The Vista Oct. 6, 2011

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Theatre

Football

The College of Fine Arts and Design presents Moliére’s “Tartuffe” at Mitchell Hall this weekend. Page 4

After their first season win, the Broncho hit the road to play Cal Poly State. Page 8

OCT. 6, 2011 uco360.com twitter.com/uco360

THE VISTA

UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA’S student voice since 1903.

Breast Cancer Awareness

CENTRAL’S BREAST WEEK EVER By Bryan Trude / Staff Writer The UCO Office of Diversity and Inclusion will be hosting their annual Breast Cancer Awareness Week activities next week, Oct. 10-14, at various locations around campus. This will mark the third year the office formerly known as Multicultural Student Services will hold awareness events, according to MeShawn Conley, the director.

“This is the office of diversity and inclusion, and one of the groups we advise is women, women of many ethnic nationalities. This is their initiative,” Conley said. “One of the reasons for our name change is that people think we focus on ethnicity and race, but we don’t. Our reach has been extended and we also address women’s issues, such as breast cancer.” Beginning Monday, Oct. 10, the

second floor of the Nigh University Center will host entries for the “Breast Dressed” bra decorating contest. Student organizations and departments will decorate and display bras, and students will vote for their favorite by placing donations in jars in front of each entry. The donations will be given to the Susan G. Komen For the Cure Foundation’s central and western Oklahoma region.

“It’s just a fun way to talk about a serious issue,” Conley said. Also available throughout the week is a booth collecting $1 donations. For every donation received, Diversity and Inclusion will release a pink balloon in memory of someone who has battled, survived or died from breast cancer. Donors have the option of having a written message attached to their balloon. The balloons will be released at

6:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 14 at Broncho Lake, with a ceremony featuring live music and guest speakers. On Tuesday, the UCO Athletics Department and the Office of Campus Activities will host “UCO Dig” during the Broncho Volleyball match with the Newman University Jets at 7 p.m. in Hamilton Fieldhouse.

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STARGAZERS TAKE PLUNKETT PARK

Dr. Charles Cooper, adviser to the Pegasus Astronomical Society at UCO, gazes through a telescope during the club’s stargazing party at Plunkett Park , Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2011. Photo by Garett Fisbeck, The Vista

Award

Enrollment

Anne Holzberlein (left) and Elizabeth Kerr (right) have been nominated by The Journal Record for the 31st-annual Woman of the Year awards. Photos provided

By Trevor Hultner / Staff Writer Oklahoma business newspaper The Journal Record is holding its 31st-annual Woman of the Year awards presentation on Thursday, at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. There have been 50 women selected as honorees for this year’s gala, including Kim Henry, the current director of private charity organization Sarkeys

Foundation and former First Lady. Also selected were two UCO administrative officials, Anne Holzberlein and Elizabeth Kerr, for the work they are doing at UCO and in their community, according to The Journal Record. Holzberlein is the vice president for development at UCO, as well as the executive director of the Continued on page 5

By Josh Hutton / Staff Writer With total student enrollment surpassing 17,000 at the beginning of the fall semester, UCO is focusing on retaining students until they earn a diploma. Despite a larger number of students across the nation enrolling in college, graduation rates have remained stagnant. Presently, UCO maintains a graduation rate of 12 percent. Oklahoma ranks in the bottom 10 of all US states, with a graduation rate of 41 percent within eight years of admission. “I know when I first started at UCO in 2001, I was 18 years old, and I hadn’t realized how much time a full-time schedule would take,” Cynthia Griggs, a former UCO student, said. “Then, I had to pay for rent, textbooks, and all those surprise disasters that take a toll on your bank account. So, not only was I going to school full-time, but I was working full-time as well. I think that works for some people, but I’m not one of them.”

WEATHER

WOMAN OF THE YEAR

RETENTION RATES ON THE RISE

TODAY H 88° L 65°

Complete College America (CCA), a nonprofit established in 2009, has issued a report on the ‘rise in enrollment versus the idle graduation rate’ enigma. The report cited several different causes contributing to students abandoning the collegiate process before acquiring a degree. Among them was the common practice of students engaging in more credit hours than necessary to graduate, and the discouragement pupils develop when required to take remedial courses that yield no credit hours upon completion. “Time is the enemy of college completion. The longer it takes, the more life gets in the way of success,” a CCA report said. After returning to UCO in 2005, Griggs earned her degree. “I finally had saved up enough money to tackle school on a much more sane schedule. I also had grown up a great deal in the

TOMORROW H 86° L 64°

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DID YOU KNOW? Failed PEZ flavors include coffee, eucalyptus, menthol, and flower.

More weather at www.uco360.com


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