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SOONERS AID IN NEW FAMILY HOME OU students provide 90 percent of the labor MEGAN MORGAN The Oklahoma Daily

At a dedication ceremony Saturday, Cleveland County Habitat for Humanity gave Joseph Johnson and his 6-year-old son, JoJo, the keys to their new home. The house, on Himes Street in Norman, was a project of OU’s Greek community. Executive Director of Cleveland County Habitat for Humanity Jana

ELIZABETH NALEWAJK/THE DAILY

JoJo Johnson, 6, gets ready to open the door to his new bedroom Saturday afternoon. The Johnson family was forced to move into substandard housing when, JoJo, who suffers from Down Syndrome, was diagnosed with leukemia.

Castleberry said it was the help from OU students that made the project possible. “OU students provided about 90 percent of the labor on this project,” Castleberry said. Students built the house on Fridays and Saturdays during the spring semester, she said. “We want to thank the students. They hatched the idea, did the fund raising and organized the volunteers,” she said. Students started raising money in 2008, and earned about $40,000 for the project. Construction manager Josh Carson, construction science senior, worked on the planning, scheduling, on-site volunteer coordination and obtained materials for the home. “It’s definitely been an eyeopener,” Carson said about the project. “I come from a background in commercial construction, so this was totally different.” Carson said that Habitat for Humanity was a “great organization to be involved with”, and he will also be the construction manager for Habitat’s next house in the area. Castleberry said that the construction of the house was different than any other so far. “This is the first house to be built with this level of energy efficiency,” Castleberry said. Kathryn Frazier, Habitat Board of Directors president, also noted the organization’s new direction. “This house is very reflective of us moving forward,” Frazier said. Frazier also talked about Johnson before giving him the keys

ELIZABETH NALEWAJK/THE DAILY

Joseph Johnson (center, in red) stands outside his new home Saturday afternoon with friends, family and members of OU’s Habitat for Humanity. OU students contributed a majority of the labor for the family’s home. to his new home. “Joseph, I’ve been on the board for five years, and you’re my favorite,” she said. “I hope that you will be a special banner for us in this community.” Johnson’s son, JoJo, has Down Syndrome, and when JoJo was diagnosed with leukemia, the family was forced to move into substandard housing. Johnson said he applied for Habitat for Humanity “on a fluke” and was “shocked” when he discovered he had been chosen. “I really didn’t think it was going to happen,” Johnson said.

Johnson helped complete the Habitat’s previous house on Eufaula Street before working on his own. Johnson said it is difficult to gauge JoJo’s reaction. “He seems to be excited, but we don’t know if he understands the concept,” Johnson said. JoJo’s will conclude his chemotherapy treatment in August, Johnson said . “I’m at a loss for words,” Johnson said. “And for those of you who know me, you know that’s rare.” Board member Mark Cox was on the construction committee and

this was the third house he’s been associated with, he said. “It’s a joyous occasion — we see a family that was in substandard housing move to a home to raise and nurture a child,” Cox said. The next Cleveland County Habitat for Humanity project, begins Aug. 15, and volunteers are always needed and welcome, Cox said. “It’s amazing how much can get done with volunteers,” he said. Those interested in volunteering can call the Habitat office at 3607868 or visit its Web site at www. ccokhfh.org.

Post-9/11 GI Bill to cross generations CHARLES WARD The Oklahoma Daily

The Post-9/11 GI Bill may help several OU students pay for school, as it includes a provision which allows service members to transfer their education benefits to their dependent children, husbands or wives. “This has been one of the most requested benefits from our field and fleet, for some time,” said Eileen Lainez, Department of Defense spokeswoman. “From family advocacy groups, people have been asking for this for a long time.” The program is designed to benefit current active-duty, or selected reserve, military personnel and encourages service members to remain in the military at least four additional years. To be eligible to pass benefits on, a service member must have six years of service on or after Aug. 1, and agree to serve at least four more years. At least 90 days of those six years of active service must be after Sept. 11, 2001 for eligibility. In order to receive a 100 percent tuition and fee reimbursement, he or she must have three years of post-9/11 service. Lainez said the additional service commitment runs concurrently with any remaining obligation a service member may have. For example, a service member with two years remaining on his or her commitment would only extend that obligation for four total years, not six. Service members who can’t add four years to their service because of military policy would be eligible if they have given 10 years of service, including the minimum post-9/11 duty. Additionally, those planning to retire between Aug. 1, 2009 and Aug. 1, 2013 will not have to offer additional service, but must give at least 20 years of service. Although benefit transfers can’t occur until Aug. 1, members of the military that are interested in determining eligibility or beginning the application process can do so now by visiting dmdc.osd.mil. Patricia Ingram, veterans student

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services coordinator at OU, encouraged military members to visit the Web site now to begin the process. She estimates that receiving eligibility confirmation from the Department of Defense could take 6-8 weeks. From there, the student receiving the transfer will need to apply for benefits with at the Department of Veterans’ Affairs Web site, gibill.va.gov. Additionally, if the student has been processed by the Department of Defense and the Veterans Administration, Ingram said that OU will not submit a bill to the VA until after the Sept. 4 add/drop deadline. “If a student is in an expensive class and they drop that class, and they add a lessexpensive one, they’ve already created an overpayment for that semester, and there is tons of paperwork, plus the student may have to pay that money back,” she said. Students that are waiting for the Department of Defense and VA to process their eligibility and enrollment shouldn’t panic when they begin receiving bills from OU, Ingram said. “I have spoken with the Bursar’s office, [Housing and Food Services] and Financial Aid,” she said. “They were all very agreeable to the fact that as long as we know that these students are in process [they won’t be penalized].” Ingram did say that students may see late fees on their bills, but as long as the benefits are still being processed, those fees will be removed upon request. All of that poses some hurdles for a student that wants to claim these benefits, but the payoff is significant. If the military member is eligible for full Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits, that allows him or her to pass three years of full in-state tuition and fees, a book stipend and, for a child receiving the benefit, a monthly housing allowance. In Norman, the housing allowance is $954 each month. Spouses are not eligible for the housing benefit. Go online to OUDaily.com to read this article in its entirety and leave a comment..

ELI HULL/THE DAILY

A small weather worn sign hangs above the entrance to Brothers Eatery and Pub located on Buchanan Street.

Brothers pub welcomes

increased summer traffic AARON COLEN The Oklahoma Daily

Keith Allen, owner of Brothers Eatery and Pub, stands outside his business on a warm summer night during the middle of the week, watching over the line of a hundred or more people that inevitably develops between 10 p.m. and midnight. Allen said he personally wants to make sure that the only people who get in are those who won’t cause any trouble. “We try to make sure we’re only letting in people who know how to behave in public,” Allen said. “Some people think that since they’re from out of town that they don’t have to act right around here.” The fact that the owner is so involved at the late-night spot speaks to the overwhelming popularity of the pub, which peaks during Wednesday nights in June and July. “On Wednesday nights we usually get around three to four hundred people in here,” Allen said. Allen said the reason for the Wednesdaynight spike remains unknown. “It is just one of those things no one can explain,” Allen said. “The difference between Wednesday business in the summer and during the school year is like day and night. There is no comparison.” Allen said the phenomenon of the big Wednesday nights began about five years ago, and spread through word of mouth.

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“It’s something that has become known state-wide, which is why we decided to start limiting it to those with college IDs,” he said. Kevin Brown, computer sciences junior, said he has heard a lot about Brothers even though he doesn’t live in Norman. “I know many people that frequent the Norman area, and they talk about it a lot,” Brown said. “I even heard about it from some co-workers of mine that live out of town.” Allen said students have fewer classes in the summer which lets them to go out more. “When the semester starts, full-time schedules mean that students aren’t going out on Wednesdays,” Allen said. Jarrod Yost, broadcast and electronic media junior, has worked at Brothers for the past eight months. He said the amount of space in the pub is good for large crowds. “There are plenty of rooms, and also the patio is open during the summer, so the environment is conducive to having a lot of people,” he said. Yost said the atmosphere is different during a normal school-year night. “We usually play classic rock which doesn’t draw such a huge crowd of college students,” Yost said. Allen said isn’t complaining about the mysterious mid-week increase in customers. “If I understood it, I would [collect] it and use it every single night, but I’m happy to be getting that kind of business, even if it is just one big night out of the week,” Allen said.

VOL. 94, NO. 171


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