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Litigation
Regent: Family not liable for art’s return Painting donated to OU causes families to debate its original ownership Kelly Rogers Campus Reporter
An OU regent and a French lawyer agree on at least one thing: Aaron and Clara Weitzenhoffer’s family never offered to return a disputed French painting to Léone Meyer and her family. The Daily quoted Regent Max Weitzenhoffer in Feb. 12 article, saying his parents offered to return “Shepherdess Bringing in Sheep” to the Meyer family, who declined the offer. Meyer’s lawyer, Pierre Ciric, emailed The Daily on Friday, saying the two families had never been in contact. Weitzenhoffer said Tuesday in a second interview, “My clarification is, that [Raoul] Meyer had the opportunity
to get the painting back before we ever owned it, but not through us whatsoever.” Although Weitzenhoffer said he read the article and thought his statement was incorrect, he did not contact The Daily to correct or clarify the statement. “I was misquoted in that article,” Weitzenhoffer told The Daily. “I just didn’t bother to tell you because you had already written it.” The disputed painting now hangs in the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, and is the subject of a lawsuit between Léone Meyer and the university. Léone Meyer filed the lawsuit in May 2013 to get OU to return the painting, which was stolen by Nazis during World War II, to her family. OU President David Boren said the painting will not be returned unless the court decides in Meyer’s favor. Boren said the university will immediately comply with whatever the court rules. “It would set a bad precedent for the university to
voluntarily give away to other people those gifts that have been given to us until all of the legal issues are determined,” Boren said in a Feb. 12 statement. Ciric said Weitzenhoffer’s quote was inaccurate, according to the email. “Neither Raoul Meyer, nor his daughter, Léone Meyer, had any contacts with any member of the Weitzenhoffer family, nor were they aware that “La Bergére” had entered the United States,” Ciric said in an email. On Tuesday, Weitzenhoffer stuck to his assertion that the Meyers could have gotten the painting back before his parents donated it to the university. “For 15 years while he (Raoul Meyer) was alive, the painting was hanging around our house, and we never heard anything,” Weitzenhoffer said. “It wasn’t a big secret where it was.” Léone Meyer’s lawyer said the complaint shows the see Litigation page 3
Skipping one class
costs you...
W
14
Whataburger Honey Butter Chicken Biscuits
Matt Woods • Campus Reporter
ith students paying estimated costs for in-state tuition of nearly $9,000 and out-of-state costs of around $21,000, students are learning that going to class pays. Opinion: Maintaining arts programs in Oklahoma is worth paying a few more tax dollars. (Page 4)
for in-state students
for out-of-state students
22
Starbucks grande lattes
OU students paying out-of-state tuition can waste more than $67 by skipping a single class before additional fees — the equivalent of about 22 grande lattes from Starbucks. Students who skip class while paying instate tuition part with half of that value at $33, before more fees — enough cash to purchase about 14 Honey Butter Chicken Biscuits from Whataburger, according to tuition estimates from the Office of the Bursar. “You’re joking. That’s crazy,” University College freshman Kaitlynn Maddox said when she learned her two pre-calculus absences cost her upwards of $66 in value
L&A: An OU professor is working toward social justice through film. (Page 5)
LIV NG GU DE
— enough to buy 48 Doritos Locos Tacos. Maddox said she hadn’t connected her occasional skips because of cold weather and lack of motivation to the financial impact. “That’s a lot more money than I thought I was wasting,” Maddox said. English writing senior Elizabeth Lucas said she knew passing on her lectures equated to missing essential information for the tests, but the silent double-digit cost still caught her by surprise. “I never realized a lecture cost so much,” see skipping page 2
Sports: The women’s basketball team hopes to rebound from it’s rough losses for a win against Texas. (Page 6)
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