L&A: Explore endangered species through photographs (Page 4)
Opinion: Monday’s on-campus arrest showed students aren’t afraid to exercise their rights (Page 7)
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NOTABLE GUEST
Sotomayor to visit College of Law The first Hispanic Supreme Court Justice will give a public fireside chat Friday KATE BERGUM
Assistant News Editor @kateclaire_b
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor will visit the OU College of Law Friday morning for a fireside chat. Sotomayor, the first Hispanic Supreme Court Justice, will be delivering the chat from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the Bell Courtroom at the Law Center, according to the law center’s web page. At the chat, Sotomayor will be answering OU law students’ questions, said Jessica Jones, director of communications for the college of law. “It’s a cool opportunity to be able to see a sitting Supreme Court Justice,” Jones said. “It’s not an opportunity every student has.”
Joseph Harroz, dean of the law college, sent a mass email to all law students asking that they submit questions for the event last week, Jones said. Law college faculty will review the submitted questions and select which will be asked at the chat, Jones said. The questions are being vetted by law college faculty because Supreme Court Justices can’t speak about certain topics, and the law college faculty wanted to ensure that Sotomayor could answer the questions asked, Jones said. The event is open to all students, but seating for the live chat is limited, so students wishing to attend should arrive early, Jones said. The doors to the courtroom will open at 9 a.m. There will also be overflow seating in one of the law college’s lounges, Jones said. Students who attend the live chat will not be allowed to PHOTO PROVIDED BY MARK WILSON/GETTY IMAGES bring purses or bags inside the courtroom for security reaAssociate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, poses for a group photograph at sons, Jones said. SEE JUSTICE PAGE 2 the Supreme Court building in in Washington, DC.
DISCOVERY
Biology professor finds new primate OU teacher discovers new line of tarsier while vacationing in the Philippines EMILY SHARP News Reporter @esharp13
An OU professor did more than just vacation during his trip to the Philippines: he discovered a new species of primate. Cameron Siler, an assistant professor of biology at OU and assistant curator of herpetology at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, has recently helped discover a new line of tarsier primate. Siler worked at the University of Kansas until two years ago. While he was there, National Geographic gave his team a grant to study the conservation genetics of primates in the Philippines. This funded a multiple-year program to discover more about the creatures and environment of areas that had virtually nothing known about them, Siler said. Siler’s team took non-destructive samples from specimens by making small punches through the ear. They would then release the animal, so as to disturb it as little as possible, Siler said. “Over a couple years we slowly accumulated enough to evaluate where genetic diversity is,” Siler said. “We were actually pretty shocked to see that there’s a completely distinct lineage or group of populations of this tarsier, this primate, that no one’s protecting because no one knew about them.” The tarsier is one of the world’s smallest primates. Siler hopes this discovery will help grant the species protection. YA JIN/THE DAILY
Cameron Silers holds a snake specimen on display. The professor discovered a new species of primate while on vacation.
STUDENT GOVERNMENT
SEE PRIMATE PAGE 2
LECTURE
SGA book club to discuss American issues Dream Courses attendance down One Campus, One Book program to AT A GLANCE begin Sept. 29 with Boren-selected read MIKE BRESTOVANSKY Assistant News Editor @Brestovansky M
Those worried about the problems America faces may find a solution this semester through the One Campus, One Book program created by the Student Government Association — at least group members hope they will. The eight-week reading and discussion program, about the book “Time to Start Thinking: America in the Age of Descent” by Edward Luce, will begin on Sept. 29. Students, faculty and staff will be able to order the book online and participate in the group for $5, SGA president Matt Epting said. “ It ’s n o t a n o p t i m i s tic book,” Epting said. “It doesn’t talk about solutions, so that’s what we’ll do.” WEATHER Mostly cloudy today with a high of 77, low of 61. Follow @AndrewGortonWX on Twitter for weather updates.
Epting said people who purchase the book will respond to online discussion questions about the book every week. While there will be no official group meeting time, Epting hopes that readers will be compelled to create discussion groups on their own. The b o ok, which was chosen specifically by OU President David Boren, addresses several issues relevant to the U.S. today, said Patrick McSweeney, SGA chief of staff. Each of the book’s eight chapters is devoted to a single issue, with the first to income inequality, the second to American education and so on. “The way the book is set up allows for a lot of different voices in discussion,” McSweeney said.
One Campus, One Book program
Four courses offer free teachings ranging from wars to trafficking
What: Eight-week online reading and discussion program created by the Student Government Association
JUSTINE ALEXANDER
When: Begins Sept. 29 PHOTO PROVIDED
SGA’s book club plans on reviewing Edward Luce’s “Time to Start Thinking” through the One Campus, One Book program.
Boren is excited about the program because it will let people with different generational perspectives discuss issues pertinent to America today, Epting said. Those who wish to purchase the book can do so at the One Campus, One Book website beginning on
Where: One Campus, One Book website How to join: Purchase the book online
Friday. After purchasing, the book will be immediately available at the Bizzell Memorial Library circulation desk. Mike Brestovansky mcbrestov@gmail.com
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News Reporter @caffeinejustine
Students who attend a Presidential Dream Course this semester may have some space to themselves, as attendance in the courses have dropped by about 20 percentage points. As of Sept. 4, only 52 percent of available seating for this semester’s Dream Courses has been filled, compared to 73 percent last fall semester, according to enrollment data. The Presidential Dream Course is a program that provides specific classes with a stipend to bring in expert speakers for public lectures and to interact with students in the class. OU President David Boren started the program during the 2004-2005 school year, and it continues today with a maximum stipend of $20,000 per class, according to a memorandum last October. This year, there are four courses in the Dream Course program: Human Trafficking; US & China: Perspectives on Education in the Information Age; First Draft of History: Covering America’s Wars; and American Genius: Modernity, Identity and the Case of Gertrude Stein. SEE DREAM PAGE 3
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