THURSDAY OCTOBER 1, 2009
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news Something’s thing’s going down at Sarkey’s. Find out what it is on PAGE 3
Kings of Leon is playing in Oklahoma City this weekend. Read more on PAGE 11
Which quarterback should take the field Saturday? Find out some Sooner opinions inside. PAGE 9
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POLICE INVESTIGATING CAMPUS GRAFFITI
Friday’s Weather
73°/49°
Increasing number of vandalism cases reported campus-wide owl.ou.edu
CAMPUS BRIEFS CHASE BANK CHAIRWOMAN TO PRESENT LECTURE The Price College of Business will host a free, public lecture given by a former OU graduate at 11 a.m. today in Meacham Auditorium. Elaine Agather, chairwoman of Chase Bank’s Dallas Region and manager of the Private Bank at J.P. Morgan, will speak as a part of the college’s Distinguished Speaker Series. A question-and-answer session and reception will follow. Agather joined Chemical Bank of New York in 1979, working in London, San Francisco and New York until she relocated to Dallas in 1984. After the 1986 merger of Chemical and Texas Commerce Bank, Agather was promoted to chairwoman of Texas Commerce Bank in Fort Worth in 1992 and joined the Private Bank to manage client advisory groups across the state in 1997. In 1999, she was elected chairwoman and CEO of Chase’s Dallas Region. She graduated from OU with a bachelor’s degree in history and economics, and earned her Master’s of Business Administration from the University of Texas.
RICKY MARANON Daily Staff Writer
Multiple acts of graffiti have taken place on campus in the last month, according to OU Police reports. Acts of graffiti were first noticed on campus Sept. 16 when symbols were found on the back of Gaylord Hall, around Cate Center and at the Asp Avenue parking garage. Additional graffiti was discovered around Richards Hall and the Carnegie Building on Sept. 18. OUPD reports note there is a link between each of the reported incidents. The symbols spray painted are predominately red and sometimes green or silver. They appear to spell “WeRD” with an arrow pointing to the right underneath the letters. Laura Day, language arts education sophomore, said she does not approve of the graffiti seen on Richards Hall. “I don’t really like it,” Day said. “Maybe if it
MICHELLE GRAY/THE DAILY
This example of graffiti outside Collings Hall is one of several cases reported around campus. According to the OU Police Department, vandalism has been on the rise since the semester began. was something positive and I could understand what it means, then I’d like it more.” Day said she has seen the red symbols painted on buildings all over campus.
OU-NEBRASKA MARKS EMOTIONAL NIGHT FOR VOLLEYBALL
NEIL MCGLOHON/THE DAILY
Sophomore setter Brianne Barker sets the ball during Wednesday’s game against Nebraska in McCasland Field House. SEE PAGE 7 FOR FULL COVERAGE OF THE OU-NEBRASKA VOLLEYBALL GAME.
OU hosts its first Mid-America Conference on History
-Ricky Maranon/The Daily
Committee members discuss variety of topics for students
OUR EARTH, NORMAN FAIR TRADE TO SCREEN MOVIE
KATHLEEN EVANS Daily Staff Writer
OUr Earth and Norman Fair Trade will host a free screening of the documentary “Behind the Swoosh: Sweatshops and Social Justice” Oct. 8 at 8 p.m. in the Oklahoma Memorial Union’s Sooner Room. Former St. John’s University soccer coach Jim Keady stood up against athletic apparel company Nike, Inc., and its practices, a move that ultimately cost him his job. After his resignation, Keady moved to an Indonesian slum where he lived with factory workers. He documented his experiences in “Behind the Swoosh.” Following the video, a few OU professors will sit down to answer questions and discuss Fair Trade. This event is free and open to the public. For more information visit ourearth. ou.edu. -Breia Brissey/The Daily
OU professor named new institute director KAITLYN BIVIN Daily Staff Writer
TOYOTA TO RECALL RECENT MODELS’ FLOOR MATS
Toyota: • 2007 – 2010 Camry • 2005 – 2010 Avalon • 2004 – 2009 Prius • 2005 – 2010 Tacoma • 2007 – 2010 Tundra Lexus: • 2007 – 2010 ES350 • 2006 – 2010 IS250 and IS350
GRAFFITI CONTINUES ON PAGE 2
Program to teach U.S. Constitution from multiple perspectives
-Luke Atkinson/The Daily
Toyota Motor Sales USA, Inc., is issuing a recall on the floor mats in many recent models of its cars. The car manufacturing company said in a press release that recent events have prompted Toyota to take a closer look at the potential for an accelerator pedal to get stuck in the full open position due to an unsecured or incompatible floor mat. A stuck open accelerator pedal may result in very high vehicle speeds and make it difficult to stop the vehicle, which could cause a crash, serious injury or death. Until Toyota develops a remedy, it is asking owners of specific Toyota and Lexus models to take out any removable driver’s floor mat and not replace it with any other floor mat. The recall affects the following models of vehicles.
Brittany Potter, library studies graduate student, said she noticed graffiti on the road side
The Mid-America Conference on History, sponsored by the OU Department of history, begins today at the Embassy
Kyle Harper, an award-winning scholar and faculty member since 2007, was appointed director of the Institute for American Constitutional Heritage at OU during the Board of Regents’ September meeting. The institute is a new interdisciplinary program designed to teach the U.S. Constitution to undergraduates from a multifaceted standpoint. Different departments across campus including history, political science, the department of classics and letters and the law school are coming together to try and achieve this goal. “The goal is to put together a curriculum that will allow students to study the Constitution in a classical, philosophical and historical sense with the U.S. Revolution,” Harper said. “[As well as] address the Constitution itself as a contemporary relative document.” According to political science professor Justin Wert, Harper is more than qualified for the job. “President Boren’s choice of professor Kyle Harper to lead the IACH is as impressive as the creation of the institute itself,” Wert said. “Dr. Harper is not only a gifted teacher and accomplished scholar, but as an OU alum himself, he brings to the institute a built-in commitment to OU’s undergraduate education.” Harper said teaching is the first emphasis of the program. The goal of the institute is to create a solid background in American civics and the U.S. Constitution which can be applied in any avenue of life regardless of whether a student goes to law school or chooses to pursue something different, Harper said. “It will have an intrinsic appeal [to students pursuing law],” Harper said. “We hope that we can build a program so that any student interested in civics or politics can graduate from college with a really firm understanding of American institutions.” DIRECTOR CONTINUES ON PAGE 2
Suites Hotel. This year marks the 31st annual conference, but it is OU’s first time to host it, said Robert Griswold, event coordinator and history department chair. It is a good way to highlight Oklahoma and the university, as people come from all over the midwest to attend the conference. CONFERENCE CONTINUES ON PAGE 2
Financial contributions decline for state political candidates Economy, campaigning cited as possible reasons for drop CAITLIN HARRISON Daily Staff Writer
Oklahoma political candidates and their supporting organizations saw a reduction in overall contributions this year, causing one candidate to drop out of the race altogether.
Colby Schwartz, R-Yukon, dropped out of the race for lieutenant governor earlier this month. He said in a statement that he had difficulties raising campaign money. “During my past campaigns for the Oklahoma House of Representatives, my support has always come from everyday, hardworking Oklahomans,” Schwartz said in the statement. “It is these same supporters who have felt the pinch of the CANDIDATES CONTINUES ON PAGE 2
NEIL MCGLOHON/THE DAILY
Kyle Harper, assistant professor of classics, works in his office Wednesday afternoon in Carnegie Hall. Harper was recently named the new director for the Institute for American Constitutional Heritage program.