The Oklahoma Daily

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SPORTS • PAGE 9

NEWS • PAGE 6

Is the Fiesta Bowl in BCS danger?

Staying safe in tornado season

If the Fiesta Bowl is tossed from the Bowl Championship Series, The Daily’s Luke McConnell thinks the Cotton Bowl should take its spot in the postseason elite.

The School of Meteorology purchases new radar that can help forecasters spot tornadoes faster.

The University of Oklahoma’s independent student voice since 1916

Thursday, April 7, 2011

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Open Records fees eclipse costs OU’s decision to charge 25 cents per page may have overcharged public by $11,000 NICHOLAS HARRISON The Oklahoma Daily

Over the past three years, OU’s Open Records Office may have overcharged the public by more than $11,000, according to estimates based on revenues released by the university on Tuesday. OU charges the public 25 cents per page for the fulfillment of all document requests in excess of 30 pages. Under the Oklahoma Open Records

Act, a public body is only allowed to charge “the reasonable direct costs of document copying or mechanical reproduction.” The OU Office of Administration and Finance has determined the cost of producing one copy is more than 32 cents per page, said Rachel McCombs, Open Records Office director. Labor accounts for 83.8 percent of those costs, according to figures released by the Open Records Office. “We calculated labor at a rate of $25,000 plus benefits at 34 percent and assumed that each copy takes one minute of someone’s time,”

McCombs said in an email. The cost of labor per page is $0.27, she said. The slowest copier that meets the specifications for a state agency must produce at least 10 copies per minute, according to the Oklahoma Department of Central Service’s statewide contract website. Reducing labor accordingly, the most the university could justify in direct costs was 8 cents per page. The Daily contacted OU Vice President and SEE RECORDS PAGE 2

MOCK ELECTED CAC CHAIRWOMAN

STUDENT GOVERNMENT

UOSA officials prepare for term Morris and Bock plan Freshman Council, seek input from students for fall KATHLEEN EVANS The Oklahoma Daily

Hannah Morris and Laura Bock, UOSA president- and vice president-elect, have begun focusing on how to implement their campaign platform in the coming summer and academic year. Political science and public relations junior Morris and zoology junior Bock were elected March 30 after receiving approximately 67 percent of the vote in the UOSA presidential election. UOSA has not set an inauguration date yet because of continuing elections, but Morris and Bock said they are still using this time to prepare for their term. About 17 percent of eligible students chose to vote in the UOSA presidential election, according to voting totals provided by the SEE UOSA PAGE 3

Norman signs friendship agreement MERRILL JONES/THE DAILY

International and area studies junior Melissa Mock celebrates with a hug from a supporter as she receives a phone call informing her she won the Campus Activities Council chair runoff election Wednesday night in Hester Hall. Mock won the election over microbiology junior Greg Emde by 57 votes. A runoff election was required after both Mock and Emde were unable to capture a 50-percent-plus-one majority in the March 29 and 30 election.

Arezzo, Italy, becomes fourth city to forge ties with Norman ANA LASTRA AND RICHARD IMMEL The Oklahoma Daily

Mock defeats Emde by 57 votes Results unofficial until Superior Court reviews grievances against candidates DAILY STAFF REPORTS The Oklahoma Daily

M

elissa Mock is the winner of the runoff election for Campus Activities Council chair after defeating Greg Emde by 57 votes. Overall, 2,325 votes were cast in the runoff election, a 42 percent decrease from the 4,028 votes cast in the original election March 29 and 30. International and area studies junior Mock received 1,191 votes, or about 51 percent. Microbiology junior Emde received 1,134 votes. In the earlier election, Emde had received 20 more votes than Mock. “Thank you from the absolute bottom of my heart,” Mock said to her campaign team after receiving the congratulatory call from the election board. “I can’t tell you how much this means to me. I am just humbled. I’m floored and excited – it’s overwhelming.” Mock, who has worked with Emde throughout the past year on CAC Executive Counsel, said she wants to continue to work him next year. “He did a great job,” Mock said. “He’s worked really hard. We’ve both grown a lot. He will be enabled next year as a leader.” Emde said he focused a lot of his campaigning through social media and appreciates the support he received throughout. “I have never done anything like this before,” Emde said with his teammates at O’Connell’s

A LOOK AT WHAT’S ON The OU Graduate College will kickoff a weeklong celebration of graduate students Sunday with a family picnic

Irish Pub & Grille. “I have never had a backort of opportunity ing. I have never had any sort like this.” Emde said he plans to continue ntinue his leadership roles in CAC and has already applied id he is still sad for General Council. He said about not winning but congratulated gratulated Mock on her success. “Obviously I am a little upset because I did not come up on top,” Emde mde said. “To be .” that close is hard to believe.” The election results willl be official within five days after the election n report is reviewed tion Chair Natalie by the superior court, Election Jester said. Two grievances were filed ed against iolating Mock on Wednesday for violating campaign rules by sending unsolicited electronic messages in the ction form of emails to classes, Election Chair Natalie Jester said. ievEmde also received a grievayance last month for displaying campaign yard signs that at were larger than the predetermined dimensions. At least five classes received the same e-mail, though from different people, asking classmates to vote for Mock and outlining her platform,

READ THE COMPLETE ARTICLE AT OUDAILY.COM

GE 3 SEE CAC PAGE

THE OKLAHOMA DAILY VOL. 96, NO. 127 © 2011 OU Publications Board www.OUDaily.com www.facebook.com/OUDaily www.twitter.com/OUDaily

A fourth sister has been adopted into Norman’s family after the mayor signed a formal agreement with Italian delegates at a ceremony Tuesday. Norman Mayor Cindy Rosenthal welcomed Arezzo, Italy by signing the agreement with Arezzo representatives Giuseppe Caroti, president of the Town Council of Arezzo, Gianni Rossi, representative for the mayor of Arezzo and Emiliano Cecchini, director of the Department of Innovation. “Tonight, we make a commitment between our two communities to develop strong ties of friendship, support and a continuous exchange of views and resources that promote education, culture and commerce,” Rosenthal said in Italian and then in English. Both Norman representatives and those from Arezzo hope the relationship between the two cities will aid not only the students in each city, but both places as a whole, Rossi said. “Well, I think we are very, very proud of this kind of operation, because it can mean a lot for Arezzo, for its visibility and international level scale,” Rossi said.

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TODAY’S WEATHER

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