Wednesday, September 21, 2011

With the Pac-12 closing the door, what’s next for OU? (page 5) The University of Oklahoma’s independent student voice since 1916

W E D N E S DAY, S E P T E M B E R 21, 2 011

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

2 010 G OL D C ROW N W I N N E R

cONfErENcE rEaliGNMENT

VOllEYBall

Pac-12 says no to expansion OU to Late-night decision throws wrench into OU’s conference plans

12 by announcing it will remain a 12-team conference and will not pursue expansion.

“After careful review, we have determined that it is in the best JAMES CORLEY interests of our member instituSports Editor tions, student-athletes and fans In the late hours of Tuesday to remain a 12-team conference,” night, the Pac-12 Conference all Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott but ensured the survival of the Big said in a statement issued after 10

p.m. “While we have great respect for all of the institutions that have contacted us, and certain expansion proposals were financially attractive, we have a strong conference structure and culture of equality that we are committed to preserve.”

The announcement threw a major kink into OU’s exploration

of conference options outside the Big 12. Though rumors constantly swirl of other offers on the table from the Southeastern Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference, the Sooners’ most attractive possibility had been the Pac-12, as OU President David Boren indicated see PAC-12 paGe 2

He walksthe

Sooners to face Baylor tonight on the road

line

Former Sooner learns balance KIERSTIN KITE Staff reporter

meLodie LettKeman/tHe daiLy

Former OU student Collin Stringer walks on a slackline Monday on the South Oval. The soft grass and well-positioned trees attract Stringer, who has been walking on slacklines for three years.

One former OU student can’t seem to keep his feet on the ground.

Colin Stringer often spends his afternoons slacklining on the South Oval. Many people mistake slacklining for tightrope walking, but the equipment used is what separates the two sports.

Nylon webbing strung between two stationary points is the basic equipment of slacklining, according to the Slackline Brothers Inc. website.

Wire or rope is used for tightrope walking. In slacklining, tension is looser than that of a tightrope.

Stringer, 21, said he fell in love with slacklining three years ago when a fellow student, Sam Beer, introduced him to the sport. Beer began slacklining as a freshman at Oklahoma State, continuing the sport after transferring to OU. Beer and Stringer met the following year.

“We had a lot of mutual friends, and I just asked him to join me,” Beer said.

Now an OU alumnus, Beer said see WALK paGe 2

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NOW ON

MUlTiMEDia

Housing options need more flexibility

Students celebrate military policy repeal

Gender-neutral choice best fulfills GLBT students’ needs. (Page 4)

‘we are Oklahoma’ Read a column detailing the benefits of genderneutral housing. (Page 4)

lifE & arTS

Bullying hits home

Students ‘pinning’ interests online

Members of the GLBT community talk about last year’s tragic suicides.

(OUDaily.com)

Sooners find new fads on latest social-networking website.

(Page 6)

simone orJiaKo/tHe daiLy

Nicki Catterlin, biochemistry senior, hands out rainbow ribbons while dressed as Captain America on Tuesday in the Oklahoma Memorial Union. GLBTF sponsored the table to celebrate Tuesday’s repeal of the U.S. military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.

LUKE MCCONNELL Sports Reporter

The OU volleyball team has been waiting for this two-month stretch for a long time.

Since the end of last season, the goal of the team has been to win the Big 12 title. That journey commences Wednesday night when the No. 25 Sooners travel to Waco to face Baylor in the start of Big 12 play.

OU coach Santiago Restrepo said the team is excited to finally have the opportunity to play a conference match, but he stressed the challenge of starting on the road.

TWITTER “It ’s extremely UPDATES difficult, Keep up with the especialOU-Baylor match ly against by following B ay l o r, Luke McConnell because on Twitter at every year @lukemcconnell1 we have had very tough battles with each other,” Restrepo said.

A win on the road would be a great way to start conference play, especially because OU is looking at a visit from No. 8 Texas on Sept. 28, Restrepo said.

The players also are ready for conference play to start, especially the seniors, who have been waiting for a long time to have the opportunity to win a conference title.

Senior right side Suzy Boulavsky said after Saturday’s tournament, any win to gain momentum for Texas is good preparation. She added that the nonconference season was good for the team. “ We’v e h a d g o o d t i m e s, we’ve had some down times,” Boulavsky said. “We’re ready for conference to start. It’s been a long preseason, but it’s what we needed in preparation.”

The Sooners took their lumps in nonconference play, losing three games they could have won. But conference play is a new season, and Restrepo said the team is brimming with confidence.

“We’re ready,” Restrepo said.

“The bottom line is, regardless of the goal that we have, we just have to take it one match at a time because we know that every single match [in] the Big 12 conference is going to be a very tough opponent.”

firST-PErSON accOUNT

State fair impresses first-time attendee

S

OPiNiON

tip off Big 12 action

lick boots, a clean pair of overalls and a plethora of food that even grandma would be afraid to fry — just your average scene at the Oklahoma State Fair.

For people who have never been to the fair, like myself, the Sooner state showcases the best it has to offer for two weeks.

Terrified of heights and uncertain about just what I would be eating, I began my maiden voyage to the fair with an open mind.

You’d think the rainy day might dampen the experience, but that didn’t seem to stop the masses and young children determined to get their annual fair fix. Parents chased after children bouncing from game to game, and patrons put down the cellphone to handle the hot dogs, fried butter and more.

Being an Oklahoma fair novice, I did do one thing right: I saved my appetite for the fair. When I arrived, I was see FAIR paGe 2

2

• Wednesday, September 21, 2011

news

Chase Cook, managing editor dailynews@ou.edu • phone: 405-325-3666

Pac-12: No statement yet released from Boren Continued from page 1

Today around campus A writing-improvement workshop offering free waffles will take place from 9 to 10 a.m. in Wagner Hall, Room 180.

A study-skills sessions will take place from 2 to 3 p.m. in Adams Center’s Housing Learning Center.

A lecture on forensic science author Deborah Blum will take place at 4 p.m. in Dale Hall, Room 211.

A workshop on acing the interview for business majors will take place from 3 to 3:30 p.m. online at www.hiresooner.com.

A workshop on acing the interview for JMC majors will take place at 4 p.m. in Gaylord Hall of Fame Room.

Thursday, Sept. 22 A seminar with Daniel Pullin on becoming a leading business consultant will take place at noon to 12:30 p.m. at the Oklahoma Memorial Union’s Frontier Room.

A workshop to help students get internships will take place from 12:30 to 1 p.m. in the union’s Traditions Room.

A workshop to help College of Arts and Sciences students learn how to conduct themselves during interviews will take place from 2:30 to 3 p.m. in the union’s Crimson Room.

Friday, Sept. 23 A “Guess the Score� game will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the union’s first floor lobby. Students can stop by the Union Programming Board booth to test their knowledge of OU football.

An economics seminar by Alex Rothenberg from the University of California, Berkeley will take place from 3 to 4 p.m. in Ellison Hall, Room 132.

A forum titled “How has media changed our close relationships?� will take place from 3 to 4 p.m. in Burton Hall, Room 202. The forum will discuss how new technology has changed everyday life.

Art After Hours will take place from 6 to 7 p.m. in the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art’s Dee Dee and Jon R. Stuart Classroom. This event will feature twentieth century artists responding to the chaos of the world wars and other military conflicts.

Tuesday after being handed the power to decide the university’s future conference affiliation by the OU Board of Regents.

Now OU, Oklahoma State, Texas and Texas Tech are likely left without a chance at what they considered greener pastures out west, and there’s renewed hope for the Big 12 Conference to survive another realignment scare.

However, the SEC also announced it would not be expanding a little more than a week before it voted again to allow Texas A&M into the fold, so this could all be posturing and power plays between the Pac-12 and the schools that seem eager to join.

If not, the next step for OU likely will be to pursue resolution with the nine other schools in the Big 12.

The last few weeks have shaken the already

Continued from page 1

the fair and moseyed over to the livestock and horse barnyard.

As we approached, the absolutely starving and ready potent smell of the manure to eat just about anything. My wafted through the air. It first delicacy was fried bacon, was overwhelming, but not because as we all know, enough to outweigh my exbreakfast is the most imporcitement to pet the animals. tant meal of the day.

Before ending our day, As I took a bite of what I I decided if my stomach thought was the precursor could handle the food, it to a heart attack, I was more could handle a ride on the than pleasantly surprised.

Astrud Reed/The Daily Ferris wheel despite being After my first bite I forgot all about my poor arteries being The Oklahoma State Fair included more than 60 rides, including roller scared silly when it comes to clogged, and I savored every coasters, swings, thrill rides and a Ferris wheel for visitors to ride. The heights. I was determined to fair runs until Sunday at State Fair Park in Oklahoma City. get the full “fair� experience. minute.

When I finally took my seat, I spent the next hour franmy hands began dripping ticly walking in what was contest.

20 seconds won me a U.S. likely a fool-hearty effort to A friend of mine yelled Marine dog tag. The Marines with sweat. Fortunately, as the ride began I was no lonburn off the bacon I had just while pointing at me, “She seemed satisfied with my ger scared, and was instead consumed, then proceeded wants to do it!� performance. treated to a birds-eye view of to catch the dog show — As soon as the words left After my embarrassing which highlighted the talents her mouth, I was surrounded encounter with the Marines, Oklahoma City.

It was the perfect way to of a three-legged swimming with no exit option. I said I deserved an ice cream end a full day of Oklahomadog. I was impressed. no, but they noticed my OU sundae. I decided to try a themed fun.

The next stop was paying sweater said, “Now, that’s not Chocolate Banana Royale, I realize why so many turn tribute to the armed forces at the Sooner attitude.� Busted. and let me tell you, it was a the U.S. Marines’ booth.

I could not say no any lon- purely sinful and an amazing out for this annual affair and will likely add this to my Five Marines decked out ger. The Marines didn’t make bowl of goodness filled with to-do list next year. in uniform surrounded the me do pull-ups; but, I did bananas, chocolate and vabooth. They were attempthave to hold myself up from nilla ice cream.

Ashly Mendez is a staff ing to harangue passers-by the bar as long as possible. I At this point I was rollreporter for The Daily. to participate in their pull-up lasted for 20 seconds. Those ing with a full belly through

walk: Slackline’s nylon webbing relieves stress Continued from page 1 he uses the activity for relaxation and solitude.

At first, the task of successfully walking the slackline seemed intimidating, Stringer said. “Some people are really natural with it and can get up and walk after a few days, but it took me months and months to even get where I could take steps on it,�

Stringer said.

The first few steps a person takes on a line can be scary, Stringer said. People

aren’t accustomed to the tension of the line, and even with one foot on the ground the experience can be shaky. “People will try once or twice and think they can’t do it,� Stringer said, “but I’ve seen a lot of people that you wouldn’t think would be able to do it that can.�

Stringer said balance and discipline are key to success. “I like it because it takes a lot of stress out of you. You just relax, and you have to be focused. It’s almost zen,�

Stringer said.

Since taking his first steps on the line, Stringer

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pressure a human body exerts — is another key, especially when the line is raised.

Slackline walking may not be a mainstream activity yet, but Stringer said he has met a few people who share his love for the sport. “I wish more people did it,� Stringer said. “It’s a way to get your mind off things.

It’s fun.�

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has moved on to greater endeavors.

Recently, he and a friend began setting up high-lines 20 feet above the ground.

Safety is always a concern when taking on a task like this, so Stringer uses harnesses when walking the high-lines, he said.

Proper equipment ­— like lines that can sustain the

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Readers should bring errors to The Daily’s attention by emailing dailynews@ou.edu.

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existence as the reason Texas A&M wished to leave for the SEC, so Texas will have to budge to stay in the Big 12.

Boren will likely continue to examine the opportunities on the table for OU, but with the centerpiece gone, fixing the Big 12 might just be the only remaining option left worth pursuing.

As of press time, no statement had been released

by Boren or the university regarding the Pac-12’s announcement.

fair: Student stomachs heights, strange fare

Paul Mitchell stylist

Corrections

unstable conference, and if the Sooners wish to restore order, they’ll need to spearhead a campaign to bring back strength to the Big 12.

The biggest issue to address would be the Longhorn Network. In the potential deal with the Pac-12, it appeared the conference would work with Texas to come to a consensus regarding the school’s network with ESPN. But the LHN has already proven a divisive issue in the Big 12. Many cited its

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OPINION

Read letters to the editor, including the Staff Senate’s view on the planned smoking ban, science faculty’s views on a creationist film and an alum’s view on conference changes.

EDITORIAL

Neutral housing best for all Our View: Boren should put aside political concerns

EDITORIAL SERIES GLBT issues

for the sake of students’ safety and support the creation of a gender-neutral housing option.

Background: This editorial is the third of a three-part series examining the national and local changes that have taken place since the GLBT violence in 2010 and what more needs to be done.

For the last two years, students have expressed a vital need that is not being met by the university, and the administration has taken no steps to address it.

This need is for a safe and supportive environment within on-campus housing for students who fall outside the binary, male-female gender system or Monday: We examined the progress made in the last year identify as something other than heterosexual. military more gay-friendly. and the work that remains to These students seek a gender-neutral housing combat homophobia. environment because of the very real threat of haWednesday: We urge the rassment, and even violence, they face in the tradiimplementation of a genderTuesday: We celebrated the blind housing option to ensure repeal of the military’s “Don’t tional housing system. President David Boren has student safety and make OU a Ask, Don’t Tell” policy and look addressed these concerns by essentially telling stumore supportive campus. ed at changes to make the dents that they live in Oklahoma, so they may as well get used to it.

This is unacceptable. In order to make OU a truly Society and the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender safe and supportive campus, we need a gender-neu- and Friends student group presented a gender-neutral housing option in on-campus housing. Gender- tral housing proposal at the Housing Center Student Association meeting Monday. The HCSA neutral housing would allow students to General Council is “looking into [genderchoose to live with roommates of any genThe Our View neutral housing] further” and hopes to take der, as opposed to co-ed housing that mereis the majority action quickly, the council said in an email. ly mixes same-sex suites together on a floor. opinion of It’s good to see that the HCSA is willThis is an essential option because it proThe Daily’s ing to work with students to answer this tects students from awkward, and even dan10-member need, but it’s going to take more than that. gerous, situations that can arise because of editorial board Administrators need to do more than attheir sexual orientation or gender identity. tend these meetings and politely dismiss Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender stuthese concerns simply because of the state we live dents, or those with “untraditional” gender identities, need an environment that does not force them in.

GLBT students are Oklahomans, too, and their to either hide who they are or risk harassment and needs are just as important as the political views discrimination. of the rest of the community. Yes, conservative atA gender-neutral floor would create an accepttitudes dominate in this state, and where conservaing environment for these students, and the mere tives go, anti-gay opinions often — but not always existence of this option would be a statement from — follow. But the majority should not be allowed to OU that it supports the needs of all students. Not rule on issues of minority needs and security. to mention that students of any gender or sexuality The safety and comfort of students is paramount, should be afforded the right to choose their roommates freely — OU’s students are all adults, after all. and if Boren has to risk angering the more conservative members of this community to ensure a safe Students have tried many times over the last two and supportive environment for every student, then years to get these needs addressed, but while the we call on him to make that difficult choice. administration has been more than willing to hear them out, nothing came of their efforts. This year, Comment on this at OUDaily.com the push continues. Students for a Democratic

COLUMN

We need to rise above our region

I

n many discussions OPINION COLUMNIST concerning progressive policies, especially with respect to GLBT issues, I find myself in an odd situation.

My friends will agree with me, but believe that nothing can be done since “this is Zachary Eldredge Oklahoma,” so they resignzeldredge@ou.edu edly move on to a new topic of conversation.

Even President David Boren, when asked about the issue of gender-neutral housing, cited regional attitudes as the main obstacle to the policy.

I can’t help but feel that this is nothing less than irresponsible. Yes, Oklahoma, due to various cultural and religious factors, is a hostile environment for many groups.

At some point, however, we as individuals must take a

stand for policies that may be unpopular to the majority.

This is how change always occurs. I’m sure that 50 years ago many people who may have supported racial integration shrugged their shoulders at the prospect, sighing as they said, “This is the South.”

Take gender-neutral housing as an example. Such an issue may fly in the face of prevailing attitudes in the state.

However, while this is indeed Oklahoma, it also is a university. In addition to educating students, part of its function ought to be the elevation of culture and awareness.

We ought not to sink to the level of our communal prejudices, but instead rise above them and, through example and influence, begin to change them.

If people who stand for equality and justice wait for the general populace to agree with them before taking action, they will wait forever. Only a proactive attitude toward progress will ever yield it.

Zach Eldredge is a physics sophomore.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Changing conferences would be a mistake It would be a mistake if OU joined the Pac-12, because: realignment would be a short-term decision without any consideration for the long-term ramifications, and such a decision will effect more than just athletics.

OU should work with the other Big 12 schools to find a long-term solution. Short-term revenue gains, arrogance, short-sightedness and the media are driving the realignment hysteria, and OU joining another league would damage OU athletics in particular and the university as a whole.

From a tradition standpoint, OU has nothing in common with the California, Washington or Oregon schools nor their states. Oklahoma, as a state, believes in small government, right to work, low taxes and an individual can achieve success by reaching for their dreams. This is not what emanates from Oregon, Washington and California.

How would the Pac-12 compliment OU when its goals are totally opposite?

How would joining the Pac-12 make sense logistically?

California, Oregon, Washington, etc. would add expenses to the department budget — especially for programs like volleyball, wrestling, golf — and with the time zone, make

viewership of sporting events for OU alumni and fans a hardship. Having to watch OU games with an 11 p.m. start time would make the game less attractive to those alumni living in central or eastern time zones.

OU should take the lead and try to build the Big 12 into a strong conference that reflects the values of OU, OU alumni and supporters, the residents of Oklahoma and the members of the Big 12.

Why not ask Arizona and Arizona State to join the Big 12? Or BYU, Air Force, Notre Dame, Iowa, TCU, Utah, Boise State, Arkansas or others? These universities have similar goals and values as OU. Values that California, Oregon and Washington do not.

OU joining another conference, whose member schools, states and residents it has little in common with, without attempting to strengthen the current conference, would not be in the best interests of Oklahoma’s athletic department, university, students, alumni and the taxpaying citizens of Oklahoma who support the university.

Rod Ferrara, OU alumnus from 1982

?

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

» Poll question of the day Should OU offer gender-neutral housing options?

To cast your vote, visit COLUMN

GLBT society seeks safe environment

T

hursday is the anOPINION COLUMNIST niversary of Tyler Clementi’s suicide. Clementi played the violin beautifully; it was one of the last things he did — just hours before he jumped from the George Washington Bridge, he Elizabeth Rucker practiced Hector Berlioz’s Email@address “Symphony Fantastique” with the Rutgers Symphony Orchestra.

Clementi would have been 19 years old this year, but he killed himself within his first month as a freshman at Rutgers. After his roommate twice set up live video streams of romantic encounters with a man from their room, the unfortunate delay in response from his resources in housing and a lifetime of surviving in an openly hostile world, Clementi chose to leave it.

Fewer than two weeks later, Zachary Harrington took his life after attending Norman City Council meetings wherein some members of his community hurled vitriolic, homophobic rhetoric at our GLBT community.

Harrington was not an OU student, and I did not know him personally, but I know many people who did and his absence is still keenly felt. His suicide, like Clementi’s, was one of those the national media suddenly noticed last fall.

While empirical research remains difficult, the Suicide Prevention Resource Center reports that between 30 percent to 40 percent of GLBT youth have attempted suicide compared to 4 percent to 8 percent of all youth up to age 20. Campus Pride’s 2010 report noted that a majority of GLBT students felt uncomfortable on their campuses, and similar reports confirm that these students also experience harassment and violence at higher rates than their straight counterparts.

Many of us know these statistics backward and forward, and we work to transform our culture so that things really can get better for our GLBT youth — for ourselves, our friends and our families. There are 77 times seven issues we must work on, from health care provision and homelessness to discrimination in the job market and at our houses of worship and addiction recovery.

One of the most important things universities can do is provide safe, affirming homes for its GLBT students — so many of us have never had one.

Students at OU have been working to do just that since at least 2009. Students for a Democratic Society, GLBTF, UOSA and other student groups have collaborated to propose and support the implementation of a genderneutral option in on-campus housing. Quite simply, a gender-neutral housing option would allow residents to share rooms and suites with people of different genders and/or sexes than theirs.

Gender-neutral housing provides a safe environment for gender nonconforming, transgendered, homosexual and bisexual students because residence communities are built on the basis of assigned biological sex. Typical sex-segregated assignments can put GLBT students in the difficult position of choosing to hide either their gender identity or sexual orientation to protect themselves in a potentially hostile environment. Transgendered individuals are particularly at risk: more than 50 percent of transgender people experience assault in their lifetimes.

Gender-neutral residence communities affirm and celebrate gender and orientation diversity; they are not closed to straight students, but they are designed to promote a warm, healthy environment for all people.

SDS, GLBTF and their allies have held a teach-in on the importance of such a measure and followed it by writing a more than 20-page proposal and presenting it to administrators including Dave Annis and Clark Stroud.

While they were polite and attentive, President David Boren’s “This is Oklahoma” logic continues to hamper our efforts at the administrative level. Our outreach to prospective and current OU students culminated in April this year, when a group of students of all genders occupied Crossroads overnight as a show of support. This semester we have updated our proposal, and we continue to broaden our coalition: we plan to return to administrators and have our voices heard.

Yes, we live in a politically hostile state, but this only exacerbates the need for this reform because, like Harrington, we are Oklahoma.

Elizabeth Rucker is an international studies and interdisciplinary perspectives on the environment senior.

The Oklahoma Daily is a public forum and OU’s independent student voice.

Chris Lusk Chase Cook Annelise Russell James Corley Katherine Borgerding

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POLICY The Oklahoma Daily is responsible for one dayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;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.

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HOROSCOPE

By Bernice Bede Osol

Copyright 2011, Newspaper Enterprise Assn.

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 21, 2011 Provided you do not spread your forces too thin, your probabilities for success in the next year look strong. Focus on areas of your greatest potential, and use them as a springboard to success in everything else that you do.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) -Even if you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t totally pay off a financial obligation, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s to your advantage to try to ameliorate a portion of it. Each time you put down a little, it adds up.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) -- Go ahead and assert yourself for everybodyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s collective benefit, not just for your interests alone. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s to everyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s advantage to exert a group effort rather than making points with merely one voice.

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.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) -- Nobody is likely to be lucky in getting others to hear only one voice today, but getting others to speak out collectively could be to everyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s advantage. Gather your forces and plan in advance.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) -- If you encounter a person whom you were once very close to but have been somewhat estranged lately, act friendly. It would be to your advantage to get together again.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) -Be careful not to become demanding in a delicate development that requires the cooperation of everybody. If you are arrogant, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll have to fend for yourself.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) -- It would be asking for trouble to demand cooperation of others if you find their behavior to be

arrogant. You canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t control how they comport themselves, but you can set an example with your conduct.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) -Move extremely cautiously with your financial affairs. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t take any risk, or encourage others to do so. Losses could be greater than usual at this point in time.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) -- If you feel compelled to make a decision under pressure, be careful, because your judgment might not be up to its usual standards.

Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t let others usurp your independent thinking.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) -- Use your common sense and donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t attempt to do something on your own that takes two pairs of mitts to handle. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t put yourself in jeopardy trying to prove how strong you are.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) -Guard against inclinations to take any comments seriously that you know should be treated as jokes.

If you are the butt of a harmless tease, laugh harder than your friends.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) -- People in general, including you, could have low flash points.

Nobody expects you to be perfect at all times, but even if you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t control someone elseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s behavior, rein in your own.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) -- If something annoys you, instead of bringing it out in the open you might choose to grumble and growl under your breath, causing others to wonder whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wrong.

Loudly laugh it off.

Universal Crossword Edited by Timothy E. Parker September 21, 2011

ACROSS 1 FBI agents 5 Arm or leg 9 Hiccupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cause 14 Longest river in Switzerland 15 End-of-theroster abbr.

16 More than prompt 17 Start of a slackerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s quip 20 Like some hams or salmon 21 Bibleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first grandkid 22 ___ loss for words 23 Window frame 25 Ditsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; counterparts, in Morse code 27 â&#x20AC;&#x153;What else?â&#x20AC;?

30 Lionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s den sound 32 Head ___ (big boss) 36 Croatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s neighbor 38 Applications 40 More uncommon 41 Middle of a slackerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s quip 44 Use the delete key 45 Light gas?

46 Fluids 47 In a discourteous fashion 49 Respiratory rattle 9/21

51 Let oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s god DOWN? 52 Parrotâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s morsel 54 Vatican City monetary unit, once 56 Throw on the floor?

59 Drug cop 61 Warning signals 65 End of a slackerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s quip 68 Metric volume 69 Actress Falco 70 Norse god 71 Rippling with muscles 72 Foxx of TV and film 73 Corduroy rib DOWN 1 Spaces between teeth 2 Schoolhouse figure 3 Ending for â&#x20AC;&#x153;switchâ&#x20AC;? or â&#x20AC;&#x153;buckâ&#x20AC;?

4 Headshoulder connectors 5 Escorts to the exit 6 â&#x20AC;&#x153;___ Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmasâ&#x20AC;?

7 Spouse 8 Hunterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hideaway 9 Coast 10 Square on toast

11 Opera solo 12 Coin destination, sometimes 13 Talking bird 18 Rise up on the hind legs 19 Biblical mariner 24 Is wearing 26 Loses it 27 September bloom 28 Indian statesman 29 Hate the thought of 31 Send to another doctor 33 Sobs 34 Painter Matisse 35 Ballpark instrument 37 Barracks sites 39 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Cheers!â&#x20AC;?

42 Gave in

43 Joined the military 48 Slangy approval 50 View from Huron, Ohio 53 Laundry apparatus 55 Bow partner 56 What stainless steel doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do 57 Words before â&#x20AC;&#x153;the minuteâ&#x20AC;? or â&#x20AC;&#x153;no goodâ&#x20AC;?

58 Pop rocker Stefani 60 Turn over 62 Icelandic classic 63 Ammunition for a carpenterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gun 64 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Auld Lang ___â&#x20AC;?

66 Anger 67 Comical Caesar

PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER

9/20

Š 2011 Universal Uclick www.upuzzles.com

WAIT FOR IT By Oscar Puma

Wednesday, September 20, 2011 •

OUDaily.com ››

SPORTS

Sophomore wide receiver Trey Franks was suspended indefinitely Tuesday for violating team policy.

5

James Corley, sports editor dailysports@ou.edu • phone: 405-325-3666

COLUMN

Pac-12’s cold feet puts OU in hot water SPORTS COLUMNIST

Chris Lusk chris.m.lusk@ou.edu

N

ow what happens?

Late Tuesday night, the Pac-12 Conference announced it will not expand.

No super-conference for commissioner Larry Scott.

No Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas and Texas Tech.

No new additions at all.

Instead, the Pac-12 told the country that 12 teams is all it wants — and essentially shut the door on Oklahoma.

After the OU Board of Regents on Monday gave President David Boren the authority to decide Oklahoma’s conference affiliation, it seemed like OU’s train was on the track for a move west.

“We’ve had conversations with the Pac-12, and those conversations have been very warm,” Boren told reporters.

Very warm? The Pac12 must have missed the memo.

After Tuesday night’s announcement, it appears Boren’s train to the west has been derailed.

It’s a surprising move by the Pac-12, no doubt.

As of Tuesday morning, the general feeling from top Pac-12 officials was that Scott would be able to convince the conference presidents to approve the

MICHAEL WYKE/TULSA WORLD

OU President David Boren speaks with reporters after the OU Board of Regents meeting Monday in Tulsa. The regents gave Boren the authority to make decisions regarding Oklahoma’s conference affiliation, but what was thought to be Boren’s preference — the Pac-12 — is apparently no longer an option for Oklahoma.

addition of Oklahoma and friends.

Scott has said all summer that he wasn’t interested in expanding his league unless the landscape of college sports shifted enough to force the Pac-12’s hand.

When Syracuse and Pittsburgh left the Big East during the weekend for a new home in the Atlantic

Coast Conference, it appeared the first domino had been pushed and that Scott would move.

The hot rumor on Tuesday was Oklahoma was willing to stay in the Big 12 if the league replaced Dan Beebe as commissioner.

It seemed like a parting message. A nice way to say, “Hey, we’d love to stay, but

... well, you know, we want a new boss.”

It seemed like the deal was done.

And yet here we are. It’s Wednesday, and OU is left standing in an awkward position.

No entry to a new West Coast home. No real commitment to the Big 12.

A crazy thing, this

realignment stuff is.

One second, Oklahoma is two feet out the Big 12’s door.

The next? Well, good luck figuring that one out.

Chris Lusk is a journalism senior and the editor in chief of The Daily. You can follow him on Twitter at @ChrisLusk.

NOTICE OF PUBLIC ACCESS During the Regular Meeting Of

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The University of Oklahoma PUBLICATIONS BOARD

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

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Students, staff, faculty and others in the community are invited to express their views concerning The Oklahoma Daily or Sooner yearbook to the Publications Board.

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6

• Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Life&arts

On pins Students pin, share interests on a new social networking site Lauren Duff

Life & Arts Reporter

A fashionable out“I always find fit for fall? Pin it. A recipe for sweet potato something new and cupcakes with toasted interesting that I have marshmallow frosting?

Pin it. A tutorial on how never heard or seen to make decorative pilbefore. ” lows? Pin it. corey fisher, Already a national music education senior trend, the popularity of Pinterest, the virtual pin-board website, has spiked at OU. Students have become passionate “pinners,” some having more than 1,000 pins already.

Created by Palo Alto, Calif., residents Ben Silbermann, Paul Sciarra and Yashwanth Nelapati, the design of the website began in December 2009, and its introduction to the public was ignited in March 2010 as an invitationonly website.

With the sole purpose of finding and collecting pictures that interest individuals, Pinterest allows users to create boards associated with different categories, whether it’s cooking recipes, fashion, photography, or interior design and provides pictures users can then “pin” into the different boards they have created.

University College freshman Lauren Niblett said she enjoys using Pinterest, and she has collected many pins on several boards.

“It’s something enjoyable that I can do in my free time,” Niblett said. “I have over 1,200 pins, and I probably pin about 15-20 new pictures every day.”

Could Pinterest join in the trend of social networking? Yes, it can. Users are able to tag their Pinterest “followers” in pictures that may interest them. But it is mainly used to find ideas that appeal to individual personalities.

Pinterest gives users a plethora of ideas. Whether you want to branch out and try a new ethnic-cuisine recipe or if you are feeling crafty and want to learn how to make a braided-scarf, Pinterest allows you to collect ideas you may want to try in the future.

Despite the social-networking capabilities of

OUDaily.com ›› Learn 12 daily exercises to help build muscle, stay in shape and be more healthy.

Katherine Borgerding, life & arts editor dailyent@ou.edu • phone: 405-325-5189

boards and

Pinterest, Corey Fisher, music education senior, said the site is primarily used for individual “pinning.”

“It’s more of any individual website for you to post what you like,” Fisher said. “I always find something new and interesting that I have never heard or seen before.”

Pinterest users can also create personalized boards that spark their individual interests. Amy Lewis, early childhood education junior, has a board that is titled “Bucket-list”.

“I went to Nicaragua and so I have a picture of me and some kids from Nicaragua,” Lewis said, commenting on the pictures she has pinned to her “Bucket-list” board.

Because of the ability to re-pin items of interest, users can re-pin images already on the website. Lewis said her Nicaragua picture has been re-pinned several times.

Niblett said it is remarkable how Pinterest has become so popular in such a short amount of time.

“Word of mouth travels fast, and when a few people really love something, everyone else want to join in,” Niblett said. “I think it has become especially popular among females because girls love to share the fun things they find with their friends, and Pinterest is the perfect way to do that.”

So when you see something that peaks your interest, just “pin it.” It is as simple as that.

photos provided

Top: An inspiration for a do-it-yourself headboard is one of many ideas users can find on Pinterest.

Bottom: A recipe for salsa is one of the many ideas for homemade meals frequently “pinned” on Pinterest.

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