Anthony said. “I just go out there and play ball.”

Anthony, playing at Oklahoma City for the first time since April 2010, added to one of the more colorful histories of any visiting player despite failing to extend his run of 40-point games to four. He tied Bernard King’s Knicks record with three in a

row, going for 50, 40 and 41 in his previous three games.

Anthony hit game-winners in the closing seconds of Denver’s only two games at Oklahoma City in 2009, then was knocked unconscious in the third quarter before returning in the fourth as the Nuggets rallied to win the 2010 game.

Mexican Restauran Restaurant

ACTS 16:25-26: About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundation of the prision were shaken. At once all the prsion doors flew open and everyone’s chains came loose.

Date:

April 13, 2013 Time: 7:00 pm Venue: Riverside

Church 2300 24th Ave SW, Norman OK 73072

For accomodations based on disability contact dara mamora: 312.972.2219

oud-2013-4-08-a-008.indd 1

DELIVERY!

MONDAY: OU ID Day 30% off for all entrees.

WEDNESDAY: $5.99 5lb Burritto Grande Dinner.

Eat this monster plus foot long sopapilla then the meal is FREE!

FREAKY FAST

DELIVERY! ©2011 JIMMY JOHN’S FRANCHISE, LLC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

LUNCH SPECIAL: Every day $7.49 full size dinners.

405.579.1221 1000 East Alameda, Norman, OK

4/7/13 8:54 PM

sports

Monday, April 8, 2013 •

9

baseball

Sooners end 15-year drought against ’Horns No. 13 OU wins third conference series of season Jono Greco

Assistant Sports Editor

The No. 13 Oklahoma baseball team did something during the weekend no Sooner baseball squad has done since 1998: win a series against Texas.

After splitting the first two games — a 2-1 win Friday and a 1-0 loss Saturday — the Sooners (27-6, 7-2 Big 12) used a three-run eighth inning to come from behind and claim the 4-2 victory Sunday at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.

The series win was OU’s third-straight series victory in conference play and first in Austin since 1997.

“It felt great — really for our young men,” said coach Sunny Golloway in a postgame radio interview.

“It was a tough weekend.

We knew we were going to make a run, but — you know — you’d like to have made it earlier, but they countered.

We made a run at the right time.”

The Sooners’ eighth-inning surge was powered by senior leadership and finished off with a newcomer making a splash in his first Red River Rivalry, facing Texas’ Preseason AllAmerican pitcher, junior Corey Knebel.

Senior shortstop Jack Mayfield, who went 3-for5 in Sunday’s finale, led off the eighth with a single and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt and wild pitch before senior right fielder Max White tied the game with a soft line-drive RBI single.

After a strikeout by junior first baseman Matt Oberste — whose hit streak came to an end at 30 games

astrud reed/the daily

Junior first baseman Matt Oberste receives the throw from junior second baseman Hector Lorenzana for an out in the top of the sixth against the Jayhawks on March 29 at L. Dale Mitchell Park. The Sooners won by a walk-off sacrifice fly to win, 2-1. Oberste went hitless against Texas, ending his OU-record 30-game hit streak.

after he failed to get a hit in any game this weekend — and single by freshman designated hitter Kolbey Carpenter, junior second baseman Hector Lorenzana drove in the game-winning runs on a two-out, two-run double to give the Sooners the late 4-2 lead.

“Once I got to second base, I saw those two runs score, and I was just pointing at my teammates, pointing at my parents — it was their anniversary — it was the best feeling I’ve had in a long time,” said Lorenzana,

who had two hits in the series, in a postgame radio interview.

Texas scored its only two runs of the game — it scored four during the series — on a triple by junior third baseman Erich Weiss in the third inning off OU starting pitcher redshirt freshman lefty Adam Choplick.

The Sooners’ bullpen held the Longhorns scoreless during the final 6 1/3 innings. Relief pitchers senior Jake Fisher, freshman Ralph Garza Jr., junior Billy Waltrip and freshman Jacob

Evans combined to allow just two hits while striking out six batters during that stretch.

The bullpen has allowed just seven runs — six earned — in 34.1 innings of work during Big 12 play, with six of those runs coming in a 10-8 loss against Kansas on March 30. The bullpen went 8 2/3 innings in that loss.

The Sooners got nine innings of scoreless ball from their bullpen this weekend.

OU’s staff as a whole has been dominant, as well.

It has allowed two earned

runs or fewer in 14 of its last 18 games, a period in which the Sooners went 15-3.

The 2-1 weekend in Austin helped keep the Sooners atop the Big 12 standings, and the Longhorns (17-12-1, 3-6 Big 12) are tied with TCU for last place in the conference. OU leads Kansas State by a game and Baylor by 1.5 games, making next weekend’s matchup in Waco a big one for both the Sooners and Bears.

OU does not have any midweek games this week,

so the players and coaches have almost a week to prepare for Baylor and enjoy a long-awaited series win against a much-hated rival.

“I grew up always hating Texas,” said Fisher, a Tahlequah, Okla. native, in a postgame radio interview.

“For our team, this is a huge win. (It) hasn’t been done in years, and to come down here and do it with this group is very special.”

Jono Greco jonogreco13@gmail.com

Want to land a job here?

Our alums have landed some of the greatest jobs in the best cities.

Chicago OMD O Magazine Chicago Sun-Times Chicago Tribune Skyline Media morningstar.com re:fuel

Start here:

studentmedia.ou.edu Apply by April 15

Not enough?

Our students and alums intern and work at the nation’s finest media: The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The Los Angeles Times, The Dallas Morning News, Glamour, People, Spirit magazine, Associated Press, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Cultura, Omnicom, Ivie Marketing, The Sporting News, Entertainment Weekly, ESPN and many, many more.

OU Student Media is a department within OU’s division of Student Affairs. The University of Oklahoma is an equal opportunity institution. www.ou.edu/eoo. For accommodations on the basis of a disability, call 325-2521.

oud-2013-4-08-a-009.indd 1

4/7/13 8:59 PM

10

• Monday, April 8, 2013

LIFE&ARTS

Emma Hamblen, life & arts editor Megan Deaton, assistant editor dailyent@ou.edu • phone: 405-325-3666 oudaily.com/life&arts • Twitter: @OUDailyArts

campus event

sooner scandals

Festival seeks to empower women

Talent raises over $1,000 for children’s charity

Literature, film, photography speak

Musical competition encourages Sooners to ‘Start the Fire’ for kids

Kandice Lawson Life & Arts Reporter

Award-winning magazine World Literature Today, which operates on OU’s campus, will be hosting its annual Puterbaugh Festival of International Literature and Culture this Tuesday through Friday.

The Puterbaugh Festival began in 1968 and is held in memory of J. G. Puterbaugh (1876–1965). He was an Oklahoma philanthropist, entrepreneur and civic leader who loved poetry and believed it to be a source of cultural enlightenment and a means for understanding other cultures, according photo provided to World Literature Today’s The Oklahoma premiere of “Girl Rising,” directed by Richard Robbins, will be held at 8 p.m. website.

Wednesday in Oklahoma Memorial Union’s Meacham Auditorium following a panel about human traf-

‘‘

There are so many things students can be compassionate about and change [them]. This could be inspiration.”

Daniel Simon, assistant director and editor in chief of world literature today

Every year, the festival has a different theme and helps to expose people to different kinds of art, poetry, writing and other aspects of cultures from all around the world, said Daniel Simon, assistant

ficking.

director and editor in chief of World Literature Today. In more recent years, the festival has been geared toward involving students, and features music, dance, poetry, theatre, film and other cultural elements that help enhance the appeal to audience to learn more about different cultures around the world.

“Puterbaugh’s vision was for students and faculty to be exposed to different languages, poetry, and for people to be opened up to the world in terms of what literature is out there beyond American Literature,” Simon said.

This year’s festival will focus on literature and photography that aids in women’s empowerment around the globe. Maaza Mengiste, Ethiopian-American writer

of “Beneath the Lion’s Gaze,” will be this year’s featured writer, Simon said.

Mengiste’s book has been translated into several languages and appeared on several “Best of 2010” lists, according to the Puterbaugh Festival’s website. The book also was selected by the Guardian as one of the 10 best contemporary African books.

Photographer Phil Borges has lived with and documented indigenous and tribal cultures around the world. Borges’ work will be displayed in Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, according to the festival’s website.

Simon said he hopes the festival’s theme will bring about more awareness.

“Students will get the

JUNIORS ENROLL NOW! DID YOU KNOW THAT ENROLLING IN AT LEAST 15 HOURS EACH SEMESTER OR 30 HOURS EACH YEAR HELPS YOU STAY ON TRACK FOR GRADUATION?

opportunity to meet the writer, panelists and speakers, and to ask questions, read their work and to get the knowledge to go back to their communities to get involved in global issues,” Simon said.

“There are so many things students can be compassionate about and change [them].

This could be inspiration.”

Madeline Alford, English senior and president of the World Literature Today Student Advisory Board, also hopes the festival will encourage students to expand their thinking, she said.

See more online Visit OUDaily.com for the complete story

Shannon Borden Life & Arts Reporter

A crowd gathered Saturday night at Donald W. Reynolds Performing Arts Center to watch six teams duke it out for the top prize at the 70th anniversary of Sooner Scandals.

This year’s theme was “We Didn’t Start The Fire,” based on Billy Joel’s hit song. Teams were challenged to choose a cultural reference made in the song and create a 12 minute musical centered around it. The performances included Woodstock, Disneyland, Television, Ronald Reagan, Punk Rock and Elvis Presley.

Delta Delta Delta and Beta Epsilon Chi Inc.’s show, “Woodstock: The Journey to Revolution,” captured the night’s highest honor. In the show, Michael Lang (Keegan Josephson) and his best friend Artie Cornfield (Elvie Ellis) are successful event promoters hoping to have another music festival called Woodstock but encounter a few obstacles. They overcome them, and Woodstock goes down in history as the greatest music festival of all time.

Josephson, vocal performance sophomore, won Best Male Lead and Ellis, vocal music education senior, won Best Supporting Character. The show also took home awards for Crowd Favorite, Best Choreography, Best Vocal Performance and Best Song for their rendition of The Killers’ hit “All These Things That I’ve Done.”

Not only was the event a competition of talent, but it was also a charity event benefitting Children’s Miracle Network.

During the award show, Soonerthon chairwoman for 2014, Sarah Campbell, announced Sooner Scandals brought in $1,169 for Children’s Miracle Network.

This year introduced the Sooner Scandals Cast, a cast of singers and dancers who kept the show moving between acts with a storyline of their own.

Between each performance, the Sooner Scandals Cast performed a skit about students who didn’t understand the value of learning and eventually get their teacher fired.

Each gap between shows gave another chapter of the story.

Kylie Frisby, Sooner Scandals Cast member and public relations sophomore, joined the Cast because she enjoys the excitement and energy of Sooner Scandals and wanted to be a part of it, she said.

“It may be competitive,” Frisby said. “But Scandals is a great time for a community of students to come together and have a good time with each other.”

oudaily.com/news/ae

the

Shannon Borden, shannonborden@ou.edu

University

of

Oklahoma

L I B R A R I E S

Test drive library discovery platforms for a chance to win an iPad mini!

The University Libraries will host “test drive” sessions of library discovery platforms in the Oklahoma Memorial Union from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. on April 8th, 10th, 16th, and 18th.

Users who complete a “test drive” session will be entered to win an iPad mini.

SO DON’T FORGET...

The University of Oklahoma is an equal opportunity institution.

oud-2013-4-08-a-010.indd 1

www.libraries.ou.edu

librarian@ou.edu

(405) 325-4142

4/7/13 8:41 PM

LIFE&ARTS

Monday, April 8, 2013 •

11

ART PROVIDED

VIDEO GAME REVIEW

F

ew video games touch VISUAL EDITOR on such controversial issues as fanatical nationalism, extreme prejudice and justifiable homicide, but “BioShock: Infinite” manages to do so with stimulating scrutiny and careful tact. It’s a rare game that makes you Ryan Boyce question your actions as a post.boyce@gmail.com protagonist and guides you on a magical and puzzling journey through a world that is at many times gloomy and frightening.

Most of all, “Infinite” is an experience chock-full of breathtaking action and some truly unforgettable moments that stick with you long after you’ve finished the game. These moments, along with a fascinating narrative, set “BioShock: Infinite” apart from an overrun market of multiplayer-oriented shooters. Simply put, this is a thrill ride you don’t want to miss.

The year is 1912, and as Booker DeWitt, a private investigator with a shadowy past and a sizeable gambling debt, you find yourself reluctantly agreeing to track down and recover an enigmatic girl named Elizabeth. After a quick introduction sequence, reminiscent of the original “BioShock,” DeWitt literally is rocketed to Columbia, a dream-like, early-American utopia floating in the sky; an intricate balloon-suspended city-state that has defiantly seceded from the U.S. And what better place to do it than among the clouds?

Eventually, DeWitt comes to find the city is not as heavenly as it’s made out to be. Led by Father Comstock, a self-proclaimed “prophet,” the citizens of Columbia go about their daily lives discussing politics, visiting the local fair and occasionally throwing baseballs at interracial couples. Yes, the streets are vibrant and alive, but they also are teeming with racist sentiment and destructive patriotic zeal. Ultimately, the culmination of these surprisingly relevant issues results in some incredibly uncomfortable, and sometimes

infuriating, encounters.

Despite its dark undercarriage, Columbia is simply awe-inspiring. Picturesque skylines loom around every corner of early-1900’s American architecture, while detailed and consistently striking set-pieces overshadow any instances of repetitive level design. Old-fashioned radios sit in shop windows and offices around the city playing an enthralling array of period-appropriate hits. This music serves as another defining staple of Columbia’s brilliant atmosphere. Remarkable environments are something the “BioShock” series has done well in the past, but beyond the drastic relocation from sea to sky, “Infinite” distinguishes itself from its predecessors with new and innovative gameplay elements.

One example is the introduction of the rollercoaster-esque “skyline.” Using a tool known as a “skyhook,” the player can ride the skyline for quick transportation or use it to get the drop on an enemy. In addition, after finally coming in contact with Elizabeth, she joins you as a companion. During battle, Elizabeth will provide you with items such as health and ammo, and unlike most games where these situations usually turn out to be bothersome escort missions, this young girl can completely take care of herself.

But despite its entertaining combat and refreshing originality, “BioShock: Infinite” is not a perfect game. Early on, it stumbles from some minor pacing issues. After taking the necessary time to establish the setting and main characters, the narrative drags slightly, causing awkward fluctuations in early action sequences. And although combat is exciting and brutal from the moment you acquire your first sidearm, gunning down wave after wave of enemy units can at times become rather repetitive. The item collection system is “Infinite’s” biggest flaw, one from which each previous “BioShock” game has also suffered. For the most part, there is no rhyme or reason to where items are found

and hunting for them always ends up feeling tedious and obstructive, rather than challenging and rewarding.

Although its developers missed a significant opportunity to address some of the more serious downsides of the game’s precursors, “BioShock: Infinite” is undoubtedly one of the most shocking and unique video games to have been released in over a decade. With a wildly elaborate setting and a well-defined cast of diverse characters, it pulls you into a world you may not be entirely ready to deal with. The influence of the original “BioShock” is apparent, but after the game’s darkest secrets are revealed, and the story reaches its gripping finale, “Infinite” clearly stands out as a more impactful and satisfying experience.

Ryan Boyce is a broadcasting and electronic media sophomore.

ART PROVIDED

Can you sell sand on the beach?

Or a red ice pop to a lady in white gloves?

is

NOW HIRING sales positions Apply by April 15

www.studentmedia.ou.edu/jobs

Student Media is a department within OU’s division of Student Affairs.

The University of Oklahoma is an equal opportunity institution. www.ou.edu/eoo

oud-2013-4-08-a-011.indd 1

4/7/13 8:40 PM

12

campus

• Monday, April 8, 2013

Huzzah for food, folk, fairies

Medieval fair holds court in Norman

Nikki Self/The Daily

Fair actors pose as fairies to delight children and entertain adults at Norman’s Medieval Fair on Friday in Reave’s Park. Workers at the fair dressed in period or fantasy costumes and took on period personas to interact with fair attendees and take them out of their everyday lives.

211169A01 4.25"

Nikki Self/The Daily

Above: A merman and merwoman wave to passing crowds and children from their perch on the jungle gym Friday at Reave’s Park during Norman’s Medieval Fair. The fair ran through Sunday and attracted approximately 300,000 people.

Left: A fairgoer displays his period costume at Norman’s Medieval Fair on Friday.

FETCH THIS PAPER YOURSELF

3.5"

small step no. 34

TAKE A SMALL STEP TO GET HEALTHY www.smallstep.gov

oud-2013-4-08-a-012.indd 1

4/7/13 10:47 PM