W W W.O U DA I LY.C O M
The University of Oklahoma’s independent student voice since 1916
J U N E 2 4-J U N E 3 0, 2 015
NEWS STUDENT UNION PIANIST
L&A GRUELING ARTS MAJOR
2 3
SPORTS THE GENTLE GIANT
7
ONLINE HIDDEN REGENT EMAILS
VOL. 100, NO. 137 © 2015 OU Publications Board FREE — Additional copies 25¢
Advanced weather research PAGE
4
2 015 S I LV E R C R O W N W I N N E R
2
NEWS
• June 24 - June 30, 2015
Architecture art scholarship Shaw Family award stresses importance of hand renderings SUPRIYA SRIDHAR Staff Reporter @supriyasridhar
DANIEL HOANG/THE DAILY
Electrical engineering senior Daniel Park goes over one of his favorite songs on the piano in Beaird Lounge of The Union on Thusday afternoon. Park has been teaching himself to play the piano since he was eight.
Piano player entertains students for nine hours Exchange student practices on piano in Beaird Lounge ARLETTE ROJANO Staff Reporter @arletterojano
Daniel Park rediscovered his long lost passion for music when he arrived at OU a year ago and now spends hours perfecting his self-taught piano skills for students at the Union every day. Park, an electrical engineering senior and a South Korean exchange student, said he started learning from an instructor at age eight, but quit a year later because he did not find it interesting. Park played occasionally in Korea, but wanted to play frequently again in the U.S. after watching a documentary called “The Secret.” “I was inspired by that movie,” Park said. Park said he could not afford lessons in America, so he decided to teach himself. He said he started watching videos and looking at music
from many famous classical composers. “I started looking at classical music from Chopin, Beethoven and other composers,” Park said. “It’s just so personal to me.” Park said he likes to play in the Beaird Lounge in the Union because the sound of the piano is louder and clearer than other locations on campus with pianos. He said can play up to nine hours in a single session because he gets lost in the music and learning how to play it better. “I play there for a long time because I am always learning,” Park said. “I like [the Beaird Lounge] because it is very open and people will sit down to listen to me play. I’ve gotten used to playing in front of people.” Park also said that after he realized that he had generated a small audience in the lounge, he began to enjoy playing in public more and more. International area studies sophomore Daniela Diaz described his playing as
“graceful and impeccable.” Diaz said that everyone is always curious and “enjoys his music.” She also said that when she met Park, she was completely shocked when he played for her. “When I met him I told him I played the piano and played a small piece for him,” Diaz said. “After watching me, he sat down to play the same piece, however it was played a thousand times better.” Park said he will continue playing for people at the Union as long as he is at OU, and that one day, he wants to play piano professionally. “The reason I can play for up to nine hours is because I know so much music ... I know ver y dense and long songs,” Park said. “Later I will play professionally, but for right now I am just enjoying it.” Arlette Rojano arlette.j.rojano@ou.edu
The Tommy and Bill Shaw Family Scholarship reminds young creatives that hand rendering is the artistic foundation of architecture. A new scholarship in OU’s college of architecture has been named after Tommy and Bill Shaw, two reputed alumni of the college who have designed many famous buildings, including the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. Along with the Murrah building, the Shaws have also designed the Oklahoma State Health Department and the National Severe Storm Laboratory. “ This is a huge act of philanthropy,” Erik Baker, the development associate at the college of architecture, said of the scholarship.
The Shaw brothers’ children are endowing the scholarship in honor of their fathers, Baker said. The Shaw brothers believe in the importance of hand rendering a blueprint even now in the digital age, Baker said. The scholarship will be awarded to a fourth semester architecture student based on his or her studio project, which will be evaluated by architecture faculty, leaders and possibly a member of the Shaw family. “The Shaw family did everything by hand and wants to make sure that art gets preserved,” Baker said. OU architecture alumna Akila Rao, a facilities planner at Stanford University’s School of Medicine, stressed the importance of hand rendering in today’s digital world. The current industry is moving more towards computer generated design; however, to understand the composition of a building, you must first understand the artistic composition of its design, Rao
PHOTO PROVIDED
Hans Butzer, Director of Architecture Tommy Shaw, Bill Shaw, and Charles W. Graham, Dean, College of Architecture stand together in the Jane and Joe Buskuhl Gallery in Gould Hall on April 2, 2015.
said. This in-depth knowledge is necessary and is achieved through hand rendering, Rao said. “I mean that whole expression of art is so different from what it is to take a picture of it”, Rao said, describing hand rendering further as a practical skill necessary to communicate ideas at job sites. Kira Collins, a current fifthyear architecture major at OU, prefers to start her design process with pen and paper. She said architecture is becoming highly technology based now, but students are still taught to start with pen and paper. “The sketch and the hand drawing is both for you to think about what you’re doing to try to get your process out of your head and onto the paper and then also is a means to communicate with your peers,” Collins said, describing the mental constraints software creates when first beginning the design process. The Tommy and Bill Shaw Family Scholarship was finalized close to spring break, Baker said. The recipients will be announced at the College of Architecture Scholarship and Awards Banquet on Sept. 25, where they will get to meet the Shaw family and be awarded the $1,250 scholarship. Supriya Sridhar supriyasridhar@ou.edu
LIFE&ARTS
June 24-June 30, 2015 •
3
Performers endure grueling pace makes people stop.” One of the hardest parts about being in theatre is it can cause students to withdraw from other parts of their life. Being a part of Emily Akins L&A Reporter the program takes a lot out @akins_emily of students physically and mentally. The OU Fine Arts school “I’ve had to quit a lot of orproduces shows year-round ganizations and lost touch that require grueling practicwith a lot of friends and es and long hours. missed out on many opporThere are many different tunities. However, that’s the schools within the fine arts sacrifice you have to take to follow your passion,” Green said. According to Green, a handful of freshmen quit every year. She has seen people quit, including her best friend, but she said she has never considered it herself. The dance school rehearses for shows around 6 to 9 p.m. after their full day of technique classes. They consist of perfecting routines for some sort of piece they are performing. It could be a big yearly production or a smaller show, but they are always learning or cleaning up dance pieces. Rehearsals can last longer if they are working on technology with the theatre. “I think I can speak for all dance majors at OU when I say there is never a day we aren’t pushed to be better,” said dance junior Billi Marder. “And that is so important as a dancer.” Marder said anyone who has quit the dance program does not do it because of difficulty, but just because they want to pursue a different career path. She said it is a hard reality to face deciding what you want to do for the rest of your life. “It’s so stimulating to work SANDRA BENT/OU SCHOOL OF DANCE with theatre professionals Two OU School of Dance students Isaac Martinez and Meredith Short rehearse the ballet “Flutter” for OU to bring a script or piece of Summer Dance, June 26-28. choreography to the stage
Fine Arts students confront challenges from class to stage
program, but some of the most demanding schools are the dance and theatre schools. The theatre rehearsals vary depending on the show and how close performers are to opening night. The average week is usually Monday through Friday from 6 to 11 p.m., and most of the day on Saturday. Each person also has to do tons of work outside of rehearsals on their own to prepare for
a show. They start with taking the play apart scene by scene, perfecting every element from lines, set, blocking, costumes and more. “We live in such a fastpaced society,” theatre junior Sheldon Green said. “Most of the people are always on the move going from point A to point B, without taking the time to enjoy and experience life. This is what makes theatre so amazing, it
and reveal it and communicate it to our audience,” said the director of the School of Dance Mary Holt.
Sometimes it takes years to find your first dance job. The professors mentally and physically prepare students for the reality of the dance world, which can be very “I THINK I CAN SPEAK unsteady. “Although times can be FOR ALL DANCE MAJORS tough and exhausting, we AT OU WHEN I SAY THERE get incredible training and IS NEVER A DAY WE are inspired to never settle for just good, but great,” AREN’T PUSHED TO BE Marder said. BETTER.” Many professional dancers and performers have come from the OU College BILLI MARDER, of Fine Arts, and it is the grueling practices that they DANCE JUNIOR go through which helps One of the hardest mo- them prepare for a potential ments for Marder in the pro- career. gram has been the realization of how hard it actually is Emily Akins to pursue a career in dance. emily.m.akins-1@ou.edu
4
• June 24 - June 30, 2015
5
SEVERE WEATHER NEW RADAR BETTER AT TRACKING STORM PATTERNS
DEON OSBORNE Staff Reporter @deonrnb
Researchers at OU’s Radar Innovations Laboratory are using groundbreaking radar technology to slice the time it takes to predict and analyze severe weather patterns from minutes to mere seconds. The lab, founded by executive director and professor Robert Palmer in 2005, opened in October and is home to the advanced radar research center, a collaboration of OU faculty, graduate students and research scientists in meteorology, electrical engineering, civil engineering and computer engineering fields. “Phased array radars hold the
key to being able to predict severe weather with much better accuracy and with longer lead times,” Palmer said. This means Oklahomans may have a ray of hope for predicting severe weather faster after May’s devastating outbreak of rainfall. Essentially, a phased array radar uses a special antennae with several radiating sources that fire beams like flashlights to scan its surroundings. Its applications extend beyond weather, however, and are also used for military, surveillance and air traffic control purposes. May was the wettest month in Oklahoma history, as it brought record-breaking averages of rainfall: 20.47 inches for Lawton, 19.48 inches for Oklahoma City and 14.06 inches for the state.
Furthermore, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (N.O.A.A.), May was the state’s wettest month in the 121 years since record-keeping began. Tornadoes were also a recurring sight for Oklahoma in May. Data from the N.O.A.A.’s storm prediction center shows 412 tornadoes appeared in contrast to a twenty-year average of only 276 tornadoes for the month, making this past May the most tornado-active month since April 2011. This is where the lab’s phased array radars come in. The laboratory boasts several state-of-theart radars, one of which is called the Atmospheric Imaging Radar (AIR), which uses 36 independent sub-array receivers to scan its
surroundings with a resolution of 30 meters in range. “Subtle changes are observed in the storm structure over one-second intervals,” said the lab’s director of operations and professor Tian-You Yu. “[AIR] takes many short pictures very fast.” Yu said he likes to think of the radar as a giant flashlight and digital camera in one. Yu said it transmits beams like a flashlight while its receivers act as the pixels of a digital camera. Yu works with researchers and graduate students who gather data in the field through a process he calls the Innovation Cycle. Specialists design the radar system, engineers fabricate the system components, storm chasers take the system into the field to
collect data, then scientists analyze the data and feed the results along with tips for radar updates back to the specialists. “A typical weather radar will take an entire volume (of a tornado) in about five minutes,” graduate student Jim Kurdzo said. “We’re getting these volumes in six seconds.” According to Yu, the radar marks a first in the world of tornado data with such a high temporary resolution. “The weather program here at OU is probably the largest in the nation,” Yu said. Deon Osborne deonwrites@gmail.com
“A TYPICAL WEATHER RADAR WILL TAKE AN ENTIRE VOLUME IN ABOUT FIVE MINUTES.” -- JIM KURDZO, GRADUATE STUDENT
DANIEL HOANG/THE DAILY
DANIEL HOANG/THE DAILY
Jim Kurdzo opens files of tornado data analysis of the most recent tornado in Norman at his workstation in the Radar Innovations Laboratory. The Radar Innovations Laboratory is home to the largest academic radar program in the nation.
An employee at Radar Innovations Center stands in the anechoic chamber with a measuring tool on Wednesday afternoon. This anechoic chamber is used for testing of a variety of radar systems.
6
June 24 - June 30, 2015
Joe Buettner
Page Jones 160 Copeland Hall, 860 Van Vleet Oval Norman, OK 73019 phone: 405-325-3666 email: dailynews@ou.edu
Editor in Chief
Brady Vardeman
Digital Managing Editor
Andrew Clark
News/L&A Editor
Universal Crossword Edited by Timothy E. Parker June 24, 2015
ACROSS 1 Type of chest 6 Elected period 10 Affliction of the eyelid 14 Without company 15 La Scala highlight 16 Golfer’s pocketful 17 “And finally ...� 20 “Buenos ___� 21 Not one or the other 22 Chang’s twin 23 Kind of service 24 First and reverse, e.g. 28 Bounce back again 30 Rat fink 32 More crooked or off-center 35 Face a fireballer 36 Don’t take sides 40 One with an electric organ? 41 Nighttime visitor of folklore 42 Early nightlight 45 It may be high or faint 49 Gather 50 Singer Stefani 52 Work wk. starter 6/24
53 More overworked 56 Source of fries 57 “Halt!� 61 Brass subordinate 62 Wraps up 63 Classic record label 64 Within view 65 Lion’s share 66 “Poly� add-on DOWN 1 Mobile artist Alexander 2 “Seinfeld� gal 3 Two tablets every six hours, e.g. 4 Carpenter, army and fire insects 5 Civil War soldier, briefly 6 See 56-Across 7 “Sesame Street� resident 8 Cell block brawl 9 It takes figuring 10 Dorm room staple 11 Oolong, for one 12 Referendum choice 13 “C’___ la vie!� 18 Principle of some labor groups
19 Big name in building blocks 23 “Hold it right there!� 25 Goya’s “Duchess of ___� 26 100 dinars 27 On easy street 29 Semicircular basin in a mountain 30 Farmer’s need 31 Ornamental objects of no great value 33 “Sack� attachment 34 A hotel for travelers 36 Bona fide 37 “If all ___ fails ...� 38 Mountain pool 39 Biochemistry abbr.
Seth Prince
Sports Editor
40 Type of roll 43 Clarence Darrow, notably 44 One more time 46 Produce changes 47 Reporter’s contact 48 Make esteemed 50 Prepares, as for action 51 Least big 54 “Beg pardon ...� 55 Ashcroft’s predecessor 56 Hauls into court 57 Gabriel, for one 58 10-10, e.g. 59 Org. quoted on toothpaste tubes 60 Poem type
PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER
Faculty Adviser
Jackie Eby
Judy Gibbs Robinson
Visual Editor
Faculty Adviser
Emmeline Wood Print Editor
HOROSCOPE By Eugenia Last
Copyright 2015, Newspaper Enterprise Assn.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2015 Your creativity will be magnified when dealing with youngsters. A positive attitude and good fortune will go hand in hand. Your powers of persuasion will be strong, and you will benefit from the advice and cooperation of your allies. Jealousy and fear must be avoided. CANCER (June 21-July 22) -- Pull your own weight today. Others will be too caught up in their own pursuits to give you a hand. Conflict can be avoided if you keep your opinions to yourself. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) -- Your sincerity and enthusiasm will entice others to help you market one of your ideas. Don’t be afraid to speak your mind. You have plenty to gain if you are forthright.
6/23
6/17
Š 2015 Universal Uclick www.upuzzles.com Š 2015 Universal Uclick
STAND THE TEST OF TIME By Rob Lee
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) -- Don’t hold yourself back. You are a gifted individual, so you should let others see what you can do. Present and promote your ideas to someone in a position to help you get ahead. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) -- Reevaluate your motives. It’s up to you to make the changes that will improve your prospects and secure your future. Set up interviews. Your dreams are within reach.
enjoy quality time with the people who count. Your sense of humor will attract positive attention. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) -- Don’t get coerced into a risky joint venture. A smooth talker is best ignored. Do your research thoroughly before you invest in anything. Focus on your goals, not someone else’s. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) -Your quest for knowledge will drive you to visit a variety of locales. The facts you learn will aid you in making a decision and lead to a beneficial connection. PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) -- Be patient with an older family member. Hurt feelings will result if you don’t consider the needs of others. Time spent listening and learning will be beneficial. ARIES (March 21-April 19) -- Moneymaking opportunities are present, but don’t be too free with your cash. Your eagerness to spend money will result in a financial setback. Consider all the pros and cons before you proceed. TAURUS (April 20-May 20) -- In contentious workplace matters, you should side with other dissatisfied colleagues and make your issues known. Your future depends on your ability to deal with people diplomatically.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) -- Heed your intuition. Something is going on behind the scenes, and you will have to dig deep to discover GEMINI (May 21-June 20) -the truth. Be careful not to let your Pamper yourself. Make personal enhancements that boost your apemotions take over. peal and increase your confidence. Time spent in peaceful reflection will SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. help you determine what you want 21) -- Put your heart and soul to do next. into important relationships. Stop dwelling on negative issues, and
J Housing Rentals
J Housing Rentals
APTS. UNFURNISHED
HOUSES UNFURNISHED
Small houses and Apartments all are within 10 minutes walking distance to campus local owners with over 23 years of experience all leases end in May and June each year no pets, smoke free, security deposit, and application required Call 405-360-3850
Students! Walk to OU! Must see Beautifully designed 3 bedroom rental to die for! $1200/m Huge yard, Open floor plan, Hot tub, No pets, No smoking Call now! (405) 822-7298
ROOMS FURNISHED
DUPLEXES UNFURNISHED
Furnished room, share kitchen & bath. M student preferred. Close to campus. $250/mo. all util. paid incl cable & WiFi 405-410-4407 leave a message if no answer
$550/mo! Walk to OU! 2bd, 2 blocks from Sarkey’s Energy Center. Carpet, blinds, NEW CH/A, appliances, W/D: Call 2033493
FREE AD WITH OU.EDU EMAIL ADDRESS Anyone with an ou.edu email address can place their ad in the Classified section of The Oklahoma Daily at no cost. Simply email your ad copy to classifieds@ou.edu, along with name, address and phone contact information. Maximum 5 lines and 10-issue run per listing.
PLACE A PAID AD Phone: 405-325-2521 E-mail: classifieds@ou.edu
Fax: 405-325-7517 Campus Address: COH 149A
DEADLINES Line Ad ..................................................................................3 days prior Place line ad by 9:00 a.m. 3 business days prior to publication.
Display Ad ............................................................................3 days prior Classified Display or Classified Card Ad Place your display, classified display or classified card ads by 5:00 p.m. 3 business days prior to publication.
Previous Solution
Monday- Very Easy Tuesday-Easy Wednesday- Easy Thursday- Medium Friday - Hard
Instructions: 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.
SPORTS
June 24-June 30, 2015 •
7
Selflessness staple of Thomas’ game The Gentle Giant hoping for a chance at the NBA Draft JOE BUETTNER Sports Editor @Joe_Buettner
Selfishness never reflected TaShawn Thomas’ game — no matter how much his father, Ken Thomas, or his coaches wanted him to take control. TaShawn Thomas’ father laughed as he warmly remembered his son’s early playing days when TaShawn’s coaches begged him to shoot the ball more. The Killeen, Texas, player was more concerned, however, with involving his teammates. TaShawn towered over most of his competition, but neither his size nor his obvious talent deterred him from being someone others wanted to play with on the court. “He just wants to be a great teammate,” Ken Thomas said. “TaShawn is the nicest ball player you’re ever going to meet in your life. Before the games — he didn’t do it so much this year — but [I see] he’s shaking the other teams’ hands and he’s just super nice.” His selfless ways showed when he arrived in Norman. He averaged just 11.6 points and 6.5 rebounds per game this past season, but he was a contributor to a winning team. He wasn’t the cornerstone of the Sooners’ success. However, Oklahoma was simply a good fit for TaShawn Thomas, OU coach Lon Kruger said. “Every player is unique. When you come in to a group that’s very unselfish
and plays well together, it usually meshes out pretty well,” Kruger said. “It certainly wasn’t a problem for TaShawn. He was very unselfish and team-oriented from the beginning.” It wasn’t a guarantee he would get to play, however, until the last minute. The NCAA granted his eligibility waiver just 16 hours before Oklahoma’s 2014-15 season opener. TaShawn was immediately inserted in to the starting lineup and helped Oklahoma reach the Sweet 16.
“HE WAS VERY UNSELFISH AND TEAM-ORIENTED FROM THE BEGINNING.” LON KRUGER, OU COACH
create for himself and others and he was a tough matchup for those big forwards defending him. Whether he’s drafted or ot, Thomas will likely get more opportunities to present his skill set on the NBA Summer League circuit, which is annually held in July in Las Vegas, Salt Lake City and Orlando, Florida. “I’m looking forward to [Summer League] and playing on TV in an NBA jersey,” Thomas said. “That’ll be something big. I’ll get the chance to show what else I can do that I didn’t get to show off at Oklahoma.” Basketball won’t always be there for Thomas, however. Unlike a lot of NBA talent, however, Thomas finished school this May and earned a degree in administrative leadership. Ken Thomas recalled his son’s first day at Houston. His parents dropped him off, but before they left their son on his new journey, TaShawn promised his parents he would graduate. Four years later, Ken Thomas and his mother, LaVeda Thomas, saw their only son walk with his classmates and claim his degree. “It meant everything,” Ken Thomas said. “It was very important to see him walk across the stage, because that’s what we wanted more anything. TaShawn’s a smart guy, he knows the ball is not JACQUELINE EBY/THE DAILY going to bounce forever, and Senior forward TaShawn Thomas attempts to make the layup during the game against Oklahoma State when it doesn’t, he knows University on Jan. 17, 2015 at Lloyd Noble Center. Thomas will hope to get selected during the NBA Draft he’s going to have something to fall back on.” on Thursday, June 25, 2015.
“I was grateful I got the chance,” TaShawn Thomas said. “I got to actually experience a tournament and win some games. I can look back and say I had a good year at Oklahoma.” Ta S h a w n T h o m a s i s now preparing for the 2015 NBA Draft, which is set for Thursday at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN. TaShawn will watch the NBA Draft with his family in Killeen, but he’s been busy working out with several NBA franchises, including the Utah Jazz, Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks. game. He, also, teamed up with Thomas is working to stay Impact Basketball, a basket- in shape, as well as staying ball developmental program positive on the court. in Las Vegas, to fine tune his “I need to be more
confident,” Thomas said. “That’s one thing I worry about the most — my confidence and not getting down when something bad is
happening.” Kruger said Thomas has a good, strong body, he handles the ball well and can put it on the floor. He’s able to
Joe Buettner joebuet@ou.edu
8
• june 24- June 30, 2015
Week of Events Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Alice In Wonderland Jr. at 7:30 — Studio of Sooner Theatre on Main Street
Free driving range balls at 5 p.m. — Jimmie Austin Golf Course
Acoustic Open Microphone Night from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. — Michelangelo’s Coffee and Wine Bar
Karaoke Night at Red Brick Bar from 10 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.
Meacham Auditorium presents Cinderella — Friday at 1 p.m., 4 p.m., 7 p.m. and 10 p.m.
The Oklahoma Curling Club will offer the opportunity to try curling from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Arctic Edge Ice Arena in Edmond — $25 a person
Norman Farmer’s Market at Cleveland County Fairgrounds — 8 a.m. to noon
Summer Breeze Concert Series presents Mama Sweet from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at Lions Park
Discovery and Inclusion Program meeting at the Rawl Engineering Practice Facility from 5 p.m. to 7p.m.
Block E of summer classes begins.
Comedian Thomas Middleditch will perform at 7 p.m. in Holmberg Hall
Free Sno cones at 11 a.m. on the South Oval
Jurassic Park will play at Andrews Park from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.