Monday, April 9, 2012

Is your congregation ready for GLBT inclusion? (opinion, page 4) The University of Oklahoma’s independent student voice since 1916

m O N DaY, a p R I L 9 , 2 012

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

2 011 S I LV E R C R O W N W I N N E R

ACADEMiCs

Students put cultures on display

Religion, law and science to collide New fall course to blend topics BEN FRIEDLANDER Campus Reporter

JosH BLanCo/tHe daiLy

Students perform a traditional Chinese dance during Sunday’s China Night in Molly Shi boren ballroom. Showcasing Chinese culture, the evening included several dance numbers, music performances, martial arts demonstrations and Chinese food to bring Chinese culture to Oklahoma Memorial Union.

Weekend event spotlights China Students hoped to debunk thoughts of China as world enemy with cultural night COCO COURTOIS Campus Reporter

It was under the sign of the dragon that the 11th China Night took place Sunday in the Oklahoma Memorial Union’s Molly Shi Boren Ballroom.

“This year is the dragon year, probably the most important one for Chinese people,” said Zheng Jiang, Society of Chinese Students and Scholars president.

To let people know about Chinese culture, the association made the event free, though a majority of the on-stage events were not conducted in English.

“We want everybody to come know about Chinese culture,” said Jiang, petroleum engineering senior. “We go abroad

and learn from different culture; it’s also important for them to know ours.”

And China is culturally rich. With more than 5,000 years of history, Chinese dances and songs were presented as a first step into the country’s culture.

The “Dragon Boat Tune” was sung by Yue Cao. Dragons are believed to be deities of water in Chinese culture, and boat races are aspects of annual water rituals and festival celebrations.

Th e p e r f o r ma n c e o f t h e s o ng “Descendants of the Dragon” by Benson Voong also was intended to showcase pride and respect toward the dragon, the only mythical creature in the Chinese zodiac.

The event also featured Chinese songs sung by American students and American songs sung by Chinese students to celebrate the 40 years of Nixon’s

first visit to China.

“We wanted to recreate the connection by letting students take part in each other’s culture,” Jiang said.

As China’s population continues to increase, Chinese cultural nights will not be a isolated manifestation of Chinese culture.

“We have a faster growing [economy], it’s true, but we’re not an enemy of the world,” Jiang said.

Jiang hopes events similar to China Night will help students make their own judgments about the nation’s place in the world, he said.

“We want to show our past culture and show our new culture we’ll present to the world,” he said. “When my American friends come and talk to me about China being a threat, I tell them ‘Don’t just follow the media and politics; come and see for yourself.’”

Arabian hospitality highlights evening COCO COURTOIS Campus Reporter

An event representing multiple Arabian cultures took place Saturday at the Donald W. Reynolds Performing Arts Center to showcase the Arabian cultures diversity.

The Arabian Night, themed “A Night with the Bedouins,” was intended to showcase the hospitality of Arab cultures, Arab Student Association president Hadi AlTawil said.

Though using the word Arabian can be vague, the term includes all Arab-speaking countries, zoology junior AlTawil said.

In an effort to represent all Arabian cultures, the show featured performances from North Africa, Central Africa, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

It began with a demonstration of belly dancing and was followed by a video demonstrating the Saab, a traditional dance from southern Saudi Arabia that is mostly practiced in weddings, and the Chobi, which is a traditional Iraqi dance once used to express manhood, but it is now mostly associated with songs of love and beauty, according to the program.

In a different style, the Egyptian dance Tahtib, also known as “stick dance”, was performed as a mock fight to music.

The event’s fashion show featured modern outfits as well see ARABIAN paGe 2

ty JoHnson/tHe daiLy

OU Arab Student Association members perform the Debkah, a Lebanese folk dance representing community, at Saturday night’s Arabian Night 2012: A Night with the bedouins.

Is Tim Tebow really praying when he strikes his iconic on-field pose?

Three OU professors with divergent backgrounds are looking to answer this question and others like it in a new course being offered by the College of Arts and Sciences in the fall.

Zoology professor Douglas Mock, law professor Joseph Thai and religious studies professor Tom Boyd hope to combine their respective specializations into one course that will give students the chance to study the way humans think and understand the world around them, according to a class flyer.

Their “Mind-Bending: Religion, Law and Science” course will challenge students to consider the different thought processes used in religious, legal and scientific methods to understand their advantages and limitations.

The idea for the course came about when Mock, then teaching a course on evolution, invited Boyd to speak to the class about the controversies between science and religion. They agreed that the class sparked the best discussion either had heard all year.

Mind-Bending is loosely based on a class offered at Harvard University called “Thinking about Thinking,” which also uses three professors to cover topics in law, science, and religion, Mock said.

Rather than copying the Harvard curriculum, however, Mock and Boyd have agreed that their course will be more free-wheeling in nature, they said.

The professors will discuss whatever topics they find most relevant and interesting throughout the semester, and students will be called upon to help shape the direction of the course, Boyd said.

The three professors plan to take turns lecturing for the first half of the twohour class, which will be followed by an hour of open discussion.

The class will be structured to help students take the critical step toward combining all of their different classes into a single, cohesive education, Mock and Boyd said.

“Think about it,” Boyd said. “You take classes in psychology, history, chemistry, but you study them all separately without ever connecting the dots.”

Boyd hopes Mindsee CLASS paGe 2

liFE & ArTs VOL. 97, NO. 133

© 2012 OU Publications Board FREE — Additional copies 25 cents

The Daily’s open record requests

Curtain to rise soon for original play’s premiere

Requested document and purpose

Date requested

OU students have the unique experience to work directly with a playwright during production of an unreleased play. (Page 6)

non-identifying information about the number of students on OU’s insurance plan from 2010 to present — To compare the number who purchased the plan before and after the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Thursday

nOW OnlinE AT

sPOrTs

Sunday

Men’s tennis continues recent run of success

sooner freshman more complex than he seems

The total cost to OU of chemical waste disposal for all chemistry laboratories on campus from fall 2008 to present — To learn how much money the university puts into chemical waste disposal.

Sunday

The No. 13 Sooners extended their winning streak to seven by beating No. 39 Rice on Sunday on the road. (sports)

Hunter Lockwood has adjusted quickly during his first year of college, leading the big 12 in home runs. (Page 9)

The number of clients the University Counseling Center serves by month from fall 2008 to present — To search for trends in student use, especially during the months leading up to finals week.

Campus ........................

Classifieds ..................

Life & Arts ...................

Opinion ......................

Sports .........................

2 8 6 4 9

niCk WiLLiams/tHe daiLy

Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelly (left), Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood perform Saturday in Lloyd Noble Center.

Former Hootie and the blowfish frontman Darius Rucker and Thompson Square opened the concert. (Page 6)

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

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campus

• Monday, April 9, 2012

Campus

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

Monday, April 9, 2012 •

ACADEMICS

‘No expiration date’ for med school dreams

Pre-med adviser has seen influx of students coming back to get medical degrees JAKE MORGAN

Campus Reporter

Today around campus The Foundations Exhibition will be on display from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art’s Lightwell Gallery.

TUESDAY, APRIL 10 The Foundations Exhibition will be on display from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art’s Lightwell Gallery.

A tuba and euphonium concert by professor Brian Dobbins will take place at noon in the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art’s Sandy Bell Gallery.

A seminar about how to avoid committing academic misconduct hosted by Student Success Series at 4 p.m. at Wagner Hall, Room 245.

The Write Club Creative Writers will hold its weekly meeting for writing encouragement at 6 p.m. in Wagner Hall, Room 280.

The baseball team will face Arkansas at 6:30 p.m at L. Dale Mitchell Park.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11 The Foundations Exhibition will be on display from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art’s Lightwell Gallery.

A seminar about how your brain processes information will take place at 3:30 p.m. in Wagner Hall, Room 245.

A lecture featuring research presentations by OU musicology, music theory, ethnomusicology and music education faculty will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. in Catlett Music Center, Room 131.

THURSDAY, APRIL 12 The Foundations Exhibition will be on display from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art’s Lightwell Gallery.

The OU Write Club open mic night for poets and writers will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. at Cafe Plaid, 333 W. Boyd.

The world premiere of “They Promised Her the Moon,” performed by the OU Helmerich School of Drama, will take place at 8 p.m. in the Weitzenhoffer Theatre. Tickets are $6 for students and $8 for adults.

The OU Juggling Club will give lessons at 8 p.m. in Huston Huffman Fitness Center, Room 140.

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.

Visit OUDaily.com/corrections to see an archive of our corrections

Ty Johnson/The Daily

OU students from the Arab Student Association perform the “Fertile Crescent” dance, choreographed by Siera Collins, Saturday at the Donald W. Reynolds Performing Arts Center. This dance presents tribal styles of belly dancing that represent spiritual womanhood. The Arabian Night featured music, dancing and videos from North Africa, Central Africa, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

Arabian: Event features dancing, costumes Continued from page 1 as more traditional outfits, some specific to ceremonies.

After the performance of a more traditional style of belly dancing that represents prehistoric traditions of spirituality and fertility in womanhood, the student organization had planned t h e s h ow i ng o f a v i d e o about Arab Spring, which had to be canceled due to technical difficulties.

“It’s important for people

to understand the Arab Spring,” AlTawil said. “Even for us, we’ve lived for thousands of years together, and we still have differences. The Arab Spring has showed us that.”

Luckily, O U has a lot of students interested in learning Arabic, which often helps them learn about the culture as well, AlTawil said.

The show was closed by an Arab band composed of a Lute, a keyboard and a small, goblet-shaped drum called a Durbakeh.

“The fact that a lot of our dances are traditional is important because it shows the way history shaped our country. If you can understand everything we went through, you can understand where we are today.”

Hadi AlTawil, Arab Student Association president

The event’s diversity of dances, costumes and musics was intended to showcase the richness of Arabian culture, AlTawil said.

“The fact that a lot of our dances are traditional is

important because it shows the way history shaped our country,” AlTawil said. “If you can understand everything we went through, you can understand where we are today.”

Class: Starts fall Continued from page 1 Bending will help students relate the ideas learned in classes by focusing on how each class tests their ability to think, he said.

Mock and Boyd hope the course will give students a relief from the structured, memorization-focused nature of most classes while offering a forum for free-thinking and intellectual discussion.

In addition to discussing Tebow, students who enroll in the course should look forward to several hot-button discussions, including evolution and religion in daily life.

Mock, Boyd, and Thai don’t yet know exactly what direction the class will take, but they hope the in-class discussions will be exciting, controversial and thought-provoking.

“Non-thinkers need not apply,” Mock said.

sooner

��a�����

LAST CHANCE schedule your free graduation

portrait appointment

Heading southwest at 75 miles-per-hour down Interstate Highway 44, Shane Elliot was making the 168-mile trek from Bartlesville to Norman for one reason: he had urgent news to share.

When he arrived at OU’s Richards Hall, he strolled up the steps and into pre-medical adviser Nancy Blass’ office. Slyly, he revealed to Blass the Oklahoma State University medical shirt he was wearing.

Blass gazed at the shirt perplexed for a few moments, and it clicked; one of her mentees had been accepted into medical school.

A celebratory hug and a few tears followed soon afterward.

Elliot, however, wasn’t one of Blass’s average pre-medical st udents.

Elliot, 43, represents a population of OU students who return to OU years after graduating college to finish their pre-medical requirements and pursue careers in medicine.

Many students initially convince themselves a medical degree is out of their reach during their undergraduate studies, Blass said.

“They get scared, and they aren’t smart enough,” Blass said. “[The Medical College Admissions Test], of course is intimidating.

There is a tendency to get intimidated by the whole process.”

This type of non-traditional student always has been present at OU, but Blass said she saw an influx after the collapse of Enron Corporation in 2001. Students with careers in finance said they wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to pursue their true passion for a career in medicine, Blass said.

“There’s no expiration date,” Blass said.

“I think it happens much more than people think. People should never say they’re too old to go back.”

Far from passing his shelf life, Michael Henderson, 41, returned to OU in spring 2011 and plans to apply to Oklahoma State’s College of Osteopathic Medicine this June.

Henderson said he had a moment of clarity while working as a clinical director at a psychiatric hospital in Plymouth, Indiana.

Standing in a parking lot outside of the hospital at 7 in the evening, he prepared himself to perform therapeutic interventions to calm the unit down.

“Is this what I want to do? I figured out

Melodie Lettkeman/The Daily

Pre-med adviser Nancy Blass describes suitable minors and fields of medicine for biomedical engineering junior Austin Zearley on Tuesday. Blass has built a reputation for her advising of non-traditional students, a reputation that has brought photos and thank-you gifts, even in the form of a fresh-out-of-the-oven pie from students who said they didn’t believe they could make it into medical school at their age.

that I didn’t want to head in that direction,” Henderson said. “My medical director told me to become a doctor. ... ‘Hell, I’m too old,’ I thought. He laughed at me and said, ‘I didn’t go to medical school until I was 43.’”

As an older, non-traditional student, Henderson said he’s already experienced what many of his classmates are dealing with right now.

“I’ve been burnt; I’ve had my heart chewed on, and I don’t have the patience for that,” Henderson said. “I feel like a grandpa. I have step kids older than the average student.”

Henderson nearly will be finished with his application once he submits his materials June 1, the first day of the application window.

Only the MCAT will stand between him and medical school.

“Once people get to the grind, they don’t see the value of education. I always believe in education,” Henderson said. “You can have everything else taken away from you except for an education. It can never be taken away.

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?

405-325-3668 sessions running now through April 20

Sooner yearbook is a publication of OU Student Media, a department in the division of Student Affairs. The University of Oklahoma is an Equal Opportunity Institution.

3

SO DON’T FORGET...

The University of Oklahoma is an equal opportunity institution.

... Once you learn it, you learn it.”

For recent OU College of Medicine graduate Kirsten Montague, 11 years passed between her OU graduation in 1996 and her return to pursue a medical degree. Her moment of clarity struck her while doing zoology field work in Panama.

“I didn’t feel the satisfaction of making an immediate impact in the world,” Montague said. “I wanted to be direct and hands-on.”

During her hiatus, Montague met a doctor who took exceptionally good care of her and remembered her name and why she was there.

“It picked me up in that moment to redirect,” Montague said. “If I could do that for someone else, it would be worth the struggle.”

Montague, upon deciding to return to OU, feared that others might think she was flighty for changing her career, she said.

“It was a leap of faith,” Montague said. “I just went for it.”

Montague’s zoology coursework covered

all her prerequisites, but the OU admissions board expressed concern over her lack of recent classroom experience and placed her on the wait list. The OU College of Medicine accepted Montague while she took a biochemistry course to freshen up, and she said the day of her acceptance was one of the best days of her life.

“I had to struggle compared to those fresh from the grind, but I had the life experience and did very well with my patients,” Montague said. “I wish I had the energy of the 20-yearold counterpart. You have to work with what you have.”

Montague is completing her residency in Tulsa, and she admits it can be difficult to feel human at times with the exorbitant amount of work. However, she’s already met her goal, she said.

“I came into it because someone helped me. During my first semester of medical school, I had a patient turn around and thank me because I helped her see another way to go,” Montague said. “I do that every day.

That’s not replaceable.”

Blass herself can relate to the desire to return to an education. While working in financial services, Blass turned in a comprehensive report to her boss. She watched as her boss placed the reports on a shelf where her previous reports had collected a thick layer of dust. “’I have no purpose — I’m just pushing paper,’ I realized,” Blass said. “I called my husband, said, ‘I’m quitting my job.’ ... He’s never been sorry that I did that.”

Blass said she lives for the joy that spreads across students’ faces once they finally get accepted and she’ll be here until OU drags her out feet first.

Elliot said Blass has been an adviser, a helper and a mentor at every corner of his journey.

The relationship started nearly four years ago when Elliot, an accounting graduate of the University of Kansas, decided to leave his successful business for an alternative life.

“She’s been half-parent, half-adviser and half-drill sergeant; she’s more than a whole person,” Elliot said. “I would’ve liked to think I could’ve done it without her, but I know I couldn’t have. When I drove all the way from Bartlesville to tell her, I gave her a small gift to thank her for what she has done for me.”

The moment still lies close to Blass’s heart.

“He gave me a beaded dream-catcher which is in the window there and said, ‘Because you helped me catch my dream,’” Blass said with tears in her eyes. “Sharing someone’s dream and seeing them reach it. Ah, there’s nothing better.”

2

campus

• Monday, April 9, 2012

Campus

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

Monday, April 9, 2012 •

ACADEMICS

‘No expiration date’ for med school dreams

Pre-med adviser has seen influx of students coming back to get medical degrees JAKE MORGAN

Campus Reporter

Today around campus The Foundations Exhibition will be on display from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art’s Lightwell Gallery.

TUESDAY, APRIL 10 The Foundations Exhibition will be on display from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art’s Lightwell Gallery.

A tuba and euphonium concert by professor Brian Dobbins will take place at noon in the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art’s Sandy Bell Gallery.

A seminar about how to avoid committing academic misconduct hosted by Student Success Series at 4 p.m. at Wagner Hall, Room 245.

The Write Club Creative Writers will hold its weekly meeting for writing encouragement at 6 p.m. in Wagner Hall, Room 280.

The baseball team will face Arkansas at 6:30 p.m at L. Dale Mitchell Park.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11 The Foundations Exhibition will be on display from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art’s Lightwell Gallery.

A seminar about how your brain processes information will take place at 3:30 p.m. in Wagner Hall, Room 245.

A lecture featuring research presentations by OU musicology, music theory, ethnomusicology and music education faculty will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. in Catlett Music Center, Room 131.

THURSDAY, APRIL 12 The Foundations Exhibition will be on display from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art’s Lightwell Gallery.

The OU Write Club open mic night for poets and writers will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. at Cafe Plaid, 333 W. Boyd.

The world premiere of “They Promised Her the Moon,” performed by the OU Helmerich School of Drama, will take place at 8 p.m. in the Weitzenhoffer Theatre. Tickets are $6 for students and $8 for adults.

The OU Juggling Club will give lessons at 8 p.m. in Huston Huffman Fitness Center, Room 140.

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.

Visit OUDaily.com/corrections to see an archive of our corrections

Ty Johnson/The Daily

OU students from the Arab Student Association perform the “Fertile Crescent” dance, choreographed by Siera Collins, Saturday at the Donald W. Reynolds Performing Arts Center. This dance presents tribal styles of belly dancing that represent spiritual womanhood. The Arabian Night featured music, dancing and videos from North Africa, Central Africa, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

Arabian: Event features dancing, costumes Continued from page 1 as more traditional outfits, some specific to ceremonies.

After the performance of a more traditional style of belly dancing that represents prehistoric traditions of spirituality and fertility in womanhood, the student organization had planned t h e s h ow i ng o f a v i d e o about Arab Spring, which had to be canceled due to technical difficulties.

“It’s important for people

to understand the Arab Spring,” AlTawil said. “Even for us, we’ve lived for thousands of years together, and we still have differences. The Arab Spring has showed us that.”

Luckily, O U has a lot of students interested in learning Arabic, which often helps them learn about the culture as well, AlTawil said.

The show was closed by an Arab band composed of a Lute, a keyboard and a small, goblet-shaped drum called a Durbakeh.

“The fact that a lot of our dances are traditional is important because it shows the way history shaped our country. If you can understand everything we went through, you can understand where we are today.”

Hadi AlTawil, Arab Student Association president

The event’s diversity of dances, costumes and musics was intended to showcase the richness of Arabian culture, AlTawil said.

“The fact that a lot of our dances are traditional is

important because it shows the way history shaped our country,” AlTawil said. “If you can understand everything we went through, you can understand where we are today.”

Class: Starts fall Continued from page 1 Bending will help students relate the ideas learned in classes by focusing on how each class tests their ability to think, he said.

Mock and Boyd hope the course will give students a relief from the structured, memorization-focused nature of most classes while offering a forum for free-thinking and intellectual discussion.

In addition to discussing Tebow, students who enroll in the course should look forward to several hot-button discussions, including evolution and religion in daily life.

Mock, Boyd, and Thai don’t yet know exactly what direction the class will take, but they hope the in-class discussions will be exciting, controversial and thought-provoking.

“Non-thinkers need not apply,” Mock said.

sooner

��a�����

LAST CHANCE schedule your free graduation

portrait appointment

Heading southwest at 75 miles-per-hour down Interstate Highway 44, Shane Elliot was making the 168-mile trek from Bartlesville to Norman for one reason: he had urgent news to share.

When he arrived at OU’s Richards Hall, he strolled up the steps and into pre-medical adviser Nancy Blass’ office. Slyly, he revealed to Blass the Oklahoma State University medical shirt he was wearing.

Blass gazed at the shirt perplexed for a few moments, and it clicked; one of her mentees had been accepted into medical school.

A celebratory hug and a few tears followed soon afterward.

Elliot, however, wasn’t one of Blass’s average pre-medical st udents.

Elliot, 43, represents a population of OU students who return to OU years after graduating college to finish their pre-medical requirements and pursue careers in medicine.

Many students initially convince themselves a medical degree is out of their reach during their undergraduate studies, Blass said.

“They get scared, and they aren’t smart enough,” Blass said. “[The Medical College Admissions Test], of course is intimidating.

There is a tendency to get intimidated by the whole process.”

This type of non-traditional student always has been present at OU, but Blass said she saw an influx after the collapse of Enron Corporation in 2001. Students with careers in finance said they wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to pursue their true passion for a career in medicine, Blass said.

“There’s no expiration date,” Blass said.

“I think it happens much more than people think. People should never say they’re too old to go back.”

Far from passing his shelf life, Michael Henderson, 41, returned to OU in spring 2011 and plans to apply to Oklahoma State’s College of Osteopathic Medicine this June.

Henderson said he had a moment of clarity while working as a clinical director at a psychiatric hospital in Plymouth, Indiana.

Standing in a parking lot outside of the hospital at 7 in the evening, he prepared himself to perform therapeutic interventions to calm the unit down.

“Is this what I want to do? I figured out

Melodie Lettkeman/The Daily

Pre-med adviser Nancy Blass describes suitable minors and fields of medicine for biomedical engineering junior Austin Zearley on Tuesday. Blass has built a reputation for her advising of non-traditional students, a reputation that has brought photos and thank-you gifts, even in the form of a fresh-out-of-the-oven pie from students who said they didn’t believe they could make it into medical school at their age.

that I didn’t want to head in that direction,” Henderson said. “My medical director told me to become a doctor. ... ‘Hell, I’m too old,’ I thought. He laughed at me and said, ‘I didn’t go to medical school until I was 43.’”

As an older, non-traditional student, Henderson said he’s already experienced what many of his classmates are dealing with right now.

“I’ve been burnt; I’ve had my heart chewed on, and I don’t have the patience for that,” Henderson said. “I feel like a grandpa. I have step kids older than the average student.”

Henderson nearly will be finished with his application once he submits his materials June 1, the first day of the application window.

Only the MCAT will stand between him and medical school.

“Once people get to the grind, they don’t see the value of education. I always believe in education,” Henderson said. “You can have everything else taken away from you except for an education. It can never be taken away.

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?

405-325-3668 sessions running now through April 20

Sooner yearbook is a publication of OU Student Media, a department in the division of Student Affairs. The University of Oklahoma is an Equal Opportunity Institution.

3

SO DON’T FORGET...

The University of Oklahoma is an equal opportunity institution.

... Once you learn it, you learn it.”

For recent OU College of Medicine graduate Kirsten Montague, 11 years passed between her OU graduation in 1996 and her return to pursue a medical degree. Her moment of clarity struck her while doing zoology field work in Panama.

“I didn’t feel the satisfaction of making an immediate impact in the world,” Montague said. “I wanted to be direct and hands-on.”

During her hiatus, Montague met a doctor who took exceptionally good care of her and remembered her name and why she was there.

“It picked me up in that moment to redirect,” Montague said. “If I could do that for someone else, it would be worth the struggle.”

Montague, upon deciding to return to OU, feared that others might think she was flighty for changing her career, she said.

“It was a leap of faith,” Montague said. “I just went for it.”

Montague’s zoology coursework covered

all her prerequisites, but the OU admissions board expressed concern over her lack of recent classroom experience and placed her on the wait list. The OU College of Medicine accepted Montague while she took a biochemistry course to freshen up, and she said the day of her acceptance was one of the best days of her life.

“I had to struggle compared to those fresh from the grind, but I had the life experience and did very well with my patients,” Montague said. “I wish I had the energy of the 20-yearold counterpart. You have to work with what you have.”

Montague is completing her residency in Tulsa, and she admits it can be difficult to feel human at times with the exorbitant amount of work. However, she’s already met her goal, she said.

“I came into it because someone helped me. During my first semester of medical school, I had a patient turn around and thank me because I helped her see another way to go,” Montague said. “I do that every day.

That’s not replaceable.”

Blass herself can relate to the desire to return to an education. While working in financial services, Blass turned in a comprehensive report to her boss. She watched as her boss placed the reports on a shelf where her previous reports had collected a thick layer of dust. “’I have no purpose — I’m just pushing paper,’ I realized,” Blass said. “I called my husband, said, ‘I’m quitting my job.’ ... He’s never been sorry that I did that.”

Blass said she lives for the joy that spreads across students’ faces once they finally get accepted and she’ll be here until OU drags her out feet first.

Elliot said Blass has been an adviser, a helper and a mentor at every corner of his journey.

The relationship started nearly four years ago when Elliot, an accounting graduate of the University of Kansas, decided to leave his successful business for an alternative life.

“She’s been half-parent, half-adviser and half-drill sergeant; she’s more than a whole person,” Elliot said. “I would’ve liked to think I could’ve done it without her, but I know I couldn’t have. When I drove all the way from Bartlesville to tell her, I gave her a small gift to thank her for what she has done for me.”

The moment still lies close to Blass’s heart.

“He gave me a beaded dream-catcher which is in the window there and said, ‘Because you helped me catch my dream,’” Blass said with tears in her eyes. “Sharing someone’s dream and seeing them reach it. Ah, there’s nothing better.”

4

Reader comment on OUDaily.com ››

• Monday, April 9, 2012

“it is about respect. respect one another’s life-choices. i am unreligious and i am acquainted with several religious people in my life. they respect my choice to be unreligious and i respect their choices to be religious. live and let live.” (kdbp1213, RE: ‘COLUMN: New Atheists do not understand religion’)

OPINION EDITORIAL

Dogma no obstacle to tolerance Our View: Accepting religious institutions spread the message that one can be both religious and GLBT.

AT A GLANCE GLBT-friendly institutions

The congregation of Trinity Christian Church in Edmond has unanimously decided to join a handful of churches in Oklahoma that openly accept gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender believers.

The church, part of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), has declared itself publicly accepting of the GLBT community and promised its teachings will be friendly towards homosexuality.

This is a controversial step for a Christian church, particularly in Oklahoma. But it’s also an incredibly important one.

Despite widespread disagreement about how to interpret biblical teachings regarding homosexuality, it often seems — in America, at least — that the gay community and the religious community are diametrically opposed. After all, the loudest voices against gay and transgender rights come from the Christian The Our View is the majority community, and many churches preach public hatred for the GLBT opinion of The Daily’s community. nine-member It’s not just Christianity, either. editorial board The narrative of religion vs. homosexuality extends to most other religious beliefs as well, and churches are not the only ones to teach anti-GLBT messages.

Hearing those outspoken voices, many assume one cannot be both religious and GLBT. For many, coming out also means walking away from the religious community in which they were raised, or choosing to remain and endure the discomfort of rejection.

But Trinity Christian Church and other accepting institutions disprove this assumption. These churches’ brave decision to come forward and affirm GLBT believers as legitimate members of the church and equal parts of God’s creation lets the GLBT community know a religious life still is an option.

For those inclined to spiritual belief, membership in a religious community is an important aspect of life. The sense of community, support and comfort they may get from belonging to a religious community cannot be overstated. And in religious

This is a list of the openly GLBT-friendly religious institutions the Daily editorial board could find. If you have others to add, send the information to dailyopinion@ ou.edu, and we will add them to the list at OUDaily.com.

St. Stephen’s United Methodist Church 1801 W. Brooks St., Norman Sunday services: 8:30 a.m., 10:50 a.m.

StStephensNorman.org

Edmond Trinity Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) 1400 N.W. 178th St., Edmond Sunday services: 10:45 a.m.

EdmondTrinity.org First Unitarian Church 600 NW 13th St., OKC Sunday services: 11 a.m.

UUOKC.org Expressions OKC Community Church 4010 N. Youngs Blvd., OKC Sunday services: 11 a.m.

ExpressionsOKC.com

Oklahoma, churches and other houses of worship provide an important social sphere for many.

Members of the GLBT community should know they have the option of continuing to participate in religious life even after coming out — they do not have to choose between an open life and a spiritual life.

But in order for that message to permeate Oklahoma’s gay community, more congregations will have to take the brave step of publicly declaring their acceptance of homosexuality and transgenderism.

So, for any members of the GLBT community who are inclined to religious beliefs, we urge you to try out the accepting housing of worship in the Norman-Oklahoma City area. We’ve included a few examples, and with a little searching, you can find the one that most closely fits your own religious beliefs.

And for the rest of you who belong to a religious community, we urge you to start a conversation within your congregation about GLBT believers.

These decisions must come from within the religious community itself, and you may be surprised how many people at your place of worship are open to acceptance of the GLBT community.

Given the importance of your public acceptance to the spiritual lives of GLBT individuals, it can’t hurt to try.

Comment on this at OUDaily.com

COLUMN

‘Socialist’ a misunderstood term

E

very time I read or OPINION COLUMNIST hear someone call President Barack Obama or some other Democrat a socialist, I am reminded of the movie “The Princess Bride.”

In that movie, the character Inigo Montoya — played Scott Starr

by Mandy Patinkin — says scott.e.starr-1@ou.edu to someone who excessively uses a particular word in questionable ways, “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”

Many people simply do not understand the meaning of socialism. It seems some believe if you repeat something enough times, it eventually will be true.

I enjoy commentary that honestly addresses problems about social policy or actual socialism. But it is difficult to respect or even tolerate those who weaponize terms like socialism into emotionally charged, derogatory conversation terminators.

Most of the time, “socialist” is deployed as either an ad hominem or a straw man. I am convinced some of the educated people throwing around the word “socialist” know better but cannot resist the effectiveness of using it this way.

The misuse of the term “socialism” has been so common in recent generations that the word is just about devoid of meaning. Obama is tagged as a socialist despite the fact that he continued policies begun under the Bush administration, like bailing out Wall Street and the banking system. Calling him a socialist after those rescue programs is not unlike calling televangelist Pat Robertson an atheist.

Real socialists deny Obama is one of them. Greg Pason, national secretary of the Socialist Party USA, and David Schaich, Socialist Party campaign clearinghouse coordinator, both say Obama definitely is not. Schaich said the idea that Obama is socialist — or quasi-socialist, semi-socialist, socialist-light or anything of the sort — is far-right nonsense.

He said Obama, like his political opponents, is very much a typical politician, fully committed to capitalism and the expansion of its empire.

Schaich also said a real socialist agenda — even a reformist one — would not prop up capitalist systems or companies when they fail but rather would seize the opportunity to

radically transform the economy.

The bailing out of a failing company whose collapse could destroy the U.S. economy is not socialism, says Van Gosse, socialist and historian at Franklin & Marshall College.

“Let’s just say AIG was profitable, and you thought it was better if it was in public hands,” Gosse wrote on his blog on The Huffington Post. “That would be socialistic.”

In America, we don’t have a two-party system that is really diametrically opposed on economic policy. What we actually have is two warring factions within one all-powerful party: the business party.

It is hollow to complain about socialism — or “communism,” which is used with the same distain and the same lack of understanding — when most of our homes and store shelves are jam-packed with goods made in communist China, or when many of the dollars we spend at places like Walmart go right back to China, with its terrible human rights record and its “red,” nuclear-capable military.

Unless you do not buy, sell, trade, consume or own anything from China, you simply cannot gripe about socialism or communism without being something of a hypocrite.

In some aspects, China already has overtaken the U.S. as the No. 1 economy in the world. Some would argue too much taxing and regulation in the U.S. has driven manufacturing overseas.

However, it could also be said that many “patriotic” U.S. companies have moved their production offshore because they can pay people pennies a day without passing the savings on to U.S. consumers and get away with murder regarding environmental protections.

America has long been a hybrid of capitalism and the social safety net theory, the latter of which is often mistaken for socialism. The hybrid is known as a democratic republic or democratic capitalism. Social safety nets are designed to make our system work more smoothly and not implode due to inequities and imbalances.

There are those who insist that providing social safety nets is not the government’s job. But such programs have helped capitalism survive and make this country a decent place to live.

I don’t care if the government is big or small, as long as it is efficient and does what is right. There’s the rub.

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

?

» Poll question of the day Would you attend a house of worship that was accepting of the GLBT community?

To cast your vote, log on to LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Trayvon tragedy does not justify stricter gun laws Editor’s Note: This letter is in response to The Daily’s March 27 editorial, “Trayvon Martin tragedy questions whether state unchecked gun laws are reckless” The Trayvon Martin shooting is a tragedy, as is any loss of human life, but should that automatically mean that Oklahoma needs stricter guns laws?

You asked, “How would this have been different if Zimmerman had not had a gun?” Just because a person picks up a gun does not diminish that person’s value of human life — it is the person, not the gun. If they are going to commit murder or rape, the gun is optional.

Stricter gun laws will not change this; they only restrict law-abiding citizens, not criminals. As for the world turning into a Wild West shoot out if everyone has a gun, you might want to visit a few websites, such as the FBI website.

The FBI has studies proving areas with looser gun control have a lower crime rate.

The Students for Concealed Carry on Campus website also answers many of the questions mentioned in the article. I have been shooting since I was 6 and know firsthand that gun laws are not the answer — education about firearms is. The more you know about them, the more you will understand about why gun laws actually endanger us.

It is my right to carry my gun on my hip to be able to defend my life or another’s life.

I hope I never have to draw it, but I would rather have it with me and not have to ever use it than to need it when it’s left at my home.

Dustin Scheller, aerospace engineering junior

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Meat-free meals make it easy to go vegetarian, vegan In response to your Thursday article, “The life of a vegetarian is widely misunderstood,” I would like to praise Maya Sykes for showcasing how easy it is to go vegetarian.

Vegetarian and vegan foods are more popular than ever, particularly among college students, for reasons ranging from health and environmental concerns to the clear cruelty to animals AT A GLANCE involved in raising and Local stores killing animals for food. with vegan, A recent study by Bon Appétit, a leading foodvegetarian, service provider, concludcruelty-free ed the number of vegetaroptions ian students has risen by 50 percent since 2005 and Walmart the number of vegan stu333 N Interstate Dr dents has more than dou405-329-4000 bled in that same period.

Most students are horriNative Roots Market fied to discover that chick132 W Main St 405-310-6300 ens have their sensitive beaks cut off when they’re Target only days old, male pig1400 24th Avenue lets are castrated and Northwest cows are branded and de405-253-3003 horned — all without any painkillers.

The Earth Natural Foods These terrified animals & Deli are often skinned and 309 South Flood dismembered while still 405-364-3551 conscious as well. If these kinds of abuses were inflicted upon cats or dogs, they would result in felony cruelty-to-animals charges.

Yet these practices are standard in an industry that refuses to make even the most basic improvements to the way animals are treated.

Thankfully, with so many delicious and cruelty-free dishes — such as vegan barbecue riblets and vegan pizza — available at most grocery stores and with chain restaurants such as Denny’s and Ruby Tuesday adding delicious vegetarian and vegan dishes to their menus, it has never been easier to avoid this kind of cruelty. For more information, visit peta2.com to request a free vegetarian/ vegan starter kit.

Scott Starr is a Native American studies senior.

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

Chris Lusk Chase Cook James Corley Laney Ellisor Greg Fewell Lindsey Ruta

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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.

Amelia Jensen, college campaign coordinator for peta2.com 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 Kristen Milburn 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.

NEWS

Monday, April 9, 2012 •

PAKISTAN

U.S. sends experts to assist with avalanche rescue efforts 135 people buried at military base following disaster ISLAMABAD — The U.S. sent a team of experts Sunday to help Pakistan search for 135 people buried a day earlier by a massive avalanche that engulfed a military complex in a mountain battleground close to the Indian border.

At least 240 Pakistani troops and civilians worked at the site of the disaster at the entrance to the Siachen Glacier with the aid of sniffer dogs and heavy machinery, said the army. But they struggled to dig through some 80 feet of snow, boulders and mud that slid down the mountain early Saturday morning.

Pakistani army spokesman Gen. Athar Abbas said Sunday that it was unclear whether any of the people who were buried are still alive.

At least 124 soldiers from the 6th Northern Light Infantry Battalion and 11 civilian contractors are missing. “Miracles have been seen and trapped people were rescued after days ... so the nation shall pray for the trapped soldiers,� Abbas said in an interview on Geo TV. Pakistani army chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani visited the site Sunday to supervise rescue operations.

The U.S. sent a team of eight experts to Islamabad to provide technical assistance, said the Pakistani army.

Pakistan will consult with the team to determine what help is needed to expedite the rescue operation.

The American assistance comes at a tense time between the two countries and could help improve relations following American airstrikes in November that accidentally

3 WORLD NEWS BRIEFS 1. CAIRO

Egypt military back Mubarak’s vice president for president Hosni Mubarak’s former vice president and spy chief Omar Suleiman will have the behind-the-scenes backing of Egypt’s ruling generals and the state media’s powerful propaganda machine in his bid to succeed his longtime mentor for the nation’s highest office, according to officials with firsthand knowledge.

Suleiman, 75, will set out as a formidable presidential challenger to stop the Islamists from taking over the country and may also try to sell himself as a safe pair of hands for those increasingly frustrated over tenuous se- OMAR curity and a worsening economy.

His candidacy speaks to the seismic SULEIMAN changes Egypt has gone through since millions of people took to the streets last year united by a desire to topple Mubarak’s regime and the dream of a free, democratic and more just Egypt.

The Associated Press AP PHOTO/INTER SERVICES PUBLIC RELATIONS

In this photo released by Inter Services Public Relations on Sunday, Pakistan’s army chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani (right) gestures during his visit to avalanche incident site in Siachen, in northern Pakistan.

Rescue workers used bulldozers Sunday to dig through huge banks of snow following a massive avalanche a day earlier that engulfed a military complex and buried at least 135 people, most of them soldiers, in a mountain battleground close to the Indian border.

“Miracles have been seen and trapped people were rescued after days ... so the nation shall pray for the trapped soldiers.�

ATHAR ABBAS, PAKISTANI ARMY SPOKESMAN

killed 24 Pakistani soldiers at two posts along the Afghan border.

Pakistan retaliated by closing its border crossings to supplies meant for NATO troops in Afghanistan. The Pakistani parliament is currently

debating a new framework for relations with the U.S. that Washington hopes will lead to the reopening of the supply line. But that outcome is uncertain given the level of anti-American sentiment in the country.

The avalanche in Siachen, which is on the northern tip of the divided Kashmir region claimed by India and Pakistan, highlighted the risks of deploying troops to one of the most inhospitable places.

The thousands of soldiers from both nations stationed there brave viciously cold temperatures, altitude sickness, high winds and isolation

for months at a time. Troops have been posted at elevations of up to 22,000 feet and have skirmished intermittently since 1984, though the area has been quiet since a cease-fire in 2003. The glacier is known as the world’s highest battlefield.

Abbas, the army spokesman, said the headquarters that was buried was located in an area previously believed to be safe. At an altitude of around 15,000 feet, it is the main gateway through which troops and supplies pass on their way to more remote outposts.

The Associated Press

2. KABUL, AFGHANISTAN

U.S., Afghan leaders sign pact about troops’ nighttime raids Tackling one of the major sources of friction in Washington’s tenuous relationship with Kabul, U.S. officials on Sunday signed an agreement that gives Afghan authorities legal and operational oversight over nighttime raids carried out by American troops — a tactic that has been successful against Taliban insurgents but deeply unpopular with Afghan citizens.

The pact with Afghan officials was hailed at a signing ceremony in Kabul as an important steppingstone toward an overarching strategic partnership agreement that will govern the relationship between the two countries after U.S. troops withdraw at the end of 2014.

That broader agreement is expected to address issues such as the level of U.S. counterterrorism forces that will be deployed in Afghanistan after American troops leave and the size of Afghan security forces that Western nations will help fund at a time when many of those countries face a troubled economic climate.

The Associated Press

3. LIMA, PERU

Peruvian government seeks help to free 9 trapped miners

AFRICA

Malian president resigns after coup BAMAKO, Mali — From one of the hiding places where he has been holed up since last month’s coup, Mali’s president penned a resignation letter and handed it to an emissary to deliver to the country’s new leaders, while reporters looked on.

The move paves the way for Mali to name a new interim president, the next step in the nation’s return to democratic rule. President Amadou Toumani Toure was just months from finishing his last term, when soldiers on March 21 stormed the presidential palace, sending Toure into hiding and canceling a democratic tradition stretching back more than two decades.

Under intense international pressure, however, the officers that seized power last month signed an accord on Friday, agreeing to return the country to constitutional rule. They did so after much of the capital only had 12 hours of electricity a day, a result of the severe financial sanctions imposed by the nation’s neighboring Mali, including the closure of the country’s borders, which made it impossible for landlocked Mali to import fuel.

The accord signed by the leader of the March 21 coup called for the application of Article 36 of Mali’s constitution. The article states that

Be

1 2

AP FILE PHOTO

In this Jan. 11, 2012 file photo, Malian President Amadou Toumani Toure inspects an honor guard during a ceremonial reception at the Presidential Palace in New Delhi, India. From one of the hiding places where he has been holed up since a March 21 coup, Mali’s president penned a resignation letter Sunday and, in the presence of reporters, handed it to an emissary to deliver to the country’s new leaders.

in the event the president is unable to serve out his term, the head of the national assembly becomes interim president for a transitional period, before new elections can be held.

For that article to be able to be applied properly, however, Mali’s constitutional court needed to confirm that the president cannot carry out his term.

Reporters from state television and French television station France 24 were allowed to film Toure at a villa in the ACI 2000 neighborhood of the capital where he

Paint Your Own Pottery & Glass Fusing (405) 307-9971

has been hiding. Looking thinner than before, the 63year-old leader appeared in a flowing white robe and traditional bonnet. He said he was resigning of his own accord. “I am doing this without any pressure, and I am doing this in good faith, and I am doing it especially out of love for my country. I have decided to hand in my

2T

resignation letter,� Toure said.

His resignation will allow the court to declare the vacancy of power, paving the way for the head o f t h e nat i o na l a s s e m bly, Dioncounda Traore, to become interim president, as called for in the constitution.

The soldiers who grabbed power 17 days ago claimed t h e y d i d s o b e cau s e o f P re s i d e nt Tou re’s m i shandling of a rebellion in the north, which began in January. Toure’s popularity took a nosedive because of his lack of assertiveness in the face of the mounting attacks, which inflicted large casualties on Mali’s illequipped army.

The ethnic Tuareg rebels had succeeded in taking a dozen small towns, but it was only after Toure was forced from power that the insurgents succeeded in taking the three largest towns in the north. Kidal, Gao and Timbuktu all fell last weekend, and on Friday, the same day that the junta declared they were stepping down, the rebels declared their independence.

The Associated Press

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Peru’s mining minister has appealed to mining companies for heavy equipment and experts to free nine miners trapped for four days in an informal copper mine.

Several dozen rescue workers have been using pickaxes and shovels to try to remove the 26 feet of collapsed earth and rock blocking the entrance of the mine, whose horizontal shaft is dug into a mountain.

TV images of the effort showed firefighters Sunday chopping wooden beams to support the effort.

Thursday’s collapse occurred after a blast set by the miners themselves.

Rescuers have been able to communicate with the trapped miners and provide them with liquid sustenance through a tube.

Mining is the main engine of Peru’s economy, accounting for more than 60 percent of its exports.

The Associated Press

701-4900

THE FAITH BROOME PLAYWRIGHT-IN-RESIDENCE PROJECT

THEY PROMISED HER THE MOON

By Laurel Ollstein

8 P.M. APRIL 12-14 3 P.M. APRIL 15

WEITZENHOFFER THEATRE

FINE ARTS BOX OFFICE

(405) 325-4101

IN YOUR OU ARTS DISTRICT ou.edu/finearts/events The University of Oklahoma is an equal opportunity institution.

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

5

6

• Monday, April 9, 2012

Life&arts

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

Theater

Play tells story of dashed space dream Play brings unsung Oklahoma hero’s story to life

GO AND DO See ‘the Moon’

Westlee Parsons

WHEN: 8 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday

Life & Arts Reporter

An unsung Oklahoma hero will be brought back to life Wednesday at the Weitzenhoffer Theatre.

The School of Drama will stage “They Promised Her the Moon” as part of its Faith Broome Playwright in Residence Fellowship.

The fellowship sponsors the selection and production of an original play each spring. The chosen playwright is invited to the School of Drama to teach playwriting classes and work with the director and actors on the show’s production, director Judith Midyett Pender said.

Playwright Laurel Ollstein said she didn’t originally plan on submitting “They Promised Her the Moon” to the fellowship for consideration.

“When I first came up with the idea [to apply] two years ago, I was writing it, but submitted a different play to the Faith Broome,” Ollstein said.

“In my cover letter I mentioned that I was working on [“They Promised Her the Moon”].”

The judges were more excited about “They Promised Her the Moon” than the submitted play, which was not

WHERE: Weitzenhoffer Theatre, 555 Elm Ave. INFO: 405-325-4101

Ty Johnson/The Daily

Jerrie Cobb, played by Lindsay Sawyer (bottom), and the Mayor, played by Connor Konz, soar through the sky in a rehearsal of “They Promised Her the Moon” on Sunday. In-house playwright Laurel Ollstein wrote the play about an Oklahoma woman who wanted to be an astronaut. The play premieres at 8 p.m. Wednesday.

chosen so she decided to finish that one and submit it a year later, she said.

The play is a historical account of the almost fame of Geraldyn “Jerrie” Cobb, who was set to be the first female astronaut in space.

Cobb, a Norman native, was an established pilot who

joined a group of women undergoing tests to become astronauts.

Cobb was one of 13 women who passed the physiological testing and was declared by LIFE magazine to be chosen as the first female astronaut to fly to space, Ollstein said.

Before she could ever

launch however, the program was canceled and Lyndon B. Johnson, then vice president and head of the space program, refused to consider sending the women into space, Pender said.

Ollstein said that she wanted to tell Cobb’s story because it was a story few

people know about.

Her life goal was to go into space, but she was ultimately denied because of politics, Ollstein said.

Pender, Ollstein and dramaturg Kae Koger have worked together to produce this play in an effort in to bring Cobb’s story to life,

Pender said.

“This collaboration has been so much fun,” Pender said. “It’s been nice to have colleagues here to bounce ideas off of because directing can be somewhat solitary.”

That collaboration is another unique element of this show, Pender said. Ollstein has not only worked with the production, but she also has continued to make edits through the rehearsal process.

“I don’t have that solitary responsibility this time,” Pender said.

One night Ollstein rewrote an entire scene during a rehearsal, she said. Ollstein said they used the students to workshop the play into its final product. She rewrote scenes daily and she said it is a good experience for students to know what it is like to get rewrites when working on a play in progress.

The play opens at 8 p.m.

Wednesday and runs through 3 p.m. Sunday.

Concert review

Country-rock band owns the night at Lloyd Noble Center Life & Arts Columnist

by Rucker midway through his set as the “Carolina Grey Boys,” a duo of banjo and slide guitar players grasped the limelight as they performed an absolutely spectacular back-porch, chicken-pickin intro to “Only Wanna Be With You” from Nick Williams Rucker’s older days with nwilliams11@sstelco.com Hootie & the Blowfish.

Rucker’s band was absolutely phenomenal, made orman residents whipped on their up of a gang of multi-instrument virtuosos and classy boots and spurs this Easter weekend when a showmen.

However, Lady trio of country music acts lit Antebellum, the night’s up Lloyd Noble Center on main act, cranked up the Saturday night. volume and pulled out As the opening acts for headliner Lady Antebellum, all the stops for their first headlining arena tour.

Thompson Square — the Composed of Hillary husband-wife band composed of Keifer and Shawna Scott, Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood, the trio Thompson — and Darius opened with “We Own The Rucker set the mood for Night,” the title track of their the concert of twang with third album and inspira90 minutes of adult-bevertion for the name of their age-sipping, two-stepping nationwide tour, “Own the country songs.

Night.” With thick fog and Sporting a “Green Eggs blinding lights, the band & Ham” T-shirt, jeans and black ball cap, Rucker com- rose out from beneath the stage and there was little pletely captured the audidoubt that the party was on. ence with his candid, grinLady Antebellum pulled inducing persona. out all the stops Saturday Behind him, playing night in Norman, which his set of kick back, feelwas their last stop before good songs, was a band heading home to Nashville. as good as any in country After rocking through a music today. Introduced

N

handful of new and older fan-favorite tunes, Lady Antebellum walked to the peak of the runway stage where they were joined

by Rucker and Thompson Square for a mini-acoustic set.

Following the acoustic set, Lady Antebellum plugged back in to full power and even threw in a cover of Aerosmith’s “Sweet Emotion.” Kelley and Scott didn’t disappoint with their well-blended, tight vocal harmonies and Haywood displayed his wide-ranged musical talent from playing guitar to piano, to playing guitar on top of the piano.

Haywood was a foot stomping, dancing machine and gave everyone in the audience a reason to do the same.

The trio finished its set with the crowd well satisfied, having run through a well-blended set list that included all of their top radio charting hits.

Well, almost. As Lady Antebellum walked off the stage at the end of its set,

Nick Williams/The Daily

Country band Lady Antebellum strikes a pose after its opening song Saturday night at Lloyd Noble Center during the band’s Norman stop of its “Own the Night” tour. The band performed many of its top hits, including “Need You Now” as an encore.

there was a glaring absence in the list of songs played.

“Need You Now” was inevitably the encore for trio’s performance, and the band came back onstage one more time to play the Grammy winning song— with a few changes

in dynamics to keep it fresh for the audience. Sprinkled with a few variations from the studio version — such as Scott and Haywood playing the first chorus with simply her vocals and his acoustic guitar – it served to be a memorable ending to

HIGHLIGHTING OR COLOR

the evening.

Saturday night’ concert was country music at its finest, loudest and most enjoyable.

Nick Williams is a professional writing junior.

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Monday, April 9, 2012 •

PHOTO PROVIDED

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Ready to go back

‘Titanic’ soars to new heights with 3-D effects LIFE & ARTS COLUMNIST

“The 3-D effects are unobtrusive and do not function as noticeable gags, but rather as a light visual style that serves the story and heightens emotions by making the audience’s experience of the great ship more lifelike.”

Erin Roberts

two ill-fated lovers aboard the famous disaster ship RMS Titanic who defy class boundaries to be together.

Rating:  It is tied for both the most Academy Award nominare you ready to go tions (14, tied with Joseph back to “Titanic?”

L. Mankiewicz’s “All About That’s the question posed both in the movie Eve”) and wins (11, tied

by Bill Paxton’s character to with “Ben Hur” and “Lord of the Rings: The Return of the elderly Rose and by the the King”). It also held the trailer for the movie’s rerecord for box office gross release in 3-D. for 12 years, until it was surThis re-release is aimed passed by Cameron’s own to give fans of the movie a “Avatar” in 2010. chance to experience the For the 3-D release, the epic film in a new way that film was digitally re-masseemed only fitting of such tered and post-converted to a gigantic production of 3-D, ultimately costing $18 a movie — with an extra million over 60 weeks (comdimension. pared to the average cost Indeed, when it preof a 3-D post-conversion at miered, “Titanic” was the about $15 million). It is curmost expensive movie ever rently showing in both 3-D made— since then it has and at IMAX theaters. been surpassed by movHowever you happen to ies like the middle two feel about the film itself, you “Pirates” movies, the sixth “Harry Potter” and by direc- can’t deny the impact that “Titanic” has had on poputor James Cameron’s own lar culture—who among us “Avatar.” hasn’t stood at the front of The question begged a boat and yelled, “I’m the asking though: is all of this king of the world?”— and necessary? With the movie its success at winning the industry’s recent obseshearts of audiences. sion— and consequent Personally, “Titanic” hapoveruse— of 3-D effects, will pens to be my favorite movie adding them to a film already so popular on its own of all time, and has been help or hurt? These were the since I hid behind the couch at the age of 5 while my parconcerns of both the 3-D ents watched it on VHS. So I naysayers and “Titanic’s” had pretty astronomical exbiggest fans, but now a verpectations of this re-release. dict can be issued.

It would be my first time Most everyone knows the to see it on the big screen, basics of “Titanic.” Written and I expected Cameron’s and directed by James Cameron (“Avatar”), starring use of the 3-D effects and Kate Winslet and Leonardo digital enhancements to do just that, enhance my DiCaprio, it’s the story of erin.roberts@ou.edu

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experience of the film. With many movies turning to 3-D as a visual gag to attract easily-amused moviegoers and tack on an extra $3 to each ticket price, I expected more out of “Titanic’s” 3-D makeover, to the point that I would be seriously devastated if my favorite film were to be “ruined” by this recent fad.

Luckily, all of my expectations were surpassed with flying colors, and the experience might be one of the greatest trips to the movie theater I have ever made.

As I said before, the scale of Cameron’s film almost begs for three dimensions.

In the original, the incredible aerial and helicopter shots were beautiful on their own, but in the rerelease they are absolutely breathtaking.

The majesty of the ship in her prime can only be fully understood by being present in 1914, though the film is unquestionably a close second.

In the same way, the terror of the sinking is brought to new heights. You really feel as if you were there, with the water entering that third dimension and seemingly rushing straight toward you.

Additional visual and sound enhancements take James Horner’s amazing soundtrack to new levels of incredible, and it’s hard to see how any other way of watching the film will ever compare.

With such a strong and well-made movie as a base,

AT A GLANCE ‘Titanic 3D’

PHOTO PROVIDED

Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Rose (Kate Winslet) hold onto a raft in the icy ocean. The re-release of “Titanic” includes 3-D effects that enhance the movie and make the audience’s experience of the ship more lifelike.

Cameron’s subtle and graceful enhancements only serve to make the film even more amazing. The 3-D effects are unobtrusive and do not function as noticeable gags, but rather as a light visual style that serves the story and heightens emotions by making the audience’s experience of the great ship more lifelike.

Overall, if you are only ever going to see one movie in 3-D, I would recommend this one.

Additionally, you should spring for the IMAX experience at the Moore Warren Theater, which really puts the film over the top.

“Titanic” fans everywhere can rest assured that the 3-D release does nothing to

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demean the beloved film, but rather does quite the opposite—making for a truly incredible cinematic experience of, forgive me, “Titanic” proportions.

Erin Roberts is a University College freshman.

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By Bernice Bede Osol

Copyright 2012, Newspaper Enterprise Assn.

MONDAY, APRIL 9, 2012 If you utilize all your abilities, ideas and experiences as best you can, the year ahead could be very fruitful.

Your fertile imagination, combined with your strong initiative and ambition will produce a winning formula.

$445 $515 $440 $510 $700

ARIES (March 21-April 19) -- If self-imposed uncertainties cause you to question something that you previously believed to be sound, you could start to go backward instead of moving ahead on things.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) -- Before bringing someone into your confidence, make sure this person won’t betray you and tell others certain tidbits that you don’t want blabbed all over town.

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.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) -- Your chances for success look pretty good, provided you stick to your original blueprint. Conversely, if you begin to effect some last- minute changes, you’re likely to fall flat.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) -- Your generous supply of ingenious ideas and loads of enthusiasm will count for little if you lack the discipline to finish what you begin. Make sure that you’re a finisher.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) --Usually you’re an excellent judge of character, but this fine quality is apt to desert you, and you could back the very people you should most avoid.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) -- When it comes to a situation that calls for a firm stance and sticking to what you began, you could be convinced

to take a different tack by someone who is way off course.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) --Continuously check every detail of your work and/or the efforts of those under your charge. Be careful not to let someone who has a tendency to rush a job call the shots.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) -- Trying to mix business with pleasure could make for a poor combination, so it is advisable to stick with one or the other. Focus on work-related matters or devote yourself to pleasure, but not both.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) -You’re the type of person who likes to experiment on your work from time to time to see if you can do it better. Stick to the tried and true for the time being, however.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) --Although you’re normally good at keeping secrets, that doesn’t mean you can relax. Watch out, because with a minimum amount of coaxing, a nosy pal could have you spilling the beans.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) --Be satisfied with nominal profits instead of holding out for what you believe could be a better deal. Unreasonable expectations invite major disappointment.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) -- Just because certain ideas or concepts work for another does not necessarily guarantee they will work for you. Make allowances for different situations, talents and experiences.

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ACROSS 1 Clothes (someone) 6 3M product 10 Monopoly square 14 “I, Robot� author Asimov 15 Adjective for Death Valley 16 “... or ___!� (threat) 17 Tot minder 18 A neighbor of Niger 19 African capital 20 Bussing game 23 Moo ___ pork 24 Conservative in the House of Lords 25 Dream-time acronym 28 Aussie hatchlings 31 Urban antonym 34 Penlight batteries 36 Space inside a shape 38 High mucka-muck 40 Where to start from 43 Don Draper, for one 44 100 cents, abroad 45 Old currency in Milan 46 Acquires through work 48 “Damn Yankees� femme fatale 50 Homer’s neighbor on

4/9

“The Simpsons�

51 Topper for Charles de Gaulle 53 “No ___, ands or buts!�

55 What clocks do once a year 61 Dixie sailboat?

63 “The Wizard of Oz� family name 64 Cliff dwelling 65 Genesis redhead 66 Bothersome burden 67 Muslim’s destination 68 Competed in “American Idol�

69 Two out of twenty?

70 Merman of the stage DOWN 1 Cotton deseeders 2 “Give this priority�

3 Eastern princess 4 Church engagement announcement 5 Father Time’s prop 6 Break, as a wild horse 7 Speedy steed breed 8 Television series tryout 9 Newspaper employee

10 Piano man Morton 11 Ingredient in some lotions 12 Suffix with “organ� or “patriot�

13 Oater actor Van Cleef 21 Person 22 “The Apprentice� host 25 Title in many an Indian restaurant name 26 ___ cologne 27 “___ Mia!�

29 Attempt to persuade 30 Capital of South Korea 32 For the umpteenth time 33 Filthy ___ (illicit gain) 35 Auto tune-up item 37 A coif on “The Mod Squad�

39 Barrier for X-ray vision 41 Manuscript 47 Keg feature 49 House shape with a steep roof 52 Beyond foolish 54 Not dry, as a wine 55 Avian trumpeter 56 Arts and crafts purchase 57 “Daniel Boone� star Parker 58 A good shoe supports it 59 It may fill a paddy wagon?

60 “Let’s Make a ___�

61 Proposal reaction, sometimes 62 ___ rule (ordinarily)

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