Sixthirtyone

SixthirtyoneAn independent newspaper at the University of Tulsa. sixthirtyone.orgNovember 2009

Alicia Smith / Sixthirtyone

Tulsa BaskeTBallJordan and uzoh reTurn for senior season

CommenT on arTiCles, read updaTed sporTsarTiCles, and voTe in The poll:

www.sixthirtyone.org

Sixthirtyone 19

Mission StatementSixthirtyone reports this University’s news from a conservative’s perspective. We provide an alternative to the school-sponsored newspaper. We do not and never will receive any financial support from the University of Tulsa. Sixthirtyone prints to defend this University’s traditional recognition of individuals by merit, governance by balanced and separated powers, fiscal responsibility and Christian Heritage. By our advocacy for these conservative principles, we help preserve the foundation that upholds this University’s core values: excellence in scholarship, dedication to free inquiry, integrity of

character, and commitment to humanity.

Sixthirtyone is produced by students at The University of Tulsa. This paper is produced for the benefit of students and greater community and is available at no cost to students. Copies should be taken only if they are to be read and enjoyed. In the event an individual or group prevents these copies from being enjoyed by others, the cost to that individual or group will be $15 per copy.

Online EditorSangeeta Bhatia

Photo EditorAlicia Smith

Editor-in-ChiefSamantha Jones

Copy EditorStephen Nimick

Heather BrazilleJoshua DivineCara DublinClaire Hale

Sara GonzalesAnne Rotolo

James Santucci

Sixthirtyone

Staff Writers

Comments? Write the editor:

[email protected]

CourTesy of usBiC

letter From the editor

As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. This is the last issue for Sixthirtyone for the year 2009! With final exams coming up soon, remember these tips to help you with studying: Find a quiet place that is comfortable to study. While it may be nice to have a group to study with, do not let distractions take away from your concentration. Take notes on the materials as you re-read things. Remember to take breaks frequently; don’t try to cram information in your brain. Take a deep breath and think of the holidays!

Be safe and have fun if you are traveling home for the Thanksgiving or Winter breaks. If you are stuck in Tulsa over Thanksgiving, several local area churches have free thanks-giving dinners.

Whether it was your first semester or your last, I hope you had a good time and made lots of great memories. Sixthirtyone is still looking for writers and editors for the new year. If you are interested, please email Sixthirtyone at either [email protected] or [email protected]. Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas and Happy Holi-days!

PoliTiCAl CARTooNS

Sixthirtyone is now on

@631newsfollow

2009 Tulsa Mayoral Election

View results online atCourtesy Bartlett for Mayor

Courtesy Adelson for Mayor

www.sixthirtyone.org

samanTha Jones

Sports EditorMicah Stubbs

The Future of the Republican PartyJoshua Divine

ContentsHeroin is the Answer

James Santucci

ExxonMobil VP outlines VisionMicah Stubbs

The Beer ColumnRyan Reames

Political Cartoons

Sports: Tulsa BasketballMicah Stubbs

VSamantha Jones

4

7

8

10

12

14

16

19

Sixthirtyone 3Sixthirtyone18

Anne Rotolo’s visage is no vaneer of van-ity but a vestige of vox populi, and has vowed to violently violate vicio`us viruses and vent vexations of very vain views of virtuous vendettas. Virolently vigorous to verbally voice your viewpoint? Vent to [email protected].

headlines

SATiRE

For those without the attention span to read an entire article

HeadlinesAnne Rotolo

18

A Conversation with SteadAn Interview with President Upham

The Government Treason and Plot

Tricks and Treats

Remember remember the fifth of November,In the year of two thousand and eight.All were yelling with shoutsHope and change were aboutAnd nobody wanted to wait.

At a special Halloween party in D.C., ev-eryone showed up in the scariest costume they could think of. Harry Reid came as a Dick Cheney. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi re-fused to play childish games, but no one noticed and thought she had very bad taste in dressing up like Michael Jackson. Vice President Biden ar-rived looking like Frankenstein’s monster, or he might have just accidentally slept in. Everyone tried to guess what Sarah Palin would show up as: the next president, a witch, or a democrat. Everyone won seeing as how she came dressed like Hilary Clinton. Ironically, Clinton dressed like Palin and the two were confused for each other all evening. Senator John McCain came as a swine flu victim. Coburn, Lieberman, and Bachman were no where to be found, but ru-mors are that they were all at the Fox News Par-ty (no D.C. democrats or other press allowed). The anticipation was great to see what the presi-dent would show up dressed as. What was the scariest thing the president could come up with? Bush? Glenn Beck? A decision? An elephant? In the end, he came as the First Lady.

America Now Owes Obama 1.2 Trillion Dollars

Palin Punches Pelosi

On Saturday November 7, the Democrat-ic House of Representatives passed the health care bill. The vote was 220-215. Americans were happy to learn that now 96% of all peo-ple everywhere will get free healthcare. For the other 4% healthcare now costs 1.2 trillion dol-lars. According to the US Census Bureau, that is roughly 4,000 dollars per person. And with the national debt at 10.2 trillion (Associated Press) that is roughly 33,000 dollars per person. Thanks to President Obama change is now the only thing the American taxpayer will have left in their pocket.

In order to raise money to pay for the new healthcare bill, the Republicans have come up with a new fundraiser. For every million dol-lars raised by the RNC, Sarah Palin will publicly punch Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. 72 gazillion dollars has already been raised with the largest donation coming from George W. Bush.

MSNBC’s Twitter HACKED!MSNBC’s fake twitter account was hacked

by what looks like a bunch of angst filled nerdy teenagers who either think they are Conserva-tive or just really hate MSNBC. Though most of the tweets contained profanity, others were just plain funny such as “WOW Chris Mat-thews SUCKS!” or “It’s liberals like you who ruin America” and @replying Rachel Maddow, Chris Matthews, and Keith Olbermann. If any-one ever read MSNBC tweets, they would have known this one was lying because it wasn’t covering real news like, “West Africa’s giraffes escape extinction” or “When confetti runs out, Yankee fans toss files” or “Court: OK to remove man after Nazi salute”. [real tweets taken from MSNBC_Headlines]

Remember remember the fifth of November, For now it’s two thousand and nine.The economy’s downWars and fighting aboundWho knew it’d be change of this kind.

obama uses his scare tactics on children Pete Souza / whitehouse.gov

Construction of the Performing Arts Center

Tulsa Ballet: DraculaCara Dublin

13

Downtown Venues RenovatedStaff Report

15


Sports: Tulsa Fights to the FinishMicah Stubbs

17

a conversation With steadPresident Upham Discusses Alcohol Policy at the University of Tulsa

Sixthirtyone4

FEATURE

Recently, Sixthirtyone had the opportuni-ty to sit down with President Upham and interview him about alcohol policy. This interview was requested in response to an email sent by the president prior to home-coming, which is reproduced on the facing page.

Sixthirtyone: A wet campus is a unique phenomenon in Oklahoma. Do you think that students at the University of Tulsa appreciate the privilege of a wet campus and the responsi-bilities this privilege entails?

President Upham: I don’t know whether students recognize the privilege, but I have a philosophical answer to this question. It really goes to what we think education en-tails at TU. My perspective on the social things that we have to deal with on cam-pus is that we should not protect or shield our students from things they are going to experience after they leave. Alcohol is a fact of life, it’s been around for thousands of years. It can be abused, it is abused, but it is also used socially and it can be a very acceptable thing when done in moderation and under appropriate circumstances. The fact that we allow alcohol on campus is simply consistent with our philosophy. I have had discussions with trustees and others about whether we should ban alcohol from campus and I am just not convinced that [banning alcohol] is an appropriate strategy for educating people about what they’re going to face when they leave.

Sixthirtyone: The Amethyst Initiative is a consor-tium of university administrators that advocate lower-ing the legal age of alcohol consumption to 18. Would you support this initiative?

Upham: I know about the Amethyst initiative, would I support the initiative? Well, I’m going to give you a different kind of answer - I wouldn’t oppose it. But would I support it actively? No. The reason is, I’ve seen- I’ve been told about de-bates between presidents who have supported this

Sixthirtyone 17

SPoRTS

initiative and representatives of MADD [Mothers Against Drunk Driving] and I don’t want to be put in a position of arguing against a mother who has lost a child. If there is a ground swell of sup-port for this nationally, it doesn’t matter whether I support it or not. I wouldn’t oppose it. Eighteen year olds are called on to do all kinds of things, including fight and die for our country, so it’s not an unreasonable thing to talk about, but there are people on the other side that have suffered griev-ously and rather than argue with them, I think I’ll just see what happens.

Sixthirtyone: Since its recent adoption, do you view the liberalized alcohol policy, which allows strong beer, wine, and spirits on campus as a success?

Upham: I guess it goes back to the first answer; I don’t know whether it’s a success or not. It’s con-sistent with our broader philosophy about how people deal with difficult choices and social atti-

tudes, social behaviors. We have folks in the apartments that are twenty-one and there’s no reason to prevent them from doing what is legal. The real question is does it lead to abuse by those who are under twenty-one and I think it probably does. But again, hav-ing it available presents the choice to peo-ple and we have got really smart students at this campus and I have faith in their ability to make judgments.

Sixthirtyone: If campus security is not polic-ing this alcohol issue or the distinction between weak beer and something else, does that free up resources to better protect campus?

Upham: You know, I’ve never really thought about it that way. Our campus se-curity are not investigative officers, when they see a nuisance or a problem they confront it or call TPD [Tulsa Police De-partment] if they think they can’t handle it. We’ve doubled our police force in the last three years, the other thing we’ve done, we always have a TPD officer on call every shift. I think we’re doing pretty well there.

We’re actually spending more money on security than we were a few years ago and not just for this reason but because we are victims of petty larceny and burglaries and everything else.

Sixthirtyone: How do you expect the student body to respond to the issue of over consumption and bad be-havior in the apartments ? Do you have a plan beyond advocating positive peer pressure?

Upham: We will take it step by step. My note was pretty benign. I would just hope that people would listen up. I know we’re not going to stop drinking on campus; there’s no way we can. And we don’t want to. What we do want is for people to act responsibly and what I mean by acting re-sponsibly, even for people who don’t drink, is if you see somebody who’s impaired, don’t ignore it or think it’s funny or walk away from it, help the person. Because that person’s in trouble. And they don’t know it, and they think it’s fun, or they don’t

tulsa Fightsto the Finish#13 Houston Kicks Field Goal in Final Seconds to Secure the Win

TULSA - The Houston Cougars (8-1, 4-1 C-USA) defeated TU (4-5, 2-3 C-USA) 46-45 in a riveting Conference USA rivalry game. In the final minutes of the game, Houston trailed Tulsa 45 - 37. Led by Junior Quarterback Case Keenum, the Cougars put together a 61 yard, three minute drive to close the score to 45 - 43. On the subsequent two point conversion attempt, Keenum kept the ball but was stopped short by the Tulsa defense. With 21 sec-onds on left on the clock, Houston’s Chase Turner executed a successful onside kick, giving the Cou-gars the ball at their own 39 yard line. Keenum completed passes to wide receivers James Cleve-land and Tyron Carrier to set up a 51 yard field goal attempt. As time expired freshman kicker Matt Ho-gan sent the ball through the uprights, saving the game for Houston.

Houston coach Kevin Sumlin said of the final

moments of the game: “As coaches you can’t get down, as long as there is time on the clock you have to try and figure out a way to stay positive. As long as there is time on the clock, you have to try and win the game. You can’t panic. Our coaching staff did a great job of not panicking and our kids did a good job of handling the situation.” Sumlin contin-ued, “There have been times where our offense has struggled and our defense has come on and helped us, like at SMU. Our defense struggled early tonight and then later on our offense got bogged down. The thing that has really caught on is our special teams, and not just Matt Hogan. Tyron Carrier gave us another returned kickoff for a touchdown, and we had pretty good coverage on the second-leading all-purpose player in the country, Damaris Johnson.” On the night, Damaris Johnson account-ed for over half (324 of 534 yards) of Tulsa’s total offense.

Tulsa full back Charles Clay also turned in a strong performance, posting 95 yards and four touchdowns. Tulsa Coach Todd Graham remarked after the game, “Charles [Clay] played outstanding the last several weeks. He’s really stepped it up and he’s been healthy and played really well the last three ballgames.” Graham spoke highly of Clay’s performance in the role of injured wide receiver A.J. Whitmore, “A.J. was out. He had a concussion and he didn’t play tonight. We worked Charles into the wildcat, and he did a great job with it.”

TU senior defensive back James Lockett said of the crowd at H.A. Chapman stadium, “It was a tough atmosphere. I want to thank the crowd for coming out and supporting us.” Houston quarter-back Case Keenum best expressed the emotion in the air at the conclusion the game stating, “There’s no words for this.” Graham had only words of re-spect for the Heisman hopeful, “Case Keenum is really special and it’s a lot of work playing defense against him... a really special, classy guy... I really

wish him nothing but the best... it’s really great to see guys that are great players and also first class gentlemen... I really am impressed with him. He’s really very difficult to defend.”

The matchup with Houston marked the return of sophomore offensive tackle Tyler Holmes, who was healthy and back in the lineup for the Gold-

en Hurricane for the first time since September. Graham credited Holmes’ return for a stronger TU offense: “The difference in our football team, hands-down, tonight was Tyler Holmes, back in the line-up... it was unbelievable the difference he made.” Tulsa quarterback G.J. Kinnie concurred, “Tyler Holmes stepped up. He’s an All-American type player. I just credit that to my o-line like I did earlier. The most important thing is that we didn’t win, and we have to work on that. We’re going to play the next three games and win those.”

Victory next Sunday against Conference USA east leader East Carolina is crucial for a struggling Golden Hurricane team, which faces a losing re-cord for the first time since the 2004 season on former coach Steve Kragthorpe. At 4-1 in Confer-ence USA play, Houston now sits firmly atop the west division. The Golden Hurricane is next in ac-tion Sunday, November 15th, when Tulsa hosts the East Carolina Pirates. The game will be televised on EPSN; kickoff is scheduled for 7:15p.

Courtesy University of Tulsa

MicAh StubbS is Sports Editor at Sixthiryone, and is currently looking for new sports writers. Want to get close to the action? E-mail Micah at [email protected].

Tulsa Defensive Backs John Flanders (21) and James lockett (6) signal for a safety while Houston QB Case Keenum argues for an incomplete pass. Upon review, the play was ruled an incomplete forward pass, resulting in a Houston second down.


Charles Clay runs the ball for a touchdown Alicia Smith / Sixthirtyone

Sixthirtyone16 Sixthirtyone 5

remember it. But the worst thing that happens, is when they get that way and then they pass out. A lot of times they vomit and sufficate. That’s what happened down at OU a few years ago and it’s aw-ful. That’s what we don’t want to happen. That’s what we’re trying to prevent. Nobody’s going to get in trouble.

Sixthirtyone: In past years, alcohol abuse issues have been attributed to the Greek system. In the most recent communication with the student body, references to the Greek system were notably absent. Does this signify a change in university policy? Has the adminis-tration at TU noticed a shift in the demographic affected by alcohol-related issues?

Upham: This is an equal opportunity problem. The Greeks are not being singled out by any means. And while they’re a nexus of social activ-ity, we’ve had probably more serious problems in the dorms with the younger students. Every time we admit a new class of students it’s an adventure because they come with pretty well established habits. We’ve probably had as many problems in the dorms or more than we’ve had anywhere else on campus. The Greek system and their advisors are very keyed into this. We’ve had a lot of con-versations with them about responsible behavior. Are there abuses still? Of course. But I think their advisors in particular are really stepped up.

E-mail from President Upham sent to all students on October 28

December 3, 2009

FriendS oF Finance

To reserve your seat, please contact Judy Adair at 631-2588 or [email protected] Advisor, Carlyle Group

Former CEO, Freddie MacFormer Vice Chairman, US Bancorp

Reservations are required. The luncheon will be held on Thursday, December 3, 2009 in the Great Hall of the Allen Chapman Activity Center. Check-in begins at 11:15 a.m.

David Moffett

The cost for members is $20, non-member $30 and $5 for TU students.

VARiETy

the Beer column

Dear Reader,

I would like to consider myself a fair and bal-anced person when it comes to beer, but to be perfectly honest, I’m not. There are styles of beer that I cannot stand - no, that I abhor. But, when you are asked to write an article about beer, more is expected. That is why this year I resolve to be-gin judging beer based on its style. I also chal-lenge you, the readers, to do likewise.

Personally I cannot stand IPAs (India Pale Ales); they taste bitter and often of melon. How-ever, I have friends that can’t seem to get enough of the beer that I could almost swear the devil in-vented just to torment me. To survive trying new beer, there are many aids to help you along. I would suggest closely following many tried-and-true tasting techniques.

First of all, you should know the style of the beer you are about to taste. Normally I would say, “Enjoy,” but this is a tasting, so we need nei-ther positive nor negative ideas in our heads. Have the proper glassware for the beer you are about to consume. Think of tasting beer just like you would wine; I should hate to think that you would swig wine straight from the bottle. When you try a beer do not just have a small amount. This will seriously limit the amount of tasting you can effectively do in a night, but recall the Coke vs. Pepsi taste tests where Coke drinkers were lured to Pepsi on a small taste: when given the proper serving size, they changed their minds. Alright, I think we are just about ready then, all we are going to need is the beer....

For this first review, I am facing the IPA. This detestable beer, to me, was originally invented

RyAn ReAMeS is a TU almnus and a connoisseur of fine brews. He can often be found at McNellie’s Public House, pint in hand. Want the Beer Column to review your favorite? Email Ryan at [email protected].


Left Hand Warrior iPa: 6.6% aBV, 1 Pint, 6 Fl.oz. (something standard)

A very pleasant looking beer, deep amber in color with a head that lasts thick until finished. Smooth yet thick going down, standard for the style is lots of hop flavor coming through.

Think herbal while drinking this beer. The bitterness comes through sustaining for a while after drinking. This beer is not for the faint of heart; thick malt flavors come through after drinking it for a while providing a syrupy sweetness that manages to balance this beer out.

Boss cox double dark iPa: 8.6% aBV, 1 Pint, 6 Fl.oz. (something unusual)

Pours dark amber and very much opaque with a head that does not stick around. The smell is of roasted malt; sweet. Upon first taste the malty sweetness definitely overpowers the hop bitterness one would expect from an IPA; almost more like dark ales and bock beers.

After the carbonation tingles away, there is the distinct flavor you should expect - the pine like hops come through in no offensive manner. This beer is truly an original take on the IPA. It is an easy drink, even at 8.6%, though about half way through the heaviness begins to come through. I recommend this beer for those that like to try something different and for those that do not usually like IPA’s but are willing to try.

Great divide Hercules double iPa: 9.1% aVB, 1 pint, 6 Fl.oz. (something special)

Brilliant orange in color, this IPA pours well with lots of carbonation and a thick head. Upon first taste I am hit with hops; nutty and citrus notes come through. Large amounts of carbon-ation sharply hit the tongue - not necessarily a bad thing. This is a thick beer, not overdone, but to have more than one would be far too much. The sweetness of the malt does not come through much at all, but it does well to balance out the hops which are the focus of this style of beer. At 9.1% this beer hides its alcohol content well. Only after you have taken a drink do you notice the alcohol taste and a dryness.

with the intent to survive the long journey to India from England. To achieve this they add more hops which is a natural preservative and also very bitter.

Okay, now if I can face my least favorite style of beer with grace, you should be able to as well. Everyone with me. I _______________________ do so solemnly swear to respect and judge beer based on the brewer’s intent. With this simple pledge you are now prepared to broaden your horizon.

Cheers!

FEATURE

“Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.”

- Ben Franklin

This Halloween, Tulsa received a sneak-preview of one of the most exciting new developments in downtown entertainment since three-dollar burger night. On the corner of 1st and Detroit, the IDL Ballroom opened its doors to give Tulsa a glimpse of the future of the historic entertainment center.

The complex, which is divided into three dis-tinct venues, has been in the process of receiving a floor to ceiling makeover since local entrepre-neurial team Angie Devore-Green and husband Tom Green moved in this past summer. “We really

Sixthirtyone6

if you wAnt to get up And dAnce, we’ll hAve A SpAce to dAnce oR

if you juSt wAnt to Sit bAck And Sip youR dRink with youR fRiendS, thAt’S cool too. the key iS, you

won’t hAve to Shout oveR blARing MuSic oR A ScReAMing dj

Sixthirtyone 15Sixthirtyone 9

JOIN SIXTHIRTYONE.applications available online. email [email protected].

WRITER?

GRAPHIC DESIGNER?JOURNALIST?

doWntoWn venues receive neW liFeHalloween gives Tulsans a sneak-peek of a triad of new options

want to make this corner a place where people can come, have a great time and have distinct enter-tainment options,” says Angie Devore-Green.

The first to open fully renovated will be Enso, which can be accessed directly off Detroit Ave. Devore-Green explains Enso as “having a very chill vibe, where people can come and unwind at the end of the day and relax with their friends and co-workers. It’s very simple and very minimalist so that the bar never overshadows the people.”

The bar will feature house and guest DJ’s, but the Green’s goal is that the entertainment isn’t in-trusive to the experience. “If you want to get up and dance, we’ll have a space to dance or if you just want to sit back and sip your drink with your friends, that’s cool too. The key is, you won’t have to shout over blaring music or a screaming DJ,” says Tom Green.

As a bonus, the couple says the bar will also offer free public wi-fi and a non-smoking atmo-sphere.

Following Enso, the Green’s will turn their at-tention to the IDL Ballroom, which they say will

StAff RepoRt

Cooper Photography

Cooper Photography

provide downtown with a venue for events not quite large enough for the Cain’s. “When we are done, the IDL Ballroom will be an excellent mid-sized venue versatile enough to host concerts, lec-tures, corporate events and private parties,” says Devore-Green.

The final space, Electric Circus, will bring Down-town Tulsa a European-style dance club for the first time in years. Slated for a full makeover in 2010, the Greens say they want to capture “That raw, high energy spirit you feel in the European clubs.”

Scheduled to open in mid-November, Enso will be open seven days a week. Throughout their reno-vations, both Electric Circus and the IDL Ballroom will host special events. The entire complex is ex-pected to be completely remodeled by the end of 2010.

FEATURE

require crack sales teams and a large network of small businessmen.

Entering the heroin market would also be a prudent national security option. Cutting the money out from under the terrorists is the mod-ern-day equivalent of siege warfare. The US mili-tary cannot kill every last Afghan terrorist, but we can starve them of operating funds. Every suicide bomber on a bus has to have a bus ticket, and bus tickets, not to mention bomb making materials, cost money. Forcing the terrorists to budget more

frugally would decrease both the frequency and severity of their attacks.

Iran is currently the world’s largest consumer of heroin. Imagine how much more willing Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad would be to negotiate with the US if we were supplying to his country a resource as precious as the oil his coun-try exports to the west. We question Great Britain’s choice of syringe diplomacy in China, but after the British exited the Chinese opiate market, the Af-ghans stepped in. Clearly someone will capitalize on the Chinese demand for opiates. The situation in Iran is similar. Iranians will continue purchasing heroin regardless of the source. If American policy dictates that we eliminate Afghan heroin produc-tion, why shouldn’t we take the profits as well?

The west has fought the heroin war for years without success, standing idly while Afghanistan’s market share rose. Fighting the war on terror from a business perspective is precisely the injection of new thinking America needs to achieve victory in Afghanistan.

Sixthirtyone 7

oPiNioN

Sixthirtyone14

jAMeS SAntucci reads widely, thinks deeply, and loves passionately. Mr. Santucci is possessed with unbridled youthful vigor, a quality he attributes to a diet rich in eggs and mojitos.

CNN reported on Oct 21st that the Afghan her-oin trade kills more people from NATO countries each year than the insurgency has accomplished in the eight years since US forces brought down the Taliban. Time reported that in 2004 Afghani-stan’s insurgents and Taliban officials alike pock-eted as much as eighty-seven percent of the $65 billion international heroin market. Why should we leave this lucrative market to the Afghans, our putative foes?

Our capitalist economy has historically ex-celled at two things. We’re great at buying things, and we’re great at producing more goods than we need. Faced with unemployment hovering around ten percent (fifteen million Americans), we need new industries. Heroin production is one of the

industries of America’s economic future.First of all it’s a solid economic decision. The

United Nations estimates the global market for heroin to be fifteen million people. Much like with cigarette consumers, heroin users are not likely to leave the market. Competition in the global heroin market is especially fierce, but there is no reason

heroin is the ansWerDrug Policy Key to Victory in Afghanistan

to believe that with superior farming technology and American entrepreneurial spirit we couldn’t produce a better product at a cheaper price. Ad-ditionally, with the level of market dominance that Afghanistan currently has, it’s unlikely that Afghan producers are maximizing efficiency. Monopolies tend to be less efficient, so American companies, liberated from the shackles of the Drug Enforce-ment Agency, would be free to develop a better production process.

Heroin is also a highly diversifiable and labor-intensive product. With the proper division of la-bor, this new field could yield thousands of new American jobs. Existing farmers could diversify their crops by adding opium. Entrepreneurs could enter the poppy farming industry. In heroin pro-

duction, there are a multitude of refining processes, each of which could be separated into a separate unit of a vertically integrated corporation to real-ize the efficiency gains of division of labor. Third, we could assemble crack sales teams to break into existing markets and to grow emerging markets. Additionally, the actual distribution process would

© Commonwealth of Australia 2009Soldier in a poppy field

heRoin iS A highly diveRSifiAble And lAboR-intenSive pRoduct. with the pRopeR diviSion of lAboR, thiS new

field could yield thouSAndS of new AMeRicAn jobS.

joShuA divine is an opinion writer for Sixthirty-one. He hails from St. Louis, and studies Political Science.

On Tuesday, November 3, an off-year election in New York’s 23rd Congressional District offered a glimpse into the future of the Republican Party. The upstate New York district has a long tradition of send-ing Republicans to the US House of Representatives: No Democrat has represented the 23rd District since 1871. Certain areas of the district last sent a Democrat to Washington in 1851, when Whigs, not Republicans, opposed Democrats in the House of Representatives. Typical of upstate New York, the 23rd’s brand of con-servatism is historically centrist: George W. Bush nar-rowly won the district against both Gore and Kerry, while President Obama edged out Senator McCain in 2008.

When a special election was called to replace Re-publican Congressman John McHugh, who resigned to accept a post as Secretary of the Army in the Obama administration, few pundits expected a particularly compelling election. A moderate Republican would defeat a conservative Democrat; the seat would re-main in Republican hands. True to form, the Repub-lican Party nominated the moderate Deirdre Scozza-fava, an experienced New York State Assemblywoman who opposes gun control, but supports same-sex civil unions and abortion rights. The Democratic Party nominated Bill Owens, a longtime independent and former Air Force Captain.

The tradition of moderate upstate New York poli-tics, however, was abruptly upset when the Conserva-tive Party of New York, a far right party which typically supports Republican candidates, refused to endorse Assemblywoman Scozzafava, instead opting to nomi-nate accountant Doug Hoffman. Hoffman held none of Scozzafava’s centrist social positions, instead hold-ing conservative positions on almost every major is-sue. His nomination transformed an obscure special election into a nation-wide battle for the soul of the Republican Party. As Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, and Glenn Beck threw their support to Doug Hoffman, his candidacy was elevated from electorally irrelevant to nationally symbolic of conservative activism.

The influx of money and support from nationally prominent conservatives and political action commit-tees fundamentally changed the nature of the race. By late October, polls showed Scozzafava finishing the race third, behind both Bill Owens and Doug Hoff-man. On October 31, with her polling numbers col-lapsing, Scozzafava suspended her campaign. The next day, November 1, she endorsed Democrat Bill Owens.

upstate neW York, ideological puritY,and the Future oF the repuBlican partY

The conservative insurgency succeeded: a moderate Republican was replaced with a more “pure” conser-vative. With moderate Republicans divided by Scozza-fava’s departure from the race, Democratic candidate Bill Owens emerged as the unlikely victor in a close race. For the first time in over 130 years, the 23rd New York Congressional district will be represented by a Democratic Congressman. Although the elec-tion result will have little influence on the makeup of Congress, with Owens’ seat probably reverting back to Republican control in 2010, the dynamics of the race reflect a deepening divide within the Republican Party.

This special election in upstate New York rep-resents only the latest in a series of battles for con-trol of the Republican Party. In 2008, John McCain

expressed a desire to pick centrist Republican Tom Ridge or centrist Democrat Joe Lieberman as his run-ning mate. After both candidates were deemed un-acceptable by the far right of the Republican Party, McCain abruptly shifted direction, picking Sarah Palin to the glee of the conservative base. In 2009, Arlen Specter -- a longtime moderate Republican Senator facing a primary challenge from far-right Republican Pat Toomey and widespread castigation within the Republican Party for voting in favor of the Economic Stimulus Bill -- felt compelled to switch his party affili-ation to Democratic, providing the Democrats with a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.

A trend is becoming increasingly clear: moderates are being systematically forced out of the Republican Party by the far-right. Conservative media members like Rush Limbaugh and Glen Beck deride moderate Republicans as RINO’s (Republicans in Name Only). Conservative groups like The Club for Growth fund conservative challengers to longtime moderate Re-publicans. These efforts by the far-right have proved remarkably successful in enforcing ideological purity within the Republican Party. The stimulus bill passed the House of Representatives without a single Re-publican vote. Bipartisan negotiations over healthcare reform broke down as Senate Republicans refused

increasingly centrist compromises from Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee. In enforcing such rigid ideological unity, however, the far-right has begun condemning its own party to electoral irrelevance. As moderates are forced out of the party, the Republican base continues to shrink. Current polling averages sug-gest that only 22% of voters identify as Republican. Republicans in Congress are faced with a net nega-tive of 57% in favorability polling. If the current trend continues, the once-powerful GOP will be reduced to virtual irrelevance within the next decade.

The roots of the current crisis of conservatism do not lie in conservatism itself: small government con-servatives have largely dominated American politics for the past 29 years. The problem lies in intolerance. Increasingly, the Republican Party has become con-trolled by conservative extremists who value ideologi-cal purity over political pragmatism. Such extremists have long exhibited an absolute refusal to compromise with Democrats in any substantive policy arena. Now, they refuse to tolerate even the most mundane dissen-tion within their own ranks. And as the Republican Party shrinks, the intensity of their rhetoric only in-tensifies. Even the smallest expansion of government has become “socialism”. Even the slightest attempt to reform the tax code has become “class warfare”. And even the most respected of Republican moderates have become disparaged as “traitors”.

The Republican Party has stood at the core of the American political system since the Civil War. And over the long term, the two-party system has proved remarkably adept at curtailing extremist politics while governing the nation effectively. Just as Republicans depend on a Democratic Party willing to cut spending and eliminate government programs where necessary, the Democrats depend on a Republican Party willing to pragmatically use government to solve the nation’s most pressing needs. The health of the system depends on a Republican Party willing to place the pragmatic interests of good governance above the partisan in-terests of maintaining absolute ideological purity. The Republican Party, in its current form, is failing the na-tion. Pragmatic Republicans in the tradition of Dwight Eisenhower, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lin-coln face a battle for the soul of the Republican Party. Today, they are losing.

oPiNioN

A tRend iS becoMing incReASingly cleAR: ModeRAteS ARe being

SySteMAticAlly foRced out of the RepublicAn pARty by the fAR-Right.

and chorography as peasant girl Svetlana (Karina Gonzalez on Th/Fr/Sun, Soo Youn Cho on Sat) prepares to wed village boy Frederick (Wang Yi on Th/Fr/Sun, Alfonso Martin on Sat). Here, Ste-venson’s innovative choreography takes center stage as a corps of ballerinas perform a dance with long colored ribbons that, as they sail, twist, and intertwine, are almost reminiscent of rhythmic gymnastics, while a corps of eight men dance with long wooden staffs, tapping them together and pounding the stage in a percussive routine, akin to the rhythmic feel of a tap dance. Incorporating such props can be challenging to dancers, but both routines were flawless. Frederick and Svetlana also perform the first expected male and female techni-

Sixthirtyone8 Sixthirtyone 13

ENTERTAiNMENT

Bram stoker’s dracula Back to liFe

Not just for Transylvania anymore, vampires came to Tulsa this Halloween in Tulsa Ballet’s pro-duction Dracula. Though originally created by choreographer Ben Stevenson in 1997 to honor the centennial of the classic Bram Stoker novel, the ballet does not follow the plot of the book so much as the enduring cultural idea of Dracu-la and the vampire archetype, an avaricious, evil charmer preying on young women for their blood and beauty alike. Sets, costumes, and music were a visual treat, but most of all the sheer caliber of Tulsa Ballet’s dancing shone through even the most

theatrical lust to prove that there is indeed a gem of classical artistry right here in Tulsa.

In Act I, the audience is introduced to Dracula (Alfonso Martin on Th/Fr/Sun, Wang Yi on Sat) and his corps de ballet of ghostly brides. Awaken-ing from his crypt that glows appropriately blood-red, the Count puts on a dazzling display of passion and power, sweeping his 23-foot-long velvet cloak about him as his twisted little henchman Renfield (Mugen Kazama on Th, Mikhail Ovcharov on Sat, Ke Da on Fr/Sun) leaves and returns from the vil-lage with the helpless Flora (Soo Youn Cho on Th/Fr/Sun, Karina Gonzalez on Sat), who falls victim to Dracula’s sinister seduction. Visually, Dracula’s cloak and his identically white-clothed brides who sometimes fly over the stage are the most stunning elements of this act, but Dracula’s choreography is disappointingly more devoted to the cloak than to any particularly technical solo work until he is featured with two of the brides in a more demand-ing pas de trois. The pas de six performed by six of the many brides and Renfield’s quick, angular, marionette-like motions also stand out pleasantly from the rest of the act.

Act II is a masterful juxtaposition of continu-ing ominous music, all by Franz Liszt arranged by John Lanchbery, and bright, joyous costumes

Photo courtesy Tulsa Ballet

cal solos in this act, where Karina Gonzalez shines for the extraordinary fluidity of her movements. The ominous promise hanging over it all is ful-filled when Dracula’s coach sails in and the count abducts Svetlana.

In the third Act, Dracula and Svetlana return to the castle, where the brides, Flora now among them, greet the newest victim and show her into the count’s bedroom. He returns to the castle and begins to win her over, again with staging remi-niscent of old-fashioned melodrama, the good girl more innocent and helpless and the villain more devastatingly evil than life. At the crucial moment, Frederick and the villagers storm in and the stage is taken over in a madcap battle, undead visions swirling about the living people. The emotion is built up, drawing the audience in until many shriek when Frederick pulls the curtain and Dracula flies up into the grotesque old chandelier, which pro-ceeds to explode in a display of pyrotechnics rarely seen in the somewhat staid and minimalist world of typical ballet sets.

Over all, Dracula presents a feeling of a richly dramatic theatre show as much as a ballet, mak-ing it very engaging and approachable. Tulsa Bal-let’s artists are a talented bunch, particularly First Principal Karina Gonzalez. The corps de ballet is impressive as the brides, moving in perfect uni-son, with ethereal grace despite their zombie-like arms and dragging steps. Dracula was entirely sold out Sunday night, a triumph for Tulsa Bal-let, and bodes well for audiences at the traditional The Nutcracker holiday ballet. If you have not yet been to a Tulsa Ballet production, have never seen any ballet before, or have seen The Nutcracker a dozen times, I urge you: go, take advantage of your significant TU student discount, and do not miss out on this exemplary facet of Tulsa’s arts world. There is no need to journey to Transylva-nia for magic, passion, or ballet theatre. It’s already here in Tulsa.

cARA dublin is a freshman at the University of Tulsa and a first time writer for Sixthirtyone. She interested in fashion, acting and all kinds of fine arts.

a halloWeen tale With vampires, dancing and music

Wang Yi and Karina Gonzalez practice during vigorous rehearsals

FEATURE

TULSA - Friends of Finance recently held its Octo-ber luncheon at the University of Tulsa. Following a buffet lunch, the assembled crowd of commer-cial bankers and their clients enjoyed a presenta-tion from Donald Humphreys, Senior Vice Presi-dent and Treasurer of energy giant Exxon Mobil Corp. Mr. Humphreys has ties to northeast Okla-homa that extend beyond the oil and gas industry, as he graduated from Nathan Hale high school in

Tulsa and from Oklahoma State University, where he studied industrial engineering and management. Read more about Mr Humphrey’s background at ExxonMobil.com.

Friends of Finance is an organization of business professionals, TU alumni, and supporters of the TU College of Business Administration. Members share a passion for business--particularly finance and op-erations management--and are committed to help-ing TU gain national prominence in these areas.

Billed as a discussion of “The Role of Corporate Citizenship in Meeting World Energy Demand,” Humphreys’ remarks offered a high level view of ExxonMobil’s position in the global economy. Exx-onMobil remains the world’s largest publicly traded integrated oil company, tracing its history back to

exxonmoBil senior vice president

Donald Humphreys addresses the Friends of FinanceStandard Oil of New Jersey (Exxon) and Socony-Vacuum (Mobil). In 2008, ExxonMobil had a mar-ket capitalization of $340 billion, revenues of $477 billion, and posted a $45 billion profit. Mr. Hum-phreys noted that ExxonMobil’s 2008 $477 billion revenue figure was larger than the 2008 gross do-mestic product of Norway (a mere $257 billion according to the CIA World Factbook).

A direct consequence of ExxonMobil’s vast

size is the critical attention it receives from the press and governments around the world. “Despite the size of our company, ExxonMobil represents only a small part of the global energy industry, cur-rently providing about 2% of the world’s energy...Fourteen of the fifteen largest companies based on total proved reserves are state-controlled. State-controlled companies produce about 60% of the world’s total liquid and gas production...In fact, one of the challenges we have is effectively communi-cating the vast scale of the global energy industry to public and political leaders.”

ExxonMobil undertakes a wide range of public relations activities in an effort to educate the public and defend its reputation. These efforts range from producing opinion articles for national newspapers

to sending senior management to address stake-holder groups, such as Friends of Finance. Asked after the event about the risk of stricter government regulation and increased taxes on energy, Mr. Hum-phreys admitted “It’s a challenge now...I worry that some of the things being suggested will make the US oil and gas refining system less competitive.”

“The Role of Corporate Citizenship in Meeting World Energy Demand” touts ExxonMobil’s invest-ment in alternative energy research, reduction of its carbon emissions, and funding for the educa-tion of women and girls in developing nations. A week prior to the Tulsa Friends of Finance date, Mr. Humphreys spoke to students at the Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford Law School. What is the core message of ExxonMobil’s charm offensive? By advocating the cause of corporate citizenship, ExxonMobil is able to proffer its own conception of good corporate citizenship.

In ExxonMobil’s world view, good corporate citizenship is a function of the quality of an entity’s corporate governance. Next comes the assertion that “the challenge of sustainability is balancing eco-nomic growth, social development, and environ-mental protection.” This is a fairly standard formu-lation of the challenge facing large corporations and governments. The precise balance of these facets of sustainability (economic growth, social develop-ment, and environmental protection) is the jumping off point for the discussion. ExxonMobil’s position, broadly speaking, is that social development and ef-fective environmental protection are dependent on economic growth. Therefore, policy goals in these areas should not be pursued at the expense of eco-nomic growth.

ExxonMobil sees new technologies and efficien-cy gains in existing technologies as the best candi-date for promoting social good while increasing an-nual revenues. Asked about ExxonMobil’s research and development efforts, Mr. Humphreys stated “We’re a technology company!” In his prepared re-marks, Mr. Humphreys highlighted that of its total workforce of 80,000 employees, ExxonMobil em-ploys approximately 2,000 PhDs. Hydrocarbons produced from plant matter are a key research field. Bio-fuels research at ExxonMobil initially “looked at a broad range of renewables” but eventually settled on algae as the most promising research avenue. Ac-

Donald Humphreys with wife Cathey. Also pictured is TU professor larry Wofford (third from right) and friends from Humphreys’ time at Nathan Hale high school.

Ray Tuttle / Tulsa Business Journal

tulsa Ballet Brings

dRAculA pReSentS A feeling of A Richly dRAMAtic theAtRe Show AS Much AS A bAllet, MAking it veRy

engAging And AppRoAchAble.

outlines vision For corporate citizenship

Sixthirtyone 9Sixthirtyone12

Deciding On Your Major?

TU Career Services 918.631.2549

Stop by Holmes Student Center #17 and make an appointment to take the DISCOVER and STRONG assessments

DISCOVER program offers three individual assess-ments on Values, Interests and Abilities and provides additional information about occupations, job market trends, and salaries.

STRONG INTEREST INVENTORY matches your in-terests with six types of work environments to find the one in which you are most compatible.

SAMMAnthA joneS is editor-in-chief of Sixthir-tyone. If you have any comments, questions or griev-ances feel free to email her at [email protected].

frontation between ABC and Warner Bros., where the show is filmed.

Whether ABC is trying to boost ratings through controversy certain to explode over “V” is uncer-tain but it is certain that controversy will come as it did in the past. The original miniseries, “V” aired in 1983. The storyline is roughly the same only the original idea was intended to be a warning over Na-zism, fascism and communism; such themes were subdued if not forgotten entirely after production executives questioned the intentions of the show. No doubt similar questions have been or will be raised quickly by supporters of the Obama admin-istration and it will certainly be interesting to see if the show begins to take a different turn. Catch “V” on ABC Tuesday nights at 7 p.m.

VConservative propaganda or hit new sci-fi series?

REViEW

What would happen if someone appeared out of nowhere promising world peace, hope, and uni-versal healthcare? What if everyone jumped on the bandwagon without question and even the media began to swoon in sheer devotion?

No, it is not President Obama, but a reptilian race of aliens coming to conquer all humanity. In ABC’s new sci-fi drama series “V”, the aliens calling themselves “visitors” or “V”, for short, promise all these things and more and the humans are more than willing to accept everything they say without question.

While the show does not explicitly point fin-gers at the President’s administration, groups on both sides are eager to voice opinions of the shows possible effect in the political tide of the nation. The Chicago Tribune heralds, “[the show is] also a barbed commentary on Obamamania that will in-furiate the president’s supporters and delight his detractors”, and delighted they are.

Like Obama, V specifically promotes hope and change. V targets youth in the Ambassador Peace Program creating an eerie worship among it’s young followers. V promises universal health care which will bring peace to all the world. In the show, the media that questions V’s motives are accosted and told to show some respect. When one reporter, Chad Decker-played by Scott Wolf- is personally asked to come aboard the New York mother ship to give a one on one interview with Anna the head of the V- played by Morena Baccarin- Decker is told that he must not ask any questions that would paint V in a bad light, if he does not comply, the in-terview is cancelled. Decker is essentially told later that compromising one’s morals isn’t that bad if it is for the greater good, a theme apparently shared by V.

Not to say that all conservatives believe Presi-dent Obama is an alien leading a secret army to the destruction of all mankind (that joke is reserved for Glenn Beck) but simply to say that it is always unsafe to blindly jump on a bandwagon without first examining, as the show put it, “how sturdy the wagon is.”. With videos surfacing showing school

Photo courtesy abc.com

children being taught to chant and praise their leader’s name, it is no wonder conservatives are beginning to get a little worried.

The question remains, however, is the American pub-lic ready to get off the Obama-mania bandwagon? According to the Rassmussen Daily Pres-dential Tracking Poll, Obama’s poll numbers are steadily slipping. 52% disapprove of the President’s current per-formance and 41% strongly disapprove. While daily polls fluctuate often enough to not be as accurate an indicator, the Presidents approval ratings stayed below the fifty percent mark for the month of Octo-ber.

Though the show may not represent a turning tide of conservative thought, the fact remains that there is a conservative market not being exploited by the television executives. Shows like, “24” which ooze with patriotism and conservative ideas are unrepentant for a political incorrectness that scores high with a certain audi-ence; but shows like these are few and far between due to a highly controlled liberal outlet like net-work television.

The fact of the matter is however, the show- created by Scott Peters- was written before Presi-dent Obama was even elected. Peters himself is actively liberal and ironically the series was if any-thing intended for the Bush administration. Would such questions have been raised had the series ran during the Bush administration or would the dou-ble standard of the media prevail and the series receive praise without so much as a raised hair? Peters has since left the project, though it is unclear as to the reasons he was replaced. Sources say it was not a political move by ABC, but rather a con-

“We are of peace. Always.”

cording to Mr. Humphreys, the algae figures for yield per acre, water use, CO2 use, land use, and overlap with a food market, when taken in total, were more favorable that corn ethanol, sugar ethanol, or animal fat bio-die-sel. “This kind of blue-sky stuff. The cosmetic industry has been using this [algae] for a long time.” Mr. Humphreys made a point to tem-per the optimism about this research stating that “it takes decades for promising technolo-gies to achieve a scale which can appreciably change the energy mix.”

At the student question and answer ses-sion following the luncheon, University of Tulsa MBA student Matt Barnard asked “Can you talk a little bit about some of the risk man-agement measures that are in place at Exxon-Mobil, and how they were affected by recent events? Has your aversion to risk changed at all?” Mr. Humphreys responded candidly:

“No, I wouldn’t say so. You probably studied companies where there is a separate risk management officer, or committee. We

do not believe in that. We think that risk manage-ment is a line management direct responsibility. So every company president, department head, mem-ber of the management committee...what we do is manage risk. Risk in our business is pervasive. It is everywhere from making an economic risk judg-ment to running a facility properly to conducting a business properly. On the business side, we want to take risks. Taking good risks is how you get high returns.”

2009 marks the 25th anniversary of the found-ing of Friends of Finance. To mark the silver anni-versary, The “Bringing the Best to the Best” lecture series next features David Moffett, a senior adviser at the Carlyle Group, and former CEO of Fred-die Mac. The December 3rd luncheon will be held in the Great Hall of the Allen Chapman Activities Center on the University of Tulsa campus.

MicAh StubbS is Sports Editor at Sixthiryone, and enjoys attending business luncheons. Have a sug-gestion? E-mail Micah at [email protected].

FEATURE

Sixthirtyone10

SPoRTS

Sixthirtyone 11

SPoRTS

tulsa BasketBall

tips oFF2009 - 2010

season

MicAh StubbS is Sports Editor at Sixthiryone, and is currently looking for new sports writers. Want to get close to the action? E-mail Micah at [email protected].

TULSA - The Golden Hurricane returns four start-ers including senior stars center Jerome Jordan and guard Ben Uzoh. Jordan is the preseason pick to garner C-USA Player of the Year, while Uzoh comes into this season having started 105 of 106 games for the Hurricane and having earned preseason first-team all-conference accolades. Tulsa also returns senior forward Bishop Wheatley and junior guard Justin Hurtt to the starting lineup. Sophomore Ste-ven Idlet is expected to be the fifth starter for the Hurricane.

Tulsa has been picked as the preseason favor-

Tulsa Coach Doug Wojick and TU players at the 2009 NiT invitational game against Northwestern

TU students cheer for the team. (left to right: Emily Gibson, Mindy van Rietschote, Janelle Felts, Mike Roth, Megan Mitchell, Sam inman)

Golden Hurricane hosts St. Mary’s University

in Home opener

ite to win the Conference USA Championship by numerous preseason publications. Among those magazines picking the Golden Hurricane to un-seat Memphis as conference champions are The Sporting News, USA Today Sports Weekly, Lindy’s College Basketball, Athlon Sports, The Sports Xchange/CBSSports.com, Blue Ribbon and Bas-ketball Times.

Tulsa’s seven-footer from Kinston Jamaica, Jor-dan ranked first in C-USA for field goal percentage

(.598) and blocked shots (2.52), and was second for rebound-ing with an 8.8 aver-age last year. Jordan led the Hurricane in scoring (14.7), re-bounds (8.8), blocks (2.52) and field goal percentage (.598). He scored 20 or more points in eight games last season, and had 22 double-figure scoring games, 13 double-digit re-bounding games and 10 double-doubles in Tulsa’s 31 contests.

Micah Stubbs,Sports EditorSixthirtyoneRandom Guy

from CBS

Random Dude from ABC

yao Ming Wants you.

Write Sports for Sixthirtyone.

sports writers, photographerscontact [email protected]

Uzoh has earned a league award in each of his three seasons with the Hurricane. In 2006-07, he was named to the all-freshman team and last year garnered C-USA second-team accolades.

The 6’3” Uzoh averaged 14.4 points and led the TU in assists with a 3.6 average and steals at 1.5 per game, while grabbing 4.8 rebounds per game last year. Uzoh became just the fourth player in school history to surpass 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 200 assists and 100 steals for a career, a feat he accom-plished last season.

The Hurricane open the regular season on Fri-day, Nov. 13 against St. Mary’s of San Antonio, Tex-as. It’s the first game of a three-game home-stand in five days that also has Tulsa playing Florida In-ternational, coached by NBA legend Isaiah Thom-as, on Sunday Nov. 15, at 2 pm. Standing out on the schedule is a 1 pm contest Tuesday afternoon November 17 against University of Arkansas-Little Rock as part of ESPN’s 24-hours of basketball. Free student tickets can be picked up with a valid TU ID at the athletic ticket office, located in the northwest corner of the Reynolds center. Tulsahurricane.com also contributed to this report.



Documents

Sixthirtyone