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Opinion: Does OU discriminate against white applicants in its admissions? (Page 3)
2 011 S I LV E R C R O W N W I N N E R
BIG TIMe SOONeRS
Section: Sooner posts key to success (Page 6)
STUDeNT AFFAIRS
OU accused of discrimination Study looks at law, undergraduate, medical school data LINDSEY RUTA Campus Editor
A research organization devoted to national racial issues, including education, accused the university of discrimination in its admissions process in a study released Monday morning. The Center for Equal Opportunity, a self-described
conservative think tank, released a study claiming the university gave preference to less qualified “underrepresented minorities” in admissions to its undergraduate, medical and law schools. The study looked at admission data from the 2005 to 2006 academic school year and compared the medians of standardized test scores and GPA across races. “We looked at test scores and grades and tried to control for as many variables as
we could,” said Roger Clegg, president of the Center for Equal Opportunity. “From that information, we calculated how heavily race and ethnicity were being used.” The study claims during that academic year “OU Law rejected two American Indians, nine Asian Americans, one African American, eight Hispanics and 105 whites despite higher test scores and grades compared to the median African American admittee.”
Clegg said the center used documents requested from the university to accumulate its data. It did not conduct any interviews or talk to admissions officials for context, he said, but it did look at the admission requirements on the website. “It is unfortunate that the university was not contacted or provided an opportunity to participate in the [Center for Equal Opportunity] study,” said Catherine Bishop, vice president for OU Public Affairs
in an email. Bishop said the study has misunderstood the context of the admissions, and had it reached out to the university, officials could have clarified the admission decisions. “We’re an independent organization and this is an independent study,” Clegg said in response. The university was aware the center was requesting the documents, he said, and the
New local director to take over nonprofit Group to build makeshift homes at Build-a-Thon MELODIE LETTKEMAN Campus Reporter
After 10 years of helping people build new lives for themselves, OU’s Center for Student Advancement director is leaving her post as president of Cleveland County’s Habitat for Humanity chapter. Lisa Portwood soon will step down to give newer board members the exAstRud Reed/tHe dAiLy perience needed to run the organiza- Ryan Puckett, construction science senior, hands off a compressed earth block (CeB) to Norman North Highschool tion. Most members only have been GeMS Club member, Andrea Rodriguez, on Saturday that will be used to build a sustainable Habitat for Humanity and on the board for less than a year, she School of Architecture home. said. “I need to take a couple ‘me’ years,” awareness rather than raisSTUDENT LIFE Portwood said. ing money, but organization AT A GLANCE Portwood leaves the organization around plan to raise an GeT INVOLVeD Week-long event members its 40th build, which is something to be celamount between $2,000 ebrated among chapters of similar sizes, she seeks to spread and $4,000, psychology ou Habitat for Humanity meetings said. Portwood said she’s glad to leave while junior and organization awareness for 9 p.m. Mondays the organization is doing so well. president Brianna versteeg “That’s what people dream of,” Portwood local nonprofit said. dale Hall, Room 103 said. during Build-a-thon, stuou Habitat for The organization’s ability to overcome dent organizations will each Humanity’s annual or register to be a volunteer through difficulties has made it a stronger organizabuild makeshift homes from shack-a-thon event the county chapter’s website tion, and that’s not an easy task considering supplies like cardboard has undergone a name Source: Brianna Versteeg, student organization’s president how many Norman nonprofit organizations change and become part and duct tape and inhabit seek funding, she said. the constructions until 10 of a larger, week-long Habitat for Humanity helps low-income event as the ou’s Habitat p.m., according to a press families find homes by building affordable benefits, she said, one of which is close to release. the organizations for Humanity chapter houses, according to the organization’s her heart: the opportunity for education. attempts to spread more will raise money throughout website. Families who are approved must the day while they build the awareness. make a down payment and monthly morthouses, and students will Melodie Lettkeman the group’s Act! gage payments and help build their own melodie.lettkeman-1@ou.edu be able to donate to their speak! Build! Week house as well as the houses of other apfavorite house during the started Monday and proved families. The organization uses the event. includes Build-a-thon, mortgage payments to fund the developstudents also can make shack-a-thon’s new SEE MORE ONLINE ment of new houses. $10 donations by texting alias, as well as a set of “The families put in their own blood, visit oudaily.com “house” to 52000. other events during the sweat and tears into these homes,” for the complete story week. Portwood said. India Maxwell, Campus the group seeks to oudaily.com/News The opportunity to own a home has many Reporter focus on spreading
ROUNDTABLe
Turkey trying to end Student attacks on civilians Media 30,000 killed by Syrian regime, Akyol said JENNA BIELMAN Campus Reporter A p ro m i n e nt Tu rk i s h journalist spoke to students about the reality of the situation in Syria and the influence of Turkey as a whole Monday afternoon. Mustafa Akyol addressed the ongoing issues in Syria because of its secular dictatorships and how Turkey is trying to help the situation. The symposium, “The War in Syria: Turkey’s Role,” was held in Oklahoma Memorial U n i o n ’s Me a c ha m Auditorium. Akyo, who spoke at OU last year, said he decided
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to return this year to speak on a different topic that he said was relevant to current events. He pointed out that most of the dictatorships are not Islamic and said in actuality they suppress the Islamic groups. Akyol said a democracy is what is “painfully” lacking in Syria and it’s difficult for a democracy and a secular dictatorship to coexist. “ Th e p ro b l e m i s t hat 30,000 people have been killed by Syrian regime forces,” Akyol said. “In the past few months, Syrian airplanes were being used to drop barrels of dynamite into neighborhoods to teach them a lesson. There see LECTURE pAGe 2
delays discussion Imagine the Future set back because of surveys LINDSEY RUTA Campus Editor
The release of a campuswide survey has delayed the final roundtable that is part of an ongoing study to determine the future of campus media. The fourth roundtable for the Imagine the Future: Campus Media in a Digital Age has been postponed. The discussion was scheduled for Wednesday but has
been delayed indefinitely, said Brian Ringer, director of Student Media. The delay is credited to the delay in the campus-wide survey, which was released Friday, Oklahoma Daily adviser Judy Gibbs Robinson said. “[The survey] took a lot longer to get out the door,” she said. The survey originally was supposed to be sent out by email Oct. 1. The the final roundtable discussion’s goal is to be able to present students with potential scenarios and allow them to give feedback, Robinson said. Without the input from the surveys, those scenarios could not be developed, she said.
Lindsey Ruta lruta@ou.edu
SEE MORE ONLINE visit oudaily.com for the complete story oudaily.com/news
OU to promote scholarly research OU participating in Open Access Week for first time ARIANNA PICKARD Campus Reporter
see STUDY pAGe 2
HABITAT FOR HUMANITy
GUeST SPeAkeR
OPeN ACCeSS
Amp up your rhythm L&A: owners of local vintage store Anty shanty opened their new music business Ampy shanty in downtown norman a couple of weeks ago.
For the first time ever OU Libraries are participating in Open Access Week this week to promote the free use of information for scholarly research. Open Access Week is an opportunity for the academic and research community to learn about the benefits of having open access to scholarly research and the rights to using that research, according to openaccessweek.org. Universities and research institutes have used this week to give faculty a chance to vote on campus open-access policies, to report on the benefits of open access and to commit new funds to support open-access publication. “Open Access makes the results of scholarly research freely availabile to anyone, anywhere, with an Internet connection,” said Cecelia Brown, director of the OU School of Library and Information Studies. OU Libraries has created a resource guide for faculty members, librarians and research funders to educate them about what they can do to promote open access. There is a display about open access on the main floor of Bizzell Memorial Library, and the library will also hold a webinar about copyright laws from 1:30-3 p.m, according to the OU Libraries website. Although Open Access Week has been held globally every year for the past five years, OU Libraries public relations director Sarah Robbins said OU libraries has never participated in it. B row n s a i d t h e O U School of Library and Information Studies has not done anything for open access week in the see WEEK pAGe 2
Oklahoma would benefit from a third party Opinion: the state’s restrictions on thirdparty participation let main party’s become complacent. (Page 3)
Coming next week THE CHALLENGING TASK OF REPORTING AND PUNISHING
SEX CRIMES A special report from The Daily
A three-part, in-depth series
Addressing sexual assault is complicated because people who commit crimes don’t always go to prison, and the needs of survivors aren’t always met. While ou offers resources for support and justice, it isn’t free of problems. (In next week’s Daily)
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