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The Daily’s ily’s Joshua Boydson son reviews the best music releases ses from August. ust. PAGEE 10 10
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Car fire closes street near the Union Asp Avenue between Boyd and Felgar Street was closed for two hours Monday night when a parked car caught fire just east of the Oklahoma Memorial Union. “When we arrived on the scene around 7:45 [p.m.]. We noticed smoke coming out of the hood of the car,” Norman Firefighter Ronny Davenport said. “After hosing down the front of the car, we opened the hood and put out the fire that was under the hood.” Davenport said after the main fire was taken care of, the Norman Fire Department sprayed down the rest of the
silver Dodge Stratus to enoutofathe video sure that Check the rest veof the incident on hicle wasn’t on fire. OUDaily.com. The car belonged to
Brooke Ward, multidisciplinary junior, who was inside the Oklahoma Memorial Union waiting to watch the Matt and Kim concert in Meacham Auditorium. “I got a call from OUPD and the said ‘your care was on fire’,” Ward said. Officials are unsure of what started the fire. -Ricky Maranon/The Daily
MERRILL JONES/THE DAILY
Brooke Ward, multidisciplinary junior, speaks to firefighters Monday night after her car unexpectedly caught on fire. Firefighters hosed down the car, which was parked on Asp Avenue near the Oklahoma Memorial Union.
CAMPUS EVENTS, ACTIVITIES HELP WELCOME NEW SOONERS
LILLY CHAPA/THE DAILY
The South Oval is decorated for Howdy Week, an annual event that welcomes students to campus. Many activities, including lunch giveaways and the Matt & Kim concert, are put on by the Union Programming Board. As classes kicked off Monday, Sooners were welcomed to campus with freebies and by members of the Howdy Week committee. Students were able to grab free food, attend a free concert and compete in a free Guitar Hero tournament, as part of a week packed with events. “[Howdy Week] is a great way to start your year off in the right direction and help you meet people and make new friends,” said Britan Mills, Howdy Week chairwoman and public relations junior. For the first time, Howdy Week is featuring local restaurants instead of Housing and Food services during the lunchtime giveaway. Featuring restaurants like In the Raw, Seven47 and Which Wich, provide students with a taste of Norman. The theme, Best Howdy Week Ever, is modeled after the “Best Week Ever” show on VH1, and a complete list of events can be found at http://www.ou.edu/uosa/CAC/events/howdy_week.html. Howdy Week will run through Friday.
Big Brothers Big Sisters suffers with economy Charity group experiences decline in both funding and participation NATASHA GOODELL The Oklahoma Daily
Students looking to volunteer with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Norman will notice changes in the program as the economy affects the organization’s budget and, consequentially, fewer matches are made. The nonprofit organization is funded through donations and helps younger children find mentoring and friendship from young adults, typically at the college level. Diane Murphree, area director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Cleveland County, said their usual fall matching of 200 to 300 “bigs” to “littles” is estimated to drop to 50 to 60 matches this fall. This year, BBBS received less funding from the United Way of Norman due to their own budget cuts, which have forced BBBS to cut some staff members who are responsible for making the matches between “bigs” and “littles,” Murphree
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said. Furthermore, BBBS cannot hire anyone new. Due to the decrease in office staff, fewer matches can be made and the waiting list for BBBS may lengthen. “All we [are thinking] about right now is trying to get more funding,” Murphree said. To continue creating matches, the office could use volunteers, Murphree said. The organization tries to match people with similar interests and hobbies so that when they meet, there will be an immediate bond. “I think it’s a really great organization to get involved in,” said Valerie Hall, public relations junior. “It’s good for someone who doesn’t have a good home life to have someone to look up to.” Hall will continue to meet this year with the same girl she met with last year. It has made her realize how fortunate she really is, she said. “You’re giving these kids attention that they might not be getting at home,” Murphree said. MERRILL JONES/THE DAILY She said the program is a lot of fun and that the kids really Budget cuts in the Big Brother Big Sister volunteer program have do look up to their “bigs.” Matt Deimund, finance and accounting junior, meets with left volunteers and children unmatched. BROTHERS CONTINUES ON PAGE 2
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VOL. 95, NO. 5