OU baseball loses lose to Clemson but is College World Series. still alive at Co Page 7.
The 27th Jazz in June Festival kicks off tonight at Brookhaven Village. Pagee 4.
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OU regents vote to increase tuition by 4.5% MATT STEPHENS The Oklahoma Daily
Both in-state and non-resident student tuition and mandatory fees will increase by 4.5 percent for the upcoming school year as approved by the OU Board of Regents at its June meeting Wednesday. The board agreed with OU President David Boren’s proposal to raise tuition costs, which was brought up on Monday in Ardmore. Students taking an average load of 15 hours a semester will see an increase of $146 in tuition per semester, Boren said. “There were only two states, we and another state, that didn’t raise tuition last year,” he said. “So when you look at this, this is a 2.2 (percent) average increase in the last two years. That is really a historic low.” The budget is not only a problem at OU, but at other schools as well, Boren said.
“I think we are all in difficult times,” Boren said. “And one of the great worries that we have is, ‘What happens next year?’ This year was a stretch and this was very difficult for us.” OU faculty and staff will see no increase in salary and the hiring freeze of additional faculty and staff is to remain in place this next school year either, he said. “I really want to express my appreciation to them, because this means it will be another year for them with their compensation frozen and with a lot of positions that are vacant and not filled,” Boren said. “Which means that some of them are working extra hours and taking on, sometimes, another half of a job from somebody that used to work next to them.” While tuition will go up next year, students will be able to still take advantage of tuition waivers for lower income families and scholarship opportunities provided by OU, Boren said. Although tuition is to increase, Boren praised the state legislature and the governor for working together to help keep the budget cuts to higher education as low as possible.
“That puts a responsibility on us to try and stretch our dollars as far as possible,” Boren said. “I think the legislature was, one of the reasons they wanted to keep our cuts somewhat lower than other parts of government, so we would not have to raise tuition and fees so much.” The news of higher tuition cost does aggravate some students though. “Of course I don’t like the idea. I mean, I have to pay more,” law student Ben Dabiri said. “It takes money out of my pocket. Without an increase in services or some sort of benefit, I don’t see why there should be any increase.” While the rise in tuition and fees did not sit well with some students, others said they understood the reason for the increase. “OU is one of the cheaper schools right now, so I guess it doesn’t really bother me,” education senior Claire Schroepfer said. “It’s one of the cheaper schools still, and I think Boren has done a pretty solid job of keeping it pretty low.”
CAMP ENCOURAGES GENDER DIVERSITY IN ENGINEERING MORGAN DOWNING The Oklahoma Daily
The four future engineers had just been given a task of deciding which materials are needed, developing a workspace and drawing a diagram. After the thought process was over, it was finally time to put their plan into action. The girls lined up into their assembly line, waiting for their cue to begin. One by one, they used their plans to load scoops after scoops of ice cream into bowls, cut bananas, scatter various treats on top and finally drizzle chocolate syrup to finish it off. Their ending time was accurate with what they had guessed. They had just designed a quick and easy way to produce an average of 40 banana splits per hour, while thinking as industrial engineers. The Discovering Engineering Via Adventure in Science, or DEVAS, camp brought 16 high school girls to the OU campus Monday for a weeklong engineering experience. Because the engineering field has more men than women, the OU College of Engineering hosts an all-girl engineering camp to inspire girls to become involved in the field. The camp focused on introducing the girls to the many areas of engineering such as industrial, civil and aerospace and mechanical fields. The girls attended sessions with some of the college’s top professors, all with the goal of inspiring the girls to step into the male-dominated field. They also had the opportunity to hear women, such as Amy Wright, manager of engineering technology for Williams Companies, share their experiences and advice on being a woman in the field. Randa Shehab, director of industrial engineering, created the banana split session and has used it at the camp for the past four
ELI HULL / THE DAILY
High school students Kendall Healy from Dallas, Andrea Jacuk from Coweta, Olivia White from Denver and Catherine McElhaney from Norman work together to plan the most efficient way to quickly assemble banana splits Wednesday afternoon at the Discovering Engineering Via Adventure in Science camp at OU, designed to encourage girls to study engineering. years. Shehab said the activity introduces the girls to process improvement, which is what industrial engineering is about. The session was designed to engage the girls by taking a fun approach, said Shehab, who agrees the engineering field lacks gender diversity. “It is critical that we provide all students with an understanding of their career options such that they can make an informed
decision about their future,” Shehab said. After the session, each girl smiled while eating her banana split. Micah Dunkleberger, DEVAS camper, said she believed the activity helped her understand industrial engineering better. “I learned it’s about improving the process of everyday things so people can enjoy them,” Dunkleberger said.
Professor seeks grant to study health impacts of oil exposure OU research shows cellular damage when oil contacts skin, oil fumes are inhaled CASEY WILSON The Oklahoma Daily
As oil continues to spill into the Gulf of Mexico, OU researchers have applied for grants to fund research into exposure to oil and say the research could provide valuable information if oil contamination were to occur in Oklahoma. The National Institutes of Health has issued grant-funding possibility for work involved in risk-assessment for individuals working on the Gulf oil spill, said OU College of Medicine professor Jay Hanas, who is researching the health effects on people from oil and fumes. “We have a lot of well-experienced faculty that deal with exposures and their ‘toxilogical’ effects,” said Dr. Robert Lynch, an environmental heath expert with the College of Public Health. With people working to clean up the spill, it is still unknown what types of health effects and worker safety issues they would face after large exposure to harmful chemicals in oil, he said. Studies that may be funded from these grants will study the human and marine life aspect, Hanas said. Hanas and his group have performed experiments that study the effects of oil when it contacts skin and when fumes from the oil are inhaled. “All the organs we looked at, we saw cellular damage, usually in the form of cell death,” Hanas said. Hanas’ other study dealing with inhalation of vapors form the oil revealed that exposure caused the same type of systemic damage.
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Crews work to clean up oil washed ashore Wednesday in Pensacola, Fla., as oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill continues to wash a shore along the Florida panhandle. An OU professor is researching the health effects of exposure to oil. “Already the workers in the Gulf that are dealing with the clean up are experiencing health problems,” he said. While compounds of crude oil vary from place to place, they have similarities and what researchers learn through the spill at the Gulf may be helpful if a spill were to occur in Oklahoma, either on land or in water, Lynch said. As researchers look into the effects, people working the spill clean up still need to be trained properly, he said. “You can’t just send anyone out there because this stuff is toxic,” Lynch said.
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For DEVAS camper Laura Morton the activity proved that girls can come up with a design and it can be just as good as a boy’s. “Women deserve to be put forth just as men are. It definitely shows women are just as equal as men.” Morton said she thinks the camp was positive, helpful and a career changing experience.
Conference attracts classical musicians SPENCER POPP The Oklahoma Daily
More than 600 oboists and bassoonists are wandering the OU School of Music this week as OU hosts the 39th International Double Reed Society Conference. The conference, which started Tuesday, features oboists and bassoonists, many who are professional musicians in orchestras and universities around the world, in evening concerts through June 26. It includes performances, master classes, lectures and exhibitors throughout each day. The events are open to anyone who registers, accordMUSIC SCHEDULE ing to a release. Tonight — Evening concert It is the first time for OU at 7:30 in the Paul F. Sharp to host the conference, with Concert Hall a wide variety of people Friday — Jazz in June Festival from around the world in at 7 p.m. at Brookhaven attendance, said Johanna Village, 3700 W. Robinson Cox, OU assistant professor Street of music and co-host of the Saturday — Concerto conevent. cert at 7:30 p.m. in the Paul “An event like this is once F. Sharp Concert Hall. in a lifetime,” Cox said. “It’s not every day we get to hear Cost: $8 these people except at these Website: www.idrs2010.org conferences.” The event is held in a different location each year and internationally once every three years. Last year, the conference was in Birmingham, England, Cox said. Chris Johnson, doctorate of musical arts junior at the University of Memphis and bassoon player, is attending MUSICIANS CONTINUES ON PAGE 2
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