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W W W.O U DA I LY.C O M
Sports: Soccer player draws from experience with boys’ team (Page B1)
2 011 S I LV E R C R O W N W I N N E R
L&A: Q&a with someone still Loves You Boris Yeltsin
Meet the Band
(Page B5)
CItY OF nOrMAn
stUDent senAte
Officials still urge residents to limit water usage
GSS spot up for grabs
Mandatory conservation lifted CHASe Cook
assistant Campus editor
No r ma n n o l o n g e r i s under mandator y water conservation but those living off-campus shouldn’t bust out the Slip ‘N Slide just yet.
City manager Steve Lewis rescinded the mandatory water conservation Monday after it had been in effect since Aug. 1, according to a city proclamation. However, residents are being encouraged to use voluntary water conservation due to potential spikes in summer heat and the state’s continuing drought threat, according to a press release.
“It’s just smart water use,” Norman utilities director Ken Komiske said. “It’s still the summer time and temperatures are still warm.” According to Norman’s Water Conservation Plan, residents are urged to water on odd days if their addresses are odd and on even days if their addresses are even. Residents are also encouraged to water early in the
day and reduce non-essential water use where they can. The cooler temperatures and recent rain may make the situation seem less bleak, but Lake Thunderbird is still 59 inches below normal levels, Komiske said. And the outlook through October is that the state will remain in a drought, he said.
Saving water and using it wisely means the city will have enough to pump water to the top of the hospital and that water will be available for things like firefighting or other emergencies, Komiske said. If residents don’t keep water use down, it’s possible that water restrictions see WATER paGe a3
OU welcomes new students from abroad
Kyven ZHao/tHe daiLy
Biology junior nishan thapa holds mini flags in front of the International Advisor Committee table tuesday during Howdy Week on the south Oval.
InternAtIOnAL stUDents
eXCHAnGe stUDents
Program orientation Slight decrease to be held for families in exchange Meeting informs potential hosts about program MeLoDIe LeTTkeMAn Campus reporter
A 31-year-old program will continue the tradition of bringing a family environment and sense of home to international students at OU by holding an orientation Thursday. Friends to International Students, a host family
program founded by Millie Audas, director emeritus of Education Abroad and International Studies, will hold its meeting for potential host families at 5:30 p.m. at the Norman Public Library. The program matches international students with families in Norman, typically those of faculty members, to bring a sense of family to the students, the FIS boardmember said. “When you are in a new
place where the language, culture, everything is different, the people that have welcomed you [and] opened their hearts and homes to you … make all the difference,” Audas said. “Nothing is more important than feeling welcome by family.” And Audas knows what it’s like to be in those shoes. At 15, Audas left her home in Bolivia and began
students at OU
Numbers have been lower than previous years, spokeswoman says ALYSSA MAnnen Campus reporter
The number of exchange students at OU this fall is lower than it has been in the past few years, according to a university spokeswoman. This year OU welcomes 202 foreign exchange students, a slight decrease compared with past years (233 in fall 2011 and 227 in fall 2010), Education Abroad
see STUDENTS paGe a2
Nominations for chair spot being accepted CHASe Cook
assistant Campus editor
Graduate Student Senate will be accepting nominations for a new chair after the previous chair woman resigned Tuesday. Psychology doctoral student Kiersten Baughman said she tendered her resignation after she was asked by her department to take another position. The Senate will request nominations beginning Monday and ending Aug. 31, Senate vice-chairman James Cook said. The Senate’s executive committee will then put together a ballot and a selection will be made as soon as possible, he said. As vice-chairman, Native American Studies graduate student Cook will assume Baughman’s responsibilities until a person is selected as the new chair. Cook and Baughman were elected as leaders during last semester’s Senate elections. Cook said he supported Baughman’s decision and that he was looking forward to getting a new chair elected. “She is doing what’s best for her and her department,” Baughman said. Nominees for Baughman’s position must be in good standing with the Senate, and the senator must have served at least a spring or fall semester, according to the Senate’s bylaws. Cook has served on the Senate for five semesters and said he would consider accepting a nominat i o n i f h i s na m e i s brought up, but he has a family and other obligations to fulfill. Baughman was forced to choose between the Senate and the psychology department when she was asked to take another position in the department, Baughman said. The new position, along with her role as chairwoman, made her a full-time employee, so she had to pick a position
see EXCHANGE paGe a3 see GSS paGe a2
stUDent DeAtH
Report states Cooke was drunk Student’s blood alcohol content was .19 percent STAFF RePoRTS
OU student Casey Cooke, 22, was drunk when she fell to her death from the Evans Hall fire escape June 3, according to her autopsy. The medical examiner wrote Cooke had “acute
oud-2012-08-22-a-001,002.indd 1
e t ha n o l i n toxication” as a significant medical condition during her death. Her blood alcohol level CAseY was .19 perCOOke cent, according to the autopsy. Cooke was discovered u n re s p o n s i v e a t a b o u t 2:30 a.m. by campus police
beneath the building’s fire escape. Her cause of death is listed as blunt force trauma to the head and chest and the manner was labeled an accident, according to the autopsy. Cooke’s death led the university to remove the fire escape from Evans Hall and start a campus-wide review of fire safety. The university plans to rebuild two fire escapes
OUDaily.com view more background information on the Casey Cooke story. oudaily.com/news
on campus to bring them up to date and to begin implementing new fire safety plans after an engineering firm makes recommendations.
Good, bad, ugly: Summer movies Life & Arts: Jerry stinnet reviews the best and the worst of summer films that will be on dvd soon. (Page B4)
If you register to vote, be sure you do it in Norman Editorial: students should register to vote in norman to participate in local elections and more easily vote in november. (Page A4)
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8/21/12 11:10:17 PM