L&A: OU students aim to change the way we live with technology (Page 6)
Opinion: Twitter’s layout change isn’t all bad. (Page 4)
Sports: The men’s gymnastics team came in second at NCAAs this Weekend (Page 7)
The University of Oklahoma’s independent student voice since 1916
W W W.O U DA I LY.C O M
2 014 S I LV E R C R O W N W I N N E R
M O N D A Y , A P R I L 14 , 2 0 14
STUDENT ACTIVISM
Campus to include fair trade options Student social movement provides ethical on-campus meal choices MIKE BRESTOVANSKY Campus Reporter
Sooners may be eating more ethically-produced food on campus after the Undergraduate Student Congress passed a resolution for more fair trade products. The resolution supports the inclusion of fair trade certified tea, bananas, rice, herbs, sugar and more, said Kayli Bollinger, Sooners for Fair Trade co-president and founder. The Undergraduate Student Congress passed the resolution April 8. The record for the vote showed 14 members in favor, three against and six abstaining. Sooners for Fair Trade proposed the resolution, Bollinger said. By 2020, 5 percent of all OU’s food products will be fair trade, and at least one of these products will be available at almost every campus dining location, said Emily Sample, Sooners for Fair Trade co-president. “It isn’t a lot, but it is a big step,” Sample said. Currently, 1 to 2 percent of food products available on campus are fair trade certified, Sample said. Sooners for Fair Trade is a branch of the global fair trade social movement dedicated to ensuring that goods are produced ethically. The movement ensures that producers pay their employees fairly and provide them with comfortable working conditions, Bollinger said.
Bollinger founded Sooners for Fair Trade in February 2013. Since then, it has organized several events to raise awareness for the fair trade movement, such as a fashion show of ethically-produced clothing. The group has also collaborated with other fair trade organizations in nationwide campaigns, Bollinger said. Certain groups have already asked OU Housing and Food services to provide more fair trade options, but Bollinger said that isn’t enough. “The knowledge (of the movement) is there, but we want to show OU that we are doing more about bringing fair trade to campus. This is why we wanted to pass this resolution,” Bollinger said. Undergraduate Student Congress members were hesitant to pass the resolution at first because campus food is paid for entirely by meal plans and merchandise, which means the cost of the fair trade food can directly affect students, Sample said. “We want students to know that … they’re not going to lose their options,” Sample said. “By providing these fair trade products, we’re not phasing (other products) out completely.” The complete list of goods allowed for by the resolution includes cocoa, coffee, bananas and other fruits and vegetables, honey, juice, nuts and seeds, rice, quinoa, some spices and herbs, sugar and tea. Mike Brestovansky, mcbrestov@gmail.com
TONY RAGLE/THE DAILY
Xcetera makes sure to keep Honest Tea in stock as a fair trade product.
SPRING GAME
CHRISTOPHER MICHIE/THE DAILY
Left: Head Coach Bob Stoops talks to players in the center of the field after the Red-White spring game. JACQUELINE EBY/THE DAILY
Top right: The OU cheer squad and the Pride of Oklahoma marching band put on a short pep rally Saturday outside Oklahoma Memorial Stadium before the start of the Red-White spring game. CHRISTOPHER MICHIE/THE DAILY
Bottom right: Sophomore running back Keith Ford dodges the defense during the Red-White spring game. Despite 11 different players missing the game because of injury, including tight end Blake Bell and wide receiver Jalen Saunders, a record 43,500 fans attended the Red-White spring game on Saturday where the White squad came out victorious over the Red squad 28-13.
INSIDE Read an analysis (page 8) of the spring game and a column about Trevor Knight (page 7).
ONLINE Did you miss the game? Read the coverage on OUDaily.com.
AUTISM
HOLIDAY
Programs address disorder Students to celebrate Passover Researchers work to increase resources for kids with autism KATE BERGUM
Campus Reporter
As autism disorders in the U.S. becomes more prevalent, researchers and practitioners at the OU Health Sciences Center are busy trying to provide more support to individuals with autism. The Center for Disease Control released a study March 28, that suggested that the number of cases of autism has increased by nearly 30 percent between 2008 and 2010. Whereas one in 88 children was estimated to have autism in 2008, in 2010 the number jumped to one in 68. The subjects of the study were 8-year-olds in 11 different locations. Bonnie McBride, an assistant professor and researcher at the HSC, said that better diagnoses and screenings account for some of the increase of autism in the U.S. but not
WEATHER A few showers today with wind gusts N at 25-35 mph. High 50, low 29.
all of it. Researchers do not yet know for sure what is causing the increase, McBride said, though several theories exist. Researchers at the HSC are working on several initiatives to address autism and provide resources to people who have it. Initiatives include early intervention programs, autism screenings, consultations and training, McBride said. McBride said one project she is working on is the Early Foundations Autism Project, which is researching early intervention and its effects on autism. The early intervention program has been largely successful, McBride said. “I think the kids have made phenomenal gains,” McBride said. Though some children have improved more dramatically than others, McBride said all of the children in the intervention program have shown growth. McBride said a boy named Remy has
Events scheduled for Jewish holiday EMMA SULLIVAN Campus Reporter
OU’s Hillel program will hold events to celebrate and inform OU students about Passover today and Tuesday. Passover is a Jewish holiday to remember the people’s exodus from slavery in ancient Egypt. Families eat a special meal called a Seder that is made up of symbolic foods like bitter herbs, parsley and sweet charoset, according to a press release. OU Hillel has held a number of events on
campus including “A Taste of Israel,” a night with free Israeli food to help students learn about Israel before Passover, said Suzy Sostrin executive director of OU Hillel. Today is the first night of Passover and there will be a traditional Seder for students that starts at 6:30 p.m. at OU Hillel, according to the website. The event is free for students and $18 for community members, according to the press release. Tuesday’s Passover celebration is open to all OU students and will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Jim Thorpe Cultural Center, Sostrin said. The second night will
SEE AUTISM PAGE 2
CONTACT US
INDEX
@OUDaily
Campus......................2 Classifieds................5 Life&Ar ts..................5 Opinion.....................4 S p o r t s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
theoklahomadaily
OUDaily
VOL. 99, NO. 136 © 2014 OU Publications Board FREE — Additional copies 25¢
focus on the four questions that are recited at the beginning of Passover, Sostrin said. To reserve a spot for either event go to Hillel’s Everbrite page or call OU Hillel at 405-321-3703. Hillel will be bringing back student rabbi Dana Benson, who they brought in for the High Holidays in September, to lead both nights, according to the website. Emma Sullivan, emmanic23@gmail.com