The Boise State Broncos scored early and often to take down

the Golden Hurricane 41–21 at Bronco Stadium Saturday night.

It was Tulsa’s first time since 2003 to play on the headache-in-ducing blue of Lyle Smith Field, where Boise holds the nation’s second-longest home game win-ning streak (33). The ear-splitting crowd, nearly all of which re-mained in the seats until the very last snap, was the fourth largest in stadium history.

The Golden Hurricane offense remained scoreless in the first half, and even the surprise appearance of G.J. Kinne, knee brace and all, behind center failed to kick the Hurricane up a category. Tulsa managed a meager four first downs in the first half, with 50 yards rush-ing and 40 passing.

The Bronco offense, on the oth-

er hand, was viciously efficient. Quarterback Kellen Moore, com-pletely at ease in the pocket, had a completion rate of 79.31 percent and threw for four touchdowns. Two of his favorite targets from last year have graduated, but that made little difference—he distrib-uted his passes indiscriminately to nine different receivers.

But the TU defense was not helplessly trampled in the Bron-co stampede. Curnelius Arnick, rudely welcomed to Boise by a Bronco heckler as Tulsa took the field, made a statement with 18 tackles (12 unassisted), outper-forming BSU’s top three tacklers combined.

After being outscored 27–0 in the first half, the Tulsa squad reso-lutely cobbled together a success-ful drive with scraps of Trey Watts rushes and nickel-and-dime passes by Kinne (including a 16-yard scramble by the still-recovering quarterback). Watts took a direct snap to make the final 3-yard run for a Tulsa touchdown.

Drawing Bronco blood put fresh zeal in the Hurricane defense. Todd Brentom sacked backup QB Joe Southwick for a loss of nine

yards, the first sack made against BSU all season. That stop set up a turnover that allowed Kinne and Willie Carter to connect on TU’s longest pass of the game, a 34-yarder at the doorstep of the

Boise red zone.Carter capitalized on the play

to gain a touchdown of his own at the start of the fourth on an 8-yard pass from Kinne. On Boise’s next drive, the Hurricane defense made

its second grand goal line stand of the night, capped off with Shawn Jackson swiping the game’s sole fumble turnover.

OpinionSports VarietyNCAA football falls apartp. 4

Swift and Perry reviews p. 7

Palestinian statehood p. 8

Teach for America comes to campus

Junior wide receiver Ricky Johnson scores after catching a 13-yard pass from Kalen Henderson. The Golden Hurricane managed to outscore the Broncos during the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game but still lost 41–21.

John Lepine / The Collegian

John LepineStudent Writer

See BSU page 5

Broncos trample Hurricane

Justin Harlan:A TU alumnus of 2009, Justin now works to establish Teach For America in Oklahoma.

Last Thursday, University of Tulsa President Steadman Up-

ham delivered his last State of the University address during TU’s convocation in the new Lorton Performing Arts Center.

Convocation is a yearly ceremo-ny in which Tulsa students, faculty and trustees are invited to come together to celebrate the start of a new school year. It is highlighted by the president’s State of the Uni-versity address which reviews the recent progress and future goals of the school. Upham’s address fo-

cused on the strides the university has made during his seven-year tenure as president.

Students, especially those not from Tulsa, may have a hard time grasping the dynamic changes this campus has undergone in the past 15 years.

During the speech, Upham pointed to many different academ-ic indicators that show the evolu-tion of the Tulsa student body over the past decade, such as Tulsa’s acceptance rate, which narrowed from 91 percent in 1991 to 39 per-cent in 2010.

He also made reference to the numerous construction projects undertaken during the last seven years that have created an addi-tional one million square feet on campus.

Also mentioned were the future

J Christopher proCtorStudent Writer

Convocation speech emphasizes progress

Film Festival bores, then delights

The first annual Tulsa Interna-tional Film Festival graced

downtown this past weekend,

bringing Tulsa a taste of the artsy, the international and all things cin-ematic. Held at the ritzy Hyatt Re-gency Hotel, the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame and the Tulsa Com-munity College’s Center for Cre-ativity, the festival began its first annual event in style.

A word to the wise: anyone new to the film festival scene should stay away from feature lengths. “The Black Box” was not impres-

sive. An independently-produced horror film, it was utterly horrific, but not in the way that made it a good horror film. Without a prior understanding of the film, do not volunteer for two hours of one movie.

Instead, go to so-called “shorts blocks.” A shorts block is an hour to an hour-and-a-half period filled with screenings of short films, and it is here that one will feel the true

essence of a film festival.Seeing the work of a diverse

group of filmmakers tied together by a unified theme gives ample op-portunity for enjoyment, reflection and consideration of the art of cin-ema. One particularly impressive block, entitled “Trials of Life,” included films which ranged in length from four minutes to nearly

See Speech page 3

When Justin Harlan was an undergraduate at the Uni-

versity of Tulsa, he had no idea that just a few blocks away, poor students were struggling to keep up with their more affluent peers.

Now Harlan works for Teach For America as Manager of Strat-egy and Operations. He knows all about the achievement gap and is determined to do something about it. According to TFA, “Although 15 million American children face the extra challenges of poverty, an increasing body of evidence shows they can achieve at the highest lev-els.”

TFA began in 1990 with 500 corps members. It has since ex-panded to nearly 5,000 individu-als working in 43 regions. Jus-tin played an important role in TFA’s expansion to the Tulsa area

KyLe WaLKerStudent Writer

Logan Miller / The Collegian

University of Tulsa President Steadman Upham emphasizes Tulsa’s increasing admissions selectivity during his State of the University speech at last Thursday’s Convocation.

See Film page 6

Upham focused on increased quality of the student body and efforts to become a top 50 ranked school.

emiLy CaLLenStudent Writer

See TFA page 3

Tulsa fought its way back from a scoreless first half, but was still unable to win out against Boise State.

tues: thurs: Fri: Gilcrease Forum: Mounds to Mammoths

The Naga Exhibit

Mortar Board invites Tulsa pro-fessors to give a lecture as if it were their last. The first speaker in this year’s series is Dr. Marta Chamorro, a native of Spain and an applied instructor of Spanish. The lecture will be held at 7 p.m. in the ACAC Alcove.

The Alexandre Hogue Gallery in Phillips Hall will host an exhibit of work by visiting assistant pro-fessor Aaron M. Higgins through Nov. 3. His past works feature a blending of modern technology and fine art as he creates artis-tic videos based on mathematic systems and computer codes.

As part of the Gilcrease Forum series, Robert Brooks, Ph.D., di-rector of the Oklahoma Archaeo-logical Survey, will provide an overview of prehistoric archaeo-logical sites in Oklahoma. The lecture will be held at 1 p.m. at Gilcrease and is free to students.

The ’Cane Transit will run extended hours from 1 p.m. to 11 p.m. to take students to and from the fairgrounds. The fried foods and fall fun festival runs through Oct. 9.

Tulsa State FairMortar Board Last Lecture Series

a student newspaper of the university of tulsa september 27, 2011 issue 4 ~ volume 97

NEWS THE COLLEGIAN : 227 SEPTEMBER 2011

NEWSTHE COLLEGIAN : 3 27 SEPTEMBER 2011

Sept. 122:30 p.m. Officers were called to an off-campus storage building in ref-erence to a burglary. During the investigation, it was determined that copper was removed from the unit. TPD responded and took a report.

Sept. 144:35 p.m. Officers were called to the soft-ball field by a staff member. The reporting person stated that a red mustang had come into the lot and that the occupants were shooting paintballs at vehicles. They shot paintballs at two university ve-hicles. Security will review video of the area and attempt to ID the suspects.

Sept. 162:10 a.m. Officers were on patrol and ob-served a white male running at full speed across campus. The subject refused to stop when security made contact with him. The sub-ject stated he was running from security because he was scared of security. The subject was released and he went to his dorm.

Sept. 173:10 a.m. Officers on patrol were ap-proached by a student who stated they were assaulted. Officers took a report and are trying to identify the subject.

11:10 p.m.Officers were called to the LaFor-tune House for a report of under-age drinking. Officers made con-tact with the six students. A report was made.

Sept. 1910:25 p.m. Officers were dispatched to Lor-ton Village for someone setting off fireworks on the landing out-side of a student’s apartment. The student reported that this has hap-pened two to three times.

Africa

UGANDAA British forestry company has, with the aid of the Ugandan gov-ernment, forced more than 20,000 Ugandans from their homes. New Forests Company has been grow-ing trees in African countries since 2005, when the Ugandan govern-ment agreed to a 50-year contract to plant pine and eucalyptus for-ests. These tree plantations would be used to sell carbon dioxide credits to polluters abroad.

The company estimates it gen-erated 1.8 million in revenue this year from the carbon dioxide trades.

The government and company assert that these residents are il-legal squatters, and have resorted to violently evicting residents who have land deeds proving their ownership. Their methods include burning houses down with residents trapped inside, throwing out furniture and belongings and threatening to shoot protestors.

Oxfam, a conglomerate of non-profit organizations that fight pov-

erty and injustice, is seeking legal action against New Forest and the government. Company officials observed a “legal, voluntary and peaceful” resettling but will con-duct an “immediate and thorough” investigation.

Middle East

PALESTINEFear of violence spread as presi-dent Mahmood Abbas delivered his speech to the United Nations officially requesting Palestine’s bid for statehood and member-ship into the U.N. At least 10,000 gathered in Ramallah, one of the largest Palestinian settlements in the West Bank, to hear Abbas’s speech. Critics primarily within Hamas, the ruling Fatah party’s rival and Al Qaeda-linked group, do not think gaining statehood will change everyday life for the Pal-estinians.

Many Palestinians were disap-pointed with the Obama adminis-tration’s threats to veto statehood. Israeli troops have increased bor-derline surveillance out of fear for the safety of their 130,000 West Bank settlers. One Palestinian has already been killed in the border

town of Qusra when Israeli troops fired onto a group of protestors. The crowd’s activities after Ab-bas’s speech included burning Is-raeli flags and Obama posters and carrying a blue chair to represent their hope of a seat in the U.N.

Central America

HAITIPresident Michael Martelly op-posed the U.N.’s planned reduc-tion of its peacekeepers in the country. Speaking in front of the General Assembly, Secretary Gen-eral Ban Ki-Moon stated his intent to decrease the number of U.N. peacekeepers in the country from 12,000 to 9,000 in the upcoming year.

Controversy surrounding peace-keepers includes a video recording of Uruguayan sailors sexually as-saulting a Haitian man. Nepalese soldiers are blamed for the out-break of cholera that killed 6,000 people last year as well.

U.N. forces have been in the country since 2004 due to political conflicts. Although protests to the U.N.’s continued presence in the country continue, government of-ficials such as President Martelly assert that the U.N. creates a safety net for ongoing political and eco-nomic strife in the country.

Asia

CHINAJournalist Ji Xuagang of China’s most aggressively independent newspaper, the Southern Metropo-lis Daily, was detained by the po-lice for writing articles naming a civil servant in a bizarre sex ring. Thirty-four-year-old Li Hao kid-napped six women between the ages of 16 and 24 from karaoke

bars in the city of Luoyang and kept them in a 215-square-foot basement of a rented apartment building. He starved them to keep them from escaping but allowed them access to a computer so they could watch movies and play games online until he returned. He allegedly killed two of his victims in the past two years.

One of the women escaped re-cently and went to police with the story. Li has since been arrested. The story was deemed a state se-cret since it implicates a state of-ficial and undermines Luoyang’s chance of becoming a “Civilized City” as a part of a national com-petition to promote local cultures and traditions.

Europe

ENGLANDThe British government has finally agreed to pay the families of vic-tims of the 1972 “Bloody Sunday” protests in Northern Ireland. Brit-ish forces marched into Londberry and allegedly fired on peaceful protestors, ultimately killing four-teen people. The event has since become symbolic of decades of sectarian strife that claimed the lives of 3,600 people and spilled into Britain.

The victims’ families filed claims against the British govern-ment, prompting the most expen-sive and extensive public inquiry in British history. Prime Minister David Cameron stated that the inquiry demonstrated the army’s culpability. In a public apology to Northern Ireland’s government, he called the acts “unjustified and unjustifiable.” Cameron hopes that compensation negotiations will open peaceful dialogue between the countries.

Jinan eLsabbaghStudent Writer

Eye on the world:

What role does sibling rivalry play in the careers of musicians? How might Mozart’s musical older sis-ter Maria Anna have influenced the composer’s career?

These are some of the questions Benjamin Buchanan is trying to answer as part of his research in musicology, a multifaceted disci-pline encompassing many aspects

of music research—which, as Bu-chanan is quick to point out, has nothing to do with the Prince song of the same name.

Buchanan’s interest in the re-lationships between sibling musi-cians stems from his relationship with his own brother Doug, who is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in composition at the Peabody Con-servatory. The brothers both grew up playing piano and both played percussion on the drum line in high school. Each of the brothers is a director of music at a church.

Despite their similarities, Bu-chanan says that his musical style is very different from his brother’s. Benjamin began his studies at the University of Tulsa intent on pur-suing jazz. While his musical style has since evolved toward avant

garde classical, he describes him-self as the more rock-influenced sibling and notes that jazz contin-ues to be an influence.

Their musical lives began to intersect in 2008, when Benja-min asked his brother to arrange a piece for himself and a friend to perform. Benjamin and Doug had not performed together until Au-gust 2010 when their grandfather passed away, and the two worked together to arrange and perform music for the funeral. The experi-ence got Buchanan thinking about the relationships between other musical siblings. He developed the idea over the fall of 2010 and began his research in spring 2011.

Buchanan’s research combines history, music, the psychology of sibling relationships and compo-sition. He has uncovered several remarkable stories. Because play-ing the piano was once considered feminine, famed jazz musicians Thelonius Monk and Fats Waller each began learning the instrument by watching their sisters play. Ira Gershwin began taking piano les-sons before his younger brother George, but the “Rhapsody in Blue” composer continued long

after Ira quit. A key component of Buchan-

an’s research is the composition that will result. Although he is a piano major, he said, “My ideas for composition and research are much more unique than my piano playing.” After applying to gradu-ate school for musicology last year, Benjamin has decided to switch tracks and plans to apply to composition programs this year. He plans to continue research, because “Research is part of my compositional process.”

On Jan. 12, Benjamin and Doug Buchanan will perform in a pro-gram comprising music that was originally written to be performed with the composer’s sibling. The program will include Mozart’s “Four Hand Piano Sonata,” but not all of the music will be classi-cal. Benjamin is currently at work composing a piece for the perfor-mance entitled “Suite for Broth-ers,” which will explore sibling ri-valry. The piece will feature a toy piano, bagpipes and tap dancing. The performance will take place at 7:30 p.m. in the Meinig Recital Hall of the Lorton Performing Arts Center.

emiLy CaLLenStudent Writer

Benjamin Buchanan:His research focuses on the r e l a t i o n s h i p s between sibling musicians.

The preview of the TU-BSU football game in the Sept. 20 sports section implied that 2009 was Boise State’s only undefeated season. In fact, it was Boise State’s eighth undefeated season, the next most recent being in 2006.

The Sept. 20 news article “Tulsans access technology at Fab Lab” men-tioned San Gabriel school. The correct name is San Miguel Catholic Middle School.

The African Drumline picture from the Sept. 20 news section was taken by J Christopher Proctor.

Finance is not about how much money a person has, but about how he spends it. Bad spending habits during college can turn a trust fund baby into a future wel-fare recipient. College is probably one of the most financially tumul-tuous times in any person’s life, so the important thing to do is to stay calm and spend wisely.

Invest: Ten years ago, Apple Inc. was

selling for $8.42 a share. Today

it sells for over $400 a share. As-suming one bought one hundred shares in 2001 for about $850, that investment today would be worth over $400,000. Granted, most stocks do not appreciate like that, but learning to invest a little every year starting at a young age will definitely help in the long run.

Tell your credit cards where to stick it:

Only those who absolutely need them should get credit cards. If a credit card is a necessary evil, avoid racking up massive bills. Try to use cash instead. Treat a credit card like what it actually is- a pretty plastic card representing

real money and real debt. Do not be fooled by benefits and rewards. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Credit card companies specifically target col-lege students because of their vul-nerability; those nice people be-hind the counter are not trying to make friends.

Don’t binge on entertainment: College students often spend more money on entertainment than they do on anything else. Things like eating out, movie nights, gas money and clubbing are costly and unnecessary. There is always something happening on a college campus, and those activities are

usually free. Fun and cheap things to do are not hard to find. Just keep looking.

Save up for your future knitting habit:

College students have a hard time imagining themselves as re-tirees, but face it, most people do get old. Roth IRAs are tax-free accounts that allow individuals to plan and save for their retire-ments. No one wants to imagine themselves 50 years from now, but saving now will help in the future. Roth IRAs do tend to have steep minimum investments, so this op-tion is not for everyone.

CLarissa DunnStudent Writer

Finance tips help students spend wisely

From Speech on cover

goals of the university which Up-ham discussed at length. He iden-tified schools such as Rice, Duke and Washington University in St. Louis as institutions that Tulsa would eventually like to emulate.

Tulsa is also attempting to break into the top 50 of the U.S. News & World Report rankings. Upham stated in regard to an eventual top 50 ranking, “We can do this if we remain focused and stay on the path we are on.”

in 2009. He was accepted to the teaching corps in Kansas City after graduation, but declined because he did not want to leave Tulsa. Later that year, TFA reached out to him for help. Justin began net-working, fundraising and promot-ing the organization in the Tulsa area. Now that the program has ex-panded throughout the state, Har-lan plays a similar role on a much bigger scale.

Harlan urges TU students to get involved, saying, “Get out-side your comfort zone, do some research on the gross inequities that exist in our city and go do something about it.” TFA seeks to equip corps members with the skills they need to enable children of all backgrounds to succeed in the classroom. Although TFA is only a small part of nation-wide education reform, Harlan said, “if you have a passion in closing the achievement gap, we truly need our top leaders to join the move-ment and make a difference.” Ac-cepted applicants attend a rigorous summer institute before teaching for two years in urban and rural schools.

TFA chose TU as one of nine sites nationwide to host a sum-mer institute in 2012. At the end of May, the University will house 550 new corps members and 120 staff as they prepare to serve in schools throughout the region. Hosting the institute is good for TFA, but also benefits Tulsa, since it signals an increased corps presence in the re-gion.

Teach For America Week takes place Oct. 3–7. The event will fea-ture information sessions and sem-inars aimed at increasing aware-ness about educational injustice and helping students learn how they can get involved. Events will take place throughout the week, and on Friday, Oklahoma Recruit-ment Manager Weston Stewart will be available for informal in-terviews for students interested in getting involved with TFA. Stu-dents can use the Golden Opportu-nities website to sign up.

From TFA on cover

House for rent near 21st and Yale. 3 bed/1 bath. $800/month (lawn care included)

Contact Niccole: 918-408-4068 niccola@hotmail.com

classifiedscorrections

Sports THE COLLEGIAN : 427 SEPTEMBER 2011

NBA pulls NFL-style lockout

Sept 27

M Golf Golf Week Conference All DaySept 28

Softball at Connor State 5 p.m.Sept 30

M Soccer at South Carolina 7:30 p.m.W Soccer v. Houston 7 p.m.Volleyball v. Houston 7 p.m.

Oct 1

Football v. North Texas 6 p.m.Cross Country at Cowboy Jamboree All DayTennis ITA All-American All DayRowing at Head of Oklahoma All Day

Oct 2

W Soccer v. Rice 1 p.m.Volleyball v. Rice 1 p.m.

Oct 4

M Golf Rod Myers Invitational All DayW Golf v. Lady Northern All Day

Sports fans this year came close to witness-ing something that has happened only once before in history: two major sports leagues shutting down simultaneously. The NBA and the NFL both entered lockouts, but only the NFL has gotten back on track. A short-ened NBA season is still a real possibility. So why are these lockouts happening? In es-sence, the owners are losing money, but the players do not want the cuts coming out of their contracts.

The NBA entered a lockout on July 1. This means teams cannot interact with their coaches or have practices, and teams are not allowed to sign or trade players—the league basically comes to a screeching halt. The owners of the NBA teams state that they are losing money. This is partially due to the economic downturn and the poor attendance at games. Lack of attendance is due to the inability to turn the NBA into a competitive franchise like the NFL. Poor decision mak-ing is partly to blame, but inflexibility in the system prevents the clubs from moving bad contracts, making it virtually impossible to rebound quickly.

The owners want a larger portion of the league’s revenue; in fact, players currently receive approximately 57 percent of the league’s total revenue. The owners want to decrease player’s salaries, lower the salary cap and make each player’s contract non-guaranteed.

The salary cap represents the maximum amount of money a team can spend on its players’ salaries; if a team goes over, it is taxed heavily. A non-guaranteed contract means that instead of a team committing to paying a player for several years, the play-er’s contract could be nulled at any point.

One problem the NBA seeks to address is that of players such as Rashard Lewis. Al-though Lewis is not a household name like Lebron James or Dwayne Wade, he currently makes more than Wade or James because he signed a contract in excess of $110 million. If the team were to trade him he would still be guaranteed that money, even if he were not an competitive asset anymore.

The recession has caused both the players and the owners to remain stubborn—both sides seem just to be waiting for the other to cave in. NBA commissioner David Stern said of one talk between the owners and the player’s association, “Well, we did not have a great day … we did say that it is our collec-tive task to decide what we want on the one hand on each side, and what each side needs … to have the season start on time.” In short, compromise is still in the works. The ratings after the 2010–2011 season were the highest in years, and the current season is set to start Nov. 1. If the lockout lasts into the season, the NBA risks losing a fan base that it has spent the last decade trying to build.

KyLe boWersStudent Writer

Ryan Fitzpatrick—who went to Harvard and whose value is under question because he might be “too smart” to be an NFL quar-terback—narrowly triumphed over Tom Brady and the New England Patriots on Sunday. Mike Kafka, who went to North-western and filled in with surprising ef-ficiency last week after Michael Vick was injured against the Falcons, had another chance against the New York Giants which resulted in a 13 point defeat. He threw no touchdowns and two interceptions.

The question of whether Northwestern receives a lower ranking every year because of a bias against Midwestern schools has finally been resolved on the only reliable, objective forum available for such things: NFL football stadiums.

The Cincinnati Bengals somehow wound up with another player under investiga-tion for criminal offenses. Someone, some-where, shipped 2.5 pounds of marijuana to Simpson’s home, but the Bengals insist that Simpson ought to be presumed innocent because that’s how our legal system works.

Though their recent years have had no-where near the accomplishments of their 2006–2007 crime spree that resulted in the arrests of 10 players, coach Marvin Lewis who has been in Cincinnati since 2003, might need to answer some questions about what the NCAA would call “lack of insti-tutional control.” Fortunately for him, the NFL is not in the business of enforcing NCAA rules. Wait, no, sorry Terrel Pryor.

LSU moved into the AP’s top spot, which means they’re better than Oklahoma. Flor-ida State fell to number 23, which means they’re getting a lot worse. Texas A&M will officially be an SEC team next year, which means they’ll be better regardless of what changes they make to their team. Ron Art-est lost in round one of “Dancing with the Stars,” but he did say it made him a better basketball player, which is great if the NBA ever happens again. Hope Solo, meanwhile, was told she was not feminine enough, even though she’s a total babe.

Baseball is trying its hardest to be inter-esting, but what’s behind that is some (see: Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox) are play-ing a boring sport poorly. FC Barcelona banned smoking at Camp Nou but has not yet banned its players from diving, which would probably make the fans much hap-pier.

James santuCCiGuest Writer

The past year has seen a firestorm of confer-ence realignment in college football. Since last summer almost every major conference has added or lost teams, drastically altering the landscape of NCAA football.

To recap the changes since the season ended last year, the Mountain West Confer-ence lost Utah to the PAC-12, BYU to foot-ball independence, and is scheduled to lose TCU to the Big East starting next season. The Western Athletic Conference (Tulsa’s home from 1996 to 2005) lost Boise State this season to the MWC and will lose Fres-no State, Hawaii and Nevada to the MWC as well in 2012. The Big 12 lost Nebraska to the Big 10, Colorado to the PAC-12 and (barring a possible lawsuit by Baylor) will lose Texas A&M to the SEC next year. Also, about a week ago, Pittsburg (former Tulsa coach Todd Graham’s new school) and Syracuse announced they will be moving from their current home, the Big East, to the ACC.

With these movements, there have also been countless rumors of other teams possi-bly on the lookout for new conferences. One

of the most followed stories is the anticipat-ed implosion of the Big 12, which seems to hinge on the decisions of the University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma. Al-though talks have settled down slightly this week, there is still a lot of tension within the conference. It would not take much to set off a reaction that could effectively dismantle the conference.

With this in mind, Tulsa Athletic Direc-tor Bubba Cunningham shared his thoughts on the realignment and Tulsa’s future con-ference possibilities. Right away he made it clear that while the C-USA has “been a good league for us,” the University of Tulsa would like to be in a conference with an automatic berth to a Bowl Championship Series game. Cunningham cited the fact that getting more television contracts is one of the primary reasons TU would like to make the jump to a BCS conference. He also thought that if Tulsa were in a BCS conference “we would sell a lot more tickets on an average basis” by playing local big name teams like Okla-homa, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M, Kansas and Kansas State.

Cunningham also addressed the question of what moving to a BCS conference would mean for the immediate future of both foot-ball and the other sports in which Tulsa competes. While he admitted that competi-tion would be tough, he seemed confident that Tulsa is already able to hold its own with teams in the “middle and the bottom

third” of most of the power conferences. Al-though “competing at the top would be chal-lenging … we would get there over time.” He claimed that upgrading conferences would be the best for all the teams because of the extra money and exposure provided by better television deals and increased tick-ets sales, all leading to “better opportunities for the students.”

In discussing Tulsa’s realistic chance of making a high level conference, Cunning-ham seemed optimistic that despite the fact that our small size may “work against us,” Tulsa could bring a lot to the table for any conference considering adding it. He pointed out that it is now a top 75 institu-tion and that “We have won 39 conference championships in six years.” This number is even more impressive considering that Rice, the school with the second most champion-ships, has only 20. He stressed the fact that Tulsa has succeeded in every conference it has been in because “that’s who we are … and even though we don’t have as many people, we can compete with them, whether on the court or in the classroom.”

Although it is impossible to tell if this current phase of conference realignment will give Tulsa a chance to join a BCS con-ference, Cunningham and the athletic de-partment are taking a proactive stance, do-ing everything they can to put TU in the best possible position for the future success of its athletes and the school.

NCAAF: Conference hysteria

J Christopher proCtorStudent Writer

W. Soccer ends week with tie, loss

Could the changes in the NCAA football conferences give the University of Tulsa a chance in the big leagues?

Suqin Lin / The Collegian

Sophomore midfielder Jordan O’Brien fights pass the UCF defense to score Tulsa’s only goal on Sunday afternoon. The women’s soccer team tied Southern Miss 0–0 Friday and lost 2–1 to UCF Sunday. Women’s soccer is now 6–3–2 on the season and 0–1–1 in conference play.

Photo courtesy wpsmajicjack.com

Photo courtesy zimbio.com

DWTS has made its standards of femininity all but obvious—women (like Hope Solo) don’t smile.

Mike Kafka might just be too smart to play in the NFL.

Interested in sports? The Collegian is always looking for

writers and photographers.

Email collegian@utulsa.edu

Sept. 23 W Soccer v. S. Miss T, 0–0 Volleyball at UTEP W, 3–0

Sept. 24 Football at Boise State L, 41–21 M Soccer v. Akron L, 3–0

Sept. 25 Volleyball at UCF W, 3–1 W Soccer v. UCF L, 2–1

SportsTHE COLLEGIAN : 5 27 SEPTEMBER 2011

Scoreboard:

The game’s final touchdown came as Ricky Johnson caught a 13-yard pass from backup quarterback Kalen Hender-son. Ja’Terian Douglas assisted during the drive with tenacious rushes—he averaged 6.4 yards per attempt on the ground for the game.

Tulsa outrushed the Broncos 155–137 and outscored them 14-7 in the fourth quarter. However, turnovers on both sides of the ball bedeviled the Blue and Gold all game long. Boise intercepted four passes and also man-

aged to convert two of three fourth downs.With just 291 offensive yards, Saturday

marked TU’s first game since 2009 to net fewer than 300. But Tulsa did show defen-sive mettle, stopping BSU from scoring in the red zone twice while Tulsa got a touch-down with every trip past the 20-yard line.

The Golden Hurricane will conclude non-conference play this Saturday against the North Texas Mean Green, which recently celebrated a 24-21 decision against the In-diana Hoosiers. Kick-off is set for 6 p.m. at H.A. Chapman Stadium.

From BSU on cover

On Oct. 1, the University of North Texas Mean Green will be traveling from Den-ton to Chapman Stadium to face the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. The game time is set for 6 p.m., hopefully allowing the game to end before 3 a.m.—unlike the Hurricane’s last home contest. The Mean Green is Tulsa’s last non-conference opponent before C-USA play gets into full swing.

After weeks of playing football giants, the Hurricane will not be seen as under-dogs this week. This will be the two teams’ fourth match since 2005, when Tulsa domi-nated the series, outscoring UNT 138–31 and out-rushing them by 694 yards. UNT has struggled in recent years, continually ranking near the bottom of the college foot-ball world. Despite the efforts of new head coach, Dan McCarney, they started the year 0–3, losing against Florida International, Houston and Alabama, when they only scored 39 points and gave up 130.

However, the Mean Green got a land-mark win this weekend against Indiana to advance to 1–3. They led the Hoosiers 24–0 going into the fourth quarter and survived

an aggressive comeback to win 24–21. It had lost its last nine home games, and this was its first win over a team from a BCS conference since 2003. Although Indiana is likely the weakest team in the Big 10, this is still a major victory for UNT and will give them confidence going into the game with Tulsa.

Despite UNT’s impressive upset, the Hurricane’s offense should be able to over-power the UNT defense. Even with Kinne still visibly affected by his MCL injury, Tulsa will hopefully be able to put up the huge offensive numbers that have been elu-sive throughout September. The UNT of-fense, which was practically nonexistent in its first three games, showed definite signs of life against Indiana, posting a balanced 201 yards passing and 226 rushing. Hope-fully TU’s defense will be able to contain UNT early on and end their hopes for an-other upset.

However, turnovers could still derail the game for the Hurricane. TU gave up six turnovers to OSU and four to Boise. Al-though UNT is not as talented, many of the turnovers were obviously Tulsa mistakes. If these numbers are repeated, Tulsa will have trouble beating any team in the country this year. However, if Tulsa can take care of the football, look for the team to have a strong showing against UNT, preparing them for the all-important C-USA play that is quickly approaching.

J Christopher proCtorStudent Writer

Tulsa could finally be the powerhouse in this week’s game against North Texas.

John Lepine / The Collegian

Sophomore running back Ja’Terian Douglas finds an opening through the tough Boise State defense.

Golden Hurricane prepares for redemption

The 2011 OK Greenfest had potential. De-spite backing from big-name sponsors, de-velopers Fat Lip Entertainment and Purple Dragon Promotions failed to realize that potential. In the process, several emerging Tulsa-based acts lost out on an opportunity to gain exposure.

Now in its third year, the festival promised a full lineup of local and regional acts from a broad range of genres. Instead, sparse crowds waited for shows that did not start on time, and bands grew frustrated by the lack of organization and crowd support.

Competing with the second annual Mc-Nellie’s Harvest Beer Festival for popular attention is no easy feat. Competing with the popular Mercury Lounge, located across the street from the festival venue, is also ill-advised.

It is not clear why the Mercury, which regularly hosts popular local and regional bands in a cozy dive bar atmosphere, did not participate in the festival. On Saturday night, at least, OK Greenfest was bested by its competitors.

The highlights of Saturday’s lineup were Alex and the Anders and up-and-comers Red Wood Rising. Alex and the Anders was slated to take the main stage at 10 p.m., and even this local favorite failed to bring out a

crowd. Part of the problem may have been that the lineup for the festival was not re-leased until late in the week, when many fans likely already had plans.

Red Wood Rising was originally slated to play at 9 p.m. at Treehouse but the band finally took the stage after the OU-Mizzou game ended around 10:30. Despite the mass exodus of OU fans at the end of the game, and the inebriated antics of the few who stayed, Red Wood Rising delivered a high-energy folk rock set.

The band lists Ryan Adams, Jars of Clay and Count-ing Crows among its influences, but drummer Ryan Graham lists an-other important in-spiration: worship music.

Graham came to Tulsa from his home in Washing-ton state to study worship music at Oral Roberts Uni-

versity. He says many of the band members also perform with church bands and cites the church music scene as an important fac-tor in the development of Tulsa’s wealth of musical talent.

That worship influence was evident in many of the band’s songs, both in sound and thematic content. Red Wood Rising was at its best when it let southern rock seep in, and the small audience took note.

The small crowds and poor organization of OK Greenfest did not do justice to the talent on display. And as for the “green” in Greenfest? A handful of recycling contain-ers in the area around the main stage was the only visible evidence of environmental consciousness of any kind.

“Despite the mass exodus of

OU fans ... and the inebriated

antics of the few who stayed,

Red Wood Rising delivered a

high-energy folk rock set”

variety THE COLLEGIAN : 627 SEPTEMBER 2011

From their lofty vantage point, the stars gaze out across the half-awake world. There is magic in the stars —magic boundless and unbidden. What I’m saying is that we aren’t responsible for any of this and if you have a problem with it, you can just go shake your fists impotently at the sky. Okay?

Aries— In a bid to look more mature, more mysterious and wiser, you will purchase a fedora from a foreigner in a mall kiosk—you will consider it, at least. Please don’t, the stars beg you. This is one of those fash-ion choices we can all agree that you would look back on with shame.

Taurus—That nagging feeling of having forgotten something incredibly important isn’t just nerves, man. You’ve forgotten something. A big thing. This is also some-thing you’ll look back on with shame. How are we supposed to know what it is? The stars are tricky, bud.

Gemini—In an effort to broaden your cul-tural horizons and awaken your own in-nate humanity, you will set off toward an unknown island nation where the languag-es are so obscure that not even Wikipedia knows what to tell you. Will you find the fountain of youth? Or just a vicious intes-tinal worm? Who knows—but adventure is key to a vibrant life and no risks should ever deter you.

Cancer—You will hit up a garage sale and be overwhelmingly enthralled by the collec-tion of children’s books that the proprietor has for sale. You will excitedly buy them all to reclaim a little bit of your lost innocence. But who will you be kidding, you’re an adult now. You’re not allowed to have fun anymore.

Leo—Leo! Hey, Leo! How’ve you been? How you doing? Good to see you! Listen man, the stars know they owe you some money. You remember when. Listen, they think you’re cool. They wanted to tell you they’d get you back soon. Alright? Yeah, the stars have got your back. But hey, do you have a pickup truck? I’m just asking. The stars are moving soon. Be a buddy—you know the stars are good for it.

Virgo—Big Brother is watching you.

Libra—Realizing that you never really gave it a chance, you’ll tune in to a profes-sional wrestling match like “Hell in a Cell.” There’ll be ladders and barbed wire, folding chairs and human blood—and you’ll love it. But then you’ll have to deal with being the only person amongst your friends who has any respect for it. Don’t worry, should they ever talk back to you, just hit them with a flying arm bar and smash their faces into the ground.

Scorpio—Learn a simple card trick. You’ll be able to get mileage out of that for years, and everyone knows magicians are the beat-ing hearts of every good party. Be the guy who actually has ropes, scissors and endless scarves whipping out of his pocket. Get tal-ented. What do you have to lose? Just time. What do you have to gain? Only the whole world.

Sagittarius—As remarkable as it sounds, you may soon be the first lucky human to get an opportunity to ride in a real, no-nonsense time machine. You may think to yourself “All of the things I could do! I get to go back in time and change history!” But the stars say hold on there, cowboy. You’re barely affecting the world right now—what exactly makes you think that just existing in 1900 or 200 is going to result in anything other than a quick death from disease, hun-ger and probably violence? Time machines really suck, honestly.

Capricorn—Fed up with being buffeted at all times by a barrage of nonsense celebrity gossip and political gridlock in the news, you will bag up your possessions and head out to the woods. But hold onto your bindle there, buddy. Do you realize how boring the woods are? The stars want you to come to your senses. Don’t ever do that.

Aquarius—The sudden realization that you have a higher chance of being killed while driving a car than you do while doing any-thing else will finally really get to you, and you’ll sell your car and swear off the road forever. Your friends will hate you for this. It’s not that they’re really mad, but they definitely won’t be able to help themselves, unless you thank them often. Basically, be kind to your friends. Pisces—They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Whatever you do with that information, the stars leave it up to you.

sarah szaboGuest Writer

OK Greenfest lets down fansDespite sponsors and promotions, OK Greenfest lacked crowd support.

emiLy CaLLenStudent Writer

Fashion is not just high couture and over-priced designer names. Fashion can come at any price, from any place and can be perfected by anyone—it is an expression of individual personality, emotions and self-worth. This column will cover trends and designers, and it will give advice on how to make even the most outrageous trends into do-able and affordable outfits.

We begin this week with one of my favor-ite designers, Marc Jacobs. Known for his kooky and colorful collections, Jacobs ex-plores new fashion frontiers and pushes the limits. This fall he focused his luxury col-lection on Fetish and Spots. For censoring purposes we’ll focus on the latter.

While polka-dots might seem little-girl-ish, these particular spots have a grown-up, feminine attitude. Jacobs creates an air of the polished, powerful female with knee-length pencil skirts, perfectly tailored blous-es and sophisticated driving gloves. I would usually not recommend wearing head-to-toe polka dots, yet this fall I find myself eager to jump into the sea of spots everyday.

Jacobs might be too adventurous for some, but there are easy ways to push the limits when it comes to your wardrobe. Sim-ple, everyday pieces are a great way to start going dotty.

If you like wearing cardigans, opt for one with some black and white spots. If you like

tank tops, grab one that is showered with polka dots and pair it with dark skinny jeans and cute flats. It’s an instantly casual and sleek look.

For an adventurous night out, Stella Mc-Cartney has created gorgeous dotted cock-tail dresses. The top is a sheer material with cut-out dots dispersed strategically to cover the chest area. The bottom is a beautifully crafted, solid-colored, knee-length skirt with overlapping dots, almost like scales on a mermaid.

This fall, I will be taking my dots to the next level by investing in some spotty sheer black tights. While I’m on the hunt for a place to purchase them for a decent price, please try out this dotty trend, and always remember to throw in your personality. Un-til next time, keep a keen eye out for the lat-est fashion trends.

Spots dominate fall coutureDesigner Marc Jacobs gives a mature and powerful edge to girlish polka-dots.

aLLison steWartSports Editor

Photo courtesy Marc Jacobs

This outfit is one of the many sophisticated takes on spots in Jacobs’ luxury polka-dots collection for the fall season.

30, and covered topics as varied as HIV/AIDS, cancer, the impact of the war in Af-ghanistan on natives and the lives of brick kiln workers in modern India.

Seeing each of these topics presented to-gether invokes a feeling of unified humanity, as well as a greater appreciation for the me-dium of film in the hands of a talented artist. One often has the opportunity to speak with the directors after screenings.

Ultimately, of all the films I saw, about two-thirds were entirely worth watching.

But I did not see even 10 percent of the fes-tival. With films screening simultaneously in three venues from 10 a.m.–11 p.m., see-ing everything is impossible.

But having an abundance of choice is vi-tal to the success of this type of event.

Additionally, the peripheral workshops, clinics and activities provide an active coun-terpart to the passive nature of film viewing.

With a massive selection of films and activities and a minimum of technical dif-ficulties, the first annual Tulsa International Film Festival was a success and accom-plished its goal admirably.

From Film cover

“Jacobs explores new fashion frontiers and pushes the limits”

by Cory bys

1. Lay out under the stars—You would hopefully be doing this with a significant other, but if you don’t have one, the stars still look nice.

2. Play ultimate frisbee—You’re in college. This is what we do.

3. Read a book—No one can get mad at you for reading a book. (Video games, maybe.) Who has ever said, “Dude, why do you read so much?” They’ll see you out on the U and will wonder why they’re not as cultured and studious as you are.

4. Play/listen to music—Or listen to that kid playing “Hey There Delilah.” He shouldn’t be very hard to find.

5. Campus golf—You’ve probably judged the guys outside for doing this, but honestly, it’s pretty fun.

6. Frisbee golf—McClure Park on 11th and Memo-rial is a good place to learn if you’ve never played be-

fore. It’s all the fun of golf but doesn’t cost $40.

7. Invest in a hammock—For those of you who know the wonders of hammock-ing on a beautiful day, please share with those of us who aren’t fortunate enough to own one.

8. Tulsa Zoo—Who doesn’t love seeing cute, fluffy ani-mals playing on a beautiful day? The animals love good weather too! Go check ’em out for only $8. The zoo is located at 6421 E. 36th St. North.

9. Hurricane Thursday—TU Treks Camp Out is this Thursday out on the U. This is the time to display your outdoors-y prowess and all the skills you learned as a Cub Scout or Girl Scout.

10. Tulsa RiverWalk—Head out to 96th Street Arkansas River bridge and enjoy the restaurants, movies, shops and trails your little outdoorsy heart desires.

Things to do outside

The Tulsa Ballet’s performance of “The Merry Widow” was a dazzling confection that effortlessly combined cheeky panto-mime with graceful waltzing.

As a modern ballet—first choreographed in 1975 by Ronald Hynd, who also choreo-graphed this production—it has all of the beauty of classical ballet with the incorpora-tion of modern movement.

It tells the tale of a country on the verge of bankruptcy and the elaborate courting of a wealthy widow whose finances could restore fictional Pontevedro to its former glory.

The story is less well known than “Romeo and Juliet” or “Cinderella,” so the dancing must be beautiful and drive the story.

The romantic male lead (Alfanso Mar-tín as Count Danilo) enters the first scene drunk, although he staggers artfully around the stage.

Two dances also feature the Ambassa-dor’s wife and her lover the French Attaché, in which he begs her to sleep with him and she playfully resists.

In Act II, a group of Pontevedrian men, led by the athletic Ma Cong, dazzle as a troupe of traditional dancers, flying through the air and landing spectacular turns.

The full orchestra was outstanding, the

costumes managed to look period-appropri-ate while still being danceable, and the vary-ing styles of movement would keep even the most jaded teenager engaged.

Genuinely funny, sweet and beautiful, “The Merry Widow” was an approachable treat for all ages. The Tulsa Ballet certainly kicked off its season with a flying grande jêté and a saucy grin.

VarietyTHE COLLEGIAN : 7 27 SEPTEMBER 2011

On Sept. 17th, T-town was treated to an extra helping of delicious musical dessert thanks to Katy Perry’s candy-coated concert experience.

Perry is one of the most ubiquitous and commercial pop stars in the world at the mo-ment, having broken the illustrious Michael Jackson’s record for most number-one hits from a single album.

Her fantastic production certainly reflects the sheer magnitude of her fame. A delight-ful concoction of cotton candy clouds and colorful costumes, Perry’s creation was constantly entertaining—good cheeky fun all around.

This over-the-top confection of a concert had more than your daily value’s worth of number-one hits, rapid-fire costume chang-es and candyland-inspired sets.

The production featured a very loose nar-rative which somehow managed to incorpo-rate an evil butcher, a giant purple cat and a chorus line of gingerbread men.

Of course, “Peacock” was a visually stun-ning tribute to feather-clad showgirls, and naturally, “E.T.” featured the most incred-ible laser display I’ve ever seen, and yes, “Firework” was accompanied by pyrotech-nics.

Yet beneath the show’s frosted layers is a slightly unsavory truth: Katy simply is not a fantastic live singer. At times she warbles and wavers, naked without the studio pro-duction that usually sugar coats her voice.

This is not to say that her performance was unbearable, or even unenjoyable, but rather it gives credence to the cynical belief that vocal talent is not required in order to become famous and successful.

In addition, her show contains all the cul-tural and sexual shock so in vogue in the en-tertainment industry but lacks the depth to back it up. Lyrics about sexual experimen-tation and male genitalia, while titillating, are no more than thin layers of icing atop a solid, commercial hunk of pop-cake.

I could not help comparing the legendary California Girl to the last pop goddess to

invade the BOK Center, and being held up against the great Gaga unfortunately does no favors for Perry.

Love her or hate her, Lady Gaga has the pipes to back up her fame as a singer. When Gaga shocks her audience, it is a truly polar-izing experience, because deep down there is a terrifying believability to her antics. When Perry shocks—think whipped cream bra or kissing girls—it is simply fun, but al-most tacky.

At one point during her concert, Katy’s “character” eats a brownie that happens to be—well, homemade. While the moment was humorous, I could not help but raise an eyebrow at the transition from cupcakes and confetti to blatant drug use.

Cynicism aside, perhaps part of Katy’s infectious appeal is in this seeming shal-lowness; sure, it’s not thought-provoking or soul-sustaining, but Katy Perry’s produc-tion—and in fact her whole persona—is giddy, fantastic fun.

You can be as critical as you like, but when it comes down to it, refusing to belt out “I KISSED A GIRL, AND I LIKED IT!” is like refusing a giant strawberry cupcake with vanilla icing, chocolate sprinkles and a giant red cherry on top. You simply cannot resist.

Katy Perry is the cherry on topPerry’s performance at the BOK Center, though shallow, was an enjoyable experience.

anna bennettStudent Writer

As fog blankets the stage, the band begins to play and Taylor Swift appears. Fireworks rain down from above as she begins the show with her hit single “Sparks Fly.” The piercing screams of a completely sold-out crowd drown out Swift’s voice, making it nearly impossible to hear her singing.

During her time in Tulsa, Swift paid homage to famous Oklahoma bands the All-American Rejects and The Flaming Lips. She sang AAR’s “Swing Swing,” and the lyrics, “Do you realize you have the most beautiful face,” from the Flaming Lips song “Do You Realize” were scrolled on her arm.

To fans’ delight, the set list included such

hits as “You Belong with Me,” “Mine,” “Love Story,” “Back to December” and “Better than Revenge.”

The show featured elaborate sets, pyro-technics, a multitude of dancers and her fa-mous hair flips.

Swift also made it a point to interact with the entire audience. She walked down either side of the floor seating areas and socialized with the audience. She also performed on a smaller, rotating stage in the back of the arena, and at the end of the show, a balcony lifted her up and around the upper tiers of the arena.

The grandiose performance of the Speak Now Tour will forever remain imprinted on the minds of those in attendance.

Just as swiftly as she came into town, she was gone—setting off to Kansas City for the next night’s show. As the Swifties would say, “Long Live.”

Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons

Perry’s candyland-themed storyline proves to be colorful and entertaining.

DanieLLe aLonziStudent Writer

Sparkles, fireworks and the hair flip—Taylor Swift takes on the BOK.

Suqin Lin / The Collegian

Taylor Swift gives a nod to Oklahoma rock band The Flaming Lips with some of their lyrics scrawled on her

Swift gives impressive performance

“The Merry Widow” a stunning balletic comedy

The Tulsa Ballet pleases crowds with its comedic and beautiful performance.

KaeDi LoveStudent Writer

Photo courtesy Tulsa Ballet

“The Merry Widow” takes place in Paris in 1905; it is filled with love triangles, humor and intrigue.

Graphic by Stephanie H

ice / Collegian

Crickets invade campus

my weekend mistress?No, I could not wait for politics.

A presidential election every four years? I have needs—needs that football satisfies four times as of-ten as politics.

But more than that, I could not abide the diseases that politics car-ries. Yes, football has her flaws—a little corruption (Ohio State), some criminal history (Miami), a touch of greed (BCS). But what is unattractive in football is 10 times more pronounced in politics. She is corrupt from head to toe, has no standards whatsoever and lets nothing rule her more than unbri-dled covetousness.

She is violent and abusive. Whether you love her or not, she will beat and bind you with her laws and police and wiretaps and zoning codes and regulations. With football, a difference of opinion usually boils down to sentiment and regional affection. With poli-tics, every disagreement is deadly serious; she will not let you agree to disagree. One point of view will prevail over the other, with all the force of the justice system brought to bear on the losing opinion.

I left politics for football be-cause my life goes on just the same whether or not my team wins or

Opinion THE COLLEGIAN : 827 SEPTEMBER 2011

I never thought I would say this, but Rick Perry was right; the U.S. approach to Israel has failed. However, it did not fail in the way that Perry imagines. U.S. policy has not failed because it is “betray-ing” Israel or because supporting Palestinian independence is an im-moral action. It has failed because it ig-nored the importance of self-determination. It has applied a double standard whereby the main coun-tries of the Arab Spring—Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and so on—receive copious ver-bal support while Palestine, embroiled in its own self-determination struggle, re-ceives only vague promises of a future state. For Palestine, the time is never now.

I would prefer that Israel and Palestine become a single secular state, in which citizens can live to-gether in harmony. There, Israelis and Palestinians could look to one another for support should Israel-Palestine be threatened by an out-side force. Such as solution, how-ever, appears impossible. First, the right-wing nationalist-dominated Israeli government (headed by Benjamin Netanyahu) would re-fuse this, as would the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). Their mutual distrust is due to de-cades of conflict—conflict which could probably have been avoided with a little foresight.

If Israel-Palestine cannot exist, then it is probably best that Israel and Palestine exist as separate, self-governing countries. The PLO has already recognized the legiti-macy of the Israeli state, while Israel has yet to acknowledge the PLO as the legitimate representa-tive of the Palestinian people. Is-rael’s continued occupation of the West Bank is especially to be con-demned. Along with Israel’s settle-ment policy, it is part of a continu-ing cycle of violence.

The truth is not as either side would have it. The Israeli govern-ment contends that Hamas and the PLO are the sole perpetrators of violence. The PLO blames the Is-raeli military and the settlers it is supposed to protect.

Violence, however, is rooted in the region’s history, reaching back

further than 1948 and the British Mandate. Prior to the creation of a Jewish state, Palestine was not an “empty land” as it has sometimes been argued.

Significant populations of Arabs already lived in what is now Israel. It is an often-overlooked fact that the violence that led up to the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict began earlier in clashes between indigenous Ar-abs and immigrating Zionists.

The violence began almost as soon as the possibility of a Jewish state in the Holy Land was raised. England’s 1917 Balfour Declara-tion, which promised the creation of such a state, could be consid-ered the cause of the whole “Israeli problem.” Violence stemmed from

an international group attempt-ing to carve a Jewish state out of a populated area. The Palestinians were the rightful inhabitants of the land, and hundreds of thousands were pushed out by Britain and new Israelis, as well as the Arab-Israeli conflict itself.

While it is true that massive numbers of Jewish refugees had nowhere else to go at the end of World War II, it is also false to say that the resulting influx of Israeli immigrants spurred the conflict. The conflict was ongoing even at the time. The Palestinians should be looked upon not as victims, but as rightful claimants. They have a right to the land, especially the West Bank.

This reality is important to con-sider as Palestine seeks a place in the United Nations. It means that

Palestine should be treated like a mature country. In-ternational law already considers the West Bank occupied territory, not Is-raeli, and the PLO is nearly universally recognized as the legitimate representa-tive of the Palestinian peo-ple. Palestine has a rightful claim to the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

This does not mean that negotiations should not continue. Talks should go on, and must go on if the situation is ever to be re-solved. It does not mean that Pal-estine, possessing a recognized representative organization, a de-fined territory and a population of citizens, should not get a voice in the world’s international forum.

The “Jewish question” of the 19th century became the “Arab question” of the 20th. Both are prejudiced and unjust frames of reference. It is time for Israel and Palestine to accept moral equiva-lence, behave like responsible modern countries, and start talking about the “peace question.” Wel-come to the 21st century.

“I would prefer that Israel

and Palestine become a single

secular state in which citizens

can live together in harmony”

Point: Hardline posturing by Israel contributes to violence and aggravates tensions over Palestinian statehood.

KyLe WaLKerStudent Writer

“Bruchim Habaim” is the Hebrew phrase for “welcome,” the first words of that modernized Biblical language I saw as I landed in Is-rael for my six-month-long study abroad trip. The sights and sounds, the vibrant culture and life-style and the delicious foods I missed so dearly all reminded me that Israel will thrive for gener-ations to come.

The history of that land is long and complex. Volumes could be written on the transfer of power between ancient empires and peoples, but the im-portant fact is that archaeological record places the first nomadic tribe, led by Abraham, in the area circa 1800 B.C.

Famine forced this tribe to leave the mountains and settle in Egypt until Moses led the Israelites on the “Exodus from Egypt” c. 1250 B.C. to what was then called Canaan. The historical evidence hearkens back to the story of the covenant between (God) and Abraham: that (God’s) “chosen people” shall live in the “Promised Land.”

In modern history, the State of Israel has been labeled the aggres-sor in conflicts with the rest of the Arab world far too often. I fail to see this logic. The Jews living in the British Mandate for Palestine prior to Israeli independence were in favor of United Nations Reso-lution 181 (November 1947) to partition the land into two separate and sovereign nations. The Arabs, however, refused the plan and thus carried the region into decades of conflict and wars.

Israel succeeded in every war it fought because of the grave real-ization that its opponents’ goal is to wipe it off the map. Despite this opposition, Israel continuously stood strong, and when other Arab nations began to accept the exis-tence of a Jewish state, Israeli gov-ernment officials worked collec-tively towards peace agreements.

Today, violent terrorist organi-

zations have taken power in areas from which Israel has withdrawn troops. Hezbollah seized control of the Golan Heights with the tacit approval of Syria and Lebanon, causing terror in the north of Israel. After the 2006 Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, Hamas (recognized by the U.S. as a terrorist organi-zation) came to power through quasi-democratic elections. The onslaught of rocket attacks against numerous Israeli cities near Gaza and the Israeli need to retaliate have stalled any negotiations for peace in that region.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said many times that his government is willing to negotiate with Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian National Au-

thority, which governs the West Bank. There is, however, a jus-tifiable concern that any nego-tiations must preserve Israel’s ability to defend itself.

The PNA is now fighting a major public rela-tions battle in the international are-na when it should be trying to con-trol its violent brethren in Gaza. Palestine, as it stands now, is sim-ply not ready for statehood. Until it shows a willingness to “love thy neighbor as thyself,”—or at least show a cessation of daily rocket attacks—there is no cause to enter another round of fruitless negotia-tion.

I have stood atop a hill on the campus of Tel Aviv University and could see to the east the pre-1967 border of Israel that left the country only nine miles wide. The inherent danger in allowing a hos-tile sovereign state so close to the heart of one of the world’s prolific economies and the foremost center of technological innovation out-side of Silicon Valley is absurd.

Setting aside religious affilia-tion or bias, the importance of the existence of Israel is paramount. Israel produces more Nobel Lau-reates per capita than any other na-tion, and the U.S. benefits greatly from shared military intelligence between the two nations.

While the current situation is by no means ideal, the PA’s public relations approach is moot unless they can control the violence from Hamas and truly show the world they want peace. I hope that stabil-ity someday comes to the region, but until then, I want the ability to visit my friends and family and enjoy the food and culture of the Jewish state of Israel.

Counterpoint: Palestinian self-determination must wait until radical groups like Hamas are controlled.

matt siLiesStudent Writer

In my final two years of high school, I was an avid devotee of the long campaign season of the Republican and Democratic primary elections. I did have a horse in the race—albeit a horse of jettest black hair—and so while I wore shirts and buttons and held signs and donated money, I would have been quickly burned out if not for the sheer fun of speculation and competition:

“Can Romney recover from los-ing Iowa?”

“Will Edwards try cutting

some sort of deal with Clinton or Obama?”

“Does Huckabee have any sort of appeal outside of the Bible Belt?”

“How about those super-dele-gates, huh?”

But in between this election and that, a new love stole my heart away from politics. I had shied away from her advances in my youth because I did not feel big enough or strong enough to show her any affection, but she found her way to my heart through my mind. I was helpless to resist.

Football, you see, captivates me in much the same way that poli-tics once did. Politics arouses my

instinct for justice, but so does a healthy debate about the BCS post-season and a hypothetical playoff.

The competitive fire of poli-tics induced me to tune into many a TV debate, but differences of opinion flow just as freely at your local sports bar or on SportsCenter (with Lou Holtz in the role of Ron Paul, though unlike Paul, I never agree with him).

Instead of guessing who will win the New Hampshire primary, I now jaw about who deserves a BCS bid. Should a one-loss SEC

team get priority over an un-defeated Boise State? The question captivates me more than the significance of a win in the Iowa straw poll.

But why, if politics and football share much of the same attraction, did I bother to divorce my first love and invest so much time learning

the ways of a new idol? Could I not have been content to stay mar-ried to politics, keeping football as

John LepineStudent Writer

Feelings for football supplant political passion

Though politics and football share the same contentious spirit, America’s sport proves more alluring.

See Football page 9

“I have needs—needs that

football satisfies four times

as often as politics”

“Any negotiations

must preserve

Israel’s ability to

defend itself”

loses. Politics continues to impact my life in real, usually negative ways. I left politics for football because I like speculating about whether LSU is better than Alabama more than whether I will be ruled by the greedy

slimeball or the self-important fool. I left politics for football because there are better ways to fix the world than through politics, and there are more fun things to enjoy.

See you at the game.

opinionTHE COLLEGIAN : 9 27 SEPTEMBER 2011

On Sept. 8, President Obama addressed the nation to outline what he called the “Ameri-can Jobs Act.” This bill is a $440 billion attempt to stimulate the economy and create up to a million jobs. It uses middle-class tax cuts, extended unemployment insurance and increased spending on transporta-tion and education infra-structure, among other things. Its funding will mostly come from higher tax rates for the super-rich, ensuring that they pay the same rate as the average middle-class family.

A few things strike me about this bill and the debate surrounding it. It seems like everyone loves the objectives of many of the bill’s spending measures, like building roads and supporting teachers and schools. However, many people think that such proj-ects are too expensive for our nation to af-ford. I find that argument hard to believe. We are living in the richest country in the history of the world. There is almost noth-ing that the United States of America, as a society, cannot afford.

The real problem is that we Americans are hesitant to tax our population, especially the rich, to pay for high-quality public ser-vices. If we want to have good roads or a quality educational system, we are going to have to admit that we will need to pay for them through taxation, a pill many Ameri-cans are unwilling to swallow.

Also, I find it amazing that the only peo-ple being considered for increased taxation are those who make more than a million dollars a year: around 400,000 to 500,000 people. On a national scale, that is not very many. We are also talking about the rich-est people in the wealthiest country in the world. Although these people have certainly worked very hard to earn their money, it is foolhardy to believe that the society they were born into did nothing to allow them to amass their fortunes.

For example, loopholes enable them to avoid paying income taxes in favor of low-er-rate capital gains taxes. Asking them to contribute the same tax rate as the rest of the country is more than fair, and cries of “class

warfare” are ig-n o r a n t and un-founded.

Also, w h i l e m a n y w i l l a r g u e that this tax on

America’s investors will weaken our econ-omy, they fail to see that the tax will keep money in the American economy. Just be-cause the money will pass though the gov-ernment’s hands does not mean it will disap-pear, as the Tea Party would have us believe. The money will go not to Wall Street inves-tors or more profitable foreign endeavors, but to the American worker.

On its own, Obama’s jobs bill will not end the recession or the threat of future re-cessions. The bill will also do little to tackle stunning economic inequalities developing in American society. Solving these prob-lems will take a much more fundamental change than what is possible with our cur-rent political divisions.

This bill will cause a minor annoyance to 500,000 of the most affluent people on earth and provide a livelihood for close to a million lacking one. This bill will rebuild

“This bill will rebuild our

decaying schools, repave our

crumbling roads and sustain

our unemployed countrymen”

Obama plan to restore America’s jobs fits the bill

Raising taxes on the ultra-wealthy is justified to revive the nation’s infrastructure.

J Christopher

proCtor Student Writer

From Football page 8

our decaying schools, repave our crumbling roads and sustain our unemployed country-men. It will keep teachers in their class-rooms and our construction workers on the job.

This bill is a compromise, a word deep-ly rooted in our political tradition that has somehow gained a negative connotation in recent years. It asks the rich to sacrifice some of their earnings for the good of the country. The bill asks Democrats to sacrifice their dreams of social well-being for all and

Republicans to sacrifice their ideals of low taxation for America’s investing class.

Most of all, this bill recognizes the sac-rifices of American workers who are living in a society in which merely getting by is becoming almost impossible. It recognizes their struggles and attempts to do some-thing to give them a part of the compromise they have been missing out on for years. Congress should pass this critical piece of legislation right away.

THE COLLEGIAN : 1027 SEPTEMBER 2011