Collegian Newspaper Issue 13

a student newspaper of the university of tulsa

january 22, 2013 issue 13 ~ volume 98

SIDE the box: OUT

artist creates in cardboard

Kyle Walker / Collegian

James Grashow’s “Corrugated Alphabet,” featuring a larger-than-life cardboard alphabet, opens at the Alexandre Hogue Gallery on Jan. 24.

Artist James Grashow brings his corrugated cardboard to TU for an alphabetic exhibit.

Beate Hall Kyle Walker

O

pening this week at the University of Tulsa is an artistic installation that rethinks the written word. James Grashow’s work “The Corrugated Alphabet Project” will feature larger-than-life

reproductions of the letters of the Latin alphabet in varying sizes and typefaces—made entirely out of cardboard.

The installation will be on exhibit Jan. 24 through Feb. 21 at the Alexandre Hogue Gallery in Phillips Hall.

The exhibition will begin at 4 p.m. on Jan. 24 with a lecture by Grashow on his work in the Jerri Jones Lecture Hall in Phillips Hall followed by an opening reception

in the Hogue Gallery.

Creating “Corrugated Alphabet” took meticulous work and a lot of help. “There is no textbook, everything is a learning curve,” Grashow said. “You have a concept and you try to make it happen. You teach yourself by error.”

The construction of the cardboard alphabet required the assistance of more than 45 students, professors, volunteers and faculty over five days to create each of the letters that will be on display.

Grashow said that as soon as he was invited to work on a piece for the Hogue gallery, “the alphabet popped into (his) mind.” To begin, Grashow created a mockup of the show, complete with miniature people examining the letters.

Large cardboard sheets were hand cut using box cutters into the right shapes and sizes to create each letter. Each piece was carefully considered before being added to a letter, and the curves of each were delicately composed to create specific shapes chosen from the history of typography.

After the front side of a letter

was created, corrugated cardboard was glued at 90 degree angles to create the three-dimensional portion of the piece. The opposing face is then applied to create a closed shape. The tiny details on the giant pieces, like the slight curve to the bottom line of the L, give the letters a larger-than-life quality, especially when viewers remember they are composed of cardboard.

Contrast in size has been a mark of Grashow’s career, which has produced both delicately detailed wood and paper “Houseplants” and a colossal cardboard “Sea Serpent.” “Sometimes when you work you feel like being very big and strong and feeling your muscles and sweating,” Grawshow said. “But sometimes you want to feel like Gandhi weaving.” Thus far, the L is the largest letter, at approximately 14 feet tall, while Z is the smallest at four.

Each piece is also sanded to smooth the edges, and this too must be done by hand. Belt sanders tear

See Box page 4

Remembering Katrina Larson TU mourns Katrina Larson, who succumbed to breast cancer in December.

Cara Dublin Student Writer

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memorial service was held Thursday at Sharp Chapel for Katrina Lynn Larson, a University of Tulsa student who passed away peacefully on Dec. 18 at her family home. Larson had been battling breast cancer for over two years.

Much of TU’s student body first found out about Larson’s death when Sharp Chaplain Dr. Jeffrey C. Francis sent a pastoral message to the school shortly after her death.

“Our thoughts and prayers of comfort and strength go out to Katrina’s family, to her sorority sisters, and to her student colleagues and faculty at TU at this difficult time of grief," Francis said.

Born May 21, 1991, Larson “enjoyed travel, meeting new people and theatrical arts,” according to an obituary. A nursing major

from Oklahoma City, Larson was also a proud member of the Epsilon Gamma Chapter of Chi Omega sorority.

Larson spent time in almost as many different countries as years she had been alive—twenty-one.

She enjoyed using her smile on stage to bring joy to the faces of others in community theatre productions, and in her final months she began a New York Film Academy screenwriting class, “determined to tell her own story,” according to her memorial site.

Brother Michael Larson said that “Katrina had a deep affinity for The University of Tulsa, for her friends and classmates, and for her Chi Omega sisters. She loved TU.” This university loved her back by paying tribute to her memory on Thursday at a service attended by her TU friends, including many of her Chi Omega sisters.

Larson was in her senior year at TU. Emily Stern, class of 2013, a member of Larson’s Chi Omega pledge class, said, “Katrina was a loving, joyful and vibrant spirit

who made a huge impact on any person she met. She loved spending time with friends, the OKC Thunder, shopping, traveling, and acting.”

Larson was “looking forward to being one of the ‘cool’ nurses,” Stern said.

When Larson’s struggle with cancer began in 2010, during her sophomore year, “She fought extremely hard,” Stern said.

“Through her entire battle, she held onto her loving and joyful spirit, and blessed everyone she met with her friendship and inspirational story. Katrina will be missed dearly by all of her family and friends.”

Kimberly Andrew, president of Chi-Omega, said that Katrina’s death is “still hard for our girls to talk about,” but she, Stern, and the rest of Larson’s Chi-O sisters said that anyone who wants to help further the cure for breast cancer can consider donating to the Susan G. Komen foundation through the Katrina Lynn Larson Pink Ribbon Memorial at www.katrinalarson. org.

Photo courtesy of the University of Tulsa

Nursing major, actress and Chi Omega Katrina Larson passed away on Dec. 18 after battling breast cancer for two years.

Katrina is survived by her grandparents, Homer and Nadine Carter; her parents, Gary and Joan Larson; her four brothers and their

wives, Michael and Jade, Lukas and Jessica, Logan and Rebecca, and Trevor; and many loving aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Community Service Work Study Do you qualify for Federal Work Study, then consider working in a non-profit setting and make a difference in a the life of a person.

National Mentoring Month January is National Mentoring Month and there are many, many opportunities to mentor. Be the change in a child.

Junior Achievement Junior Achievement is a non-profit organization partnering with volunteers from the community to teach elementary students about their roles as individuals, workers and consumers, and to prepare middle/high school students for key economic and workforce issues.

For more information on any of these opportunities, contact Kathy Shelton in the True Blue Neighbor Volunteer Center at kathy-shelton@utulsa.edu, call 918-631-3535 or come by Holmes Student Center room 25.

22 january 2013

Sports

the Collegian : 2

They gave us Liberty, we gave them death

In the last play of the second quarter of the Hurricane’s New Year’s Eve Liberty Bowl game against the Iowa State Cyclones, quarterback Cody Green threw an incomplete hail mary pass that required the concentrated efforts of four Cyclone defenders to deflect, preventing a Hurricane touchdown and leaving the score at 17-21 at the half.

J. Christopher Proctor / Collegian

The Golden Hurricane was poetically redeemed in its victory over the Iowa State Cyclones in the Liberty Bowl.

In a reversal from its season opener, the Hurricane lead the game in the final three quarters to a decisive win.

John Lepine Student Writer

Two storms ripped up I-40 east through central Arkansas over the Christmas break. One left power outages and Little Rock’s first white Christmas since 2004 in its wake. The other made it out of the state and over the Mississippi River.

Two storms converged on Memphis, Tenn. at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium on New Year’s Eve. One fizzled out harmlessly; the other touched down and kicked up to Category 5.

Two storms would not be denied at the 2012 AutoZone Liberty Bowl. One drenched every single fan in the chilly stadium; the other left half of them warmed to the bottom of their blue hearts.

The overriding goal guiding Tulsa football in 2012 was a conference championship and a victory in the Liberty Bowl—the premier postseason destination for any Conference USA team. No TU team had accomplished that goal since the Hurricane’s very first season in the C-USA in 2005.

Not only did Tulsa win the Conference and the bowl, but for just the second time in history TU posted a school-record 11-win

season. No other team has ever achieved all three in the same year.

“This group of guys has accomplished something at Tulsa that nobody else has done,” Bill Blankenship said, now 19–8 in his two seasons as Tulsa’ head coach.

“That’s a huge deal for us,” he added.

53,687 fans, a clear majority of them dressed in cardinal and gold, braved the rainstorm to watch the Cyclones and Hurricane battle it out in the 54th iteration of the Liberty Bowl.

It was the second of what will be three showdowns between the teams in the space of a year. Iowa State hosted and held off TU 38–23 in September, and will travel to Skelly Field for the rubber match this coming fall.

The ‘Clones jumped up to an early 10–0 lead in the first quarter, drawing first blood off a field goal before picking off and returning an unfortunate pass from Cody Green.

Tulsa fired back and ran the ball down the field to put up seven, stanching the ISU momentum temporarily until a 69-yard pass blew a hole in the TU defense wide open.

Down 17–7, it was a grim first quarter for the Hurricane faithful, but Tulsa leaned heavily on its run game again and made it to the red zone. Cody Green’s 8-yard scamper past the goal line was a gust of fresh air to narrow the gap between the two teams. And Tulsa never looked back.

TU’s defense, ably coordinated by coach Brent Guy, was not to allow any more 69yard plays. With suffocating efficiency, the Hurricane gave up just 123 yards after the first quarter—and not a single point.

The Cyclones only made it to the Tulsa red zone twice all game. On their opening drive, TU held them to a field goal. In the second quarter, Iowa State’s drive bizarrely collapsed with a fake field goal that the Tulsa defense smothered. When the down was replayed because of penalties, a chastened ISU opted to take the real field goal—and missed.

The half wound up with TU on top 21– 17. Though without anything close to a commanding lead, Tulsa had managed to post 14 unanswered points and went to the lockers without panic. After all, drenched TU fans reassured themselves in the stands, Iowa State’s touchdowns had come off of two lucky breaks. This game was winnable.

Cyclone and Hurricane fans would spend over 20 minutes of game-time in the suspense of the 21–17 stranglehold. There were injuries, punts, and penalties, but no points, until a long, steady, ground-andpound drive led by senior power back Alex Singleton and Trey Watts finally broke the spell and put TU up 28–17.

At the top of the fourth, freshman Daniel Schwarz nailed a long field goal from the 40-yard line, ending an error-plagued season on a vindicating note for the young kicker.

Down by fourteen, Iowa State pulled their starting quarterback and put in Steele Jantz, who led the Cyclones to top the Hurricane back in September. Sacked twice, intercept-

ed once, and forced to fumble by Shawn Jackson, Jantz was not the spark to reignite his team’s offense, and TU prevailed 31–17.

Tulsa’s offense out-gained Iowa State 410 to 268, with the run game again proving critical to the Hurricane’s success. MVP Trey Watts ran 25 times for 149 yards, and was also the favorite receiver, catching four passes for another 17 yards.

Quarterback Cody Green’s passing accuracy dipped just below 50 percent, but he made 10 runs himself to pick up a seasonhigh 58 yards, spotting the holes in the line with a calmness that proved how much he’s grown since TU opened the season in Ames, Iowa.

Singleton barreled in for three touchdowns, his 19th, 20th and 21st of the season.

He graduates TU in sole possession of the career touchdown record, a walloping 40.

With the win, TU records its first bowl game win over an Automatic Qualifying conference school in the BCS era. “This was an opportunity for us to take a step in the right direction and get a little more attention on the national stage,” commented Blankenship. “I just think we’re playing our best football right now and that’s what you want as a coach at the end of the season.”

With an 11–3 record and a conference championship, TU’s win propelled it to No 25 in the final Coaches’ Poll for the 2012 season. It is TU’s first national ranking since the end of the 2010 season.

J. Christopher Proctor / Collegian

The Hurricane fans, along with their fearless cheerleaders, brave the freezing rain to support the TU football squad in Memphis on New Year’s Eve.

J. Christopher Proctor / Collegian

J. Christopher Proctor / Collegian

Junior running back Ja’terian Douglas carries the spoils off the field with a smile. Douglas ran for 936 yards this season and is expected to be crucial in next season’s offense.

The football team holds the Liberty Bowl Bell Trophy after its decisive 31–17 victory over the Iowa State Cyclones.

Sports

the Collegian : 3

22 january 2013

2013 Hurricane season forecast

Sam Morton Student Writer

In the history of sports we have perhaps never seen a more dualistic individual than Lance Armstrong.

In the “good” column, Lance Armstrong beat testicular cancer, made a motivational return to cycling, and founded the LIVESTRONG foundation, which has donated over $470 million to cancer awareness and support.

In the “bad” column, however, Armstrong cheated his way to seven Tour de France victories, and lied in the face of doping allegations, often under oath, until just this week when, in an interview with Oprah, he admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs throughout his cycling career.

This might sound crazy, but if this was the sum of Armstrong’s career, I feel like the public would eventually forgive him.

People aren’t about to put Barry Bonds in the Hall of Fame, but they don’t necessarily

Photo courtesy biography.com

Lance Armstrong has been a hopeful emblem for many since overcoming cancer, but his virtuous persona has been damages by this scandal.

hate him for what he did either. He eventually admitted steroid use, and his career is assessed through the lens of this steroid use.

Bonds’ issues with PED’s are more a sign of the times, “the steroid era,” than they are of any personal shortcomings.

This is far from the case with Armstrong.

The important portion of the Armstrong case is not his drug use, but the web of deceit he spun to cover it up.

In 2006, Betsy Andreu, wife of Frankie Andreu, a former teammate of Armstrong’s,

Photo courtesy Detroit Free Press

Betsy Andreu underwent extreme criticism after accusing Armstrong of admitting to doping in 1996.

brought up substantial evidence against Armstrong. Andreu heard Armstrong talking to his cancer doctor about drugs he had taken including erythropoietin, a drug that increases oxygen carrying red blood cells in the body.

Armstrong responded by calling Andreu crazy, a liar and a bitch. Andreu received a voicemail from a person in Armstrong’s circle of friends stating “I hope someone breaks a baseball bat over your head.”

After hearing that Greg LeMond, the only legitimate American winner of the Tour, was disappointed in him for interacting with a doctor known for doping, Armstrong allegedly offered to pay $300,000 to one of LeMond’s teammates to say that LeMond used EPO as well.

Photo courtesy The Daily Beast

Livestrong, Armstrong’s non-profit foundation, will face scrutiny as collateral damage in its founder’s fall from grace.

It has also been noted that LIVESTRONG, perhaps the only spot in Armstrong’s career that doesn’t make me feel absolutely slimy at this point, does very little to contribute to actual cancer research. LIVESTRONG does, however, spend massively on advertising, PR, and branding.

While the foundation hasn’t actually done anything wrong, it could be argued that it is less altruistic in nature and more about the promotion of its founder.

The winds of change are blowing through the Hurricane following victory at the Liberty Bowl and the C-USA Championship in 2012.

Jake Dodson Student Writer

With one of the most successful seasons in school history fresh in the books, the Tulsa Golden Hurricane must now focus its energy in preparation for the 2013 season, which has the potential to be as successful a season as 2012.

Many key Hurricane players will return in 2013, but others will graduate or exhaust their eligibility. For a Tulsa team that ended the season ranked in the Top 25, expectations will be high.

But under the tutelage of Head Coach Bill Blankenship, the Tulsa football program is expected to reload rather than rebuild.

Key Losses The Defensive Line Defensive linemen Daeshon Bufford, Derrick Jackson, Jared St. John and Cory Dorris all anchored the stout Hurricane defensive front and started every game in 2013.

Dorris has started over 50 games in his Tulsa career.

They leave a gaping hole in the middle of the Hurricane defense, that reserve defensive lineman Derrick Luetjen, Brentom Todd and Derrick Alexander must fill, and quickly.

Safety Dexter McCoil McCoil is Tulsa’s all-time leader in interceptions, and was one of the captains of the 2012 squad. TU will miss McCoil’s ability to intercept the ball (especially the 50/50 passes thrown high in the air), as well as his ability to lead.

Like Cory Dorris, McCoil has started for the Hurricane since his freshman year, and was often referred to as the “Quarterback” of the defense. Fellow safety Marco Nelson will need to step up in a big way in 2013 to fill McCoil’s shoes, and is more than capable of doing so.

Running Back Alex Singleton During any point in the 2012 season when Tulsa would have the ball inside an opponent’s 5–yard line, the play call was simple: hand the ball to Alex Singleton.

Everyone in the stadium knew what TU was going to do, but it didn’t matter. Opposing defenses could not stop Singleton, who broke the Tulsa record for touchdowns in a season with 24 touchdowns in 2012.

Singleton also broke the Tulsa record for touchdowns in a career with 43. Tulsa will have to find other options inside the 5–yard line in 2013, and considering Singleton’s consistency over his career, that will be a difficult task.

Key Returnees Linebacker Shawn Jackson Though he missed the first three games of the season due to suspension, Jackson was dynamite for the Hurricane in 2012. He remains one of Tulsa’s most effective pass rushers, and has an incredible knack for being in the right place at the right time.

Look for Jackson to continue his outstanding play at outside linebacker next season; a solid C-USA Preseason Defensive Player of the Year candidate.

Wide Receiver Keyarris Garrett Garrett came into the 2012 season as one of Tulsa’s biggest question marks, and leaves the 2012 season as one of the biggest playmakers.

He will enter the 2013 season as Tulsa’s No. 1 target after catching 67 passes for 845 yards and 9 touchdowns in 2012. With a strong supporting cast of receivers like Thomas Roberson and Jordan James, the Tulsa passing game will be in good hands in 2013.

Running Back Trey Watts If there were a player who did it all for the Golden Hurricane in 2012, it was Trey Watts.

Watts was TU’s leading rusher in 2012, rushing for 1108 yards on 186 carries and three touchdowns (a number significantly lessened by the presence of Alex Singleton), and a heroic special teams return man.

Look for the duo of Watts and fellow running back Ja’Terian Douglas to be an effective combination for Tulsa in 2013.

Hurricane Games to Watch for in 2013 TU vs. Iowa State The Cyclones will visit Tulsa in early September in what will be the two teams’ third

meeting within the past year. The Cyclones may be more formidable with a bitter taste in their mouths from the beating they took from the Hurricane in the Liberty Bowl.

TU at. Oklahoma Historically, OU has almost always defeated TU soundly. But TU returns a good team in 2013, and the Sooners have a question mark at quarterback. Maybe, just maybe, it could finally be Tulsa’s time to take down the mighty Oklahoma Sooners.

TU vs. East Carolina East Carolina remains one of the few schools that Tulsa still has a rivalry with in the Eastern Division of C-USA (due to other rivals recently joining the Big East conference), and consistently fields bowleligible squads. With a seemingly diminished C-USA, this one could be a potential preview of the 2013 C-USA championship.

Overall Outlook In the past 10 years, the University of Tulsa has established itself as a consistently great football program. The Hurricane has consistently competed in bowl games and conference championships, and 2013 should be no different.

Expect a confident Tulsa squad led by running back Trey Watts and quarterback Cody Green to get off to a strong start in 2013, and then compete for championships

by December. With the Tulsa defense losing so many key members, nothing will come easy for this team, but Blankenship has proved that Tulsa fans should not expect anything less than a Conference Championship and bowl game victory.

And with as much success as Blankenship has had as Tulsa Head Coach, it would be difficult to bet against him in 2013.

No. 17 Tulsa defeated by Longhorns

Xaiowen Li / Collegian

TU men’s tennis dropped a 4–3 match to the University of Texas Longhorns on Sunday afternoon. The Hurricane has been ranked 17th in the nation this season by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.

Hurricane basketball gets defensive In the 18th and 19th games of the season, the Hurricane’s strong defense brought it a victory against the UTEP Miners and held its own in a loss to the Tulane Green Wave, strong despite a tumultuous roster shift between last season and this.

Zak Patterson Student Writer

The Golden Hurricane squeaked past the University of Texas El Paso Miners 45–42 on Wednesday despite four turnovers in the final minute as Tulsa was unable to handle UTEP’s full-court pressure.

The sole time TU was able to break the press was on a Scottie Haralson heave to Shaq Harrison, who tipped the ball to Zeldric King who then converted an old-fashioned three-point play to give the Golden Hurricane a 45-40 lead.

Senior Kauri Black led the way for Tulsa with 11 points and five rebounds, and freshman James Woodard added 10 points.

“We probably should have just punted it.

It was ugly, no question. But we were still able to grind it out,” coach Danny Manning said of the team’s inability to beat the Miner press.

Tulsa won thanks to its defense, which held UTEP to just 31.4 percent from the field.

Said Miners coach Tim Floyd about the Golden Hurricane defense: “(They) are guarding as hard as any team we’ve played against all year, and we’ve played the strongest schedule in the country.”

TU was not as lucky on Saturday at Tulane. The Golden Hurricane was narrowly beaten by the Green Wave 75–72, despite 21 points, seven rebounds and four assists from Woodard. Tulane got off to an early 29–16 lead in the first half, only to see TU climb back into the game after halftime.

Tulsa gained a 47-41 lead midway

through the second half, but the Green Wave took it right back. Woodard, Scottie Haralson, and Pat Swilling Jr. all had chances to tie the game late, but failed to convert.

Shaq Harrison contributed 11 points and five rebounds, Haralson had 10 points, and Swilling Jr. poured in 13 points coming off of the bench.

Tulsa was unable to contain Green Wave guard Ricky Tarrant, who had 21 points, six of which came in the form of back-to-back threes, giving the Wave the advantage after a tie at 61.

Tulane big man Josh Davis came into the game averaging a double-double, and nearly wound up messing around and ending with a triple-double. Davis finished with 19 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists.

In a reversal of last season, during which TU suffered numerous narrow defeats, the Golden Hurricane is now 4–1 (Tulane be-

ing the first loss) in games decided by four points or less.

The Tulsa men’s basketball continues to surprise, because of the misfortune it faced in the offseason. Its two best players from last year, Jordan Clarkson and Eric McClellan, transferred after Doug Wojcik was fired.

Then, big men Kodi Maduka and Blondi Baruti were deemed medically unable to continue their basketball careers. As a result, the Golden Hurricane has had to rely on true freshman.

On top of all that, would-be starters D’Andre Wright and Rashad Smith have been sidelined due to injuries.

The Golden Hurricane move to 11–8 on the season (2–5 on the road) and 3–2 in Conference USA play. Tulsa’s next contest will come Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Houston, and its next home game will be Saturday at 3:05 p.m. against Southern Mississippi.

Xaiowen Li/ Collegian

Golden Hurricane freshman James Woodward takes on a three-pointer against UTEP, a game from which Tulsa took a three-point victory.

NEWS

22 january 2013 From Box on cover

the cardboard, so an individual touch is given to finish each piece and prepare it for display. All 26 letters will be represented in varying sizes. “I’m partial to the Z,” said Grashow, who also indicated that his family’s names all included Z’s.

Grashow was born in Brooklyn in 1942.

His father was in the appliance business and he always had access to giant cardboard

uals and museums, Grashow has created art for his family and community. One winter, Grashow built a giant cardboard SpongeBob for the neighborhood kids and his grandchildren to play with. Grashow likes to work with artists of all ages and has taught art for many years. His advice: “Change blades often. Use sharp tools.”

Grashow also leads and participates in workshops with children of all ages. “So parents bring their kids in and there’s a

ture of cardboard really marks my identity,” said Grashow. “I wish I could believe in forever, but eternity is an illusion.” Inspired by the fate of an earlier piece crowded out of a gallery and into the elements, Grashow appreciates the fleeting nature of art and of life. “I have this little zip of time that I’m entitled to,” he said. “But during that time I

the Collegian : 4 throw stones in the pond and wherever those ripples go can go beyond me.”

Art “is a great adjunct to anybody’s life,” Grashow said. “And there’s really very little difference. To me everything is about passion. If you don’t have passion you don’t really have anything. Art is a direct line to passion.”

Kyle Walker / Collegian

James Grashow, the artist behind “Corrugated Fountain,” will bring his work to TU. Grashow has created woodcuts that have been featured on album covers and in galleries nationwide.

boxes. “I love to make things, to stack boxes,” said Grashow. “When I was a little kid, a cardboard box was my absolute favorite toy, as it is for everybody.”

As a young man, Grashow pursued a Bachelor in Fine Arts degree at the Pratt Institute in New York. Upon graduation, he received a Fulbright Travel Grant and spent a year studying painting and graphics in Florence, Italy. When he returned to the U.S., Grashow went back to the Pratt Institute and received a Master of Fine Arts.

His career has spanned decades and resulted in many different pieces that range from intricate woodprints to a zoo filled with cardboard creatures. He has created installations for museums, commissions and pieces that have been shown across the country.

Most of his work is sold through the Allan Stone Gallery of New York; his first show was there in 1966. His woodcuts have also been featured on album covers for groups like the Yardbirds and Jethro Tull.

In addition to his art for galleries, individ-

stack of cardboard and they’re on the floor, you can’t tear them away,” Grashow said.

Students are encouraged to create and imagine using cardboard as a forgiving medium.

“One of the great things about cardboard, it’s error-proof,” said Grashow.

Another of Grashow’s works, the sculpture “Corrugated Fountain,” will take a starring position the night before the opening of the show. Olympia Stone’s film “Cardboard Bernini,” which focuses on the life and times of “Corrugated Fountain,” will be shown Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Phillips Hall 211.

“Corrugated Fountain” was completed in 2010, and after multiple shows in museums across the county, the work made its final appearance at the Aldritch Museum of Contemporary Art in Ridgefield, Conn., where it was displayed outdoors and, over the course of six weeks, reduced to its component pieces by the elements. It became the “architect of its own destruction,” Grashow said.

“For me the fragility and the temporal na-

University of Tulsa ranked among “overachieving” universities TU’s peer reputation has not caught up to its ranking, report says.

Victoria McGouran Staff Writer

On Nov. 29, the University of Tulsa was once again recognized by education experts at U.S. News and World Report—this time for being a top “overachieving” university.

This means that TU is in the top 15 universities that significantly exceed their undergraduate academic reputation ranking.

“This report substantiates what those of us have known for some time—that the University of Tulsa is an overachiever,” Provost Roger Blais said in a statement. “During the past decade, TU has emerged as a research institution capable of competing with the country’s top colleges, and we are thrilled with this continued recognition of our recent successes.”

According to U.S. News and World Report, an overachieving school is one that “is performing relatively well in the other key academic indicators used in the rankings such as admissions selectivity, financial and faculty resources, alumni giving, and gradu-

ation and retention rates,” as compared to its reputation.

It also means “that a school’s undergraduate reputation among its academic peers is lagging behind the progress the school has achieved in the underlying academic indicators.”

TU, for example, is ranked No. 151 through peer assessments, but is ranked 83 overall by U.S. News, which evaluates national doctoral universities on many important criteria beyond reputation. Essentially, being ranked as an overachieving university means that while a school may be unknown, it performs at levels equal to its betterknown counterparts.

Reactions to U.S. News’ assessment varied. Jordan Hoyt, a student from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, said that the university has “plenty of funding, great professors, tons of freedom and no limits for what you can do”.

On the other hand, Toby Decker, a student from the College of Arts & Sciences called the university “overpriced and overconfident.”

TX, OK squabble over water A water rights treaty from 1938 is at the center of a lawsuit between Texas and Oklahoma.

Beate Hall Staff Writer

The Tarrant County, Texas water board is suing Oklahoma water resource management groups over a ban on selling water out of the state. The Oklahoma Water Resources Board and the state’s Conservation Storage Commission are responsible for a moratorium on out-of-state water sales, which has been in effect since 2002. The moratorium effectively keeps the potable water solely in Oklahoma while cutting off other states, including Texas.

Water groups in Texas are also suing New Mexico, where farmers and ranchers have been accused of illegally syphoning water from the Rio Grande without permits. There is a 1938 treaty guaranteeing Texas an equal share of the Rio Grande’s water. Between New Mexico and Texas there is clearly an agreement that has been broken by the citizens of New Mexico.

The case against Oklahoma is not quite as clear-cut. The waters of the Red River include salt and waste water from Oklahoma companies. Texas would like to remove the water further upstream, where it would be more economical to do so. When water is removed further upstream it is more easily made potable. Making the water of the Red River potable, or drinkable, is expensive and requires extensive treatment before it can be used on crops or in homes.

Representatives of the Oklahoma Water Board have said that the water is needed in Oklahoma to meet the needs of the growing population. The Texas population, however, is expected to more than double by 2060. Experts from Texas claim that there

is enough water in four Oklahoma rivers to meet all of Oklahoma’s needs, while the water Texas desires ends up in the Gulf of Mexico eventually.

Tarrant County is the home to Fort Worth, Arlington and numerous other cities. There has been a water shortage in that area for the past few summers. 84 percent of Texas experienced moderate to severe drought during the summer and fall of 2012, which has been compared to the Dust Bowl.

Although some of the water will be used for recreational purposes, Texas is also home to the fifth largest group of rice growers, who have been unable to flood their fields for the past several years, and a growing population that needs potable water for drinking. While Oklahoma remains lush and watered, people cannot even grow crops in Texas fields.

The water plan for Tarrant County was imperfect, and now it is struggling to provide water to its residents. However, there have been no conclusive studies done that show a water shortage exists in Oklahoma.

Having asked Oklahoma for help and been denied because of the moratorium, the Texas water groups have forced Oklahoma to make a final decision on whether to allow water sales to other states, instead of implementing a temporary measure.

Arkansas and Louisiana, which are also part of this river system, have also weighed in. They are siding with Oklahoma because they fear the removal of water further upstream will make it even more unusable by the time it reaches the South. Oklahoma’s actions upstream are preventing water use downstream.

At this time, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case, even though all the lower courts have sided with Oklahoma.

There are multiple questions to be addressed ranging from who has the right to use the water and who can sell the water.

Brazilian student adapts to life in America Fabryccio Suannes comments on dfferences in teaching style, food.

Beate Hall Staff Writer

Congratulations to the new Order of Omega initiates!

Congratulations to Sigma Chi, the winners of the First Annual Christmas Light Contest!

Congratulations to the newly initiated Chi Omegas!

Kyle Walker / Collegian

Leaving your friends and family and traveling to a new country may be a difficult thing. The food is different, the climate is different and the people are new. Fabryccio Suannes is from São Paulo, Brazil, and this was his first week in America.

The biggest difference between Brazil and the United States may not be the education system, but it was one of the first things Suannes noticed. “I really like the way it works, Uni(niversity) here,” he said. “We just go and stay like a few hours and just we run home and that’s it. And here you have contact with Uni and you’re always with the same people and it’s really cool.” The classroom style is also different. In Brazil, professors give a straight lecture with few chances for students to question the teacher or comment.

Suannes is studying petroleum engineering and will return home to finish his degree.

At TU he is a senior, but in Brazil he is still a junior because a bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering takes five years. When

asked about his favorite class, Suannes said, “I think it’s drilling. I really liked it even before I came here.”

Another thing that stuck out to Suannes was the food. “I really like the food,” he said. “I’m totally like addicted to cookies.

We have them (in Brazil) but they are really different.” Suannes also raved about roast beef. “I went to Arby’s,” said Suannes, “it’s so amazing, that roast beef.” “Another thing I really like is the tea.” He did, however, bring condensed milk from home just in case we did not have it here.

Suannes has been abroad before and has traveled to Europe, the Middle East and various countries in South America. “I like to travel,” said Suannes. “I like to learn new languages. I really like to do that and meet new people.” Suannes is studying French at TU. “Before I came I thought I knew how it would be,” he said. “American culture is included in other countries’ culture too. I thought it would be really similar but it’s not.” The people he has met have all been friendly and nice, he said, but there are other differences between here and home.

“At home, people talk with their hands, but here that is not so accepted,” said Suannes. Suannes also noted that patriotism is

something that makes America unique from all the other places he has visited.

Another difference he has noticed acutely is the weather. The temperature in São Paulo is usually very nice and does not normally get below freezing. Regarding Oklahoma weather, Suannes observed, “It’s really cold.”

Beate Hall / Collegian

Brazilian student Fabryccio Suannes arrived at the University of Tulsa a week ago, and brought condensed milk with him.

NEWS

the Collegian : 5

Eye on the world:

22 january 2013 ment building in a sit-in.

On the 17th, government officials invited Qadri to negotiate with them, and produced the “Islamabad Long March Declaration”, leading to the dissipation of protesters and a bloodless end to the march.

South America VENEZUALA

Witt Womack Walker Womack Student Writers Middle East MALI, ALGERIA On Jan. 16, France continued its Opération Serval, an answer to the Malian government’s call for foreign aid, by committing ground troops to assist Mali’s forces in their fight against Islamist insurgents.

That same day, on the opposite side of the Sahara, a related group of insurgents in Algeria took an In Aménas gas facility and something like 132 foreign nationals hostage, evidently in response to the foreign intervention.

On the 17th and 19th, Algerian special forces raided the com-

pound to end the standoff quickly, leaving a reported “32 militants and 23 other people” dead in their wake, according to Algerian state media.

Meanwhile, combined French, Malian and other African forces continued to take key cities such as Diabaly on the 18th. The Malian army also recaptured Konna the same day.

The Northern Mali conflict began a year ago, when hitherto stateless Tuareg tribesmen of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad rebelled and proclaimed the desert north as the independent state of Azawad.

With the help of Islamist groups and a timely Malian coup d’état, the rebels secured strongholds in their desired land, but conflicting motives with their Islamist allies quickly led to a violent split and prolonged infighting.

The Islamists seized control over NMLA holdings and began encroaching on Malian government holdings, prompting Mali’s call for aid and eventually France’s answer.

South Asia pakistan On Jan. 14, a Pakistani Sufi cleric by the name of Tahir-ur-Qadri organized a march to Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, from the city of Lahore.

Qadri, who had recently returned from his self-imposed Canadian exile, called for legislation to prevent corruption and reform of the current government, especially in regard to elections.

After the thousands of protesters arrived in the capital, they proceeded to camp outside the parlia-

Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez has yet to emerge into the public eye since his cancer surgery in mid-December, leading to speculation among international spectators that the 58-year old may not recover.

Numerous public appearances by vice president and hand-picked successor Nicolas Maduro have further fueled such rumors, as opposition politicians point to these as attempts to increase his candidature in the case of Chavez’s health-related resignation or death.

However, Maduro has assured the populace that Chavez is recovering and that he will soon be fit for official duty again. He has also commented on his frequent appearances as simply an attempt to alleviate public concern on whether “the country is (still) in motion, that things are being done” in the increasingly troubling presidential vacancy.

Europe RUSSIA Russia’s ban on adoption of Russian orphans by U.S. citizens continues to attract attention from American powers-that-be. The

law, signed into law in late December and effective New Year’s Day, has been decried as politically motivated, a response to the similarly nationally targeted “Magnitsky Act,” a law signed by President Obama that imposes certain U.S. restrictions on human rights abusers in Russia.

Russia has traditionally been a prime source of adoption among U.S. citizens, and the ban could potentially frustrate those Americans currently involved in the adoption process. There are motions in the Russian legislature to amend the new law to give exception to Russian orphans with disabilities.

Central America CUBA Over the course of the last week, inhabitants of Havana have had to deal with containment measures as the city experiences an outbreak of cholera, a disease that hasn’t affected the area for several years.

The epidemic is thought to have originated from a contaminated sandwich vendor at a regional baseball game.

Since then, preventative measures, such as making disinfectants being made available at public venues, have been adopted by the state in an effort to contain the disease. Even still, there have been fifty-one confirmed cases, including some fatalities.

The outbreak is thought to be related to the grievous Haitian strain that killed thousands after earthquakes devastated that country’s medical infrastructure.

Student’s research bridges computers, mechanics Freshman Gavin Bauer uses mechanics to solve computer security problems.

Andres Gomez Student Writer

As a student researcher through TU’s Tulsa Undergraduate Research Challenge, Gavin Bauer works with many professors and graduate students in a research project pertaining to mechanical engineering and physics in an attempt to protect the world from cyber threats.

Bauer’s project, entitled “The Control of an Inverted Pendulum Over a Network,” focuses on the concept of security for cyberphysical systems. Cyber-physical systems research seeks to model situations in which networked computers operate machinery remotely. These systems lie at the core of such central infrastructure as telephone systems and power grids.

Cyber-physical systems are susceptible to both physical and cyber attacks. STUXNET, the computer

Jan 14 2:30 Officers were called to John Mabee Hall for a fire alarm. They keyed into the room and there was smoke from burning marijuana.

With the PSM, they searched the room to find a burning MJ pipe.

worm that targeted a nuclear industrial center in Iran and a caused centrifuge failure, setting back the production of nuclear technology, illustrates the potential consequences of a cyber attack on the systems Bauer studies. Bauer hopes to create barriers in both the cyber and physical realms to protect cyber-physical systems.

Bauer became involved with student research when he, as an incoming freshman, contacted computer science professor Dr. John Hale expressing interest in TURC. Under the supervision of Hale, mechanical engineering professor Jeremy Daily, and graduate students, Bauer was able to work with the cyber-physical systems project and its chief proof-of-concept, the inverted pendulum.

According to Bauer, the inverted pendulum is designed to simulate the time-critical tasks that often occur in cyber-physical systems. The machine consists of a metal rod free to rotate vertically around an axis. The axis is attached to conveyor belt controlled by a program. Once the rod is placed upright, the program must quickly and correctly move the belt to keep the rod balanced.

Over the course of his first summer at TU, Bauer accomplished something that no one at his lab had succeeded in doing previously—successfully balancing the pendulum for an extended period of time. Now that the inverted

3:30 Officers on patrol observed a tree that was run over at 600 S. Delaware Ave. The tree is university property.

to campus his vehicle was damaged. It was determined that his vehicle was damaged off campus.

This report was unfounded.

7:30 Officers were dispatched to Keplinger Hall for missing items from a common kitchen area.

Officers took a report there are no suspects at this time.

15:20 A student stated his vehicle was parked and when he returned back

pendulum is working, Bauer and his fellow researchers will use it to evaluate the potential for harm for various cyber-physical systems.

Bauer’s project has received funding from the Department of Defense and DARPA, the military

agency responsible for tech development. It has been visited by active military administrators and Boeing representatives. The project has yet to receive any awards, though Bauer is pushing for its publication.

Andres Gomez / Collegian

Gavin Bauer tinkers with the inverted pendulum, a device designed to simulate the complex, time-critical functions controlled by cyber-phyical systems. Such systems are heavily involved in infrastructure and industry.

Jan 15 19:20 Officers on patrol observed male putting flyers on cars on campus.

Security made contact and the subject and he was identified as having 5 outstanding warrants for his arrest in the City of Tulsa.

On duty TPD were contacted.

23:35 A student reported that he left a laptop his bag and school books in Helmerich or Keplinger Hall.

The student retraced his steps and did not locate his lost items.

Jan 16 15:50 A student reported her bicycle lock was cut and her bike was stolen from the north side of her apartment building. The bike was last seen the day ago.

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21:45 Officers at the Basketball game reported a non-student was injured when a chair broke that he was sitting in. The victim refused EMSA but later on in the evening EMSA was called for this male.

23:35 A student reported that his billfold was lost while he was at the 7th Street House.

The Collegian does not produce or edit the Campus Crime Watch except for content and brevity.

editor-in-chief—Kalen Petersen managing editor—Kyle Walker news editor—Conor Fellin sports editor—Aubry Midkiff variety editor—Stephanie Hice opinion editor—Patrick Creedon satire editor: Tim Nissen photo & graphics editor—Jill Graves staff writers—Anna Bennett, Beate Hall, Oscar Ho, Victoria McGouran, Zhenya Yevtushenko business & advertising manager—Liz Cohen distribution manager—Tyler Magill web editor—Mary Carol Franko adviser—Kendra Blevins

variety

22 January 2013

the Collegian : 6

Top music releases of 2012 sure to delight the ear Some of the best albums of 2012 consisted of catchy pop beats that will keep listeners glued to their headphones.

Patrick Creedon Opinion Editor

2012 was a fantastic year for enjoyable new music. I do not profess to be any sort of expert in musicality or quality or any such thing. Heck, I did not even listen to enough music released in the past year to make a Top Ten list.

However, I can list three albums that I thought were the cat’s pajamas, and kept me glued to my headphones this past year. Though in no particular order, these are my favorite releases from 2012: Please do not judge me when I say that “Warrior” by Ke$ha is

in my top three. Sure, her trashy image might represent everything that is wrong with pop music, but that is why I love her. She defies the polished image for which Lady Gaga and other contemporaries are known.

Skanky Daft Punk is the only way I can describe this album, but I mean it in the best way possible.

It is impossible for me not to want to dance to its pulsing bass and dynamic rhythms. Ke$ha even has a duet track with Iggy Pop—“Dirty Love”—about having low standards. That is a song that the world needed to exist, and I am so glad it does.

“Shrines” by Purity Ring is infectious. It invaded my brain with its visceral, gloomy imagery lying just under the surface of its electro-poppy writing. With a light, ambient electro sound and haunting drums filling the background, the sleepy instrumentals leave listeners in just the right mood to listen to Megan James’s soft, demure vocals.

She will ask listeners to pull out her ribs or drill holes in her

eyelids, and it will sound like the simplest, sweetest request. Listen to “Fineshrine,” and fall in love as I did.

Stillwater-based Deerpeople is the ruler by which I measure all other live shows from now on.

I saw them in September of last year while waiting for a different band to play, and instantly they filled my head with carnival lights and tenaciously upbeat music that I had never heard anything like before.

Much of their set consisted of songs from “EXPLORGASM,” which is easily my favorite release of the entire year. I had no idea how to predict anything that would happen in their music, as they mixed pounding drums, crashing cymbals, surf guitar and a ridiculously happy performance from everyone involved.

“Ulysses” and “Walter Mathau” are my favorites from this magnificent five-song EP, and I hope that others can set aside 15 minutes to listen to this majestic beast that proves how amazing Oklahomaborn music can be.

“Moonrise Kingdom” easily best film of 2012

By Anna Bennett

The Best Names For Illegal Apartment Cats So you and your roommate decided to bring new life into this world by adopting a brand new kitten.

Congratulations! Obviously, you’re not the type to bat an eyelid over housing policy, but you are now in quite the kerfuffle over what to name your new illicit bundle of fluffy joy.

For those hip cat owners who like to stay on trend, here’s a look at the hottest names for feline fugitives here at TU:

Interested in purchasing a new video game for 2013?

Consider these critically acclaimed and thrilling titles from 2012.

Student Writer

Zachary Patterson Student Writer

1. “Moonrise Kingdom” Director Wes Anderson is wellknown known for his quirky style, and he creates a magical world in “Moonrise Kingdom.” Anderson places us in the head of a pair of young lovers running away from home to be with each other. Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward nail their performances, and the rest of the cast, including Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray and Tilda Swinton is spot-on as well.

“Moonrise” is nominated for one Oscar: Best Original Screenplay.

2. “Django Unchained” This epic features a slave in 1860’s America (Jamie Foxx) turned bounty hunter seeking his wife, a slave owned by wicked plantation owner Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio). Christoph Waltz puts on a virtuoso performance as a bounty hunter aiding Django on his quest, and received an Oscar nod for Actor in a Supporting Role.

Quentin Tarantino is at his creative best here, and holds nothing back in his best work since “Pulp Fiction.” “Django Unchained” is nominated for five Oscars in total, including Best Picture.

3. “Zero Dark Thirty” Kathryn Bigelow made her directing breakthrough with “The Hurt Locker,” which captured the Best Picture Oscar in 2008.

“Zero Dark Thirty” chronicles the CIA’s lengthy and trying search for Osama bin Laden. Bigelow has a knack for crafting a film and maintaining suspense. “Zero Dark Thirty” keeps viewers on the edge of their seats throughout.

Jessica Chastain is the standout of the film, and was nominated for Best Actress. Overall, the film was nominated for five Oscars.

4. “The Dark Knight Rises” While the conclusion of the Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy does not quite measure up to the perfection of “The Dark Knight,” “The Dark Knight Rises” is still a fantastic film bolstered by strong performances from Joseph

Photo courtesy Focus Features

Sam (Jared Gilman) and Suzy (Kara Hayward) make plans to run away together in director Wes Anderson’s whimsical “Moonrise Kingdom,” which features a new take on childhood romance.

Gordon-Levitt and Tom Hardy.

Though Christian Bale and Nolan have said they will not do any more Batman movies, the ending leaves the door open for further films.

5. “Bernie” Jack Black puts on the best performance of his career in the true story of Bernie Tiede, a friendly funeral director in the town of Carthage, Texas. Tiede befriends and comforts the relatives of the deceased until one pushes him past his breaking point. In a world where good things happen to Jack Black, he would have been nominated for an Oscar.

6. “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” Stephen Chbosky adapted his critically-acclaimed book to film as well as could have been expected.

Logan Lerman plays the role of Charlie, an introverted and friendless high school freshman. Darker than other coming-of-age high school stories, “Perks” has a more profound impact on viewers, in part due to a chilling ending. Ezra Miller steals the show as Charlie’s quirky gay friend.

7. “Argo” Who thought Ben Affleck was going to become a significant director in Hollywood? “Argo” is brilliant, accurately and tensely portraying the 1980 operation to save six Americans stuck in Iran during its revolution. The film thrives in part because of an allstar cast including Affleck, Alan Arkin, John Goodman and Bryan Cranston. “Argo” is nominated for seven Oscars, and surprised at the Golden Globes by winning Best Picture for a Drama.

8. “Silver Linings Playbook”

Bradley Cooper shines as a bipolar man recently let out of a mental institution, who is trying to win back his wife. The film’s strong point is the chemistry of its dialogue. Co-starring with Cooper is Jennifer Lawrence, who plays a similarly troubled friend of Cooper’s, and Robert De Niro, who plays Cooper’s superstitious father. Cooper looks for the “silver lining” to aid him through everyday life. The film was solid, but the eight Oscar nominations, including Cooper’s nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role, are rather stunning.

9. “Les Misérables” A sensational cast including Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway and Russell Crowe anchor a surprisingly good “Les Misérables.” I was hesitant to see this film because I am not a fan of musicals but “Les Mis” was still highly enjoyable. There are few things that Russell Crowe cannot do, and one of those things is sing. Valiant effort, though. “Les Misérables” has eight Oscar nominations.

10. “Looper” Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis star in this time-travel thriller in which Gordon-Levitt’s character is sent forward in time to kill his future self (Bruce Willis). “Looper” would have been higher on my list were it not for a bizarre mid-film twist, and had the makeup artists refrained from distorting Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s face—which you just cannot do.

It’s a rule.

Honorable Mention: “Life of Pi,” “The Hobbit: an Unexpected Journey,” “Lincoln” and “The Master.”

Worst: “Project X,” “Ted,” “Prometheus” and “Skyfall.”

2. Steadman 3. Selina 4. Mittens 5. Velcro 6. Theodore 7. Ferbie 8. Anne Frank 9. Minerva 10. $teadbuxx

Games of 2012: some excite, others disappoint

Elliot Bauman 2012 brought with it a number of quality films, and with the Academy Awards quickly approaching, viewers may want to consider these titles for the best film of the year.

1. Schrödinger

2012 was an interesting year in the gaming world, marked by a number of record-breaking titles, a few excellent role-playing games, some truly original experiences and more than a handful of disappointments and disasters. Here are the highs and lows of video games in 2012.

Following the successes of hit 2011 titles such as Bethesda’s “Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim” and DICE’s “Battlefield 3,” many gamers were hopeful to see the upward trend of quality games continue into 2012.

This desire would only be partially granted, though there were a number of quality games released last year.

The role-playing and openworld games were the real winners this time around. Titles such as Ubisoft’s “Far Cry 3,” where players must explore a tropical island in search of friends captured by pirates, and Gearbox Software’s “Borderlands 2,” a role-playing shooter featuring quests on the wasteland planet of Pandora, were some of this year’s best games.

Both offered completely free exploration and character skill customization, coupled with exciting and polished gameplay.

Other role-playing titles such as “Diablo 3” and “Mass Effect 3” were also well received, but “Diablo 3” shipped with numerous small bugs and glitches, and the majority of fans were very unsatisfied with the conclusion of “Mass Effect 3.”

2012 also saw the continuation of both the Halo and Call of Duty franchises. “Call of Duty: Black Ops II” sold 11 million copies within a week of going on sale, and was received as a significant improvement over last year’s “Modern Warfare 3.” A new Halo trilogy was also launched with the release of “Halo 4,” the first major game in the series not developed

by Bungie. “Halo 4” was well reviewed and cited as one of the best games of the year.

A number of other quality titles also dropped in 2012. “Assassin’s Creed 3” brought the well-known series to the American Revolutionary War, featuring exploration of 18th century New England and fighting against British Redcoats.

Bethesda’s “Dishonored” put players in the boots of an imperial bodyguard, framed for murder of an empress in a late 19th century industrial city. “Dishonored” received nominations for game of the year from numerous award

groups.

Other well-reviewed titles included “Max Payne 3,” “XCOM: Enemy Unknown,” “Journey” and “The Walking Dead,” a game rendition of the hit television series.

Unfortunately, that is only half of the story: one can expect that for every couple of good games released, a bad one seeps through, and 2012 had a plethora of disaster titles. The first major casualty was “Ghost Recon: Future Soldier,” the latest installment in a once outstanding franchise. “Future Soldier” butchered the credibility of the series with an absurd amount of repetition (even for a video game) in the single player campaign, and a multiplayer mode that was borderline unplayable due to poor networking.

“Future Soldier” was not the only major title to flub; the Resident Evil franchise also had a particularly bad year. “Resident Evil 6” was received as a major disappointment by fans and critics, and “Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City” was completely littered with glitches and poor AI programming.

Other major titles fared poorly, as well. “Medal of Honor: Warfighter” dramatically under-sold, “The Expendables 2,” a game rendition of the film, feature nothing even remotely close to a plot, and had unresponsive controls, terrible voice acting and amounted to one level repeated over and over with different textures. Furthermore, tank commander game “Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor,” and the survival horror game “Amy” were so badly glitched, bugged and broken that they were completely unplayable.

The list goes on. “The War Z,” a sort of zombie survival game, was arguably the most controversial and worst game release in recent years. Developer Hammerpoint Interactive used blatantly false advertising to promote the title, and followed horrible business and game practices.

For example, upon dying, players were forced to either wait four hours to respawn, or pay real money to play again immediately.

The best items could also only be purchased with real money, and were completely lost with character death. Players that asked for a refund were ridiculed and banned from all aspects of the game. To top it all off, the game was heavily bugged and clearly unfinished. Retailers removed “The War Z” from sale after two days.

Overall, though, 2012 was truly an exciting year for games. The bad may have outnumbered the good, but the good went above and beyond. Titles such as “Far Cry 3” and “Halo 4” are exceptional, and clearly deserve a place in any serious gamer’s collection. Will 2013 be a better year for games? It is too early to tell, but with DICE working hard on the next “Battlefield” installment, due late 2013, and rumors of new consoles, the future looks bright.

opinion

the Collegian : 7

Should the U.S. implement stricter gun control?

Cara Dublin

Graphic by Jill Graves

Student Writer

Gun control, including the restriction of so-called assault weapons, is unequivocally an infringement upon the constitutionally guaranteed rights of all Americans.

The president’s national conversation on guns has to date been extremely one-sided, while Obama’s promised executive orders would bypass more democratic and representative channels.

Never mind the difficulty of defining an assault weapon, a distinction which can be entirely cosmetic, as ludicrous as the placement of a handgrip or the length of a barrel. The concept of even a partial ban seeks to limit the power of citizens to lend teeth to their voice and security to their liberty.

Note also that many tragic mass shootings take place in schools, movie theatres, or other venues in which weapons are entirely forbidden. I am not saying that we should necessarily arm teachers or students. However, strictly enforced gun-free zones do make their occupants sitting ducks for gunmen, regardless of whether the guns are legal or illegal.

Such gun-free zones, even within schools, can be trumped by simple changes in state-level concealed carry laws. Such laws would not require but simply permit the carrying of legal guns in these target environments.

Sadly, police-state paranoia, guest screenings and safety drills will never remedy armed, illegal lunacy that is bent on evil. Nor will tighter gun control laws stop the widespread acquisition of firearms. Such laws will just drive it underground and potentially make it big business.

However, homicidal gunmen are only the tip of an iceberg issue.

They are small-scale instances of tyranny over defenseless individuals.

The entire Second Amendment reads: “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

Militia? It sounds almost paramilitary. Rather like assault weapon does, in fact.

This is not a question of hunting, of recreational shooting or even of domestic self-defense. The American right to keep and bear arms is about the citizens being in possession of significant force to defend against those who would truncate

their liberty, whether individuals, groups or governments.

A militia is not equivalent to a military. It is neither regular, trained nor subject to a central state authority. Yet the restriction of certain weapons to only the police or the military deprives citizens of the ability to become a militia of comparable, useful force.

Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story, appointed by author of the Constitution, James Madison, called the militia “the natural defense of a free country against sudden foreign invasions, domestic insurrections and domestic usurpation of power by rulers.”

The best way to ensure the freedom of defenseless individuals against both individual tyrants and tyrannical government is to protect the individuals’ ability to fight back—to make them well-defended individuals, in short.

Those who would seek to limit our civil liberties, including the right to bear arms, seek to ensure docile compliance among the citizenry. I cast no aspersions directly upon the current administration.

Nevertheless, Americans should not presume that illegal abridgement of liberty, whether from above or below, is impossible in the modern world. Tyrants may exist in government as easily as among the humans who compose it.

The issue at stake here is not right- or left-wing, but rather one of essential liberty and of adherence to the Constitution as the foundational law of this country.

Citizens seeking gun control must realize that what they challenge is not nebulous violence but the protected right to a forceful citizen militia. Nothing short of a revised amendment, duly passed by democratic processes, can be a fair, sufficient, American way of implementing a restriction on the right to bear arms.

Death of Aaron Swartz avoidable tragedy, reflects poorly on gov’t Death of youthful computer scientist brings attention to depression, draconian pursuit of insignificant intellectual property “violations.”

Will Bramlett

Student Writer

The Internet was abuzz Jan. 12 with the news that 26-year-old Aaron Swartz was found dead in his apartment. He had hung himself the day prior.

Swartz was born in Chicago to a father who worked in the computer industry. He became interested in computers at a young age. One of his first achievements was coauthoring the RSS 1.0 specification—a tool for publishing blogs, podcasts and more to the web—at the age of 14.

Swartz’s work gives more

people a voice on the Internet. In 2010, he founded Demand Progress, an organization to help organize a fight again PIPA, SOPA and other acts from the government and private groups which would censor the Internet.

Shortly after the acquisition of his company by the publishers of “Wired” magazine, he was forced out of the company because, as he wrote in 2007, “I was miserable.

I couldn’t stand San Francisco. I couldn’t stand office life ... I got sick. I thought of suicide.”

Swartz struggled with depression, and many people were aware of his illness. His death has started to get people in the tech industry to discuss depression more openly in hopes of being better able to support others suffering from the condition. Sam Altman, current executive vice president of Mobile at Green Dot, said that depression is “a major issue, and it’s one of the least talked about things in the Valley.”

Swartz was willing to speak publicly about his depression, but help was inadequate. The time for people in Silicon Valley to more

Myriah Downs

Student Writer

Following the mass shooting at Sandy Hook elementary school, President Obama has promised to implement several executive orders pertaining to gun control.

While Obama discussed many tactics to address gun violence, it is important to consider various approaches to this complex issue.

The most fitting solution to the

22 january 2013 current American gun crisis is a hybrid approach that limits the availability of weapons in general while restricting access to assault weapons specifically.

This will, in turn, create a price increase that will restrict the availability of the weapons both on the legal and black markets. As a result, the number of individuals who will be able to access these weapons will be dramatically reduced.

An increase in the price of weapons will also lead to heightened scrutiny during the gunpurchasing process. This, coupled with an increase in regulations on firearm purchases, will lead to fewer weapons available on the market.

When discussing the constitutionality of the president’s executive orders, one must consider what things are subject to judicial review. Generally, topics that are considered political are immune to judicial review, while those that are not considered political are subject.

While executive orders fall into the latter category, they are not officially laws and as such have only the effect of statutes. Because they do not carry the full weight of law, the effectiveness of executive orders can be checked.

Finally, claims regarding constitutionality must be based on the precise Constitutional wording a court would consider. In this case, the decision would have to be based largely on Article II, Section I of the U.S. Constitution, which authorizes the president to exercise special “executive powers.”

These powers have been limited by precedent to the bounds previously established by case law.

Following the ruling of District of Columbia v. Heller, new boundar-

ies on the right to bear arms were established, but the Court was silent on the validity of restrictions on the gun ownership process.

Even if we were to accept the claim that Second Amendment rights are being affected by such measures, we must admit that constitutional rights have been redrawn before in times of crisis.

Americans have submitted themselves to warrantless searches and invasive screenings in the pursuit of increasing their personal safety from terrorist organizations.

Though terrorism is not to be taken lightly, the threat of terrorist organizations operating in the United States is far less imminent than the threat of gun violence.

Since the controversial Patriot Act was passed, a mere 42 individuals have been arrested in terrorismrelated cases, while the number of deaths from gun-related violence in 2010 was 31,672, according to the U.S. Center for Disease Control Morbidity Records.

If the threat of terrorist attacks is severe enough to be worth limiting constitutional rights, why is the Second Amendment immune in the face of prolific gun violence? Considering the empirical evidence connecting guns and widespread violence, the concept that having more weapons available will reduce the amount of lives lost can clearly be dispelled.

These types of straw man arguments have their basis is rooted in faulty quasi-logic.

The quality of life for all individuals can be improved by additional restrictions on the availability of guns in the United States.

Granted the high number of gunrelated offenses, it stands to reason that more lives will be saved if there are more restrictions on the availability of guns.

Cabinet appointments no cause for scandal

During the past few weeks, reporters have been whipped into a frenzy as President Obama announces his new cabinet appointments—this frantic energy is due to the fact that the newly minted members of his Cabinet are all white males.

People have begun to speculate that Obama’s second-term cabinet may not be particularly diverse in regards to gender and race, and as it stands now, women, Latinos and African-Americans are its most underrepresented groups.

Numerous conglomerates that promote racial and gender diversity in government have called out President Obama for this offense, and journalists have been incredibly harsh in their judgments of his cabinet appointments.

One of the longest serving

African-American members of congress, Rep. Charlie Rangel (DNY), when asked about the situation was quoted as saying that “it’s embarrassing as hell,” and in general, the atmosphere surrounding the issue is one of tense annoyance.

I, however, am finding the entire so-called “scandal” to be incredibly idiotic.

President Obama has not yet finished appointing members to his cabinet and in every statement released about the issue has called for patience in the media and suggests that “people wait until they see all the appointments before they rush to judgment”.

I could not agree more. People in the media have jumped on this story prematurely and made an issue out of it before anyone knows what the outcome will be. I think this is a gross overreaction by the media, and people should wait until all the posts are decided before forming an angry mob.

Although I am not a fan of all that the Obama administration has done in this country, I can safely say that his administration has boasted the most diverse White House and cabinet is U.S. history, and the idea that he would blatantly ignore the minorities who got him re-elected and progress back-

wards is incredibly absurd. It must have been a slow news week for the media to have already made such a mess out of such an underwhelming and undeveloped story.

However, this “scandal” does offer up some interesting discussion points about this inadvertent racism. In an ideal world, people would receive jobs based on their competency instead of their skin color or gender. One would hope we Americans could have progressed beyond these petty and yes, racist ideas that unless businesses (or White House cabinets) are diverse enough, the person in charge of them must be against progress.

Why should President Obama (or anyone in business) be forced to make a checklist of the different ethnicities and genders in their employment to be considered an acceptable leader? Are people really so terrified of appearing to be against diversity that they will drive a situation to this extreme?

I think that in the end, this spectacle serves as a reminder that no matter how evolved we think we are, white guilt and racism are unfortunately alive and well. Hopefully people can manage to move past this mob mentality and just let the president do his job.

openly acknowledge depression should have started long ago, but at least it seems they are learning from the mistakes of the past.

Hopefully the words will turn into long-term, meaningful actions.

But talk of depression is not the reason the Internet was abuzz these last few days. Rather, people were furious with the federal government, particularly with Carmen Ortiz, the U.S. Attorney for the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts, and Stephen Heymann and Scott L. Garland, assistant U.S. Attorneys in that district.

The Attorney’s office charged Swartz for crimes including, but not limited to “Recklessly Damaging a Computer,” “Theft of Information From A Computer” and “Computer Fraud” under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act from 1986 and with “Wire Fraud.”

These charges could have landed Swartz in jail for up to 35 years and earned up to a $1 million fine.

After Swartz’s death, these charges were dropped, but they

should never have been brought against Swartz to begin with.

MSNBC’s Chris Hayes said the charges stemmed from Swartz “downloading too many free articles from the online database of scholarly work JSTOR.” Though prosecution maintained Swartz had intended to illegally distribute these free articles, he had not shared them and JSTOR was not seeking that charges be filed, yet Swartz was still charged.

According to Swartz’s attorney, Heymann was “pursuing federal charges against Swartz to gain publicity,” and was “very, very difficult to deal with.” Swartz’s father has even gone as far as to say that his son was “killed by the government.”

The U.S. Attorney’s office was pushing a sick man into a corner.

Because of their thickheadedness, we lost a brilliant individual who has contributed to keeping the Internet open for all and providing a voice for those who once did not have one. Rep. Darrell Issa

(R-CA), Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and a man with whom I rarely agree, plans to do the right thing and investigate how the attorneys involved handled this case.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) has proposed changing Computer Fraud and Abuse Act to be less broad and contain less severe punishments, and is drafting a new bill she calls Aaron’s Law, that would contain “broader measures to improve copyright law that are separate from” the bill to amend the CFAA. It is important to let our representatives in Washington know that we do not support the actions of these attorneys, our attorneys, in this case. Let them know that we do not support these laws which can restrict our access to free and open works. Make sure that they understand that we will not tolerate trials for politics. A death like Swartz’s should never happen again.

Concerns about the ethnic composition of President Obama’s cabinet are premature and ill-advised.

Victoria McGouran Staff Writer

22 JANUARY 2013

the

State-Run media

state-run media

Dope-free since 2013.

TU trying a little too hard, says U.S. News & World Report

Patrick Creedon

University ranked well but needs to learn how to play it cool.

Data Miner

1. public urination laws

Jared Starkweather & Tim Nissen

2. what to do with a philosophy major

Co-Kings of Cool

A recent article from the U.S. News and World Report asserts that the University of Tulsa’s academic reputation lags behind the embarrassing amount of effort it puts into being a premier academic institution.

This report solidly substantiates what we at State-Run Media have always said: the University of Tulsa is trying a little too hard to stand out, and it is getting embarrassing.

Echoing the State-Run Media’s sentiments, in a recent statement, Provost Blais disdainfully declared: “This report substantiates what those of us have known for some time: that the University of Tulsa is an overachiever.”

And the belief that TU is painfully overzealous is not limited to a few of its administrators.

Students are also tired of the university’s enthusiasm. “I’m getting sick of the professors here being such eager beavers,” an engineering student complained.

“One professor, Dr. Doty, is actually enthusiastic and tells jokes in his lectures. Sometimes I actually laugh in his class. It’s disgusting,”

Top McFarlin Library search terms of 2012:

3. insecticides 4. good leadership qualities 5. what is gun control 6. what is football defense Graphic by Jill Graves

he continued.

“Yeah. TU. More like Try-Hard University,” interjected another student, following his own joke immediately with strained laughter.

“My philosophy professor sticks around talking well after his office hours,” yet another student sneered. “He even ate lunch with us once at the Faculty Lounge.

Does he not have his own friends?”

Another student mocked the university’s returning president, wondering “President Upham—

what’s his deal? He’s basically working two years of overtime.

And it’s not just his willingness to return to TU that worries me,” she continued. “The genuine and honest nature of the emails he sends to students regarding issues on campus is starting to make me think that he actually cares about us. It’s creepy, and it’s pathetic.”

As of press time, students were transferring out of the university by the dozen to attend Ivy League schools, who know how to take it easy and rest on their laurels.

Kim and Kanye are collaborating on what is undoubtedly their most terrifying venture yet—bringing a human life into this world.

While the announcement definitely caught Kardashian’s former husband Kris Humphries by surprise, it left concerned entertainment bloggers wondering if Kim realizes that she cannot return a baby after 72 days.

Within hours of the announcement the couple released the requisite “excited beyond belief” quote and the hashtag #kimye began trending on Twitter. However, citizens of America, primarily in the heartland, appeared to be less than thrilled about the imminent bundle of joy.

Residents in southern Texas have suggested that the child could potentially be the Antichrist, and a conglomerate of states that include Arkansas, Nebraska and Hawaii forming an exploratory committee to investigate allegations that the baby is in fact a fire monster.

When asked by an E! News correspondent about their baby’s innate potential to become “a source of all evil that will signal the Second Coming,” the parents-to-be seemed unsurprisingly clueless.

Kanye’s eyes narrowed in what appeared to be confusion before he responded by stating that his “baby momma’s car and crib are bigger than his.” Meanwhile Kim asserted that no matter whether it was a boy or girl, she would buy the child outfits identical to her own.

“While you see a lot of girls carrying around dogs as an accessory, I’ll be the first carrying a baby dressed just like me,” she said.

Despite growing national concern of demonic activity and personal concerns regarding strong family histories of egomania and neuroticism, the couple is excited for the beginning of a new chapter in their lives. West is excited to hold his child in his arms and tell it “You my favorite accident.”

And Kanye is eager to share his joy, emploring us all to “go ahead—pop some Cristal for my newborn child.”

7. interesting places to park

Nation shocked to learn of doping, cycling

Kanye & Kim expect child, nation expects disaster Victoria McGouran Beat reporter

During a performance on Dec. 30, Kanye West told more than 5,000 concertgoers in Atlantic City to congratulate his “baby momma” because of the “most amazing thing:” Kim Kardashian is pregnant with his child.

You read correctly, America,

Graphic by Jill Graves

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. West was reportedly thrown out of a Lamaze class in Chicago after shouting down the instructor, saying, “I’m going to let you finish, but Kanye gives one of the best massages of all time.”

Editorial note: All quotes by Kim and Kanye are legitimate. Everything printed

by State-Run Media is of course legitimate, but these are especially so.

Photo courtesy of Cycling-Passion, friends of the State-Run Media

Lance Armstrong, recently stripped of his seven Tour de France titles due to use of performance-enhancing drugs, has left America stunned

by Armstrong’s arrogant defiance and amazed because apparently riding bicycles is a sport.

“New semester, new student,” says student may or may not end up with labels for each class, but I haven’t gotten jared starkweather to that yet,” he said. “I also have a personal calendar, so that I am Overachiever sure to get all of my assignments and State-Run Media articles in on It’s time for a new semester, and time.”

Darkweather also pointed out that means it’s time for one TU student to resolve to be a better that he has organized his desk to student, only to lose track of his make room for the papers that will vision and return to life as usual eventually pile up and become an a little more than a week into the absolute mess.

“I’ll probably start out keeping semester.

This anonymous student is my desk organized, then one day planning to “bounce back” from when I get home late I’ll just throw the previous semester (which was some papers on it and tell myself decidedly “out of the ordinary”) that I will organize them later. I’ll until he remembers the minimal keep telling myself this until I fieffort it takes to remain even nally just give up altogether and somewhat organized. The stu- throw them everywhere,” he said.

Darkweather also promised to dent will then return quietly and shamefully to his old habits, inside share his tips for foolproof follow through with the State-Run Media sources report.

Jacob Darkweather, an unre- for this article. Our interview endlated student, described for us the ed abruptly, however, when Darkpreparations that he has taken so weather looked at his calendar for that he can feel good about him- the first time since school’s start self until next week when he will and immediately darted out the break down and give up, maybe door while stuffing some 50 pages forever. “I have this planner that of loose leaf notebook paper into I can carry around but never use, his backpack. and these color-coded folders that