SPORTS • PAGE 12
LIFE & ARTS • PAGE 8
Sooners rebound from close call
Campus bathroom breakdown
Cade Davis (shown left) and the men’s basketball team host Texas Southern tonight after nearly losing in overtime Monday.
OU has hundreds of bathrooms — some nice, some not so nice. Read The Daily’s guide to the porcelain thrones on campus.
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August to bring change for grad entrance test Graduate Record Exam will reflect most significant changes in test’s 60-year history, spokesman says TREVOR SHOFNER The Oklahoma Daily
The Graduate Record Exam General Test will undergo a large revision in the test’s content, scoring and ease of use. The changes go into effect starting Aug. 1. The test is a computer based exam that some graduate programs require for admittance. It consists of three sections: verbal, quantitative and analytical writing. Thomas Ewing, director of government and external relations for Educational Testing Services, said that the new
revisions will be the most significant changes in the exam’s 60-year history. Major points of revision include improved user interface, the ability to skip questions, the ability to go back and change answers, an on-screen calculator for the math portion, analogy questions will be removed and more emphasis on reading comprehension, Ewing said. “We’re always looking to find and improve the way we measure a test taker’s knowledge and ability,” Ewing said. Ewing denies that possible score inflation was the reason for test revision. The test will no longer have its 200-800 point scale and replace it with a 130-170 point scale. Ewing said test changes stem from Graduate Record Exam
board suggestions. The board consists of college deans and admissions officers from the “top graduate programs across the country.” Ewing said Educational Testing Services hopes the new test format and grading scale will be “more informative for colleges and universities in distinguishing between candidates.” Alex Tesmer, a multi-disciplinary senior who took the Nov. 9 exam, said most admissions officers of graduate schools said the exam was a “formality” and that they were more interested in “recommendation letter, observation, personal essays and grade point averages.” SEE TEST PAGE 2
All can find success on Web, speaker says Award-winning blogger, author shares tips for self-made Internet success with OU students, guests EMILY HOPKINS The Oklahoma Daily
When Ree Drummond created the Pioneer Woman blog in 2006, she didn’t even know what a blog really was. “I thought it was just a free website,” she said. “I didn’t even know what to write about.” Drummond has figured it out now. The self-branded blogger and media sensation posts daily on her blog which features sections about her family, cooking, home-schooling and photography. In 2009 her blog was named Weblog of the Year at the Bloggies and her cookbook, “The Pioneer Woman Cooks,” was published. The Bartlesville native spoke about the progression of her blog’s development Wednesday in the Oklahoma Memorial Union’s Molly Shi Boren Ballroom. Gaylord Ambassadors, a student representative organization for the journalism college, hosted the event. “She’s a good blend of the current trend of blogging, and since she has a cookbook and a novel coming out, she has a real tie to professional writing as well,” said Chris Borthick, Gaylord Ambassadors adviser. Public relations senior Kate Beard put forth the idea for her longtime family friend to make an appearance at OU. “She’s such a great blogger, cook and HELEN GRANT/THE DAILY
Ree Drummond speaks Wednesday afternoon in the Oklahoma Memorial Union’s Molly Shi Ballroom. Drummond answered questions and discussed the growth of her blog, books she’s written and her family’s life on the ranch.
Student-run charity organization to host Thanksgiving meal OU student-athlete Quinton Carter’s charity, the SOUL Organization, will host a Thanksgiving dinner Nov. 25 for students not going home. It will take place at McFarlin Memorial United Methodist Church, 419 S. University Blvd. Appetizers will be served at 3 p.m., and dinner will begin at 4 p.m. and will go until around 7 p.m. Following the dinner will be board games, arts and crafts, cupcake decorating, giveaways and the Dallas Cowboys game will be shown on the big screen. The menu for the night will include foods such as salad, turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and assorted pies for dessert. Four hundred students are expected to be at the event. — Joseph Truesdell/The Daily
SEE BLOG PAGE 2
CAC to form year-round volunteer crew to help with campus events Members will receive special perks, only have to fill out one form for all events JOSEPH TRUESDELL The Oklahoma Daily
The Campus Activities Council is forming a new volunteer group called CAC Crew in an effort to attract at least 100 volunteers for Winter Welcome Week in January. “They will be a group of students that we can pull from to be the volunteers for each event,” CAC chairwoman Valerie Hall said. Members of the crew will receive exclusive benefits for participating. One perk will be early admittance to certain events. “We will just invite them to things as the opportunity arises,” said Hall, public relations senior. “Maybe like a dinner one night, or
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they can participate on our dance marathon team. Small things that ONLINE AT OUDAILY.COM happen throughout the year.” » Link: Download the CAC Crew application Hall said the incentive for naming the group and giving perks had nothing to do with lack of nine events remaining for the volunteers. “We just wanted to do some- 2010-2011 school year, which inthing special for the volunteers,” cludes six in the spring and three she said. “We always have plenty yearlong events. “The CAC Crew is an excellent of people.” Another new element of CAC option for students who aren’t Crew that has changed from the quite sure which CAC events they previous volunteer set-up is that want to be a part of,” CAC adviser only one application is needed to Quy Nguyen said. participate in all of the events. The first round of applications “We used to have to fill out an for CAC Crew are due Friday. The application for every event, and application will still be available it became really tedious,” busi- later this semester. ness senior Morgan Ames said. “I “It is a great opportunity to get would always have to get on the involved with many of the events website to check due dates for that CAC puts on around campus every application.” throughout the year,” University Current applicants and volun- College freshman Meghan Gibson teers will be able to serve for the said.
THE OKLAHOMA DAILY VOL. 96, NO. 65 © 2010 OU Publications Board www.facebook.com/OUDaily www.twitter.com/OUDaily
INDEX Campus .............. 2 Classifieds .......... 9 Life & Arts ........... 7 Opinion .............. 4 Sports ................ 10
OU med school courses change New course admission requirements may cause students upset DHARA SHETH The Oklahoma Daily
Medical schools in the region are modifying their prerequisite course requirements. OU College of Medicine recently announced it will implement changes to its prerequisite course requirements for all applicants in 2011. Officials revised its curriculum for medical students starting in fall 2010. They then changed the prerequisites to match the new curriculum, Admissions Director Dotty Shaw said. The first change reduced the number of necessary English courses from three to two. At least one of the two courses should have a strong emphasis on writing. “OU was the only medical school in the country that requested three semesters, so we’re very happy about this change,” said Nancy Blass, Premedical Professions Advising coordinator. The second change amends OU College of Medicine’s upper division biology requirement. Previously, a wide variety of upper-division zoology classes were accepted. Now, the school has limited the acceptable courses to Genetics, Cell Biology and Molecular Biology. Students must take one of these courses in addition to Introduction to Zoology to fulfill the biology requirement. Genetics, Cell Biology and Molecular Biology are strongly encouraged for pre-med students in order to give them a competitive edge so they will perform well on the MCAT, so student complaints about this change are not anticipated, Blass said. The third change could potentially affect students the most. Applicants have previously needed to complete three semesters from one or more of a selection of departments on campus, including psychology, sociology, philosophy, humanities, anthropology and foreign languages. Foreign languages and
SEE COURSE PAGE 2
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