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The University of Oklahoma’s independent student voice since 1916

The Oklahoma Daily T H U R S DA Y, M A Y 19 , 2 011

W W W.O U DA I LY.C O M

C O M M E N C E M E N T

2009 GOLD CROW N W INNER

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UNIVERSITY FUNDS

Dropped calls cost university big bucks

“ We h av e c ome to k now y ou , b e l ie v e i n y ou a nd lov e y ou . We k now w e w i l l m i s s y ou .”

University loses $1,044 after 87 calls to SafeRide result in no shows, records show

— P r e si de n t Dav i d B or e n

ALEX EWALD

The Oklahoma Daily

PHOTOS BY CARMEN FORMAN AND JESSIE PARHAM/THE DAILY

Top left: President David Boren addresses students during commencement Friday evening at the Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Top center: Students hold banners representing colleges across campus during Friday’s commencement ceremony. Top right: OU graduates hold their caps to their hearts while the Star Spangled Banner is played before commencement. Bottom: More than 7,200 graduates were eligible to attend Friday’s commencement ceremony, according to a press release.

MORE ONLINE: To read complete coverage of Friday’s commencement ceremonies, visit OUDaily.com

RESEARCH

Student awarded $90K to study flood prediction An OU graduate student received a $90,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to research flash flood-prediction improvements. Water resources engineering graduate student Gina Hodges will apply her experience in meteorology, hydrology and social sciences to develop better flash flood-detection methods, according to a press release. Hodges’ study will attempt to create a system to identify specific locations about to be impacted by flash floods. Hodges’ methods to improve flood detection will be applied to areas that experienced severe flooding in spring 2010, including Oklahoma and Arkansas, according to a press release. Hodges will receive $30,000 a year for three years for her research, according to a press release. — Daily Staff Reports

Need summer hours for on-campus and local restaurants? Visit OUDaily.com for a complete list

ADMINISTRATION

Assistant dean of students to retire Cunningham cites his age as reason to leave campus position after 21 years ALYSSA GRIMLEY The Oklahoma Daily

An OU official is retiring after 21 years of service because his age is making it difficult to keep up with college students, he said. Cordell Cunningham, assistant dean of students, said he decided to retire because he doesn’t want his age to affect his job. “There was no way I was going to cheat the students from someone

Cordell Cunningham

assistant dean of students

with the energy to keep up with their pace,” Cunningham said. When Cunningham came to OU, he worked as the director of Student Life in the athletic residence halls. He became an adviser for the African American Student Life program as well as the assistant dean of students, according to OU’s Student Life website. Cunningham said he doesn’t know what retired life has in store for him, but he will approach the future with a positive outlook.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT OUDAILY.COM

SafeRide driver Donnie French pulled up at 1:20 a.m. in front of Campus Corner’s Seven47 restaurant to pick up students who need a ride home. After 20 minutes of waiting, nobody came out of the restaurant to claim the ride, French said. Although no one received a ride, these 20 minutes cost OU $12. OU’s SafeRide program suffered $1,044 in lost revenue after 87 calls — valued at $12 each — resulted in callers not arriving at the designated pickup site, according to SafeRide phone logs from March 3 to May 1. These incidents are referred to as dead calls, SafeRide Director Brynn Daves said. This is when students call for a ride and don’t show up, Daves said. “It is unfortunate when this occurs, as it takes one taxi out of use for another SafeRide and could potentially cause lengthened wait times,” Daves said. The program pays $12 each ride to local taxicab companies Yellow Cab Company and Airport Express to pick up students — regardless of whether a ride is completed, Daves said in an email. However, the university does not pay the fee if students cancel the ride before the cab arrives. SafeRide gives students a free taxicab ride home from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. Thursday through Sunday. Student Affairs — which sponsors the program — encourages students who call for rides to cancel if they end up not needing the service, Daves said. SafeRide has expanded its vehicle count to 20 after adding 10 new vehicles last fall, Daves said. The cost of rides increased to $12 per ride because of gas prices, and the number of dispatchers working each shift increased from two to four, Daves said.

ADVOCACY

Festival gets groovy to raise animal-rights awareness How people treat animals says a lot about how we treat people, ONLINE AT OUDAILY.COM Groovefest coordinator says » Link: Apply to perform at a Groovefest fundraising show to be held this fall

BRENDAN COUGHLIN The Oklahoma Daily

Music, warm weather and the lack of weekend homework drew more than 900 people Sunday to Andrews Park for a festival raising awareness for animal rights, a festival coordinator said. Groovefest is a biannual music festival highlighting issues including local homeless, poverty and hunger, festival coordinator Aimee Rook said. This year, festival organizers decided to focus on animalrights abuse. “How we treat our animals says a lot about how we treat each other,” Rook said. “And [Groovefest] is just

A LOOK AT WHAT’S ON A professor will leave on a one-year sabbatical in August to research unisexual fish after receiving an internationl award in the field

trying to improve that.” Bands played while attendees danced, ate and meandered through educational booths. Started by OU students in 1986, Groovefest began as a relaxing day of music at the park, Rook said. Within a few years, the Amnesty International chapter at OU realized the growing concert series would make a great opportunity to spread awareness of human-rights abuses, Rook said. Festival organizers will host a sePHOTO PROVIDED ries of fundraising shows in the fall Festival participants entertain crowds with a juggling act during to support Groovefest 2012, accordGroovefest on Sunday evening at Andrews Park. ing to the festival’s website.

THE OKLAHOMA DAILY VOL. 96, NO. 150 © 2011 OU Publications Board www.OUDaily.com www.facebook.com/OUDaily www.twitter.com/OUDaily

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