Thursday, January 17, 2013

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The University of Oklahoma’s independent student voice since 1916

T H U R S D A Y , J A N U A R Y 17, 2 0 1 3

W W W.O U DA I LY.C O M

2 011 S I LV E R C R O W N W I N N E R

aRT sHOWCase

opinion: Darth Vader should advise defense secretary (Page 4)

oUDaily.com: OU beats Texas Tech, 81-63, remains unbeaten in Big 12.

L&a: students compete for top prize (page 6)

OKLaHOma CiTy

sooners to march to honor King Event also will include lecture and performances

GO anD DO silent march

BEN HALL

When: 11:45 a.m.

Campus reporter

Where: Campus Clock tower, oUHsC

Speech and performances: When: 12 p.m. Where: david L. Boren student Union 3rd Floor Lounge, oUHsC

Sooners are invited to participate in a silent march, lecture and cultural performances in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. at the OU Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City. The march will begin at 11:45 a.m. at the Campus Clock Tower at the Health Sciences Center and will proceed to the David L. Boren Student Union. “The silent march, which we have done for the past 10 years, is something that Martin Luther King Jr.’s

dream is all about, which is acting as one people, even if it’s only for a few minutes,” said Tanya Mustin, coordinator for Multicultural Student Services in Health Sciences Center Student Affairs. After the march, Judge Vicki MilesLaGrange will speak about the ways people can keep King’s dream alive in a speech titled “Celebrate: The Life I Dream Legacy.” Miles-LaGrange will deliver her speech at the Union. The Oklahoma Health Center’s MLK Gospel Choir and a dance group from Star Spencer High School in Oklahoma City will perform for participants at noon in the Third Floor Lounge.

Taxes

Rising rates cause worry Fiscal storm brings changes to nation, campus BENNETT HALL

pHoto proVided

CiTy OF NORmaN

City takes steps to combat drought Residents urged to be conservative in water use AJINUR SETIWALDI

Campus reporter

Despite the City of Norman’s new mandatory water conservation policy in response to an emergency water shortage, OU is exempt from restrictions. Lake Thunderbird, the main water source for Norman, Del City and Midwest City, was 59 percent full Tuesday – 7 and a half feet below normal pool elevation, - according to the U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation. If the drought continues, it may meet and exceed the historical low by the end of February, Ken Komiske, Norman’s director of utilities, said. The Central Oklahoma Master Conser vancy District is requiring the three cities to reduce water see NORMAN pAGe 2

Campus reporter

Jaye Pelley is a financially independent college student. She lives with two other women in an apartment and is responsible for paying all of her bills --rent, electricity and utilities in addition to her tuition. For Pelley, education sophomore, every penny matters. At times, despite having a job, she has been forced to sell her plasma for extra money. “I really don’t like doing that,” she said. But it is something she has to do, and with a new change in the amount of social security tax the government will take out of her paycheck, she is going to be more pressed to find ways to make ends meet. She and other students, faculty and staff can expect to see a change in their monthly paychecks, as well as a change in social security, as a result of a recent payroll tax rate increase. The national monthly payroll tax rate for all workers increased from 4.2 percent to 6.2 percent this year, according to a university email sent by the see TAXES pAGe 2

peTiTiOn

meDia

$1.3 million to fund partnership between Gaylord College, South Asia New study abroad program pending DEVIN SIAOSI

Campus reporter

As new media takes off in South Asia, Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication has received two grants to foster its relationship with the region and possibly create a new study abroad program for students. The U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs has provided two grants, totaling $1.3 million, to fund programs that will continue OU’s work in South Asia, said Celia Perkins, director of communication for Gaylord College. The overall goal of the programs is to gain personal, one-on-one experiences among cultures while helping each other establish media understanding of newspapers, television, radio and social media websites, Perkins said. The first grant totals nearly $1 million and will fund a partnership between OU and Pakistan’s University of Gujrat, Perkins said. This would allow entrepreneurs from overseas to visit Gaylord College to learn about mass communication in the U.S.

oud-2013-1-17-a-001,002.indd 1

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16 Oklahomans including Gaylord Dean Joe Foote, Dr. elanie steyn and OU Vice President for strategic Planning and economic Development, Daniel Pullin, traveled to Dhaka, Bangladesh and visited with Nobel Peace Prize winner muhammad yunus (center).

The second grant, totaling $360,000, will fund programs such as the Study of U.S. Institutions, according to a press release. This program allows students from universities in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and India to visit Oklahoma and gain field experience in multiple disciplines, journalism instructor Chris Krug said. It’s important for students to work with professionals and students from South Asia because there is a thriving global market in journalism there that’s different from

what we see in the U.S., said Dean of Gaylord College Joe Foote. In the U.S., journalism is suffering because of declining readership in newspapers and changing business models, but in South Asia, new media is thriving. Ten new television stations have emerged in Bangladesh this last year alone, and news outlets there are very active online as well, Foote said. There are far more media jobs available than the universities there can produce students to fill them. “So it’s refreshing to see the optimism and enthusiasm

of young Bangladeshis, because getting a job is the least of their worries,” Foote said. Undergraduate Gaylord students have the opportunity to gain experience working with international students and learning new media skills by working with these students, Foote said. “It provides exposure for our faculty and students of a country that’s literally halfway around the world,” Foote said. Foote said about four Gaylord students in the past see MEDIA pAGe 2

Students support wage dignity An oU student organization is working to ensure students know they are purchasing free trade material by petitioning president david Boren and the University Bookstore. the student organization for Fair trade is asking Boren to sign a letter outlining their plan to have the bookstore sell at least 50.1 percent Alta Gracia apparel. Alta Gracia is a dominican republic-based apparel company whose mission is to sell clothes made by workers with a “salario digno” - a wage with dignity. Alta Gracia pays its workers more than three times what other dominican apparel workers do, according to their website. the group chose the percentage because 50.1 percent of a company’s workers are needed to form a union in the dominican republic, according to member natasha Kotey, psychology senior. soFt members will meet at 12:30 p.m. Friday at evans Hall to give the letter to Boren and bookstore offi cials. soFt urges anyone concerned with the matter to write a letter and bring it to the presentation. soFt members recently visited the Alta Gracia factory in Villa Altagracia, dominican republic.

Sooners will face stiff competition during Big 12 play Sports: An improved oU men’s basketball team must to navigate a tough conference schedule if it hopes to return to postseason. (Page8)

Free films and concerts this semester Life & Arts: Find out which free activities the university is bringing to you. (Page 6)

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