IONEERPOklahoma City Community College

• MySpace is not a babysitter, editorial, p. 2.• Beat the heat this summer, p. 7.• Kids camps continue to dole out fun, p. 8.• Clubs retreat to talk business, p. 10.

July 3, 2006This Week

Inside

Clamming up

Photo by Carrie Cronk

College getsextra money,raises tuition

College going paperless

See “Funds,” page 12

George Petsalis, nursing sophomore, dissects a clam for his zoology lab in the sciencecenter. Zoology students study a number of preserved specimens from the kingdom Animaliaand dissection is a required part of their studies. Students must be able to identify the variousorgans and anatomy parts of animals such as clams, squids, nightcrawlers, insects and fetalpigs to pass their lab exams.

By Holly JonesEditor

The State Regents for Higher Education recentlyincreased state appropriations to OCCC by $6

million over last year; nevertheless, students are stilllooking at a 5.8 percent increase in resident tuitionand 7.8 percent in non-resident tuition for the 2006-2007 school year.

The college’s share of state appropriations rose to$25 million for fiscal year 2006-2007, compared to$19 million for fiscal year 2005-2006. That is an in-crease of more than 30 percent.

Even so, President Paul Sechrist said, the tuitionincrease is needed to help keep OCCC a top-notchcollege.

Sechrist said it’s a given that, as college costs con-tinue to rise, the source of revenue also must increase.Revenue sources include student tuition, he said.

“Tuition pays the operation costs of the institution,”he said. “If our sources of revenue don’t increase, thequality of what we provide will decline.”

Sechrist said when given the option to either im-prove quality or maintain quality, the college mustchoose to improve. Otherwise, he said, students aren’tgetting what they deserve.

“OCCC is one of the best bargains in higher educa-tion,” he said. “We want to be able to have a well-maintained faculty and staff that encourages our stu-dents to be successful.

When reporting on the budget to the OCCC Boardof Regents June 26, Donna Nance, Business and Fi-nance vice president, said OCCC hasn’t had a bud-get this good since 2001.

Linda McMurtry, Finance director, said the tuitionincrease is one of the lowest in recent years.

Nance’s report backed that up, showing that, in1987, state allocations were paying for 81 percent ofthe cost of attending OCCC, with students payingjust 15 percent.

For the 2006-2007 fiscal year, state allocations willpay 56 percent of the cost of attending college whilestudents will pay 33 percent.

The increase in state funding didn’t happen by ac-cident, said State Representative Al Lindley (D-OKC).

He said the extra $6 million came about becausethe college was well represented when it came time

$6 million in state funds plus a tuitionincrease will keep OCCC on top

By Eric NguyenStaff Writer

Job seekers looking for work on cam-pus now can save a lot of time by fill-

ing out résumés and applications online.Applicants can create job applications and

apply for positions at www.occcjobs.com, anew employment service set up for the col-lege, said Gary Lombard, Human Resourcesvice president.

The new online application process is re-placing the previous way of applying for jobsat the college, which required applicants toeither drive to the John Massey Center toturn in applications or to mail them.

“[Now], people will be able to apply fromany computer with Internet access,”Lombard said.

To create an online job application, a So-cial Security number and personal infor-mation are needed, along with a createdusername and password.

“It’s a very positive move for both the ap-

plicants and the college,” President PaulSechrist said. “It will allow a process thatwill be helpful to prospective employees bymaking sure their material gets to the rightplace.”

Sechrist said the move will reduce appli-cation errors and lost paperwork.

Any mistakes or information left out bythe applicant will be flagged electronically,Lombard said.

“There are approximately 200 colleges anduniversities using [online application ser-vice],” Lombard said. “After we did referencechecks, they all said [errors] were not a prob-lem.”

The new system is convenient for every-one, Lombard said. Along with saving jobseekers the travel to the Massey Center, theyalso can view job descriptions online andupdate their applications with a password-protected file, Lombard said.

As OCCC gained more employees and job

See “Paperless,” page 12

2 • PIONEER • July 3, 2006

Editorial and OpinionEditorial

Vol. 34 No. 37Holly Jones..........................EditorEric Nguyen.................Staff WriterJohn Savage................Staff WriterJeremy Frias..............Online EditorDavid Miller..................Staff WriterRachel Carlton.............Staff WriterCarrie Cronk.............PhotographerLavanya Jaganathan...Ad ManagerRichard Hall.............Lab AssistantRonna 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 to the PIONEER of-fice, mailed to: Pioneer Editor,7777 S. May, Oklahoma City,Oklahoma 73159 or faxed to(405) 682-7843.

Letters may also be e-mailedto editor@occc.edu. A phonenumber for verification mustbe included.

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

Part-time workers backboneof college, deserve benefitsMy, my MySpace

An ambitious mother-daughter tandem fromAustin, Texas, is suing www.myspace.com. Thenetworking giant was hit with a $30 million law-suit on grounds that it fails to protect the safety ofyoung users.

The 14-year-old daughter claims she met 19-year-old Pete Solis through the website. The girlalso alleges Solis lied about his age, picked her upfrom school, took her on a date and, subsequently,raped her in his car.

The child’s attorney Adam Loewy is quoted bythe Austin American-Statesman as claimingMySpace to be “more concerned about makingmoney than protecting children online.”

Funny, I thought the same thing about thismother, who seems more concerned about point-ing the finger than pointing her daughter in theright direction.

The mother is calling for better security measuresto ensure age verification. That seems like a simplefix, but you can’t make people tell the truth, andthat’s the problem with this would-be solution.

In fact, both Solis and the alleged victim admit-ted to falsifying their age on MySpace.

Now both parties are suing the website on thesame grounds that they need protection from dan-gerous liars like themselves whom they can’t trust.

A complete lack of parental and personal respon-sibility has turned a teenage lying problem into aweb-based witch-hunt.

MySpace is a person-web-person network. Thesite isn’t responsible for controlling who peopleinteract with anymore than the phone company isresponsible for whom people call.

The lawsuit is a tool of the civil courts. In thiscase it’s simply not the right tool for the job. Mil-lions of dollars won’t fix a problem that watchfuleyes can remedy.

MySpace has tried to respond effectively withproposed changes that would restrict the viewer-ship of children’s profiles 15 and under.

Age verification has been proposed, but verifyinguser ages for the current 88 million MySpacers isunfeasable. One proposed solution calls for theidentification of users via their Social Security num-bers. Doing that would raise legitimate securityrisks, like the threat of identity theft.

There are plenty of responsible MySpace userswho don’t have a problem, and they don’t need BigBrother looking over their shoulders. Instead, con-cerned parents need to get involved.

Parents who show an active interest in their chil-dren know who’s taking their kid home from schooland should know enough to monitor their kid’sInternet access.

When did the world become responsible for thedishonest offspring of greedy non-involved parents?It hasn’t yet, but concessions from lawmakersmight push it in that direction. One day childrenmight not even need parental guidance — the com-puters will just set the rules.

Until that day rolls around, parents still have ajob to do.

—Mack BurkeStaff Writer

To the editor:Part-time workers are the

backbone of this institution.We help students in nearlyevery office on campus andin most cases we are stu-dents ourselves.

Some of us are asked toperform tasks that mostcollege and universities willonly allow full-time work-ers to complete.

Lots of part-timers haveworked in numerous officesand can tell you just aboutanything about OCCC. Dur-ing certain times of the yearwe give up our part-timestatus to help our full-timecounterparts, like duringheavy enrollment periods(January and August).

Without OCCCs part-timeworkers, the school wouldcome to a grinding halt. I

bet there isn't a student outthere who could tell a part-time worker from a full-timeworker of the same age.

All of these things consid-ered, why is it that only fulltime employees are grantedperks like tuition reim-bursement and health carebenefits? When I have askedthis question before theanswer I have gotten is:because they are not full-time employees. That'smore of an excuse than ananswer.

I am sure most part-timeworkers are in that agegroup where they probablystill live with their parents.However, there are many ofus who are married andhave families of our own,while trying to go to schooland deal with tuition and

Have an opinion?Let the editor know.

E-maileditor@occc.edu

book costs at the same time.If not perks for all part-

time workers, at least perksfor the ones who have beenworking here for one to twoyears or more; I think ev-eryone can agree we de-serve it.

—Name withheldby request

July 3, 2006 • PIONEER • 3

Comments and Reviews

‘Devil’ trips flat on its heels

“You got to know when to hold ‘em; know when tofold ’em. Know when to walk away and know whento run.”

—“The Gambler” by Kenny Rogers

The gambler in this song speaks about how he’smade his living by reading the subtle cues that otherplayers give off while they’re sitting around a tablewaiting to play their hands. He bets his livelihood onhis ability to make good guesses, to either stay andplay or to fold and walk away. Hopefully, you don’tplay the academic game this way.

Being academically solid means being willing tocommunicate with your professors and to know ex-plicitly how things are going for you at any givenmoment. The first line of communication is throughthe course syllabus. This document is essentially thecontract between you and your professor. It tells youwhat the professor expects from you and what youcan expect from him or her. Too many times, stu-dents don’t read their syllabi, or forget them afterthe first class meeting (for those of you who believethe first class is optional, please note that this isusually when you get the syllabus). A well-writtensyllabus tells you just about everything that you mayneed to know about your class, and it outlines thethings for which you will be accountable.

Your next line of defense against unfortunate aca-demic surprises is to attend class. Professors tendto show up for class to communicate informationthat they deem relevant to your understanding ofthe subject matter. They expect that you will alsoshow up to partake of this information. This is thenext level of communication for you to gauge howwell you’re doing. You go to class. Your professorgives you information and tells you which pieces youneed to know for the test. Then, you take your testand do well. Sweet. This is actually much better thanthe practice of not going to class, of wondering ifanything important happened while you were away,and of looking at the test and thinking, “Gee! I’venever seen this stuff before.” Not sweet.

Finally, you can communicate with your profes-sors outside of class. This practice is actually en-couraged as is evidenced by the fact that professorsmust keep office hours. These are blocks of time inwhich you, the student, may wander in voluntarilyand speak with the professor about how you’re do-ing in class. You may, of course, visit about othertopics as well, but asking how you’re doing or howyou can improve is a good way to get started.

If you communicate frequently enough through-out the semester, you will have ample time to adjustwhat you’re doing to be more successful in class. Ifthis success seems to be too elusive to capture, thenyou have given yourself time to fold your hand andsave your GPA. The deadline for dropping a classthis summer is July 14. The College always givesyou three-fourths of each semester to decide to dropa class. Of course, you’ve already paid to play, butat least you can walk away with your academic in-tegrity intact.

—Mary TurnerStudent Development Counselor

It’s confirmed. Fashion isevil. At least the editor-in-chief in 20th Century Fox’snew film “The Devil WearsPrada” is a real demon towork for.

Budding journalist An-drea “Andy” Sachs (AnneHathaway) is looking for awriting position in NewYork City, but the only po-sition she can find is asassistant to MirandaPriestly (Meryl Streep), theeditor-in-chief of “Runway”fashion magazine.

Priestly routinely devoursnew assistants, making itimpossible for one to re-main in her employ for ayear. Andy, however, is de-termined to stay on for ayear to build the prestigeand connections that comewith working with the elitein fashion.

She goes so far as to un-dergo a complete makeoverand tends to Miranda’s ev-

Look, in the sky! It’s abird! No, it’s a plane. No, it’sSuperman! And he returnsto Earth after five years ofsoul searching in “Super-man Returns.”

Upon his return, Super-man (Brandon Routh) dis-covers things have changedwhile he was on planetKrypton.

The love of his life, LoisLane (Kate Bosworth), hasbeen fooling herself intothinking she has moved onwith her life after Super-man disappeared.

Superman also discoversall is not well in Metropolisas Lex Luthor (KevinSpacey) is planning to takeover the world using crys-tals he found in Super-man’s childhood home.

The plot may soundweak, but the movie does anice job of re-introducingthe “Man of Steel” to audi-ences. The film turns outto be a fun movie with a lotof humorous dialogue andsome unpredictable scenes.

Although Luthor is the

‘Man of Steel’ returnsin high flying adventure

villain in “Superman,”Spacey played his role wellwith some unexpected co-medic relief.

The best part about themovie is the soundtrackespecially Superman’stheme that plays every timehe takes flight.

Director Bryan Singergoes easy on the special ef-fects, calling on them onlyduring action scenes.

This allows more depth to

be given to the characters.Although Superman may

not be one of us, he will al-ways be in our hearts as themost classic comic bookhero of all time.

Overall “Superman Re-turns” is really a super-powered movie that issurely not to be missed byall ages.

Rating: A—Lavanya Jaganathan

Staff Writer

ery need, day and night.Andy even has to locate acopy of the most recent not-yet-published Harry Potterbook for Priestly’s twindaughters.

The movie is based on thenovel written by LaurenWeisberger, and addressesthe issues of ethics in theworkforce.

These points tend to getlost amongst the fashionnames, language used andthe numerous problemsAndy has to deal with.

While the movie doeshave its funny moments,the humor becomes scarceas Andy begins to identifywith Priestly.

The interaction betweenAndy and Priestly’s right-hand man Nigel (StanleyTucci) is perhaps the mostheartwarming aspect of themovie, as he takes her un-der his wing and molds herinto a glamorous fashion

executive, managing to be-come her friend and confi-dant without meaning to.

Hathaway and Streepboth perform their partswell, as does much of therest of the cast.

The writing, however, isnot there and leaves thefilm somewhat flat fromdull dialogue.Those with aninterest in either the fash-ion industry or journalismwill find this movie some-what entertaining. Other-wise, the movie might seemtoo long and very dry.

There is some sensualcontent to the film as wellas some inappropriate lan-guage for younger audi-ences. The film is mainlytargeted at teens and youngadults, and I would not rec-ommend it for families withyounger children.

Rating: C—Carrie Cronk

Staff Writer

Comments and Reviews4 • PIONEER • July 3, 2006

Hyped Keane release under the expectationsBritish phenomenon

Keane has been garneringbold statements to be theheir to Coldplay’s throne asthe world’s most reveredmusic group.

A three-man, piano-rockgroup, Keane’s 2004 debut,“Hopes and Fears,” hasgone double platinum afterreceiving extremely highpraises from the compli-ment-happy British review-ers.

Front-man Tom Chap-lin’s lung-stretching vocals,Tim Rice-Oxley’s dazzlingpiano play and RichardHughes on drums is at-tracting an audience ofglossy-eyed teenage girls all

over the world with perfor-mances of romantic melodyand formulaic slow-verse-loud-chorus tour-de-force.

“Hopes and Fears” evenwon the “Brit Award forBest Album” in 2005.

Chaplin, however, hasmade it clear Keane’s pow-erfully grandiose songsshouldn’t be mistaken forpurely love-driven “wuss-rock.”

“Under the Iron Sea,” anaturally ballyhooed fol-low-up for the Englishband, offers the same pianoballads and swooning lyr-ics the second time around,just gift wrapped in differ-ent paper.

The leadoff track, “Atlan-tic,” is a dark, drum-drivengrinder, a slightly disap-pointing effort.

With the release of “Is ItAny Wonder?” as the firstsingle from “Iron Sea,” onewould have thought therecord would make fansexcited and filled with en-ergy about the band’s mu-sic.

“Is It Any Wonder?” starts

with an edgy piano swirlserving as a foreshadow tothe rest of “Iron Sea.”

“Leaving So Soon” mighthave some of the weakestlyrics crafted by the bandto date. “You look down onme/ Don’t look down on menow/ You don’t know me atall” sings Chaplin, strug-gling to find a concrete holdon the next stage of a ma-turing vocalist/songwriter,and failing.

Things don’t get better in“Bad Dream,” a slow, fad-ing cheerless track that,ultimately, doesn’t go any-where.

Not all of “Iron Sea” is adull effort, however. “Ham-

burg Song” is a decentlydone ballad and “CrystalBall” provides the depend-able, catchy hooks Keane isknown for.

“Let It Slide” even com-pares well with some of thebest from “Hopes andFears,” showing a sprint ofenergy as the closer to thealbum.

None of the tracks, how-ever, stand out enough in-dividually to write “Underthe Iron Sea” off as any-thing more than a compla-cent, shoulder-shrug of afollow-up.

Rating: 2.5/5—Eric Nguyen

Staff Writer

Aren’t universal remotecontrols supposed tomake life easier?

In the movie “Click,”Michael Newman (AdamSandler) is an architectwhose workaholic ten-dencies leave him ex-hausted and his familyfrustrated.

Instead of turning onthe television one night,he accidentally uses a dif-ferent remote and turnson a toy helicopter.

Believing he needs anew remote, Michael goesto Bed, Bath and Beyond,where he encountersMorty (Christopher Walk-en), who gives him a new,not yet on-the-shelf uni-versal remote.

With the remote, Mi-chael’s life suddenlychanges. He can now mi-raculously fast forwardthrough events in his ev-eryday life he feels hedoesn’t have time for.Things like traffic, argu-ments with his wife, workprojects and, surpris-ingly, sex.

However, Michael soondiscovers he is fast for-warding through thingshe shouldn’t be. He is toldby Morty that the re-

mote’s memory begins toautomatically fast-for-ward through eventswithout warning him.

The movie begins well,creating a family environ-ment that is fun.

But as Michael keepsfast forwarding, the situ-ations in the movie be-come a bit absurd.

Michael’s confusion in-advertently creates con-fusion for the viewer.

Despite the puzzlingplot, the supporting char-acters shine, with KateBeckinsale as the wife,Donna.

Henry Winkler and Jul-ie Kavner play Michael’s

parents and David Has-selhoff is his slime bagboss. Sean Astin alsomakes an appearance ina red Speedo.

With some crude hu-mor, the movie isn’t asfunny as it could havebeen. However, it will pullat heartstrings.

Although the endingcan be predicted a half-hour in, it will still leavethe audience satisfied.

“Click” is a movie thatteaches the age-old les-son: slow down and en-joy life.

Rating: B-—Rachel Carlton

Staff Writer

Foreign horror filmprovides solid action

Pause and see ‘Click’It’s always good when a

foreign film comes to theUnited States on the wingsof its success.

How it does once it is hereis another story.

“Night Watch” is a hor-ror/fantasy film set in mod-ern-day Moscow. It tells thestory of a world where theforces of Light and Darkcoexist in a delicate bal-ance, due to a truce struckcenturies ago.

It is a fairly original takeon what many would con-sider a tapped-out genre —vampire flicks.

A quick look at the list ofspecial features on the DVDrelease of “Night Watch”might not extract muchexcitement, but the few ex-tras are excellent additionsto the film.

Along with an extendedending and a short fea-turette on the future of the“Night Watch” trilogy, theDVD also includes the di-rector commentary byTimur Bekmambetov.

The very artful and inven-tive subtitles are only avail-able on side two of the“Night Watch” disc.

On side one, you get plaintext, and dubbed-in En-

glish, French or Spanish.The DVD picture is in

widescreen, and includesadditional footage such as:Inside Look: The Omen, al-ternate scenes, and an ex-tended ending with op-tional commentary.

There is a featurettecalled “Night Watch Trilogy”describing how the moviewill tie in to the next two inthe trilogy.

Also included are theoriginal trailer and severalbonus trailers.

Overall, it is a pretty sat-isfying DVD package.

The alternate ending is anice bonus, and the di-rector’s commentary givesthe film a little more per-spective, answering a few ofthe questions you may havebeen wondering about dur-ing the film.

While you may find your-self yearning for a littlemore gunplay and someheroes with flashier fight-ing skills, “Night Watch”delivers a truly originalsetup to what will surelyprove to be a phenomenalhorror trilogy.

Rating: A—Jeremy Frias

Staff Writer

July 3, 2006 • PIONEER • 5

Student’s vehicle broken into,missing items valued at $1,200

By John SavageStaff Writer

Film writer and directorGreg Mellott will take overas the new film and videoprofessor this fall.

Although this gig is farfrom Hollywood lights andmajor actors, it is a chal-lenge he is excited aboutand ready to accept.

“Directing a film is simi-lar to directing a depart-ment,” Mellott. “It’s allabout teamwork.”

“I’m really looking for-ward to working with all ofthese great professors [atOCCC].”

Mellott has his name tiedin with several movies, in-cluding “First Strike,” star-ring Jackie Chan, and “Di-

Movie director to head film department“Directing a film is similar to directing a

department. It’s all about teamwork. I’m reallylooking forward to working with all these

great professors [at OCCC].”—Greg Mellott

Film and Video Production Professor

By Eric NguyenStaff Writer

An OCCC student re-ported her vehicle was bro-ken into and items weremissing.

On Monday, June 26,Kimberly Kennedy reportedto Officer Scott Stetson inparking lot C that severalitems were missing fromher 1994 Chevrolet pickup.

Kennedy said she arrivedat the college for class atapproximately 5 p.m., re-

By Mack BurkeStaff Writer

The 2006-2007 CulturalArts Series is boasting astrong calendar for the up-coming concert season.

“This year’s program en-compasses some of the bestvariety,” said Scott Tigert,Programs and CommunityDevelopment assistant.

He characterized all theacts as “consummate mu-sicians,” but noted a coupleof must-see acts in the sea-son, such as Ron Radford

and Mark O’Connor.Raised in Oklahoma,

Radford has been called anAmerican Flamenco vir-tuoso. Flamenco is theSpanish art of rhythmdancing.

A protégé of the legend-ary Carlos Montoya, Rad-ford is the only individualto receive a Fulbright schol-arship for Flamenco.

Traditionally, “Romas,”which mean gypsies, havedominated the flamencoworld.

However, despite his

ethnicity, Radford hasmanaged to gain immenserespect within the flamencocommunity, Tigert said.

Radford will perform inNovember.

Grammy Award winningviolinist Mark O’Connorwill close the series out witha performance in April2007.

O’Connor combines ele-ments from American folktradition with jazz and clas-sical elements to producewhat Tigert called “a raremix of violin and fiddle.”

Other scheduled per -formers include TatianaKuleshova and flute accom-panist Marina Ruben-shtein, the Turtle IslandString Quartet, 2 Tone, theChestnut Brass Company,the Rose Ensemble, andWayanay Inka, who Tigertdescribed as “almost magi-cal.”

The season will openTuesday, Sept. 12.

Season tickets are avail-able at $85 for general ad-mission and $60 for stu-

dents seniors, faculty, staff,and alumni associationmembers.

“Show-to-show ticketprices are usually from $15to $20,” Tigert said. “Peoplecan save money and seeworld class acts with sea-son tickets.”

Season tickets and indi-vidual tickets are availableonline at www.occc.edu/CAS or call 405-682-7579.

Staff Writer Mack Burkecan be reached at StaffWriter3@occc.edu.

Cultural Arts Series offers ‘cutting edge’ artists“[These artists] have the ability to broadeneducation and enhance the quality of life.”

—Scott TigertPrograms Community Development Assistant

turned to her pickup afterclass at around 7 p.m. andfound her Sony CD Radio,a pair of speaker boxes andan amplifier were gone.

The items are valued at$1,200, according to thereport.

Kennedy said she didn’tlock her pickup before go-ing to class that day.

The vehicle’s center dashpanel was missing, accord-ing to the report. Kennedysaid there was slight dam-age on the door and the

roof.Kennedy filed a report to

the Oklahoma City PoliceDepartment afterwards.

She said she had notheard back from OCPD atpress time.

“[OCPD] said if anythingcomes with the serial num-bers [of the missing items]or if anyone turns anythingin, they’ll call me,” Ken-neday said. “But I doubt it.”

Staff Writer Eric Nguyencan be reached at SeniorWriter@occc.edu.

rect Action,” which was di-rected by Sidney Furie andstarred Dolph Lundgren.

Currently, Mellott isworking on the originalscript for the movie “TheFour Horsemen,” a movieabout young Marines afterthey return to the UnitedStates from the war in Iraq.

Mellott has enjoyed wor-king with Furie, who di-rected “Ladybugs” and “Su-perman IV.”

“That’s been great towork with Sidney on these[movies] because you’reable to see a film from justwhat the idea should be,”Mellott said. “I have beenable to participate in allthose areas and it’s been agreat education.”

Mellott was born in Los

Angeles and moved awaywhen he was young. He haslived throughout the UnitedStates and spent a smallamount of time growing upin Italy.

He said he even spent acouple of years in Okla-homa City.

Mellott received hisbachelor’s degree from theUniversity of California, LosAngeles and his master’sdegree while attending Uni-versity of Southern Califor-nia in Los Angeles.

He said he became inter-ested in theater and actingwhile living in Ohio andbeing involved in some highschool plays. He said whatprompted him into direct-ing and writing was thefreedom that went along

with it.“Once you get into acting,

you see that you’re at themercy of what plays theyare putting on,” Mellottsaid.

He said he realized hedidn’t have enough controland that’s what propelledhim into the writing-direct-ing role of film.

From there, Mellott wasa teaching assistant whilehe finished his master’s atUSC.

Some of the films that in-spired Mellott are “RebelWithout a Cause,” “TheGodfather” and “TaxiDriver.”

When it comes to his fa-vorite project, he said thereis no way to choose.

“All I can say about favor-ite project is they are likechildren, you really can’thave a favorite.”

Staff Writer John Savagecan be reached at StaffWriter2@occc.edu.

6 • PIONEER • July 3, 2006

Math professor to walk different pathBy Eric NguyenStaff Writer

Hospital patients andtheir families often needhelp dealing with intenseemotional stress, and oneOCCC professor is heedingthe call.

Math Professor Paul Lew-is will begin serving as achaplain for Mercy HealthCenter as soon as the sum-mer semester ends, he said.He is currently teachingcollege algebra and anonline intermediate mathclass.

Lewis said Catholic Arch-bishop Eusebius J. Beltranapproached him in Febru-ary and told him Mercy waslooking for someone to bethe next director of pasto-ral services.

Paul Lewis

By David MillerStaff Writer

Grandparents who raisetheir grandchildren havean opportunity to learnhelpful communication andteaching skills.

The Child DevelopmentCenter and Lab School willpresent two more freeworkshops on the topic ofgrandparents raisinggrandchildren.

The workshops are from7 to 8:30 p.m., July 12 and19, at the South OklahomaCity Chamber of CommerceConference Room, locatedat 701 S.W. 74th St.

Guest speakers will covertopics such as parentingand communication skillsin regard to children ofvarying ages.

Some of the guest speak-ers include George Young,Human Services commis-sioner and minister, andJulie Geddes, OklahomaDepartment of MentalHealth and SubstanceAbuse Services Teenlinecoordinator.

Young will speak aboutstarting a grandparents-raising-grandchildren min-istry in local churches.

Geddes speaks about ef-

Workshops to help grandparents who raise grandchildren

Lewis was involved inpart-time ministry with theCathedral of Our Lady ofPerpetual Help.

“It was one of thesethings where I felt I had tolisten because the arch-bishop was talking to me,”Lewis said.

“He was (in) the mindsetof, ‘I want what is best foryou and your family.’”

Lewis said the job wasoffered to him May 26, afew days before MemorialDay. He said there was adelay in taking the job be-cause he still had unfin-ished business at OCCC inthe summer.

“I agreed to teach twoclasses and I also had somedepartment duties,” Lewissaid. “I felt like I needed tofulfill those things because

the college has been goodto me.”

President Paul Sechristsaid it is always a loss tothe college when a dedi-cated faculty member

leaves. However, Sechristsaid, Lewis has his full sup-port.

“Knowing Professor Lew-is, he will be an excellentchaplain,” Sechrist said.“And, in that role, he willteach many to cope withthe difficult crises that lifebrings. I wish him great ful-fillment.”

Lewis said he is certifiedby the National Associationof Clinical Chaplains, anorganization that certifieschaplains who completefour clinical pastoral edu-cation units.

He received a bachelor’sdegree in pastoral ministryfrom Newman University inWichita, Kan.

He is currently enrolled ina master’s program in pas-toral ministry at the Aqui-

nas Institute of Theology inSt. Louis.

Chaplains at MercyHealth Center and otherhospitals tend to patientswho check into the hospi-tal, Lewis said.

“The hospital is a place ofparadox,” he said. “Peopledon’t want to be there, butit’s a place they need to bein, in order to heal.”

Chaplains will typicallyvisit every patient, as wellas the hospital’s workers,at least once. He saidcaregivers and nurses alsoare in need of uplift.

“They get emotionally at-tached [to patients] as welland it is hard to see peoplesuffer,” he said.

Staff Writer Eric Nguyencan be reached at SeniorWriter@occc.edu.

fective communication withteens being raised by theirgrandparents.

The 2000 U.S. Censusreported 4.5 million chil-dren under the age of 18are being raised by theirgrandparents, according towww.egyptianaaa.org.

“Oklahoma is one of thelargest areas in the coun-try that has grandparentsraise their grandchildren,”said Mary McCoy, CDCLSdirector.

The turnout for the work-shops has been averagingabout 20 people each time,but more interest is beinggenerated.

“We want to give [grand-parents] a feeling of en-couragement and apprecia-tion for what they are do-ing,” McCoy said.

Meals and child care areavailable for grandparentswho wish to bring theirgrandchildren to the work-shops.

In addition to the work-shops, there will be a swim-ming party for “Grand-families” from 1 to 3 p.m.,July 15 at the OCCC swim-ming pool.

There also will be anotherworkshop teaching pre-school to pre-teen age chil-

dren social skills and prob-lem solving.

The lessons will be taughtthrough board games thatdon’t have instructions,which allows the child tocommunicate with theirgrandparents to determinetheir next move.

The grandparents andthe children also will readbooks together, but stopbefore the end and let thechild decide what the reso-lution should be.

The workshop will be at7 p.m., July 26 at the SouthOklahoma City Chamber of

Commerce ConferenceRoom.

For more information onthe workshops, contactMcCoy at 405-682-1611,ext. 7612.

Staff Writer David Millercan be reached at StaffWriter1@occc.edu.

By Jeremy FriasStaff Writer

After 18 days of renovation, equipmentproblems and faulty paint, parking lot Areopened June 27.

The process of resurfacing, sealing andstriping the main parking lot was origi-nally projected to take 12 days, but metwith a few delays once it began June 8.

“On Wednesday afternoon on the 14th,[a vital part] on the pump truck broke. Ittook one week to repair that,” said J.B.Messer, Physical Plant director.

The renovation crew resumed work onseal-coating the lot June 22.

Messer said on Friday, June 23 they be-gan striping the parking lot.

“On Sunday the 25th, we would havefinished, but we had a bad batch of paint.”

After exchanging for new paint, the crewresumed the process June 26.

Messer said the crew finished Tuesday,June 27.

Students used to parking in front of themain building have been using alternatelots and entries, causing some minor de-

Parking lot renovations complete

lays.“I use the main entrance, so I’ve had to

park on the other side of the library, and Idon’t like the extra walking,” said fresh-man Emily Sherrell.

Not all students have been bothered bythe temporary closing.

“It’s no big deal to walk a little further.It’s good exercise,” said Jessica Meyer, the-ater sophomore.

The lot renovation is just one of manyprojects the Physical Plant has lined upfor this summer.

“We have around 115 current projectsin some phase or another,” Messer said.“There’s always something going onaround here.”

Staff Writer Jeremy Frias can be reachedat OnlineEditor@occc.edu.

“I use the main entrance, so I’vehad to park on the other side

of the library, and I don’t like theextra walking.”—Emily SherrellOCCC freshman

July 3, 2006 • PIONEER • 7

By Jeremy FriasStaff Writer

As summer provides newopportunities for fun, it alsorequires new measures ofcaution when cars are in-volved.

The unventilated, con-fined space of a car canquickly become hot enoughto kill a person or pettrapped inside.

On a warm day, the tem-perature in a parked carcan reach 120 degrees in amatter of minutes, accord-ing to www.kidsincars.org.

It is too easy to forgetabout children or pets be-ing in the car. Parents of-ten become delayed and

Be mindful of who and what you leave in the heatleave them there for longerthan intended.

In 2005 alone, 151 chil-dren died nationwide frombeing left in cars where theheat reached deadly tem-peratures.

Five children have diedfrom heat after being left inan unattended car in Okla-homa just since January2005.

In June, a 21-month-oldStillwater toddler died afterhis father Justin Robertsleft the sleeping child in theback seat of the car in 96-degree heat.

Roberts had parked in hisdriveway and left him therefor an hour before he finallyremembered to get him.

The toddler’s tempera-ture had reached 107.9degrees when he arrived atthe hospital.

The child’s death wascompletely preventable.

Pets are just as vulner-able, and sometimes morelikely to be left alone in acar since most businessesdo not allow pets inside.

Pets are not able to rolldown windows or opendoors — generally — andthus are at the mercy of therising temperature.

Sometimes just a quickrun inside a store can turninto a long enough time forthings to turn deadly.

For more information,visit www.kidsincars.org.

Staff Writer Jeremy Friascan be reached at OnlineEditor@occc.edu.

Planning saves livesThere are many ways to reduce the need to leave

children and pets in cars unattended. Below arejust some examples of ways to accomplish that:

• Plan ahead to use drive-through services whereavailable.

•Make advance arrangements to have your childcare provider meet you at your vehicle, so you canremain with the vehicle.

• Plan extra time into your pick-up/drop-offroutine to bring all children inside with you.

•Use your debit/credit card at the gas pump.•Ask grocery store clerks to load your bags into

your vehicle and return your shopping cart.• If possible, leave children or pets with a

responsible adult.• Call dry cleaners and other businesses to

schedule pick-up and drop-off services at yourvehicle.

—Source: www.kidsincars.org

Beat the heatby playing it smart

•Wear light-colored clothing. Light colors will reflectaway some of the sun’s energy. Also, wear hats oruse an umbrella.•Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which dehydrate thebody.•Avoid strenuous activity, or do it early in themorning.•Stay indoors. If air conditioning is not available,stay on the lowest floor, out of sunshine.

Heat terms to know:

•Heat cramps: Muscular pains due to heavyexertion. They are an early signal that the body ishaving trouble with heat.•Heat exhaustion: Heavy work in a hot, humidplace decreases blood flow to vital organs.Symptoms are cool, moist, pale or red skin; heavysweating, headache, nausea or vomiting, dizziness.•Heat stroke: Heat stroke is life-threatening andoccurs when the victim’s temperature controlsystem, which produces sweating to cool the body,stops working. Body temperature can rise as highas 105 degrees. Death may result if the body isnot cooled quickly. Symptoms are hot, red and dryskin; rapid, weak pulse and shallow breathing.

General care for heat emergencies:

•Heat cramps/exhaustion: Move victim to coolerplace and rest in a comfortable position. Removeor loosen tight clothing and apply wet cloths. Call911 if the person vomits or loses consciousness.•Heat Stroke: Call 911 immediately. Move thevictim to a cooler place and quickly cool the bodywith a bath or with wet sheets. Keep the victimlying down and continue to cool body.

—Source: www.redcrossdelmarva.org/heatsafety.html

By Rachel CarltonStaff Writer

Summer is here and it’stime to beat the heat. Luck-ily, there are numerouspublic pools open all sea-son to help in the battleagainst 90-degree weather.

OCCC offers its studentsand staff free use of thecollege’s Olympic-size in-door pool.

The student and staffmember must have a validI.D. For non-students, ad-mission costs $6 for adults,$2.75 for senior citizensand $4 for children.

An adult must accom-pany children 15 andyounger. Hours of opera-tion for recreational swim-ming are 7 to 8 p.m., Mon-day and Wednesday, and 1to 4 p.m., Monday throughFriday.

After 25 years, WhiteWater Bay is still open forsummer fun. The waterpark is filled with manyrides, such as slides andwave pools.

General admission forWhite Water Bay is $24.99,while a guest can pay$20.99 for an online gen-eral admission ticket. Chil-dren two and under are

Stay cool by visiting the pool

free.Group rates are available

for parties of 10 or more.Parking is $10. The park isopen daily. However, thedaily hours vary.

For more information,call 405-943-9687.

For a less expensive wa-ter park, try the WestwoodWater Park, located at 2400Westport Drive in Norman.

The park has severalpools, said Manager KyleHurley. There is an Olym-pic-size pool, as well as afountain pool and toddlerpool. Hours of operationand prices vary. For com-plete times and prices, call405-329-5422.

Earlywine Park also of-fers a small water park. Thepool is located at the inter-section of May Avenue andSouthwest 119th Street.

The Earlywine Family

Aquatic Centerwebsite adver-tises a beach-like pool entrywith the excite-ment of high-en-ergy water toys,swimming lanes,12 bubbling gey-sers and twotowering plungeslides. The parks

hours are noon to 9 p.m.daily. Admission is $5 dailyand $3 after 6 p.m.

For people interested in amore leisurely swim with-out various water rides,there is Woodson Swim-ming Pool. The pool is lo-cated at 3405 S. May Ave.

Admission is $2 Tuesdaythrough Saturday and $1on Sunday.

The Moore Public Pool of-fers the same features asthe Woodson pool.

The outdoor pool offers ahigh and low dive. Admis-sion for the Moore PublicPool is $1.50 for ages fiveto 17 and $2 for ages 18 to55. The pool is open dailyfrom noon to 7 p.m.

Lifeguards are present atall of these pools.

Staff Writer Rachel Carl-ton can be reached at Staff`Writer3@occc.edu.

8 • PIONEER • July 3, 2006

Sports

Kids hit the pitch atsoccer summer camp

UPCOMING OCCC

INTRAMURALSEVENTS

•July 10-14: Golfers will have achance to swing the clubs atOCCC golf camp. The camp isfor children, ages 12 to 14, inter-ested in learning skills and drillsof golf. Registration and paymentmust be made by the previousThursday. Camp is from 8 a.m.to noon, Monday through Friday.The cost for the camp is $60 andincludes a camp T-shirt. For moreinformation contact CommunityEducation and Health Coordina-tor Jack Perkins at 405-682-1611, ext. 7205.

•July 10-14: OCCC tennis sum-mer camp for ages 9 to 11, willbe held at OCCC again this sum-mer. The camp is for children in-terested in the game of tennis.Registration and payment mustbe made by the previous Thurs-day. Camp is from 8 a.m. to noon,Monday through Friday. The costfor the camp is $60 and includesa camp T-shirt. For more infor-mation contact Community Edu-cation and Health CoordinatorJack Perkins at 405-682-1611,ext. 7205.

•July 17-21: Junior golfers, ages9 to 11, will have a chance toshoot the greens at OCCC’ssummer golf camp. The camp isfor children interested in learn-ing skills and drills of golf. Regis-tration and payment must bemade by the previous Thursday.Camp is from 8 a.m. to noon,Monday through Friday. The costfor the camp is $60 and includesa camp T-shirt. For more infor-mation contact Community Edu-cation and Health CoordinatorJack Perkins at 405-682-1611,ext. 7205.

•July 17-21: Tennis players ages12 to 14, will have a chance toserve up some aces this summerat OCCC. The camp is for chil-dren interested in learning skillsand techniques of tennis. Regis-tration and payment must bemade by the previous Thursday.Camp is from 8 a.m. to noon,Monday through Friday. The costfor the camp is $60. For more in-formation contact CommunityEducation and Health Coordina-tor Jack Perkins at 405-682-1611, ext. 7205.

Photo by Carrie CronkTyler Brown, 11, attempts to steal the ball from Junior Yellowfish, 9, during

the soccer camp held on the fields located on the south end of the campus.Dribbling was one of the drills that the campers performed during the camp.

Lifeguardbeats ownrecord atswim meet

By John SavageStaff Writer

With the World Cup going on thisis the perfect time to hit the pitchand kick around the soccer ball.More than 55 boys and girls par-ticipated in the co-ed soccer campthis year.

Campers were on hand to pass,kick and dribble their way to thegoal. Different colored cones andsoccer balls littered the field on thesouth side of the campus.

Campers participated in severaldrills. One of the drills was “crabsoccer.”

Crab soccer requires the camp-ers to walk on their hands and feet.The “crabs” walk to the playerswith the ball and try to steal it fromthem. This is one of the drills thatteach players the basic offensivemovements in soccer.

After a short water break theplayers scrimmaged against eachother seven-on-seven.

Goalies changed positions aftereach goal.

This was the last camp for Lo-

By Kellen ColemanNews Writing student

An OCCC lifeguard finished insecond place in his swimmingevent June 23, one of the high-lights in first-day action of theKerr-McGee Swim Club SummerSplash held at the college’s swim-ming pool.

Chris Cavin, 16, works as a life-guard at OCCC’s pool. He used alittle home-water advantage toplace as the runner-up in the Boys13 and Over 1500 LC MeterFreestyle with a time of 17:48:74,just 14 seconds behind the win-ner in the near-mile race.

“I was very pleased,” Cavin said.“I cut 27 seconds off my qualifyingtime, and the guy that beat me wason my team. I was glad to see himdo well too.”

Teammate Jeff Enge posted atime of 17:34:98.

Cavin,16, had many familiarfaces watching his performanceFriday.

“It’s interesting to be around allmy co-workers,” he said.

“They all tell me good luck be-fore the race, and it makes me wantto go faster.”

Cavin, who swims year-round atthe OCCC pool for both WestmooreHigh School and Kerr-McGee,joked that he started working atthe pool because “I’m here all thetime, so I might as well get paid.”

While friendly rivalries could bein place with all the competition,Cavin insists that it’s all fun andgames.

“You know everyone you’re rac-ing, being friends with them insideand outside the pool,” he said.

“It’s definitely competitive, butyou’re happy to see people do welland hope you do well too.”

Kerr-McGee Head Coach TomGibson said he was impressed withCavin.

“He had a real good swim,”Gibson said.

“It was his lifetime best in the1500.”

The Kerr -McGee Swim Clubmeet finished Sunday June 25.

gan Williams, 10. He has alreadyparticipated in several of the sportcamps this year and has been en-joying soccer camp.

Williams had been practicing hisball skills.

“We have been trying to get theball away from the defenders,” Wil-liams said. “Later I think we’re go-ing play to crab soccer.”

Another camper that enjoyed theexperience is Jonathan Tran, 12.

“It was really fun and I like play-ing soccer,” Tran said.

This was Tran’s second year ofattending the camp and he will beattending the tennis camp.

Although Tran has not played onan organized soccer team yet, thatdoesn’t stop him from enjoying thesport.

“I just play soccer for fun,” Transaid.

Coach Matt Worden set drills forevery day the campers were there.He said dribbling skills were taughton the first day and each daycampers worked on a new drill.

Staff Writer John Savage can bereached at StaffWriter2@occc.edu.

July 3, 2006 • PIONEER • 9

Students discover help at Transfer Center

Photo by Carrie Cronk

B. J. Higgins, Physical Science Lab supervisor, speaks witha representative from St. Gregorys University from Shawnee.The large red panel outside the Student Development officeestablishes an area for university representatives to displayinformation about their schools and discuss options with OCCCstudents.

By Jenny TregarthenNews Writing Student

Twenty-three studentsfrom 15 Oklahoma highschools were accepted intothe Summer Science Acad-emy.

The on-campus programlasted all day from June 12to 16, and involved re-searching and experiment-ing with different subjects.

Students in the programconducted group experi-

ments and projects relatedto information technologyin biology, proteins and en-zymes for carbohydratebreakdown, and geneticallymodified foods.

“It was a lot of fun to getto know all the people in thegroup,” said ShellyShearon, student partici-pant.

At the end of the week,the students prepared aPower Point presentationfor parents and teachers.

The students, from highschools throughout Okla-homa, applied for the pro-gram through online appli-cations or recommenda-tions from science teach-ers.

Program CoordinatorCharlotte Mulvihill, Biologyand Biotechnology profes-sor, said applications wereaccepted primarily on di-versity of age, race, gender,and reasons for attendingthe program.␣

By Jeremy FriasStaff Writer

Cox Communicationsnow offers OCCC students,faculty, staff and alumni adiscount for high-speedhome Internet service ac-cording to OCCC’s websitewww.occc.edu/cox.

The discounted rate isaround 25 percent lessthan the standard rate, butexact savings will vary by

Each student received$100 upon completion ofthe program. The moneywas well appreciated butsome students found adeeper level of fulfillmentfrom the program.

“I wanted to know every-thing that might prepareme for my future,” said YingWang, a student. “I came tothis camp because I am cu-rious.”

Though several studentsare unsure about their fu-

ture goals, they said theybelieved this programwould help them decide onthe right educational andcareer path.

The Summer ScienceAcademy is in the secondof its three-year program,funded by a grant from theOklahoma State Regentsfor Higher Education.

The goal is to promoteeducation and interest inbiotechnology and bio-informatics.

cable packageand equipmentoptions.

The $19.95installation feewill be waived on all pack-ages with a one-year con-tract.

Equipment prices alsohave been reduced for theHigher Education Service.

To sign up, studentsmust have a valid college e-mail account for Cox to

c o m m u n i c a t ewith them.

It must be ei-ther a student ac-count or faculty/

staff account. Student oralumni may set up a freee-mail account at http://webmail.occc.edu.

A $75 conversion fee isapplied when convertingfrom an existing Cox Inter-net Service to the CoxHigher Education Service.

Carlos Obando, musicsenior, already has CoxInternet but said despitethe conversion fee, hewould still save money inthe long run [with the dis-count].

“… It’s helpful, with tu-ition and gas so high.”

Amin Zadeh, philosophysophomore, does not haveInternet service right nowbut said it sounds likesomething he would like to

take advantage of in thefuture.

To sign up for the dis-counted Internet service,go to www.occc.edu/Cox.html.

For questions and infor-mation regarding rates andpackages, contact CoxBusiness Services at 405-600-FAST (3278).

Staff Writer Jeremy Friascan be reached at Online-Editor@occc.edu.

Cox Cable offers discount rates for college students

High schoolers experiment at Summer Science Academy

By Matthew BakerNews Writing Student

When you walk down thestairs of the main hall atOCCC, a red panel maycatch your attention.

John Hockett, Advisingand Career Services dean,said the seemingly out-of-place panel serves as thecollege’s Transfer Center.

The Transfer Center is asatellite of Advisement andCareer Services.

The Transfer Center waspreviosly tucked awaywithin the advisement of-fices and recieved little at-tention from passing stu-dents.

Advising and Career Ser-vices was formerly StudentDevelopment.

The Transfer Center iswhere students get infor-mation from four-year uni-versities about entrance re-quirements, cost and tran-sferable courses.

Hockett said a lot of stu-

dents have questions as towhen they should thinkabout transferring.

“We want students tothink about the transferprocess sooner rather thanlater,” he said. Hocket saidhe believes if students askquestions about transfer-ring early, it makes thetransition process easier.

It was difficult before forstudents to find informa-tion concerning senior in-stitutions, such as the Uni-versity of Oklahoma, Okla-homa State University, andthe University of CentralOklahoma.

Michael Willis is a repre-sentative from the Univer-sity of Central Oklahomawho staffs the red panel.

“We see 25 to 30 students(a day) that request infor-mation,” he said.

The other colleges wereprobably seeing three tofive students a day whenthe Transfer Center was inits old location, Willis said.

Hockett said more stu-dents are now using theservice the Transfer Centerprovides.

He said more schoolsshould schedule to come toOCCC to use the TransferCenter because of the suc-cess it’s having in its newlocation.

Leslie Jones, Advisingand Career Services secre-tary, said several out-of-state universities that don’tnormally visit OCCC sched-uled days in July to use thearea.

Faculty and staff affec-tionately call the TransferCenter the Red Albatrossbecause of its out-of-placeappearance and becausepeople are unaware of whatit is used for.

“I’ve never really noticedit,” said Nick Tyleshevski,engineering student.

Premed student JoannaGarza agreed she never no-ticed the Transfer Centerswall either.

10 • PIONEER • July 3, 2006

Highlights

By David MillerStaff Writer

Get your thinking capsand hiking boots on. It’stime for the annual StudentLeadership Club Retreat.

The retreat will occurAug. 11 through 13 at theQuartz Mountain Resort inLone Wolf, OK.

The retreat is an oppor-tunity for students andsponsors from all clubs andorganizations to come to-gether to learn strategies tohelp their clubs achievesuccess, and socialize withother club leaders, accord-ing to the Student Leader-ship Retreat flier.

The focus of the retreat isto prepare club officials andmembers for the newschool year.

There will be some down-time for recreation, but theretreat is not meant to be avacation.

“Anyone can go, but wetarget club members,” saidStudent Life Director LizLargent.

All student clubs needone representative attend-ing the retreat to maintainrecognition as a club, but

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren WorkshopsThe Child Development Center and Lab School will

present two free workshops on grandparents raising grand-children. The workshops will be from 7 to 8:30 p.m., July12 and 19. The workshops will be at the South OklahomaCity Chamber of Commerce Conference Room, 701 SW74 Street. Speakers will cover topics such as parentingskills, reference and referral agencies and communication.For more information, contact CDCLS Lab Supervisor LeeAnn Nurdin at 405-682-1611, ext. 7423.

Tuition waivers available for fall semester Departmental tuition waivers for fall semester of 2006are now available for students. The deadline date forsubmitting the fall tuition waiver application and academichistories to the Financial Aid Office will be no later than 5p.m., July 13.

Psychology/Sociology Club having fund-raiser The Psychology/Sociology Club will have a snowconeand lemonade stand from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on July 14, 18and 21 near the main entrance of the Main Building. Formore information, contact Club President Laurie Thorntonat 405-420-3492.

Crossroads Cathedral Car and Motorcycle ShowThe 2nd Annual Crossroads Cathedral Car and

Motorcycle Show will occur from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., July 29at the Crossroads Cathedral, 8901 S. Shields in OklahomaCity. All show cars, trucks and motorcycles are welcome.There’s an entry fee of $15 with a fun run fee of $5. Threetop prizes will be given in 25 categories. There will be livemusic, games and food. For more information, contactBrandon at 405-634-1495, ext. 150, or e-mail carshow@crossroadscathedral.com.

Baptist club to attend retreat in New MexicoStudents from the United States and Canada will meet

Aug. 5 through 11 at the Glorieta Large Conference Cen-ter near Santa Fe, N.M. The event includes seminars,sports and hiking. The cost is $225. A $50 deposit is re-quired. The cost includes travel, registration, food and lodg-ing. For more information, contact Sponsor Mike Barnettat the Baptist Collegiate Ministries office at 405-323-0583.

Absolute 2007 now accepting submissionsSubmissions are being accepted for the 2007 Absolute

publication. OCCC’s journal of literature, art and photog-raphy is published annually each spring. Submissionsshould be sent to the Arts and Humanities division office.For more information, contact English Professor ClayRandolph at crandolph@occc.edu.

STEP program taking requests for student workersThe STEP program assists students in finding work-study

and non-work study campus jobs. If funds are availableand you need a student to work in your department, submita request via People Administration. Students can searchand apply for jobs online at www.occcjobs.com. For moreinformation, contact Human Resources Specialist KarenSchmidt at 405-682-1611, ext. 7398.

All highlights due by 5 p.m. Tuesdaysfor inclusion in the next issue. The Pioneeroffice is located on the second floor of the

Main Building just outside the elevator.

Club retreat scheduled for August

Photo by Carrie Cronk

more are encouraged to at-tend the retreat.

Facilitator Michael Millerwith High Impact Trainingwill conduct presentationson team building, icebreakers, running effectivemeetings and retainingmembers for organizations.

Student Life staff also willfacilitate activities and ses-sions focusing on policiesand procedures, settinggoals and leadership style.

“It’s all very interactive,hands-on learning,”Largent said.

Although most clubsaren’t active during thesummer, most or all arerepresented at the retreat.

Generally, 55 to 75people attend the retreat.

“There will be some mini-mal free time, so attendeesshould bring some extraspending money if theywant to take advantage ofthe things Quartz Moun-tain offers,” Largent said.

Extra curricular activitiesat Quartz Mountain in-clude: seasonal canoe rent-als, a hiking trail, sanddunes, rock climbing,rappelling, beach swim-ming and seasonal paddle

boating.Also included is a minia-

ture golf course, a restau-rant overlooking the lakeand an indoor swimmingpool with a Jacuzzi.

The non-refundable costof the retreat is $25. The feecovers transportation, lodg-ing, meals, a T-shirt andentertainment.

The payment, registrationcard and liability waivermust be completed and re-turned to the Office of Stu-dent Life by July 14.

Attendees must use thetransportation provided bythe college. The charterbuses will leave at 1 p.m.,Friday, Aug. 11 from park-ing lot G near entry 11 andreturn around 2 p.m., Sun-day, Aug. 13.

To ensure the college isn’tcharged for unused ser-vices, attendees should no-tify Largent if their planschange.

For more information,call Liz Largent at 405-682-7523, or stop by the Officeof Student Life for a regis-tration form.

Staff Writer David Millercan be reached at StaffWriter1@occc.edu.

Freshman psychology major Nicholas Barger donates blood during his lunch hour onJune 28 in room CU1. Student Life and the Oklahoma Blood Institute sponsored the driveand offered incentives such as buy-one-get-one free passes to White Water Bay.

Blood for life

July 3, 2006 • PIONEER • 11

Class ifi eds

FOR SALE: 2004 dark grayChrysler Sebring. CD player,power everything, tinted windows,alloys. 68k miles, warranty 3 moreyears. Beautiful car, 29 mpg.$13,000 OBO. Call Bryttney 364-8905.

FOR SALE: 1999 VW GLSPassat. Loaded, 1.8L Turbo en-gine, tan leather interior, darkgreen exterior, heated seats,tiptronic transmission, tint, sunroof, 6-disc changer, non-smoker,and well maintained. Great car for$9,000. Please call 473-0129.

FOR SALE: 1995 Mercury Vil-lager van. 208,000 miles. Runsbut needs some work. Body andinterior are in good shape. Asking$1,500 OBO. Please call 229-3810 for more info.

FOR SALE: 1995 Nissan 300ZX, 2+2, green, automatic.102,500 mi. Features include: tint,alarm, CD player, keyless entry.$6,800 OBO. Call 624-2412 formore info.

FOR SALE: 1994 Cadillac Seville SLS. Emerald green, whiteleather, 120K miles. $1,500 firm.Call Scott 314-4935.

FOR SALE: 1991 Nissan Maxima. V6 auto, all power, sunroof,10-disc CD player, leather seats,excellent condition, adult owned,garaged. 217K miles. $3000 OBO.Call 229-9943.

FOR SALE: 1986 Nissan 300ZX. Great motor & transmission,t-tops, V6, 2 door. Great gas mile-age, auto, student owned, femaledriven. $1,400. Call 474-3611.

Pioneer Classified Advertisingis free to all currently enrolledOCCC students and employeesfor any personal classified ad.Ads must be submitted in writ-ing with IDs supplied or workarea and college extension in-cluded. Deadline for advertis-ing is 5 p.m., Tuesday prior tothe publication date. For moreinformation, call 405-682-1611,ext. 7674 or fax 405-682-7843.

FREE: Two 4-year-old outdoorbrother dogs. 1/2 Springer Span-iel and 1/2 English Setter.Healthy, well-trained, friendlyand all-weather adaptable.Please call 749-9979.

FREE: Two precious kittensto good home. Almost 3 monthsold; both are brown tabby & whitemixed. One female & one male.Playful kittens, good with people& dogs. All eating dry cat food &litter box trained. Too cute tomiss. Come see. Call 682-1611,ext. 7822, or 378-3647, or e-mailckrosp@yahoo.com.

FOR SALE: 3 silver metal/frosted glass end tables, $150.3 silver metal/glass desk with 4separate matching file cabinets,$150. For pictures and info e-mailjarrodwilmoth@yahoo.com.

FOR SALE: Wood coffee tablew/ inlay design. Used 6 mo., paid$250, asking for $150. Wood/glass coffee table & matching endtable. $50/pair. Boys 6 pc. woodbedroom set. Headboard, mirror,chest of drawers, desk, hutch &chair. $350. Please call 642-4320.

FOR SALE: Large 9-drawerwood dresser w/ mirror. Old but ingood shape. $50 OBO. Very largeexecutive desk, 4 drawers solidwood, good shape. $50 OBO. CallLaurie 420-3492.

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IT PAYS TOADVERTISE

IN THEPIONEER!

12 • PIONEER • July 3, 2006

“Funds,”Cont. from page 1

OCCC hands out raises, adds employees President tosee pay raise

to request the funds fromthe Legislature.

“Dr. Sechrist and JerrySteward would come outhere and walk the hall-ways,” Lindley said. “Thecollege needed extra moneyand had some real needswith all the construction.

“All the delegates, bothDemocrat and Republican,pushed all year long for thecollege, since it has grown.”

Sechrist said the collegeneeded a budget thatwould cover more than justbasic costs.

He said it needed to alsoallow the college to moveahead in technological ad-vances and some mainte-nance upkeep.

The main sources for theEducational and Generalbudget come from state al-locations, tuition and man-datory fees and technicaldistrict reimbursement.

Some students didn’tseem to mind the increase.

Stephanie Platt, pre-pharmacy major, said sheexpected the increase.

“I’m so used to it … Asthey increase, I don’t evenrealize [it],” she said.

Josh Hall, social workmajor, said he doesn’t mindpaying more for his educa-tion.

“Education is a goodthing,” he said. “If they aregoing to increase tuition alittle bit, that’s fine with me.I think the amount is rea-sonable.”

Pay increaseThe increase in funding

also allowed for a 4.9 per-cent average pay raise forOCCC faculty and staff.

The raise is based on aperformance formula.

Based on their perfor-mance review, OCCC fac-ulty and staff will receive apay increase of 2 percent,2.5 percent or 3 percentwith a flat rate of $750added to their base salary.

Susan VanSchuyver, Artsand Humanities dean, saidthe pay raise will help allemployees.

“Faculty pay raises aregreat, but (it’s) just as ex-citing to have … raises inthe student worker sala-ries, and the raises for staff.

“Everybody is getting areally nice raise this year.The $750 adjustment andpercentages really help outthose people that are on thebeginning steps at workingfor OCCC.”

Adjunct professors alsoare getting a pay raise. Ad-junct salary is going from$550 per credit hour to$590 per credit hour, ac-cording to the OCCC bud-get.

“That is competitive withother two-year colleges inthe area,” Sechrist said.

Nance reported thatTulsa Community Collegeadjunct faculty receive$700 per credit hour andRose State adjunct facultyreceive $575 per credithour.

Tyler Ashpaugh, sono-graphy major, felt torn onthe issues of tuition in-crease and faculty payraise.

“I think the tuition in-

By Holly JonesEditor

OCCC President Paul Se-christ will earn an extra $9,000in salary next year.

The OCCC Board of Regentsapproved a 3.5 percent pay in-crease plus an additional $750increase, indicating that heearned the highest perfor -mance rating in his job.

The 3.5 percent increase plus$750 brings his annual salary from $198,120 to$207,036, and is consistent with pay raises for othercollege employees.

Many college employees feel the raise is well de-served.

Pat Berryhill, Institutional Advancement execu-tive director, is one such person. “Dr. Sechristworked with the State Regents and Legislature thepast six months to secure millions in additionalfunding for our students and this college,” she said.

“What significant accomplishments he has alreadyachieved in a short amount of time.”

Susan VanSchuyver, Arts and Humanities dean,said Sechrist deserves a raise like everyone else.

“We got a lot of new funding this year that we havenever had before,” she said.

On the other hand, one student feels the moneycould have been better spent on campus improve-ments.

“That’s an awfully large raise,” said psychologymajor Laurie Thornton. “I think he’s been an excel-lent president so far, but it seems that the moneycould be better spent elsewhere.”

Health Lab Coordinator Lloyd Kingsbury said ifanyone at the college deserves a raise, it’s Sechrist.

“I’ve been here 17 years,” Kingsbury said. “Sincehe’s been here, he’s done more for the students,faculty and staff than past presidents. Well de-served.”

Editor Holly Jones can be reached at editor@occc.edu.

Paul Sechrist

openings, the collegeneeded a way to minimizethe work for the HumanResources staff, which pro-cesses job applications,said Carolyn Rouillard,Human Resources seniorspecialist.

“We are hoping it will savea tremendous amount ofpaperwork [for the college],”Rouillard said.

“Applications will nolonger need to be copiedand sent to selection com-mittees.

“The committees will haveeverything available on-line.”

Rouillard said HumanResources has computers

Job processsimplified

crease is wrong because itis high anyway,” he said.However, he said, he un-derstands the need for theincrease.

“I do like that they arepaying the teachers more,but I don’t like that stu-dents are having to paymore, especially (now) thatgas is on the rise.”

The regents also ap-proved six new faculty po-sitions, five professionalpositions, and 11 hourlypositions, which includesthree full-time security po-sitions.

As a direct result, six ad-junct faculty positions willbe eliminated.

Editor Holly Jones can bereached at editor@occc.edu.

set up to help applicants atthe Massey Center, locatedon S.W. 119th Street andInterstate-44. For more in-formation, visit the website

or call Human Resources at405-682-7542.

Staff Writer Eric Nguyencan be reached at SeniorWriter@occc.edu.

“Paperless,”Cont. from page 1