The Oklahoma Daily

1B Back-to-school Edition 2009

85,075

»

Average attendance for a Sooner football home game

14 »

number of colleges at the Norman campus

104 »

2009

James Lovett, managing editor dailynews@ou.edu • phone: 325-3666 • fax: 325-6051

Number of bachelor degree programs at OU Lissa and Cy Wagner Hall will begin its inaugural year serving freshmen

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pg. 4B

Norman isn’t just home to OU, but several other fun locations and worthy causes

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pg. 15B

Number of students from Hawaii in Fall 2008

7

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pg. 10B

36.3

The year OU was established

» Percent of incoming freshmen who graduated in the top ten percent of their high school class

Maintaining a relationship with your professor is important in college, but how do you address them?

»

pg. 6B »

pg. 14B 3,906 » 1996

1890 »

new beginnings

Go explore campus with our map

Number of bachelor’s degrees conferred in 2007 - 2008

» The year of the first Camp Crimson

23,035

»

Camp Crimson gave incoming freshmen a taste of campus life

Total number of students enrolled in Fall 2008 ILLUSTRATION BY LUKE ATKINSON/THE DAILY

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D O G E C N E I R EXPE

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P I H S D N E I R F E C EXPERIEN you’re invited >> For over 25 years, Chi Alpha (XA) campus ministries has been a place where you can experience God and experience friendship. Whether you are a student exploring faith for the first time or looking to connect with other followers of Christ, you are invited to continue the journey of knowing God with us.

what students are saying >>

LATENITE is our student worship experience. Expect a creative mix of - music, food, humor, passion and a relevant student life message from the Bible. All students are invited. Check ouxa.org for time and location details.

De

previews >>

[ Mission Trips ]

“Chi Alpha rocks my universe!”

[ Service Opportunities ]

Samantha - Pre-Radiation Therapy Major

“In Chi Alpha, I had countless ministry opportunities on campus.”

[ Golf Cart Rides - tours of campus / class ]

Josh - OU Medical School

“Chi Alpha is where I made so many friends my freshman year.”

Brodie - Math Major

“Chi Alpha taught me the art of servanthood.”

Adam - Spanish Major, History Minor

[ Lifegroups - More than a Bible study. Our Lifegroups are just the right size to be personal and are designed to explore God and build friendships. Led by students for students. ]

[ Intramural Sports ] [ Student Retreats ]

OUXA.ORG

“Chi Alpha has become my second family.”

John - Computer Science Major

know God? If we acknowledge that we’re not perfect, believe in Jesus Christ, and ask Him to lead our life, we can have a relationship with God. Be encouraged - God wants to have a relationship with us.

(Romans 3:10, 23) (Romans 10:9, 13) (John 3:16)

OUXA.ORG

3B

Back-to-school Edition 2009

College life brings new hopes, fears for students new and old There’s just something special about fall in Norman.

Everyone knows OU is a football school. It can’t be denied. It’s what a good portion of the state is most excited about come August.

But for students, both new and old, there’s something more meaningful and exciting about being a Sooner.

For freshman, it’s starting a new chapter — new faces, new friends, new opportunities.

The first year of college will pass you by if you aren’t paying close enough attention.

There’s the anticipation, JAMES hope and fear of living on LOVETT your own for the first time.

There’s the excitement of the first day of class, often followed by the embarrassment you feel when you realize you’ve been sitting in the wrong classroom for twenty minutes.

While the general education classes you’re required to take may not interest you your first semester, by your senior year you’ll be thinking, “I wish I would have paid more attention in that history class.”

Before you know it, Fall Break has arrived and you’re taking two months of laundry home for mom.

All of a sudden, the semester is over and you’re trying to figure out the difference between international area studies and international business so you can declare a major.

Freshman and sophomore years of college are supposed to be some of the best years of

your life, and in Norman, they sure can be.

For upper classman, the new school year means you’re just one step closer to the real world.

You’ve been through the routine before, and you know the way things work around campus. Interactions with professors are a breeze, and you have mastered the art of getting that 10-page paper in right before deadline.

You’ve figured out your niche for the nights and weekends, whether it’s concerts at The Deli and the Opolis, or date parties and practicing for U-Sing. There’s a group or a scene for everyone.

Internships have been completed, and it’s time to start building the résumé before it’s May and you’re on the job trail.

For juniors and seniors, the new fall semester should be a time to reflect on what you love most about OU. It’s a time when you have to realize that this period in your life is finite, and you have to enjoy it while it’s here.

The OU community is rich and diverse, with students and staff from across the world.

There’s a feeling on campus of, “We’re all in this together.”

As you walk down the South Oval, whether it is your first year or your last, remember the thousands of alumni whose footsteps you are following.

We’ve been taking the same steps toward our futures for the last 119 years.

Being a Sooner is more than just a football game or a homecoming parade, it’s belonging to a community connected through time.

AARON COOKE/THE DAILY

Students can show their school spirit in many ways, including cheering at the OU-Texas game.

THINGS TO DO: MUSIC There are some who would say Norman’s music scene isn’t really too great. Some would say we just wish we were Austin. But I think it depends on how you grade a music scene.

Norman may not have a huge base of artists that are selling out arenas, but I kind of like that. We have local musicians; people who have jobs other than writing and performing songs.

If there’s one thing I think everyone should do during their time at OU, it is to go see Mike Hosty at The Deli on Sunday night. It seems like Hosty has been around forever. His songs revolve around the perks and quirks of life in Cleveland County, USA. There are too many local artists – I’d like to name them all – so I’ll recommend Early Beat, Travis Linville, Galapagos, The Boom Bang and the JV Squad.

ART

LILLY CHAPA/THE DAILY

Musicians from The Absolute perform during the Norman Music Festival in April 2009. Norman has a variety of local artists who showcase their talent regularly at different bars and clubs in town.

We’re not New York or L.A., and we shouldn’t be. This is a small college town in middle America. But, Norman has a pretty eclectic arts scene.

Last year, Norman started the 2nd Friday Circuit of Art, a monthly bus tour of art museums and galleries happening every second Friday of the month.

Universe City, a co-op house that provides

studio space for local artists, is located in the DeBarr Historic District north of campus.

The house features art supplies available to the public for free and a community library.

Also, the Fred Jones Jr. Art Museum here on the OU campus includes works from some of the most renowned artists in the world. The museum is home to paintings from Vincent Van Gogh, Edgar Degas and Pierre-Auguste Renoir.

FOOD I’ve grown up eating in Norman, so it would be nearly impossible for me to name all my favorite places to grub. I’ll try to stick with three.

The Diner, 213 E. Main St., was recently the location for a segment on the Food Network show “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.” The blueberry pancakes are my personal favorite, but you can never go wrong with the restaurant’s daily special.

Sooner Dairy Lunch, 1820 W. Main St., has earned the title of Norman’s best burger for almost ten years. Its prices are low, and the food is always made to order. I don’t think they’ve changed their equipment since the original location opened in 1954.

The Greek House, located just north of campus at 768 Jenkins Ave., has been a staple of my Norman diet for as long as I can remember. The Dimas family has been operating the restaurant since 1979, and has continued to serve the best gyros in Norman to an alwayspacked restaurant.

James Lovett is the summer managing editor.

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PARKING SHOULD BE CONVENIENT, so if you drive to campus just purchase a parking permit for only $195 that is vaild during both the fall and spring semester. Parking at OU is only minutes from your destination! DON’T WANT TO DRIVE TO CAMPUS? Sit back, relax and let us take care of the drving...for FREE! Cleveland Area Rapid Transit provides user-friendly transportation throughout Norman and the OU campus. Ride CART to class, grocery shopping or to hang out at the mall or movie.

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4B

Back-to-school Edition 2009

WAGNER HALL OPENS DOORS FOR FIRST FULL YEAR Less than one year old, new building is a fresh hot spot for studying RICKY MARANON The Oklahoma Daily

As freshmen begin their first year on campus, Lissa and Cy Wagner Hall is also partaking in its inaugural year, and has become a popular spot to hang out and study.

“Students seem to like the new building and hang out in it all the time,” University College Dean Doug Gaffin said.

Wagner Hall is the home of the University College, the ConocoPhillips Writing Center, Project Threshold and the Graduation Office. This year’s incoming freshman are the first class to be advised for summer enrollment inside the newly opened Wagner Hall.

“There is a community feeling and a nice atmosphere inside Wagner Hall,” said Rhonda Kyncl, program coordinator for learning and writing in the Writing Center.

“It’s a great place for small groups of students to come and work together.”

Gaffin and Kyncl said the new study rooms are a popular place for students to hold group study sessions.

Wagner Hall has six private study

TYLER METCALFE/THE DAILY

Lissa and Cy Wagner Hall sits just north of the football field and is home of the University College, ConocoPhillips Writing Center, Project Threshold and the graduation office. rooms on the second floor in which students can use them for group studying. The rooms have a closed door for privacy along with a table, chairs and a dry erase board.

With Wagner Hall’s popularity rivaling the Bizzell Memorial Library, six study rooms might not be enough to satisfy the entire

Wagner Hall »

student body.

“I wish we had more private study rooms,” Gaffin said. “There are always groups of students studying up there. We had no idea that those rooms would be such a popular place to study.”

However, the solution to the space shortage is not far away.

“Students can come in and study in the writing center,” Kyncl said.

“Even if they don’t need help with papers, we let students come in and study all the time.”

Gaffin said the new building is not just an extra high-tech work and study space, but it also makes a better impression on new families.

The previous home of University College was the Carnegie Building, which is now occupied by the Department of Classics and Letters.

“Carnegie was overcrowded, and our employees were sitting in cubicles while parents and students were sitting in folding chairs in an old hallway,” Gaffin said.

“I called it the bus stop. It was so unattractive.”

While in the Carnegie building, one employee even crafted curtains to create a makeshift door for privacy, he said.

“Everything that was spread out across campus for freshman programs has now been moved together into one building, and we can give all of our employees offices instead of keeping them in cubicles,” Gaffin said.

Gaffin said he thought Wagner Hall’s placement within the university makes the buildings around the union a student services district.

“If you need graduate services or freshman services, come here,” he said. “If you need to pay your bills, the bursar is across the street, and if you want something to eat or find some entertainment, the union is also nearby. We have almost everything you need right next to each other.”

Gaffin said grand opening ceremonies for the building will take place sometime this fall.

Here’s a view of what students should expect to see in the new building.

TYLER METCALFE/THE DAILY

The classrooms in Wagner Hall are high tech and will be used mostly by the University College.

TYLER METCALFE/THE DAILY

The large atrium of Wagner Hall gives the central sitting area a prestigious feel while using the furniture below.

TYLER METCALFE/THE DAILY

The ConocoPhillips Writing Center makes its new home in Wagner Hall. It had been previously been located in the basement of Bizzell Memorial Library.

TYLER METCALFE/THE DAILY

Many rooms in Lissa and Cy Wagner Hall have automated locks and information screens. The screens often show room number and what the room is being used for at the time.

TYLER METCALFE/THE DAILY

There are plenty of couches and tables and chairs for groups of students to study, hang out, and relax in Wagner Hall.

TYLER METCALFE/THE DAILY

Nathan Crain, math junior, (left) works in the computer lab on the second floor of Wagner Hall.

TYLER METCALFE/THE DAILY

There are six private study lounges in Wagner Hall for groups to work together. They have dry erase boards along with set of table and chairs.

Back-to-school Edition 2009

5B

Safety programs at OU gives ‘peace of mind’ University uses over 100 emergency phones and Safewalk program for students KATY PEARSON The Oklahoma Daily

For over a decade, the OU Safewalk program has been an service to escort students, faculty and visitors who prefer not to walk across campus alone late at night.

Safewalk escorts are on call from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m., seven days a week, and wear a yellow Safewalk shirt as well as an OU nametag to verify their identity. Safewalk staff also carry flashlights, cell phones and umbrellas during wet weather.

Students wanting a Safewalk can either call the Safewalk office directly, which is located in Cate Center Cafeteria, or use one of the blue emergency phones located around campus. Emergency phones do not require any payment, and users can open the blue cabinet and lift the handset to be connected to an OUPD dispatcher.

“Emergency phones keep being added but I know there are currently more than 100 of them around campus that call directly to the OU police dispatcher who then, in turn, can send a Safewalk if you tell them that’s what you need,” said OUPD Lt. Bruce Chan. “I think Safewalk is a useful program PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ELI HULL / THE DAILY because the whole point is for students to partner up for safeOver one-hundred emergency telephones are located on and around campus. Every phone connects directly to OU police departty. It’s a good resource for students to be aware of.”

Chan advised using an emergency phone and asking for ment. If a student needs to travel across campus, but feel uncomfortable with walking alone, they can call SafeWalk at 325-WALK. an officer to help you, instead of requesting a Safewalk escort, if you suspect you are being followed or you observe a crime If they had just sent a guy to walk with me, I would not that has just happened. have felt as comfortable using the “Utilizing the Safewalk program is a service.” great habit to form, and should be used Martin said Safewalk is a very effective SAFETY TIPS throughout the year. The program is a program because not only have they aspeace-of-mind tool,” said Elisa Smith, Never walk alone at night. Call a sisted her, but she also sees them almost Safewalk resident advisor coordinator. friend or 325-WALK for an escort. every day with someone else.

Smith said that the Safewalk office has at Always be aware of your surround“I would definitely recommend it to least three employees on duty during opings. Walk purposefully and make eye incoming freshman, especially girls,” erational hours to allow two staff memcontact with strangers.

Martin said. bers to accompany students, while mainIn parking lots, have keys ready According to Smith, the largest pertaining a presence in the office to answer when you approach your car to make centage of Safewalk calls are requests phones. your entry easier. to be accompanied from the Bizzell Megan Martin, interior design senior, After dark, try to park in a well-lit Memorial Library to the residence halls. called Safewalk her freshman year after area close to your destination.

Safewalk responds to areas northhaving a late meeting in the Oklahoma If you feel threatened, immedito-south from Boyd Street to the Lloyd Memorial Union. Both a male and female ately go to an open building where Noble Center, and west-to-east from Elm Safewalk escort met her to walk back to there are other people or to one of the dorms. to Jenkins Streets. The program also prothe “blue light” emergency phones Martin said the Safewalk crew was waitvides service to north and south Greek around campus. ing for her exactly when they said they areas that are adjacent to campus. would be, and were wearing their desigWhen calling on an emergency phone, Source: OUPD Sooner Safety Report nated shirts so she knew who they were.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ELI HULL/THE DAILY tell the police dispatcher to connect with “I felt a lot safer,” Martin said. “And the Emergency poles are located throughout campus and the suryou with Safewalk, or you can request fact that there was a guy and a girl with me rounding area.

Marked with a blue light on top, these poles will the service directly by calling 325-WALK (325-9255). notify OUPD of an emergency. helped me feel like they cared about me.

Libraries.ou.edu Check out our new and improved site!

Visit us online for access to full text journal articles, e-books, course reserves and online databases. You can also browse our entire catalog and stay updated with important information! http://libraries.ou.edu

(405) 325-4142

librarian@ou.edu

6B

Back-to-school Edition 2009

Camp Crimson welcomes incoming Sooners THE OKLAHOMA DAILY STAFF

ELIZABETH NALEWAJK/THE DAILY

Campers hold up their fingers while singing the school’s chant during the closing ceremonies of Camp Boomer. Incoming freshmen are taught school songs, along with other OU traditions, while at camp.

Around 1,500 incoming freshman got an early taste of Sooner magic during this summer’s Camp Crimson orientation program.

The camp took place over three weekends in July and August, and students spent three days and two nights getting to know other incoming freshman, learning about Sooner traditions and participating in OU-themed activities.

Camp Crimson Director Zac Stevens said this was the first year the camp was split into three weekends due to higher enrollment numbers. There were around 150 more students enrolled in the camp than last year, he said.

Incoming freshman Kathryn Jackson said she came from Singapore to take part in the orientation program, and said her family planned its summer schedule around it.

“I think it’s an awesome way to meet people and learn a lot about OU that I didn’t already know,” Jackson said.

Jackson said her grandparents, who live in Oklahoma, had joked with her about coming to OU. But when she saw the campus for the first time, she said she felt right at home.

“Since I’m from overseas, I really wanted to find a home away from home,” she said. “It was all my grandparents.”

According to Rachael Carranza, graduate assistant for Student Life and one of Camp Crimson’s organizers, campers rolled into Couch’s first floor through a human tunnel made up of camp staff to collect room keys, create a name tag and fill out paperwork, all the preliminary steps necessary before beginning a three-day introduction to life as a Sooner.

“I just heard about it from friends that are already here at OU, that already go to OU,” said Amber Hardy, when asked why she decided to come to Camp Crimson.

Carranza, herself, is in much the same situation as the other new Sooners. She went to Texas Christian for her undergraduate degree, and preparing for Camp Crimson introduced her to OU’s campus and culture.

“Since this is my first time, this is my first year of camp, [seeing] check-in and everything,” Carranza said. “Preparing for it all summer, it’s rewarding to kind of see it all unfold and actually see it in action, since I haven’t been able to

before.”

At TCU, Carranza experienced Frog Camp, an off-campus retreat that introduces new students to the school, as both a camper and as a facilitator.

“Something that I think is great is that camp at OU is on campus,” she said. “So they’re able to see and meet a lot of the resources and offices and departments that are actually on campus.”

The camp attendees were divided into three families, and further divided into 75 small groups of about 20 people each, Carranza said.

One of the favorite events from the three-day camp was the relay race and pool party held on Friday evenings.

At the party, freshmen tested the large cardboard boats they built in a teambuilding activity earlier in the day, and took part in a belly-flop contest.

Anna Isaacs of Broken Arrow said she had fun testing her team’s boat, and that camp was getting her excited for the upcoming school year.

“So far my favorite thing has been meeting together to get hyped-up about school,” Isaacs said. “This would never happen for high school, so it’s interesting to see it happen for college.”

ELI HULL/THE DAILY

Madison Hensley (left) of South Lake, Texas, and Leana Waters (right) of Norman work together to tape up the boat they are building for Brandt group.

Got textbooks?

University of Oklahoma Libraries provides selected textbooks on reserve in Bizzell Memorial Library.

Visit our website at http://libraries.ou.edu/textbooks or call (405) 325-4142

Back-to-school Edition 2009

CAMP CRIMSON »

Incoming freshmen from across the country came to campus to enjoy a three-day camp full of fun and tradition.

ELIZABETH NALEWAJK/THE DAILY

Members of the Jacobson Family celebrate after Zac Stevens, Camp Crimson coordinator, announces the winner of the 2009 Camp Boomer family chants.

ELI HULL AND ELIZABETH NALEWAJK/THE DAILY

Camp Boomer participant, Adrienne Johnson (bottom right) of Idabel, Okla., takes a turn on the rock climbing wall at the Huston Huffman Center during “Stuff at the Huff.”

Kelsy Speiser (top right), an incoming freshman from Houston, Texas, reaches for the finish line at the end of the boat races during the Boomer session of Camp Crimson.

Cecelia Brown (below), a professor at the School of Library and Information Studies poses with members of her namesake during Camp Boomer.

ELIZABETH NALEWAJK/THE DAILY

Molly Hegenbart, an incoming freshman from Tulsa, pushes her way through the chaos of camp counselors during registration for Camp Boomer.

GET HERE. GET IN THE GAME.

The Huston Huffman Center is a 150,000 square foot facility dedicated to helping you stay healthy! With a variety of things to do from rock climbing to strength training, there is something for everyone. Your student ID is your key to enjoying the “Huff.”

GROUP FITNESS CLASSES

Intramural Special! From Yoga to Boot Camp, there is a class for you! Sign-up on August 29 from 7-11 a.m. for $35/semester. All other times are $50/semester or $90 through May.

INTRAMURAL SPORTS

Flag Football, Basketball, Horseshoes and much more! Find your game at recservices.ou.edu.

ADAPTIVE SPORTS

The Wheelchair Basketball Team is looking for players. To learn more, call Coach Garry at (405) 325-3053.

recservices.ou.edu • (405)325-3053 The University of Oklahoma is an Equal Opportunity Institution.

Accommodations based on disability can be made by calling Garry at (405) 325-3053.

7B

8B

Back-to-school Edition 2009

OU junior opens bookstore to ‘do students right’ KELLY MAROSE The Oklahoma Daily

When the spring semester wrapped up in May, many students were eager to board planes, take dips in pools, treat themselves to drinks and be lazy. However, political science junior Regina Ferguson had different things in mind. She opened up a bookstore.

“I thought, you know I could do this ... be my own boss, set my own hours, it’s awesome,” she said.

The 20-year-old now owns The Peoples Bookstore on North Flood Avenue with her fiance, Daniel Peoples. The bookstore rents out books to students for 50 to 75 percent less than what a typical textbook would cost to purchase new.

Ferguson said she has wanted to start a business since last fall. The idea solidified last spring when Dell outsourced to the Philippines, and caused her fiance to lose his job, she said.

“I was like, ‘Let’s do it now,’” Ferguson said. “So, in April we decided that we were going to do it, had a business plan drawn up in a month, had the place in May and now we’re here.”

The idea to rent out books stemmed from her experience working at a bookstore at a junior college she attended, Ferguson said.

“I was actually pricing the books, and I could see how much they were charging in addition to the cost of the books,” she said. “I was talking to some friends, and we talked about renting books and how much better it would be.”

Ferguson said she plans to get students textbooks by finding the cheapest deals online. She and Peoples plan to search Web sites like Amazon.com to find the best deals, she said.

“We’ve pretty much perfected who’s sending you crappy books and who’s not,” Ferguson said.

After the textbooks are ordered, they will rent them out for a lower price.

Ferguson said textbooks for core classes and popular electives will be 50 to 75 percent less than the purchase price. For upper division graduate classes, she said they will be 65 to 85 percent less.

Ferguson said she thinks the books will take around a week to arrive after ordering. She also said students will be able to rent them for a full semester.

OU senior Jamie Simpson heard about The Peoples Bookstore from a friend. Simpson said she thinks the bookstore will have no problem getting business.

“I think it’s a great idea for students who don’t have the money to spend on buying textbooks that they don’t need to use after the class,” Simpson said.

Ferguson said one of the drawbacks with opening the bookstore will be the deficit she and her fiancee Peoples will face starting off. The two have been using their savings to fund the store, and have been trying to get approved for a business loan.

“It has been really hard because people really don’t take the business seriously until you’ve been operating for, like, a year or two,” Ferguson said. “So, it has been turndown after

ELI HULL / THE DAILY

Regina Ferguson, political science junior, and Daniel Peoples stand in front of their new business, The Peoples Bookstore. The bookstore will rent out textbooks to students for a fraction of the cost of buying the same books. turndown, even with business credit cards.”

To try to minimize their loss, the couple will require a $50 membership fee from their customers.

However, Ferguson said the customers will still be saving money.

“It’s not like you’re paying $50 on top of buying the books,” Ferguson said. “With the $50 membership fee, on average, it’s still going to be $50 to $75 less than you’d be paying at the bookstore.”

Ferguson said she hopes she can eventually drop the fee.

In addition to selling textbooks, Ferguson and Peoples will also offer small business services to customers.

“For a small business, or for any business that’s getting started, we can pretty much be their one-stop shop,” Peoples said. “From designing their Web site, to building their computer systems and databases, I’ve had extensive training on just about everything you can think of.”

Peoples also said many of their services offer longer warranties than large manufacturers, and that

students do not have to pay for them.

The bookstore is currently offering a deal where students can get their textbooks for free if they bring in 20 friends.

“I just hope that everyone comes to see that we’re just a couple of kids that have paid the hundreds of dollars every semester for books,” Peoples said. “We saw it, especially at our junior college where there was only one university bookstore.

We’re hoping to just do the students right.”

Professional writing professor uses experience to inspire students Personable prof makes impressions through dedication to students, fun MEGAN MORGAN The Oklahoma Daily

Professional writing professor and author Mel Odom says he intends to keep writing and teaching until he dies.

“I think you have to stop then,” Odom said.

Odom has written more than 150 books, ranging from suspense, science-fiction and fantasy to romance, comic books and nonfiction.

While writing between six- MEL to-eight novels per year, Odom ODOM also teaches professional writing courses at OU and other writing courses at the Moore Norman Technology Center.

“I can’t ever imagine being retired,” Odom said. “I am fortunate to have two careers that don’t have forced retirement ages.”

Odom has taught at the technology center for 20 years, and at OU for the past five semesters.

“It scared me to death when I was asked to teach at OU, but then I got to know the students and it felt natural,” he said.

In teaching classes like “Writing the Short Story” and “Writing the Novel,”

Odom said he wants his students to learn confidence.

“There’s a lot of failure that comes before any success,” Odom said. “I make them try to do things and to learn how to face rejection, and then they learn that it doesn’t kill you. Not only special people get to write.”

Odom said he thinks of teaching like coaching (he’s also a little league coach), and that he loves teaching at the college level because he gets a lot of students who are new to everything and who never had to do much for themselves. “ There’s something about helping people do something they didn’t think they could do,” Odom said.

Odom gets a kick out of the “world-weary, jaded attitudes” of so many college students because “there’s just no way that that could be true,” he said.

He likes to ask more questions than he answers in the classroom, and he enjoys spicing up the conversations, Odom said.

“I try to engage the college students on a college student level, which is sometimes like a 5-year-old,” he said.

As a writer, Odom said he likes to write different genres in rotation so that he doesn’t get bored.

“Being ADHD, you don’t have a favorite — you wake up in the morning and decide, ‘This is my favorite!’” he said.

Recent professional writing graduate Jordan Light took three classes and one tutorial with Odom, and said he made an

“He walked in wearing a graphic tee with Batman on it and promised us he would learn everyone’s name by the end of the week. That’s Mel.” JORDAN LIGHT, PROFESSIONAL WRITING GRADUATE AND ODOM’S FORMER STUDENT

PHOTO PROVIDED

“Hellgate London” is one of more than 150 books professor Mel Odom has written.

impression right away.

“He walked in wearing a graphic tee with Batman on it and promised us he would learn everyone’s name by the end of the week. That’s Mel,” Light said.

Light said Odom was not only an experienced writer, but also “personable, funny and easygoing,” and that he strives to create a comfortable, open environment.

“He encourages his students to speak up in class, even if it means going off topic for a bit,” Light said.

Among what she has learned from Odom, Light said one of the most important things that he taught her was the importance of networking and creating relationships.

Professional writing senior Nathan Williams said taking classes with Odom sent him on a path of wanting to be a novelist.

“Mel’s classes also provided a sense of comradeship with others within my major that I had not yet discovered in college,” Williams said.

Williams said he has made some important and long-lasting connections in Odom’s classes, and that’s made possible because of the classroom atmosphere Odom fosters.

“He’s not afraid to express what he’s thinking, no matter what people will think about it,” Williams said. “He’s also very interested in the lives of others and goes out of his way to help students with anything they might need help with.”

need online courses?

The Center for Independent p and Distance Learning offers courses and other options that can accommodate your scheduling needs.

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Back-to-school Edition 2009

9B

Alcohol doesn’t mix with ‘dry campus’ policy CHARLES WARD The Oklahoma Daily

of community service, and a disciplinary probation notation that stays on a transcript until graduation. A student that takes a second strike also has to go through an alcohol counseling program. “(Our) real concern is whenever we’re dealing with students that have a second strike is really avoiding that third strike,” Edwards said. “Because the third strike is automatic suspension. There’s really not a whole lot of leeway there.”

If you’re chatting someone up at The Huff or outside Dale Hall, and he asks you, “So, do you have a strike yet?”, there’s a pretty good chance he’s not asking you if you’re doing better in your bowling class.

Instead, the topic at hand is most likely the OU alcohol policy and the punishments, known as strikes, that go along with it.

The policy, which began in January, 2005, after Blake Hammontree’s death from alcohol poisoning, targets alcohol-related offenses and OU students charged with them, whether the offenses happen on or off-campus.

WHAT ABOUT CRIMINAL CHARGES?

WHAT IS AN ALCOHOL OFFENSE? Some offenses are specifically spelled out in the OU Student Code: minor in possession (MIP), public intoxication, using or possessing false identification, driving under the influence (DUI), actual physical control of a vehicle (APC) or committing any other crime while under the influence of alcohol.

“It doesn’t necessarily have to be from a police agency that they get [charged],” said Josh Edwards, an associate General Counsel with UOSA’s General Counsel’s office, which represents students charged with an alcohol offense. “It can be from, for instance, the hall monitors in the dorms, or RAs. If they cite a student for an alcohol violation within the dorms, they’re not necessarily breaking a state law or a city ordinance, they’re breaking university code, but that still falls under this alcohol strike policy.”

Not all charges are specified in the Student Code.

“Under the code, it specifically enumerates a few alcohol-related offenses, but it leaves it open-ended, so that there can be an inquiry, so something that’s not listed can still violate the alcohol policy.” Edwards said.

HOW DOES OU FIND OUT IF SOMEONE COMMITS AN ALCOHOL VIOLATION? The Office of Judicial Services, which is a division of Student Affairs, handles alcohol violations for the university administration, and receives notices of violations from several sources, including reports from the Norman Police Department, OUPD and university officials.

Baker also said that information can come from “reports from other law enforcement or security agencies that are received by the University,” which includes the Cleveland County Sheriff’s office.

“Whether that happens or not is something we’re not familiar with,” Edwards said.

“What it appears is that the City of Norman and Cleveland County have a very close relationship with the university. At least, those agencies are directly reporting to the university.”

OUPD Lt. Bruce Chan confirmed that OUPD will report all violations involving students to Student Affairs.

“We ask them [if they’re students],” Chan said. “We can check their name against the student database.”

There are at least two places where a university employee may learn a student has violated the three strikes code, but the Student Code forbids reporting to Judicial Services.

The first is if the student goes to Goddard or another medical facility, for care related to alcohol, regardless if that treatment is physical or mental.

Secondly, students who call or use SafeRide also remain anonymous.

WHAT HAPPENS IF I’M CHARGED WITH AN ALCOHOL VIOLATION? If the charge comes from law enforcement, there are two issues a student will have to deal with: the criminal charge and the university’s three-strike policy. Judicial

ILLUSTRATION BY TYLER METCALFE/THE DAILY

The University of Oklahoma’s Norman campus doesn’t allow alcohol on its grounds, which is known as a “dry campus.” Students who are caught with alcohol are given strikes against their record.

Services will inform the student at his or her OU e-mail address.

“This letter states the nature of the charges and requires students to meet with the Office of Judicial Services,” Baker stated in an e-mail. “The initial meeting presents an opportunity for the staff member to meet with the student to explain the student’s rights and the pending charges.”

Along with the notice from Judicial Services, a student charged with a violation will also receive a letter from the UOSA’s General Counsel’s Office. The General Counsel’s office is staffed with law students that will represent students within the university system.

“They’re free, of course, to seek an outside attorney if they want to,” Edwards said. “But, if they want to come to this office, we’ll help them the best we can within the three strikes policy.”

When charged, a student can either reach an agreement with Judicial Services, or pursue a hearing.

“If the charges are supported, the student is given an opportunity to accept responsibility for their actions and sign a settlement agreement. Such agreement will include the minimum sanctions required by the Student Code,” Baker stated in an e-mail.

A student, though, does have a right to a hearing, which is where the General Counsel’s office or an outside attorney can represent the student. The hearing is in front of a Campus Disciplinary Board, made up of three students and two faculty or staff members.

WHAT IS A ‘FIRST STRIKE?’ If a student either admits responsibility

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or is found guilty by the disciplinary board, he will receive a strike under the alcohol policy. A first strike includes, at a minimum, a letter home to the student’s parents, a $75 administrative fee, attendance to an alcohol education program and a notice of censure on a student’s transcript, which will stay on a transcript until graduation, according to Baker.

“Students receiving a first strike for an alcohol offense are required to attend a sanctioned alcohol education program offered through Counseling and Testing Services,” Scott Miller, Assistant Director of Counseling and Testing Services at Goddard Medical Center, stated in an e-mail.

Some first strikes, however, can be deferred. If a student with a deferred strike can complete 12 months with no further alcohol policy violations, the strike is completely removed from disciplinary records, and any further violation after that 12-month period would be considered a first strike, according to the Student Code.

There are some catches to the deferred strike. First, if a student with a deferred strike is found guilty of a second alcohol violation within the 12 month deferral period, the penalties of the first strike are restored, and added to the penalties of the second strike.

Second, a student can only get one deferred strike while at OU. Finally, strikes that stem from DUIs are not eligible for deferral.

WHAT ARE ‘SECOND’ AND ‘THIRD STRIKES?’ A second strike comes with a second finding of guilt from Judicial Services or a Campus Disciplinary Board, and includes another letter home, along with a follow-up phone call. It also carries a $150 fee, 20 hours

“The biggest number of cases I get calls on are going to be like minor in possession, false ID, and again, non-driving related issues,” said Joel Barr, a criminal defense attorney in Norman.

More than 57 percent of students that were on OU’s campus are 21 years old or younger, according to the 2009 OU Factbook, and for those that are under 21, alcohol possession and consumption are illegal. A typical sentencing recommendation for an MIP is a $50 fine and 20 hours of community service, said Jeff Virgin, an assistant district attorney for Cleveland County.

Public intoxication and DUI are more serious, and will result in an immediate trip to jail for a detoxification period of at least four hours, Virgin said.

“You don’t blow into a machine,” Barr said. “You go to jail because the officer said you were drunk. There’s no machine standard, there’s no numerical standards for alcohol consumption except in a car.

Public intoxication is at the police officer’s discretion, a person’s attitude will go along way in determining if they are charged.

“Public intox, every one that I see, if you’re just walking along, minding your own business, not causing a scene, not being loud, it would be really rare for you to be picked up,” Virgin said. “Public intoxes are guys that are walking home, that get in fights, that are yelling at each other.”

Barr encourages anyone that is stopped by police to remain respectful, but to remember that they do have rights.

“I don’t believe I’d confess to anything,” he said. “You have the Fifth Amendment in front of you. You have the right to remain silent. And never confess to a crime.

Period.”

There is at least one alternative for a student that doesn’t want to drive or walk home after a few, or a few too many. “(SafeRide offers) OU students an anonymous, safe and alternative ride home, no matter where they are located within the Norman city limits,” Brynn Daves, assistant to the Vice President of Student Affairs stated in an e-mail. “SafeRide is currently contracted with Yellow Cab of Norman and has agreed to make the student’s wait time no longer than 20 minutes from when the call was dispatched.”

Barr said that, when fines are combined with court costs and costs from the Department of Public Safety for license restoration and required classes, a DUI could cost between $3,500 and $6,000.

Barr also offered another piece of advice to anyone pulled over and asked to blow into a Breathalyzer.

“Take the test,” he said. “Absolutely.

First, you’re going to get prosecuted anyway. If you’re not drunk, the test will help you, and it may get you down to one of those ranges where the crimes not as serious. You’re not going to get out of it by saying ‘I won’t take the test’.”

The most certain way to avoid a DUI charge, though, is to simply not get behind the wheel of a car after drinking.

“I would tell them, number one, do [SafeRide]. Number two, it’s better to walk home,” Virgin said. “It’s better to walk than to drive, because public intox, the maximum on that is 30 days in jail.

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10B Back-to-school Edition 2009

UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA CAMPUS MAP

®

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54

Old Faculty Club Boyd House Whitehand Hall Catlett Music Center Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art Fred Jones Jr. Art Center Fine Arts Center, Drama Reynolds Performing Arts Center Elm Avenue Parking Facility Physical Sciences Center Chemistry Annex Chemistry Building Burton Hall Sutton Hall Old Science Hall Evans Hall Carnegie Building Monnet Hall Buchanan Hall Oklahoma Memorial Union Oklahoma Memorial Union Parking Center Jacobson Faculty Hall, Visitor Center Carpenter Hall Carson Engineering Center Devon Energy Hall Felgar Hall Craddock Hall, Air Force ROTC Exxon Mobil/Lawrence G. Rawl Engineering Practice Facility Sarkeys Energy Center Engineering Laboratory Physical Plant Complex Nuclear Engineering Laboratory Rhyne Hall McCasland Field House Lissa and Cy Wagner Hall Price Hall Adams Hall Bizzell Memorial Library Ellison Hall Goddard Health Center Jim Thorpe Multicultural Center Hester Hall Nielsen Hall Gittinger Hall Robertson Hall Kaufman Hall Collings Hall Copeland Hall Dale Hall Tower Dale Hall Gaylord Hall Gould Hall Noble Electron Microscopy Laboratory Plant Sciences Greenhouse

For the Lloyd Noble Center, Stephenson Research Center and the National Weather Center, go South on Jenkins Avenue.

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George Lynn Cross Hall Richards Hall Armory, Army-Navy ROTC Asp Avenue Parking Facility Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Barry Switzer Center Cate Center Boren Hall, Honors College Henderson-Tolson Cultural Center Observatory and Landscape Department Adams Center Walker Tower Houston Huffman Physical Fitness Center

68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79

Couch Restaurants Couch Tower OCCE Sooner Suites OCCE McCarter Hall of Advanced Studies OCCE Thurman J. White Forum Building OCCE Administration Building Outreach Office Building Murray Case Sells Swim Center Cross Center OCCE Cross Center Main Coats Hall, Law Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History

Back-to-school Edition 2009

11B

Local Sooner experiences college from home Incoming freshman saves money, time by remaining in hometown for college CHARLES WARD The Oklaoma Daily

One might have an easier time landing sideline passes to October’s OU/texas game than he or she would have maneuvering around Lindsey Street and Asp Avenue this week.

Incoming freshman Sheena Williams, though, won’t be messing with any unpacking or “is there any room for it?” decisions this week. Instead, she will be keeping the same room she not only had last year, but several years before that.

Williams has lived in Norman her entire life, moving right along from Washington Elementary to Irving Middle School and Norman High.

“I’ve kind of always known I’d go to OU,” she said. “In the middle of high school, I started thinking maybe I’ll go to an institute of art or something, but, I don’t know.

Norman’s home, so I don’t really want to leave, at least not at first.”

Williams isn’t the only local boy or girl hoping to make good at OU. More than 3,400 students on the Norman campus in fall 2008 came from Cleveland County, according to the 2009 OU Factbook. Norman is the seat of and largest city in Cleveland County. Freshmen that live with family members within 50 miles of the OU campus are not required to live in the dorms, according to Brad Marsh, a student assistant at Housing and Food Services.

In fact, Williams said that most of her high-school friends will attend OU or Oklahoma City Community College.

College costs also played a role in Willams’ decision to stay in Norman. Not only will she be able to avoid paying to rent a dorm room, but she’ll be able to pay instate tuition rates, as opposed to private school costs that averaged more than $25,000 a year in 2008-09, according to the College Board. Even the Big 12’s average out-of-state tuition was more than $19,000, according to the OU Factbook, and 11 of the Big 12 schools are public institutions.

Williams said in a text message that her first-semester tuition and fees will be about $4,000.

“For my dad, [cost] was probably a lot of it,” Williams said. “He always was like ‘you should just go to OU.’ I never argued, because that’s what I always thought i would do anyway.”

Williams also sees other advantages to staying home for college.

“I won’t have any distractions,” she said. “When I go

TYLER METCALFE/THE DAILY

Incoming freshman Sheena Williams sits in the food court of the Oklahoma Memorial Union. As one of many incoming freshman who are from Norman, Williams has lived in Norman her whole life and has always known she would stay in town for college. home to go to sleep, or something. I wont be in a dorm with all my friends. Nothing against that, because I’m sure [people] will be able to handle that just fine, but it will be nice to be able to just go back to my room and do what I need to do.”

Distractions, or at least participating in extra-curricular activities and social life away from home, though, are part of the reason many students leave home to attend college. Williams, who lives with her father, believes she’ll be able to enjoy that aspect of the college experience, as well. “[My father] gives me a lot of freedom, and so I can come and go as I want,” she said. “I think it’ll be good.”

Williams also plans to go through sorority rush, and go to football games, something she said she has only done a few times, because her father doesn’t have season tickets to the games. She’ll also continue working at Charleston’s Restaurant.

If Williams sticks to her plan, she will eventually leave Norman to finish school. She plans to pursue a degree in sonography, which will require her to attend OU’s Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City after completing 64

“I’ve kind of always known I’d go to OU. Norman’s home, so I don’t really want to leave, at least, not at first.”

SHEENA WILLIAMS, INCOMING FRESHMAN

hours of classwork in Norman.

“I had a friend who did it, she’s like six yeas older than me and she absolutely loves it,” Williams said. “I love children. I thought about doing early education. Not that that’s not challenging, but I wanted to challenge myself. I love the medical fields and everything about the body.”

For the next two years, however, Williams will enjoy her choice to remain in Norman.

“Norman’s a wonderful city,” She said. “I love it. There are so many [things here], like I’m a big music person.

I’m not musically talented, at all, but I love music. We have Jazz in June, Midway Jam, MidSummer Nights Fair.

So many things. I just love it.”

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order now sooner yearbook www.studentmedia.ou.edu (405) 325-3668 Sooner yearbook is a publication of Student Media in OU’s Division of Student Affairs. The University of Oklahoma is an equal opportunity institution.

Back-to-school Edition 2009

13B

Keeping healthy in college not as easy as at home KYLE WEST The Oklahoma Daily

There are a lot of exciting prospects about coming to college, but falling victim to the “Freshman 15” is definitely not one of them.

The “Freshman 15” is the widely known phenomenon where freshman gain weight during their first semester of college.

John Mark Anderson, economics junior, said he was one of many who gained weight during his first year at OU. For him, it was 20 pounds. He attributes his weight gain from not working out when he first came to OU. “I think it was from going from working out all the time to hardly ever working out in college,” Anderson said. “But I really lost it over the summer just working outside all day. I just did a lot of weight lifting.”

But what do dieticians and exercise experts at OU have to say about freshmen maintaining a healthy weight? For them, the best answer lies in developing the right eating habits by choosing to eat healthy foods and exercising consistently.

Patti Landers, a dietician for OU Health Services, said many freshmen fall victim to the “Freshman 15” because they are on their own for the first time, and they make poor choices about what to eat.

“Choose meals with plenty of fruits and vegetables,” Landers said. “Avoid fried foods and choose beverages with no calories. Avoid soda and alcoholic beverages.”

Landers said that students should only eat if they are hungry and only until satisfied. She also said that people who eat breakfast actually weigh less than those who don’t.

“If a person skips meals, he or she is more likely to make up for it at meals later in the day, usually with foods higher in calories,” Landers said.

Students might think they can eat whatever they want and lose weight by exercise alone, but Allen Knehans, health and exercise science adjunct at OU, said that this was not an effective weight loss strategy.

“Regular exercise makes it more likely that you will maintain weight loss,” said Knehans. “But exercising without eating less hardly ever works as a weight loss strategy. They try to show that on “Biggest Loser,” but that’s just for TV. Eating less has to be an important feature of any weight loss program to be successful.”

But in no way did Knehans downplay the importance of exercising. He said the ideal amount was at least an hour every day, even if it was only walking.

“The evidence is best that exercise will prevent weight gain as opposed to causing weight loss,” Knehans said. “It’s important for someone who is losing weight to exercise, but it’s more important to exercise after weight loss.”

Knehans eating healthy and exercising work best when put together – the healthy eating to lose weight, and the exercise to keep from gaining weight.

“If you only eat less, the restriction will be so great that there will be great hunger, and you won’t stick with it,” said Knehans. “But if you exercise, you can eat more while losing weight, so you don’t get as hungry. So it works better with the two.”

Like Landers, Knehans advocated eating breakfast.

“People who eat breakfast weigh less,” said Knehans.

“Students who wake up five minutes before and go to class – they’re in trouble.”

Gary Armstrong, recreational services administrator, said that OU offers great exercise resources to stay in shape at the Huston Huffman Center. Armstrong said the center offers

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ELI HULL / THE DAILY

With dozens of options for cheap, quick food on and around campus, many students find it much harder to eat as healthy as they did at home. This and other factors can contribute to the legendary “Freshman 15.” many aerobic and anaerobic exercise options, as well as exercise classes and personal trainers.

“We have a group fitness program, which is aerobics,” Armstrong said. “That will be offered at the beginning of the year. It’s a tremendous way to stay in shape.”

Khari Huff, fitness program and outreach coordinator, said that students can get involved with the group fitness programs for $35 on their sign up day August 28th, from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Huston Huffman Center.

“The group fitness program is a fun way to meet new people and get a great workout at the same time,” said Huff.

“We have a variety of classes offered, so hopefully everyone will find one that appeals to them. The one good thing about the program is that they will get proper instruction on how to work out.”

Armstrong said getting involved with intramural sports is also a great way to stay active.

“We have about 34 sports that range from team sports to individual,” Armstrong said. “Students can be involved at least weekly for one hour. That can help about with not only physical attributes, but social and mental attributes.”

Armstrong said the Huston Huffman Center also offers personal training for those who are willing to purchase it.

“There’s personal training available that can be purchased and tailored personally,” said Armstrong. “Our facility is about trying to let the student body, especially freshmen, to really get involved with a healthy exercise and diet regimen that they can at least curb the ‘Freshman 15.’”

While many freshmen might be tempted to gorge themselves on the endless bounty offered by Couch Cafeteria, experts and students who have already been there would advise against it.

Knehans said freshmen coming to college have the unique

opportunity to make wise decisions concerning food and exercise without parents breathing down their neck.

“It’s an important test to see if they are able to stay healthy,” said Knehans. They’re likely to eat in the cafeteria where there’s an unlimited amount of food. Limiting portion size is a critical step to stopping weight gain.”

The experts agree in tandem that the best way to avoid the “Freshmen 15” is to develop good habits of eating well and exercising regularly.

John Mark Anderson said that developing self-control was his key to avoiding putting on extra pounds while losing weight.

“Self-control is pretty much my theory for everything,” Anderson said. “It’s hard to do it on campus, but make sure to eat your fruits and vegetables.”

Dietician Patti Landers also recommended remembering to eat fruits and vegetables.

“The Caf has a good selection,” Landers said. “Other restaurants also have them. Many people keep fruit in their dorm rooms. Baby carrots and bags of salad keep well in dorm refrigerators. Consider keeping whole grain cereal and low fat milk in your refrigerator as well.”

Despite the temptation college presents of being able to eat whatever you want, whenever you want it, experts at OU agree that the best way to avoid the “Freshman 15” is to remember the basics: eat your fruits and vegetables, eat only until full, and exercise regularly.

According to Housing and Food’s website, students are encouraged to call a dietician at Goddard Health Cener if they have further questions concerning healthy eating at (405) 325-4611. A nutrition calculator which catalogs health information on every food sold at OU can also be accessed through their website at housing.ou.edu.

UPPERCLASSMEN GIVE ADVICE ON MEAL PLANS

Aaron Gayle, professional writing junior

“Avoid using your points, if you can. Stick to meals as much as you can.”

Lindsey Kolsrud, history senior

“Xcetera is the black hole that can suck up all your points.”

Emily Powell, microbiology junior

“Beware of Starbucks. It’s expensive.”

“I only use my exchanges if it’s over $6.50.

You should use an exchange and the rest on points. Be aware of times for exchanges.”

Phong Tuu Ta, health and exercise science sophomore

“I always have the habit of having too many points and having to go the Xcetera at the end of the semester. Try to get your points evenly spread.”

Dan Stewart, meteorology senior

Joesph Janowiak, history and sociology senior

“Stay away from Xcetera. It’ll get you!”

Scott Sherrill, business and marketing junior

“It’s good for freshmen to have a meal plan.

I got to meet a lot of people going to the Caf. If you don’t use your meals every week you don’t get refunded.”

“Beware of the constraints as far as exchange hours. Use them by the end of the week. Go to Burger King and get lots of chicken fries.”

Domingos Cahanga, petroleum engineering junior

Dustyn Addington, philosophy senior

HOW DO MEAL PLANS WORK?

“Donate all your meal points at the end of the year to charity. The food at OU is terrible anyway.”

“Get six meals per week and 600 meal points because you can use your meal points as meals at the [Couch Cafeteria]. Meal points are more versatile.

Derek Paiva, undecided senior

Natalie Vaughn, public relations senior

Kayla Lira

“If you want breakfast, get more meals, if not, get less. It depends on your needs. Also, make friends with an RA because they get a lot of free meals.”

As a freshman, your two main ways of purchasing food at OU will be from a set number of “meals” you get each week and “meal points.”

The system might seem a bit complicated at first, but with time it will become second nature.

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Meals can be used at Couch Cafeteria (also known as “The Caf”) anytime it’s open, as well as anywhere else during exchange hours. Your amount of meals will refresh every week starting 12 a.m. Sunday, so it is important to make sure you use them all before the week is up. You have a set amount of points, depending on your meal plan, which will carry over to the next semester. However, when the spring semester is over, points will not be refunded.

Students’ meal plans go into effect August 19. The last day students can change their meal plan is September 16, according to OU Housing and Food Services. It is important to make sure to use this time to find the meal plan which works best for you.

Meal plan points can be used at any dining location on campus, including Xcetera Convenience Store located in Walker Center.

Meal plan points are non-refundable and nontransferable.

Kyle West/The Daily

CATHOLIC? Join us at

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College Nights start on Wednesday, August 26 at 7 p.m. at the Union. Mass to follow at 9 p.m with Archbishop Beltran.

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LINDSEY Farmer Huffman

JENKINS

“I think it’s a good thing to ration your points throughout the semester and use them wisely.

The thing you don’t want to do is continually have exchanges at the end of the week that you have to spend. You want it to where you have the same amount of exchanges as meals you eat per week.”

Stinson St. Thomas More

Timberdell

For more info, contact Erin Cleto, Campus Minister, at (405) 321-0990 ext. 205 or visit our website at www.stm-ou.org/students

14B

Back-to-school Edition 2009

Establishing familiarity starts with a name Forging a relationship with a professor starts with learning their title AARON COLEN The Oklahoma Daily

Oral Blankson, a health and exercise sciences junior, sat down at his computer last semester to e-mail his professor a question he had about class. When he started typing, he realized he didn’t know how to address her in the message.

Blankson said his professor told the class she preferred her students to call her by her first name, but he usually avoided using her name at all when he spoke to her in order to eliminate any chance of awkwardness or confusion.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re only a few years older than me or if you’re 20 years older than me,” Blankson said. “If you’re in an authoritative position, I’m going to address you by ‘sir,’ ‘ma’am,’ or by your name in the proper form.”

Some college professors allow or even prefer their students to address them by their first name, as opposed to the formal titles usually required by high school teachers. These new options in talking to professors can cause confusion for students like Blankson.

Alice Lanning, director of Freshman Programs at OU, trains faculty members who teach the Gateway to College Learning course. The course is designed to ease students’ transition to college.

“Our Gateway teachers typically tell their students that when the professor doesn’t tell you what to call them, then professor is the title,” Lanning said.

Lanning, who has a doctorate in music theory pedagogy, said students being on first-name basis with professors could be problematic when the professor needs to establish authority over the students.

“If a teacher starts out informally on first-name basis and then has to get tough with a student, it can be harder to do than getting tough in the beginning and then relaxing,” Lanning said.

She said allowing students to be on first-name terms with professors could give students a sense of entitlement, which could come into play in grading disputes.

“Often the students get more familiar with their teachers and then expect more than the teachers are willing to give,” Lanning said.

Angela Heck, a music teacher at OU, said she doesn’t care whether her students address her formally or not.

“In college you’re dealing with adults who choose to be in class, so there is a different level of respect,” Heck said.

Heck said students in high school need more rigid structure in the classroom, something that isn’t as necessary in college. She also said that a sometimes-smaller age gap between students and professors in college

TYLER METCALFE/THE DAILY

Journalism professor George Franklin shows meteorology senior Lacey Evans how to use a news editing program during a summer course in Gaylord Hall. Journalism students familiar with Franklin often refer to him by his middle name, “Lynn.”

factors into the difference in how they interact.

“In high school you’ll find that there is a much larger age gap between teachers and students,” Heck said. “In some college classes you are working with a lot of teaching assistants. Sometimes there is only five years of an age difference between student and teacher.”

Lanning said when she teaches she has her students call her “Dr. Lanning” because of personal preference.

“I’ve earned it,” she said.

Lanning also said she has had students call her by her first name in class before, even though she tells her students right away how she wants to be addressed.

“I just talk with them privately when that happens,” she said.

Addressing an instructor as “professor” is usually the safest bet for students, unless the professor tells them otherwise, she said.

“You don’t want to get on a professor’s bad side by calling them by their first name right off the bat,” Lanning said.

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WAYS TO INTERACT WITH YOUR PROFESSOR E-MAIL FREQUENTLY Directing any questions about the class to the professor through an e-mail will not only guarantee the right answer, but it will also show the professor an interest in more than just the bare minimum requirements of the class.

PARTICIPATE IN DISCUSSION There is a reason so many college classes have a participation grade. Even the larger classes often have discussions. Actively participating during lectures will not only develop a better relationship with the professor, but it can help students learn.

GO TO THEIR OFFICE HOURS One on one time with a professor can be very helpful, whether it is to discuss a specific assignment, receive individual tutoring on a topic, or just to discuss the class in general. Using office hours to discuss grades can help a student learn why they made a certain grade, making it easier to improve in the future.

Welcome Class of 20 13 !

Your Class of 2013 Graduation Planner will serve as your guide to graduation.

Pick yours up today!

Graduation Planners are available at University College and the Graduation Office.

University College Lissa and Cy Wagner Hall Suite 100 (405) 325-3521 ou.edu/univcoll

Graduation Office Lissa and Cy Wagner Hall Suite 203 (405) 325-0841 ou.edu/graduatesooner The University of Oklahoma is an equal opportunity institution.

Back-to-school Edition 2009

15B

Norman parks offer outdoor adventures JAMES LOVETT The Oklahoma Daily

Norman includes over 50 neighborhood and community parks that feature a variety of outdoor activity options for college students. Whether you’re looking for somewhere to kill time while baby-sitting, a place for outdoor sports or just the perfect picnic spot, the diversity of Norman’s parks offer something for everyone. Here are four JAMES popular parks close to LOVETT the OU campus.

ELI HULL / THE DAILY

The Playground at Lions park, located Just north of Boyd on Pickard Avenue, sits right next to the Firehouse Arts Center. The park plays host to many art events including the Midsummer Night's Fair as well as other events like Summer Breeze Concert Series.

LIONS PARK 450 S. FLOOD AVE. Established in 1929, Lions Park has become a popular setting for many local concerts, fairs and events. With over five acres of land located in heart of Norman, Lions is often frequented by students and faculty living near campus.

The cities fourth-oldest park includes two lighted tennis courts, a baseball backstop and a jogging/walking path for outdoor sporting activities.

A large, open field provides a perfect place for a game of ultimate frisbee or kite flying, and multiple playgrounds give kids a variety of options for exercise and play.

Lions is also home to the Firehouse Art Center, a non-profit community arts

center with classrooms, an exhibition gallery and gift shop. The Firehouse offers classes year-round in painting, sculpture, pottery, jewelry and mixed-media.

Art created by students and instructors from the center is on display throughout the park along Flood Avenue.

REEVES PARK 2501 JENKINS AVE. Reeves Park is one of Norman’s largest parks, with almost 80 acres of playgrounds, baseball fields and picnic areas.

The park is home to KidSpace, a community-built playground constructed in the spring of 1999. Built over a five-day period with help from over 3,000 local volunteers, the playground was designed using ideas submitted by children in the Norman schools system.

KidSpace features wooden structures designed to look like a western fort, pirate ship, rocket, fighter jet, dinosaur, castle and covered wagon. The structure was designed to focus on children’s imaginations and interactions with one another, rather than focusing on physical activity.

The park is home to dozens of picnic tables and outdoor grills, and includes multiple covered shelters Reeves is also home to the Cleveland County Veterans Memorial, dedicated in November 2008. The granite plaza includes a five-pointed star approximately 30-feet across, representative of the five branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. The names of veterans who lost their lives in the service are inscribed on the walls of the plaza.

The park also includes a “Prairie Peace Path,” a small labyrinth built as a permanent memorial to the victims of the September 11 attacks. The path is intended to be a

ELI HULL / THE DAILY

A skater rides one the of the ramps at the Blake Baldwin Skatepark in Andrews Park. peaceful place for personal reflection and introspection.

ANDREWS PARK 201 W. DAWS ST. Andrews Park was Norman’s first city park and is still considered a favorite by many locals.

Originally built in 1893, the park looks dramatically different than it did at its dedication. Over 1,000 trees were planted during the 1890s and 1900s, and the park’s amphitheater was added in the 1960s.

Andrews hosts some of the Performing Arts Studio’s free Summer Breeze concerts, and is home to the city’s only skate park, Blake Baldwin SK8 Park.

The park also includes a splash pad for kids that features water guns, shooting fountains and tipping buckets controlled by touch pads.

The park is named for Abe Andrews, the city’s parks superintendent for over thirty years.

18-hole course for disc golf enthusiasts.

The 17-acre park features rolling terrain and difficult hole placements, and a creek and walking trail run the length of course.

Built in 1968, the park also includes picnic areas, playgrounds, baseball backstops and a jogging path.

“It’s one of the courses I play most often,” said Eli Smith, business junior and disc golf enthusiast. “It’s pretty close to where most of my friends live and it’s difficult, but not too hard for experienced players.”

ELI HULL / THE DAILY

ELI HULL / THE DAILY

Two kids play in the top of one of the many slides at Reeves Park. The playground was designed based on the requests of the children.

COLONIAL ESTATES PARK 1600 E. LINDSEY ST. Located two miles east of the OU campus, Colonial Estates Park offers the closet

A statue of Abe Andrews, carved from the trunk of a tree, stands at the park that was named after him. Andrew’s park was founded in 1889, the same year as the city of Norman. The park includes a splashpad, an amphitheatre, a skate park, and basketball courts.

16B

Back-to-school Edition 2009

WHERE YOU CAN VOLUNTEER Volunteering is a great way to donate time and support to those less fortunate. Volunteers give back to the community by lending a helping hand to different groups and organizations. College is a great time to volunteer. Here are a few Norman groups constantly in need of new volunteers: AMERICAN RED CROSS 1205 Halley Avenue (405) 321-0552 CENTER FOR CHILDREN & FAMILIES 1151 E. Main Street (405) 364-1420 CLEVELAND COUNTY HABITAT FOR HUMANITY 1835 Industrial Boulevard (405) 360-7868 FOOD AND SHELTER FOR FRIENDS 104 W. Comanche (405) 360-4954 MEALS ON WHEELS OF NORMAN 1173 E. Main Street (405) 321-7272 ELI HULL / THE DAILY

Elijah Raymond, a volunteer at Second Chance Animal Sanctuary, reaches through the fencing to pet one of the many dogs being cared for by the sanctuary staff. Raymond has been volunteering for over three months.

Students give back to community KYLE WEST The Oklahoma Daily

The University of Oklahoma and the community of Norman offer many volunteer opportunities to students who are interested.

But why volunteer?

Janelle Breeding, a music education senior who gives much of her time to volunteering, said she believes in giving back to the community.

“The goal of volunteering is to not only get involved with internal things, but in the community and in the world,” said Breeding. “That’s the best part about volunteering. You get to meet other people who are passionate about the same things you are. And that’s awesome. It’s about living a life that’s fulfilling, and you don’t have to be incredibly serious to be volunteer-minded.”

OU students can volunteer with many different organizations, from those that help animals to those who help children in Africa. Breeding said there are many ways incoming freshmen can volunteer that it would be impossible not to find something that works for them.

“There’s really a lot of different volunteer opportunities,” said Breeding. “You just have to make sure that what you volunteer with is something you’re passionate about. If you like doing humanitarian type stuff, also check out student groups on campus who do humanitarian type things.”

Breeding said she volunteers with Facilitating African Rehabilitation, a humanitarian student group that raises money to help various causes in Africa, including Invisible Children, an organization that helps keep children in northern Uganda from being kidnapped and becoming soldiers.

Matt Mead, president of the OU chapter of Facilitating African Rehabilitation, said they always need more volunteers.

“Freshmen should volunteer with Facilitating African Rehabilitation because it’s a great way to get involved with an organization that goes beyond the problems within America’s borders and meet people who are passionate about the things they are passionate about,” said Mead. “We are a group of students with a heart and a passion for Africa that transforms information into action. We’re fun to be around while maintaining a serious passion for Africa’s future.”

Mead said the easiest way for freshmen to get involved is to simply show up at Facilitating African Rehabilitation’s weekly meetings on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. in the Oklahoma

NORMAN REGIONAL HOSPITAL 901 N. Porter (405) 307-1789 SECOND CHANCE ANIMAL SANCTUARY 4500 24th N.W. (405) 321-1915 UNITED WAY OF NORMAN 550 24th Avenue (405) 329-2025

Memorial Union Food Court starting August 26.

“We also have a Facebook group that is frequently updated and sends messages to members,” said Mead.

AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY The community of Norman also offers plenty of volun2221 W. Lindsey Street teer opportunities. Breeding said she volunteered at Second (405) 329-1332 Chance Animal Sanctuary her freshman year.

“As a freshman, I really liked walking the dogs at Second OKLAHOMA BLOOD INSTITUTE Chance, even though I wanted to take them home with me 1004 24th Avenue most of the time,” said Breeding.

(405) 364-2444 According to their website, Second Chance Animal Sanctuary has been working to reduce the number of animals J.D. MCCARTY CENTER euthanized in Oklahoma by rescuing, fostering, spaying, neu2002 E. Robinson tering and placing thousands of animals in new homes. Since (405) 307-2800 1989, they have found homes for over 10,000 animals.

Breeding said freshmen interested in volunteering at BIG BROTHER BIG SISTERS OF CLEVELAND COUNTY Second Chance should just go there and sign up to volunteer.

1155 E. Main Street She said some opportunities are walking or bathing dogs or (405) 364-3722 playing with cats. Their building is located at 4500 NW 24th St. in Norman. They are open from 7a.m.-9p.m. Monday James Lovett/The Daily through Saturday.

Another volunteer opportunity Norman offers is East Main Place, a one-year transitional program for the homeless which always welcomes volunteers, according to Executive Nicole Greenfield, a volunteer at the Second Chance Animal Director Christy Blair.

Sanctuary, walks one of the dogs around the grounds outside the “East Main Place is a rare program where you can actually main building. Greenfield has been volunteering for two weeks.

ELI HULL / THE DAILY see problems that seem insurmountable being overcome on a daily basis,” said Blair. “It’s inspiring and gratifying to see each little step of success for a person lead to a completely changed life of hope and determination.”

Blair said East Main Place helps homeless people by moving them into furnished apartments and teaches them valuable life skills through case managers.

“Every small job holds a greater purpose than just the task at hand, and we definitely need a lot of volunteers to keep that going,” said Blair. “People may not think cleaning the office is a significant help, but when they do that simple task, what they have really done is create a comfortable, clean, and safe environment for vulnerable people to work on important issues.”

Blair said students can find out more about East Main Place by emailing Cory Allen at cory@eastmainplace.com or visiting their MySpace page at myspace.com/eastmainplace.

Blair said the office is open Monday through Friday 9-5.

OU’s department of Leadership Development and Volunteerism has a large list of volunteer opportunities offered through the university, which can be reached at leadandvolunteer@ou.edu.

ELI HULL/THE DAILY

Tyler, a two-year-old terrier mix, watches people as they pass in front of his kennel at the Second Chance Animal Sanctuary.

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Back-to-school Edition 2009

17B

Middle Eastern tradition provides flavor for smokers Hookah Bar owner boasts good times and unique flavor at his location

which is a mixture of 10 different flavors.

Hookah smoke is not inhaled like a cigarette, instead, smokers pull the smoke into their mouths like a cigar. A typical hookah will last nearly two hours according to Moe. ELIZABETH NALEWAJK The Oklahoma Daily “It takes an hour and 45 minutes,” said Davani. “Just like a cigarette, the harder you inhale, the faster it burns. This is for the social, to talk and relaxation, not Moe’s Hookah Bar is a place like no other in Norman for any other thing,” said Davani. and it’s owner, Mohammed “Moe” Davani makes sure all Hookah tobacco is not packed into the bowl. Users customers feel this way. Walking into the store, sometimes put in too much tobacco, prethe first impression may be that the place is simventing the tobacco from burning properly. ple, but it is anything but that. Known to everyThe tobacco itself is never actually ignited. body as “Moe,” Davani welcomes all customers as Instead, small charcoal briquets are heated. if they are new friends.

The packed tobacco is covered with aluminum Customers are welcomed to take a seat and foil with air holes poked into the foil. This alenjoy the pleasant sounds of traditional Middle lows the charcoal to sit on top and slowly burn Eastern music along with company of their the tobacco underneath. friends. As customers get to know the place, The hookah pipes range in size and Davani explains that its not unusual for him to ELIZABETH shape, but all have the same elements; a hose allow customers back into the kitchen to prepare NALEWAJK and a way to hold water. Smokers inhale the their own hookah bowls. smoke, causing air to be pulled through the “They like to be a part of the place,” said Davani. hookah, causing the charcoal to heat up the “They are not going to steal or take from Moe, they like it tobacco sitting underneath. Then, air is removed from here and like to be a part of the place.” the hookah, which causes the charcoal to heat the tobacco that rests beneath. Because of the water, the smoke is filtered and ends up being much smoother LET’S TALK HOOKAH than any of the dried tobaccos. Also unlike other types What exactly is hookah? The tobacco used in hookah of tobacco, there is not foul aftertaste. The chosen flais the same as regular tobacco, but is refined so it doesn’t vor of the tobacco remains with the smoker. have the tar and has less than 5 percent nicotine.

“When you smoke it, there’s not tar or nicotine and only gray smoke and the smell of the flavor,” said Davani.

TRADITION The tobacco is not dried like cigarettes. The tobacco According to Davani, the hookah tradition began in is wet and actually resembles mashed cherries. At Moe’s, Iran and spread to places like Turkey and Saudia Arabia. there are 56 different flavors of tobacco to choose, from blueberry, honeydew and guava, to more exotic flavors, Today, hookah can now be found just about anywhere. such as chocolate strawberry and Moe’s special blend, Davani said older Iranian men would work the fields all day long for harvesting and planting.

“They would smoke this [hookah] and [drink] a very, very dark tea, and they smoke the opium,” said Davani.

“They were 80 and 90-year-old men working the fields.”

The men would look for a way to relax their tired bodies, so the hookah and the tea would supply that. Smoking opium would energize them enough to send them back to the fields to work, said Davani.

Hookah is smoked by members of the family, but traditionally only the parents will smoke from the pipe.

“The kids will smoke the cigarettes, but when mom and dad are away, they will sneak into it,” said Davani.

“Everyone, men and women alike smoke hookah in the traditional families. Today, hookah is smoked by people all over the world as a way to socialize and enjoy the company of friends and family.”

MOE’S NEW PLACE ELIZABETH NALEWAJK/THE DAILY

Hookahs sit in a line along the wall of Moe’s Hookah Bar.

Davani moved to his new location on Crawford Ave. in downtown Norman in March 2009, from his previous location on Jenkins Ave., after his lease with the university ended. The old location will be used to enlarge the OU IT

ELIZABETH NALEWAJK/THE DAILY

Mohammed "Moe" Davani, owner of Moe's Hookah Bar, blows smokes rings from his own personal hookah. Moe's relocated to 117 N. Crawford in downtown Norman during Spring 2009, after serving customers at his previous location since 1991.

Store, located directly next door.

The new store is right next door to Opolis and Davani said the nightclub has been very good for business.

“They go next door and listen to the music and drink a beer, then they come over here and they smoke the hookah,” said Davani The new location is much bigger than the previous because even though he still sells international groceries, that is done through another location on Main St. “Before we had the groceries and the hookah in the same place, but not enough room for both,” said Davani.

“Now, I have plenty of room for groceries and we will add selections from many countries and the hookah is here for people to enjoy.”

For something new to try in Norman this fall, take a trip to Moe’s Hookah Bar. No one under the age of 18 is permitted.

Prices range from $12 to $15 for two people and one hookah. On Saturday nights, customers can enjoy the art of bellydancing from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.

According to Davani, the time is well spent and as he likes to boast, “Everything here is not good. We call it, ‘damn good’.”

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18B

Back-to-school Edition 2009

Campus urban legends: Fact or fiction?

From ghosts to musicians, campus is thriving with legends and myths of the creepy and supernatural RICKY MARANON The Oklahoma Daily

Editor’s Note: Information in this article has been taken from previous stories in The Oklahoma Daily archives. Outside sources have been listed when the need for proper attribution exists. Some of the legends presented have been passed down over several generations at OU, and are probably just for fun.

As the OU community settles in for another school year, there are some things that will always lurk the halls and leave an eerie feeling in the minds of students, professors, administrators and staff.

by Housing and Food Services to take their equipment into the basement of Cate center.

Though nothing showed up on the team’s digital photographs, electromagnet or temperature readings, the team’s audio recorder picked up a faint voice of what sounded like a child saying “get some ice.” The Daily’s photographer taking pictures of the investigating team doing research also snapped a photograph of strange human-like figure.

“It looks like something toward the camera is moving,” the photographer said. “It almost has an aura around it.”

The team had said in 2002 that it will follow up on the presence in the basement of Cate Center, and that it could not confirm nor deny the presence of a ghost, but said the evidence does point to one possibly existing and the team has not come back to OU for further research.

FACT OR FICTION?: UNKNOWN Housing and Food Services declined to comment about the accident. It said the family still lives in the area, and is keeping things sealed at their request.

»

»

JIMI HENDRIX LEAVES HIS MARK ON OU

When Jimi Hendrix came to OU in 1968, some say he left more than just a musical mark on the OU community.

After Hendrix was done playing, he supposedly wandered around campus late one night. When he approached the statue of William Bennet Bizzell, he got the urge to climb to the top to see the campus in a different way. While up there, he carved his name into the hood of the Bizzell Statue, and his name still exists today just out of sight from the general population.

FACT OR FICTION?: FACT

As time goes on, things change, but there is one sports mascot that will always be with the OU community.

Before Top Dawg and Boomer and Sooner were the mascots of OU, there was Mex. OU’s original mascot was a reallife tan and white terrier who wore a red sweater and hat. Mex was known as a supremely talented dog. He would wow fans at football and baseball games by snagging apples out of midair that were thrown to him by members of the spirit squad.

Furthermore, Mex meant so much to the university that, upon his death in spring of 1928, he was buried in a small casket underneath what is now Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.

FACT OR FICTION?: FACT Some groundskeepers and students who run the steps of the stadium late at night say they have heard faint howling at night, and they have also said that when they’ve heard the howling, there was no wind blowing. Leaving no doubt that the sound they heard was in fact of a dog.

Jimenez’s family had to complete the statue that stands at the entrance to Denver International making the OU Mustang the only true mustang the artist sculpted.

»

PHOTO PROVIDED

BURIED IN THE ENDZONE

community “The Demon Horse”.

The common story by some that is told on campus is that the artist was killed while making the statue that sits on Boyd Street, but the story is more complex than that.

When the sculptor Luis Jimenez gave Mustang to OU in the late 1990s, the Denver International Airport was looking for art to put on the grounds of their then newly constructed airport, and the blue horse caught the attention of the airport planners. They approached Jimenez with the opportunity to make a copy of the sculpture that is four times taller than the one on campus.

While building the larger copy, Jimenez was found dead in his art studio.

“The rumors are true,” said Erin Trap, director of cultural affairs for Denver International Airport. “The artist was killed while making the statue, which is why some may refer to it as evil.”

Reports from the Lincoln County New Mexico Sheriff’s Department said Jimenez was working on the statue when it became disconnected from safety lines and fell, crushing him.

Some say the OU statue’s demonic nature was protecting it’s originalty.

MESSING WITH FATHER TIME

The E.T. Dunlop Clock Tower, located outside the Bizzell Memorial Library, is one of the most recognizable landmarks on campus.

The tower is named after E.T. Dunlap, a chancellor of the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, who died in 1997.

Bizzell Memorial Library was expanded in 1982 with the addition of the Doris W. Neustadt Wing. The extensive Neustadt Wing added a new main entrance on the west side of the library, and included the construction of the clock tower and plaza near the new library entrance.

A common urban legend is that if you walk under the clock tower as as a freshman, you will be cursed to a fifth year of undergraduate studies.

FACT OR FICTION?: FICTION Sure, it seems a little far-fetched, but are you really willing to risk an extra year of school just to see?

FACT OR FICTION?: A LITTLE OF BOTH This story has a variation in which some students have claimed they can see Hendrix’s face when they look at the face of Bizzell. Hendrix’s face is said to be the remnants of a concert poster which was glued to the face of Bizzell in the weeks approaching the concert. The poster was ripped down, but the remnants of some of the poster, including the face of Hendrix remained on the statue and slowly disappeared over the years. With exposure to Oklahoma’s weird weather, some of the poster’s ink has sunk into the statue and has imprinted itself onto the face.

Students looking for the face say it is hard to find, but after having assistance, ca n make out the faint face of the guitar playing legend.

THE GHOST OF CATE CENTER While you’re waiting for your food in the Cate Center’s Cate ala Cart cafeteria, you may fill your cup with some soda and some ice, but in Cate the phrase “get some ice” has a different meaning.

In the summer of 1988, a non-university affiliated group was using the Cate Center for some summertime fun. While preparing food, an accident happened that made the Cate Center a permanent home to a legendary ghost.

According to legend, while a group was preparing lunch in Cate Center, a 14-year-old boy was helping his group move food supplies from the basement to the kitchen using a dumbwaiter. The boy accidentally managed to override the safety feature which prevented the dumbwaiter from working while the door is open, and the dumbwaiter was activated while the boy’s head was in it, killing him.

For years, Cate employees joked about the boy’s ghost haunting the center late at night. Then in 2002, an investigation into the possibility of a spiritual presence haunting the building took place around Halloween.

The Oklahoma City Ghost Club was given permission

James Lovett contributed to this report.

ILLUSTRATION BY ELI HULL/THE DAILY

UPPER LEVEL DORM SAFETY The dorm towers have been the hallmark of campus life on the OU campus for many years, but some have speculated what will take place in a fire or a tornado.

The dorms have close calls with fires in the kitchen areas throughout the year and also had two close encounters with severe weather this summer. One of those storms was during finals week while the dorms had normal student capacity.

Some have assumed what will take place during a tornado, and those specualtions have managed to trickle down from class to class.

During severe weather, the rumor is that the top floors of the dorms will fly off of the building to protect the structural integrity of the rest of the building which is where students seeking shelter from the storm are hiding. Rumors speculate anywhere from the top two floors to the top six floors will fly off to protect the structural inegrity of the rest of the building.

FACT OR FICTION?: FACT Housing and Food Services issued a statement in regards to building safety.

“Within each residence hall, tornado safe zones have been established and specific details are posted on each residential floor about the safe zones,” Lauren Royston, spokeswoman for Housing and Food Services, said. “Within Couch and Walker Centers, Floors two through six may stay on their floor during severe weather, in either their hallway with all doors shut, in their bathroom with all doors shut, or in the elevator lobby. Floors seven through 12 may proceed to the lower floors for shelter, or proceed directly to the basement. In no way are the facilities designed to have floors come off to protect the structure. Utilizing a safe zone in the lowest internal point away from any windows is recommended.”

However, the top floors of the dorm towers have been the center of rumors during a fire as well. Some have said that if you live on the top floors of the dorms, your survival during a fire depends on making it to a lower level of the tower to be rescued because the Norman Fire Department’s ladder does not reach up to the top floors of the dorms.

Housing and Food said it does everything it can to make it’s residents living on the top floors safe.

Royston said there are a number of safety measures in place to make sure the residents who occupy the top floors of the dorms are safe and are able to make it to safety in a time of crisis.

“While the Norman Fire Department does not have aerial ladder equipment that can reach the top floors of the tower residence hall structures, the many other fire safety systems in place, including the semesterly drills and the life-safety systems, assist in building positive safety habits and maintaining personal safety,” Royston said. “A timely evacuation process is imperative to fire safety.”

THE DEMON HORSE

»

Everyone wants to be a unique individual, but there is one statue on campus that has long been rumored to protect it’s title as “One of a Kind”.

The statue of a blue horse with red eyes that glow at night named “Mustang” is commonly called by many in the OU ILLUSTRATION BY ELI HULL/THE DAILY

ILLUSTRATION BY ELI HULL/THE DAILY

2009 Academic Calendar

source: ou.edu

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GRADUATE STUDENT ORIENTATION & WELCOME WEEK AUGUST

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For more information and to RSVP, visit http://gradweb.ou.edu

Graduate Student Orientation Reception & Resource Fair 5-7 p.m., Molly Shi Boren Ballroom, OMU

Sunday, August 23

Graduate Student Family Day Ice Cream Social 2-4 p.m., Reaves Park, 2501 S. Jenkins

August 20-21 & 24-26

Daily Student Help Desk Daily, 8 a.m. - 3 p.m., Robertson Hall Answering questions about graduate studies, GA positions, life on campus or in Norman/OKC.

Monday & Tuesday, August 24 & 25

Grad. Student Citrus & Sugar Semester Starter 8:30-10:30 a.m, Robertson Hall Lawn Free Donuts, Juice & Coffee!

Wednesday, August 26

Cookout with Dean Williams 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Robertson Hall Lawn Meet the Graduate College Staff and Get a Free Lunch!

For accommodations on the basis of disability, please contact the Graduate College: 405.325.3811 | gradinfo@ou.edu | 731 Elm Ave., Robertson Hall

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