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Tuesday, November 23, 2010

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Free taxi service to close for holiday SafeRide will be unavailable this weekend to give employees, vendors time off JESSICA WILDER The Oklahoma Daily

ASHLEY WEST/THE DAILY

A SafeRide cab is shown. The free weekend taxi service operates 10 p.m. Thursday to 3 a.m. Sunday, but will be closed this weekend for Thanksgiving.

Staff Senate updates policies

Students who need a late-night ride around Norman this weekend will not be able to use SafeRide. SafeRide, the university’s weekend cab service that normally operates 10 p.m. Thursday to 3 a.m. Sunday, will be closed this

WIRELESS | AT&T ANTENNAS IMPROVE PHONE SIGNALS

Committee revises grievance policy, rules about university employee removal

MARK MORELAND/THE DAILY

Left: Antennas sit on top of the Oklahoma Memorial Stadium’s scoreboard Monday. AT&T installed more than 150 antennas prior to the Nov. 13 football game against Texas Tech.

CHASE COOK The Oklahoma Daily

The OU staff senate’s ad hoc committee on staff handbook changes voted Monday to OK amended sections and send the book to the OU Board of Regents for final approval. Anil Gollahalli, vice president of OU and general counsel to the OU Board of Regents, said changes were proposed to update the handbook with new policies around OU. The handbook hadn’t been updated for 15 years and new policies implemented throughout the university needed to be taken into consideration, Gollahalli said. Of the proposed changes in the handbook, some of the policies faced considerable revisions, said Ladonna Sullivan, chairwoman of the ONLINE AT staff senate ad OUDAILY.COM hoc committee. The staff dis- » Link: View the pute resolution amended section clause, the pro- of the OU staff cess of handling handbook employee grievances, faced the most revision as the committee made sure it was fair, she said. Initially, any grievances filed were sent to only one person who was in charge of addressing them, she said. “It was unacceptable,” Sullivan said. After some work, the staff senate was able to reach a compromise, Sullivan said. Now complaints will be sent up the chain of command and power diluted, she said. The university’s at-will doctrine required editing to ensure the stability of employees working at the university, Sullivan said. The at-will doctrine states OU can remove employees from work for any reason, as long as they provide adequate notice. Employees are also allowed to seek employment elsewhere for any reason. The committee worked closely with Gollahalli for a few months to ensure that worker job safety and stability were maintained with the inclusion of the at-will doctrine, Sullivan said. “Our concern is that aspect of employment be balanced by university endeavors to make a positive and stable work environment for employees,” she said. Discussion helped the overall changes made to the handbook, Gollahalli said. Sullivan was pleased with the changes as well. She conceded not everyone is going to be happy, but said the ad hoc committee accomplished as much as it could.

weekend for Thanksgiving. “If the university is closed for any reason ... the SafeRide program may also be closed, offering a break for our student employees and vendors of the program,” said SafeRide coordinator Brynn Daves. SafeRide gives rides to more than 500 students each weekend, Daves said. “SafeRide was very helpful just because I probably would not have even been able to make it back to

Top: Engineers placed most of the cell phone antennas under the stands or on top of the upper deck, an AT&T spokesman said.

New stadium antennas boost wireless reception Some students noticed better signal, ability to text during final football home game

where [the antennas] should go, and where they would be most useful,” he said. Some students have already noticed a change in the availability of cell phone service. MEGAN DEATON The Oklahoma Daily “This last game was phenomenal. I got like four bars out of five, and I could text during the game,” To combat cell phone service reception prob- University College freshman Catherine Peery said. lems, AT&T installed a multi-million dollar system Still, other students did not experience an impact before the Nov. 13 OU-Texas Tech football game from the extra antennas. at the Oklahoma Memorial “I did not notice a difference Stadium. from other games, but I’ve never I’ve talked to our engineers, really had a problem with my “I’ve talked to our engineers, and they say the service has phone in the stadium,” acting juand they say the service greatly improved,” said Andy nior Chris Hartman said. has greatly improved.” M o r g a n , AT & T O k l a h o m a Oklahoma State University also spokesman. received new antennas at two lo— ANDY MORGAN, The Distributed Antenna cations, including 92 antennas in AT&T OKLAHOMA SPOKESMAN System consists of 150 antennas T. Boone Pickens Stadium and 24 throughout the stadium. Most in Gallagher-Iba Arena. are hidden out of sight under the stands, or along “Service is much better. Voice calls, text messagthe top of the upper deck, Morgan said. ing and web browsing are all improved,” said Gary “Our engineers decided based on usage patterns Shutt, OSU communications director.

my dorm, at least not safely, without it,” said Honey Lane, SafeRide user and University College freshman. Though SafeRide will be closed, cab companies affiliated with it will not. “OU students are very capable of making smart choices whether or not SafeRide is in operation during the weekend by choosing a designated driver, calling a local taxi or planning ahead of their event or night out,” Daves said.

Judge delays Sharia ruling Temporary restraining order against SQ 755 stands until ruling on its constitutionality TREVOR SHOFNER The Oklahoma Daily

The temporary restraining order issued against State Question 755 was extended until Monday when a federal judge will issue her ruling. SQ 755 prohibits Oklahoma judges from considering Sharia or international law in court decisions. The temporary restraining order was first granted by U.S. District Judge Vicki Miles-LaGrange on Nov. 8, following a lawsuit filed by Muneer Awad, Center on American-Islamic Relations executive director. Awad said he is confident in the case and believes the bill is unconstitutional because it singles out one religion: Islam. The bill was passed Nov. 2 with 70 percent of the vote. The results, however, were never certified due to the temporary restraining order. Prohibiting international law will “likely stifle the willingness of international companies to do business with Oklahoma companies in the future,” political science professor Justin Wert said. Wert said he agrees with Awad’s claim about the unconstitutionality of the bill. “The initiative did, however, serve the political purpose of allowing state Republicans to score an easy victory in the culture wars and turn out conservative voters who might not have otherwise come out to the polls,” Wert said by e-mail.

$1.8M award to fund transplant research at OU Grant also will be used to create treatments for antibiotic-resistant infections DHARA SHETH The Oklahoma Daily

An OU researcher working to fight the human body’s rejection of transplant organs was awarded $1.8 million to further his project. William Hildebrand, OU College of Medicine professor, is one of three recipients of the Economic Development Generating Excellence Policy Board’s grant. The other two recipients, Anne Pereira and Allyson Turnbull, also have OU ties. Each of the recipients will receive funding for their company projects. “Our goal is to turn off the immune response to a kidney or heart

A LOOK AT WHAT’S NEW AT Read about local charities that are collecting donations for the holidays

Generating Excellence funding. transplant without turning off the that OU owns a portion of. Pereira is an OU Health Science body’s other immune responses,” The company serves as a commercial outlet for the discoveries Center researcher awarded $1.8 Hildebrand said. million. Pereira, OU College of Hildebrand described the abil- made in Hildebrand’s lab. Pharmacy associate dean ity to specifically shut off a of research, is chief scisingle immune response entific founder of Biolytix without weakening the Our goal is to turn off the immune response entire immune system as to a kidney or heart transplant without turning Pharmaceuticals, which she said is “a startup the “holy grail of immuoff the body’s other immune responses.” biotech company based nology” and something on intellectual property that can’t be done as of — WILLIAM HILDEBRAND, licensed from OU that is now. OU COLLEGE OF MEDICINE PROFESSOR in the business of makWith this funding, ing novel anti-infective Hildebrand plans to finish The lab studies various immune treatments for treating severe ana technique that will provide heart or kidney transplants for people responses, including harmful im- tibiotic-resistant infections.” The EDGE funding will enable who carry antibodies that would mune responses, in cases such as Lupus, and faulty immune re- Pereira to develop a new antibiotic normally reject a heart or kidney. The process will remove only sponses, such as transplant rejec- for treating severe infections. antibodies directed toward the tions, Hildebrand said. transplanted organ. Hildebrand is not the only READ THE COMPLETE Hildebrand is the chief scientific medical researcher who reARTICLE AT OUDAILY.COM officer of Pure Protein, a company ceived Economic Development

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