November 2004 11 29

IONEERPOklahoma City Community College

• Media downplays Arafat, editorial, p. 2.• College honors its veterans, p. 5.• International students represented, p. 9.• BSA planning Winter Ball, p. 14.

November 29, 2004This Week

Inside

A Gathering of Countries: International students gathered in the atrium of the main building topresent their home countries’ flags during the International Flag Dedication ceremony. More than 500international students from 60 countries attend OKCCC. For more on the dedication, see page 9.

Aquatic Centerreopens doors

By Caroline TingEditor

The OKCCC Aquatic Center reopenedits doors Nov. 1 after a six-week renova-

tion period. Swimmers and divers can now feelmore comfortable in the Olympic-sized pool,said Traci Wheeler, Recreation and Commu-nity Services director.

During the Nov. 15 Board of Regents meet-ing, the college regents recessed to visit theAquatic Center, and later accepted the renova-tions.

The aquatics facility, which had been in ser-vice for 15 years, was five years past its war-ranty so the reconstruction was necessary,Wheeler said.

Two major renovations done on the swimmingpool include a new pool bottom surface and anew bulkhead.

The new pool bottom is made of polyvinylchloride with a pad underneath it, she said.

“It’s really cushioned so it’s nice to our re-tired population, (and) more friendly to mylearn-to-swim instructors who teach the kids,”Wheeler said.

The baby blue color of the liner also gives thepool a nice sparkle, Wheeler said to the regentson Nov. 15.

The previous pool bottom was old and hadstarted to hurt people’s feet, she said.

The old bulkhead caused some injuries too,Wheeler said. The bulkhead is used to shortenor lengthen lanes for competition.

“[A bulkhead] is used for flip turning,”Wheeler said. “So when [the swimmers] do aflip turn, [the old bulkhead] would cut theirfeet.”

The new bulkhead is made of solid fiberglass,she said. Unlike the old one, “there’s nothingattached that can fall off.”

Wheeler also told the regents that the newbulkhead is “the best on the market, moveableand vital for competitions.”

The new pool liner and the bulkhead have a25-year warranty, Wheeler said.

In addition, a new gutter system was installedon the diving well, Wheeler said.

“The old gutter system had tiles all the wayaround the lip, and that tile was starting to fall

See “Aquatic,” page 16

Repairs done, new bulkhead in place

Database takes college back to 1800sBy Erin LewisNews Writing I

Studentand Richard Hall

Staff Writer

OKCCC studentsare now able to

search newspapersback to the 1800s,thanks to the newProquest HistoricalNewspapers database.

Systems LibrarianDana Tuley-Williamssaid OKCCC historyprofessor JessicaSheetz-Nguyen madethe request for the da-tabase.

“Before getting Pro-quest, [OKCCC] didn’thave historical news-paper coverage priorto 1980,” she said.

“Proquest is an ex-cellent and beneficialdatabase that allows

students to search fornewspaper articlesdating back into the1800s.”

Tuley-Williams saidif the college hadwanted to have cover-age prior to 1980 forcertain newspapers,they would have hadto buy it on microfilm.

The cost of a micro-film database of TheNew York Times datedfrom 1851 to 1980would have cost thecollege approximately$700,000.

Tuley-Williams saidthe entire Proquestdatabase cost lessthan $10,000.

Tuley-Williams saidwith Proquest, stu-dents can currentlysearch The New YorkTimes from 1851 to2000, the Wall StreetJournal from 1889 to1987, Los Angeles

Times from 1881 to1966, the WashingtonPost from 1877 to1988, and ChristianScience Monitor from1908 to current is-sues.

Tuley-Williams saidalthough the programis outstanding, it doeshave a learning curve.

“Proquest searchesnewspapers using Op-tical Character Recog-nition,” she said.

“This means it sear-ches images of news-papers, and some-times finding the exact

article can bedifficult.”

She said stu-dents shouldthink of how tosearch for theirtopic, and to usespecific dates ortime frames. Shesaid this will re-duce the time

the student spendslooking for the articlethey need.

Additionally, TheOklahoman archiveshave been enhancedto include articles dat-ing back as far as1910.

These additions willassist students in fur-thering their research.

To access the Pro-quest Historical News-paper database andother databases of-fered by OKCCC, visitwww.okccc.edu/li-brary/articles.

Photo by Christiana Kostura

2 • PIONEER • November 29, 2004

Editorial and OpinionEditorial

PIONEERVol. 33 No. 14

Caroline Ting..................EditorChristiana Kostura....Staff WriterMatt Caban............Staff WriterShawn Bryant........Staff WriterRichard Hall...........Staff WriterAnn Lushbough....PhotographerDavid Kilcrease......Ad ManagerMelissa Guice.....Online EditorRonna Austin.........Lab DirectorSue Hinton.......Faculty Adviser

The PIONEER is a publica-tion of Oklahoma City Com-munity College through theDivision of Arts and Humani-ties. It is published weeklyduring the fall and spring se-mesters and the eight-weeksummer session.

All opinions expressed arethose of the author and do notnecessarily represent those ofthe publisher.

The PIONEER welcomes let-ters to the editor and encour-ages the use of this publica-tion as a community forum.All letters must include theauthor’s name, address,phone number and signature.However, the PIONEER willwithhold the name if the re-quest is made in writing. ThePIONEER has the right to editall letters and submissions forlength, libel and obscenity.

Letters to the editor can bedelivered in person to the PIO-NEER office, mailed to: Pio-neer Editor, 7777 S. May,Oklahoma City, Oklahoma73159 or faxed to 682-7568.

Letters may also be e-mailedto [email protected]. A phonenumber for verification mustbe included.

The PIONEER can be ac-cessed on the Internet at:http://pioneer.okccc.edu.

Media’s hit ormiss on Arafat

Student wants a policy in placeTo the editor:

I see posters all over thecampus that say, “TheWorld Is Your Campus.” Itotally agree. Attending col-lege is a very efficient, fast-paced, concentrated way tolearn, but experience is thebest teacher. The Okla-homa State Regents andOKCCC recognize that fact.The Regents website goesinto great detail explainingtheir commitment to grant-ing credit for “ExperientialLearning.” OKCCC men-tions it in the 2004-05 col-lege catalog.

Unfortunately, I discov-ered that OKCCC is unpre-pared to implement its ownpolicy. This became clearwhen I asked an admis-sions counselor how to takeadvantage of this “Credit forExperiential Learning” op-tion. She didn’t know. Noone knew. No one evenknew whom to see. But af-ter being shuffled throughfive or six offices, adminis-trators did manage to con-coct a plan and assign aprofessor to review my ex-perience.

During this haphazardprocess, I asked a senioradministrator why therewas no policy in place toguide the students andstaff. The answer I receivedwas, “We’re working on it.We’ve been working on it fora year and a half.” I later

learned the OklahomaState Regents promulgatedtheir “ExtrainstitutionalLearning” policy to collegesin Oklahoma in the fall of1995. Colleges have hadover nine years to come upwith a policy.

My application was de-nied primarily because theprofessor assigned to re-view it had no training inassessing prior learning.Her lack of assessmentskills resulted in over halfof my experience being ig-nored. I asked an Okla-homa State Regents admin-istrator why Oklahoma col-leges don’t have peopletrained to objectively assessstudents who seek out thisoption. She told me thetraining required is “veryexpensive” and many col-leges just can’t afford it. Iresearched this, too.

CAEL (The Council forAdult and ExperientialLearning), an agency thestate regents work hand-in-hand with, has put togethera course for this exact pur-pose. It is an online courseoffered by DePaul Univer-sity and would cost OKCCC$2,400. As I understand it,OKCCC’s budget is in ex-cess of $30 million. I can’timagine $2,400 being out ofthe question.

Overall, I have had agreat experience here atOKCCC. It is a good college.

It could be better. Forty-onepercent of all students inOklahoma colleges are over25 years of age.

Many of us have been outin the world — the worldthat has, indeed, been ourcampus. OKCCC should bebetter equipped to recog-nize that.

—Sheldon BargerBusiness management

major

What could be said about a man who fundedterrorism and had a deep, personal involvement withthe massacre at the Munich Olympic games? Kindwords aren’t the first that come to mind, butapparently that’s all that can be said about the kindof man Yasser Arafat was.

Arafat’s death has his followers mourning whilethe rest of the world revels. One of the largestroadblocks on the road to Middle Eastern peace isnow gone.

If this is the case, then it should be found absurdthat many media personalities and news stationsportrayed Arafat as a victim. They gave Arafat thepersona of being a frail, grandfatherly figure, ratherthan detailing his life as it really was.

Katie Couric, co-anchor of the “Today” show, woreblack the day Arafat was buried. Fox News’Sheppard Smith even went as far as to compareArafat to George Washington, calling him a liberatorand freedom fighter.

This means Arafat also can be compared to HarrietTubman, Martin Luther King Jr. and MohandasGandhi, all of which is asinine.

While the remarks and actions of those mediapersonalities are inane and impious, they’re nothingcompared to how news stations handled Arafat’sdeath on our nation’s Veterans Day.

As stations covered the ceremony at ArlingtonNational Cemetery, many of them cut away fromthe event to discuss Arafat’s death, which provedto be disrespectful and tasteless.

As the co-founder and Chairman for thePalestinian Liberation Organization, Arafat led thegroup who was directly responsible for the MunichMassacre.

In his autobiography, “Palestine - From Jerusalemto Munich,” Palestine National Council member AbuDaoud admitted the PLO was directly responsiblefor the assault on the Israeli athletes, which left all11 team members dead. Daoud was a leader of BlackSeptember, the group that carried out the attack.Arafat and two other men saw him off with thewords, “Allah protect you.”

For a man who had his hand over the massacre,Arafat was made out to be a folk-hero upon hisdeath. It’s sad to see that much of our nation’s mediaechoed the thoughts of political leaders who heraldArafat as a great and wonderful man.

Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak said Arafatwas a defender of justice, while French presidentJacques Chirac called Arafat a man of courage andconviction.

Although it’s true that Arafat was a man ofconviction, it’s too bad his conviction led him toterrorism. Arafat’s greatest contribution to hispeople was when he attempted to make peace, andone of the greatest chances for peace ever is here.Let’s all seize the chance, respect it and put it togood use.

—Richard HallStaff Writer

November 29, 2004 • PIONEER • 3

Comments and Reviews

Men in Blue calls for a rematch

The vault has beenopened once again insearch of a favorite fromyesteryear. Rather thanhunt down another ’80steen comedy, music is thisweek’s treasure. Straightout of 1996 is the album“Take Me to Your Leader”by the Newsboys.

This album is the finestexample of the band’sunique wit and view on life.Lyrically, the album coversa multitude of people andsituations. It sets off aswitch in your head thatthere is an uncomfortableside of life.

“Breathe” centers on aperson stuck in traffic andstates “drivers beware.” Itdrives home the feeling ofirritation, but offers hopewith a completely subtlechorus.

A sad, but inspiring songis “Miracle Child.” The slowmusic provides a greatbackdrop for the pictur-esque lyrics. It is likely thatmost people have seen theinside of a hospital anddealt with the loss of a lovedone. However, if not, thissong puts the listener intosuch a place.

Another song that does agreat job of imagery is“Breakfast.” This song is afan fave with its referencesto Captain Crunch andother breakfast foods. It isa memorial to a friend whogave such advice as “youwill lose it in your gymclass, if you wait ‘til noonto eat.”

Though unnamed, theperson “Breakfast” is writ-ten about led a breakfastclub before his abruptdeath. A short song is at-tributed to him, “when thebig one finds you/may thissong remind you/ theydon’t serve breakfast inhell.”

Death and dealing withtrying circumstances is astrong theme on this al-bum.

A softer song that en-courages forgiveness is “LetIt Go,” one of two songs thatrelies on softer soundsrather than electric guitars.

The album’s title track isfull of pop culture and Bib-lical references. Again, theband’s lyrics are choice,considering that they referto actor Steve McQueen,belly dancers, fish and Bib-

lical figures.However, as the old say-

ing goes, “save the best forlast.” The Newsboys didjust that. “Lost the Plot” isa classic song. The lyricsdefine both imagery andirony. Regardless of yourreligious beliefs, this songmakes perfect sense. Itdeals with people whoclaim to be faithful andcommitted to something,but do not follow through.

The opening lines refer tothe alleged second comingof Jesus Christ. Whereasthis should be a joyous mo-ment for any member of theChristian religion, thesinger seems unaffected.

Lyrics such as, “Whenyou’re coming back again/Would you bring me some-thing from the fridge/Hearda rumor that the end isnear/But I just got comfort-able here.”

This album shows howbad things can be and howthey can improve. If youwant to visit the ’90s for awhile or hear great music,“Take Me to Your Leader”is for you.

—Matthew CabanStaff Writer

Quote of the Week:“Age is a very high price to pay

for maturity.”—Tom Stoppard

Smart lyrics from the vault

Last month the Committee on Accreditation ofEducational Programs for the Emergency MedicalServices Professions was on our campus to reviewthe college’s EMS program.

Every five years the faculty prepare for this ex-tensive self-study report and two-day visit by evalu-ators selected by the national accreditation office.After an evaluation of the curriculum, faculty, labequipment and student pass rates on licensure ex-ams, the committee once again reaffirmed thatOKCCC has the best EMS program in the state.

The college has the first, and is still the only na-tionally accredited Emergency Medical Service-Para-medic program in the state of Oklahoma. The pro-gram is continually growing.

From fall of 2003 to fall 2004, the program sawan increase in its student body of 67 percent. En-rollment increases in the program are having a re-markable impact on the shortage of health care pro-fessionals in the state. The most recent EMS gradu-ating class had a 100 percent pass rate on the na-tional licensure exam. The current national passrate is 64 percent.

The report filed by the accreditation team was ex-tremely positive and listed numerous strengths:experienced and highly regarded faculty, excellentinstitutional support, state-of-the-art equipment,“tremendous” community support from the EMSadvisory committee, technological support and theavailability of two medical directors — both OKCCCgraduates.

At the end of the visit, the team met with facultyand administrators. During this meeting, teammembers were gushing about our program. Onemember stated, “This is the best evaluation visit Ihave ever been on.” Outcomes like this derive fromcontinued excellence.

I would like to recognize Jo Ann Cobble, dean ofthe Division of Health Professions; Romeo Opichka,director of the Emergency Medical Science Program;Harvey Conner, professor; Bruce Farris, professor;Brent Stafford, professor; and Shelly Tevis, HealthProfessions division secretary. Congratulations onhaving the best EMS program in the state. We arevery proud and honored to have such a dedicatedgroup of faculty, staff and students.

—Dr. Bob ToddOKCCC President

EMS programbest in state

E-mail your letters to the editor:[email protected]

To the editor:OKCCC intramural vol-

leyball team Men in Blue iscalling out the Social Sci-ence Spikers.

Men in Blue were in astaff meeting with Dr. Toddwhile the games betweenthe Spikers and the BaptistCollegiate Ministries werebeing played on Nov. 9.

We call out the Spikers tothe best two out of three,and the winner gets all thebragging rights.

Men in Blue will be re-turning two seniors: Bash-ing Bennie Slover (teamcaptain) and Diving DanGurka, with four newcom-ers: Jumping Jason Beam,Dangerous Darrell Pear-man, Charging CharlieNeatherlin and High FlyingAnnette Kolander from Fi-nancial Aid.

Maintenance SupervisorGary Belcher said, “Ourteam is in top physicalshape and ready to avenge

last year’s embarrassingloss to the Spikers.”

I’ve posted a cutout of thePioneer article on everyplayer’s locker to keep fo-cus.

There’s a lot at stake, butwe will prevail.

If the Spikers accept ourchallenge, we will set a dateall can attend, and settlethis on the court.

—Men in BlueOKCCC intramural

volleyball team


Comments and Reviews

Ever since “Halo” debutedalong side the Xbox, manyvideo game companies anddesigners have attemptedto dethrone “Halo” from thetop spot of being the bestfirst-person shooter on anyconsole system ever.

Many games have comeand gone, and while somemay have expected it, mostwill be surprised to find“Halo 2” is responsible forthe dethroning.

“Halo 2” picks up exactlywhere “Halo” left off. Thebattle ensues against thealien races of the Covenantand the Flood, as the Cov-enant have discoveredEarth and another Halo —the massive ring that hasthe ability to destroy all lifein the galaxy.

Sporting the Spartan gearas Master Chief, playersassume the role as the manbred for war, destroyingeverything in his or herwake.

While the story is essen-tially an extension to“Halo,” as it should be,players will be shocked

when they encounter themany plot twists and turnslittered throughout thesingle-player experience.

Pushing the spoilersaside, the race to stop theCovenant from activatingthe new Halo is made moreenjoyable the second timethrough, due mostly to thegameplay tweaks.

Players are now able todual-wield weapons, jumphigher and man a more di-verse blend of vehicles. Al-though some of the new el-ements take some gettingused to, intense players willfind everything to be sec-ond nature in a matter ofminutes.

Enemy intelligence hasalso received an upgrade,and players will find somescenarios must be thoughtthrough rather than allow-ing themselves to burst in,guns blazing.

This adds depth to thegame, as it becomes slightlymore challenging in thehigher levels when com-pared to “Halo.”

The graphics are phe-

nomenal and brilliantly dis-played. There’s more atmo-spheric and environmentaldetail, as well as an amaz-ing amount of detail addedto the character art andmovement. It’s easy to for-get “Halo 2” is a video gameand not some nicely puttogether sci-fi movie.

Players will constantlyhave a busy screen, whe-ther it be filled with en-emies or a wonderfully-done cut scene. All the bet-ter as there is virtually noslow down during game-play, except when the gameloads at its checkpoints.

Thankfully, the controlscheme has stayed thesame with respects to mi-nor differences that mainlydeal with dual-wielding.

One of the best aspects of“Halo” was the control lay-out, and it’s nice to seeBungie Software have re-tained it and, somehow,made it more comfortable.

Ears will beg for mercy asthe sounds of shots firing,engines revving and allyradio chatter pushes

through the speakers. Ev-ery bit of sound is crisp andclear, as if the game werebeing played in a movie the-ater.

Aside from having won-derful sound effects, theactual soundtrack of thegame is great. It blends andsupports the story im-maculately, adding to theintensity the game itselfbrings to the table.

As it is with many first-person shooters, “Halo 2”does come up short in onecategory: game length.

An avid player can easilyknock this game out in sixhours.

“Halo” seemed to last a bitlonger than “Halo 2,” andgameplay time is a signi-ficant decisive factor in re-spects to if a player shouldrent or buy.

Though this may soundlike a big deal, it really isn’t,simply because players canchallenge themselves to dif-ferent difficulty settings, oreven by going through theentire game using only acertain weapon.

And of course, how canone forget about the most

lovable part of any first-person shooter?

The multi-player addi-tions to “Halo 2” are incred-ible, so much that themultiplayer experiencealone is worth the purchaseprice.

Players are able to battlein a vast array of environ-ments, from large to larger,against 16 friends or foeswith voice chat capabilities,which translates into achance to do a lot of trash-talking.

Online scoreboards madeavailable through Xbox Liveare now up and running,and the ability to downloadfuture content and joinmultiplayer clans is great.

In the end, players willfind the “Halo 2” single-player experience to be a bitshort, although aggressiveand pronounced.

But keeping in mind theother things “Halo 2” has tooffer will unfailingly keepdie-hard fans and newbiesalike smiling until the nextbig thing comes along.

Rating: 5/5—Richard Hall

Staff Writer

“After the Sunset,”starring Pierce Brosnanand Salma Hayek, is anaction-packed dramafull of laughs.

The film begins with abrilliant scheme involv-ing a couple stealing thesecond jewel in a set ofthree famous diamonds.

Brosnan, a skilledjewel thief named MaxBurdett and Lola Cirillo(Hayek), Burdett’s sexypartner and lover, playthe couple.

The huge diamondscome from the handle ofNapoleon’s sword.

Stanley P. Lloyd, an unlucky FBI agent(Woody Harrelson), is trying to transportthe second gem when Burdett and Cirillo’sscheme plays out.

Lloyd knows the couple has stolen thefirst diamond, but can’t prove it was them.He suspects they will try to steal the sec-

ond one while it is intransport.

Burdett and Cirillo planto retire at a young ageafter successfully steal-ing the second diamond,but are followed by Lloydto the tropical island theyhave retired on.

Lloyd suspects thecouple will try to steal thethird Napoleon diamond,which will be displayedon a ship docking at theirisland for 10 days.

Many surprising eventshappen during themovie. The ending is themost hilarious, com-

pletely unexpected twist to this film.The movie is rated PG-13 for sexuality,

violence and language. Parents should beaware there is an excess of fleshy scenesand violence.

—Christiana KosturaStaff Writer

Ladies like armor plating... and ‘Halo 2’

James Bond, the diamond thief

Are you a cartoonist?Are you a cartoonist?Are you a cartoonist?Are you a cartoonist?Are you a cartoonist?Want to have your cartoonWant to have your cartoonWant to have your cartoonWant to have your cartoonWant to have your cartoonpublished in the Pioneer?published in the Pioneer?published in the Pioneer?published in the Pioneer?published in the Pioneer?

Contact Caroline atContact Caroline atContact Caroline atContact Caroline atContact Caroline at682-1611, ext. 7409682-1611, ext. 7409682-1611, ext. 7409682-1611, ext. 7409682-1611, ext. 7409


By Christiana KosturaStaff Writer

Many eyes were moistduring OKCCC’s VeteransDay celebration on Nov. 11.

American, Oklahomanand college flags located inthe main building werededicated in honor of vet-erans during the ceremony.

A plaque was installedstating the flag display isdedicated to “students, fac-ulty, staff, alumni, andfriends of Oklahoma CityCommunity College whohave served in our Nation’sarmed forces.”

U.S. Grant High SchoolJunior ROTC members pre-sented the colors and per-formed a gun exercise forthe audience.

President Bob Todd gavea heartfelt speech to attend-ees about veterans and

Celebration of Heroes event brings tearstheir family members aswell as soldiers currentlyserving in the armed forces.

“Veterans past, presentand future, you have gui-ded our nation throughgood and bad times,” Toddsaid. “Through war timesand peace, your valor andhope inspires others toserve.”

Drew Baker, an OKCCCstudent, performed “GodBless America” to a solemncrowd, filling the college’smain building with hervoice.

“I’ve never heard this col-lege sound so beautiful,”said Marion Paden, vicepresident for Student Ser-vices.

The flag dedication cer-emony ended with Toddhanging a plaque dedicatedto veterans.

Bill McGinnis, a U.S.Army veteran attended theceremony. He said he

Photos by Ann Lushbough

Having lunch with the VPBy Shawn Bryant

Staff Writer

Students who have some-thing they would like to sayto the vice president forStudent Services will havea chance to say it Tuesday,Dec. 7.

Marion Paden will behosting a Brown Bag LunchSeries event titled Lunchwith the VP, at 12:30 p.m.in CU3.

Jon Horinek, communityengagement coordinator forStudent Life, said since thisis part of the Brown Bag

Lunch Series, those attend-ing should bring their ownfood.

“[This event is] designedto give students a chanceto voice their concerns withthe vice president,” Hor-inek said.

Since this is the first timePaden has been involved insomething like this, shesaid she will feel satisfiedto get the opportunity tospeak with even one stu-dent.

“Anytime I get feedbackfrom a student it will helpme do my job,” Paden said.

Paden said this is a won-derful opportunity for stu-

dents to speak out.“Anytime you have the

opportunity to speak withsomeone in a leadershipposition, you can be heard.”

Paden said she plans todo everything she can tomake this a productiveevent.

“If there is a particularquestion or concern thatneeds to be addressed I willdefinitely follow up withthat student,” Paden said.

Paden also said shehopes people will attend theevent.

Staff writer ShawnBryant can be reached [email protected].

The U.S. Grant Marine Corps JuniorReserve Officer Training Corps performedthe Posting of the Colors at the Celebrationof Heroes Veterans Day Ceremony. Theceremony was held in the college foyer onVeterans Day, Nov. 11.

Veteran David Perry wipes atear as he listens to Dr. Todd

thank all the veterans fortheir service to the country.He was one of the veterans

who visited OKCCC onVeterans Day, Nov. 11. Perry

was in the Navy and didnine tours in Saudi Arabia.

wants to lend support tothe soldiers fighting in theMiddle East.

“I really enjoyed (servingin the military),” he said. “Ilearned a lot.”

Senior Writer ChristianaKostura can be reached [email protected].


By John SavageNews Writing I Student

Interactive Television hasbeen a mainstay on theOKCCC campus since1979.

The technology allows re-mote students to receivelive instruction simulta-neously with the studentsin the originating site, saidGlenda Prince, coordinatorof Telelearning.

“We now have two-wayaudio and video that hasclear and crisp full motion,”Prince said.

ITV has evolved and nowuses an Internet Protocol,or an IP address, Princesaid.

Prince said IP allows thevideo and audio to be sentto other facilities and allowsstudents and teachers totalk with each other in realtime with no delays orpauses.

This permits classroomsto have face-to-face con-tact, even though they aremiles away from each other,Prince said.

Photo by Ann Lushbough

Drugs, warrantlead to arreston campus

Making music: Musician Alvaro Malave played Brazilian music for OKCCC studentsNov. 16 in the college union. Student Life hosted the event for International EducationWeek. From Edmond, Malave plays Brazilian Jazz, which combines elements fromBrazilian and jazz music. Malave blends all his influences to create various ballads,bossa novas and sambas. Brazilian Jazz is most popular in Europe and Asia, and hasgained a strong following in the United States. Visit www.garageband.com/artist/alvaroto download songs and for more artist information.

Technology important to studentsThe classrooms used for

ITV at OKCCC comeequipped with remote con-trolled cameras, televisionmonitors, microphones andspeakers, Prince said.

Prince said OKCCC isnow able to send and re-ceive classes from any-where in the world becauseof the IP addresses.

A main advantage to us-ing ITV is the time andmoney ITV saves students.

“This is a great solutionfor students that live in ru-ral areas,” Prince said.

ITV allows students toreceive general education incollege credits they wouldnot otherwise be able to re-ceive.

“ITV applies to education,business and highschools,” Prince said.

Another advantage of ITVis the ability to use the ser-vice for video conferencing,Prince said.

ITV also helps people whomay not be able to travel tothe OKCCC campus andallows high school studentsto start college earlier,Prince said.

The number of sites

OKCCC can send out at onetime is three, Prince said.This means up to threeclassrooms can work on thesame class together.

OKCCC political scienceprofessor Paulette CampJones said she has beenusing ITV for three years.

“I like the technologicalaspect,” Jones said. “Theyare helpful and get the stu-dent involved.”

Although some studentsmight be embarrassed to betelevised on ITV, many stu-dents said they don’t mindit.

“I feel like it is a comfort-able atmosphere, and it isvery laid back,” saidOKCCC freshman MeganKimmel.

While many studentssaid they enjoy the ITVclassrooms, freshmanJames Compton prefershaving a live professor.

“I enjoy this class, but Iwould prefer to always bein the classroom with theteacher,” he said.

For a complete listing ofITV courses, visit thecollege’s website at www.okccc.edu.


Drugs and paraphernalia were found in a mislaid dia-per bag on Oct. 29 near the college library, leading to thearrest of a campus visitor. Megan Woodward, 27, of Okla-homa City, told officers the bag belonged to her.

William Snyder, a security officer, found the diaper bagand a car seat on a curb at the southwest corner of thelibrary.

Snyder turned in the items to OKCCC’s security officewhere the college’s lost and found is located.

Liquid methamphetamine and needles were found dur-ing the process of inventorying the diaper bag, saidOKCCC security officer John Hughes, Jr.

Hughes said a man identifying himself as 36-year-oldBenjamin Lucas arrived at the security office to claimthe items. He told security officers the bag and car seatbelonged to a friend waiting outside in his truck, accord-ing to the incident report issued by OKCCC.

Upon arriving at Lucas’s vehicle, Hughes discoveredWoodward and her baby. Woodward said the car seatand bag belonged to her, Hughes said.

Hughes said he took Woodward and her baby insidethe college and called the Oklahoma City Police Depart-ment.

Neither Lucas nor Woodward is a student at the col-lege, Hughes said.

“(Lucas) stated he brought (Woodward) up here to usea computer for personal use,” Hughes said.

Oklahoma City Police Officer Jared Cox responded tothe call at 8:27 p.m., according to the crime report is-sued by the OCPD.

In the police report, Cox said he searched the diaperbag upon arriving at the college.

Cox said stolen checks, credit cards and altered iden-tification cards were found in addition to the drugs andparaphernalia.

Woodward was charged with possession of a controlleddangerous substance with the intent to distribute, andknowingly possessing a fictitious identification document.

According to the crime report, Lucas was released andWoodward’s baby was released to its father.

In the crime report, Cox said a check revealed a war-rant issued by Oklahoma County for Woodward’s arrest.

According to documents from the Oklahoma CountyDistrict Court, Woodward had pled guilty to charges ofpossession of a controlled dangerous substance with theintent to distribute and the crime of transporting a loadedfirearm in a landborne vehicle on Jan. 11, 2001.

She was sentenced to 10 years and six months inprison. The sentence was suspended and Woodward wasplaced on probation.

After violations to her probation, an application to re-voke her suspended sentence was filed by the state anda warrant was issued for her arrest.

Woodward could not be reached for comment. Lucasrefused to comment.

Senior Writer Christiana Kostura can be reached [email protected].


By Alli S. RineyNews Writing I Student

A resolution calling forpay raises for part-timeprofessors will be consid-ered at the Dec. 14 meet-ing of the Faculty Associa-

Faculty group to look at part-time paytion It was decided at thegroup’s last meeting.

Approximately half of theclasses offered at OKCCCare taught by adjunct fac-ulty. These professors earnmuch less than half theamount per credit hourcompared to full-time fac-ulty members.


At least eight items havebeen reported stolen to theSafety and Security Officein the past month, accord-ing to incident reports.

Some items stolen in-clude a TI-83 calculator,cell phones, purses, walletsand a laptop computer, ac-cording to the reports.

Keith Bourque, safetyand security coordinator,said he isn’t that surprised.He said he has seen stu-dents leave their personalbelongings unattended onnumerous occasions.

“Walk through the cafete-ria anytime and you will seemany book bags unat-tended,” he said.

The majority of items sto-len on campus were leftunattended by their own-ers, according to the nu-merous incident reportsfiled by the college’s Safety

Campus theft increasesand Security Office.

Bourque said students“need to be [aware] of theirsurroundings.”

Valuables should not beleft unattended, Bourquesaid, even in vehicles.

“If you’re not going tobring your purse into thecollege with you, leave it athome or at least put it inyour trunk,” Bourque said.

Students also should usethe hooks on stall doors inthe bathrooms to hangbags when using the facil-ity, Bourque said. This way,items are out of sight.

Even when safety adviceis observed, items can bestolen.

“Report it to us as soonas possible,” Bourque said.

Security officer ShawnPalmer agreed.

If students make them-selves the target of oppor-tunity, Palmer said, belong-ings may be stolen.


The average annual full-time faculty salary atOKCCC is $46,153. Thecurrent pay rate for OKCCCadjunct faculty members is$535 per credit hour. Evenif an adjunct faculty mem-ber taught full-time, theannual rate of pay wouldamount to only $16,050,

according to the October2004 edition of the Voice,the Faculty Association’sbulletin.

“Education has alwaysbeen subsidized by itsteachers,” said JudyGailey, a math professor.“I’d love a raise.”

“When I first startedteaching here, I had beenmaking more per credithour at Howard Commu-nity College in Maryland in1986,” Gailey said.

Numerous OKCCC stu-dents are unaware of theexistence of adjunct profes-sors. Many of the studentsoften are unable to defineadjunct faculty.

“I don’t know what thatis,” said Diana Rogas, afreshman studying to be-come a medical office as-sistant.

In layman’s terms, ad-

Photo by Christiana Kostura

Judy Gailey

Read the Pioneer at www.okccc.edu/pioneer


OKCCC bookstore’s textbook buybackwill be from Dec. 13 to 18 near the Com-munications Lab behind the bookstore.

Brenda Reinke, bookstore director,encourages students to sell theirbooks back to the college book-store.

“Support the local store and sup-port your college,” she said.

Reinke said OKCCC’s bookstoreoffers competitive prices for pur-chasing used books.

Most books are accepted,Reinke said, if the books will beused again next semester.

Discontinued versions will not be pur-chased by the bookstore.

Textbook buy back soon“If you have a book that had a CD,

bring the CD back,” Reinke said.Used books still containing a CD are

likely to be assigned a better sellingprice, she said.

Students are not required to showidentification to sell a book.

Times for book buy back will vary.Monday, Dec. 13 from 8:30 a.m. to

8 p.m. will be the first day to sellback books.

Tuesday, Dec. 14 throughThursday, Dec. 16 from 8:30 a.m.to 6 p.m. is another opportunity.

Friday, Dec. 17 from 8:30 a.m.to 5 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 18from 9 a.m. to noon are the lastchances to sell books.

For more information, call thebookstore at 682-1611, ext. 7510.

Senior Writer Christiana Kostura canbe reached at SeniorWriter@ okccc.edu.

junct faculty is another titlefor part-time faculty.

“Adjunct faculty arehighly regarded by stu-dents for their fine teach-ing and faithful mainte-nance of office hours,”stated the Voice.


Musical comedy lightens the heart

New York actor’s dreams come true in Okla.By Jennifer Stamps

News Writing I Student

He never thought hisdream of being a profes-sional actor would come tolife right here in his home-town of Oklahoma City,said Richard J. Nelson,OKCCC theater arts profes-sor.

When Nelson moved toNew York to pursue hisdream of professional act-ing, he worked on off-Broadway productions.

In Queens, New York, heworked at Bloomingdale’s,where he sold five pairs ofsweat pants to SegourneyWeaver.

“It was my first brushwith an actor in New York,”Nelson said.

In 1999, Nelson fre-quently came to Oklahomato attend to his ill father,and decided it would bebest to stay in Oklahomawhile his family needed

him.“I didn’t really have

anything tying medown there, besideswanting to be an ac-tor,” he said.

While in New York,Nelson earned hisway into the Actor’sEquity Association,a professional actingunion. However,AEA union work was diffi-cult to find in Oklahoma.

Nelson said one of theonly ways around the jobdrought was to make hisown work.

“I saw a theater born fromthe ground up, and when Icame here, I decided to tryit.”

He, along with severalcolleagues, opened a theat-rical company in OklahomaCity, named SynchronicityTheatre Company, after thefirst theater Nelson workedat in New York.

“I was not intending tostay here, but after[Synchronicity] became big-

ger than I was, itgave me a reasonto stay here.”

Nelson said herealized buildinga theater com-pany was whathe was strivingfor all along.

The theater waspaid for out-of-pocket and from

personal contributions.Also, surrounding the-

aters, such as Shakespearein the Park, University ofCentral Oklahoma andCarpenter Square Theatrewere willing to loan cos-tumes and set pieces.

“They were really gener-ous and supportive of eachother,” Nelson said.

Synchronicity TheatreCompany changed itsname to the Oklahoma CityTheatre Company in 2001.

“We decided to simplifyand become sort of a the-ater for the community, asopposed to an independentcompany.”

Nelson serves as ArtisticDirector at the OCTC, aposition that is renewableeach year.

OCTC is a non-profit the-ater funded by the ArtsCouncil, the National En-dowment for the Arts, localbusinesses and private do-nations, Nelson said.

It was at the Civic CenterMusic Hall that Nelson metRuth Charnay, OKCCCTheatre Arts director.

“Like everything, if you’reat the right place at theright time, other things fallin your lap,” Nelson said.

Nelson is directing the

“We decided tosimplify and become

sort of a theater forthe community, as

opposed to anindependent

company.”—Richard J. Nelson

Theater Arts professor

college’s upcoming produc-tion.

Sophomore Jeremy Will-iams, stage manager for“Nunsense,” said Nelsonbrings a sense of disciplineand professionalism toOKCCC.

“He is one of the best di-rectors I’ve worked with,”Williams said.

In addition to directing“Nunsense,” Nelson is di-recting “A Chrismas Carol”at the Oklahoma City The-atre Company and teachingthree classes at OKCCCand at the University ofOklahoma.

Freshman Jessica Chit-wood, playing Sister Hubertin “Nunsense,” said she en-joys working with Nelson.

“He is a very creative andsupportive director,” Chit-wood said.

Nelson graduated with abachelor’s degree in theaterarts from OU. From there,he went to graduate schoolat the National TheatreConservatory in Denver.

By Kyle SonnerNews Writing I Student

A Sister Act-style comedywill be performed in theOKCCC Theater Dec. 9through 11.

Amen!This musical comedy is

called “Nunsense.”Two of the funniest char-

acters in the play are Sis-ter Robert Anne (StaceyLeGrange) and Sister MaryAmnesia (Bonnie Mont-gomery).

“We provide a lot of comicrelief,” said Montgomery,23, theater major.

In the play, Montgomery’scharacter is always forget-ting things and the othersisters have to move herwhere she’s supposed to beon stage during the talentshow.

LeGrange’s character isvery blunt and a little un-ruly.

“She’s really bold and

very New York,” saidLeGrange, 23, journalismmajor. “The stereotypicalNew Yorker.”

“Nunsense” was writtenby Dan Goggin and pre-miered in 1985.

Rick Nelson, an OKCCCadjunct professor and theartistic director at the Okla-homa City Theatre Com-pany, will direct the play.

“‘Nunsense’” is a real up-beat, fun musical,” Nelsonsaid.

“I thought it would begood for the holiday sea-son.”

“Nunsense” is about agroup of nuns raisingmoney to bury their sisterswho died after eating atainted batch of soup madeby their cook, Sister Julia— Child of God.

To raise money to burytheir sisters, the conventstarts up a greeting cardbusiness.

Having a lot of successwith the sales of the greet-ing cards, Mother Superior

(Shelley Lytle) frivolouslyspends some of the moneyon a digital recorder and aDVD player, leaving nomoney to bury four sisters.

To come up with moremoney to bury the remain-ing sisters, Mother Supe-rior comes up with an ideato stage a talent show.

Mother Superior castsherself and four other nunsto perform in the show.

The cast of “Nunsense”rehearses five days a week,getting their musical num-bers just right and perfect-ing their tap dancing.

None of the cast is ner-vous about singing as theyall have singing experience.However, LeGrange said,she is nervous about the

group parts.“I don’t know how to har-

monize,” she admits.Tap dancing might prove

tricky for Jessica Chitwood,20, theater arts major, whoplays the part of SisterMary Hubert.

“I don’t dance at all,”Chitwood said.

Nelson is confident thecast will be ready when itcomes to show time.

“They will get it down,even if we have to keep do-ing it over and over andover,” Nelson said.

“Repetition is the key tosuccess.”

The cast is excited aboutthis play and agrees theplay is funny.

“It’s a riot,” Montgomerysaid.

“It’s hilarious. I thinkanybody who is coming tosee the play needs to havea sense of humor.”

LeGrange agreed withMontgomery.

“It’s like a Disney cartoon.Adults and kids will like it,”

she said. “It’s fun becausethere is audience participa-tion.”

The play will be showneach night at 7:30 p.m.,Dec. 9 through 11.

Admission is free to stu-dents and faculty with anID on opening night.

On the remaining nights,it will cost $4 for studentsand faculty. The cost for thegeneral public is $5.

For more informationabout the play, e-mailNelson at [email protected]

“Nunsense” Cast• Shelley Lytle

Mother Superior• Stacey LeGrange

Sister Robert Anne• Jessica ChitwoodSister Mary Hubert

• Bonnie MontgomerySister Mary Amnesia

• Stacia RoybalSister Mary Leo

“It’s like a Disneycartoon. Adults and

kids will like it.”—Stacey LeGrange

Journalism major

Richard J.Nelson


Sixty new international flags outline the perimeter of OKCCC’s main atrium in the

main building, now known as the “Hall ofNations.”

The flags were raised in dedication to theinternational students enrolled at the collegefrom 60 different nations.

The ceremony, called A Celebration of Culture,was held Nov. 15 and was just one of the eventsthat occurred during International EducationWeek.

The celebration kicked off with African musicperformed by Jahruba, one of Oklahoma’s finestworld beat and reggae musicians.

After the dancing subsided, Dr. Marion Paden,vice president for Student Services, spoke of theinternational students, and their goals and

virtues.“These students represent America’s enduring values,” she said.

“They have overcome many obstacles and risen to the task so theycan enrich their lives.”

Paden described the flags as a representation of the rich diversityof OKCCC’s student body.

OKCCC President Bob Todd said he is happy students are exploringtheir individual potential, and that the student body has grown ininfluence and family.

“These international students chose to journey to an unknownplace,” Todd said.

“They did it to pursue their dreams.”More than a dozen international students presented their country’s

flag at the ceremony. Among them were students from Taiwain,Pakistan and Mexico.

Jon Horinek, community engagement coordinator for Student Life,organized the event.

Internationalstudents

recognized

Sixty international flags represent the diverse members of the student body.The flags are hanging in the “Hall of Nations,” on the railing around the mainatrium in the main building. More than a dozen international studentsvolunteered to display their flags during the ceremony.

Oklahoma drummer Jahruba performs during the internationalflag ceremony and student dedication, A Celebration of Culture.Jahruba is one of Oklahoma’s best drummers. He blends hisstyles of world beat and reggae music and influences into Africanmusic. Jahruba’s band, Jahruba and The Street People, havetoured together to schools and festivals throughout mid-America.

Text by Richard HallPhotos by Christiana Kostura and LaWanda LaVarnway

OKCCC President Bob Todd rises to the occasion to hang the flag of Pakistan. It wasthe first flag hung at the ceremony. Todd praised the international students for theircourage and for following their dreams and goals to become the best they can be.


By Dana FisherNews Writing I Student

No one ever said collegehad to be all work and noplay.

OKCCC students in theChild Development degreeprogram get to spend a por-tion of their time at theChild Development Centerand Lab School observingand interacting with thechildren.

“It is fun working with thechildren,” said LaneyKetring, teacher and formerlab student.

Child development pro-fessors and psychology pro-fessors require students toobserve and do lab workwith the children at thecenter.

“By students observingand doing lab work, wewant them to be preparedwhen they enter the workforce,” said Lee Ann

OKCCC students observe childrenNurdin, the Child Develop-ment Center’s lab supervi-sor.

Nurdin explained thecenter’s goal is to make thecollege students becomeprofessionals in child devel-opment.

The amount of observa-tion hours required variesaccording to the professorand the class, Nurdin said.

On the observation level,students do not interactwith the children.

Nurdin said observationstyles could range fromshadowing a certain childto studying the teacher’stechniques.

Once a student has com-pleted the required numberof observation hours, labwork is allowed to begin.Lab work allows studentsto interact with the chil-dren. But, before a studentcan fulfill lab work, the stu-dent must buy an insur-ance card from the school,allow the center to run an

Oklahoma State Bureau ofInvestigation check, andtest negative for tuberculo-sis. If all these conditionsare met, a health card is is-sued that permits the stu-dent to satisfy the lab workrequirement for the givenclass.

The center is nationallyknown and is used as amodel for colleges and uni-versities in Oklahoma aswell as other states, Nurdinsaid.

During the fall 2004 se-mester, the center has had516 students come throughto perform lab work,Nurdin said.

This has been a recordsemester with the enroll-ment for the child develop-ment classes being higher.

“Observations are a greatexperience for individualsgoing into work involvingchildren,” Ketring said.

“I really enjoyed the labwork because you get tointeract with the children.”

By Kris WhiteNews Writing I Student

College classes are just afew steps away for studentsin Pathways, a high schoollocated on the third floor ofOKCCC’s main building.

Juniors and seniors whomeet the academic require-ments can take collegeclasses as part of their highschool curriculum.

Eight Pathways students,including four juniors andfour seniors, are participat-ing in dual credit classes.These classes are for bothhigh school and collegecredit.

Juniors are required tohave a 3.5 grade point av-erage and a compositescore of 21 on the A.C.T.Seniors must have a 3.0grade point average and acomposite score of 19 onthe A.C.T to participate indual credit classes.

Holly Tiller, senior, had to

Students excel with Pathwayswork hard for the opportu-nity to participate in dual-credit classes.

”There are a lot of differ-ences between collegeclasses and high schoolclasses,” Tiller said.

“The main reason collegeclasses are different is thematurity level of the stu-dents compared to highschool students.”

Tiller is currently enrolledin English and psychologyfor dual credit.

“The college classes areinteresting,” she said, “be-cause the older studentssometimes act like I’m stu-pid but I prove them allwrong.”

José Gonzalez, senior, isenrolled in Introduction toComputers and psychologyat OKCCC for dual-credit.

“Basically, I focus moreon academics because ofthe maturity and responsi-bility college individualsinfluence,” Gonzalez said.

Principal Carol Brogansaid these students, being

By Matthew CabanStaff Writer

Paintings, mixed mediaand poetry will be on dis-play at the second annualStudent Life Art Show andCompetition from 10 a.m.to 3 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 7,in the main buildingatrium.

The competition is opento all currently enrolledOKCCC students.

Jon Horinek, communityengagement coordinator forStudent Life, said thisyear’s theme is “CreateYour Future.” He said eachstudent’s entry is judged onhow it captures the theme.

Entrants also must writea brief essay defining “Cre-ate Your Future,” and mustbe turned in by 5 p.m. onMonday, Dec. 6, to the Of-fice of Student Life, Horineksaid.

He said a variety of me-dia is accepted includingwatercolors, poems, es-says, paintings and mixed

College continuesart show tradition

in a college atmosphere,mature faster than the av-erage student in a regularpublic school.

She also said thinksPathways students aremore likely to succeed be-cause of their college back-ground.

The high school on cam-pus started in January2001 with the enrollment of15 eighth graders from thesurrounding OklahomaCity school district. Thereare now 70 high school stu-dents enrolled in the pro-gram.

Brogan said she hopesthe Pathways program willhave 100 students enrolledevery year.

media.The winner will receive a

$50 gift certificate to Wal-Mart and the winning en-try will be professionallyframed and displayed in theOffice of Student Life,Horinek said.

The students who receivesecond and third place willreceive certificates, Horineksaid.

All entries must be mat-ted or framed with wirehangers and students areasked to make only oneentry, he said.

Horinek said Student Lifeis not responsible for anyinadvertent damage thatmay occur while the art-work is displayed.

Other rules, importantinformation and an appli-cation form is available inthe Office of Student Life,he said.

“We encourage people toparticipate to show their artwork,” Horinek said.

Staff Writer/Club Re-porter Matthew Caban canbe reached at [email protected].

Photo by Ann Lushbough

Freshman Debbie Armstrong sits and observes the children atthe Child Development Center and Lab School.

Have a story idea?Contact the [email protected] call 682-1611,

ext. 7409


Professors share high-techmethods of teaching math

College hires new general counsel

Senator sharespolitical passion

By Caroline TingEditor

Nancy Gerrity joined theOKCCC faculty and staff onOct. 11 as the college’s at-torney.

She said, so far, workingat the college has been en-joyable.

“I think it’s a great atmo-sphere and people are won-derful,” Gerrity said.

“Everyone seems to be re-ally committed to the goalsof the school.”

On a daily basis, Gerritysaid, her job as the collegeattorney engages her invarious tasks.

“Essentially, what I’m do-ing here is providing legalreviews to the various de-partments (in the college),”Gerrity said, “as far asthings like contracts areconcerned.”

She said she also advisesthe OKCCC Board of Re-gents on bond issues as

well as other matters.Gerrity said she’s always

been interested in educa-tion and that’s why shechose to work at the college.

“My father was a historyprofessor at a college and Ialways liked that atmo-sphere I was exposed tothrough him,” Gerrity said.

Prior to coming to the col-lege, Gerrity had been anattorney for 12 years.

Gerrity practiced law for

10 years in Chicago, whereshe first started in a lawfirm of about 180 attor-neys. Then, she had herown private practice for awhile, she said.

Gerrity moved to Okla-homa about two years ago,and practiced in a law firmin downtown OklahomaCity.

Most of Gerrity’s legal ex-perience has been of em-ployment law and employ-ment litigation, she said.

She also has worked withcommercial contracts,commercial litigation, fam-ily law and personal inju-ries.

Originally from Philadel-phia, Gerrity said shemoved to Oklahoma forfamily reasons.

“I have two sisters withtheir families who live inEdmond,” Gerrity said. “Iwanted to come down andbe close to my sisters andtheir families.”

Gerrity is single with nochildren, but she said she’s

thinking of getting a Dachs-hund.

In her free time, Gerritylikes listening to music andgoing to concerts. Her fa-vorite types of music areacoustic and folk music.

“I’m not a musician, but

I’m a great listener of mu-sic,” she said.

Gerrity has a bachelor’sdegree in history, a mas-ter’s in marketing and ajuror’s doctorate in law.

Editor Caroline Ting can bereached at [email protected].

By Mave McKinneyNews Writing I Student

Sen. Kathleen Wilcoxson, a steadfast member of theRepublican Party, recently spoke to students about theshift of power in the state government.

In the Nov. 2 elections the GOP gained control of thestate House of Representatives for the first time in Okla-homa history.

Wilcoxson answered questions about her role as anOklahoma state senator for more than 20 students.

“Oklahoma is changing its political complexion,”Wilcoxson said. “It is goingto be an interesting and funexperience this year.”

In addition to the chang-ing face of Oklahoma poli-tics, Wilcoxson spoke aboutthe Legislature’s role in thedistribution of appropria-tions, or money, in Okla-homa.

“The distribution of appro-priations is our biggest andmost important job,” Wilcox-son said.

Appropriations in Oklahoma last year barely exceeded$5 billion — a modest amount compared to most states.

“We are not a very wealthy state,” Wilcoxson said.Oklahoma’s meager income doesn’t allow sufficient

funding for all the programs in need.“We do not spend enough money on education, roads,

mental health care and substance abuse services, high-way patrol and public safety, but we spend every bit wehave,” Wilcoxson said.

The largest chunk of Oklahoma appropriations — 55percent — goes toward education.

Oklahoma spends a higher percentage of state moneyon education than almost any other state in America.

Wilcoxson, who has been passionate about educationher whole life, said she credits this to the state’s highregard for education.

The Oklahoma Legislature appropriates the remainderof the money to all other agencies and programs through-out the state, but a common consensus is that what thestate has just isn’t enough, Wilcoxson said.

She said she recognizes that Oklahoma’s economy isin need of a boost.

“We want and need the producers of wealth to come toOklahoma,” Wilcoxson said.


Several OKCCC mathprofessors attended the In-ternational Conference onTechnology in CollegiateMathematics on Oct. 29and 30 in New Orleans.

During the conference,OKCCC math professorsChris Oehrlein, MarshaAustin, Linda Knox andMike Turegun presented aninformation session aboutWebCT, or web-enhanced,courses.

Ken Harrelson, anotherOKCCC math professor,also contributed to the pre-sentation but wasn’t able toattend the conference.

OKCCC currently offerssix different math coursesin WebCT form, Oehrleinsaid. “It seems like we are

one of the few (colleges) thatare (offering web-enhanced)courses,” he said.

The idea of web-en-hanced courses for math-ematics seems to be an idea“other schools are throwingaround,” Oehrlein said.

Oehrlein said teachersand administrators wereinterested in ideas for amath class that is part in-class and partially online.

Oehrlein said the objec-tive of the conference is forteachers from higher edu-cation institutions to shareideas about using technol-ogy to assist in teachingmath.

Austin said she attendeda session that addressed anapproach to developmentalmathematics OKCCC isconsidering trying.

“We can take advantageof some of the things (otherschools) have tried and are

“Oklahoma ischanging its political

complexion.It is going to be aninteresting and fun

experience this year.”— Sen. Kathleen

Wilcoxson(R) District 45“It seemed like we are

one of the few(colleges) that are

(offering web-enhanced) courses.”

—Chris OehrleinMath professor

Photo By Ann LushboughNancy Gerrity

working well,” Austin said.Oehrlein said the confer-

ence is held every year or18 months.

He said teachers take in-formation they learn at theconference, try it and bringfeedback to the next con-ference.

The idea is for mathteachers to help other mathteachers think of ways tomake teaching math easierwith the use of technology.



UPCOMING

Sports

INTRAMURALS

•Nov. 30: Volleyballleague continues.Games will be held onTuesday from 2 to 5p.m. in the OKCCCgymnasium.

•Dec. 2: 3-on-3 basket-ball league continues.Games will be held inthe OKCCC gymna-sium Thursdays from 2to 5 p.m.

YOUTH

•April 7 : Sign-updeadline for T-ball. Theseason will start May 3,ends June 10 and is forchildren ages 4 to 7.

Contact Eric Watson at682-1611, ext. 7786 formore information onOKCCC’s sportsprograms.

Do you have an OKCCC-related sports event you

want to put in thecalendar? Contact SportsReporter Shawn Bryant at

682-1611, ext. 7440,or e-mail

[email protected] submissions must be in

no later than 5 p.m.Tuesday for inclusion in

the next issue.

Youth basketball starts Dec. 4

Keep away

Photo by Shawn Bryant

Jorge De la Pena (left) and Alex del Cid (right) enjoy a friendly game of basketball in the college gym. Cid is about totake Pena to the hoop. The gym is open Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. and on Saturday from 9 a.m. to4 p.m. Admission is free to any student who has a valid student ID. Basketballs can be checked out at the WellnessCenter desk if you don’t want to bring your own.

By Shawn BryantStaff Writer

The lack of studentparticpation has had anegative effect on thisyear’s fall intramurals.

Eric Watson, communityeducation and health spe-cialist, said he plans to dothings dif ferently nextspring in an effort to in-crease perticipation.

By Shawn BryantStaff Writer

Close to 170 kids are rar-ing and ready to go as theycount down the days untilthe youth basketball leaguebegins.

Eric Watson, communityeducation and health spe-cialist, said the office ofRecreation and CommunityServices is responsible forputting the league together.

“We put the teams to-gether [ourselves],” Wat-son said.

The kids range from ages5 to 12, Watson said.

Watson said the kidsseemed excited about start-ing practice last week.

“The first game is Satur-day, Dec. 4,” Watson said.

Watson said all games

will be played on Saturdaysfrom 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Kathy Plummer, Recre-ation and Community Ser-vices secretary, said theparticipants had to pay $55in order to sign up.

“We buy everyone a jer-sey and present the win-ners with trophies,” Watsonsaid.

Watson said he was verypleased with the largenumber of kids who de-

cided to sign up.Watson also said youth

soccer and T-ball, will startin the spring.

Staff Writer ShawnBryant can be reached [email protected].

“The fall intramurals justdidn’t go over as well as I’dhoped,” Watson said.

“I am still going to do vol-leyball,” Watson said.

Next time around, Wat-son said, he is going toswitch to 5-on-5 basketballinstead of the current 3-on-3 teams that play now.

“Students seem more in-terested in a five-mangame,” Watson said.

Watson said he also istalking with local bowling

alleys in an attempt to setup an OKCCC bowlingleague.

Other ideas Watson hasbeen thinking about in-clude softball, golf, chessand checkers.

Watson also said he isgoing to speak with StudentLife about borrowing theirPlaystation 2 to set up avideo game tournament.

Staff Writer Shawn Bry-ant can be reached [email protected].

Sports to change in springDo youknow anyOKCCC

athletes?************

CallShawn at682-1611,ext. 7440


By Kevin R. HicksNews Writing I Student

Many students write checks with the expectationthose checks won’t clear the bank for a few days. Anew law, passed in October, will make it harder to“float” those checks.

Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act, knownas Check 21, will allow banks to immediately col-lect on a check by sending an electronic image tothe check’s home bank, rather than sending theoriginal document which takes two or three days.

By sending an image of the check, banks are ableto collect funds in about 24 hours, according to theFederal Reserve Board website.

Ralph Cornelius, an official for a local OklahomaCity bank, said the law has already had an impact.

“Check floating is the habit of writing a check fora purchase when the money may not be in youraccount,” Cornelius said. “The new check policy isalready cutting down the amount of check fraud bypreventing people from writing checks without avail-able funds.”

Some students admit the new system will affectthem and they don’t like it.

“Sure I float checks,” said Josh Hinkle, historymajor. “When I’m starving on Wednesday nights,and I don’t get paid until Friday, I know it’s OK towrite a check for pizza because it won’t clear bythen.”

Other students said Check 21 will have no effecton them and do not plan to change their check-writing habits.

Ambi Howell, psychology major, said she recordsevery check she writes and doesn’t write checksunless the money is in the bank.

Students like Howell say they understand the im-portance of spending only the money a person hasin the bank in order to avoid extra charges.

As Check 21 takes effect, many students on abudget may now have to watch their account bal-ances carefully to avoid bouncing checks and in-curring unnecessary fees.

For more information and tips from ConsumerUnion, a non-profit publisher of consumer reports,visit www.consumersunion.org/finance/ckclear1002.htm.

Check writersshould pay heed

to new law

Communications Lab greatplace to hone grammar skills

By Mave A. McKinneyNews Writing I Student

When 25 OKCCC stu-dents were recently askedat random to complete ahigh-school level basicgrammar and spelling test,50 percent of the studentsscored below 60 percent.

This statistic is but oneindicator of the declininglanguage abilities of collegestudents. Nationwide stud-ies have shown a steadydecline of basic Englishproficiency among collegestudents for years.

Some students seemedsurprised at their results.

“I thought the testseemed pretty easy and Ithought I had scored high-er,” said one OKCCC stu-dent who scored poorly onthe test.

Alice Tillinghast, OKCCCCommunications Lab di-rector, said the college islooking for ways to help itsstudents. The most sub-stantial and accessible ofthese resources is theOKCCC CommunicationsLab located on the first floorof the main building oncampus, she said.

The lab offers a wide va-riety of programs includingmany that focus on basiclanguage skills such asgrammar, spelling, vocabu-

lary and writing,Tillinghast said.

“The lab offers assis-tance and support forskills within a broadspectrum,” she said.

“Our goal is to makestudents as successfulas possible in the lan-guage arena.”

She said studentswho are having troublewith language skills, mildor extreme, can visit the laband participate in severalprograms that will assistthem in elevating their lan-guage proficiency levels.

The lab offers workshopsand seminars throughoutthe semester as well as anabundance of informationand worksheets for sharp-ening language skills.

Students also can receiveprivate tutoring and use in-depth computer programs.The lab offers a more spe-cialized agenda for stu-dents severely lacking inthese areas.

Tillinghast suggests thatperhaps the key to improv-ing the deficiency is achange in student ambi-tion. “All students can bevery successful if they aremotivated to try,” she said.

However, OKCCC Stu-dent Matt Smith believesthat even when opportuni-ties to improve exist, stu-dents don’t always take ad-vantage of them.

“You can’t sum up thewhole student body, but Ithink a lot of students dothe minimum just to getby,” Smith said.

Tillinghast agrees thosein need don’t always usethe lab. “The students thatreally need improvementgenerally aren’t the onesthat come in,” she said.

However, she said, she ispleased with student turn-out in the lab.

Tillinghast encouragesstudents to make use of thelab, paid for through stu-dent fees. She said stu-dents have nothing to fearby going in.

“The CommunicationsLab is not a place that fo-cuses on your deficiencies,”she said.

“Our goal is to make sureyou learn something andfurther yourself every timeyou come to the lab.”

More information can befound at www.okccc.edu/comlab/ or by calling 682-1611, ext. 7379.

Culture show set for Dec. 3By Ivo Lupov

News Writing I Student

OKCCC’s InternationalClub is organizing a Cul-ture Show to be held at 7p.m. Friday, Dec. 3 in CU3.Representatives from Af-rica, Argentina, China, Ko-rea, Colombia, Pakistanand Slovakia will be onhand.

The show will have tradi-tional fashions, dancing,poetry, rap, singing, mar-tial arts and more, said E.J.

Johnson, InternationalClub president-elect.

“I do not know when oreven if there was such [an]event previously at [the col-lege],” Johnson said.

Twenty-two-year-old YuDa Kim from South Koreawill perform martial arts in“Tuk gong moo sul” style.Besides martial arts, Kimwill show some magic trickswith cards. “I see magic asa hobby, but martial arts isa way of life,” Kim said.

Another performer at theCultural Show will be RayJohnson from the United

States. The 19-year-oldstudent will perform a songhe wrote.

Johnson said there willbe an entry fee, which hasnot been set yet.

Johnson said Interna-tional Student Associationworked hard with StudentLife to celebrate the impor-tance of international edu-cation during the week ofNov. 15 through 19.

Former U.S. PresidentBill Clinton declared Inter-national Education Weekofficial in 2000.

The International Club

had a display set up to rec-ognize and celebrate a dif-ferent portion of the Globeeach day: Monday for Eu-rope; Tuesday, Africa;Wednesday, South Amer-ica; Thursday, North Amer-ica; and Friday, Asia.

In addition to the dis-plays, the ISA showed se-lected international filmsMonday and Friday in

CU7.After the films there were

discussions over importantcultural views and pointsdemonstrated in the films,Johnson said.

ISA joined forces with theNative American StudentAssociation on Thursdayfor North American day.NASA sold Indian tacos,Johnson said.

“Our goal is to makesure you learn

something and furtheryourself every time you

come to the lab.”—Allice Tillinghast

Communications LabDirector


HighlightsGuitarists to perform on campus

Award-winning guitarists Edgar Cruz and RubenRomero will perform at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 30, in thecollege theater. Cruz plays a mixture of rock, jazz andmariachi. Romero’s music includes Spanish, classical andflamenco. Tickets are $15 for general admission and $10for students, seniors and Alumni Association members.Tickets are available online at www.okccc.edu/cas. Formore information contact Scott Tigert at 682-7579.

Final Employment Services drawingThis is the last month of the Employment Services

drawing for a $50 gift certificate from Wal-Mart. To enterthe drawing, upload your résumé to the OKCCC StudentEmployment website before Nov. 30. The web address iswww.collegecentral.com/okccc. For help with a résumé,contact Employment Services at 682-7519.

Absolute submission deadline nearingOKCCC’s literary and artistic journal, Absolute, is

accepting submissions until Wednesday, Dec. 1. Studenteditors are currently reviewing submissions for the 2005edition of Absolute. Students, faculty and staff areencouraged to submit photographs, stories, poems,essays and drawings. Submission forms are available atwww.okccc.edu/ah/absolute/index.htm. For moreinformation contact Clay Randolph at 682-1611, ext. 7238.

Clubs to collect items for troopsThe College Republicans and the Young Democrats will

collect CDs and DVDs for members of the U.S. ArmedForces stationed overseas. Collection times are from 11a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 30; Wednesday, Dec. 1;Tuesday, Dec. 7, and Wednesday, Dec. 8, in the collegeunion. For more information contact Susan Mills at 317-7857.

Final Brown Bag Lunch for fall semester“Lunch with the VP” will conclude the Student Life Brown

Bag Lunch series for the fall semester. It takes place atnoon on Tuesday, Dec. 7, in CU3. Students will have theopportunity to voice their concerns to Marion Paden, vicepresident of Student Services. Those who attend mustprovide their own lunch, but drinks will be provided. Formore information contact Student Life at 682-7523.

Winter Ball in college unionThe Black Student Association will host its first annual

Winter Ball from 7:30 to 11:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 10, inthe general dining area of the college union. The ball isopen to all age groups and will feature a diverse musicselection. Dress is formal, and the BSA king and queenwill be crowned. Finger food will be provided. Tickets are$7 for couples and $10 for singles. For more informationcontact Zakee King at 682-1611, ext. 7353.

Club to host winter ball before finals

By Matthew CabanStaff Writer

With the end of the fallsemester nearly here, somestudents are in need ofstress relief or a night onthe town.

The Black Student Asso-ciation offers both with itsWinter Ball from 7:30 to11:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 10,in the college union.

Club President CarlosRobinson said tickets cost$7 for couples and $10 forsingles. He said ticketswent on sale Nov. 18 andare available from clubmembers.

He said the ball is opento all age groups. Robinsonsaid the club wants tomingle with other cultures.

Club reporter JessicaBlankson said the event isopen to everyone, not justAfrican Americans.

Blankson said the attireis formal. She said the ballwill be similar to a prom,

Frequent donor miles: Freshman Jeremy Barr earned his one-gallon blood donor pin atthe Oklahoma Blood Institute blood drive. The blood drive was held Nov. 17 and 18, in thecollege union. OBI reported 51 units of blood collected during the two-day drive.

Photos by Ann Lushbough

but she pointed out somedifferences.

She said the club did notwant to do a high schoolactivity because many of themembers recently gradu-ated from high school.

Blankson is a member ofthe decoration committee.

She said the ball’s colorscheme is black, white andsilver. She said the tablecenterpieces will be floatingcandles to add a bit of el-egance.

One of the club’s mem-bers is making a special redcarpet for the ball, Blanksonsaid.

Robinson said the clubwants to make the WinterBall more enjoyable forthose who attend by allow-ing them to choose the mu-sic.

“We will have a WinterBall music selection boothon campus,” Robinson said.“It will allow a diverse mu-sic selection.

“There will be a posterboard with a list of [genres]like rap and country. You

can write in a song titleand artist under the typeof music.”

Robinson said studentscan bring a recorded CDwith the song of theirchoice on it.

Blankson said the BSAwould have photographerson hand. She said those inattendance would be ableto buy photographs fromthe ball.

Club sponsor ZakeeKing said finger foods willbe provided.

Blankson said the clubmembers invited studentsfrom other local collegesand hopes to have 150people in attendance.

“We want everybody tocome, dance and havefun,” King said.

For more informationabout the Black StudentAssociation or to purchasetickets, contact Zakee Kingat 682-1611, ext. 7353.

Staff Writer/ Club Re-porter Matthew Caban canbe reached at [email protected].

Black Student Association plans red carpet affair for inaugural celebration

Does your club or organization have newsto share? If so, we’re interested!

Contact Club Reporter Matthew Cabanat 682-1611, ext. 7410 or visit the

Pioneer office in 2M6 of the main building.


Class ifi eds

FOR SALE: ’04 Kazuma 50ATV. Brand new, 50cc 4-strokeHonda engine, semi-auto, killswitch and warranty. Great Christ-mas idea for kids! $660. Call 834-9590.

FOR SALE: ’02 Dodge QuadCab. Line-X bedliner, 31K miles,20 in. chrome wheels, 3 step nerfbars, custom stripes. In excellentcondition. Call 802-8558 for moreinfo.

FOR SALE: ’01 MitsubishiMontero Limited SUV. Infinity ste-reo system, 58K miles, leatherseats, luggage rack, keyless en-try, power sunroof, PW, 3rd rowseat, wood grain, 4WD, heatedseats and more luxury features.NADA value is $19,300, asking$18,000. Call Ronnie at 759-2119or 274-0215.

FOR SALE: ’00 Nissan Fron-tier King Cab XE, 44,500 miles, 4cyl., auto, bed liner and rear slid-ing glass window, $9,000. Call378-8051.

FOR SALE: ’99 Toyota Camry.Auto, 95K miles, leather, sunroof,alarm and new timing belt. Runsand drives great with good gasmileage, $8,100 OBO. Call 921-9278.

FOR SALE: ’99 Dodge 3/4 tontruck. Diesel, 4WD, 90K miles,auto, SWB, white/gray, SLT, ex-tended cab and have maintenancerecords. Call 306-4781.

FOR SALE: ’96 Isuzu Rodeo.Red, 5spd., dependable, newclutch and brakes, CD player, coldA/C, 119K miles and runs great.$3,200 OBO. Call 227-4562.

FOR SALE: ’95 ChevroletBlazer. Well maintained, 4 door, 4WD, teal green, gray interior, A/C,159K miles, asking $3,800. Call485-4521 or 370-1400.

FOR SALE: ’95 Toyota 4 Run-ner. Auto, 126K miles, sunroof, allpower, new brakes and new mo-tor. Call 306-4781.

FOR SALE: ’94 Mazda Pro-tege. Exterior is white and it is infair condition; $1,700. Call 378-3647 after 6 p.m.

FOR SALE: ’94 Ford CrownVictoria. Well maintained, 107Kmiles, beige; $3,300. Call 682-1611, ext. 7795 or 364-0924 after6 p.m.

ROOMMATE NEEDED:Roommate needed ASAP toshare a 2 bed, 2 bath apartment.Situated on NW 47 & Penn (nearPenn Square Mall); $250/monthlyplus bills. Call David at 924-8542.

FOR RENT: Great 1-bedroomduplex. Close to campus, waterand trash paid; $395/month. Call919-0685 and leave message.

RESPONSIBLE ROOMMATEWANTED: Room for rent approxi-mately. 1 mi. from OU. May re-quire a co-signer for lease andmust be tolerant of my nice pitbull. Includes cable, phone andInternet. $265/mo. and half thebills. Please call Cara at 701-5958 and leave message if nothome.

Pioneer Classified Advertisingis free to all currently enrolledOKCCC students and employ-ees for any personal classifiedad. Ads must be submitted inwriting with IDs supplied orwork area and college exten-sion included. Deadline for ad-vertising is 5 p.m. Tuesdayprior to the publication date.Call 682-1611, ext. 7674 formore information.

KATY’S TYPING SERVICE:Term papers, thesis, reports,résumés, transcription, legaldocuments and flyers. Pick up &delivery available. Fast service.Discount rates for students. CallKaty at 969-3955 or e-mail [email protected].

FOR SALE: 2 Sony X-Plode12” subwoofers with box, $180. 2Kicker Comp. VR 12” subwooferswith box, $200. 1000 watt Xploreamp with bass boost controler,$150 OBO. Call 409-9571.

FOR SALE: S&M dirtbike withprofile 3PC, PhatJack 48h, pitchforks and slam bars. Goodcondition. $275 OBO. Call 818-0083.

FOR SALE: Assorted sizes ofceramic tile. Three medium-sizeRubbermaid tubs full. $30; Largebox of assorted power strips, $20.Call 818-0083.

BASS GUITAR FOR SALE:Dean Edge 4. Near mint con-dition. Powder silver basswoodbody. Strap, straplocks & hardcase included, $300. Call Andy at573-0170 or 919-4696.

FOR SALE: 14 foot trampolinefor sale, $75 OBO. Call Lindsayat 745-4620.

FOR SALE: Matching light tanWhirlpool Super Capacity washerand gas dryer. Both work great.$200 for set or $125 each. CallMichelle at 470-2773.

FOR SALE: Sony micro cas-sette recorder, model # M-100 MCMic’n Micro, with cassettes, brandnew, never been used, boughtfrom college bookstore; $45. Call366-6009 and leave message.

FOR SALE: 2 RockfordFosgate 12” subwoofers in a QLogix Bandpass Box, with a 200wx 2 Infinity 102a Amp. Willsacrifice for $150 OBO. Call 388-3913.

WANTED: 4’ X 8’ enclosedutility trailer. Call 682-1611 ext.7641 during the day and 681-3618 during evenings and

Do you like good pay, greatbenefits, consistent pay raises,

weekly pay checks andweekends off?

Do you like to stayin good shape?

If yes, then a Loader/Unloader jobmay be for you.

Visit www.upsjobs.com or call1-888-WORKUPS. EOE

UPS PART-TIME JOB

FOR SALE: ’93 Chevy Astroextended van. Burgundy, tint, CDplayer, running boards and wellcared for, $3,000. Call 863-6066.

FOR SALE: ’92 Buick Ltd.Roadmaster. Air, cruise, tilt, key-less entry, 133K miles, V-8 andpower everything including lum-bar support. Drives great withclean paint and interior. Luxuryride at a low cost, $1,500. CallTerri at 682-1611, ext. 7729.

FOR SALE: ’92 Isuzu Rodeo.Exterior is a metallic sand colorand it is in fair condition; $1,700.Call 378-3647 after 6 p.m.

MUST SELL: ’90 BuickLeSabre. Needs minor work andhas a bad transmission, $100. CallPorsha at 427-1605.

FOR SALE: ’83 GMC 1/2 ton.Runs and drives good, $1,000OBO. Call Bryan at 922-1284.

FOR SALE: ’78 Datsun 280Z2+2 and a ‘79 Datsun 280ZX. Bothare project/parts cars and are be-ing sold very cheap. Call 388-5939 for more info.

FOR SALE: ’76 Datsun 280Z.Runs good, needs paint and bodywork; $1000 OBO. Call 409-9571.

LICENSED CHRISTIANHOME DAY CARE: DHSapproved, 11 years experience,meals included, lots of TLC andreferences available. Please call740-5535. M-F, 7 a.m. - 6 p.m.

TEXTBOOKS FOR SALE:Appm. 1313, $40. Bio. 1314/1414,$90. Bio. 1023, $65. Psy. 2403,$60. Hist. 1493,$50. Hist. 1493supplemental, $25. Pol. Sci. 1113,$60. Call 990-2590.

BOOKS FOR SALE: Practic-ing College Learning Strategies,$20. West’s Legal Environment ofBusiness, $75. Modern Real Es-tate Practices, $40. Call 366-6009and leave message.

FOR SALE: Baby bed, lightnatural wood with hunter greenhighlight on headboard and foot-board. Excellent condition. Needsmattress. $25; Baby swing, playsmusic. Purchased brand new.Used approximately 5 hours. $35.Will take $50 for both. Call 818-0083.

FOR SALE: 3 in 1 deal, babybed/ day bed/ full size bed. Pre-mium mattress, like new beddingset and all in excellent condition.Paid over $600, will sell for $275OBO. Call David or Stacey at 408-5295.

weekends.FOR SALE: Weight Bench

with weights, $20. Satellite dish,$10. Wooden coffee table (white),$10. Infant car seat/strollercombo, $75. Kodak 2.0 MPcamera, $40. Call Kim at 414-7070.

PARTICIPANTS NEEDED:The University of OklahomaHealth Sciences Center researchteam needs participants betweenthe ages of 18 and 30, who havea parent with or without a historyof an alcohol or drug problem.Qualified participants will becompensated for their time. Tosee if you qualify or to learn more

about the study, please call 552-4303. The University of Oklahomais an equal opportunity institution.


apart,” Wheeler said. [As aresult], it was cuttingdivers’ feet.

The new gutter system isnicer and safer, she said.

Now that the renovationsare completed, Wheelersaid, the Aquatic Center isbetter equipped for upcom-ing events ranging fromhigh school swim meets tonational championships.

“We’ve got 50 plus eventsa year in that pool,” Whee-ler said.

Mountain West Swim-ming and Diving Champi-onships, scheduled on Feb.23 to 26, is one of the ma-jor annual events the col-lege hosts, Wheeler said.

Although numerousevents and activities hap-pen in the Aquatic Center,the college doesn’t actuallyhost all of them, she said.

The college rents theaquatics facility, like a fa-cility agent.

“We are there for support,life guarding, cleanlinessand (to provide) equip-ment,” Wheeler said.

To host an event such asthe Mountain West Swim-ming and Diving Champi-onships, Wheeler said,“OKCCC is responsible forthe event from start to fin-ish.”

Another important an-nual event the center hostsis the Joe Stocker Invita-tional, which is scheduledto occur on Dec. 4.

Stocker, who died of can-cer, was a “very well-re-spected” figure in the swim-ming community and wasinvolved in Oklahomaswimming for a long time,Wheeler said.

“Our connection with himruns pretty deep,” she said.

Some other upcominglarge events through spring2005 include: Kerr-McGeeSwim Club Elite Pro-AM,Dec. 16 to 19; Mid/StateMetro Conference Champi-onships, Feb. 4 to 5; Okla-homa State Swimming Ath-letic Association HighSchool Swimming and Div-ing Championships, Feb.18 to 19, and National Col-legiate Athletic AssociationZone Diving Meet, March 8to 12.

Other than the majorevents, the Aquatic Center

also is occupied on a regu-lar basis by the college’sown age group swim team,area high school swimpractices, and fire and po-lice departments’ training,Wheeler said.

The age group swim teamconsists of sixth througheighth graders that makeup a team of 30.

The children voted on the

team name OKCCC MakoSharks, Wheeler said.

The U.S. Diving Teamalso uses the Aquatic Cen-ter as the official regionaltraining center, and thereare a number of young chil-dren on the team who arepotential Olympic divers,she said.

Wheeler encourages ev-eryone, especially the local

Aquatic Center can get back to business with pool renovations done “Aquatic,”

Cont. from page 1

community, to come andwatch the children swimand dive, or to come enjoythe facility themselves.

For more information onevents at the Aquatic Cen-ter, contact the Recreationand Community Servicesoffice at 682-7860.

Editor Caroline Ting canbe reached at [email protected].

This HUGEspace could be

yours forONLY

$24a week!!!

Call Davidfor details!682-1611,ext. 7674

•It Pays to advertise in the PIONEER•

Oklahoma City Community CollegeChoral Department

presents:

2004 Mid-Winter Concert

For information, call 682-1611, ext. 7249 or e-mail [email protected]

Friday, Dec. 3, 7:30 p.m.in the OKCCC Theater, Entry 6

ADMISSION IS FREE

Documents

November 2004 11 29