LIFE & ARTS • PAGE 5
OPINION • PAGE 3
Kanye album met with high marks
Hogwarts group has potential
Kanye West (shown left) knows he’s the most important figure in music, and who are we to argue? Read seven Daily reviews of the album.
A new campus organization modeled after the Harry Potter books has garnered a large enough following to do more than play Quidditch.
The University of Oklahoma’s independent student voice since 1916
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
www.OUDaily.com
Free — additional copies 25¢
UOSA Student Congress resolution to be used in Sharia law court case Official statement a chance for the student ‘silent majority’ to voice opinion, author says TREVOR SHOFNER The Oklahoma Daily
An attorney working on the case to declare State Question 755 unconstitutional has requested that a condemnation of the bill authored by an OU senior be used in the Supreme Court court case. The resolution condemning SQ 755, which was passed by UOSA
Student Congress on Nov. 17, was submitted by Michael Salem of Salem Law Offices as evidence at the Nov. 22 hearing. Shayna Daitch, the UOSA representative who authored the bill, said students are often a “silent majority” on issues they may feel deeply about, and this resolution was able to voice students’ opinion. U.S. district judge Vicki MilesLaGrange ruled Monday morning to issue a preliminary injunction against SQ 755, which
ONLINE AT OUDAILY.COM » Link: U.S. district judge Vicki MilesLaGrange’s court order » Document: UOSA Student Congress’ official condemnation of SQ 755
will indefinitely prevent it from amending Oklahoma’s constitution until a final decision is made on the case’s merit. Miles-LaGrange, in her 15-page order, acknowledged the merit
and potential success of the case and stated “the will of the ‘majority’ has on occasion conflicted with the constitutional rights of individuals.” “As far as I know we’re the only student government in the state to have taken an official stand on State Question 755,” said Daitch, international security studies senior. “Obviously, we’re in the right both morally and legally.”
United Way extends donation deadline OU’s United Way campaign is making a final push to raise $215,000 by Dec. 10, the campaign’s chairman said. Anil Gollahalli, OU’s United Way campaign chairman, said the group has raised 72 percent of its total goal. To help United Way reach its goal, the OU IT store donated a laptop for the campaign to give away, he said. For more information about how to donate, visit OUDaily.com. — Chase Cook/The Daily
SEE SHARIA PAGE 2
FILM
CHARITY | BELL RINGERS RAISE MONEY FOR SALVATION ARMY
Adam Oxsen
Sooner alumnus’ 1st film released on DVD “The Gunslingers’ is being distributed by a major production company DANNY HATCH The Oklahoma Daily
ASHLEY WEST/THE DAILY
An OU College of Arts and Sciences graduate’s debut feature film has hit the DVD racks after a major film company picked up the film for distribution. Adam Oxsen, who graduated in 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts with an emphasis on film and video and photography, had his film, “The Gunslingers,” picked up for distribution by Lionsgate, a production company based in Santa Monica, Calif. “The Gunslingers,” an homage to spaghetti Western films made popular by Sergio Leone and Clint Eastwood, is a story of a man’s quest for gold. Lionsgate got in touch with Oxsen after “The Gunslingers” was screened at the American Film Festival in November 2009, Oxsen said. “The Gunslingers” was shot in many parts of Oklahoma, including Little Sahara State Park and Black Mesa. Oxsen, an Oklahoma City native, said while the support of his professors helped him, it was the hands-on approach to
SEE DVD PAGE 2
Salvation Army bell ringers and OU students Cole Carter, Andrew Thompson and Alex Mathieson celebrate the donation made from OU student Gwyn Stackable on Monday in front of Dale Hall. OU’s annual Salvation Army fundraising campaign kicked off Monday. Fraternities and sororities that signed up will operate the trademark red kettles for the Salvation Army from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for the next two weeks, said Pat Privett, campaign organizer. The Salvation Army will use the collected money to assist Cleveland Country families. Students can donate money in front of Dale Hall, the Oklahoma Memorial Union, Sarkey’s Energy Center, Campus Corner and Bizzell Memorial Library. — Chase Cook/The Daily
Number of OU December graduates on the rise Taking extra year, semester to complete a degree becoming usual occurance, academic counselor says
Alexander Holmes, economics department chairman, said December is not the best time to enter the job market for most professions. “December grads are handicapped,” Holmes said. “The starting proLAUREN CASONHUA The Oklahoma Daily cess for them is in late August, while for [May] graduates, it starts in September.” Since May graduates can begin the job search the September before In the last two years, OU has seen a rise in December graduates. According to the Graduation Office, 1,136 bachelor’s degrees were they graduate, they have more time to fill out applications and schedule interviews than a December graduate, who can’t given during fall 2009 graduation; in 2008, there were begin the process until the next August. December 976. graduates then have only a semester to complete the Ultimately, it is taking students longer to graduate, ONLINE AT OUDAILY.COM process. and it is normal for students to stay in college an extra » Link: A complete listing of all May graduates will already be interviewing in January semester or year, said Carol Carr, Honors College aca- December convocations and and February, so they will ultimately have more potendemic counselor. graduation events tial contact with employers than December graduates, While some may just want another football season, Holmes said. others may not be staying an extra semester by choice. Carr, on the other hand, said she thinks it’s easier for December “They just can’t get everything done in the regular four years,” Carr graduates to find jobs because there’s less competition. said. The number of fall 2010 graduates is not yet calculated because the Other factors that contribute to a December graduation include changes in major, studying abroad and taking time off to do intern- graduation office accepts December graduation applications until the final day of the semester, Heeney said. ships, Graduation Office Director Becky Heeney said in an e-mail.
A LOOK AT WHAT’S NEW AT UOSA Student Congress will meet 7 p.m. in Adams Hall, Room 150. Read the agenda at OUDaily.com
THE OKLAHOMA DAILY VOL. 96, NO. 70 © 2010 OU Publications Board www.facebook.com/OUDaily www.twitter.com/OUDaily
INDEX Campus .............. 2 Classifieds .......... 4 Life & Arts ........... 5 Opinion .............. 3 Sports ................ 6
TODAY’S WEATHER 51°| 31° Wednesday: Partly cloudy, high of 61 degrees Visit the Oklahoma Weather Lab at owl.ou.edu