• Only one of 14 open districts was contested

CADIE THOMPSON

The Oklahoma Daily

There were no close margins or elec-toral sweeps this year for UOSA President and Student Congress seats. In fact, there was barely any competition at all.

With the UOSA President running unop-posed and most of the Student Congress seats declared by default, most students only had to answer ballot referendums and pick their candidate for Campus Activities Council chairman.

Only business majors were able to vote for their congressional representatives because the business district was the only one contested. Nine candidates were run-ning for seven available seats.

In total, only 27 students ran for the 39 available congressional seats, leaving

more than a quarter of the school unrep-resented.

Yet, despite the low numbers, some rep-resentatives are hopeful for the future.

“We have quality, not quantity right now and I think the quality will definitely make up for quantity,” Matt Gress, social sci-ence representative and political science junior, said. “While we have fewer people to work, I think we’re are going to make do with the passionate representatives we have.”

The UOSA Constitution establishes 16 districts with a total of 48 representative seats in Student Congress. The number of seats allocated to each district is based on student population.

This election, 14 districts had open seats, and all but one of them went uncon-tested. In four of the uncontested districts, there was no one running for office at all.

Gress, who has been involved with Student Congress for two and a half years, said although more students have been involved in student government in the past, not all representatives have been actively involved. He said although it

would be better to have more representa-tives that were passionate about student government, he does not think the effec-tiveness of Congress will be affected.

But Congress is going to have to do more than be passionate about politics if they are going to spike student interest in student government, they are going to have to fight a sense of indifference, Brittany Pritchett, Student Congress sec-retary, said.

“It seems like there’s been a shift this year towards student apathy towards stu-dent government,” she said. “Honestly, they just they don’t seem to want to take on the responsibility.”

Pritchett, a geology junior, has been involved in student government for almost three years and said when she first joined, campaigns were much more intense.

“When I ran, almost every seat was con-tested. It was a lot bigger deal,” Pritchett said. “Just the motivation seems to be gone. I wish I knew how to incentivize people to want to join.”

But Gress is ready for the challenge.Gress said he wants further recruit-

ment for student government next year by reaching out to colleges, student groups and by better utilizing Student Congress’ Web site.

“We really need to work on our legiti-macy that includes developing a public presence that people know,” Gress said.

But students do not have to wait for a recruiting campaign to join Student Congress.

Students can still fill empty seats to be a representative or an associate by apply-ing with the Congressional Administration Committee.

All the candidates who ran for Student Congress unopposed and the students who are elected in the business district will be sworn into office in two weeks.

After the new representatives take office, they may apply for positions within the six congressional committees.

Gress said he looks forward to work-ing with the new representatives to bring Student Congress’ presence back to life.

“I’m very optimistic about it,” Gress said. “I’m really excited. We are just going to hit the ground running.”

Student Congress optimistic despite bare ballotWere you set to take part in The Big Event?

Confused about what to do since it was rained

out? Check page 7A for a Q&A with an event

spokeswoman.

Oklahoma may become the fi rst state to

deregulate the public school system if new

legislation passes the state House. Page 2A.

Read about how one graduate student

practices her religion with spells and witchcraft

in this week’s Super Sooner profi le on page 3A.

Like vintage clothing? Two former students

have set out to create their own line. Check out

more on page 4B.

‘SuperBad’ director Greg Mottola shares his

thoughts on his upcoming fi lm ‘Adventureland’

on page 5B.

Need something to do this weekend? Check

out the ‘Weekend Update’ on page 8B.

The Sooner softball team split a double-

header with Baylor on Wednesday, dropping

the fi rst game 5-0 before rebounding and tak-

ing the second, 4-0. See the details on page 1B.

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History junior Nick Watts and petroleum engineering sophomore RJ Giglio display their first place debate trophy.

Watts and Giglio received first place in a national debate tournament held in Austin, Texas.

• Oklahoma underdogs aim to keep opponents off-balance

JAMIE BIRDWELL

The Oklahoma Daily

RJ Giglio and Nick Watts used a somewhat nontraditional pro-cess to select each other as roommates.

Instead of looking for friends with similar schedules, Giglio and Watts looked for people who were good at arguing.

The roommates are also partners on OU’s debate team, and last week the pair won the Cross Examination Debate Association tournament, the largest collegiate debate tournament in the United States. They competed against 140 teams from colleges across the country.

Giglio, petroleum engineering sophomore, and Watts, his-tory junior, said it’s a nontraditional approach to debate that has helped them become one of the best teams in the country.

As recently as 2002, there wasn’t a debate team at OU. But six years ago, OU President David Boren spearheaded an effort to revive the Sooner program, which was a debate powerhouse from the 1930s to the 1970s, Watts said.

Two years ago, the team won its first Cross Examination Debate Association tournament since the renewal of the program.

Watts said he was pleased with the debate squad’s performance this year.

Nationally-ranked OU debaters live, argue together

Low participation in Student Congress election campaigns leave many districts with little or no representationNO YOU

WEDNESDAY’S STUDENT CONGRESS ELECTION RESULTS

Illustration By Amanda Turner / The Daily

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EVEN ODD

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“It’s unprecedented for a new program,” he said. “We take an untraditional approach. We get people out of their comfort zone.”

Watts and Giglio said the quick rise to the top has come courtesy of coach Jackie Massey and an unusual style of argumentation.

Each year, every debate program in the coun-try prepares to argue for or against hypothetical policy proposals of the same theme. This year, the topic was agricultural subsidies.

Watts said most teams focus on political argu-ments for their positions, but he and Giglio concentrate on the philosophical aspects of the debate, often startling their opponents. Other debaters may find themselves stumbling over words or asking questions that don’t pertain to the OU team’s arguments.

“The point of the debate is to persuade the judge,” he said. “But it’s a lot of fun when the other team has no clue what you’re talking about.”

Although they’ve met with considerable suc-cess, Watts and Giglio said OU still isn’t recog-nized as being on the same level as other histor-ically-dominant debate programs like Harvard, Wake Forest or Dartmouth.

“They think they’re going to debate a couple of chumps from Oklahoma,” Watts said of debaters from upper-crust schools. “And if we end up win-ning the debate, people have a tendency to get really angry.”

They said they think institutional bias may have factored into their most recent loss, against Northwestern University at the National Debate Tournament in Austin this week. Giglio said three out of the debate’s four judges voted for Northwestern, and he thought they may have done so because Northwestern was predicted to win going into the round.

But OU has already defeated its share of debate dynasties. Giglio and Watts beat a Harvard team twice this year, and one of those decisions was unanimous.

Giglio said Kansas, which won the National Debate Tournament this year, is OU’s biggest rival.

“Obviously Texas is a big rival,” he said. “But we beat Texas a lot.”

NewsThursday, April 2, 20092A

OUR COMMITMENT TO ACCURACYThe Daily has a long-standing commitment to serve readers by

providing accurate coverage and analysis. Errors are corrected as they are identifi ed. Readers should bring errors to the attention of the editorial board for further investigation.

ERROR SUBMISSIONSe-mail: dailynews@ou.eduphone: 325-3666

Continued from page 1A

Debate

• Junior plans to focus on increasing diversity

CADIE THOMPSON

The Oklahoma Daily

In past student government elections, the campaigns for UOSA president and vice president have received the most attention, but this year’s uncontested presidential election shifted attention to a lesser-known UOSA position, Campus Activities Council chairman.

The race was tight, with only a 181-vote difference, but Tyler Nunley came out victorious against his opponent Kely Van Eaton, industrial engineering junior.

For several weeks, green and blue signs have been scattered across cam-pus. Chalkings have lined students’ paths and supporters of both candidates have attempted to rally support by reaching out to the student body.

Nunley promoted his campaign with

the slogan “Something for Everyone.” He has said his main goal is to increase diver-sity within CAC.

Nunley, international and area studies junior, served in CAC in several positions including philanthropy chairman, event chairman for Winter Welcome Week, University Sing executive committee, assistant director of Scandals and member of the General Council of The Big Event.

He also has served as the American liaison to the International Advisory Committee and gives his time to work with the Center For Student Life as a mentor for the Freshman First-Year Experience Program.

As CAC chairman, he will take on size-able new responsibilities. As the Executive Chairman of CAC, Nunley will preside over every council meeting and executive council meeting for a year. He will also have to meet weekly with the CAC faculty adviser and will be ultimately responsible for all the events CAC sponsors.

Gray Thomas, letters junior, was Nunley’s roommate last year and said it does not surprise him that Nunley won.

“Tyler is really legit,” Thomas said. “He is really loyal and he puts everyone ahead of himself in everything he does.”

Nunley wins CAC election

• Two state bills proposed to change Okla. school district obligations

RICKY MARANON

The Oklahoma Daily

A bill in the state legislature that many teachers feel threatens their right to due process is one step from being signed into law.

On Wednesday, the state House Committee on Common Education heard arguments over the issue and passed two bills that would change the rules of how districts can fire educators.

School deregulationSB 834 would deregulate state school districts so

they wouldn’t have to comply with most state over-sight and mandates. Instead, most decisions would be left up to local school boards. The vote was split along party lines.

Democratic members believed the bill would

deny teachers who have been fired the right to appeal.

“This bill would deprive teachers of due process of law,” said Rep. Samuel Buck, D-Ardmore.

The bill states “a teacher shall not have the right to a trial de novo in district court.”

Oklahoma law defines trial de novo, in the case of education, as a means of appealing the school board’s decision to fire an educator by taking it to an outside judicial body for an independent review. Under SB 834, the educator will have to make an appeal to the same school board that originally voted to terminate their employment.

“We’ve seen what the banks did with deregula-tion, and it didn’t work,” said Rep. Joe Dorman, D-Rush Springs.

On campus, reaction to the clause wasn’t posi-tive either.

“That’s not fair, and it sounds unconstitutional,” said Bobby Amber Clay, elementary education junior. “[School boards are] going to stick to their original decision because they are prideful and don’t want to look like they screwed up.”

Republican members believed school boards are better in touch and more responsible to their con-stituents, and since school boards are more local to

their voters, they are a better body to be account-able for policy making. They believed if board members were caught not doing their job, they will be dealt with in the next election.

“There is no stronger check and balance than the voice of the people voting someone out of office who they think is doing a bad job,” said Rep. Tad Jones, R-Claremore and co-author of the bill. “If they are good teachers, then they should not be afraid of termination.”

SB 834 also would allow the state to continue to set graduation requirements and have the final say on accreditation and certification.

If passed, Oklahoma will be the first state in the nation to deregulate school districts from state con-trol and oversight.

The legislature also heard an equally controver-sial bill over teaching contracts.

Contractual issuesSB 394 would give schools more time to examine

their finances for the next school year before final-izing staffing decisions. The deadline for notifying a teacher on when his or her contract can be ter-minated would be moved from April 10 to the first Monday in June.

The debate focused on the competing needs of school districts, which want more time to set pay-roll, and of teachers who are afraid of being forced to find another job on short notice.

“This is taking away the ability for teachers to make sure they have a job the next school year,” said Rep. Ed Cannaday, D-Muskogee.

The bill’s co-author, Rep. Daniel Sullivan, R-Tulsa, said schools do not have enough time to examine their finances before the firing deadline.

Education students felt like their profession was again under attack in Oklahoma.

“Teachers need more than just the month of June and July to figure out what they are going to do next school year,” Clay said.

She said she knew of some schools that start planning for the next school year in mid-July.

“It was fine the way it was,” she said. “We need the extra time to plan our next move, especially if we are being fired and have to find another school in another district to teach at.”

Both bills now will move to the House floor for debate and passage, and if passed, they would pro-ceed to the governor’s desk for approval.

The governor’s office did not return The Daily’s calls before press time.

Many educators feel their job security is threatenedZach Butler/The Daily

New CAC Chair Tyler Nunley celebrates with University College freshman Melissa Mock while still on the phone receiving the news.

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SCHEDULE YOUR FREE SENIOR PORTRAIT

College of Law presents Diversity DayThe OU College of Law will host its annual Diversity Day Friday for high

school and college students interested in a future law career.

The event, which begins at 11 a.m. in Coats Hall, is geared toward

prospective students from ethnic minority backgrounds, but any student

interested in learning more about law school may attend, said Stanley

Evans, associate dean of the OU College of Law.

“The purpose is really to expose students to the fact that they can be

lawyers, the fact that they can be law students and then how to get into

law school,” said Evans, who will be leading a seminar on fi nancial aid.

The day’s agenda includes informational seminars about the Law

School Admission Test, the College of Law application process, fi nancial

aid and smaller sessions that focus on the needs, challenges and repre-

sentation of certain minorities in law professions.

Students will also attend a mock law school class, tour the College

of Law and hear a panel discussion from current OU law students, Evans

said.

Diversity Day is free to all students who attend, but those who want

to pre-register may do so at jay.law.ou.edu/diversityday or register at the

door at 10:30 a.m. Friday.

— RENEE SELANDERS/THE DAILY

American Indian Month starts with a bangMore than 50 American Indian students gathered on the South Oval

Wednesday to celebrate the beginning of American Indian Heritage

Month.

American Indian students have a rich history on campus and the event

was designed to raise awareness of that history, said Oliver Plumley,

music composition sophomore.

Sigma Nu Alpha Gamma, an American Indian fraternity founded to

increase and raise awareness of retention rates among American Indian

men, participated in Wednesday’s event to spread their message, said

sociology junior Wes Wilson, a member of the fraternity.

Not many American Indian men attend college and of those who do,

even less graduate, said Plumley, Sigma Nu Alpha Gamma member.

The fraternity tries to fi nd new students who are going through the

same unique transition as other members to promote retention, Plumley

said.

“We don’t want people to get to the university and stop, we want all of

our brothers to move onto something bigger and better,” Wilson said.

— LAUREN STALFORD/THE DAILY

Senior to receive Carl Albert AwardJohn Greenert, psychology senior, will receive the 2009 Carl Albert

Award, which is presented annually to an outstanding senior in the Col-

lege of Arts and Sciences, according to a press release.

Greenert will graduate summa cum laude from OU’s Joe C. and Carole

Kerr McClendon Honors College with a 3.98 grade-point average and

plans to become a physician after graduation.

The award ceremony will take place today in the Sandy Bell Gallery of

the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art.

— LAUREN STALFORD/THE DAILY

CAMPUS BRIEFS

• Student nullifies stereotypes about the Earth-based religion

CLARK FOY

The Oklahoma Daily

Anna Holloway, professional writing graduate student, places colorful fabric on an alter cloth on the floor and sets candles representing the five natural elements in each cardinal direction to begin practicing her religion.

She adds a cauldron for burning incense, a chal-ice, dagger, wheat grain and a shell full of lavender to the alter to practice her religion, Wicca.

But these items are just Holloway’s set of tools used to practice the Earth-based religion.

“Everybody who practices it has a different form of approach, a different way of seeing that, a different way of understanding what is divine and what isn’t,” Holloway said.

The religion is one that is commonly misunder-stood and stereotyped, though, she said.

“Wicca is a religion that is centered in under-standing that our easiest and best contact with Creator is through creation,” Holloway said. “So we make our contact to God with God’s works. That’s what makes it Earth centered.”

From Catholicism to WiccaHolloway was raised Roman Catholic but said

she has always been connected to nature and eventually realized Wicca had always been a part of her.

At the age of 36, she joined a Unitarian Universalist church in Norman and found a pagan group that met there. The group led her to realize Wicca was a suitable religion for her.

“I always liked animals and I always liked the outdoors and I always liked plants and I always felt that was the right thing, that there was some-thing right about it,” Holloway said. “It wasn’t like leaving civilization and going into the wilderness, it was just realizing that living things are cool.”

Holloway’s stumbling upon the religion is one of the only real ways to join, she said.

“It is not something that anybody converts you to,” Holloway said. “We don’t run around convert-ing people because there wouldn’t be any point to it. Either you get it or you don’t and if you get it, you just may not know what it is.”

Holloway said she has not found a religion that failed to teach her something. She is also a follower of American Daoism and, as she said, is “a student of the teachings of Jesus.” She said she doesn’t like to use the term “Christian,” though because there are many people she wouldn’t like to be associated with.

Centuries of misunderstandingWiccans are a misunderstood religious breed,

Holloway said, and although some call themselves “witches,” they aren’t witches in the historical and stereotypical sense.

Past events like the Salem Witch Trials have put a negative connotation on the word “witch,” and now most think of someone who calls upon Satan, which simply isn’t true, she said.

Wiccans also practice spells but the spells aren’t what one might think.

“Spells are the same thing as prayer,” Holloway said. “Just as a Christian would pray to heal a friend, a Wiccan will sit down and ask God to heal a friend from a slightly different set of rituals, but it is still the same request, and as far as I’m con-cerned it goes to the same God.”

Intolerance still a problemMany might overlook it, but religious perse-

cution is still present and Wiccans are far from excluded.

She said she knows some people who hide their religion from the public because they’re afraid they might lose what they’ve worked for person-ally or professionally.

“I know one person whose divorce decree specifically forbids him from associating with a certain religious institution in town,” Holloway said. “His ex, who used to practice Wicca, used that as an excuse and basically went to the court and told them that he was taking [the children]

to see witches and used it as an excuse to limit his contact with the people who were his support system.”

She also said she has a friend who believes she was fired because her pentacle necklace fell out of her shirt.

But Holloway’s negative experiences have been more personal than professional or legal.

She worked in ministry programs at various prisons around the state from 2001 to 2008 and said the responses to her religion were always different.

“There were some people in the prison systems that were extremely supportive because I was bringing a lot of support to inmates who were Wiccans and pagans of different kinds,” Holloway said. “There were other people who were just hor-rified that I was even allowed in.”

While some Wiccans hide their religion, Holloway believes in being open about it.

The reactions leave Holloway feeling alone sometimes, but she said many have been support-ive and she believes being open about her religion will only help other Wiccans.

“I am personally one of those people who thinks that we are going to do ourselves in the long run more good by being out and open than by hiding,” Holloway said. “And I think there is much more to be gained by saying this is who and what I am, this is what I practice and this is how we relate to each other. I just think that is a healthier way to be in the world.”

Life experiences lead student to practice Wicca

Nijim Dabbour, managing editordailynews@ou.eduphone: 325-3666fax: 325-6051For more, go to oudaily.com.

Campus NewsCampus News Thursday, April 2, 2009 3A

Amy Frost/ The Daily

Anna Holloway, professional writing graduate student, sits next to her cloth that she made herself and uses

when she practices Wiccan rituals. The five candles represent earth, air, fire, water and spirit, placed facing the

corresponding cardinal directions.

Saturday, Apr. 4Gathering Fragments: Edward S. Curtis in Oklahoma | In summer 1926, toward the end of a long and distinguished career, photographer Edward S. Curtis and an assistant traveled to Oklahoma to conduct fi eldwork for Curtis’ multivolume masterwork, The North American Indian. Curtis included more than 100 images of Oklahoma tribes in a subsequent volume and portfolio published in 1930. These fragmentary and often romantic images are the focus of this exhibition. Exhibit will be on display at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of art through May 17, 2009.

THIS WEEKEND AT YOUR UNIVERSITY

Friday., Apr. 3

T hursday, Apr. 2

This University in compliance with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, religion, disability, political beliefs, or status as a veteran in any of its policies, practices or procedures. This includes but is not limited to admissions, employment, fi nancial aid and

educational services. For accommodations on the basis of disability, please contact the sponsoring department of any program or event.

Sunday, Apr. 5

Campus Activities Council Parents’ Weekend 2009 | stop by the CAC Parents’ Weekend Booth on the South Oval all day for more information about activities for you and your parents and of course free food! For a complete schedule, please visit http://cac.ou.edu.

Housing Fair | 10 a.m.- 3 p.m. in the Oklahoma Memorial Union Food Court. Come by the housing fair to get more information about leasing apartments and houses in the Norman community.

OU Men’s Tennis vs. Rice | 2 p.m. at the Headington Family Tennis Center, West of the Lloyd Noble Center. Visit http://soonersports.com for ticket information.

Campus Awards Program | 4:30 p.m. in the Donald W. Reynolds Performing Arts Center, Holmberg Hall. The Campus Awards Program recognizes individual students for outstanding achievement across the campus community and from each academic college.

Free Film: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” | 4 & 10 p.m. in Meacham Auditorium, Oklahoma Memorial Union. Presented by the Union Programming Board and the Campus Activities Council Film Series.

Spa Night | 6-9 p.m. in the Oklahoma Memorial Union Food Court. Chillax and treat yourself to free food, haircuts, massages and more at the Union Programming Board’s Spa Night. Must be a student with a VALID OU ID or accompanied by an OU student. Who Loves You, OU? Visit www.ou.edu/upb for more information and events.

Free Premiere: “Observe & Report” | 7 p.m. in Meacham Auditorium, Oklahoma Memorial Union. Presented by the Campus Activities Council Film Series and the Union Programming Board. Rated R.

39th Annual Eve of Nations: Footprints | 7 p.m. at the Lloyd Noble Center. The night will begin with a formal dinner featuring international cuisine, followed by a parade of nations presenting over 100 countries that our students represent along with cultural dances, and traditional music. Eve of Nations is the largest and oldest event presented by international students, and brings together over 1000 members of the OU family, as well as residents of Norman and neighboring communities. Tickets will be sold at the door for $7.

University Theatre: “Baby” | 8 p.m. in the Weitzenhoffer Theatre. Baby is a charming and romantic musical comedy with style, energy. Is there anything more exciting, frightening and utterly transformational than impending parenthood... at anytime in our lives? Book by Sybille Pearson, music by David Shire, and lyrics by Richard Maltby, Jr. Winner of two Drama Desk Awards and seven Tony nominations, Rated PG. Call the Fine Arts Box offi ce for ticket information, (405) 325-4101.

Campus Activities Council Parents’ Weekend 2009 | For a complete schedule of events, please visit http://cac.ou.edu.

4th Annual Patrick James Frensley Memorial 5K Run | 9 a.m. the Beta Theta Pi Fraternity House, 800 Chautauqua Avenue. Support the Men of Beta Theta Pi as they hold their annual Patrick James Frensley Memorial 5K Run. Log on to www.frensleyfoundation.org to register. This event benefi ts the Frensley Foundation and the American Heart Association.

Silent Auction and Lunch | 11 a.m.-1 p.m. on the second fl oor of the Oklahoma Memorial Union. Join us for a free lunch and basket auction that will benefi t Children’s Miracle Network. Entertainment will be provided by different student groups. Presented by CAC Parents’ Weekend.

OU Softball vs. Nebraska | 2 p.m. at the Softball Complex on Jenkins Avenue. Visit http://soonersports.com for ticket information.

L.I.V.E: Lessening the Impact of the Virus by Edutainment | 3-6 p.m. on Walker-Adams Mall. Promoting Awareness and Prevention on the HIV/AIDS Epidemic. Free Food, Games, Music by DJ Eddie Brasco, Poetry/Prose Contest, & FREE HIV Screening provide by Guiding Right of Oklahoma City. Presented by the Black Student Association and sponsored by Coca-Cola, Housing and Food Services and the University Bookstore. For more information or accommodations on the basis of disabilities contact oubsa1968@ou.edu.

Dinner & Art | 5:30-7 p.m. at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art. Enjoy FREE food and musical entertainment while viewing the University’s vast permanent art collection in the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art and the Edward S. Curtis photography exhibition currently on display. The museum is located at the corner of Elm and Boyd Street.

University Theatre: “Baby” | 8 p.m. in the Weitzenhoffer TheatreCall the Fine Arts Box offi ce for ticket information, (405) 325-4101. Touch the Sky: Prairie Photographs by Jim Brandenburg | Photography exhibit on display at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History through April 12, 2009. This exhibit features the breathtaking prairie photographs of National Geographic photographer Jim Brandenburg. The photos capture the beauty and drama of the prairie ecosystem - its landscape, plants, animals and weather.

OU Softball vs. Nebraska | 1 p.m. at the Softball Complex on Jenkins Avenue. Visit http://soonersports.com for ticket information.

OU Women’s Golf: Susie Maxwell Berning Classic | all day at the Jimmie Austin Golf Club. Visit http://soonersports.com for more information.

University Theatre: “Baby” | 3 p.m. in the Weitzenhoffer Theatre. Call the Fine Arts Box offi ce for ticket information, (405) 325-4101.

Late Night Snacks | 9:30 p.m. in Meacham Auditorium Lobby, Oklahoma Memorial Union. Get some FREE snacks courtesy of the Union Programming Board before the 10 p.m. showing of “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” Who Loves You, OU? Visit www.ou.edu/upb for more information and events.

I once had the feeling that OU is really going places. It is hard not to feel that way given the campus improvements and announcements coming from the administration. The pace of construc-tion is unbelievable, and the administration rarely struggles to con-vey just how well things are going. Endowments grow at an epic rate, scholarship opportuni-ties are on the rise and there are more endowed professorships. Most importantly, the quality of students is increasing with seemingly every subsequent batch of freshmen being touted as the best to date.

I, along with many others, have been caught up in the enthusiasm of recent years and subconsciously accepted the idea that all these actions will result, one day, in a university that can match up with the likes of North Carolina, Texas, Michigan and Berkeley.

I now think that outcome is unlikely given OU’s apparent strategy.

I came to this conclusion after look-ing through the changes in the student

body makeup, courtesy of OU’s annual fact book, interest in which was caused by stumbling upon a chart of incoming freshman’s average ACT scores over the last decade. While the average score has increased from 24.5 in 1997 to 25.9 in 2008, scores have stagnated around 25.7 since the fall of 2003 following a period of rapid increase. Furthermore, data on students in the top 25 percent of their graduating classes exhibits similar behavior, albeit with more variation.

I think the best explanation is the most obvious one. OU football re-emerged as a national powerhouse and Texas (enroll-ment from other states appears to have been unaffected) high school students flocked to secure their season tickets.

In response to a surge in applications following the 2000 football national cham-pionship, OU raised ACT requirements for out-of-state applicants to 26, and the metrics stabilized as the surge of out-of-staters admitted under the more rigorous guidelines leveled off.

This was a good thing for OU, but the numbers — and anecdotal evidence — do not suggest OU is stealing students away from the region’s more acclaimed universities, which must be happening if OU’s freshmen are indeed getting smarter

each year.Rather, I believe we have all been

fooled into linking the activities of the administration — construction projects, endowed professorships and so forth — to an alleged rise in the quality of the student body and, in turn, the university. It is a classic example of correlation not equal-ing causation. While I won’t go as far to say the administration engineered such, I do believe it has exploited the situation.

Specifically, it has used the positive feelings about the university’s future as political capital to be spent holding down angst over tuition hikes.

Tuition and fees for 30 credit hours, unadjusted for inflation, have jumped from $2,713 in 2001 to $6,493 this year. State appropriations per student, adjusted for inflation, did fall from $8,745 to $7,475 over the same time period, but the impact should have been negligible given a bal-looning endowment and increasing ratio of higher paying out-of-state students over the same time period. Scholarships have increased as well, but students’ loan bur-den has more than kept pace.

The increases have paid for swanky new classrooms — largely enjoyed by those in the Price and Gaylord colleges — but have not increased the quality of dis-

cussions within those classrooms or, more broadly, the quality of education offered by our university. It seems reasonable that the efforts will be of greater value in the long run, but that means current students are effectively subsidizing the education of those who will attend many years after we have graduated. This is unjust.

Instead, I think the administration should change its strategy in four ways.

Primarily, OU should make a concerted effort to retain or even improve its posi-tion as the relative bargain it was just a decade ago. Ten years ago, undergraduate resident and nonresident academic costs were roughly 80 percent and 70 percent, respectively, of the Big 12 average. They are currently 90 percent and 85 percent.

Second, expand scholarships, especial-ly for nonresidents and the National Merit Scholars program. Initiated by the state government in 1990, the state Regents, not OU, pays $22,000 of every regents and National Merit Scholarship.

The program, in addition to money added by OU, has been very successful in bribing both nonresidents and residents to attend. I use the word bribe because it is just that.

One only needs to talk to a handful of people on those scholarships to realize it.

OU could attract even more scholars if it were to increase its offer and, additionally, have discretionary funds available to use when competing for the very best high school students, especially those who fall just under the national merit threshold.

Third, the university should aggres-sively develop its image in neighboring states, so OU is as attractive to Kansas City high school students as it is to those from Dallas.

Fourth, increase the rigor of courses in certain disciplines. I don’t know the best way to go about this, but a good start would be eliminating business calculus. It needs to be done. Do it.

Then, after the quality of an OU educa-tion rises, tuition can be raised.

Given President David Boren’s prolific fund-raising ability and Bob Stoops’ con-tinued success and loyalty, this approach would be feasible and, compared to the university’s current strategy, have a similar long-term impact, while not leaving cur-rent students paying more for the same quality of education. Admittedly, this does present a challenge.

After all, what in the world are we going to tell donors we will name after them?

Jacob Jones is an economics senior.

Founding father John Adams sternly warned hundreds of years ago that “democracy never lasts long; it soon wastes, exhausts and murders itself.”

Does this sound familiar to our situation today? Government pork barrel projects running amuck,

resources invested in prolonged foreign wars and the financial suicide of printing up imaginary money to solve our business fail-ures. Do you still think democ-racy is great?

Adams makes an interesting point: Democracy is not a good thing. Majority rule can have terrible consequences. What if I want your property? All I have to do is get a majority of people to vote me into office or vote to

approve my idea.What prevents me from taking your property?

Surely it is not democracy. In fact, it is the law that prevents me from doing so in our country. This law derives from the Bill of Rights and particularly the Fifth Amendment.

A constitutional republic is a form of govern-ment where the rule of law prevails and not the rule of the majority as prescribed by democracy.

Much insight into this matter can be gleaned from H.L. Mencken in his book “Notes on Democracy.”

Mencken claims that the democrat is motivated to act with three basic motives: fear, envy and stupidity.

He asserts that the democrat is simply inter-ested in “more to eat, less work, higher wages, lower taxes,” not what is best or right for our country. In other words, democracy is a form of glorified self-preservation. We vote for candidates who put more money in our wallets and give us more benefits.

Mencken is also skeptical of majority rule because, in reality, minority interest groups stir up majority support.

He argues, “Democracy, as a political scheme, may be defined as a device for releasing this hatred born of envy, and for giving it the force and dignity of law.” He uses the example of the 18th Amendment that outlawed alcohol to demonstrate that stupidity, envy and fear tactics are the driving force of a democracy.

Even with our supposed checks and balances, a law so against freedom and liberty was adopted into our Constitution, which ironically is a docu-ment that promotes freedom and liberty.

Mencken points out that a small group of hypo-critical moralists aroused enough public senti-ment to actually amend our Constitution with such a stupid amendment.

This is the battle fought every day in a democ-racy. It is a matter of which minority special inter-

est can convince enough of the mindless masses to support their position.

In his book, “Democracy: The God That Failed,” Hans-Hermann Hoppe writes that when having to choose between monarchy and democracy, he chooses the lesser of two evils, which is monar-chy.

His first support that monarchy is preferred to democracy is that the ruling monarch and ruling democrat have different perspectives on how the country is to be governed. The monarch has a more long-term perspective because he owns the country. He has pride in his country and is not tempted to bankrupt his nation because he has to build coalitions with nobles in order to stay in power.

The democratic politician has a short-term perspective because he or she does not own the country and instead is a temporary caretaker for two-, four- or six-year terms.

So the democratic politician is expected to maximize his income as quickly as possible at the expense of the capital value of the nation.

Now, the reason for pork barrel projects and printing up money makes sense because demo-cratic politicians are supposed to make short-sighted decisions.

Hoppe also argues that in a democracy, people believe in the illusion that they have power. In a monarchy, people know that the king is simply a

privileged citizen with significant power.In a democracy, people believe the power rests

with them. Hoppe argues that this false belief that we rule ourselves inevitably leads to the erosion of resistance to policy changes, especially taxation.

When a king proposes changes in taxation, significantly more resistance usually is raised than would be in a democracy. Think about it. We fought the Revolutionary War over the taxation practices of a monarch.

The ironic thing is we are taxed significantly more now than what King George III proposed. This extreme taxation is justified because we can vote and elect people who decide these issues. We can learn much from this point: Democratic tax schemes are more severe than monarchial schemes because the illusion of self-rule erodes our ability to resist.

I encourage you to inquire into this issue and to look at the two books I mentioned and other authors such as all the founding fathers, John Stuart Mill, Alexis de Tocqueville, Murray Rothbard, Robert Nozick, Albert Nock and Henry Hazlitt.

We take for granted today and tacitly assume that democracy is a good thing. I would like for you to rethink, for just a minute, that assumption.

Tarrant Carter is a philosophy and psychology senior.

Ray Martin, opinion editordailyopinion@ou.edu

phone: 325-7630, fax: 325-6051For more, go to oudaily.com.OpinionOpinion

OUR VIEW is an editorial selected and debated by the editorial board and written after a majority opinion is formed and approved by the editor. Our View is Th e Daily’s offi cial opinion.

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Thursday, April 2, 20094A

Democracy not the great system it’s cracked up to be

University prestige depends on strategy

Capel should stay putThe rumors that have circulated all season might be com-

ing true.Arizona media outlets reported Wednesday that OU men’s

basketball headcoach Jeff Capel was in the midst of negotiations to become the next coach at the University of Arizona.

Whether or not the rumors are true, a few things are for sure: Capel should stay put, at least until his alma mater Duke comes calling, and Joe Castiglione and the OU administration should do everything they can to keep him.

There a host of reasons that Capel should stay, not the least of which is the fact that his job is one of the most stable in the country.

The two coaches prior to Capel were here for more than a decade each — Billy Tubbs for 14 seasons and Kelvin Sampson for 12. The latter coach left only because of multiple recruiting violations.

Second, there is less pressure on Capel here than there would be at the Arizona.

He’s already proven what he can do with the right play-ers — he reached the Elite Eight this season and overachieved by reaching the second round of the tournament a year ago.

Arizona fans are passionate, and immediate results would likely be demanded of Capel. The last thing he needs is to wind up like Billy Gillispie.

Whatever salary Arizona offers Capel, Joe C and the powers that be should match it at worst, exceed it at best.

With this season’s performance and a promising recruiting class that contains a pair of McDonald’s

All-Americans on the way, Capel deserves a raise.We hope all of the rumors are untrue.But if they aren’t, there’s more than enough reason for

Capel to ditch the desert.

Column an example of pertinent journalismKyle Williams’ Friday column was one of the most well written

opinion pieces I have seen in the student paper in a couple of years.

For some unknown reason, our student paper has been laced with

articles written on any idea that happens to pop into a student’s

mind, whether or not it is pertinent, reasonable, current or thoughtful

journalism.

Kyle’s op-ed piece took a recent survey on religion, gave us the

data, expressed his reasoned thoughts about the survey and then left

the reader to come to his or her own conclusions.

He did not try to cram his opinions down our collective throats, but

instead, off ered us a solid piece of journalism expertise. Bravo, Kyle!

This sort of journalism is desperately needed in our student newspa-

per.

- BARBARA S. BOYD, DIRECTOR OF OUTREACH/FACULTY, RELIGIOUS STUDIES PROGRAM

News Thursday, April 2, 2009 5A

STATE BRIEFSEnglish to stay officialOKLAHOMA CITY — A measure

declaring English as the offi cial

language of Oklahoma clears a

Senate committee over objections

that it is unconstitutional and

mean-spirited.

Voter ID bill debatedOKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma

House Wednesday debated a voter

ID bill that will require voters to

show a form of photo identifi ca-

tion, including a driver’s license or

military ID, at the polls and extends

early voting to almost a full week

before the general election.

Dems criticize Coffee OKLAHOMA CITY — The chairman

of the state Democratic Party says

Sen. Glenn Coff ee and his majority

party lieutenants are being ar-

rogant by brushing off questions

about the terms of a bank loan

to pay off a tax lien and details of

large expenditures on campaign

activity.

—AP

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran dismissed American government reports that senior U.S. and Iran envoys had a cordial — and promising — face-to-face exchange at an international conference, saying Wednesday that no “talks” took place.

The competing accounts of Tuesday’s encounter in the Netherlands appeared to reflect the different approaches to overtures to end the United States’ and Iran’s nearly 30-year diplomat standoff.

Washington has seemed eager to build on President Barack Obama’s surprise video message last month to seek engagement with Iran’s rul-ing clerics. Iran has — in public, at least — been far cooler to mak-ing immediate contacts, but has not fully rejected some openings in the future.

Iran’s take on The Hague confer-ence was just as nuanced — not flat-ly denying that senior U.S. diplomat Richard Holbrooke and Iranian dip-lomat Mehdi Akhundzadeh met at a conference to discuss Afghanistan but concentrating on the semantics of whether official talks took place.

“Maybe this — the report on the meeting by the U.S. — indi-cates that the other party is hasty to take advantage of the confer-ence,” Akhundzadeh was quoted by the official Islamic Republic News Agency.

The statement noted that any exchange that occurred at the Afghanistan conference was not comparable with official talks, such as the ambassador-level meetings between the United States and Iran to discuss Iraq.

“Rest assured,” IRNA quoted Akhundzadeh, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, “that if there is a decision to have talks with U.S., like the talks on Iraq, all will be informed about it. There is nothing to hide.”

In Washington, the State Department insisted Wednesday that Holbrooke met with the Iranian envoy. Department spokesman Gordon Duguid said there was a “brief handshake” on the edge of the conference — but stressed it was not a lengthy encounter.

“To describe it as substantive or even lengthy would be inaccurate, that is true. It was an engagement for Mr. Holbrooke,” Duguid told reporters.

Tehran-based political analyst Saeed Leilaz interpreted the Iranian response as trying to deflect any

domestic suspicions of secret con-tacts.

The issue of outreach to Washington is particularly sensi-tive before the June 12 presiden-tial elections. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who is seeking anoth-er four-year term, is careful not to anger his hard-line base with the suggestion of a quick outreach to the Obama administration.

“Iran is carefully approaching the issue since confirmation of the meeting will have consequences inside Iran and the Islamic World. For more than one generation, Iran has portrayed the U.S. as the main enemy,” he said. “Anti-American slo-gans by Iran will last for years even if the two countries resume ties.”

—AP

Iran says no ‘talks’ with US envoy at international conference

DALLAS — The police officer who pulled out his gun and threatened an NFL player with jail instead of allowing him inside a hospital where his mother-in-law was dying resigned Wednesday.

Officer Robert Powell had been placed on paid leave pending an inves-tigation of the March 18 incident.

“I made this decision in the hope that my resignation will allow the Dallas Police Department, my fellow officers and the citizens of Dallas to better reflect on this experience, learn from the mistakes made, and move forward,” Powell said in a statement issued through his attorneys.

He had stopped Houston Texans running back Ryan Moats’ SUV out-side Baylor Regional Medical Center in suburban Plano after the vehicle rolled through a red light.

The officer pulled out his gun and threatened Moats with jail as the player and his family pleaded to be allowed to go inside the hospital. Powell con-tinued writing Moats a ticket and lec-turing him even after a fellow officer confirmed that Moats’ mother-in-law was dying.

Jonetta Collinsworth, 45, died of breast cancer before Powell allowed Moats to go inside the hospital.

Powell’s resignation was first report-ed by Dallas-Fort Worth television sta-tion KTVT. He later issued an apology,

and Moats said he would accept it.“I still hope to speak with the Moats

family to personally express my deep regret, sympathy, and to apologize for my poor judgment and unprofessional conduct,” he said in the Wednesday statement.

He also said he wanted to apologize to his fellow officers.

A call to Dallas police was not imme-diately returned Wednesday.

Dallas police Chief David Kunkle previously apologized to the family and said Powell acted inappropriately. He also lauded Moats’ restraint, noting that he did not try to seek special treat-ment by identifying himself as an NFL player.

Moats, 26, explained that he had waited until there was no traffic before continuing through the red light. When Powell asked for proof of insurance, Moats grew more agitated and told the officer to go find it.

According to video from a dash-board camera inside the officer’s vehi-cle, Moats’ wife, Tamishia Moats, and another woman disregarded Powell’s order to get back inside their vehicle, and they rushed into the hospital. After Powell yelled at Tamishia Moats to stay in the SUV, she said, “Excuse me, my mom is dying — do you understand?”

—AP

Cop who stopped NFL player resigns

NFL/AP Photo

This 2008 photo shows Philadelphia Eagles' Ryan Moats. On March 18, Dallas police officer Robert Powell

stopped Moats, now a Houston Texans running back, outside Baylor Regional Medical Center after Moats rolled

through a red light. Moats and his family had gotten a call saying his mother-in-law was dying.

Bas Czerwinski/AP Photo

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammad Mehdi Akhundzadeh, smiles Tuesday

at the Afghanistan Conference in The Hague, Netherlands. The conference will

launch a broader international commitment to the security of the region, special

U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke said Monday.

NewsThursday, April 2, 20096A

JANE WARDELL

Associated Press

LONDON — Doggedly optimistic in the face of doubts, President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown predicted Thursday’s emer-gency G-20 economic summit would produce a significant global deal to tackle the deepening world-wide recession.

Others weren’t so sure. France warned on Wednesday that neither it nor Germany would agree to “false compromises” that soft-pedal a need for tougher financial regulation to curb abuses that contributed to the spreading chaos. And outside the carefully scripted meetings, protesters smashed bank windows and pelted police with eggs and fruit.

Thousands surged into London’s financial district, blockading the Bank of England and breaking into a branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland. Elsewhere, however, inside the meetings, Obama said differ-ences among the presidents and prime ministers of the Group of 20 rich and emerging countries, were “vastly overstated.”

“I am absolutely confident that this meeting will reflect enormous consensus about the need to work in concert to deal with these problems,” said Obama, who is under pressure to make a good showing in his first major international appearance.

With economic chaos spreading, Brown, the host of the summit, predicted agreement on a coordinated strategy, including a possible $100 billion fund to finance global trade, tighter financial rules and action to support economic growth and job creation.

G-20 leaders are also in general agreement on a plan to double the money available to the International Monetary Fund, to some $500 billion, to help emerg-ing countries.

Consensus on further measures is by no means clear.

Brown initially trumpeted the gathering as “a new

Bretton Woods — a new financial architecture for the years ahead.” But the meeting so far bears little simi-larity to the 1944 New Hampshire conference where the eventual winners of World War II gathered to set postwar global monetary and financial order.

Washington has eased off on its push for other gov-ernments to pump more money into economic stimu-lus programs after heavy opposition from European countries, who contend their bigger social safety nets make more spending unnecessary.

Germany and France have instead campaigned for tougher rules to restrain financial market excesses.

That disagreement has lowered expectations for the London summit and weakened confidence in the world’s ability to quickly pull out of the downturn.

Global trade is plummeting, protectionism is begin-ning to make inroads and unemployment is rising.

French leader Nicolas Sarkozy, who had earlier implied he might walk out if key demands on tighter regulation were not met, presented a more concilia-tory stance at a joint London news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, saying he had “confidence in Obama.”

He still warned, however, that France nor Germany would reject “false compromises” and considered concrete steps on tax havens, hedge funds and rat-ings agencies crucial.

Paris and Berlin want definitive agreements on a crackdown on tax havens and action on other regulatory issues, rather than simple commitments to reform. The summit is also expected to consider lightly regulated hedge funds and how to clear bank balance sheets of shaky securities.

Sarkozy said that “without new regulation there will be no confidence. it’s a major non-negotiable objective.”

Merkel said both she and Sarkozy had come to London “in a very constructive mood.” But she said, “We do not want results that have no impact in prac-tice.”

Even free trade remains the subject of potentially bitter dispute.

In their meeting in November, the G-20 members vowed to avoid protectionism that could stifle trade. But since then, 17 have acted to pass subsidies to pro-tect their own industries or limit imports, according to the World Bank.

On Wednesday, leaders met in a series of bilateral meetings behind closed doors to try close the gap on key issues. They assembled for a formal dinner Wednesday evening before business meetings on Thursday.

Another growing concern for the conference is the plight of developing countries, amid growing fears that the heavy toll exacted by the global economic crisis on those nations could come with a heavy human and political toll.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has written to leaders to urge them to approve a $1 trillion stimu-lus plan for developing countries and urge the G-20 countries to back away from damaging anti-trade policies.

Obama, Brown predict G20 deal to fight recession

Chris Harris, Pool / AP Photo

President Barack Obama shakes hands with Britain’s Prime Minister Gordon Brown, at the Foreign and Commonwealth

Office in London Wednesday, after a joint news conference. President Obama sought Wednesday to rally the world’s top and

emerging powers to help cope with a global economic downturn, saying, “We can only meet this challenge together.”

ALEXANDRA OLSON

Associated Press

MEXICO CITY — Try to bring a refrigerator into Mexico in the back of your pickup, and you are almost certain to get stopped by Mexican customs officials.

Stick a couple of AK-47 rifles in your trunk, and chances are you’ll whiz right through.

Now Mexico is owning up to its leaky border as it launches a new program to monitor vehicles entering the country. The goal is to weigh and photograph south-bound cars and trucks, in hopes of snaring more gun smugglers.

As the Obama administration promises a crackdown on the ille-gal U.S. weapons trade that sup-plies the drug cartels, Mexico is acknowledging shortcomings on its side of the 2,000-mile border.

“Security concerns require a customs overhaul,” Alfredo Gutierrez Ortiz, who oversees border checkpoints as director of Mexico’s tax collection agency, said in an interview Wednesday with The Associated Press. “Today, passenger vehicles really enter without being inspected.”

Mexico checks only 10 percent of the 230,000 vehicles that cross the border each day, according to the federal Attorney General’s

Office. By weighing cars to see if they are unusually heavy, and running license plate numbers through a database of suspicious vehicles, the government hopes to catch more hidden contraband.

The United States has long weighed and checked the license plates of northbound vehicles, but the technology is new to Mexico, which is installing it at all customs checkpoints. It was introduced last week at Matamoros, across the Rio Grande from Brownsville, Texas, and should be added along Mexico’s border with Guatemala by year’s end.

Such a systematic effort would be a big improvement: Inspections are now mostly determined by lights that randomly flash red or green. Frequent travelers say it is rarely red.

Inside Mexico, strict gun con-trol laws prohibit sales of weap-ons with calibers higher than a .38 handgun. Even to buy those, citizens must get permission from the Defense Department.

North of the border, however, the cartels simply pay straw buy-ers to pick up weapons at gun shops, gun shows or flea markets, then resell the arms to smug-glers.

The ATF says it has traced up to 95 percent of guns seized at scenes of drug violence in Mexico

to U.S. commercial sources. These weapons are increasingly higher-powered, including .50 caliber Barrett rifles and ammu-nition that can pierce the armor of Mexican soldiers and police.

“A year ago, we never saw those guns going south into Mexico,” said Tom Mangan, a spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. “Now we refer to it as one of the weapons of choice.”

Mexico’s modernization effort coincides with President Barack Obama’s pledge to dispatch near-ly 500 more federal agents to the border, along with X-ray machines and drug-sniffing dogs, both to stop the spillover of Mexico’s drug violence and curb gun smuggling. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Attorney General Eric Holder will be in Mexico Thursday to reinforce the U.S. commitment in talks with their Mexican counterparts.

Experts are skeptical about their chances of slowing the weap-ons supply. Gun runners easily smuggle thousands of weapons in small numbers at a time, tak-

ing them apart and hiding them in suitcases or even inside televi-sions and DVD players. These weapons wouldn’t necessarily be detected by weight.

“If the car has no criminal record, and is apparently legal, it will not necessarily be stopped and checked,” said Georgina Sanchez, a gun trafficking expert with the Mexican think-tank Collective for the Analysis of Security and Democracy.

Smugglers also can avoid checkpoints entirely, carrying weapons south along the same desolate corridors that bring drugs and migrants north.

And while cartels get most of their high-caliber assault rifles from the U.S., they are turning to Central America for other military-grade weaponry like gre-nades and even the occasional rocket launcher.

“You’re seeing truly military-type guns, like grenade launch-ers,” Mangan said. “They’re not coming from the U.S. The hand grenades that are being used, you’re looking at that stuff migrat-ing up from Central America.”

Mexico trying harder to catch smuggled US guns

CELEAN JACOBSON

Associated Press

LILONGWE, Malawi — Madonna’s efforts to adopt two youngsters from Malawi have put her in the media spotlight. But she isn’t alone: a growing number of Americans are bringing home children from Africa as countries like China and Russia cut back on adoptions by foreigners.

The increase — particularly in Ethiopia — comes as the AIDS epidemic ravaging the continent leaves more orphans in impover-ished countries without relatives to care for them.

Americans adopted 1,725 Ethiopian children in the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, 2008, about 70 percent of all U.S. adoptions from Africa, according to the State Department. The year before, 1,255 Ethiopian children were adopted by Americans.

While experts don’t attri-bute Africa’s growing popular-ity among adoptive parents to a celebrity factor, they do say high-

profile adoptions by the likes of Madonna and Angelina Jolie have raised awareness of the availabil-ity of orphans on the continent.

“One of the good things about the Madonna adoption or Angelina Jolie, those adoptions brought the need to the attention of Europeans or Americans,” said Thomas DiFilipo, president of the Joint Council on International Children’s Services. “And it brought the possibility (of adopt-ing in Africa) to people’s atten-tion.”

Wes Stout, 41, who with his wife Kristin, 37, has adopted two children from Ethiopia agrees.

“I give some of the popularity of Ethiopia to her celebrity influ-ence,” he said of Jolie, whose daughter, Zahara, was adopted from the north African country in 2005, the same year the Stouts adopted their daughter, 3-year-old Kylia.

At that time, the Stouts’ wait was less than a year. When they brought their son, 9-month-old Solomon, home six weeks ago, it was after an adoption process that took two years.

African adoption trend continues to grow in US

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News Thursday, April 2, 2009 7A

NOT A QUITTERSince The Big Event was rained out, organizers have

received a deluge of questions about the philanthropic

event’s new date, April 18. Organizers created a list of com-

mon questions and answers in an eff ort to reach as many

volunteers and potential volunteers as possible.

Am I still going to the same volunteer site?

• The Big Event is working to confi rm all sites, and our

contacts are eager to still receive help on the new date. We

do not anticipate many changes, but we will be commu-

nicating any necessary updates or relocations to the group

leaders as needed.

What if I can no longer participate?• If you are in a group, please let your group leader know

as soon as possible. The group leader is responsible for

contacting The Big Event with a fi nal volunteer count by

Friday, April 3.

What do I need to do if I am a group leader?

• The Big Event is contacting group leaders as quickly as

possible. If you have not yet received a phone call or e-mail,

you will be in the coming days.

• Please let us know how many people in your group are

still able to participate by Friday, April 3. Group leaders and

individuals may contact The Big Event via phone at 325-

7912 or via e-mail at bigevent@ou.edu.

• We will be contacting all group leaders again during

the week of April 6th to re-confi rm site locations, supplies

and volunteers.

What if I want to be a volunteer to participate on April 18th, but I never signed up to volunteer on March 28th?

• The Big Event if currently working to determine how

many volunteers who originally signed up will be able to

help on April 18th. A new volunteer count will be deter-

mined by April 6th, and if capacity allows, we may or may

not open participation in The Big Event to new volunteers.

What if I was signed up to volunteer on March 28th and missed registration?

• The Big Event will be having additional registration

days the week of April 13th. If you are already registered to

participate as an individual or with a group but you did not

offi cially register in Beaird Lounge, you may fi nalize your

registration and pick up your T-shirt that week.

• The Big Event will be contacting all groups and volun-

teers via e-mail with more information concerning times

and locations for additional registration days as the event

approaches.

Who can I contact with more ques-tions?

• The Big Event staff is working hard to answer any ques-

tions you may have. Please feel free to call us at 325-7912

or e-mail us at bigevent@ou.edu.

— Clara Mitcham/The Big Event spokeswoman

James Cornwell/ The Daily

Mohammad "Mo" Davani, owner of Norman Hookah Bar, blows out smoke from his hookah. Davani, former owner of

International Grocery and Hookah Bar, moved into his new location next to the Opolis on Crawford St. on Saturday.

Davani is one of many Oklahomans affected by increased tabacco taxes. See the original story online at OUDaily.com

• Sophomore takes title in second year of competition

RENEÉ SELANDERS

The Oklahoma Daily

The newly crowned Miss Hispanic OU is already taking up the causes she championed during the pageant, with plans to begin discussions with administrators about Hispanic student recruitment at OU.

Laura Garland, physical ther-apy sophomore, was crowned Miss Hispanic OU 2009 Tuesday night at the Hispanic American Student Association’s scholarship pageant. In addition to winning the title, a $1,000 scholarship and Best Cultural Dress Presentation, Garland will represent and serve OU’s Hispanic community as Miss Hispanic OU.

During her reign, Garland said she hopes to implement her platform L.E.A.R.N., which stands for Latinos Empezando a Reclamar Notabilidad (Latinos Beginning to Reclaim Notability).

“Looking around campus, you never see drives on diversity, and I just feel that by bringing in more Hispanics ... that not only helps the university, but helps us,” Garland said.

Hispanics comprise 4 percent of OU’s student body, according to the 2008 OU Factbook. Garland’s platform focuses on increasing the number of Hispanic students at OU and also edu-cating high school students on oppor-

tunities for scholarships and financial aid.

“We’re a growing minority and we’re going to be the ones to be the leaders some day, so I feel that education is what we need,” she said.

Garland herself is already a leader in many campus organization related to her major and culture.

Claudia Morales, staff adviser for the Hispanic American Student Association, said she believes Garland represents the community well.

“I would like to congratulate our new Miss Hispanic OU 2009,” Morales said. “I look forward to watching Laura grow in this new leadership position. She has the opportunity to be a role model within the community both on and off campus.”

Garland was a contestant in the 2008 pageant, and she said though her success comes a year after she first competed for the title, the experience has taught her the value of persever-ance, Garland said.

“You’re not always going to succeed the first time you do something, that’s just life,” Garland said. “So taking those imperfections and just learning from them, and succeeding in the end is one of the greatest feelings ever.”

New Miss Hispanic OU crowned

Lilly Chapa/The Daily

Zoology senior Amanda Perez crowns physical therapy sophomore Laura Garland during the Miss

Hispanic OU pageant Tuesday evening. Perez won the title in 2008 and passed it on to Garland.

BIG EVENT Q&A

“We’re a growing minority and we’re going to be the ones to be the leaders some day, so I feel that education is what we need.”

Laura Garland, physical

therapy sophomore

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TWILIGHT PG13 12:55 4:45 7:20 9:50

Revolutionary Road R12:45 9:40

Frost/Nixon R4:00 7:00

Benjamin Button PG13 1:00 4:15 7:45

Bedtime Stories PG 12:40 3:00 5:05 7:10 9:45

Bolt PG12:30 2:55 4:55

Underworld 3 R7:30 10:00

NewsThursday, April 2, 20098A

WHITE HOUSE NOTEBOOK:

LONDON — President Barack

Obama said Wednesday he’s taken

enough fl ak for his college basket-

ball selections and is not about to

wade into European soccer — or,

as he correctly called it in London,

“football.”

A reporter asked Obama about

his picks for the upcoming World

Cup qualifi er between England

and Ukraine. Obama, laughing at

himself as he stood beside British

Prime Minister Gordon Brown,

balked. He noted his college

basketball predictions had “stirred

up all kind of controversy.”

“The last thing I’m going to do

is wade into European football,”

Obama said, using the European

name for what’s known as soccer in

the U.S. “That would be a mistake.

I didn’t get a briefi ng on that, but I

sense that would be a mistake.”

The president went 1-for-4

on Final Four teams in his NCAA

tournament bracket, hitting with

North Carolina’s Tar Heels but losing

with Louisville.

The split left Obama in the bot-

tom 47 percent of the more than

5 million fans who entered ESPN.

com’s pool. After correctly choosing

14 teams to reach the round of 16,

his bracket ranked in the top 40

percent.

Obama picked North Carolina to

win Monday night’s championship

game. His bracket also included

Louisville, Pittsburgh and Memphis

making the Final Four.

The geek-in-chief didn’t miss a

chance to give technology to new

friends.

Obama gave Queen Elizabeth II

an engraved iPod during his visit to

Buckingham Palace. The portable

music device came with head-

phones and already loaded with

40 songs, all classic show tunes —

including several from “Camelot,”

based on the King Arthur legend,

and “My Fair Lady,” set in London.

The president and fi rst lady also

gave the queen a rare book of

songs signed by “The King and I”

composer Richard Rodgers.

The iPod also included photos

and video from the queen’s visit to

Washington and Virginia in 2007.

It’s not the fi rst time Obama has

given a British leader a tech-based

gift. When Brown visited the

United States, Obama gave him

25 of his favorite movies on DVD.

(Never mind the DVDs didn’t work

when Brown took them home

because they were meant for use

only in North American players.)

Obama is a known technology

geek. He successfully fought to

keep his mobile e-mail device and

aides keep his iPod updated.

In return, the queen and her

husband, Prince Philip, gave the

Obamas a signed portrait.

Obama says his favorite part of

England is its people. Oh, and the

queen isn’t too bad, either.

“There is just an extraordinary

affi nity and kinship that we have.

We owe so much to England;

that when you come here there’s

that sense of familiarity, as well

as diff erence, that makes it just a

special place,” Obama said, seeking

to repair a perceived slight against

the United States’ close ally.

During Brown’s visit to the

United States, the British press

suggested Obama didn’t give their

leader proper respect; Obama

opted for a familiar Oval Offi ce chat

instead of the kind of formal news

conference aff orded some leaders.

In recent weeks, the White

House has made a concerted eff ort

to repair that perception.

“There’s one last thing that I

should mention that I love about

Great Britain, and that is the

queen,” a smiling Obama said.

what the queen stands for and her

decency and her civility, what she

represents, that’s very important.”

Brown kept pace: “Well, I know

the queen is looking forward to

welcoming you and she’s very

much looking forward to her

discussion with you.” Obama and

Gordon discussed the global fi nan-

cial crisis. Obama and the prime

minister’s sons talked dinosaurs.

—AP

AP Photos

ABOVE: British police in riot gear face protesters in central London’s City

financial district, during clashes, Wednesday. World leaders are gathering

in London for the Group of 20 summit amid an unprecedented security

operation to protect the meeting from violent protests.

RIGHT: A protester throws an object through the already broken window of a

Royal Bank of Scotland branch in London’s financial district Wednesday.

COME FOR THE SUMMIT, STAY FOR THE RIOT

At U.S. Cellular,® we believe every number’s important. That’s why we have My Contacts Backup for free. So you can save, store and even transfer your numbers if you get a new phone.

getusc.com

none of your numbers are just

numbers.

My Contacts Backup: easyedge Pay-As-You-Go users who incur data access charges for My Contacts Backup while roaming should dial 611 for a bill credit. ©2009 U.S. Cellular.

Steven Jones, sports editordailysports@ou.eduphone: 325-7630, fax: 325-6051For more, go to oudaily.com. SportsSports 1BThursday, April 2, 2009

Capel linked to Arizona coaching vacancyERIC DAMA

The Oklahoma Daily

The East Valley Tribune is reporting that OU head coach Jeff Capel is the leading candidate for the coaching vacancy at the University of Arizona.

The Tribune reported on Wednesday, citing an anonymous source, that Capel and the school are in contract negotiations, and that Arizona hopes to wrap up the deal within the next few days.

Meanwhile, the Tulsa World has reported a source close to the OU program said Capel has not been in contact with the Arizona program.

OU men’s basketball spokesman Mike Houck said the athletics department doesn’t “comment on job openings at other schools.”

Arizona, which was coached by Lute Olson for 25 years, went 21-14 last season with Russ Pennell, the interim head coach, at the helm.

The Wildcats barely made it into the NCAA Tournament as a No. 12 seed, advanced to the

Sweet 16 before being demolished by Lousiville, 103-64.

Capel, a four-year starter at Duke from 1994-97, first broke into coaching as an assistant at Old Dominion from 2000-01.

He served as an assistant at Virginia Commonwealth for one year before becoming the Rams’ head coach for four years, from 2002-06.

When Capel was promoted to the head coaching job at VCU, he was the youngest head coach in Division I basketball at the time at 27 years old.

At VCU, Capel posted a 79-41 record, and in 2003-04, his team won the Colonial Athletic Association tournament, send-ing his Rams to the NCAA tour-nament for the first time since 1996.

Capel has spent the last three seasons as OU’s

head coach.Following a rebuilding season his first year, dur-

ing which Capel’s squad recorded a 16-15 record, the Sooners, led by then-freshman Blake Griffin, posted a 23-12 record en route to a first round vic-tory in the 2008 NCAA Tournament.

Following that season, amidst speculation that Capel was leaving for another coach-ing job, Capel and OU reached a deal that extended the former Duke player’s contract through 2014.

This year, with star players Griffin and Big 12 Freshman of the Year guard Willie Warren, Capel directed his club to a 30-6 record and an appearance in the tournament’s Elite Eight,

where they were ousted by No. 1 seed North Carolina.

Softball

Men’s Basketball

Sooners split series with Lady Bears• OU drops first game 5-0, able to win the second 4-0

AARON COLEN

The Oklahoma Daily

OU’s offense came alive in time for the Sooners to halt a three-game skid and defeat the Baylor Lady Bears 4-0 in the second game of their dou-ble-header after losing 5-0 in the first game.

Senior pitcher D.J. Mathis started for OU and pitched a complete game shutout, allowing only six hits and no walks in the game.

“D.J. is working through some tough stuff,” head coach Patty Gasso said. “I have tremen-dous respect for this kid and what she’s going through, to try and spark this team and get us turned around.”

Mathis said she still is working to get back to 100 percent on the mound.

“We’re just trying to fig-ure out how to get me back from the things I’m going through with my arm,” Mathis said.

Freshman designat-ed player Katie Norris scored the first run of the night for OU in the sec-ond game, leading off the second inning with a solo home run.

In the fourth inning, the Sooners scored three runs on three hits and one error. One run was scored on a fly ball from junior shortstop Amber Flores, then senior first baseman Samantha Ricketts hit a two-run double to make the score 4-0.

Freshman shortstop Karolyne Long, who went

2-6 in the double-header, said the key to the offense was getting the leadoff hitters on base.

“Once you get the leadoff hitters on, you can just keep going and going from there,” Long said.

OU’s defense tightened up in the second game, committing no errors.

OU was unable to get its offense in sync in the first game of its double-header against the Baylor Bears, managing only four hits and no runs. The lack of offense ended up costing the Sooners’ the game, as they lost to Baylor, 5-0.

“We [did not have] one part of our game working for us,” Gasso said. “If you have two of your three working for you, then you’ll probably be pretty successful. We didn’t have pitching, hitting, or defense working for us in the first game.”

Freshman pitcher Allee Allen started the game for the Sooners, but struggled early on, giving

up five hits and two runs in 2 2/3 innings of work before she was replaced by freshman Kirsten Allen.

OU also gave up one unearned run while Allee Allen was in the game, and the score was 3-0 when she left. Allee Allen picked up the loss and dropped to 12-2 on the season.

Kirsten Allen didn’t fare much better against the Bears, giving up two more runs off six hits in 4 2/3 innings.

The Sooner defense didn’t do their pitch-ers any favors by committing numerous costly errors. OU’s four errors were the most the team has committed since Feb. 18 against Stephen F. Austin. The team had five errors in that game.

OU was never able to string together enough hits to make a serious threat at scoring, never getting more than one hit in any single inning.

Baylor pitcher Whitney Canion made few mis-takes, only walking two batters in her complete

game win.OU is now 28-11 and 5-3 in the Big 12.The Sooners will stay in Norman this weekend

and host the Nebraska Cornhuskers in a two-game series, starting at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Michelle Gray/The Daily

Head coach Jeff Capel hangs his head during OU’s game

against North Carolina Sunday in Memphis, Tenn. The

Sooners lost, 72-60. Capel is rumored to have been in

contact with the University of Arizona.

CAPEL’S CAREERHere’s a look at Jeff Capel’s coaching

record at his diff erent schools.

Virginia Commonwealth (Four years): 79-41

OU (Three years): 69-33

Amy Frost/The Daily

Sophomore right fielder Chana’e Jones attempts to field the ball as Baylor first baseman Alex Colyer (13) slides into second

during the first game of the double-header Wednesday evening. The Baylor Lady Bears shut out the Sooners 5-0 in the first

game of the doubleheader. OU won the second game, 4-0.

“We [did not have] one part of our game working for us ... We didn’t have pitching, hitting, or defense working for us in the first game.”

Head coach Patty Gasso

SportsThursday April 2, 20092BWomen’s Gymnastics

Sidelined by injury, top recruit eager to compete• Natasha Kelley took unconventional road to Oklahoma

KELSEY WITTEN

The Oklahoma Daily

Natasha Kelley did everything right. The freshman from Katy, Texas, started gym-nastics as an energetic 3-year-old at Elite Gymnastics in Baton Rouge, La. Soon, she was one of the best in Louisiana gym-nastics, winning five state championships before she even hit her teen years.

When Natasha’s talent outgrew her gym and coaches at age 13, her parents chose Houston, Texas, and Stars Gymnastics as the place that could further their daugh-ter’s meteoric rise in the sport.

“We knew she had certain talents, and if she just got the right coaching, we could see her reach her full potential,” Troy Kelley, Natasha’s dad, said. “We had a good idea she’d make a good elite gymnast.”

Her parents were right. At Stars, Natasha qualified to compete at the elite level and made her first U.S. National Team. In 2005, she won the U.S. National Championships junior division, a title often known to launch the international and Olympic careers of gymnasts, who must be 15 or younger, who win it. Carly Patterson won it in 2002, two years before she went on to win the 2004 Olympic all-around title. Nastia Liukin won it in 2004, four years before she won the 2008 Olympic all-around title. Natasha’s future looked bright.

But there was more to her story. Natasha had competed at nationals that year, just six weeks after breaking her hand. She trained on her good hand, doing beam and floor tumbling with one arm, leading up to Nationals in the summer of 2005.

After she won, Natasha said expecta-tions increased, and her coaches began pushing her harder, and the injuries kept coming. She found herself in the gym from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day with the

attention of her two coaches often placed exclusively on her. When she was finished with practice, she did home schooling.

“In the gym, it became so much,” she said. “My body was beaten up. I would try telling [my coaches] ‘look, it’s too much.’ They were like ‘No, you have to do more.’ My life became so wrapped up in it.”

But Natasha was never one to com-plain.

“She never complains about anything,” Peggy Kelley, Natasha’s mother, said. “Even if she was injured and no matter what type of a day she was having, we never knew what was going on or what she was think-ing.”

So Natasha pushed forward as talk cir-culated in the online gymnastics commu-nity that Natasha’s coaches at Stars, Dan and Ashley Baker, pushed their gymnasts too hard. But Natasha made the U.S. World Team in 2006 after a second place finish at the U.S. Championships, and traveled to Aarhus, Denmark, where she and the team won a silver medal and Natasha qualified for floor finals. The Olympics were less

than 20 months away.At the 2007 U.S.

C h a m p i o n s h i p s , Natasha slipped to 10th in the all-around. When championships rolled around the next year, just two months before the Olympic Games, Natasha wasn’t there at all. She had left Stars and quit elite gymnastics for good, choosing to end any shot at the 2008 Olympic team.

“You almost feel like you’re throw-ing everything away that you’ve worked for, especially with

the Olympics around the corner,” Natasha said. “At the same time, it was my decision. It was what I wanted to do. I guess I had already accomplished more than I thought I would ever accomplish, and none of that can be taken away from me.”

Natasha has little to say about the end of her elite career and her time at Stars in late 2007, other than Dan Baker “has a yell-ing problem” and she “needed a change.” Her parents say they always let gymnastics be Natasha’s choice, and when she finally came to them about her training, they offered to take her to another elite gym to pursue the Olympics. But that wasn’t what Natasha wanted.

“It was bad timing as far as the Olympics go,” Troy Kelley said. “It just wasn’t meant to be, and Natasha accepted that.”

Natasha left Stars for another Houston gym, Cypress, where she trained in prepa-

ration for college gymnastics. There, she had teammates her own age and the con-stant pressure of elite gymnastics was finally gone. And the college offers began rolling in by the dozens.

More than 30 schools were interested in the former world and national team member who would enter college in the fall of 2008.

“Everyone recruited her because she was one of the best in country,” OU head coach K.J. Kindler said. “She was obvi-ously on the top of our list.”

However, growing up in Baton Rouge and with most of her family in the area, Louisiana State University had always seemed like a logical place for Natasha to attend. But Natasha gave OU and Kindler a chance at recruiting her when she visited Norman.

“There was something about [OU] that I just liked so much,” she said. “I think I just fit in with everyone a lot better. I really liked the coaches and the atmosphere, just everything.”

After the recruiting trip, Natasha and her parents were convinced OU was the right place.

“We’re Sooners 100 percent,” Troy Kelley said. “We fell in love with Oklahoma and the people there, and we love every-thing about it. We’re Sooners 100 percent through and through.”

OU felt right for Natasha, but she still had to get used to being in a classroom after 10 years of home schooling and adjust to the more relaxed, team-oriented atmosphere of college gymnastics. Kindler encouraged Natasha to enroll in summer classes to help her make the adjustment to school, which she did.

The gymnastics part came naturally, as it always had. But just when it looked like Natasha was about to return to competi-tive gymnastics, she tore her Achilles ten-don on a tumbling pass before OU’s regular season was set to begin last fall. She was forced to redshirt her freshman year due to the injury.

“It was heart wrenching to watch her have to come back [from injury],” Kindler said. “She’s not a rehab person, not patient. She wants to come back and wants to do it now.”

Although she can only contribute by cheering from the sidelines as OU’s team aims for a Super Six berth at the NCAA Championships, starting with the Regional Championships on Saturday, Natasha and Kindler eagerly await the star recruit’s col-lege debut.

It’s far from the Olympics, and despite everything she’s been through, it’s all Natasha Kelley really wants these days.

“It gets kind of discouraging to go to all of these meets now and be on the side-lines,” she said. “I just wish I was out there so bad.”

Amy Frost/The Daily

Freshman gymnast Natasha Kelley is a highly recruited gymnast for OU, but has been out all

season due to an injury to her Achilles tendon. Kelley is still able to do basic workouts, but will

take a redshirt this year.

“There was something about [OU] that I just liked so much. I think I just fit in with everyone a lot better.”

Freshman Natasha Kelley

Sports Thursday, April 2, 2009 3B

STAFF COLUMN

READ THIS!!!!

I don’t like watching women’s basket-ball.

There, I said it. I feel better already.I don’t like that women’s games usually

features lower shooting percentages, high-er turnover rates and virtually no dunks. Personally, that kind of game just isn’t for me.

And I think that’s okay.This is something I’ve

struggled with for quite some time. Especially recently, serving as sports editor, I’ve felt the need to like all the sports. I’ve felt like I wouldn’t be giving all the teams the coverage they deserved if I enjoyed one more than the other. I’ve slowly realized that’s simply not the case.

I can’t help that I don’t really enjoy wom-en’s basketball. And I think a lot of people feel the same way as I do.

But this column isn’t about what I like or what I don’t like. This column is about the importance of what OU’s women’s basket-ball team is about to do.

On Sunday, the Sooners will be in St. Louis for a game against Louisville for a shot at an appearance in the National Championship game. I think that’s a pretty big deal.

It’s easy at a university like OU to brush off these types of accomplishments. I think for a lot of Sooner fans, they expect national titles and Final Four appearances. But the truth is, those types of things don’t happen as often as many think.

The men’s basketball team has never won a National Championship, the football team hasn’t won a title in nearly 10 years, and the women’s basketball team is about to make its second trip to the Final Four. So the fact that the women are one of four teams still playing is kind of a big deal.

OU fans worship Sam Bradford and Blake Griffin, and rightfully so. They’ve both done marvelous things not just for their respec-

tive teams, but for the university as well. However, Courtney Paris’ accomplishments are right up there with them, and in some ways more impressive, and right now she still has a chance to do something neither Bradford or Griffin have yet: win a National Championship. With Connecticut in the way it won’t be easy, but the Sooners are still alive.

And so, women’s basketball is worth watching, simply because OU is doing some-thing special right now. I liken it to the year the Dallas Stars won the Stanley Cup. I’m by no means a hockey fan, but as a Dallas native, I was definitely watching the play-offs that year.

It’s the same thing now. Women’s bas-ketball isn’t my favorite sport, and I’m not afraid to admit that. But the women’s bas-ketball team is in the Final Four for only the second time in its history. And for that, I’ll be watching.

STEVEN JONES IS A LANGUAGE ARTS EDUCATION JUNIOR AND THE DAILY’S SPORTS EDITOR.

Flores named a finalist for Player of the Year

Junior shortstop Amber Flores

has been named a fi nalist for the

USA Softball

Collegiate

Player of the

Year award.

Flores is one

of 25 fi nalists

and has been

one of OU’s

best off ensive

players this

season. Flores

has hit .442

this season, with 41 RBIs and 42

runs scored.

Flores also has an on-base per-

centage of .620 and has a slugging

percentage of .874.

The list of 25 fi nalists will be

narrowed down to 10 on May 6 and

the award will be announced on

May 20.

Men’s golf gets 16th at Texas-hosted tourney

The men’s golf team fi nished in

16th place at the Morris Williams

Intercollegiate in Austin, Texas

Tuesday.

The Sooners fi nished with an

overall score of + 80.

The best round for OU came from

junior Ben Blundell who fi nished in

42nd, with a score of + 18 on the

54-hole tournament.

Redshirt freshman Riley Pum-

phrey fi nished the round two shots

behind Blundell, fi nishing tied for

50th with a + 20.

Oklahoma State won the

tournament, torching the fi eld

and winning going away, taking a

25-shot win.

Individually, OSU’s Morgan Hoff -

man and Tom Glissmeyere from USC

fi nished tied for fi rst, shooting -1 for

the tournament.

OU will be in action April 10-11

at the ASU Thunderbird Invitational

in Tempe, Ariz.

The tournament will fi nish off

the Sooners’ regular-season.

Weekend’s baseball game to show on Cox

The No. 10 baseball team will be

in Missouri this weekend to take on

the Tigers, but Sooner fans will still

be able to catch the action.

OU’s game on Saturday against

Missouri will be televised live in the

Oklahoma City area on Cox channel

7 and on channel 3.

First pitch for the game is at 2

p.m.

OU has a total of six televised

games expected this season, and

Saturday’s game is the third that has

been played so far.

The Sooners three-game series

will kick off at 6:30 p.m. on Friday in

Columbia, Mo.

Paris receives another All-American honor

One day after being named to

the AP All-American fi rst team,

senior center Courtney Paris was

named to the U.S. Basketball Writ-

ers Association All-America Team

Wednesday.

With the

honor, Paris

becomes the

fi rst man or

woman to

receive the

recognition

four times.

The an-

nouncement

comes a day

after Paris

became the fi rst women’s basketball

player to be named to the AP All-

American team four times.

This season, Paris has averaged

15.9 points and 13.5 rebounds per

game in leading OU to its fi rst Final

Four appearance since 2002.

Paris also recently became the

fi rst player in men’s or women’s

basketball to record 2,500 points

and 2,000 rebounds in a career.

The Sooners will play Louisville

at 6 p.m. Sunday in St. Louis.

— DAILY STAFF

Amy Frost/The Daily

Head coach Sherri Coale cuts down the net after the Sooners’ Elite Eight 74-68 victory over the Purdue Boilermakers Tuesday. The Sooners will play Sunday in the

Final Four for the first time since 2002.

OU’s Final Four run worth watching

STEVEN JONES

SPORTS BRIEFS

AMBERFLORES

COURTNEYPARIS

Saturday 4 April 200910:00am to 3:00pm

National Weather Center120 David L. Boren BoulevardNorman, OK 73072

Hosted by The Joe C. and Carole Kerr McClendon Honors CollegeGraduate CollegeK20 Center Graduate Student Senate

For more information or accomodations on the basis of disability, contact the Honors College at 325-5291 or the Graduate College at 325-3811.

Student Research + Performance Day

Come celebrate the discoveries of undergraduate and graduate students as they share their research results and demonstrate their creative talents at the annual Student Research and Performance Day.

• Former students create own clothing line, hold contest for design

LAURA PEDEN

The Oklahoma Daily

Comfortable, unique, vintage.These are the words Waddell uses to describe

his clothing line, “Opolis.”Zac Holland and Pat Waddell, the company’s

co-owners, attended the University of Oklahoma. Although their majors had nothing to do with business – Waddell majored in engineering while Holland majored in film and video studies – the partners were inspired to start their own cloth-ing line after coming to the realization that there weren't any vintage T-shirt companies in the area.

“I've always been into vintage clothing and there was nothing out there for university appar-

el,” Holland said.The clothing line “Opolis,” a shortened form

of the word metropolis, includes clothing for all ages. Onesies, vintage tees, zip-hoodies and pants are available for children, while hoodies and vintage tees are offered in adult sizes.

The company uses Alternative Apparel as their main supplier for clothing, and prices range anywhere from $26 to $66. The “Opolis” clothing line is sold at Cayman's, Stella Ray's and Tiny Tulips.

Waddell portrays their clothing as “high end, vintage, boutique-style apparel.” The clothing line apparel would be the perfect type of cloth-ing to wear for everyday Sooner life – basketball games, football games, class and hanging out in general.

When asked how they design the artwork for the clothing, Waddell said he and Holland look around at magazines for ideas and inspirations. Waddell designs their ideas and artwork through the program Photoshop.

All of this is done in their own homes by the only two workers in the company.

Their goal is to ultimately get an office to work

out of and increase the amount of workers for the clothing line.

Holland and Waddell said expanision is one of the biggest hopes. Currently, “Opolis” sells University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State apparel to Norman, Oklahoma City and Tulsa stores. However, the company plans on extend-ing their clothing line to include Kansas, Kansas State and Arkansas apparel after receiving their collegiate license.

Holland and Waddell don't plan on stopping there. After that, they would eventually like to make vintage T-shirts for all major universities throughout the United States.

Although making vintage T-shirts for all major universities may seem like a daunting goal to achieve, it is clear that Holland and Waddell are fully willing and determined to make it happen. It has been their goal for some time and is one they don't intend on letting go easily.

To further their goals and appeal to more customers, “Opolis” is having a t-shirt design contest. According to opolisclothing.com, con-testants are asked to submit their own University of Oklahoma or Oklahoma State vintage T-shirt

design to pat@opolisclothing.com or mail the design to the address listed on the website.

One winner will be picked on June 15, 2009. They will win $100 worth of “Opolis” merchan-dise and will see their design on vintage t-shirts for the fall 2009 line. All designs must be submit-ted by May 31, 2009 to be considered, so Holland and Waddell hope to see Sooners getting to work and generating new ideas for the clothing line.

For more information on the contest, be sure to check out the website, opolisclothing.com.

Thursday, April 2, 2009 Life & ArtsLuke Atkinson, L&A editor

dailyent@ou.eduphone: 325-5189, fax: 325-6051

For more, go to oudaily.com.4B

“I've always been into vintage clothing and there was nothing out there for university apparel.”

– Zac Holland

‘Opolis’ clothing bringing back vintage look Chelsea Garza/The Daily

Clothing from the “Opolis” is displayed across a table. Former students Zac Holland and Pat Waddell design and create vintage clothing for several campuses across the state and hope to continue to expand.

Life & Arts Thursday, April 2, 2009 5B

After much self-debate, I have become a Tweeter. Or is it Twitterer?

About two weeks ago, I took the step of entering the 1 9 8 4 - e s q u e Internet com-munity known as Twitter.

At first, I didn’t realize why anyone would want to know what on God’s green

earth I was doing, which would probably read something like this:

KatieJParker: Waking up an hour after I set my alarm to real-ize I haven’t done anything for my project that’s due today. Now picking my nose and figuring out an escape plan. Updated 1 hour ago from web.

KatieJParker: Wondering when I will actually be able to make a living out of this whole “journalism” thing. Updated 10 minutes ago from web.

KatieJParker: @KJPsFriend: We need to drink heavily in cel-ebration of graduating into the worst economy in 100 years and me being stupid enough to choose to do the “journalism” thing. Updated 7 minutes ago from web.

See what I said? I’m not ter-ribly interesting when it comes to the day-to-day monotony. So, why then would anyone want to “follow” me?

Now, two weeks later, I’m still not sure if I have mastered the technique of Twitter perfectly, but I have made some observa-tions.

Day 1: I quickly decided to follow every friend and media outlet’s account. I now feel that I am up to date all current events. I even joined Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York City’s account, even though I’m not moving to New York City until May.

Now, at any hour, I am alerted about sick customers and chang-es in subway routes. I also follow

The Economist, even though, I have never physically touched the publication in my life. This is fascinating.

Day 2: Why do people I don’t know want to follow me? This is creepy. I decided to change my account to private.

Day 3: I suddenly realized I decided to follow too many things and people, and could not keep up with the several hun-dred posts flowing across the page every hour. I contemplated deleting several accounts, but I felt that defeated the purpose of Twitter: to be an omnipres-ent being in other people’s and things’ actions. It is kind of like being God — except, unfortu-nately, people get to choose what they tell you. So until GodTwitter 1.0 rolls around, this is as good as it gets.

Day 7: I got to see Demi Moore’s butt in a bikini on Ashton Kutcher’s account and read the ramblings of John Mayer. Most of this was trivial, and I suddenly realized how stupid it was that I actually wasted 15 minutes read-ing that stuff.

Day 10: I decided to make myself an Urban Dictionary and invent the word “Tweemo,” (I’m sure I’m not the first, but for this article I am) which is a noun describing those who tweet about the pedantic things in life (i.e. I’m so annoyed that I have to like do things like live and breathe and stuff).

I have three words for Tweemos: Get over it.

Day 14: I’ve learned the key to mastering Twitter is simply checking and updating the thing constantly.

After two weeks, I still don’t think people are particularly concerned with my choice of a soy latte at Starbucks and pre-occupation with searching my nasal cavity for hidden treasure. I do think, however, Twitter is the next step toward generating a way that our generation will hopefully stay more informed as we evolve to Orwell’s Newspeak premonition.

Follow me at KatieJParker.

KATIE PARKER IS A JOURNALISM SENIOR.

Twitter noob

KATIEPARKER

STAFF COLUMN

photo provided

Arlene (Kristen Stewart, left) and James (Jesse Eisenberg, right) share a bite to eat at the amusement park in the film “Adventureland.” The film opens tomorrow.

Growing up in a theme parkMOVIE Q&A

Expectations for “Adventureland” are high among fans of the vulgar and quirky teen film “SuperBad” and director Greg Mottola knows it.

“Adventureland” begins as a regular day of youthful summer misadventures that go awry. Thanks to a raucous cast, more than 40 pop tunes that anchor the action in the late ‘80s and characters who get high both on and off their jobs at a tacky amusement park, this film may live up to its predecessor.

The film opens tomorrow.

You’ve done a lot of work with Michael Cera, but in this film, you’ve replaced him. Why? Greg Mottola: I guess the best I can say is that I’m attracted to really awkward

people. Which says more about me than I think it does about either Jesse or

Michael.

I actually knew of Jesse as an actor before I ever met Michael Cera. And as much

as I love Michael, I actually felt Jesse was more appropriate for this movie. Jesse is a

little more neurotic, a little bit older. Not quite as innocent as Michael.

“SuperBad” was a biographical film based on Seth Rogen’s high school years. Is this film about your expe-riences?

Greg Mottola: There is a lot of the world of the people I grew up with. You know,

silly people and also people I really still love and care about. 60 percent of the movie

is at the park, so I tried to make it look like the way I remembered Adventureland.

What are some of the inspirations you have to create projects like these?

Greg Mottola: I’ve read scripts that I thought were really good scripts, and there

were movies I’d like to see. But I didn’t think I in particular had something to bring to

it that was special.

And I don’t want that to sound like false humility, it’s just really just more a sense of

that it’s a hard job.

And truth be told, SuperBad was one of the fi rst scripts I ever read that I thought,

“I know how to do this.” I could see this movie in my mind, and I have to do that it like

what I think wouldn’t be exactly like everything else.

Was “Caddyshack” an influence in “Adventureland?”Greg Mottola: I defi nitely was thinking about “Caddy Shack” when I was writing

it. I was also thinking about Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Because they were really

funny scenes of people working really, really crappy jobs in that movie.

Judge Reinhold has to like work at a couple of diff erent fast food joints throughout

the movie. And then most of the other characters work at this mall. And they worked

really embarrassing jobs at the mall.

And both those movies when they came out - there is something about that like,

rite of passage of humiliating summer job.

It’s just, you know, if you were the guy who had to do it, you so appreciate the

movie that tells your story.

LUKE ATKINSON IS A BROADCAST AND ELECTRONIC MEDIA JUNIOR.

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Sudoku ...........$760/month

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1 col (1.833 in) x 2.25 inches

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AUTO INSURANCE

Auto InsuranceQuotations Anytime

Foreign Students WelcomedJim Holmes Insurance, 321-4664

Employment

HELP WANTEDSTUDENTPAYOUTS.COM

Paid survey takers needed in Norman100% FREE to join. Click on Surveys.

THE MONTNow accepting applications for the following positions:

SERVERS-must be available for day shifts beginning at 10:30 am, experience preferred HOSTESS must be available nights and week-ends. Apply in person M-F, 11am to Noon, 1300 Classen

Make up to $75 per online survey, student opin-ions needed www.cashtospend.com.

Eskimo Sno NOW HIRING for ALL locationsFun & Energetic people for Spring/Summer

Full/Part Time. Must be able to work weekendsand have reliable transportation.

Summer Bonuses available. Call 321-SNOWor come by Eastside store @ 867 12th Ave NE

Part time and full time help wanted. $7-10 per hour. Fun work environment selling top name brands such as Toms, Sperry, Chaco, Nike, etc. Apply in person at Tradehome Shoes in Sooner Mall or call 321-4652.

GREAT STUDENT JOBPart time leasing agent, M-F

Rotating Sats. Pay based on experience.Must be friendly & detail oriented.

Apply at 2900 ChautauquaOr call 360-6624 for more info.

MERCURY POST & PARCEL needs p/t custom-er assistant. Apply at 121 24th Ave NW.

Traditions Spirits is seeking a motivated,energetic, and personable Bar Supervisor for Riverwind Casino. The ideal candidate must:

have at least 1 year experience in high volume club, hotel, or resort; be skilled in staff

management; be knowledgeable of wine and spirits, and have open availability. Apply in person at 2813 SE 44th, Norman or email

resume to michelle.snider@traditionsspirits.com 405-392-4550

BILL’S RESTAURANT

Now hiring part time servers. Apply in person. 1101 Elm St. 364-2530.

GREAT STUDENT JOBPart-Time Leasing Agent

12:45pm-6pm M-F, Rotating Sats.Pay based on experience.

Must be friendly & detail oriented.Apply at 2900 Chautauqua

Or call 360-6624 for more info

Errands/Offi ce Help. Part time M-F. Flex-ible hours 10+. Medical Spa. Email resume to fi rstglance@att.net. Fax 928-2114, phone 928-2099.

CAYMAN’S seeks part time Sales Associates. Must be motivated, fashion-driven, self-starter with excellent customer service skills. Some Sat-urdays and holidays required. Apply in person 2001 West Main.

Now hiring lifeguard, swim instructors, and AM pool managers. Apply at the Cleveland County Family YMCA, 1350 Lexington Ave. EOE.

Bartending! Up to $250/day. No exp nec. Train-ing provided. 1-800-965-6520, x133.

Patient needed for dental hygiene exam. Pays $250. Call 817-714-3236 for details.

$5,000-$45,000PAID. EGG DONORS for up to 9 donations,

+ Exps, non-smokers, Ages 19-29,SAT>1100/ACT>24/GPA>3.00

Contact: info@eggdonorcenter.com

Housing RentalsJ

APTS. FURNISHED$400, bills paid, effi ciency LOFT apartments, downtown over Mister Robert Furniture, 109 E Main, fi re sprinkler, no pets, smoke-free. Inquire store offi ce.

Need Peace and Quiet?Large, private studio. Furnished, bills paid incl basic cable, near I-35 & Hwy 9. $375/mo, $200 dep. 360-9983 (W) 639-7571 (C) or suzanne.wyatt@yahoo.com

APTS. UNFURNISHED

FREE RENT or up to $300 off First Month!Student and Military Discounts

Models open 8:30-5:30 M-F; 10-4 Sat1-2 bedroom apts/townhomes with washer/dryer

hookups in 2 bedrooms. Pets Welcome! FreeTanning! Immediate Move-in! Two locations,

Apple Creek and Hillcrest EstatesCall us at 329-2438 or 360-2048

or look us up online at apartmentguide.com

1 BLK FROM OU, very nice 4 room apt, 800 sf, wood fl oors, 1016 S College, Apt 1, $295/mo. Call 360-2873 or 306-1970.

P/L Now for Summer & Fall!*Free Membership at Steel Fitness!$99 Deposit! No Application Fee!

Models open 8a-8p Everyday!Elite Properties 360-6624

or www.elite2900.com

CONDOS UNFURNISHED

Summer Rent Slashed in 1/2! Leasing 1-4 bdrms, amenities galore, The Edge

Call Iris, 303-550-5554

HOUSES UNFURNISHED3 bdrm, 2 bath, 1 mile east of campus!New carpet and paint, fridge, w/d included. Pets okay, $825/mo. Call 637-7427.

NEAR OU, 915 W Lindsey. 1/2 bd, 1 ba, NO PETS, $500 per mo.NEAR OU, 1104 Grover Ln. 2 bd, car garage, CHA, W/D, stove, refrigerator, microwave, com-pactor, NO PETS, $800 per mo.NEAR OU, 707 Juniper. 3 bd, 2 ba, CH/A, W/D Carport, Garage, NO PETS, Ref Required.

Contact: 329-1933 or 550-7069

211 W Symmes, 4 bd, 2 bth, CH/A, wd, dw, $1500/mo, security dep, no pets, 719-748-5141

NICE 3-4 bd, 2.25 ba. 929 Branchwood, $750. 1621 Chaucer, $850. 826 Jona Kay, $950. 2326 Lindenwood, $1150. Call 360-2873 or 306-1970

4 bdrm house (incl servants apt). 4 blocks west of OU. Wood fl oors, CH/A, W/D, DW. Deck, good parking, no pets. $2000/mo. Call Bob 321-1818.

805C Cardinal Creek Condo’s, 2 bdrm, 2 bth gated community, pool, weight room, on-site washer/dryer, close to campus, nice enviroment to study, overlooks OU golf course $585/mo. Call (580) 763-4278

AVAILABLE IN MAYA short walk to OU, 1-5 blks west of OU, nice brick homes, wood fl oors, CH/A, w/d, disposal, good parking. 3 Bdrm $750-$1500 2 Bdrm $600-$800 1 Bdrm $420-$460

MISTER ROBERT FURNITURE9-4 pm, Mon-Sat, 321-1818

Clean 3 bdrm, 1 bath near campus, big yard, fi re-place, basement, $800/mo. 447-8313.

TOWNHOUSES UNFURNISHEDTaylor Ridge Townhomes

2 Bdrm, 2.5 Bath, Fully RenovatedTownhomes near OU!

Pets Welcome! • Call for current ratesand Move-in Specials!!!Taylor Ridge Townhomes

(405) 310-6599

ROOMS FURNISHED

NEAR OU, privacy, $250, bills paid includes cable, neat, clean, parking. Prefer male student. Call 329-0143.

Housing SalesJ

CONDOSEdge Condo, 4 bd/ 4 bath, $126,900 - 1st time homebuyers: $8000 tax rebateCall Carol Lindley 401-0246 - Dillard Group

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oudaily.com

A drunk driver ruined somethingprecious. Amber Apodaca.

Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk.

Pho

to b

y M

icha

el M

azze

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Save a Life.Call the Hotline at

325-5000to report hazing,

illegal or unsafe drinking.All calls are anonymous.

The University of Oklahoma is an Equal Opportunity Institution.

Previous Answers

9 3 12 7 4

8 2 51 3 9

7 94 6 8

8 6 71 3 6

3 5 7Instructions:Fill in the grid so that every row, every column and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9. That means that no number is repeated in any row, column or box.

Previous Solution

Monday- Very EasyTuesday-EasyWednesday- EasyThursday- MediumFriday - Hard

5 1 2 6 7 9 4 3 86 4 9 2 8 3 5 7 13 7 8 1 5 4 9 2 69 6 5 8 4 7 2 1 37 3 1 9 6 2 8 4 52 8 4 3 1 5 7 6 98 2 7 5 3 6 1 9 41 9 6 4 2 8 3 5 74 5 3 7 9 1 6 8 2

Universal Crossword

“BRAVO!” by Judith Kramer

ACROSS 1 Island in

Indonesia 5 MX-5, on the

road 10 Norman or

Brady 14 Ardor 15 “Conspiracy

of Fools” topic

16 Great thing to be on

17 Renders suspect

19 “And another thing …”

20 How some beg

21 Admiration 23 “Dirty” Cajun

dish 24 Home-

steader’s stake

25 There are 160 in a quarter section

27 Comes into one’s own

30 Which cheek to turn?

31 Word with “booby” or “sand”

32 Aberdeen’s river

33 Unexpected attack

34 Engine buildup

35 Small price to pay

36 Plumber’s connection

37 The Hatfields and the McCoys, e.g.

38 Shopaholics’

destinations 39 Having a

finger in every pie

41 Western loop

42 Appears 43 Columnist

Barrett 44 Common

airline carry-on

46 Meathead, to Archie

50 A.A. Fair’s real first name

51 Old West transport

53 Glum drop? 54 More than

merely ready 55 Jasmine

or morning glory, e.g.

56 Verbalizes 57 Isn’t

supporting on stage

58 ResurgentlyDOWN 1 Call partner 2 “Cry, the

Beloved Country” author Paton

3 Emit coherent light

4 Encrypted? 5 Front

physicians 6 “… two

mints ___!” 7 Cut ___

(dance) 8 Get from A

___ 9 Deer

playmate, in song

10 Without charge

11 They’re often emulated

12 It can come after “no one” or “someone”

13 ___ onto (grab hold of)

18 Compara-tively cunning

22 Talk trash to 24 Smackers 25 “… and

thereby hangs ___”

26 A cinch 27 Part of

BYOB 28 Edison’s

park 29 Emulates

the sun, in a way

30 Neighbor of Provo

31 Mission start?

34 Sneaks a peek

35 Legendary lover

37 1963 Liz Taylor role

38 Word with “depressive”

40 Dissuade 41 Extreme

introverts 43 Received, at

NASA 44 “Oh, why

not?” 45 Neck of the

woods 46 Long

historical novel

47 Anagram for nail

48 Pimples on pupils

49 Exclamation of exertion

52 Tit for ___

PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER

Edited by Timothy E. Parker April 02, 2009

© 2009 Universal Press Syndicatewww.upuzzles.com

The onset of eye disease may not

be as visible as the appearance of

new wrinkles. An eye doctor can

spot the early warning signs of vision

problems like glaucoma and macular

degeneration, as well as other serious

health conditions such as diabetes and

hypertension. Early detection is key.

For men and women over 40, it might

be wise to look into your eyes. For more

information, visit checkyearly.com.

A public service message

from Vision Council of

America and AARP.

Thursday, April 2, 2009 7B

ACKYWAY EWSNAYJobless gather for Unemployment Olympics in NYC NEW YORK — Who hasn’t secretly wished he could pin the blame on his boss? Or

slam offi ce equipment against the pavement?

Dozens of unemployed people got the chance to do exactly that during the

tongue-in-cheek Unemployment Olympics on Tuesday.

In a twist on the classic game Pin the Tail on the Donkey, participants pulled a

hat over their eyes and spun around before using a pushpin to attempt to Pin the

Blame on the Boss. Those who missed the target sometimes hit some of the other

options scrawled on the colorful sign: The War, ARMs (adjustable rate mortgages),

Consumer Spending, The FED and The Economy.

The Manhattan event, organized by a laid-off computer programmer, was

decidedly low-tech, with most games arranged with the help of cardboard,

children’s paint and chalk.

Competitors also played a game of Offi ce-Phone Skee-Ball, hurling a black

phone toward chalk goal marks on the pavement. A group of schoolchildren from

nearby cheered them on.

Prizes were off ered by merchants from the surrounding Lower East Side

neighborhood.

Nick McGlynn was among those who lined up at Tompkins Square Park in

front of a cardboard hutch labeled with bright green paint as the Unemployment

Offi ce, where participants were required to show proof they had lost their jobs.

The 26-year-old, who worked with video for Gawker Media until he was let go

in November, said he was thrilled to have something to do besides searching the

Internet and updating his blog.

The gaiety of the event was enough to make Maria Tapia smile, a welcome

relief from the anxiety that accompanied her layoff in January from a job as a

fi nance executive’s personal assistant.

“I never knew that I wanted a job this bad until I didn’t have a job,” Tapia said.

But at least at these simple games, “people are trying to look at it in a positive

way,” she said.

The organizer, Nick Goddard, said that sort of reversal was pretty much his aim:

“Just to get unemployed people psyched that they’re unemployed,” he said.

That might be pushing it for 36-year-old Gary Ross, standing at the park out-

fi tted for a race just a few weeks after being told he was losing his job as a lawyer

working with capital markets.

“I did read the other day that all the cool people in New York are unemployed

and looking,” he said. “For the fi rst time in my life I’m cool. Hopefully I won’t be

cool for long.”

UC San Diego sends invite to rejected students SAN DIEGO — The University of California, San Diego says it accidentally sent an

e-mail invitation to every student who applied for the school’s incoming fresh-

man class — including the 29,000 who had been rejected.

UCSD Admissions Director Mae Brown said Tuesday that the message sent

Monday was supposed to be sent to about 18,000 accepted students, not all

47,000 applicants. The invitation was for a day on campus.

She says she later sent a mass e-mail apologizing for the confusion.

Brown says the mailing was sent to rejected applicants because of a technical

error. She says no one has been disciplined for the error.

Brown says the admission staff has been fi elding calls from parents and

distraught students who had received rejection letters in mid-March.

Airline worker flies NY to Boston in baggage hold BOSTON — A JetBlue employee says he took a free fl ight from New York to

Boston — after falling asleep in a plane’s cargo bin.

The man was discovered by baggage handlers at Logan International Airport

after the plane landed there Saturday. He told police he’d been accidentally locked

inside the pressurized luggage compartment while taking a nap.

The 21-year-old man says he called JetBlue Airways offi cials when he realized

he was no longer on the ground.

A state police spokesman says the man wasn’t charged with any crime and was

returned to New York when it was determined he wasn’t dangerous.

JetBlue Airways Corp. says it’s investigating.

Ark. man accused of drunken joy ride in stolen bus EL DORADO, Ark. — Police in Arkansas say a drunken man stole a parked school

bus and then asked a woman if she wanted to go for a ride.

Police say 44-year-old Joseph P. Fannin faces theft and driving while intoxi-

cated charges for the incident Friday night. He remains held on $5,000 bond.

Police say Fannin took an El Dorado School District bus parked near a bar and

left it in a motel driveway. They say a woman called them after Fannin asked if she

wanted a ride.

Police say Fannin told them he’d been kicked out of the bar and got into the

bus because it was “a warm, dry place.”

The school district says the driver was out of town and that the keys must’ve

been left behind.

The public defender’s offi ce didn’t immediately return a message left Wednes-

day.

Twin twitchers: Conn. pet shop has 2-nosed bunny MILFORD, Conn. — It’s no April Fools joke. The baby bunny really does have two

noses.

A Connecticut pet shop worker found the nosey bunny in a delivery of 6-week-

old dwarf rabbits that arrived at the Milford store last week. Both noses have two

nostrils.

The owner of the Purr-Fect Pets shop says he’s never seen anything like it in 25

years in the business. He says the bunny eats, drinks and hops around like the rest

of the litter.

Beardsley Zoo director Gregg Dancho says the deformity could be the result of

too much inbreeding or the parents’ exposure to pesticides or poisons.

Store workers have begun a naming contest with Cyrano de Bergerac and

Deuce among the contenders so far.— AP

POLICE REPORTSNames are compiled from the Norman Police Department and OUPD. The reports serve as a record of arrests and citations, not convictions. Those listed are innocent until proven guilty.

POSSESSION OF MARIJUANAMichael Antonio Guerrero, 39, I-35, Tuesday

POSSESSION OF A CONTROLLED DANGEROUS SUBSTANCEJames Michael Jump, 31, I-35, Tuesday

COUNTY WARRANTMichael Aaron Lawson, 26, 2420 Classen Blvd., TuesdayNiketa Nishell Porter, 39, 1863 W. Main St., Tuesday

PUBLIC INTOXICATIONKimberly A. Rasha, 24, 221 E. Hayes St., Tuesday

LITTERINGTori Beth Rose, 25, Monday816 E. Hayes St.

ATTEMPTING TO OBTAIN A CONTROLLED DANGEROUS SUBSTANCE WITH A FORGED PRESCRIPTIONJenna Marie Warner, 23, 615 W. Main St., Tuesday

TODAY

DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICSThe Department of Economics will host a lec-ture by Barbara R. Bergmann, “The Decline of Marriage: Economic Consequences and What We Can Do about Them,” at 7:30 p.m. in the National Weather Center.

FRIDAY

INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEEThe International Advisory Committee will host Eve of Nations at 7 p.m. in Lloyd Noble Center. The event includes an international fashion show and a formal dinner. Tickets are $5-$16.

UNIVERSITY THEATREThe Weitzenhoffer School of Musical Theatre will present “Baby” at 8 p.m. in the Fine Arts Center.

MASQUERADE BALLThe Sooner Ballroom Dance Club will host a masquerade ball at 7 p.m. at the Oklahoma Memorial Union’s Molly Shi Boren Ballroom. The cost is $6 for singles and $10 for couples.

CAMPUS NOTES

Log on to OUDaily.com for news, sports, opinion and more seven days a week.

AP Photo/Ricardo Moraes

No April Fool’s joke: The CAT scan of Emerson de Oliveira Abreu, a man who

came to the hospital with a spear stuck in his head after a diving accident,

is shown on a monitor at the Adao Pereira Nunes state hospital Wednesday

in Duque de Caxias, Brazil. After doctors surgically removed the 6-inch

(15-centimeter) spear from his brain, Abreu is in stable condition.

NO APRIL FOOL’S JOKE: BRAZILIAN MAN SURVIVES

SPEAR IN SKULL

AP Photo/The Connecticut Post, Brian A. Pounds

Iris Bergeron, an employee of Purr-Fect Pets in Milford, Conn. holds a bunny that has two

noses Tuesday in Milford, Conn. A pet shop worker found the bizarre bunny in a delivery of

6-week-old dwarf rabbits that arrived at the Milford store last week. Both noses have two

nostrils.

Details

Thursday, April 2, 2009

ARIES (March 21-April 19) -- Someone who had promised to pitch in might not be available at the moment you need this person’s help. However, an effective backup is apt to happen along just at the right time.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) -- If you discover a proposition has some troubling points, talk to the promoter about changing what’s bothering you. Chances are this person hadn’t realized it and will agree.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) -- Should a supporter willing to help you achieve an objective become more of a hindrance than a help, don’t hesitate to fi nd a nice way to say “thanks” and send this person packing.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) -- You’re an exceptionally sensitive person, so it stands to reason that, even when someone deserves criticism, your choice of words will be kind and considerate. This ability will serve you well.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) -- As long as you aren’t tempted to stray from using your regular sources or channels, your probabilities for success are good. Stick to what is familiar, and you won’t be disappointed.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) -- You’ll be true to your emotions. Friends will fi nd you a warm and charming person, but when it comes to dealing with those who have offended you lately, it’ll be a different story.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) -- You’re far better equipped to handle challenging developments than you think. Don’t let self-doubt or a lack of appreciation for your intellect impede your forward motion. Trust your abilities.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) -- If you believe that an unfair portion of the work in a joint endeavor is being dumped on you, don’t let things fester. Speak up, and get the needed adjustments made immediately.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) -- Tenacity and persistence are the most essential ingredients needed for success. If you don’t make them your primary tools, there’s a good chance you’ll fail.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) -- There is a good chance you’ll operate at both ends of the spectrum when it comes to handling your fi nancial affairs. It’s OK, as long as prudence outweighs extravagance.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) -- Be careful not to get caught up in an arrangement where the leaders aren’t sharing all the critical information. You don’t want to be held accountable for what you didn’t know.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) -- Make sure that you adjust your initial judgment and/or understanding of a critical situation if certain factors are changed later on. Don’t assume the end results will remain the same.

HOROSCOPE By Bernice Bede Osol

Copyright 2008, Newspaper Enterprise Assn.

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Check our website for carports!

Life & ArtsThursday, April 2, 20098B

Black Angels drop out of festThe Black Angels, one of the main acts performing on the festival’s “Main Stage,” has withdrawn

from the Norman Music Festival.

Holly Jones, Norman Music Festival publicity chair, said the band would be traveling back to L.A.

because of a “scheduling confl ict.”

At the moment, the NMF is planning to fi ll the open spot and is currently looking for acts.

Promotional pre-fest show setMusicians Ali Harter, Pretty Black Chains and Z’ebre along with comedians Cameron Buchholtz and

Derek Smith will perform at The Opolis at 10 p.m. Saturday, April 4.

The proceeds will benefi t the festival and give fans of the fest an early taste of the concerts.

Pandora adds NMF to list of featured festivalsThere are only eight music festivals featured on the Pandora.com festivals Web page and the Nor-

man Music Festival is one of them.

“We are unbelievably excited for our second annual music festival to be featured among other long

standing festivals around the country,” said Holly Jones, publicity chair for the Norman Music Festival.

“We are featured below the Bonnaroo and next to the Cochella festival stations on Pandora, a perfect

position for us. ”

Now from any computer, fans of NMF can listen to the bands who are performing later this month

at the second annual NMF, http://www.pandora.com/festivals.

– DAILY STAFF REPORTS

WEEKEND UPDATE

regressive progression

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" will screen at 4 and

10:30 p.m. Friday in Meacham Auditorium.

▲

the boss is back

Bruce Springsteen and The E

Street Band will perform Tuesday

at the BOK Center in Tulsa. Tickets

are $41 to $91.

also in music

B.B. King will perform at 7 p.m.

Tuesday at the Osage Million

Dollar Elm Casino. Tickets are $50.

▲

mud masks

Visit the Union food court

from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday

to enjoy free massages

and more at Spa Night.

Parents are welcome! Be

sure to bring your OU ID!

▲

to protect and serve

Catch “Observe and Report” at 7 p.m.

Friday in Meachamn Auditorium.

▲

another all-american

The All-American

Rejects will perform

with Shiny Toy Guns

at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday

at the Brady Theater

in Tulsa. Tickets are

$28.

▲

NORMAN MUSIC FESTIVAL BRIEFS

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