THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA’S I NDEPENDENT STUDENT VOICE
VOL. 94, NO. 120 FREE — Additional Copies 25¢
FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2009 © 2009 OU Publications Board
Wind power on the rise Winter
CAMPUS BRIEFS
weather postpones Big Event
A late-season winter storm is expected to arrive today and remain into Saturday with predictions of up to three inches of snow. “Though many people connect March to spring, Oklahoma is still susceptible to the possibility of winter weather,” said Alex Lamers, National Weather Center meteorologist. He warned against traveling in western, north central and northwestern parts of the state. People with connecting flights in Denver to see the men’s basketball team compete in the Sweet 16 in Memphis can expect delays. The Big Event also has been postponed due to the incoming winter weather. Temperatures should return to normal Sunday with an expected high of 61 degrees.
MEREDITH MORIAK The Oklahoma Daily
— RICKY MARANON/THE DAILY
Lights out weekend in Norman Many Norman residents, businesses and institutions are expected to join about 1 billion worldwide people in switching off the lights for one hour this weekend. The movement, Hour Earth, began in Australia in 2007 and spread to Norman last year with the founding of hOUR Norman, which is asking everyone in the city to turn off lights and unplug unnecessary appliances between 8 and 9 p.m. Sunday. Joshua Maxey, hOUR Norman spokesman, said the group is trying to get people to “rethink the way we do things on a daily basis.” One local restaurant that participated last year had so much success with its candlelight dinner and “green” menu and is doing it again. On that night, Blu Restaurant will offer food requiring little energy to cook and live music, manager Ryan Robinson said. — MICHAEL MOHON/THE DAILY
LIFE & ARTS Looking to wet your whistle? Check out page 11 for the Beer of the Week. Want to go see a movie this weekend? Check out The Daily’s film reviews on pages 9 and 11.
SPORTS
The women’s basketball team has its Sweet 16 matchup this weekend facing off against Pittsburgh Sunday night in Oklahoma City.
Eli Hull / The Daily
Karl Bergey, CEO of Bergey Windpower Co., explains how an inverter works during a tour of the company Thursday morning. Bergey, along with his brother, Mike Burgey, founded the company, which produces small wind turbines, in 1977.
• Wind power industry promises job security CADIE THOMPSON The Oklahoma Daily While the job market continues to tighten, some Oklahoma schools are bracing for a boom in “green collar” jobs. Renewable energy is in demand, and schools are creating programs that position their students to take advantage of the wave of the wind enterprise. The Oklahoma Department of Commerce estimates the wind industry could produce $500 million in tax revenue and create 18,000 jobs in Oklahoma over the next 10 years. So far, five Oklahoma schools — Oklahoma City Community College, Oklahoma State University of Oklahoma City, High Plains Technology Center, Tulsa Community College and Francis Tuttle — are offering classes for students to become wind turbine technicians. Jerry Nielsen, division head of the science and engineering technology department at OSU-OKC, said this is the school’s first semester to offer a turbine technology degree and said there are 60 students enrolled in the program. With the recession in full swing, the program offers a strong incentive, Nielsen said. “Students can go to work in this industry, and at 40 and 45 they can
Eli Hull/The Daily
A Bergey BWC Excel wind turbine operates outside the Bergey Inc. building in Norman. Bergey Inc. has sent hundreds of these Excels to all 50 states and more than 100 nations. retire in this industry,” he said. “They won’t have to change jobs.” Along with the demand for wind energy, a demand for wind turbine technicians is steady and growing, Nielsen said. OG&E, an industry partner with OSU-OKC, will need to hire approximately 90 technicians a year for the next 17 to 20 years to accomplish the government’s agenda of 20 percent wind power by 2030, he said. Rusty Walker, assistant training director for the turbine technician program at Oklahoma City Community College, said technicians aren’t feeling the effects of the economy, like
layoffs. “They say the economy is bad everywhere else, but we have a full schedule,” he said. Walker said his labor union, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, is contracted to expand on at least two existing wind farms in Oklahoma this summer. They will need about 80 people for the project, and he’s offering some of his students the chance to gain experience and join them in the field. But it’s not just job security that is rallying people to move into the green
WIND Continues on page 2
Eli Hull / The Daily
TODAY’S INDEX Campus Notes 3 Classifieds 10 10 Crossword Horoscope 11 L&A 9, 11
News 3, 5 Opinion 4 Police Reports 3 Sports 7, 8 Sudoku 9
WEATHER FORECAST
Organization looks for new ‘sexperts’ • College students give presentations to their peers on safer sex, sexual assault JAMIE BIRDWELL The Oklahoma Daily
TODAY
LOW 30° HIGH 40°100%
SATURDAY LOW 28° HIGH 33° 80% Source: Oklahoma Weather Lab
The Big Event, originally scheduled for Saturday, March 28, will be postponed due to inclement weather forecasts, said Amanda Holloway, Big Event chairwoman. Holloway said the decision to postpone the Big Event until Saturday, April 18 was a joint decision between members of the Big Event executive committee, and personnel in Student Affairs, the President’s Office and at the National Weather Center. Team leaders and volunteers were sent an e-mail at 7:21 p.m. Thursday that announced the postponement of the Big Event and asked volunteers to notify group leaders of their availability on April 18. She said safety and making sure turnout is high were top reasons for the move. Many volunteer sites are located in Oklahoma City and Yukon where wet weather may present dangerous driving conditions for student volunteers, Holloway said. Forecasted rain and snow would prevent students from working at outdoor job sites and completing tasks like painting and landscaping. “We want to make sure people enjoy their time at the Big Event,” she said. More than 4,900 students and 300 groups were registered for the March 28 Big Event and the executive committee is currently corresponding with group leaders to confirm volunteer numbers for April 18. “We can’t please everyone, but we’re trying to do the best we can for the students and the organizations,” Holloway said. “We’re getting everything ready to go on the 18th and looking forward to having a great day.” All questions can be directed to the big event@ou.edu.
The Women’s Outreach Center is looking for new recruits interested in becoming the next generation of campus “sexperts” to teach students about safer sex practices and sexual assault. Sexperts are peer educators trained to teach in one of two areas: safer sex or sexual assault prevention, said Kathy Moxley, Women’s Outreach Center director. The center is accepting applications for the fall semester until April 10, she said. Moxley estimated five safer sex and five sexual assault positions would be available. She said groups like greek houses or student housing ask sexperts to educate students.
Liz Brooks/The Daily
Sexperts, Lyndsey Jones, bio-medical and zoology junior, and Bobby Mace, accounting junior, help educate students about safer sex practices and sexual health awareness. There are two types of sexperts; sexual health educators and sexual assault awareness and SEXPERTS Continues on page 2 prevention.
Study abroad not affected by Mexican violence • Partner universities not located near dangerous border region JAMIE HUGHES The Oklahoma Daily OU study abroad officials said they will continue to send students to Mexico despite the U.S. State Department’s recent travel alert. The Education Abroad and International Student Services office has students who are interested in studying in Mexico for next fall and spring, and there are no plans to cease sending them, Karen Elmore, associate director of Study Abroad, said in an e-mail. Violence has increased in the past few months near the U.S.-Mexico border because of conflicts between Mexican drug cartels and security services, according to an alert on the department’s Web site. Mexican authorities in Juarez report that more than 1,800 people have been killed in the city, located near El Paso, Texas, since January 2008. None of OU’s partner universities, however, are located close to the border region and the office wouldn’t send students to a violent area, Elmore said.
ABROAD Continues on page 2