Monday, September 17, 2012

MIKE WORMLEYCampus Reporter

Students will have the op-portunity to explore Native Americans and science fic-tion this December interses-sion through a new genre of literature.

The new intersession c o u r s e , o f f e r e d b y t h e

University College, exam-ines the portrayal of Native Americans in science fic-tion literature and artwork, said Brian Hudson, a gradu-ate student and the course’s professor.

Hudson said the class also studies science fiction works by Native American artists.

Futuristic Indians will be led online through the Department of English, said Hudson, who specializes in Native American literature.

“For Native sci-fi, there are going to be a lot of the same issues and concerns that run for Native [literature],” Hudson said. “Issues of iden-tity, issues of political impor-tance, particularly dispos-session of land and there will also be issues of representa-tion of how natives have been represented.”

He also said he hopes to dispel the myths of the van-ishing native peoples.

Materials for the class will

include “Walking the Clouds: An Anthology of Indigenous Science Fiction” by Grace L. Dillon, “East of the Sun and West of Fort Smith” and “J” by William Sanders and “Robopocalypse: A Novel” by Daniel H. Wilson.

There also will be pieces of artwork and short films pro-vided on D2L, Hudson said.

Mike [email protected]

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Graduate students show art in Lightwell galleryL&A: master’s of Fine arts students have exhibition through sept. 28. in the Fred Jones art center (Page 8)

PAIGHTEN HARKINSCampus Reporter

Academic and Spanish adviser Shawn Gralla sits in his office in Kaufman Hall, Room 115 everyday with his door open. Among the myr-iad of rushed hallway nois-es that leak into his office, he also hears students talk amongst themselves.

Occasionally, he listens in on a conversation about

students purposefully fail-ing their language place-ment exams.

Both Gral la and John Verbick, director of the Language Learning Center, admit students do intention-ally fail, however, there’s no concrete method to find out exactly who is and who isn’t, they said.

The students purposefully fail the placement exam be-cause they want to take an

easier class, Gralla said.“They think they want to

make an easy A,” he said. “They’re looking for five hours of an A.”

From 2004 to 2011, an av-erage of 199 students scored a zero on a language place-ment exam, according to the test results. By August of this year, 144 students had scored a zero on the place-ment test.

Verbick attributes stu-dents failing to get into an easier class to a number of things.

“Students are under a lot

of pressure,” he said in an email. “Financial concerns, maintaining scholarships and overall GPA, pressure from parents — you name it.”

This pressure sometimes causes students to purpose-fully fail. While there is no way to definitely tell if a stu-dent has intentionally failed, sometimes there are indi-cators, Verbick said in an email.

“While it can’t be proven using data, any time a stu-dent is done with the exam in under 5 minutes, it’s a good

bet they’ve just found a way to spend a lot of time, energy and money on a course that will be entirely too easy for them,” he said in an email.

The test results provided to The Daily did not men-tion how long the students took the test nor did it pro-vide names. The documents provided the score, date and type of the test.

Most instances of inten-tional failure occur with students who are taking the Spanish placement exam,

sTUDeNTs

Peers purposely failing placement examsAbout 200 students per year score a zero on language placement test AT A GLANCE

Language Learning centerthe Language Learning center offers placement exams in chinese, French, German, Japanese, portuguese, Russian and spanish

the offi ce is making plans to add exams for arabic, Hebrew and italian

see EXAMS paGe 2

cULTURe

Evening of culture highlights OU diversity

MIKE WORMLEYCampus Reporter

Hundreds of people attended a free night of food, music and fashion to celebrate diversity and culture at Bangladesh Night on Saturday.

Vibrant colors, tabla beats and sonorous flutes filled Meacham Auditorium of the Oklahoma Memorial Union as the Student Association of Bangladesh shared its culture with students, faculty and staff.

The evening — themed “The Touch of Monsoon” — was filled with music, dancing,

a fashion show, a video presentation, poetry and a traditional dinner. This culture night was offered for free to all attendees, thanks to the association re-ceiving UOSA funding, said president

Yousuf Mohammad.More than 400 people came out for the

event.Mohammad, a journalism graduate student,

said he was pleased with the turnout.The event celebrated the culture and

the history of Bangladesh through student performances.

One of the notable performances was a poem, “Keu Kotha Rakheni,” written and per-formed by Nur Hossain. The piece drew figura-tive parallels to Bangladesh’s history.

“The poem is about a man who was prom-ised things by everybody,” Hossain said. “Nobody kept their promises. He goes through stages of his life explaining how each promise wasn’t kept.”

This mirrored Bangladesh’s participation in the Liberation War, Hossain said.

“We fought based on a dream that everybody will achieve equality,” he said. “No promises were kept, even the rulers did not keep their promises, we fought for independence but it was not served.”

Bangladesh finally achieved its indepen-dence from West Pakistan on Dec. 16, 1971, according to the world factbook. The country

Bangladesh Night draws crowd of about 400 with traditional music, dancing, poetry and food

meLodie Lettkeman/ tHe daiLy

Top: Debaroti Ghosh performs a dance during the fashion show portion of Bangladesh Night on saturday.

Right: Lauren Davis performs a Bangladeshi dance with other students at Bangladesh Night.


The performers of Bangladesh Night gather on stage as Parisa Tabassum (at keyboard) finishes her performance

of a patriotic Bangladeshi song saturday.

Education increases America’s longevity

ReseARcH

STAFF REPORTS A new study authored

by an OU Health Sciences Center researcher shows that the more educated one is, the longer lifespan one has.

College of Medicine pro-fessor Bruce Carnes’ study states Americans with 16 or more years of education have the longest lifespan, accord-ing to a press release. Carnes’ report also showed that race played a key factor in life ex-pectancy with black males and females having shorter lifespans than white people.

The most educated white women lived 10.4 years lon-ger and the most educated white men lived 12.9 years longer than the least edu-cated men and women, ac-cording to the press release. In comparison, the most educated black women lived 6.5 years longer and the most educated black men lived 9.7 years longer than the less educated.

“Education and race are surrogates for access to and quality of employment, health care, housing and nutrition,” Carnes said in a statement. “These and other related factors influence health, which in turn influ-ences longevity.”

“Within any race as you move up the education lad-der, you see increases in lon-gevity,” he said. “The gap in longevity is increasing every year, so much so that in the paper we referred to it as two Americas.”

Native American sci-fi class to be offeredINTeRsessION

see CAMPUS paGe 2

Students explore literature and art

Education is the door to better jobs

SEE MORE ONLINEVisit oudaily.com

for the complete story

oudaily.com/news

Are you on Twitter?stay connected with the daily

@OUDaily, @OUDailyArts, @OUDailySports@OUDailyOpinion

oud-2012-09-17-a-001, 002.indd 1 9/16/12 10:50:16 PM

Lindsey Ruta, campus editorChase Cook and Jake Morgan, assistant editors

[email protected] • phone: 405-325-3666oudaily.com • Twitter: @OUDaily

2 • Monday, September 17, 2012

CaMpus

RecoRd RequestsThe Oklahoma Daily regularly asks for access to public information from ou officials. Here is a list of the most-recent requests our reporters have submitted to the university.

Visit OUDaily.com/openrecords for a full list of requests

Requested document and purpose Date requested

coRRectionsThe Oklahoma Daily is committed to serving readers with accurate coverage and welcomes your comments about information that may require correction or clarification. to contact us with corrections, email us at [email protected].

Visit OUDaily.com/corrections for an archive of our corrections

today aRound campusMid-day music will be held from noon to 1 p.m. in the food court of oklahoma memorial union. atiba Williams will play the piano.

A free seminar on dining etiquette will be given from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. on the third floor of oklahoma memorial union.

A free seminar will be given by mark Walvoord on websites to help students succeed. the seminar will be from 2 to 3 p.m. in adam center’s muldrow tower, Room 105.

An open house will be hosted from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Bizzell memorial Library to celebrate the 119th anniversary of the Government documents collection.

tuesday, sept. 18Mid-day music will be held from noon to 1 p.m. in the food court of oklahoma memorial union. dillon Gourd will play the piano.

A free seminar will be given by casey partridge of the Graduation office on how to find academic motivation. the seminar will be from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in Lissa and cy Wagner Hall, Room 245.

A free party celebrating the opening of the new James t. Bialac collection will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the Fred Jones Jr. museum of art. there will be food, music and a live performance by the ou school of dance.

sept. 10

sept. 10

sept. 10

A copy of David Boren and Nancy Mergler’s most current contracts — to learn what sort of compensation university officials are receiving

Daily activity reports from OUPD for the spring 2012 semester — to learn what the statistics are for crime on campus

A database or list of all products ordered by university employees through the “Nike by Mail” program for FY 2010-2011 and FY 2011-2012 — to learn who is ordering products through the “nike by mail” program

Gralla said. This is just be-cause of the sheer number of students taking those tests compared to other languages.

More than 50 percent of all students enrolled in lan-guage classes study Spanish, Verbick said in an email.

As well, out of the 16,651 language placement exams taken since fall 2003, 13,380 tested into a Spanish class, according to the document.

T h u s , it is prob-able that the largest number of s t u d e n t s purpose-fully fail-ing is test-ing into a S p a n i s h class, a l-t h o u g h there isn’t any data to back that up, Verbick said in an email.

Of the students who took the Spanish placement exam 1,391 students scored a zero, which is more than 1,000 students the num-ber of zeroes scored on the

French placement exam and the German placement exams each, according to test results.

Students are required to take the language placement exams if they plan to contin-ue in a language in which they’ve had two or more years of instruction during the last five years, according to the language placement exam guide.

When students purpose-fully fail the exam, they’re doing themselves a disser-vice and wasting their time,

Gralla said.“You’re here

to chal leng e yourself and to move on in whatever your classes are to g et b etter at w h a t y o u ’ r e doing,” Gralla said. “If you’re faking the level, it ’s not hurt-ing me, but it’s hurting you. Additionally, s t u d e n t s i n s ea rch of a n easy A by pur-

posefully failing don’t nor-mally make an A in the class, Gralla said.

This is because students are bored in class, he said.

“Bored students don’t do

well in class,” Gralla said. “They don’t intellectually or mentally participate and … in a language class, a big portion of the grade is par-ticipation,” Gralla said.

Thus, while the students’ skill level suggests they could make an A in the class, they end up making a B, “because they’re blowing everything off,” Gralla said.

As of right now, students aren’t required to sign a waiver stating they have taken the placement exam to the best of their ability. Students only sign a waiver to verify they have taken less than two years of a foreign language or it has been five

or more years since their last course, Verbick said in an email.

While there is not a depart-ment-wide push to combat the problem of intentionally failing, in the Spanish de-partment, students “with a noticeably high level of pro-ficiency” are referred to the first or second year Spanish coordinator or to Gralla. These people will help stu-dents get into the best class for the level of language pro-ficiency, Verbick said in an email.

Paighten Harkins [email protected]

exAMs: Spanish students tank test most oftenContinued from page 1

was divided into seven ad-ministrative divisions — Rangpur, Rajshahi, Dhaka, Sylhet, Khulna, Barisal and Chittagong.

Each of the divisions was represented in the fashion show — which featured stu-dents wearing traditional garments in a variety of col-ors. During the interactive runway show, models walked down in pairs, acted out characters and performed a dance that gave the show a more cultural flair before the final procession that featured them all.

Lee Williams, dean of Graduate College, took a mo-ment to speak to the attend-ees about the importance of appreciating other cultures, especially in light of recent events.

“Nights like this are so special,” Williams said. “It is particularly poignant that tonight here we are appreci-ating, learning and enjoying each other when if you turn on the news you hear of the worst of human behavior.”

He then spoke of ste-reotypes and called for a moment of silence for the Americans and others who have been killed because of “craziness.”

T h e M a s t e r s o f Ceremonies, Fariz Afzal


Gnana Marugan (left) and Amy Lantrip dance together during the fashion show portion of Bangladesh Night on saturday.

cAMPUs: variety of students Continued from page 1

and Farhana Enam, evoked laughter from the audience between each segment of the show while providing com-mentary on the diverse envi-ronment of OU and cultural differences between the U.S.

and Bangladesh.Before concluding the eve-

ning’s show and introducing the dinner, the entire pro-duction staff joined Parisa Tabassum on stage during her performance of “Ami Banglay

Gaan Gaai,” a highly patriotic song from Bangladesh

Kaji Fuad, mechanical en-gineering graduate student and male model represent-ing the Cittagong division, said the best part of the eve-ning for him was the crowd’s reaction to the performers.

“The cheers and support from the audience is what makes this,” Fuad said. “It makes those who come [from other countries] embrace the cultural diversity and helps encourage people meet peo-ple from other countries.”

Mike Wormley [email protected]

name: people’s Republic of Bangladesh

Government type: parliamentary democracy

capital: dhaka

administrative divisions: Barisal, chittagong, dhaka, khulna, Rajshahi, Rangpur, sylhet

national anthem: “amar shonar Bangla”

Source: The World Factbook

AT A GLANCE Bangladesh

1.4K spanish language

students scored a zero

10K spanish students

scored at or below 296 (the score needed to advance to the next course)

324 French language


1.8K French language

students scored at or below 281

78 German language


507 German language

students scored at or below 328

Source: Test results, Jan. 2003 to Aug. 2012

BY THE NUMBERS Placement tests

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Kedric Kitchens, sports editorDillon Phillips, assistant editor

[email protected] • phone: 405-325-3666oudaily.com/sports • Twitter: @OUDailySportsSPORTS

3 • Monday, September 17, 2012

Hockey

Brothers reunite on ice after three years

Photo Provided by Lee daveNPort

kevin (left) and Ryan Zehnder pose at the Blazers Ice centre after practice. Ryan Zehnder joined his older brother kevin Zehnder at oU this season after the two had been apart for three years with Ryan Zehnder attending cal briefly and playing a year in junior hockey.

Carter BaumSports Reporter

Every day, sophomore defenseman Kevin Zehnder and freshman forward Ryan Zehnder get to see each other at the r ink and at home.

But that was almost not the case for the brothers.

Last fall, Ryan Zehnder was enrolled at Cal and was set to be a new member of the Golden Bears’ hockey team. The freshman had strayed from the familiar hockey path of putting off college for a year or two to play junior hockey and en-rolled directly out of high school.

“I was always wondering why on earth he would not want to play junior hock-ey,” Kevin Zehnder said. “I thought he definitely had what it takes to go play in the [U.S Hockey League] or the North American [Hockey League].”

How e ve r, a f t e r a r r i v-ing on campus at Cal and skating with his new team, Ryan Zehnder quickly had a change of heart.

“The school was awe-some; I mean, it’s close to my house, but the hockey

wasn’t quite up to the level I was wanting to play at,” he said.

Ryan decided Cal wasn’t for him and left after just two weeks.

“I was kind of taken by surprise,” Kevin Zehnder said. “It was such a huge deal for him to get in there because, obviously, it’s one of the best public schools in the country. I was pretty stoked to hear he was going to give it another shot.”

A f t e r l e av i n g s c h o o l , Ryan Zehnder went to play for the St. Louis Bandits in the NAHL, the same team for which Kevin Zehnder played for two seasons prior to coming to OU last year.

“I tried to stay out of it as much as I could,” Kevin Zehnder said. “I didn’t want to feel like [with] St. Louis, [it was] me coming to them wanting them to do me some kind of favor. I wanted that to be something where [Ryan Zehnder] calls up the coach; I really didn’t do that much.”

Prior to enrolling at Cal, Ryan Zehnder was tendered by St. Louis (essentially a verbal commitment to play for a certain team if he plays in their league), but opted to go to school instead. After leaving school, St. Louis was an easy choice for him.

“It was awesome,” Ryan Zehnder said. “Looking back, I miss it a lot to be h o n e s t . T h e g u y s w e re

awesome, the coach was cool; I grew a lot [last] year, for sure.”

After one season with the Bandits, Ryan Zehnder found the type of school he wanted from the start in Oklahoma.

“Just the balance be-tween hockey and school, it’s a good mix of playing the sport you love while still learning something while you’re doing it,” he said.

After avoiding influence in Ryan Zehnder’s move to St. Louis, Kevin Zehnder didn’t have to say much about OU to get him here.

“I think the hockey sells itself. I think we had a really good year last year,” Kevin Zehnder said. “I think it’s really cool how the school is so big, but it still has a small school feel. You don’t have to take cars to other parts of campus or anything like that. Obviously, we have some of the best school spirit.”

And a little push for good measure didn’t hurt.

“I would always tell him the really cool gear we get,” Kevin Zehnder said laugh-ing. “When I come home with a whole warehouse full of dry land gear and stuff like that, I think that kind of upped his chances of com-ing a little bit.”

Now, the brothers not only get to play together but live together as well.

“ It ’s aw e s o m e,” Rya n Zehnder said. “It brings back a lot of childhood memories. We played to-gether all the time when we were young, but we haven’t played together in a while. It’s kind of weird.”

With Kevin Zehnder mov-ing away from home to play in St. Louis three years ago, getting to live together again is a new experience.

“It’s definitely a lot differ-ent,” Kevin Zehnder said. “I haven’t lived with him in

AT A GLANCESkating in St. Louisthe Zehnder brothers combined to score 11 goals for the NahL’s St. Louis bandits during the 2010 and 2011 seasons.

Source: stlouisbandits.com

Zehnder siblings enjoy bonding after years apart

so long; I mean, I might as well move in with a com-plete stranger. But, we have a blast, and it’s kind of cool getting to bond again, if you want to use that cliché.”

So far, brotherly fighting hasn’t been an issue, just an occasional argument about

the dishes piling up in the sink.

After everything that’s happened in the last year, Ryan Zehnder said he would only change one thing.

“My only regret is just not living in the moment,” he said. “Sometimes you look

into the future a little too much and that’s my major regret, just not soaking it in and realizing how good you have it.”

Carter Baum [email protected]

jerry LaiZure/the aSSociated PreSS

oU football coach Bob Stoops addresses the media Sept. 3.

coLUmn

Relationship between Stoops and media a two-way street

“My only regret is just not living in the moment. Sometimes you

look into the future a little too much

and that’s my major regret, just not

soaking it in and realizing how good

you have it.”FREShmAN FoRwARd

RyAN ZEhNdER

OU football coach Bob Stoops is known for many things around Sooner Nation, but being a welcom-ing friend of the media cer-tainly isn’t one of them.

When it comes to dealing with the media, Stoops’ rep-utation precedes him.

His terse responses and uncomfortably tense half-time interviews have greatly contributed to earning him a reputation of hostility toward anyone with a microphone, camera or a pad and pen.

Too often, fans have seen a short answer during a press conference or a heated ex-change with a reporter, and most members of the media have experienced both firsthand.

But try on Stoops’ visor for a spell, and his apprehen-sion to be candid in front of the media is understand-able, if not justifiable.

He is, after all, the most

second-guessed man in the state.

All of the armchair coach-es and Sunday-morning quarterbacks criticize Stoops with the benefit of perfect hindsight, claiming they know how to do the job bet-ter than a man with 129 wins, seven conference champi-onships and a national title to his name.

But from the media’s per-spective, Stoops is defensive and lacks a stomach for criticism.

Whichever side is right is

of little importance. What is important is the rift that lies between Stoops and the media.

Sit in on a few interviews, and you begin to acquire an ear for the questions Stoops will sidestep or just flat-out not answer. Pose a question that’s critical of Stoops or a player, and you’re walking on eggshells.

Stoops understands that working with the media is an inconvenient, albeit necessary, part of his job, and he conducts himself in

Dillon [email protected]

SpoRTS CoLumNiST a manner that doesn’t hide that understanding.

With that in mind, Stoops’ reputation seems to be a simple misunderstanding.

But it’s much more than that. It’s two parties sticking to their guns — Stoops on one side, the media on the other — and neither side ap-pears willing to budge.

The media will keep ask-ing questions Stoops doesn’t like, and he’ll continue to not

answer them.A longtime member of

the media once said that if Stoops wanted, he could be Switzer: a charismatic coach loved by fans and media alike. All he needed to do was let the media in.

But people need to realize that he isn’t Switzer, and he never will be.

He’s going to run his team his way, answer ques-tions however he wants and

vehemently defend himself whenever his decision-making is questioned. And there’s nothing anyone — the media, especially — can do to change that.

Dillon Phillips is a journalism junior and assistant sports editor for The Daily. You can follow him on Twitter at @DillonPhillips_.

SMU will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability or veteran status.SMU’s commitment to equal opportunity includes nondiscrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

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Letters should concentrate on issues, not personalities, and must be fewer than 250 words, typed and signed by the author(s). Letters will be edited for accuracy, space and style. Students must list their major and classi� cation. To submit letters, email [email protected].

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Our View: Hobby Lobby’s lawsuit against Plan B coverage is based on a scientifically inaccurate picture of how emergency contraception works.

Hobby Lobby filed suit Wednesday in the Western District of Oklahoma to waive a requirement in the federal health care law that they must provide con-traceptive medication and services to their employ-ees with no co-pay, along with other preventative medicine.

If the Oklahoma City-based company does not comply with the Jan. 1 deadline in the law, it could face millions of dollars in fines.

According to the lawsuit, the self-insured company does not object to providing all contraceptive medicine, only what the suit calls “abortion-causing drugs and devices,” i.e. emergency contraception like Plan B and Ella.

But this is a medically inaccurate descrip-tion of emergency contraception. Neither medica-tion affects nor terminates an existing pregnancy, as the real abortion pill RU-486 does.

Other companies have objected to the reach of the new health care law or to the requirement to cover contraception at all, but those debates have no bearing in this case. Because Hobby Lobby has decided to sue over a misguided understanding of emergency contraception, it’s time the company faced the facts.

The two drugs that make up the vast majority of the market for emergency contraception are Plan B and Ella. Plan B uses levonorgestrel, a hormone used in weekly hormonal birth control. The only difference is that Plan B utilizes higher doses.

Ella contains ulipristal, which is a non-hormonal drug that blocks the effects of certain hormones. This is a similar drug to the one used in RU-486, but in such lower doses as to have a significantly differ-ent effect.

These drugs work best within a certain time frame (72 hours after unprotected sex for Plan B, five days for Ella) because their primary effect is to stop the release of eggs from the ovaries. In this way, they stop sperm, which can stay active in the body for up to five days, from fertilizing the egg.

Those who would call it an abortion pill point to a description on the labeling for these drugs that ex-plains they also may stop the implantation of an egg onto the uterine wall. If implantation fails, the egg never becomes viable.

It is this effect that has encouraged some to label them abortion pills: If the fertilized egg is alive even

before implantation, then stopping it from implant-ing would kill it.

But the science contradicts this speculative statement on the packaging, which was added to the labeling for Plan B by the Federal Drug Administration during the approval process for the drug in 1999.

The New York Times reported that nowhere in the hundreds of pages of approval documents is there any mention of proof for the claim that Plan B af-fects implantation. This claim is merely included in a list of many other speculations on how the drug

might prevent pregnancy.Sources in the FDA told The New York

Times it is common during the approval process, when the focus is on the safety of the drug and potential side effects, for little to be known about exactly how the drug works.

But now, more than a decade since the drug was first approved, there is more conclusive data to be found. A 2007 study, not the first to have such results, showed that eggs exposed to the hor-mone in Plan B did not have trouble implanting on uterine tissue in a lab setting.

In that same year (and again in 2009 and 2010), coordinated research in Australia and Chile showed that women who took the pill before ovulation had no pregnancies, while women who took the pill after ovulation became pregnant at about the same rate as women who are not using contraception.

If emergency contraception had an affect on im-plantation, not just ovulation, you would expect to see fewer pregnancies in the women who took the pill after ovulating as well.

Based on these and other studies, doctors and health experts have called for the labeling of emer-gency contraception to be changed to reflect what is now known about the real effects.

Despite scientific and medical consensus, anti-abortion rights groups and some religious groups still object to the use of emergency contraception and, as Hobby Lobby has illustrated, still get away with calling them abortion pills.

It is dangerous to allow important political de-bates to be grounded on guesswork and assump-tions. We never will find the truth or the right path by ignoring reality.

It goes to show that our scientific progress should be influencing our social and political debates — not the other way around.

Comment on this on OUDaily.com

COLUMN

Study success depends on your feedback

Today marks the launch of OU Student Media’s

self-study — Imagine the Future: Campus Media in a Digital Age — which we hope will help us at The Daily decide how to better serve our audience, the OU community.

Let’s face it: We don’t get the majority of our news from print newspapers any-more. We listen to National Public Radio; we watch CNN; and we read … but online.

In fact, only 7 percent of 18-to 24-year-olds read a daily print newspaper in 2010, according to Pew Research Center. And 70 percent of 18-to 24-year-olds most likely were to use a phone or tablet for local news and information, ac-cording to State of the News Media 2011.

Why not? Accessing the news on our iPhones and laptops allows us to interact

with the content. We can comment on stories direct-ly, share them on Facebook and Twitter and follow embedded links to other sites. That’s not to mention supplemental Web content, such as videos, photo gal-leries or Google maps.

None of those features exist in print, yet we at The Daily spend the majority of our time and money creat-ing a print newspaper. We have staff members solely devoted to page design. We even have an editor whose job is to oversee print production.

The Daily has made

strides toward becoming Web-first, such as using so-cial media, posting stories online as soon as they’re edited and providing on-line-exclusive content. But as long as we have the same number of staff members and the same amount of money to pay them, we never will be truly Web-first while remaining a daily print newspaper.

Daily staffers used to work five days per week; now we work seven so OUDaily.com is cur-rent during the weekend. Editorial board members all work about 40 hours per week, leaving little time for class or studying.

So we at The Daily are torn. We love our print newspaper and understand the need for frequent Web updates, but there aren’t enough hours in the day to do both well while fulfilling our obligations as students.

All that begs the

questions: Should we allo-cate more resources to the Web? Are we wasting our time by designing a print product five days per week? Do readers want headlines emailed to them each day? Should we provide a mo-bile app?

Those are questions I hope you will help us an-swer by taking our student survey, participating in roundtable discussions and attending other study events. We need your feed-back because The Daily exists to serve you. Let us know how to fulfill that mission best.

Follow our progress in print and at OUDaily.com as well as on our blog, http://imaginedfuture.wordpress.com/.

Laney Ellisor is a professional writing senior.

I started college in 2001 then took a long enlisted vaca-

tion in Iraq when it be-came apparent I wasn’t ready to sit still and listen.

Oh, how I took the pre-online learning age for granted.

I’m something of a par-simonious person. Less is often more, I’ve found.

I prefer less clutter and fewer complications whenever possible. For this reason, I hate the fact that almost every class I’ve had at the OU has had some kind of online component. How does this make things easier?

Let’s see. I have a French textbook, a French work-book and a French dictionary for my French class this semester.

I also have an online workbook that I must access to do my homework. What is the point of the online com-ponent if not to get more money out of me?

I get charged more for the class itself and for an ad-ditional online “access code” that I must buy with my

books. There is nothing in the online component that couldn’t just be in the physical workbook I already bought.

I have two classes this se-mester with course packets I bought at King Kopy for about $15 each. Both classes also have texts that I pur-chased. Why, then, do both classes have a handful of readings on D2L?

Would it not fit in the course packet? I think so — I’ve had some pretty mas-sive course packets before. What’s an additional 15 or 20 pages in a 200-page packet?

It is starting to feel like I’m being taken advantage of when I am being charged an additional $40 per credit hour for the class to have a completely unnecessary on-line component.

Not all of us are here on our parent’s dime. (That isn’t a shot at people who are, I’m just stating a fact.) Many of us are here on scholarships or on military benefits. We can’t all afford a MacBook or a Sony Vaio.

So what happens when my ancient laptop loses the network connection every five minutes and won’t let me take the online quiz for my astronomy class? I’m at the mercy of the janky computers over at the library.

How does limiting the places a person can do their homework make things easier?

It’s not that I’m against online classes. I completely understand some people have to work 40 hours a week to feed mouths and provide a roof for those mouths. Getting a degree through an institution that offers online courses is a wonderful opportunity and definitely ben-efits many people.

I also understand the idea of the “dropbox.” Honestly, what a time saver for everyone. We don’t have to print, and the professors don’t have to carry around 60 pounds of graded papers all the time.

I’m not opposed to the online solutions, and there are several. The “libraries” tab in D2L is another great idea.

My complaint is the way that online content is forced into many curriculums that don’t need it at all, and the fact that we actually pay more for it.

Why do I need two workbooks in French? Why do I need to shuffle from my course packet to D2L and back? Why can’t I take a quiz in class, where I can raise my hand if I don’t understand the question?

Not to mention the fact that high online quiz scores don’t reflect anything other than the availability of Google search.

Maybe some disagree, but I’m here to tell you — it was really nice when I only had to remember one password and had all of the course material in one place.

Trent Cason is literature and cultural studies senior.

The Our View is the majority opinion of The Daily’s nine-member editorial board

?Have you ever failed a placement exam on purpose?

» Poll question of the day

To cast your vote, log on to

COLUMN

Online components more hype than help for OU students

EDITORIAL

Emergency contraception is not the ‘abortion pill’

Trent [email protected]

OPINION COLUMNIST

Reader comment on OUDaily.com ››“Mr. Kraszkiewicz, are you new to the idea of taking quotes from a bigger speech and using them out of context in a soundbite? � is is the new, ugly norm in politics. Wasn’t Romney’s ‘I like to � re people’ comment taken out of context of Romney’s bigger speech? (kdbp1213, RE: ‘COLUMN: Republicans did build this harmful lie’)

THUMBS UP: New intersession course aims to teach students about Native American heritage and authors by incorporating science fiction literature. (Page 1)

Mary Stan� eld, opinion editorKayley Gillespie, assistant editor

[email protected] • phone: 405-325-3666oudaily.com/opinion • Twitter: @OUDailyOpinionOPINION

Monday, September 17, 2012 • 4

Laney [email protected]

EDITOR IN CHIEF

“I completely understand

some people have to work 40 hours a week

to feed mouths and provide a roof for those

mouths. Getting a degree through

an institution that offers

online courses is a wonderful

opportunity and definitely benefits

many people.”

oud-2012-09-17-a-004.indd 1 9/16/12 10:22:56 PM

Celebrate the U.S. Constitution signed by our founding fathers on Sept. 17, 1787, in Philadelphia.

libraries.ou.edu/cms/default.aspx?id=54www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/constitution.html

www.constitutioncenter.org/www.constitutionday.com

www.billofrightsinstitute.org/

The University of Oklahoma is an equal opportunity institution. www.ou.edu/eoo

of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establishJustice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote

the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our

Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

For additional information, please visit the following websites:

You Are Invited!to a Constitution Video Series on America’s Founding

in honor of Constitution DayMeacham Auditorium, Oklahoma Memorial Union

University of Oklahoma Activities for Constitution Day

Tuesday, Sept. 18

�� Constitution Day and the 119th anniversary of the founding of the Government Documents Collection. � �� South Oval and in Cate Center. �� “America in the Time of the Constitution,” led by OU Professor Rodger Randle.��

tulsagrad.ou.edu/csdc/constitution.html

Monday, Sept. 17Meacham Auditorium, Oklahoma Memorial Union

and a discussion sponsored by the Institute for the American Constitutional

��America’s Constitution, Both Written and Unwritten

225 Years Old and Still Going Strong

��Professor Peter Onuf, University of Virginia

��

11 a.m. - “George Washington’s Gift”Professor David Hackett Fisher, Brandeis University

��Noon - ��

Professor Gordon Wood, Brown University��

��Professor Akhil Reed Amar, Yale Law School

��America’s Constitution: A Biography

5 • Monday, September 17, 2012 Advertisement

oud-2012-09-17-a-005.indd 1 9/16/12 10:23:58 PM

PLACE AN ADPhone: 405-325-2521E-mail: classifi [email protected]

Fax: 405-325-7517Campus Address: COH 149A

Payment is required at the time the ad is placed. Credit cards, cash, money orders or local checks accepted.

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Line AdThere is a 2 line minimum charge; approximately 42 characters per line, including spaces and punctuation.(Cost = Days x # lines x $/line)

Classifi ed Display, Classifi ed Card Ad orGame SponsorshipContact an Acct Executive for details at 325-2521.

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Display Ad ............................................................................3 days priorClassifi ed Display or Classifi ed Card AdPlace your display, classifi ed display or classifi ed card ads by 5:00 p.m. 3 business days prior to publication.

The Oklahoma Daily is responsible for one day’s incorrect advertising. If your ad appears incorrectly, or if you wish to cancel your ad call 325-2521, before the deadline for cancellation in the next issue. Errors not the fault of the advertiser will be adjusted. Refunds will not be issued for late cancellations.

The Oklahoma Daily will not knowingly accept advertisements that discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, religious preference, national origin or sexual orientation. Violations of this policy should be reported to The Oklahoma Daily Business Offi ce at325-2521. Help Wanted ads in The Oklahoma Daily are not to separate as to gender. Advertisers may not discriminate in employment ads based on race, color, religion or gender unless such qualifying factors are essential to a given position. All ads are subject to acceptance by The Oklahoma Daily. Ad acceptance may be re-evaluated at any time.

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MISC. SERVICESChristian Counseling: 204-4615

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HELP WANTEDInterested in assisting a young man with Cerebral Palsy? Think Ability First wants you! Flexible hours and paid training! PT positions available immediately. Contact Darcie Miller at 918-951-4211

Now Taking Applications for the Fall 2012 Semester Community After School Program is now taking applications for PT staff to work in our school-age child-care programs in Norman Public Schools. Hours: 2:30-6. Closed for all Norman Pub-lic School holidays and professional days. Competitive wages starting at $7.25/hr. Higher pay for students with qualifying coursework in education, early childhood, recreation, and related fields. Complete application online at www.caspinc.org.

Now Hiring The Community After School Program is looking to hire staff to lead a physical activity and nutrition program for K-5th grade children. Applicants must be available to work Mon-Fri 2:30-6. Pay starts at $8/hr. No experience required, but majoring in a health field is a plus. Please contact Lindsey at 366-5970 ext. 208 or [email protected].

Research volunteers needed! Re-searchers at OU Health Sciences Center need healthy volunteers ages 18 to 30 who have a parent with or without a histo-ry of an alcohol or drug problem. Qualified participants will be compensated for their time. Call (405) 456-4303 to learn more about the study and to see if you qualify. The University of Oklahoma is an equal opportunity institution.

COACH’S RESTAURANT now hiring Cooks, Service Staff and Host/Hostess, daytime and evening shifts available. Ap-ply in person at 102 West Main, Monday-Friday, 2-4 pm.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR 14 DAY HEPATITIS B RESEARCH STUDY. ALL MEDS FDA APPROVED. PARTICI-PANTS REIMBURSED FOR TRAVEL. FOR INFO; PAULA ALLEN 456-3982.

$5,500-$10,000PAID EGG DONORS. All Races needed.

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Housing RentalsJ

HOUSES UNFURNISHED502 Fleetwood: 4bd/2ba, CH/A, wood floors, all appliances, lawncare incl. $1350/mo, $1000 dep. No pets.CALL 550-7069

ROOMS FURNISHEDRoom for rent in a nice home near OU campus. $350/mo. Util. paid, incl. wireless internet/cable, private bath, large closet, dedicated driveway parking, access to kitchen, W/D. Nonsmoker, not pets. Only serious students need apply. Contact Michelle: 919-6528

NEAR OU, privacy, $250, bills paid, neat, clean, parking, wireless internet. Prefer male student. Call 329-2661.

HELP WANTED

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[email protected] • phone: 405-325-2521CLASSIFIEDSMonday, September 17, 2012 • 6

1330 East Alameda405.364.9262

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UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT CONGRESS

Representative positions available in the following districts:

ARTS 2 seatsBUSINESS 3 seatsCOMMUNICATIONS 3 seatsCONTINUING EDUCATION 1 seatENGINEERING 1 seatHUMANITIES 2 seatsMULTI/INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES 2 seatsLANGUAGES 1 seat

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE 1 seat

Applications for appointment are available in the Conoco Student Leadership Wing, OMU Room 181 and online at:

http://tinyurl.com/93khsqz Applications are due Thursday, September 20th, 2012 by 4:00 PM

to Sean Bender, Student Congress Chair in the Conoco Student Leadership Wing, OMU Room 181

oud-2012-09-17-a-006.indd 1 9/16/12 10:48:39 PM

Oklahoma State University fashion students got the op-portunity to get hands-on experience in the fashion industry. Students can use the store to work on group projects with Wopsle as a mentor. Some students also worked in the store doing al-terations or merchandising.

“We had fashion merchan-dising students re-stage the store and style mannequins in order to learn about store setup,” Wopsle said.

Students also got to de-sign seasonal window dis-plays, she said.

Posh’s owners hope to do something similar with stu-dents in Norman.

“We are hoping to be involved in local fashion shows,” Wopsle said.

The store also may begin hosting in-house live music to support local musicians, she said.

Graham and Wopsle’s plan for Norman’s branch is to make trendy styles avail-able to everyone by selling affordable and wearable items.

“We buy clothes that we love, but also clothes that we think people want to wear,” Wopsle said.

Shannon Borden [email protected]

Life&Arts Monday, September 17, 2012 • 7

GO AND DOPoshHours: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday

Where: 329 White St.

Posh located in Stillwater and MarlowShannon BordenLife & Arts Reporter

A n e w b o u t i q u e o n Campus Corner is trying to bring unique looks to Norman residents with-out selling “cookie cutter” clothing.

Co-owners Amy Wopsle and Tammy Graham opened Posh on August 14. Posh made a month’s worth of sales in its opening week, Wopsle said.

Acting as both owners and fashion buyers, Wopsle and Graham strive to supply Posh with the most unique and trendy looks. They never buy the same merchandise twice, so there is always something new.

“If you buy something here, you won’t see anyone else on campus wearing it,” Wopsle said.

Buying trendy clothing is not always easy to do on a college budget. Wopsie said she tries to keep that in mind and tries to keep Posh’s clothing reasonably priced. They try to make sure entire head-to-toe looks, including accessories, do not exceed $100.

Wopsle, an OU journal-ism alumna, stressed that Posh is a locally-owned boutique with community interests in mind. With suc-cessful locations in Marlow and Stillwater, Posh is a great fit for the Norman area, she said.

Wo p s l e a n d G r a h a m plan to be very active in the Nor man community by working with OU fashion stu-dents, which they have done at their other locations.

At the Stillwater location,

HeaTHer BroWn/THe daily

Red and yellow bags are displayed next to the front counter and chalkboard at Posh, a new boutique on Campus Corner.

loCal business

Shop sells non ‘cookie-cutter’ fashion


Kristen Markey (left), amy Wopsle and brooke baumert stand in front of the chalkboard at Posh. Posh is owned by Wopsle and her “Posh Girls,” Markey and baumert, who work there when they aren’t attending classes at ou.


Colorful pants and hand bags are displayed inside the entrance of Posh, a new boutique on Campus Corner.

Basketball tourney @ the HuffSept. 29, 1-5 p.m.

benefi tting

$30 per 3 player team$40 per 4 player team

$2 to cheer on your favorite teamregistration is open until 12:30 Sept. 29

4 players per team maximumco-ed teams welcome

Sign up in the Student Media business offi ceCopeland Hall, room 149A or

email [email protected] to reserve your spotand pay at the door.

N3 3

Student Media is a department within OU’s division of Student Affairs.The University of Oklahoma is an equal opportunity institution.

presents...University of Oklahoma

of the

Laurie Scrivener

Recipient 2012

Thomas and Catherine LuccockLibrarian of the Year

Award

Congratulates

oud-2012-09-17-a-007.indd 1 9/16/12 10:26:05 PM

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8 • Monday, September 17, 2012 Advertisement

oud-2012-09-17-a-008.indd 1 9/16/12 10:28:10 PM