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FRIDAY APRIL 17, 2009
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Hundreds of students paid to soak fellow Sooners on the South Oval for a good cause. PAGE 3
newsFreshman guard Willie Warren is returning to OU for his sophomore season. PAGE 6
Looking for a good wine?
Check out the ‘Wine of the
Week’. PAGE 9 50%
JAMES CORNWELL/ THE DAILY
Lindsay Humphrey, University College freshman, works on homework Thursday afternoon on the South Oval. Wireless internet is available in many locations across campus.
Around 90 percent of campus buildings offerwireless access
CADIE THOMPSONThe Oklahoma Daily
About 90 percent of academic build-ings on campus now have wireless Internet access, and the buildings with-out access are in the process of getting connected.
In the past two years, OU has ex-panded dramatically its wireless ac-cess capabilities, said Nicholas Key, OU Information Technology spokesman.
Key said IT has been focused on providing wireless access primarily in classrooms, implementing access as construction and renovations finish.
“We’re working on a building-by-
building basis,” he said.Recent wireless additions include
David L. Boren Hall and about 90 per-cent of the Fred Jones Museum Jr. of Art. Full wireless access in the museum will be implemented upon completion of current renovations.
The Reynolds’s Performing Arts Center’s Green Room also received a wireless connection about two weeks ago.
Performing arts students have praised their newly acquired Internet access, said Laura Stephenson, acting senior.
She said drama students spend a lot of time in the Green Room, a room where actors and crew members can break between performances, and have wanted Internet access in the area for over two years.
campus going wirelesswithout restrictions
WIRELESS CONTINUES ON PAGE 2
QUEER CONTINUES ON PAGE 2
After delay, 4,800 students plan to participate in Big Event Saturday
KRISTIN MASONContributing Writer
Even though The Big Event’s original date was snowed out, that didn’t prevent one group of volunteers from getting to their work site to help the community.
The Construction Student Association was scheduled to help construct a Norman house on March 28, the day of the original Big Event, but when the plans changed, some of the group members decided to try to get the job done anyway.
Project manager Josh Carson said about eight members of the group showed up to do what they could inside the house.
“We still had the group that came out and volunteered so we were able to stay right on track,” Carson said.
The group started with about 30 volun-teers, and now have about 15 or 20, Carson said. The number of volunteers for the whole event also plummeted.
Group manager Sarah Brockhaus said the project is beneficial to the volunteers as well as the homeowners. They did not want to pass up the opportunity for extra practice in the field, and the chance to help.
“It gives us technical experience, and a chance to give back to the community as an organization,” Brockhaus said.
The goal was also to make sure the build-ing of the house stayed on schedule, so the family can move in on the scheduled date, Brockhaus said. The family, sponsored by Habitat for Humanity, is expected to move in on May 5.
The house, located on Himes Street between Main and Robinson streets, still needs a lot of work. Habitat for Humanity has been working on the house for a total of 10 days, and this Saturday, more students with the Construction Student Association will help to get the house completed for the Norman family.
Student volunteers build home
Panel discusses collaborative ideas and topics of new class requested by students
RENEE SELANDERSThe Oklahoma Daily
Fifteen students and faculty explored queer theory at the “What is Queer Studies?” panel Thursday night, learning more about the first queer studies class at OU and brainstorming ways to bring similar courses to the university.
Held in the Women’s Studies Library, the panel discussed topics of OU’s first queer studies class, Queer Theory, which the Women’s Studies Program will offer this summer. Student requests for queer studies classes brought this new course to OU.
Sponsored by OU Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered and Friends as part of OU Gay Pride Week, the panel featured Lisa Foster, panelist and women’s studies professor; Clemencia Rodriguez, wom-en’s studies program associate professor; and Madeline Ambrose, women’s studies sophomore.
“‘To queer’ means to say ‘OK, instead of this person being cast as a straight person or being cast as a gay person, why don’t we look at the
Summer course focuses on queer studies
RENEE SELANDERS/THE DAILY
Women’s studies program associate professors Lisa Foster (left) and Clemencia Rodriguez listen to student feedback at the “What is Queer Studies?” panel Thursday, hosted by OU GLBTF. Students gathered in the Women’s Studies Library to learn more about OU’s first queer theory class offered this summer.
OKC bombing survivor recounts memories of April 19, 1995
RICKY MARANONThe Oklahoma Daily
Nearly 14 years after the Oklahoma City bombing, the wounds are healed but one OU student’s scars will always serve as a reminder of that tragic day.
Chris Nguyen, University College freshman, was one of five children on the second-floor day care center who survived the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building on April 19, 1995.
“I don’t actually remember any-thing specifically about that day,” he said. “People show me clips and vid-eos, and I get memories of the day care in general ... we were a close knit group of kids.”
There were 21 children present in the America’s Kids day care center that morning.
Nguyen said he was playing in the bathroom sink when the bomb exploded and was found by rescu-ers under a pile of debris. He said if he hadn’t been in the bathroom, he wouldn’t have survived.
“As a kid, I had an affinity for water,” he said. “I guess it was fate that led me in the bathroom at that time that morning.”
Many of the day care survivors don’t remember the events of the day as much as their recoveries, said Nancy Coggins, Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum
When only the scars are left
AMY FROST/THE DAILY
Chris Nguyen, University College freshman, was one of the five children that survived the Oklahoma City Murrah Federal Building bombing on April 19, 1995.SCARS CONTINUES ON PAGE 2
communications director. “Since Chris is the oldest
one at the center that morn-ing, he will remember the most out of the five that sur-vived,” she said.
But Nguyen has physical reminders of the devastating morning.
“I have a lot of scars and burn marks all over my body,” he said. “I also went through some general trauma, and had to talk to some people about it.”
Nguyen said he f inds Timothy McVeigh’s and Terry Nichols’ actions disturbing but doesn’t think it’s right for him to judge them.
“It troubles me that some-one would go to the extremes of that length to achieve a pur-pose,” he said.
Nguyen plans to visit the Oklahoma City National Memorial Sunday.
“I go back every year,” he said. “When I go to the memo-rial, it seems very real.”
Nguyen said the site cap-tures the moment of some-thing that’s surreal in his mind until he visits.
He also said he appreciates those from around the coun-try who visit to show support for the victims.
“It shows that people care about things that matter,” he said.
person?’” Foster said.In an interview prior to the panel, Rodriguez,
who will be teaching Queer Theory, said the course will study theories of modernization as well as studies of gay and lesbian social and political is-sues. Rodriguez said this critique of moderniza-tion, which led to the social norm of pigeonholing people in rigid societal roles, will allow students to better understand queer studies.
“All those categories and labels come from mo-dernity, which basically forces you to categorize
everything – gender, race, class, ethnicity, sexu-ality, etcetera,” Rodriguez said. “Most of the time our personal experiences actually spill over the categories.”
This new class will incorporate studies of social and political theories that evaluate social norms and how marginalized groups become viewed as second-class citizens, Rodriguez said.
“Gay and lesbian people also ... have been pushed by modernity to the status of second-class citizens” Rodriguez said. “That’s why I think that all these theories need to be looked at as a family of theories.”
Foster said Rodriguez’s method of teaching queer studies using broad social and political
theories better allows students to discuss queer theory.
“In our [society], we have cognitive folders for racial struggle, civil rights and even gender strug-gle, and so I think when you start putting queer theory as a critical theory in conversation with these other theories, that helps make it more un-derstandable and palatable,” Foster said.
Jessie St. Amand, English sophomore and OU GLBTF president, said the prospect of having more queer studies classes at OU shows the com-munity matters in the university setting.
“It would mean that issues that relate to their lives are given privilege in academic departments for the first time,” St. Amand said.
2 Friday, April 17, 2009
Walker/Adams
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The new connection has been beneficial for students who use the room, Stephenson said.
Another major wireless improvement on campus is access in Bizzell Memorial Library, Key said.
“Just about every nook and cranny in the library is now wireless,” he said.
But access is not limited to buildings. There are now several outdoor areas where students can access the Web.
The North and South Ovals, Walker-Adams Mall and areas outside the library are now wired to better serve students.
Wireless projects underway include the two Cate buildings along Lindsey Street and the Cate building on the southeast side, Key said.
He said IT is currently working with Housing and Food Services to provide funding for wireless access to these buildings. All dorm buildings have gained wireless access as renovations have been completed.
IT also plans to make all classrooms on the first floor of the Physical Sciences Center wireless this summer.
With more than 800 wireless access points and a total of 16 buildings across campus geared for a wireless hook-up, OU’s Internet connection has not gone unnoticed.
PC Magazine has ranked OU 10th in the nation in its past two editions of America’s Top Wired Colleges.
But making OU one of the most recognized wireless campuses in the nation is no simple task, especially be-cause of the size of the campus, Key said.
“One of the challenges we face is we are very spread out, and that adds quite a bit of complexity to wireless networks,” he said.
He said IT’s priority is not to simply make every inch of campus wireless, but to get wireless access to locations on campus where it will be most used by students.
To fund the wireless access, IT takes advantage of other technology efficiencies to reduce its costs, Key said.
“We could certainly look and say we’re going to blan-ket it square to square, but that money would be wasted,” he said. “I think the way we’ve approached it is looking at high-priority areas and cost savings. We don’t want to waste opportunity where it can be used.”
WirelessContinues from page 1
ScarsContinues from page 1
QueerContinues from page 1 16 — Children lost in the Alfred
P. Murrah Federal Building day care center3 — Children lost in the building with their parents in the Social Security Administration offi ce5 — Children inside the fed-eral building who survived the bombing168 — Number of men, women and children who diedSource: Oklahoma City National
Memorial and Museum
OKC BOMBINGBY THE NUMBERS
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OU students were dunked for dollars on the South Oval Thursday for Tau Kappa Omega’s philanthropy week.
The fraternity set up the tank outside Bizzell Memorial Library, charging $1 per ball to dunk mem-bers of the Multicultural Greek Council, Asian American Student Association, Vietnamese Student Association and Tri-Delta.
All of the money raised from the fraternity’s philanthropy week will go to the Sunfl ower Mission, which donates money to build schools in Southeast Asian coun-tries, Trung Bui, president of Tau Kappa Omega and fi nance junior, said.
“A lot of us know the signifi-cance [of our giving],” Bui said. “We’re really fortunate to have good schools in the U.S.”
V i c t o r T r a n , A e r o s p a c e Engineering sophomore, who volunteered to be dunked, said he felt good about sacrifi cing his dryness because he knows the funding for the Sunfl ower Mission won’t fi x the problem now, but will hopefully help long term.
“I might go to work a little wet, but that’s fi ne with me,” he said. — Jamie Birdwell/The Daily
A DIP A DOLLAR
Friday, April 17, 2009 3
LILLY CHAPA/THE DAILY
Trung Bui, finance senior and president of Tau Kappa Omega, emerges from the water after being dunked Thursday in the South Oval. The fraternity set up the dunking booth to raise money for the Sunflower Mission, which builds schools in Southeast Asia.
POLICE REPORTS
Names are compiled from the Norman Police Depart-
ment and OUPD. The reports serve as a record of
arrests and citations, not convictions. Those listed are
innocent until proven guilty.
PETTY LARCENY
Bobby Dee Akins, 26, 2132 W. Main St., Tuesday, also
obstructing an offi cer
COUNTY WARRANT
Jose Baladez, 29, West state Highway 9, Wednesday
Dustin Wesley Nievar, 21, Leeds Lane, Wednesday
MUNICIPAL WARRANT
Thomas Chandonayne Farris, 30, 1532 Oak Circle,
Wednesday
Gloriadean Jeannette Lancaster, 40, 201 W. Gray St.,
Wednesday
Michael Ashley Marand, 27, 320 Paxton Court,
Wednesday
PUBLIC INTOXICATION
Amy Suzanne Langdon, 38, 4800 W. Robinson St.,
Tuesday
POSSESSION OF MARIJUANA
Christopher Wayne Strawn, 23, 825 Hoover St.,
Wednesday
ARMED ROBBERY
Andre Lawrence Williams, 39, 517 S. Porter, Wednes-
day, also larceny of an automobile
CAMPUS BRIEFS
2009 CLASS GIFT ANNOUNCEDStudent Alumni Association has decided on the 2009 Class Gift: a stained glass tribute to the Oklahoma Memorial Union.Katie Smith, senior member of the Student Alumni Association, said in an e-mail the stained glass will be made in honor of the 80th anniversary of the Union. Smith said she hopes the finished product will serve as a reminder of the lives lost during World War I and wars since. The Union was initially built to commemorate World War I veterans. Smith said the stained glass product is still being designed.— Leslie Metzger/contributing writer
SOONER RACING TEAM PREPARES FOR FIRST COMPETITION
OU’s offi cial racing team will hit the road to com-pete in its fi rst international competition of the year Wednesday in Virginia.The Sooner Racing Team will take its new race car,
named Karen, to FSAE-Virginia 2009 collegiate competition for its fi rst glimpse of how the new race car will stand up against top competitors.Team Captain Dave Collins said in an e-mail the team has remodeled the car entirely and should contend with the top schools in the competi-tion, including last year’s dominating winner, Wisconsin.He said this is the fi rst time the teams will be com-peting under a new rule system, which includes new scoring systems, more rigid safety rules and a requirement for a physically larger frame for the car.This is the second year for the Virginia competition and OU’s fi rst time to compete there.— Leslie Metzger/contributing writer
GROUP RAISES MONEY FOR DRUG TREATMENTAn anti-drug organization will host a new fund-raising event for a Norman addiction center.The Students for Prevention of Drug Abuse will team up with Sigma Alpha Epsilon to host the inaugural
“Capture the Flag Against Addiction” from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Duck Pond. Spencer Pittman, founder of the organization, said in an e-mail the money will go to the Norman Addiction Information and Counseling Center.Pittman said the money raised will be used as $100 scholarships for graduates of the drug court at the addiction center. They will use the money to help the recipients get back on their feet after rehabilitation.Pittman said the event’s goal is to raise $10,000. It will cost $5 to spectate and $10 to participate in the event. — Leslie Metzger/contributing writer
WOMAN’S OUTREACH CENTER HELPS WOMEN FIGHT SEXUAL ASSAULTThe Women’s Outreach Center is trying to make OU safer, participating in a month long national cam-paign to raise awareness for sexual assault.The center will offer a free self-defense class Tuesday at 8 p.m. in Adams Hall. OUPD offi cers will teach the class, which is open to all student’s.
Madeline Ambrose, women and gender stud-ies junior, said OU’s reported numbers of sexual assault seem to be low compared to other schools but it’s hard to tell the exact rate because sexual assault is one of the least reported crimes.Kathy Moxley, Women’s Outreach Center assistant director, said she hopes the class will help prevent sexual assault from needing to be reported.“While OU is a very safe campus, we know that our students will leave the safety of our campus and we want them to be prepared to protect themselves,” Moxley said.This will be the second self-defense class the center has sponsored this year and Ambrose said the classes aren’t designed to make women feel intimidated.“We’re doing these programs to provide support and resources,” Ambrose said. “We don’t want to make women feel scared, but it’s important to be educated and to know the facts.”Students can pre-register for the event by e-mailing the center at [email protected].— Sheridan Stovall/The Daily
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was originally com-posed of the United States, Canada, and a handful of Western European nations.
It was designed to counterbal-ance the Soviet Union and its allies in Eastern Europe. All NATO na-tions pledged mutual common de-fense in the face of an attack by any external party. T h e s t a n d o f f between NATO and the Soviet-allied Warsaw Pact countries defined global policy and poli-tics for five de-cades, until the breakup of the Soviet Union. During that time, NATO expanded to become a re-gional quasi-political organization as well.
Now, NATO has outlived its use-fulness. There is no Soviet Union, and also gone are fears of an im-pending attempt by Socialist na-tions to wipe out the West.
The core reason for NATO’s cre-ation and survival is gone. Thus, as a military alliance, NATO has no
reason to exist. Its members have no common enemy.
A case could be made for terror-ism as an enemy of all nations, and therefore to NATO.
However, fighting terrorism is nothing like fighting the Soviet forces of decades past.
Instead of millions of armed sol-diers in ordered formations, terror cells are composed of a few dozen to a few hundred members, and their attacks are not aimed at over-coming military formations.
Terror attacks are aimed at densely populated and highly vis-ible civilian areas.
Taking out civilian targets with a small group of fighters was not the aim of the forces in the Cold War. A military alliance designed to fight the fire-breathing behemoth of the Soviet Cold-War forces was not de-signed to tackle terrorism.
NATO’s structure and sheer size do not grant its member states any advantages in fighting terror over those states working alone or through normal international law-enforcement cooperation. Thus, NATO itself has little role in fight-ing terror.
NATO has played a role in global peace keeping, its most notable
success being its activity in the Balkans in the mid 1990’s. However, even here, its role is being filled by other groups.
The EU Battlegroups, drawn from European military forces, are quick-deployment formations akin to U.N. Peacekeeping Forces, and already have several successful deployments to their credit.
In the future, the EU mem-ber nations will be more willing to commit their forces to the EU Battlegroups rather than to NATO missions, which will deprive NATO of crucial manpower and materiel and limit its military effectiveness.
Semblances of this can be seen in Iraq and Afghanistan, where most NATO nations have commit-ted only token numbers of troops to the U.S.-masterminded invasions.
When NATO was first formed, the most economically powerful nations in the world were among its members.
Since a good economy equals a wealthy country, and since money definitely equates power in global politics, NATO had strong political clout based on its wealth – which enabled it to support large and technologically advanced military forces.
While NATO still boasts some of the wealthiest countries in the world, it no longer occupies an ec-onomically-preeminent position. China, India, Brazil and even a re-surgent Russia are now economic powerhouses.
Compare some nations’ gross domestic products (GDP).
China’s GDP grew by 9.8 percent in 2008, and India’s GDP rose by 7 percent in 2007, while the US GDP grew by 1.4 percent and the United Kingdom’s GDP rose a mere 1.1 percent.
This trend is expected to contin-ue and even increase in the coming decades.
Evidence of global acceptance of this fact is the rising prominence and clout of the G-20, a group of the twenty largest economies of the world.
The majority of the G-20 na-tions are not NATO members. Economically speaking, NATO will soon be eclipsed by the grow-ing economies of the developing world, the first signs of which are visible are visible even now.
China and India already boast some of the largest armed forces in the world, and are rapidly match-ing Western nations in military
technology.With rising economic clout
comes increased global political and military power. Thus, as NATO gradually recedes as an economic powerhouse, its relative mili-tary and political power will also shrink.
NATO was once the preeminent military alliance in the world. Its purpose was to resist the expansion and military power of the Soviet Union and its allies.
For 50 years, it served that role well. Thanks to its existence and power, there is no longer a global threat of Communist military expansion.
However, today’s world has its own set of challenges. NATO as a military alliance is ill-equipped to deal with these new challenges.
The Cold War and the Soviet Union have become anachronisms of a bygone era. NATO itself is set to head down that path.
NATO should not be seen as a failure, but as an organization that was a victim of its own suc-cess in eliminating its principal adversary.
COMMENTS OF THE DAY »In response to Thursday’s Our View about the Tea Party pro-tests
YOU CAN COMMENT ATOUDAILY.COM
“We have representation! And no one talked about TARP, Bush’s trillion-dollar waste on war or his running up of defi-cits. Suddenly it is a concern? And those patriots yesterday are all low information voters. Obama’s plan did not raise taxes. Go back and check the track record of these protes-
tors. They are so disingenuous. They are all about attacking Obama. If they were so con-cerned, why didn’t they ask for accountability from Bush? Why didn’t they shout when Bush ran up deficits?”
-ROGERG
4 Friday, April 17, 2009
Meredith Simons Editor-in-ChiefNijim Dabbour Managing EditorJamie Hughes Assistant Managing EditorMack Burke Night EditorRay Martin Opinion EditorZach Butler Photo Editor
Dane Beavers Senior Online EditorWhitney Bryen Multimedia EditorSteven Jones Sports EditorLuke Atkinson Life & Arts EditorJudy Gibbs Robinson Editorial AdviserR.T. Conwell Advertising Manager
The Oklahoma Daily is a public forum and OU’s independent student voice.The opinion page is produced by a staff of columnists and cartoonists who are independent of The Daily’s news staff. Letters to the editor are welcomed. Letters should concentrate on issues, not personalities, and should be fewer than 250 words, typed and signed. Letters may be cut to fit. Students must list their major and classification. OU staff and faculty must list their title. All letters must include a daytime phone number. Submit letters to [email protected] or in person Sunday through Thursday in 160 Copeland Hall.
Guest columns are encouraged. They can be submitted to the opinion editor via e-mail at [email protected]. Comments left on OUDaily.com may be reprinted on the opinion page.’Our View’ is the opinion of majority of the members of The Oklahoma Daily’s editorial board.Editorial Board members are The Daily’s editorial staff. The board meets Sunday through Thursday in 160 Copeland Hall. Columnists’ and cartoonists’ work is representative of their own opinions, not those of the members of The Daily’s Editorial Board.160 Copeland Hall, 860 Van Vleet Oval
CONSIDER FINANCIAL PRUDENCEOn Thursday, The Daily ran a story
about the “Tea Party” protests here in Norman and at the state capitol.
The editorial also endorsed the pro-tests in its “Our View” column, in which it underhandedly labeled the stimulus bill a “spend-our-way-out-of-debt” strategy, and applauded the protestors’ commit-ment to “financial responsibility.”
Let’s consider financial responsibility for a moment. Is financial responsibility cutting taxes for the upper tax brackets, creating budget deficits, and funneling wealth into the pockets of the upper class? How about maintaining an artificially low federal funds rate and helping to foster the financial crisis? Is it cutting taxes while financing a war?
Is it financially responsible for a state legislature to cut taxes to create a $900 million deficit and then spend its time legislating to “allow teachers to discuss the religious context of historical docu-ments” and to criticize Richard Dawkins’ appearance on campus?
Is it responsible for a member of that same legislature to endorse the tea par-ties, claiming apprehensiveness about the future of his infant son?
If so, I’m willing to grant that the con-servative side of the spectrum is the finan-cially responsible one.
Reagan took office during an economic downturn, so some initial deficit spending made sense.
However, the deficit has remained even in times of prosperity, and has been a fixture of conservative presidencies ever since. Is this financial responsibility?
Where were the angry protests about financial responsibility when Bush ran up the deficit with two unsuccessful, debt-fi-nanced wars? Deficit spending is certainly not sound fiscal policy during periods of relative prosperity like the Bush years.
The results of this “financial responsi-bility” have left the current administration with a tough choice: attempt to stimulate the economy with historically successful Keynesian methods and cause a large in-crease in the deficit, or leave a struggling economy to its own means and add to the national debt anyway thanks in part to the overseas obligations left by the previous administration.
Now, let’s consider responsibility in a more general sense. Is it responsible in a time of national economic crisis to falsely suggest that our president is a communist?
I invite any of the protesters to read Marx, because their picket signs certainly
suggest they haven’t. Is it responsible for The Daily to label the stimulus plan as a “spend-our-way-out-of-debt” strategy when anyone with any sort of education can discern that is an unfair and ridicu-lous characterization? Is it responsible for conservatives as a group to resort to such anti-intellectual tactics in address-ing such a complex, important issue? Are these tactics really indicative of “a great display of democracy at work” as Scott Martin asserts?
Do they really “embody fundamen-tal American ideals?” How democratic are threats of secession from Rick Perry? Finally, is it responsible for The OU Daily to ignore the fact that the tax burden under Obama has not increased in its shamelessly partisan description of these protests?
Ian Wright, economics and political science senior.
TEA PARTIES REVEAL HYPOCRISYLegislators wanted to investigate free-
dom of expression and exchange of ideas at top class university when President David Boren invited Richard Dawkins on campus; we are lucky to have a man with far superior intellect than some of our politicians heading OU.
Now there’s outrage and “liberty de-fenders” and tea parties by those who failed to raise their ire for the past eight years when President Bush busted the Clinton era surplus?
No tea parties about our “liberties” when President Bush cut taxes for the top tiers and spent more than a trillion dollars on two global wars without asking us to sacrifice an iota.
No tea when TARP was passed with bipartisan support and a total lack of oversight in 2008. No outrage when the Republicans had record pork in their bud-gets during their last turn at governing.
Is this really based on race? Not giving Obama even three months to get started addressing the right royal mess we are in after eight years is defending freedom? What may come of these protests? Will another Timothy McVeigh be created from this FOX-manipulated rage? The controversial stimulus package actually had a tax cut, not a raise.
It may fail or succeed, but can we try it and vote him out if it fails. There’s a disturbing post-election trend towards generating hate. Are we veering towards religious fundamentalism in the guise of defending our freedoms?
Mano Ratwatte, MIS instructor
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
NATO has outlived its usefulnessSTAFF COLUMN
SOUNDING OFF ON SPURLOCK
OUR VIEW
Senate Bill 585 wouldhalt transparency
We don’t want to blow the open records horn more than we have to.
But Oklahoma legislators have introduced legislation that would keep private some-thing much more important than UOSA documents.
Senate Bill 585, introduced by John Ford (R-Bartlesville) would give security officials the power to keep confidential “campus se-curity plans, when necessary, in the discre-tion of the institution, to release information in order to design or implement such plan.”
This is inappropriate.We think it’s reasonable to keep private
security plans and protocols that detail re-sponses to terrorist attacks. But for other events like fires, tornadoes or students bring-ing guns to campus and threatening to kid-nap Japanese faculty members, transparency is necessary.
Plans, including response procedures and notification procedures for security threats
on campus, should be disclosed for purposes of keeping the officials accountable.
The scariest part of the bill is that security officials can keep material private at their dis-cretion. This means if security officers violate protocol, no one would know, since protocol would be a “private” matter. The slippery slope would lead to no accountability for se-curity and higher officials, something that is dangerous at best.
The public has a right to know if the people protecting them fail to do their jobs and fol-low protocol. Officers should not have the op-tion to protect themselves, or their colleagues if they violate the rules and make moves that harm more people than necessary.
This legislation would make that possible. We think students should be concerned, and lawmakers should stop trying to keep private records that should be attainable by the peo-ple and media outlets that are serving those on campus.
Morgan Spurlock, the star of the hit documentary “Super Size Me,” spoke on campus Wednesday. Opinion columnist Elise Johnston thinks the docu-mentary led to change all over the fast-food in-dustry. Johnston sounds off on what she thinks is America’s obesity prob-lem, the documentary and her experience listening to Spurlock at the opinion desk blog at oudaily.com.
RED RIVER RIVALRY HITS THE DIAMONDSooners and Texas face off in ranked matchup
JONO GRECOThe Oklahoma Daily
With almost half of its Big 12 schedule completed, the No. 10 baseball team enters the head of its toughest stretch of games starting at 6:05 p.m. Friday against the No. 9 Texas Longhorns to conclude the 2008-2009 Red River Rivalry.
Currently the Sooners (29-8, 8-4) are ahead of the Longhorns (26-8, 9-6) by percentage points for the No. 1 spot in the Big 12 and are two games up in the loss column.
OU head coach Sunny Golloway said the rankings add an excite-ment to the rivalry that is usually seen in other sports.
“There’s just so much more added to the rivalry than there already is, and now is the case in baseball,” Golloway said. “Both teams being ranked in the top-10 I think really adds to the experience that both side’s ... can enjoy.”
ADVANTAGE/DISADVANTAGEPitching: TexasEven though OU’s pitching
staff has been lights out lately, the Longhorns’ is the top-ranked staff in the conference. In 34 games the Longhorns boast a 2.12 ERA while the Sooners’ 4.69 ERA ranks in the middle of the pack.
Juniors Andrew Doyle, Stephen Porlier and Garrett Richards are scheduled to start the three week-end games for OU.
Doyle (5-2) has been the Friday starter all season and said he hopes to secure the weekend opener.
“Going out Friday I just want to get the team off to a good start,”
Doyle said. “[I want to] hopefully expose some of the hitters’ weak-nesses and hopefully we can get a win on Friday and roll the rest of the weekend.”
Porlier and Richards both had good outings in their previous starts. Porlier threw five innings allowing no runs on two hits against Texas Tech on April 11 and Richards went five innings Tuesday against No. 16 Texas Christian while allow-ing three runs on five hits.
Junior shortstop Bryant Hernandez said despite any good pitching the team had seen during the season the offense seems to step up and play well.
“Every time we have a big obsta-cle to overcome as far as pitching coming into a weekend we usu-ally prevail and we beat them, so I think we’ll be alright,” Hernandez said.
Hitting: OUOU ranks first in the Big 12 in
batting average (.336) while Texas is second-to-last with at .282.
The Sooners have hit almost three times as many homers as the Longhorns – 61 dingers for OU and 18 for UT – but Golloway said the team is going to have to rely on small ball to win the series.
“Our guys have to understand that when we’re not getting home runs we can manufacture runs [via small ball],” Golloway said.
The Sooners have the top two ranked hitters who have played a minimum of 30 games this season in Hernandez and freshman third
baseman Garrett Buechele closely follows with a .393 average.
Doyle said the key to the week-end is going to be the offensive production. He said he has a lot of confidence in OU’s bats to put up some runs against tough Longhorn pitching.
“I think our guys will be able to tag some of [Texas’] pitching and hopefully we’ll be able to hold them on the mound,” Doyle said.
THE RIVALRYThe Longhorns have had OU’s
number recently as they have won every series since 2000.
“We know [Texas] is a good club and we definitely have a good club,” Hernandez said. “Last time I was down there my freshman year it didn’t go too well for us, so I’m ready to get back there and pull out a win.”
Junior first baseman Aaron Baker said he and his teammates are looking forward to this week-end’s series because of how big the rivalry has become.
“OU-Texas is always big, no mat-ter what sport you look at,” Baker said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun but a lot of people are going to be in burnt orange and wanting us to not play well. They’re going to try to get under our skin but we’re going to just have to wash [it off] and know what to do.”
Hernandez recalled his fresh-man year trip to Austin and said his team is ready to take on all of the boo-birds in the stands.
“The fans are definitely on you,” Hernandez said. “We’ll hear ‘OU sucks’ about a million times. I think we have the maturity and the experience now and we’ll be able to overcome that.”
JAMES CORNWELL/THE DAILY
Sophomore outfielder Casey Johnson gets ready for a pitch against TCU Tuesday evening in Norman. OU beat the Horned Frogs, 7-5.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun but a lot of people are going to be in burnt orange and wanting us to not play well.”
JUNIOR FIRST BASEMAN AARON BAKER
TO SEE THE FULL STORY, GO ONLINE TO OUDAILY.COM.
WOMEN’S GYM
Sooners fall short of Super SixAMANDA TURNERThe Oklahoma Daily
The No. 8 Sooners finished sixth of six teams in the first of two qualifying ses-sions Thursday at the NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships in Lincoln, Neb.
Freshman Megan Ferguson was the team’s bright spot, qualifying to the balance beam finals on Saturday.
The Sooners, who needed to place in the top three teams to advance for the first time to the Super Six team final, scored 195.825. Four-time NCAA champion Georgia fin-ished first (197.450), followed by Florida (196.375) and LSU (196.300).
Stanford (196.225) and Penn State (196.100) also failed to advance to Friday’s final.
OU had a rough start on uneven bars, scoring its lowest team total of the day (48.675). The Sooners were forced to count senior Haley DeProspero’s 9.675 when ju-nior Hollie Vise, the 2003 world champion on the event, fell (9.200).
“From the start you could tell we were just a little bit off today,” head coach K.J.
Kindler said. “We didn’t warm-up the way we needed to after an outstanding practice session yesterday. I thought that we weren’t quite with it mentally or physically today which is disappointing.”
In the next rotation, OU rebounded on balance beam with 49.125 team total. Ferguson led the Sooners with a 9.900, becoming the school’s first first-team All-American on the event since 2004.
“Our beam squad as a whole was much improved over recent showings,” Kindler said. “They tried to dig us out of a hole after our bad start on bars. I’m very proud of the way Megan Ferguson performed today. For a freshman to make event finals shows a lot about her ability and we’re excited to watch her perform on Saturday.”
OU finished with 48.975 on floor and 49.050 on vault, but were unable to make up enough ground to crack the top three. The competition marked the sixth consecutive championship appearance for OU.
AMY FROST/THE DAILY
Freshman Megan Ferguson performs her floor routine during the meet against Arkansas on Jan. 26.
“From the start you could tell we were just a little bit off today... I thought that we weren’t quite with it mentally or physically today which is disappointing.”
HEAD COACH K.J. KINDLER
See the results from the men’s competition online.OUDAILY.COM
MEN’S GYMNASTICS »
Coraline (2D) PG12:45 2:50 5:05
He’s Just Not That Into You PG13 12:55 4:30 7:30 10:00
Hotel for Dogs PG12:50 2:55 4:55 7:00 9:35
Paul Blart: Mall Cop PG12:50 3:10 5:15 7:25 9:45
Push PG1312:30 2:45 7:10
Slumdog Millionaire R4:45 9:50
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button PG137:45
The International R1:00 4:00 7:20 9:55
SPORTS BRIEFS
WARREN TO STAY AT OU NEXT SEASONFreshman guard Willie Warren, the Big
12’s Freshman of the Year, will return to OU for his sophomore season, the Tulsa World reported Thursday afternoon.
During Warren’s freshman campaign, he averaged 14.6 points per game, which was second to sophomore forward Blake Griffi n, who recently announced his intentions to enter the NBA draft.
Warren was named to the second-team all-conference team and, along with junior forward Tony Crocker, will be the only return-ing starter from the 2008-2009 men’s bas-ketball team.
Throughout the season, he said he would return to OU to play a season without Griffi n, but it was reported earlier in the week that Warren’s mother and Warren would meet with head coach Jeff Capel this weekend to discuss his future.
Analysts had projected that Warren would likely have been a top draft pick in the 2009 NBA draft if he left.— Jono Greco/The Daily
MMA COMING TO LLOYD NOBLE TONIGHTThe Mixed Martial Arts Bellator Fighting Championships will be
in Lloyd Noble Center at 8 tonight for Bellator III.“Every fi ght on the card is going to be a great fi ght,” said Bjorn
Rebney, CEO and co-founder of Bellator. “We have big-name fi ght-ers with big money on the line and we think the fans are going to enjoy themselves.”
There are 11 scheduled fi ghts, fi ve of which are tournament bouts. The winners in the tournament bouts will continue on for a chance to win $175,000. Headlining the tournament will be Oklahoma native Jared Hess, who will be making his debut with Bellator Friday.
“It is a great chance for me to show my skills,” Hess said, “I am fi ghting a guy who is experienced but I am going to do whatever it takes to get the win.”
For the non-tournament bouts, fans will get to see a fi ght in every weight-class including one women’s fi ght.
Tickets prices range from $18 to $98 and can be purchased at TicketMaster.com.
“This is a major production. We have everything from super slow-mo cameras to lighting features that cost more than luxury cars,” Rebney said. “If you have never been to a MMA show, come to this one and you will be hooked. ”— James Roth/The Daily
6 Friday April 17, 2009
FRIDAY FACE-OFF
WHO WILL WIN THE NBA MVP AWARD?DWAYNE WADE LEBRON JAMES
M y friend to the r i g h t t h i n k s LeBron James is
going to win this season’s MVP award.
That’s honorable. He’s the new face of the NBA.
And let’s face it; LeBron should’ve won the award last season. However, his team didn’t have enough wins. Which is foolish, be-cause the award goes to the most valuable player. Not team. It’s even engraved in the award itself. Just ask Dustin Pedroia. He polishes it while talking about hit-ting the high inside fastball everyday.
But going off how the award should be defined, the Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade is the most valuable player.
First of all, Wade single-handedly put his team in the playoffs. He has the least supportive cast of the three leading candidates, including James, Wade and Bryant. Wade’s supporters include a talented rookie, Michael Beasley, who could contribute someday and an over-the-hill Jermaine O’Neal.
Without Wade, the team w o u l d w i n o n the south end of 20 g a m e s , l i k e l a s t year. But if LeBron or Kobe were absent, the team has e n o u g h talent to
still compete for a playoff spot.
Last year, there was no doubt that the Heat were the worst team in the league. A big reason for this was
Wade’s 31 game absence. That hurts. And to go from the worst team in the league to a playoff team the next year, that’s improvement.
And it all ties back to Wade, the best shooting guard in the league. Yeah I said it.
Sorry Kobe.His resurgence is incred-
ible. And I’m not talking just about statistics, even though he’s scoring over 25 points per game. I’m talking about leadership.
Wade doesn’t act like a kid on the court. He knows when to celebrate. He doesn’t put on a show be-fore the game either. He’s respectful to the game. He doesn’t dance with the
team after a big bucket or a win, either.
Plus, Wade had more im-portant shots this year.
Statistically, Wade is the scoring champion of the league. He leads James, and his team, in every major sta-tistic except for rebounds. Although keep in mind that James is four inches taller, and plays forward, a posi-tion that is more prone to the rebound category.
The MVP award should go to a team that heavily re-lies on one particular play-er, such as Wade. And he’s good defensively. Forget the fan favorite; let’s give it to the most deserving. MJ Casiano is a broadcast and
electronic media sophomore.
T he NBA MVP race is always a heavily debated subject. Every year analysts, journalists, and fans argue endlessly
about what the award means. Is it the best player on the best team? The
player with the best individual stats? Or maybe it’s the player that does the most to make his teammates better. But then some argue it is the player a team could least af-ford to lose.
Most years, that argument give several players legitimate claims to the MVP award, de-pending on who you ask and what their definition of MVP is.
This year? We won’t have that problem, be-cause LeBron James has all the bases covered.
Let’s say you’re one of those people who thinks the MVP is the best player on the best team; well
then James is your guy. Finishing the year at 66-16, the Cleveland Cavaliers have the best record in the league.
They have claimed homecourt advan-tage through the entire playoffs, and lost only two games at home. The last home loss came in the final game of the year when James and most of the Cavs’ significant play-ers were resting before the playoffs and did not participate.
The Cavs have proven themselves to be the top team in the NBA, and LeBron James is their unquestioned leader.
But what about the stat geeks? Those who think numbers can be used to draw all con-clusions can still see why James is the league MVP. He averaged 37 minutes a game, and missed no games to injury.
He averaged 28 points, seven rebounds and seven assists per game, leading the team in all three categories. Proving he plays both sides of the ball, James led the team in steals and was third in blocks, only trailing 7’3” Zydrunas Ilgauskas and defensive spe-cialist Ben Wallace in the latter category.
Anyone who has watched the Cavaliers can see that James makes his teammates better. He has proved himself to be the anti-Kobe Bryant with his unselfish play, showing that a star can dominate a game and score 30-plus points without isolat-ing himself and alienating his teammates. James has high assist numbers every year,
including this one. He has taken a team with only one other all-star, Mo Williams (a borderline selection at best) and elevated it to the top of the league. Also take note that Williams never made an all-star team before he teamed up with James.
What would the Cavaliers be without LeBron James? Well we have no indication this year due to the fact that he doesn’t miss games, but I would go out on a limb to say they wouldn’t be a 66 win team.
A team led by Mo Williams and Zydrunas Ilgauskas isn’t even likely to be in the play-offs, even though we are talking about the talent-deficient Eastern Conference. The Lakers have 65 wins, but I would argue they have more overall talent surrounding their star than the Cavs do.
Yes, Dwayne Wade is a great player. So is Kobe Bryant, and there are others that could be mentioned.
I know Wade and Bryant have more play-off accolades and championships, but what we are talking about is which player is most valuable in the 2009 regular season, and I don’t see how anyone could be considered more valuable than LeBron James.Aaron Colen is a journalism junior.
CHARLES KRUPA/AP
Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade (3) stares at Boston Celtics guard Paul Pierce, right, during the second half of their NBA basketball game Friday in Boston. Wade scored 31 points, Pierce 28 in the Celtics 105-98 win.
MJCASIANO
MARK DUNCAN/AP
Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James winds up for a dunk against the Boston Celtics in the third quarter of an NBA basketball game Sunday, in Cleveland. James scored 29 points as the Cavaliers beat the Celtics 107-76.
AARONCOLEN
SOFTBALL
AARON COLENThe Oklahoma Daily
The softball team will play its final two home games of the season Saturday and Sunday when Texas A&M comes to the OU Softball Complex for televised Big 12 games.
The 15th-ranked Sooners are now 32-13 after defeating the Oklahoma State Cowgirls 8-1 Wednesday at home, and the team is looking to make a move in the Big 12. They are
currently 9-4 within the conference.“We’re going to have a chance to get in the Big 12 race,”
head coach Patty Gasso said. “If we’re going to win it, it all comes down to these next five games.”
OU and Texas A&M have battled in the past for Big 12 supremacy.
“We’re very similar, Texas A&M and ourselves,” Gasso said. “It’s going to be a very similar matchup of teams.”
Gasso said the team is starting to gain its identity lately, which is something she’d like them to build on.
“I think with this new style, we’ll be ready to play,” Gasso said.
The Sooners will need senior ace D.J. Mathis to continue to recover from her injury as the postseason approaches.
“She’s an animal, and she’s feeling it,” Gasso said. “She will be ready to go on Saturday, and she wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
OU hopes to use the performance on Wednesday as a springboard for the rest of the season. The Sooners received strong contributions from both regular contributors and unexpected heroes, such as freshman designated player Katie Norris and freshman shortstop Karolyne Long, who has earned a spot in the lineup and played consistently both at the plate and in the field.
The first pitch on Saturday is scheduled for 2 p.m. The se-ries will then close out at noon on Sunday.
Sooners host Texas A&M this weekend
AMY FROST/THE DAILY
Freshman pitcher Kirsten Allen pitches during a double-header against Baylor on April 1. OU split the games with Baylor.
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OU STUDENTSYOU ARE INVITED!
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For accommodations on the basis of disability, call the Office of Special Events at (405) 325-3784.
“Where Our Economy Is Headed”
David Leonhardt
The University of Oklahoma is an equal opportunity institution.
David Leonhardt will share his
insight on today’s economy.
Leonhardt has been writing about
economics for The New York Times
since 2000, focusing recently on the
housing bubble, bailouts, the
stimulus package, the Big Three
autoworkers and today’s stock
market. He also writes frequently
about economic policy, real estate and the job market as
well as about corporate mismanagement in recent years.
Friday, April 17, 2009 7
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DEADLINES
GARAGE SALES40 year music collector sale. Rock, Coun-try, Jazz, and Blues, 2000 CDs, records, cassettes, posters, receivers, Bose speakers, and turntables, and Beatles Stuff, Fri 8-5 and Sat 8-4, 427 George L. Cross Ct. (behind Hastings on Main).
AUTO INSURANCE
AUTO INSURANCEForeign Students Welcomed
Jim Holmes Insurance, 321-4664
HELP WANTEDLooking for leasing agent at Clarendon Apts. Call 364-8815 for application. $7.50-8.00 / hr, fl exible hours. F/T during breaks.
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illegal or unsafe drinking.All calls are anonymous.
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Previous Answers
8 64 7 3 2
5 9 8 15 3 9
2 64 7 1
7 6 4 31 3 7 6
6 8Instructions: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
R.T. Conwell, advertising managerClassifi [email protected]: 325-2521, fax: 325-7517For more, go to OUDAILY.COM
Friday, April 17, 2009
ARIES (March 21-April 19) -- Now is the time to put forth that extra effort to accomplish something special or big. You might not achieve your purposes overnight, but you’ll get a good jump on it.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20) -- You’re the person who can take something that has great potential but needs reorganizing to reach its full potential and put it on the right track. Figure out your game plan.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20) -- Don’t sit on anything fi nancial that needs to be fi nalized because it isn’t going anywhere unless you make the necessary moves. You know what needs to be done.
CANCER (June 21-July 22) -- You may be forced to run several endeavors simultaneously, which is usually unwise. Yet under your control, you’ll start a chain reaction, with each helping the other, making everyone a success.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) -- Try to rectify an account where something owed is long overdue. Chances are you’ll come up with a program that will work for both you and the indebted one.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) -- Do not ignore or treat indifferently a bright idea that comes out of an inspirational fl ash. Once you put it to the test, you’ll quickly discover it will serve you well.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) -- It won’t be luck that turns something -- started by another and taken over by you -- into a huge success. You’ll understand the troubling aspects about the situation, and you’ll know what to do.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) -- This is a better-than-usual day for working out troubling agreements, arrangements or contracts that have been hanging fi re. Your creativity will produce benefi ts for all.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) -- Tenacity and logic will prove to be the two best elements you can use to help achieve your objective, which is something of signifi cance.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) -- It’s particularly important that you are at your best when attending a social gathering. Take time to be friendly with as many people as possible, because something important will result.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) -- Financial success is closer than you think, but you must uncover the route yourself. Devote your efforts to endeavors that can generate additional earnings.
PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) -- Sometimes you are uncomfortable when put in a position to have to depend on others. However, friends will do more for you than you could ever do on your own.
HOROSCOPE By Bernice Bede Osol
Copyright 2008, Newspaper Enterprise Assn.
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The CAC Speakers Bureau brought Morgan Spurlock to OU Wednesday. He spoke to the crowd about his expe-riences in film and television, focusing particularly on fan favorite documen-tary, “Super Size Me.” However, there’s much more to learn from Spurlock than just facts about filmmaking and the fast-food industry.
Over the course of interviewing Spurlock, and then listening to him speak, I couldn’t help but notice a du-ality about Spurlock. It’s not to say he’s two-faced — upon meeting him I was struck by how down to earth and gen-uine he was — but he seems to hold this realization that there is often not a right or wrong way to do something. Often times, the most effective way of conveying a message is blending per-spectives and their presentation.
Spurlock utilizes both entertain-ment and thought provoking aspects to his projects like “Super Size Me,” or the TV series “30 Days,” and he pres-ents both sides to every story. He is creating awareness rather than saying what is right or wrong, and awareness is much more valuable than telling you what you should believe.
Upon asking Spurlock why he chooses to not present such cut-and-dry answers at the end of his projects, he claimed that it is because he personally doesn’t like to be told what to do. He feels that “exposure is invaluable. To watch at home and live vicariously through these people, it’s a great journey to go on.”
A journey on which you can leave with your beliefs justified or forced to reassess them. I can’t help believe that this realization of the value of awareness rather than cor-rectness is the key to why his projects are so powerful and engaging.
The funniest thing is Spurlock had no plans of pursuing these types of projects when he began his career. He told me that while he had always wanted to do something in film, when he was young he wanted to do spe-cial effects for movies. That ambition transformed into the desire to become a comedian, and then to direct big-budget action films.
These goals led him to USC and eventually NYU where he attended film school. His first project was a game show called “I Bet You Will” that premiered first online and then on MTV. After its cancellation, he strug-gled to keep afloat. He amassed a per-sonal debt of more than $250,000, but kept on trying. Spurlock is glad he did, because in retrospect he says, “If you don’t go away, at some point some-body is going to say ‘that guy won’t go away, give him a job.’”
His job came in
the form of “Super Size Me,” an idea he formulated after Thanksgiving dinner and news about teens suing McDonald’s. Made possible from the connections he had made “by stick-ing around” and left over production money for “I Bet You Will,” “Super Size Me” became the most successful doc-umentary of recent times.
When I asked why he chose to in-form and entertain, rather than just purely entertain, he claimed, “it was a fluke.” But after the success of “Super Size Me,” Spurlock realized “there was a unique opportunity to make proj-ects that are funny, entertaining, and engaging. To present real issues in a way that didn’t make them taste like medicine.”
If you have ever heard Spurlock speak or seen his films or “30 Days,” you know just how smooth it goes down, thanks to his charm and clever-ness. The OU audience erupted into laughter regularly during his lecture, whether he was talking about Antarctic McDonald’s and penguin McNuggets, or telling stories about witnessing a kid peeing into a ball pit with another child still playing inside. He even compared Ronald McDonald to a drug dealer and the Hamburglar to a junkie, citing Eazy-E in the process (“Don’t get high off your own supply”).
Spurlock is all about informing you while entertaining you, but not sacri-ficing any intelligence along the way. He creates awareness to issues and in-troduces you to people you would have never met before. He’s determined but flexible. Smart, but funny. Spurlock is a true testament to the values of duality.
Spurlock cemented my insights per-fectly with his answer to my last ques-tion. I asked him what he wanted to be remembered for, without any hesita-tion, he stated, “my porn-star mus-tache.” We shared a moment of laugh-ter before he went on to say, “I don’t really know. Hopefully for something I haven’t done yet. I’d like to think I have a little more in me.”
I think he does too, and with every-thing he has taught us already, I’m ex-cited to learn even more.
Joshua Boydston is a University College
freshman.
‘Super Size’ star speaks on success
PHOTO PROVIDED
Morgan Spurlock, star of “Super Size Me,” spoke to students on campus Wednesday.
This week, I’m pulling out of my special reserves, a great wine: Gancia’s Moscato D’Asti.
A moscato comes from the Moscat family of grapes which grow in nearly every wine-growing region. The grape is cultivated and usually fortifi ed. Like a port, a fortifi ed wine is one in which a distilled beverage is added to the combination.
Born from the wine valleys of Canneli, Italy, Gancia’s Moscato D’Asti is a perfectly light — but not too rich — sweet wine. With hints of mountain sage, honey and musk, the wine is ideal for a dessert setting.
The wine needs no decanting whatsoever. Just chill it to your desired taste, get out a slice of cheesecake, and voilà!
According the company’s Web site, Gancia is a pioneer among Italian winemakers, being the fi rst wine company in Italy to make a sparkling wine. The winery’s foundation in 1850 is also nothing to sneeze at. This 159-year-old company certainy knows what it’s doing when it comes to a moscato.
Gancia Moscato D’Asti is one of my all time favorite wines. Drink it responsibly and drink it relax-ibly. Enjoy it for $15.
Brittany Burden is an English senior.
ITALIAN WINE FIT FOR A KING
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY STEVEN JONES/ THE DAILY
WINEoftheofth WEEK
L&A BRIEFS
NORMAN MUSIC FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES NEW STAGES
The Norman Music Festival announced the addition of 18 bands and seven comedians on two new stages for the April 25 all-day concert on historic downtown Main Street in Norman.
The two stages will be located at the Red Room, 114 W Main and Studio 360, 109 N Crawford Ave, according to a press release.
The Red Room will host the slew of local comedians as well as Maggie McClure, rappers 8bit Cynics and Jabee, and Oklahoma City based rocker Love is a Story, among others.
Studio 360 is set to host punk rock acts I Resign, Mary Tyler Morphine, and seven other per-formers on its Crawford stage.
So far, more than 90 acts are confi rmed to play on 12 different stages at the second annual event, which includes headliners Of Montreal, Starlight Mints and Man Man.
The Norman Music Festival kicks off at 10:30
a.m. April 25, and will last until midnight.
—Tyler Branson/The Daily
‘SLUMDOG’ FILMMAKERS GIVE MUMBAI CHARITY $747,000MUMBAI, India — The makers of the hit movie “Slumdog Millionaire” have donated $747,500 to a charity devoted to improving the lives of street children in Mumbai, the fi lmmakers said Thursday.
The money will be given to Plan, an interna-tional children’s charity that has been working in India since 1979.
The aim is to help educate 5,000 slum kids over the next fi ve years.
“Slumdog Millionaire,” a rags-to-riches tale of a slum kid who makes it big, won eight Oscars and has grossed more than $300 million worldwide.
—AP
Kanye West, music produc-er, rapper and recent fish stick enthusiast, can now add shoe designer to his repertoire.
After more than a year of anticipation, Nike released one of three versions o f A i r Ye e z y , t h e Kanye West-inspired sneakers. West fans have had their eyes on the shoes since he wore them for his Grammy perfor-mance last year.
Yeezy fans and “sneakerheads” alike camped outside vari-ous shoe stores all around Chicago, New York and Toronto three days be-fore the release to get a pair of West’s shoes. A few hours after the release of the sneak-er, eBay was full of Air Yeezys being sold for up to $700 per shoe. That’s crazy.
Many musicians have in-spired shoes, such as Jay-Z’s S. Carter’s, 50 Cent’s G-Unit se-ries and Pharrell’s Ice Creams. The difference between these shoes and the Yeezy’s is that Kanye personally assisted with the de-sign. Most of the other shoes inspired by m u s i c i a n s were simple, lacked creativity and were only sought after because they had a famous person’s name attached to them.
Another big difference be-tween the shoes are the man-ufacturers. The Air Yeezys are produced by Nike. The other shoes have been made by Reebok, Adidas, and Yums! – the makers of the hideous Soulja Boy Tell ’Em shoes.
By looking at the Yeezys, you can tell Kanye’s “unique” fashion sense was at work. An eclectic mix of shoes such as the Bape Roadsta, the Ato Cow Hide Boot and Jordan III inspired the shoe’s classic, yet futuristic look. The shoe’s look has been compared to the “Back To The Future” Nikes that Marty McFly wore, although they are not gaudy
and unnecessarily colorful. The shoe is made up of so
many different and oppos-ing elements, but still man-ages to keep the shoe’s style unique without having them
clash into each other. From the oversized tongue, the leather Velcro strap, the font, the pink and orange interior and, yes, the glow-in-the-dark sole, I can simply describe the shoe as a pair of L.A. Gears that grown-ups can actually wear with-out looking stupid or
like hipsters.The Air Yeezys are an inno-
vative pair of sneakers and I wouldn’t mind getting a pair, that is if Kanye West person-ally sends a box to me con-gratulating me on writing this awesome article about his shoes. But until then, I ain’t buying ’em.
Why not? Well, for one thing, they are $215, and I don’t know about you, but
buying a shoe for that much in
the present state of the e c o n o m y isn’t a smart thing to do.
One thing that bothers me
is the shoe’s limited release, which is clearly a marketing technique used to raise un-necessary publicity and cre-ate a collectors item instead of just relying on it’s unique design instead. Besides, there are other shoes, which might not be as good as the Air Yeezys, but they are cheaper and still look great. Like the Puma Argentinas or the new LeBrons, also by Nike.
All in all, the Air Yeezys are great sneakers, not just by ce-lebrity shoe standards, but as shoes themselves. However, due to the price and limited release, I don’t think it’s worth the trouble to get them.
Osizimete Aken’ova is a film and
video studies junior.
OSIZIMETE AKEN’OVA
Kanye’s shoes merge celebrity with fashion
10 Friday, April 17, 2009
FEATURE | FASHION FRIDAY
Record Store Day is Saturday
Vinyl isn’t just for your parents anymore.
It is time for my favorite day of the year. It’s like Christmas in April. It’s a music lover’s Cinco De Mayo. It’s Record Store Day.
On Saturday, record stores through-out the nation will be celebrating with limited-edition vinyl and CD releases, as well as in-store concerts and par-ties. Local favorite Guestroom Records on Main Street is no exception. In ad-dition to the limited-edition releases, Guestroom will have sales, promotions and giveaways all day.
The real party, however, starts at 6 p.m. and goes until 9. The store will be providing free pizza and drinks, and – as if more incentive were needed – El Paso Hot Button, Other Lives and Evangelicals will all be performing.
Guestroom also will be hosting a party at its Oklahoma City location from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., where you catch the Uglysuit, Ali Harter and Mayola.
It’s the perfect warm-up for Norman Music Festival April 25.
Record Store Day began in 2007, partially as a celebration of everyone’s favorite community staple, and also partly to help bolster sales in the age of digital downloads and Wal-Mart.
I spoke to Travis Searle from Guestroom about this trend and he noted that the record store actu-ally has not seen a slump. Sales in the Norman store were down just 1 per-cent; they went up 60 percent at the OKC location.
Searle credits their success to being a part of the community.
I couldn’t agree more. Record stores are not about gener-
ating revenue; they are about exposing you to something new. Record stores don’t sell you music you hear, they get you music to listen to. Guestroom Records sells you music you will enjoy, not just music for the sake of buying something.
“We all like listening to music and we like talking to the customers about music,” Searle said.
Guestroom has become a staple of the Norman community, whether through sponsoring local events or just throwing parties. If you haven’t stopped by Guestroom yet, I can’t im-plore you more to go. I promise you will never want to leave.
If its community ties are not enough to pull you in, their selection will. Guestroom has a huge catalog, from Arcade Fire to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs; and they are one of the only places in Oklahoma where you can find recent popular releases from Crystal Stilts, Pains of Being Pure at Heart and many others.
Guestroom’s strategy of “selling what they want to sell” has paid off, and if you want it, it probably has it. The expansive collection at the store is quite impressive, feaaturing rows and rows stacked with CDs and vinyl.
Some people may be surprised by the titles available on vinyl today. Of course, you can find albums by Jimi Hendrix and The Beatles, but mod-ern artists like Animal Collective, Fleet
Foxes and Bon Iver also are releasing their albums on vinyl as well as CD. Even more surprising, vinyl sales have spiked in the past two years.
Travis notes that vinyl listeners find it to be just a more rewarding experi-ence, from the weight of vinyl, to the big artwork and inserts, to the unique, vibrant sound. The vinyl available at Guestroom will be bolstered by the Record Store Day limited edition re-leases available this Saturday from such artists as Beck, Flaming Lips, Flight of the Conchords, Sonic Youth and many others.
Guestroom Records is a visual masterpiece as well. The west and north walls are completely plastered with vibrant, colorful concert posters and album promotions. Steve Keene paintings of iconic album covers are displayed on the other brick wall, and are on sale for a mere $25. The store-front windows are covered by all of the upcoming shows Norman, OKC and Tulsa have to offer. All of this plus the artwork on the album covers; Guestroom is just a beautiful place.
I think Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips said it best when he claimed that record stores are “where you can talk to people who are like you, an actual place where you can stand and simply be surrounded by your heroes.” So try and stop by Guestroom sometime on Saturday, whether for the limited edi-tion releases, to enjoy some free live music and food, or just to meet some people as awesome as you are.
Joshua Boydston is a University College
freshman.
STAFF COLUMN
A holiday for vinyl lovers
JAMES CORNWELL/THE DAILY
Guestroom Records is one of many locations celebrating “Record Store Day” Saturday. Festivities will begin at 6 p.m., followed by a concert featuring El Paso Hot Button, the Evangelicals and many others. Guestroom Records is located at 125 E. Main St.
