The Oklahoma Daily

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The University of Oklahoma’s independent student voice since 1916

Friday, November 12, 2010

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Protest of anti-abortion display denied Student group barred from demonstrating because of paperwork mistake DANNY HATCH The Oklahoma Daily

The Women’s and Gender Studies Student Association was unable to protest against Justice For All’s exhibit Wednesday and Thursday on the South Oval due to a restriction in the Student Code requiring certain paperwork. Student Life denied the group’s ability to protest in response to complaints by Pro-Life Ambassadors, said Sandra Criswell, association co-president. “Pro-Life called the police at least twice,” Criswell said. “The first two times the cops never talked to us, they just observed, and then finally a police officer approached us about someone having an air horn.” It appeared that Criswell and the rest of the student group did not file the proper permit, university spokesman Chris Shilling said. The student group did fill out a permit, but it was the wrong form, Criswell said. “They knew that we were there because of Justice For All, so I guess it was just confusion,” Criswell said. “We filed the tabling permit, but we didn’t realize we needed a separate protest permit.” Typically, Student Affairs approves most permit requests, Shilling said. “One of the most important goals of this university is to support freedom of speech in a peaceful manner,” Shilling said. Registered student organizations wanting to hold a peaceful

JALL COWASJI/ THE DAILY

OU students and Norman community members discuss their views about abortion Thursday on the South Oval. People rallied around the Justice For All exhibit, which included large displays, voting desks and musical performances.

protest must register with the Student Affairs office by filling out a “Facility Use Request” at least five days prior to the event, according to Title 6 of the Student Code. “The Student Code specifies advance notice about protests and demonstrations to ensure that we have resources on hand to preserve campus safety and to inform the university community,” Shilling said in an e-mail. Student Life was unable to be reached for comment after three telephone calls and one in-person

visit to the Student Life office. Even though the Women’s and Gender Studies Student Association was unable to protest, individual students were still out on the South Oval making noise and expressing their disagreement with the display. Justice For All’s anti-abortion exhibit was brought to campus by Pro-Life Ambassadors, an OU student organization. Justice For All aims to make abortion an unthinkable practice, according to its mission statement.

“We are trying to create dialogue on abortion with students around campus by using our different kiosks,” said Maureen McKinley, Justice For All logistics coordinator. Lindsey Vandeventer, women’s and gender studies senior, expressed her distaste for the exhibit. “This is a really conscious, violent act on their part to sell a certain variety of rhetoric,” Vandeventer said. “This imagery is violent imagery, and it’s specifically aimed at inciting a very emotional response in people.”

Cherokee student leader to pass torch leader to step down at end of semester after group switches focus to high school students EMILY HOPKINS The Oklahoma Daily

Corey Still, Native American studies sophomore, has spent his last few years leading community service projects to help his fellow Cherokees and Normanites. Now he’s teaching those skills and values to younger Native Americans. “I was taught that whenever I do something, it’s not because of me,” he said. “We do it for the greater society and for the community, for our people, our brothers, our sisters, our cousins.” Still was first appointed t o C h e r o k e e Na t i o n Yo u t h Leadership Council in December 2006 and has served in such positions as cultural chair, reporter and chaplain, among others. The organization, established in 1989, represents the 14 county jurisdictional districts of the Cherokee Nation. Still is an active presence in

Corey Still the OU Native American community. He is the vice president of the American Indian Student Association and is the secretary of the Sigma Alpha Gamma Society of Native American Gentlemen (a Native American fraternity on campus), is the UOSA representative for the Council of Fire (the Native American debate society) and is the American Indian

Student Life worker in the Student Life office. He is currently working with the OU greek system to organize a coat drive with the Cherokee Nation Youth Leadership Council. The coat drive will continue until Dec. 3 and will benefit the Health and Crisis Center located in Tahlequah. Four sororities and two fraternities will compete to collect the most coats, and the winning sorority or fraternity will receive food baskets for finals week, Still said. Christina Hanvey, vocal music education senior and co-organizer of the coat drive, said she has been involved with the leadership council for seven years and enjoys giving back to the community. “I heard about the organization through a friend and thought it sounded like a great opportunity to get involved with community service and learn more about the Cherokee government,” Hanvey said. The group participates in various community service activities across the Cherokee Nation. The

group’s focus, Still said, is on the youth of the Cherokee Nation, though anyone and everyone in need are welcome to ask for help. “The majority of the time we’re working for specific churches, schools, medical facilities, places like that,” he said. “We try to help Cherokees first. We have a Cherokee preference, but we help anyone.” Currently in a state of limbo, the group is moving away from having college-aged councilors, instead choosing to focus on employing the youth of the Cherokee Nation. “The restructuring of the council is a great shift,” Hanvey said. “There are many Cherokee high school students with untapped leadership potential. The council is an organization that will focus on developing those leadership abilities while also teaching Cherokee culture and offering service opportunities.”

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New events will bring information to students UOSA has announced two upcoming events: Campus Night Out on Nov. 16 and Commuter Day from Nov. 30 through Dec. 1. Norman has partnered with UOSA to bring Campus Night Out to students, said Hannah Morris, political science and public relations junior and UOSA chief of staff. “The focus [of Campus Night Out] is on connecting OU students with the larger community,” Morris said. “It will be much like an information fair.” UOSA has dedicated two days of the following week to clearing up information for commuters on the days designated Commuter Day. Information will be distributed and surveys will be conducted about commuter-parking issues. Campus Night Out will take place from 4 to 6 p.m. on the Walker-Adams Mall. Commuter Day will take place 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the South Oval. —Ryan Gerbosi/The Daily

Canned food sculpture contest benefits food bank Wrapping up a successful week of small-scale service projects, judging of the iCantribute structure contest will take place at 1:15 p.m. today on the South Oval. Nine student organizations have been collecting canned goods all week. They will bring all of their collections to the South Oval and will create a structure of their choice in hopes of winning a surprise grand prize. This is the inaugural iCantribute competition and is sponsored by Circle K International and Campus Activities Council Winter Welcome Week. All collections and proceeds from the event will benefit the Regional Food Bank. The student groups have participated in various other projects, from making fleece blankets for Project Linus, a group that provides blankets to ill children, to creating dog toys out of old T-shirts for Faith Hospice. Structures in the competition will be judged according to appearance, creativity and overall presentation. They must have a 6 feet by 6 feet foundation made of wood, must stay within the 10 feet by 10 feet allotted plot and can stand no higher than 6-feet tall. Only seven people at a time are allowed to work on a structure. The winners of the contest will receive a grand prize, a T-shirt and a gift card. Local business donors include Pei Wei, PassionBerri, Interurban and Papa Murphy’s. — Emily Hopkins/The Daily

November challenge means more writing, less sleep Students participating in writing marathon pushed to complete 50,000-word novel in 30 days SYDNEY MCFERRON The Oklahoma Daily

National Novel Writing Month turns November into a writing race. Those who participate try to complete a 50,000-word novel in one month. Participants may begin at midnight Nov. 1 and try to finish their novel by midnight Nov. 30. Madness, some may say, but Chris Baty, NaNoWriMo founder and executive director, thinks that the competition is a portal of the imagination. “The 50,000-word challenge has a wonderful way of opening up your

imagination and unleashing creativity,” he said in the NaNoWriMo 2010 press release. People participate in this competition worldwide, including some Sooners. Marci Maynor, zoology senior, is competing in NaNoWriMo, and she said it is not an easy task. “A lot of the stuff I write isn’t usable,” Maynor said. “Some of the stuff I don’t know how I would come up with it if [I] weren’t on a time crunch.” Maynor tries to write 1,666 words a day, but there are days when writing seems impossible. “There are some days when I can’t write at all, and then there are some days when I can’t stop,” she said. This year, Maynor is writing a modern “Pride and Prejudice” based off of

A LOOK AT WHAT’S NEW AT T Daily’s RJ Young and MJ Casiano The aargue whether Auburn quarterback CCam Newton should remain eligible

Jane Austen’s novel. NaNoWriMo gives participants a certificate when they complete the 50,000word novel. Maynor competed last year and received the certificate. She finished her novel three hours before the deadline. “ It ’s s o m e t h i n g t o b e p r o u d of,” Maynor said. “It takes a lot of dedication.” Maynor has a bachelor’s in English literature but is now working toward a bachelor’s in zoology. “Now that I’m in science, I enjoy writing even more,” Maynor said. “It acts as my creative outlet.”

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THE OKLAHOMA DAILY VOL. 96, NO. 61 © 2010 OU Publications Board www.facebook.com/OUDaily www.twitter.com/OUDaily

HELEN GRANT/THE DAILY

Eli Bowen, professional writing sophmore, and Jen Elsner, professional writing graduate student, work on their novels for National Novel Writing Month on Wednesday in the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communications.

INDEX Campus .............. 1 Classifieds .......... 4 Life & Arts ........... 2 Opinion .............. 3 Sports ................ 5

TODAY’S WEATHER 64°| 41° Saturday: Sunny, high of 61 degrees Visit the Oklahoma Weather Lab at owl.ou.edu


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