MONDAY MARCH 22, 2010
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Learn about an OU physician’s research endeavors to find a cure for ovarian cancer. See page 3A.
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State Rep. to continue to teach at OU House member opts to ‘return to private life,’ will continue to teach on campus RICKY MARANON Assignment Editor
RYAN KIESEL
One lawmaker is hoping to go from the floor of the Oklahoma House of Representatives to a classroom in the OU College of Law. State Rep. Ryan Kiesel, D-Seminole, said he will not seek reelection to his seat this fall but has submitted lesson plans to continue to be an adjunct professor at the OU College of Law. “Serving the people of Oklahoma in the House has been one of the greatest honors of my life, but I’ve decided that now is the time to return to private life,” Kiesel said. He said he has not ruled out a possible run for political office in the future. “It’s going to be fun going around the state this fall
campaigning and supporting candidates that my wife and I feel will be the best people for other positions in government,” Kiesel said. “It’s going to be very different not asking other people for their votes this fall.” Kiesel said he currently enjoys teaching law at OU as an adjunct professor. “I love OU,” he said. “I met my wife on this campus. I love teaching here too. If they can hire me full-time, that’d be great. I’d love to teach here professionally.” Kiesel said he plans to remain in Seminole but has considered moving to Norman. “My wife and I consider Norman a second home, but Seminole has been good to me and my family, and we have no plans to leave any time soon,” Kiesel said. Kiesel graduated from OU with a bachelor’s in political science with Honors in 2002 and graduated from the OU College of Law with Honors in 2006. His wife Allison is an alumna from the OU College of Pharmacy. “I love teaching,” Kiesel said. “Interacting with students and teaching about law is something that I’ve found a passion for.” Kiesel was first elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives in 2004.
SXSW 2010 The crowd goes wild at the Mohawk venue in Austin, Texas for band Miike Snow, who performed at SXSW over the weekend.
Spring season brings tornadoes
ELI HULL/THE DAILY
Seniors create campaign for local charity Project to address funding issues for Big Brothers Big Sisters DANIELA MCCORMICK Daily Staff Writer
Five OU public relations seniors promote Big Brothers Big Sisters Bowl for Kids’ Sake 2010. As part of their public relations capstone project, a group of students known as “The Flex Group” have designed a “Strike it Rich” campaign to create awareness about the upcoming “OU only” Bowl for Kids’ Sake night on March 25 at the Sooner Bowling Center. Public relations senior Christa Stewart, a member of The Flex Group, said Cleveland County’s Big Brothers Big Sisters did not receive adequate funds from United Way this year. She said the organization is heavily relying on Bowl For Kids’ Sake nights to raise money to support child-mentor matches. “This one is specifically for the OU community,” Stewart said. “Anyone associated with the university can come out and join the cause. The Big Brothers Big Sisters vision is to create successful mentoring relationships with any child who needs to be matched.” Big Brother Big Sister’s primary goal this year is to match 700 at-risk children. The organization now has around 500-600 matches. She said that the other goal CHARITY CONTINUES ON PAGE 2
Recent earthquakes pose little threat
Weather patterns prove unpredictable, but Oklahoma residents must know safety precautions JESSICA SHEETS Daily Staff Writer
The end of March is just around the corner, signaling the beginning of the tornado season. One problem about tornado season is there is no way of predicting what this year’s weather pattern will look like, according to Doug Speheger National Weather Center meteorologist. “We really can’t tell if it will be an active season or not,” said Speheger. “If the weather pattern is as active as it was this winter, then it could be an active tornado season.” Another problem with tornadoes, according to Speheger, is there is no set time frame between the sounding of a tornado siren and when the tornado reaches the area. This makes knowing when to take shelter difficult. “The best thing to do is to react quickly if the tornado sirens are sounded, because there may be times where little warning is available,” Speheger said. According to the National Weather Center Web site, a tornado occurred on May 13, 2009, near the west edge of Stanley Draper Lake. Industrial engineering sophomore Christie Hopson remembers the tornado well. “I was in the dorms for the tornado ... and it was a rather interesting experience,” Hopson said. “Some people were freaking out, others were trying to calm them down, some were playing games and we were all constantly checking the weather radar.” Hopson now lives off campus, and like many off-campus students, she does not know the proper safety precautions
TORNADOES CONTINUES ON PAGE 2
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Norman and OU officials have a plan, despite rarity of great seismic activity CASEY WILSON Daily Staff Writer
Recent earthquakes in Oklahoma have been small and are not likely a warning of larger earthquakes in the future, according to authorities. Earthquakes are not a major concern in Oklahoma, said Randy Keller, Oklahoma Geological Survey interim director. The earthquake that struck Chile this year was 810,000 times larger than an earthquake that struck Oklahoma recently. This earthquake was a part of the 50 earthquakes Oklahoma experiences in a year, Keller said. “They’re interesting, and there’s an unusual number of them right now,” Keller said. “But we have had these little pulses of activity in the past, and I do not believe there’s any scenario that they’re building up to something bigger.” The largest Oklahoma earthquake to occur was in El Reno in 1952, he said. If another large earthquake were to occur, it would happen in southern Oklahoma where there is a major
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fault that last moved 1,200 years ago, he said. Keller said he is not concerned Oklahoma buildings are not prepared for a large earthquake. Oklahoma has fairly substantial building codes, as with anywhere in the U.S., and the earthquakes’ hazard levels are low enough to not warrant any special building code, he said. “I’d be the first to sound the alarm if there was any scenario of these things building up to something bigger,” Keller said. “It’s just hard to imagine that.” The Norman Office of Emergency Management would be responsible for the coordination of the disaster response operations, said David Grizzle, emergency manager for the city of Norman. Grizzle said it is not common for this area to prepare specifically for earthquake events. “So for earthquakes in particular it would be hard to evaluate the preparedness state,” he said. “Having said that, the basic tenants of preparedness still apply, i.e. make a plan, build a kit, have a communications plan, etc..” Grizzle said earthquakes are an identified threat for Oklahoma, notably the New Madrid Fault Line that extends into Oklahoma. “The key thing is to take action now so they will know how to react if a disaster strikes them,” he said. EARTHQUAKE CONTINUES ON PAGE 2
VOL. 95, NO. 117