The Oklahoma Daily

THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA’S I NDEPENDENT STUDENT VOICE

VOL. 94, NO. 117 FREE — Additional Copies 25¢

TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2009 © 2009 OU Publications Board

THE OKLAHOMA DAILY Fliers that contained hate speech were illegally inserted into several copies of The Oklahoma Daily Monday morning. Staff members of Student Media are investigating to determine who is responsible for the fliers. If you have any information, please call 405-325-2521.

WHAT’S INSIDE Do you know how to change a tire? What about your oil? Check out page 3 for the Daily’s How-to-Tuesday.

LIFE & ARTS The Daily’s Dusty Somers spoke with the director of “Knowing,” which stars Nicholas Cage.

Check out what he had to say on page 8.

SPORTS The women’s basketball team is one game away from the Women’s NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. For a breakdown of tonight’s game against Georgia Tech, see page 6.

TODAY’S INDEX Campus Notes 8 Classifieds 10 10 Crossword Horoscope 11 L&A 8, 9

News 3, 5, 11 Opinion 4 Police Reports 5 Sports 6, 7 Sudoku 10

WEATHER FORECAST

TODAY

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30%

Okla. lawmakers seek stem-cell research ban • House Bill 1326 attempts to ban embryonic stem cell research LEIGHANNE MANWARREN The Oklahoma Daily President Barack Obama recently reversed former President George W. Bush’s 2001 funding ban against human embryonic stem cell research, but some Oklahoma lawmakers are trying to ban research of the same type of cells.

If passed, House Bill 1326 will make the research of embryonic stem cells, which are taken from unborn fetuses, a misdemeanor because “it would kill a human embryo or subject it to a substantial risk of death or injury,” the bill states.

“Saving lives has been a focus of my legislative career and this is a significant issue,” said Rep. Mike Reynolds, R-Oklahoma City, author of the bill. “If we cannot protect the unborn, we are destined to not survive.”

Reynolds said he is glad the Oklahoma legislature had the foresight to create the bill in response to Obama’s reversal of Bush’s funding ban.

There is currently no embryonic stem cell research in the state.

The OU Health Sciences Center, a state leader of stem cell research, does not conduct embryonic stem cell research because of Bush’s ban on the National Institutes of Health’s funding of embryonic stem cell research. The institutes are national leaders in medical research funding.

But with the funding ban now lifted, there is new medical potential for Oklahoma citizens to benefit from embry- Research associate Crystal Pacutin views pluripotent human embryonic stem cells grown on a

mouse cell layer under a microscope at the University of Michigan Center for Human Embryonic RESEARCH Continues on page 2 Stem Cell Research Laboratory in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Overcrowded prison system could cause ‘major problems’ • More funding and use of private prisons could alleviate problems LEIGHANNE MANWARREN The Oklahoma Daily

WEDNESDAY

LOW 43° HIGH 60° Source: Oklahoma Weather Lab

Science internships attract OU students • OU promotes student interaction with scientists, networking SHERIDAN STOVALL The Oklahoma Daily Stafford Marquardt has a strange double major.

Medicine and marketing aren’t usually thought of as complementary disciplines, but Marquardt, a microbiology and entrepreneurship senior, has found the perfect internship for his unusual course of study at OU’s Center for the Creation of Economic Wealth.

For three years, the CCEW has been uniting students with scientists to practice their entrepreneurship skills as they work to take technologies from concept to completion.

Each semester, the center’s staff selects student interns who work in groups of four to promote the intellectual property being developed by scientists at OU. Interns gain hands-on experience in marketing, communications, financing and research as they work to promote new technologies, according to program manager Mariana Barrientos.

“It is not until students actually implement the theory that they learn in class that they can really learn,” Barrientos said.

This spring, Marquardt, who has been with CCEW for three semesters, is working with his team on the development of a vaccine that could protect people from the tropical disease dengue fever.

The project has been a challenge.

When the group was originally presented with the idea, they were told the vaccine

SCIENCE Continues on page 2

About a third of American adults in the correctional system are incarcerated, while the rest are on probation or parole.

In Oklahoma, that number balloons to more than half being incarcerated.

Some state officials say being so much higher than the national average wastes state funding and overcrowds correctional facilities.

Oklahoma is ranked 43 for the number of people on probation and parole, while the adult incarceration ranking is the seventh highest.

“We are a very conservative state and I guess that is why we incarcerate more people than other states,” said Terry Jenks, Pardon and Parole Board executive director.

After the implementation of the “truth in sentencing” law in 1999, convicts of certain offenses are required to serve at least 85 percent of their jail time before being eligible for parole. Before 1999, an offender only had to serve a third of their time to become eligible.

“With [the 85 percent rule], legislators continue to be harsh by adding additional crimes to the list,” Jenks said.

He said Oklahoma started with 11 offenses under the 85 percent rule in 2000 and now is up to 19.

Another reason Jenks said he believes it is difficult to obtain parole in Oklahoma is because the state has an extra step in the parole process.

“The Pardon and Parole Board sees and reviews over 600 cases about every six months and recommends about 30 percent of the cases they see,” Jenks said. “The board is not particularly harsh with a national average of 34 percent.”

After the Pardon and Parole Board makes its decisions, the eligible parolees

AP photo

Book drive brings lift to prisoners • Drive aims to improve statistically low inmate literacy RICKY MARANON The Oklahoma Daily

Eli Hull / The Daily

The Cleveland County Detention Center is located on Eufala St. and Jones Ave. The Clevelend County Commissioners voted last Fall to build a new county detention center near Franklin Rd. and 24th Ave. must await approval from the governor’s other community solutions such as probation, said Massie. office, which has the final say.

“It is considerably Oklahoma’s cheaper to parole or Department of probate an offender Corrections forerather than incarcercasts major overate them,” he said. crowding problems With more funding in 10 to 20 years for the community if the incarceracourts, Massie said tion rate continues he thinks the state to grow and is not incarceration rate abated.

• In adult incarceration rates, Oklahoma could be lowered.

“We need to look is ranked 7th with 1.32% of the adult Massie said it at the other side of population currently in prison and jail. costs the state more the issue, taking than $20,000 a year into account non• In adult community supervision rates, to incarcerate an violent offenders Oklahoma is ranked 43 with 1.09% of offender, compared and the alternatives the adult population currently on probato about $730 a year to prison time for to supervise them on them,” said Jerry tion and parole. probation or parole.

Massie, Oklahoma Another solution Department of SOURCE: Pew Center for the States to the overcrowding Corrections spokesof prisons would be man. to expand the use of In some community court systems, a lack of resources private prisons; prisons not owned or like well-trained public defenders, drug maintained by the state.

Massie said while Oklahoma holds six rehab and mental treatment centers causes nonviolent offenders to be forced private prisons, the state only uses three. into prison rather than be subject to

OKLAHOMA INCARCARATION RANKINGS

PRISONS Continues on page 2

Inmates in some Oklahoma prisons will now be able to pick from everything from Glamour magazines to Tom Clancy novels if they want something to read.

English advisor Grettie Bondy and English graduate student Kyle Baker started the OU Prison Drive when a librarian asked them for help collecting books for inmates at prisons in Taft.

According to statistics from the Oklahoma Department of Libraries, 70 percent of Oklahoma prisoners scored in the two lowest literacy levels of the National Adult Literacy Survey.

Jerry Massie, a spokesman for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, said the Oklahoma Department of Corrections offers several programs, including literacy programs, to help inmates learn life and career skills while they are incarcerated.

He said many inmates actively participate in these programs because it will be beneficial to them when they return to society and progress can help them when they present their cases before parole boards.

But some inmates are simply voracious readers, Bondy said, and they want new books to read. She said science fiction, westerns and romance novels are some of the most popular genres.

She and Baker are hoping to collect a wide variety of books, including different genres and different reading levels. Because some adults who are new to reading will be among the prisoners affected by

DRIVE Continues on page 2

Jewish fraternity to join Interfraternity Council • Alpha Epsilon Pi still retaining small, close recruitment LAUREN STALFORD The Oklahoma Daily An exclusive Jewish fraternity will join the ranks of 17 other fraternities when it becomes a member of the Interfraternity Council next month.

Alpha Epsilon Pi first approached the idea last semester because they wanted to be part of a larger group on campus.

Isaac Freeman, Alpha Epsilon Pi president, said joining IFC will allow the fraternity to help more on campus.

“There is a lot more we can do for

the OU communisenior and Alpha ty,” said Freeman, Epsilon Pi meminternational secuber also said the rity studies and group felt isoWhat:Israeli Week political science lated from camjunior. “Joining a pus because they Who: Alpha Epsilon Pi larger network is didn’t participate the next step.” in IFC-sponsored What: A week-long series of events He said the fraevents. that celebrate Israeli culture. Events will ternity has always Because Alpha include an panel discussion on Israeli operated like a Epsilon Pi is a peace, Israeli cultural night and an Israeli Greek fraternity member of the block party. by participating in North American rush and philanInterfraternity When:April 27th-May 1st thropic events but Conference, the is still technically OU chapter could a student organizahave joined IFC tion. when they wanted, but IFC is slowly Joining IFC also will help the fra- easing the fraternity into membership ternity get involved in campus-wide so they can be introduced to other IFC events like homecoming, Freeman members, said Kevin Estep, associate said. director of Student Life.

Benjamin Walnick, meteorology He said the fraternity will be offi-

BE THERE

cially presented as an IFC member next month at an IFC meeting.

But the fraternity will have to get used to some changes.

“The biggest hurdle is the transition, dealing with things we haven’t done before,” Freeman said.

The biggest change will be participating in IFC recruitment and rush events, he said.

But Walnick said the group isn’t joining to have a larger recruitment.

“We aren’t in it to be in a big house,” he said. “We are a close-knit group and that’s not going to change.”

One large difference between Alpha Epsilon Pi and other fraternities is its closeness, Walnick said.

“Everyone preaches brotherhood and best friends, but I didn’t get that from the other fraternities because they are so large,” Walnick said.

FRATERNITY Continues on page 2

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News

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Science Continued from page 1

would protect against West Nile virus, but with further research, scientists decided the vaccine was better suited for dengue fever.

Marquardt said the diversity present in his group and in the program allows them to think outside of the box.

“CCEW strives to replicate the diversity that would be in a business setting,” Marquardt said. “Seeing the ways that people in different majors work is really neat, and it’s interesting to see people explain things differently. You come across potholes that you may not be able to answer without help from someone else.”

ODD

in research, teaching and service to the community for the betterment of Oklahoma and the nation,” Pullin said.

Pullin said this semester CCEW interns are working on a project in collaboration with OU’s K20 Center, an educational research and development program at OU. CCEW has partnered with K20 to create a program called Digital Native Learning, which attempts to engage young students with interactive, digitally based learning tools like educational video games.

Interns working on the Digital Native Learning project have had the opportunity to identify funding sources for the venture, apply for grants and work with a research team to build the operation.

“CCEW isn’t like any internship I had experienced prior to working here,” Marquardt said. “It seems from my previ-

In addition to their work on specific projects, interns are expected to expand their network of personal contacts and sharpen their networking skills. Interns are exposed to people they would not normally interact with by attending lectures and seminars led by different speakers in the business world, Barrientos said.

But OU students aren’t the only people who benefit from the program.

University Vice President for Technology Development and Business Development Daniel Pullin said CCEW is essential to OU as well as the state of Oklahoma. The center is geared toward working with students who want to learn how to build enterprises for Oklahoma’s future.

“I think CCEW is emblematic of the culture of innovation that permeates the university of Oklahoma such that were able to combine our key strengths

ous experience interning with a software company that interns sort of fall into performing the same tasks, like making copies or filing papers. With CCEW, you’re not treated as an intern as much as an integral part of the program”.

CCEW’s primary focus is the commercialization of OU technologies, but the entire state stands to benefit from its efforts. Although past semesters’ projects were concentrated entirely on research performed at OU, the program’s directors are starting to look outside OU for opportunities. The vaccine project that Marquardt and his team are working on is a collaboration with the Oklahoma City-based Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation. Pullin said CCEW’s ability to work with OMRF has given the center the ability to impact commercial opportunities beyond the university.

IFC

Prisons

Continued from page 1

Continued from page 1

Freeman said the fraternity’s emphasis on being a Jewish brotherhood is what sets them apart from other fraternities.

The fraternity’s membership isn’t official yet but IFC is excited about the new addition, Estep said.

Alpha Epsilon Pi is excited to become a member of IFC, too, Walnick said.

“We want the campus to know the name Alpha Epsilon Pi, being a member of the IFC gives us a stamp of legitimacy,” he said.

Costing about $18,250 per year per inmate, private prisons are slightly cheaper than the staterun prisons.

“I understand that legislators want to be tough on crime but we should look at each case individually,” Jenks said. “Some people deserve to be punished and stay in prison as long as their sentence is, but there are others that can be rehabilitated and reintroduced into society.”

Drive

Eli Hull / The Daily

LEFT: Several Members of AEPi gather Sunday night in the sanctuary of the Hillel House on Boyd and Elm. The fraternity has 21 registered members.

Continued from page 1 the program, Bondy and Baker are looking for elementary-level reading material as well as novels and magazines.

Some books, however, will not be accepted. Literature about substance abuse, martial arts and violence and manuals on picking locks or making weapons will not be accepted.

“We obviously don’t want to give prisoners manuals telling them how to pick locks, misbehave and even break out of jail.”

Bondy said.

Students who want to donate to the OU Prison Drive can donate books through March 31 in the first-floor lobby of Gittinger Hall or off campus at Skelly Fine Books, 865 12th Ave NE.

Research

STUDENTS DREAM OF GRADE GENIE

• Students share study materials for free online

Students at OU and universities across the nation won’t have to rub a magic lamp to get their educational wishes.

A new Web site, Gradegenie.com, allows students to share notes, study guides and other study materials for free online.

Started by University of Missouri senior, Carey Silverman, Grade Genie is the first of its kind.

“It arose out of a need,” Silverman said.

“I got sick with the flu my freshman year in college and being a new student, I missed the notes and my teachers were too tied up to assist me.”

Silverman surfed the Web for a site to help him catch up with his classes and found himself empty handed. A lack of resources and some free time set his idea for Grade Genie in motion.

Grade Genie was tested for two years at the University of Missouri before it launched in August 2008, Silverman said.

“Within 48 hours, we were mentioned on the Jay Leno show,” he said.

Today more than 6,000 students at MU use the site, Silverman said, where they can search for or post information by school, department, class or instructor.

Although administrators were concerned about Grade Genie’s intentions, Silverman said the site has received positive feedback; Grade Genie seeks their approval before launching, he said.

Silverman said OU asked to join at the beginning of March.

Adam Hawbaker, journalism junior, said the site has yet to gain many users at OU, but it holds potential.

“I think if you get enough people, students will probably start using it,” Hawbaker said.

“It’s way easier than having to go to the library.”

Silverman said the users are the driving force behind Grade Genie.

“The more students that get involved and the more students that put their notes up, the better the site is,” he said.

SANDRA KUNZWEILER / THE DAILY

Continued from page 1

onic stem cell research.

Embryonic stem cells could develop into any of the cell types found in the human adult body, like neurons, cardiac or muscle tissue, insulin-secreting pancreatic islet cells or a liver, said Jim Tomasek, cell biology professor.

Scientists speculate what the cells could develop into could help with Alzheimer’s disease and spinal cord injuries.

Embryonic stem cell research also

could create regenerative medicine to form any cell type, tissue or organ found in the adult.

“The reason for [the possibility in regenerative medicine] is that they are derived from cells present in the 5-dayold human blastocyst that would normally form the embryo and subsequently the adult human,” Tomasek said.

He said lifting the ban on the National Institutes of Health funding would provide an opportunity for any scientist to

apply to receive funding from the institutes to perform embryonic stem cell research.

But Tomasek said if Reynold’s bill is passed, Oklahoma would be put at odds with the institutes’ funding for embryonic stem cell research and other states that allow the research.

Tomasek said the fate of the bill isn’t in his hands and Oklahomans need to let their lawmakers know whether or not they think the bill is a smart decision.

OUR COMMITMENT TO ACCURACY The Daily has a long-standing commitment to serve readers by providing accurate coverage and analysis. Errors are corrected as they are identified. Readers should bring errors to the attention of the editorial board for further investigation.

ERROR SUBMISSIONS e-mail: dailynews@ou.edu phone: 325-3666

CLIMB FOR KOMEN 2009 Event Times March 24........3:00 p.m.

March 26........3:00 p.m.

March 30....... 6:30 p.m.

April 1.............6:30 p.m.

April 3............ 6:30 p.m.

• To reserve your spot, e-mail the Women’s Outreach Center at woc@ou.edu. Register quickly! Each day is limited to ten participants.

• The $5 registration fee includes a T-shirt and 1 hour of training on the Huston Huffman Rockwall.

• All proceeds benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

The University of Oklahoma is an equal opportunity institution. For information or accommodations on the basis of disability, please call the Women’s Outreach Center at 405-325-4929.

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(AND SHOW THEM THAT YOU MADE IT.)

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LAST FREE SENIOR CHANCE! PORTRAIT

Call (405) 325-3668 Final round begins April 6 Sooner yearbook is a publication of OU Student Media in the division of Student Affairs.

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Nijim Dabbour, managing editor dailynews@ou.edu phone: 325-3666 fax: 325-6051 For more, go to oudaily.com.

HOW

Tuesday

Personal Finance

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

3

Saving money with maintenance

• Simple car checks can save time and avoid expensive future repairs

Replacements Changing your oil and tires when necessary can save you money on commercial replacements and, in the case of oil replacements, extend the life of your engine.

CLARK FOY The Oklahoma Daily Students looking to save money might find their answers in the driveway.

Some of the most commonly overlooked auto maintenance issues can actually save money on gas and repair costs.

“Doing a few little things now can save a lot of heartache with your car down the road,” said Chuck Mai, American Automobile Association spokesman.

Most drivers never bother to read their owner’s manual, he said. Many used cars don’t come with the original manual, however they can be found online or acquired from the manufacturer or dealer.

First, check the car to make sure it is properly tuned, Mai said. Today’s cars are more complex — computers operate about 90 percent of the processes inside the engine — so this should be left for professionals to check.

Mai said his biggest pet peeve is under-inflated tires.

“It is very easy to check the inflation of your tires,” Mai said. “It is a three dollar investment that can save you a bunch of money on gas and repairs.

Under-inflated tires are the number one cause of poor gas mileage in America.”

Mai also said drivers should use only premium fuel if their car requires it.

“A lot of people think that premium is “better” than regular fuel,” Mai said. “The truth is it is simply just different. Premium fuel has higher octane levels which are designed for high-performance vehicles. You aren’t doing your cars any favor by using it if your car does not require it.”

Some car-care procedures can be done by the owner, such as changing oil and regulating fluid levels, however some procedures should be left to professionals for safety reasons, said Clark Armor, owner of Brookhaven Goodyear in Norman.

If saving money is your goal, doing a bit of maintenance yourself is one of the best ways to cut costs. The two most common maintenance issues every automobile owner should be aware of are changing flat tires and motor oil. Just remember the most important thing when doing maintenance yourself: be safe. Always jack up a car on solid ground, don’t touch any hot surfaces and be aware of traffic.

Oil

Photos by Lily Chapa/The Daily

Upkeep There are things you can do to not only save trouble, but save money in terms of preventive maintenance. Regular upkeep can catch small problems before they become too expensive, or even prevent problems entirely. These are some of the car parts that are easiest to check and most likely to cause problems if not maintained properly.

#1 Tires Check that your tires are properly inflated to maintain fuel economy.

A car can lose up to 2 percent of mileage for every one pound its tires are underinflated.

#2 Battery Generally, if the battery is more than two years old, have it checked.

This should be left to professionals, as a car battery can be dangerous if the person checking it does not know how to properly handle it.

#3 Fluids Check the fluids under the hood like antifreeze, brake, transmission and power steering fluid. Most can be purchased and filled by the owner or by a professional mechanic.

#4 Air filter Dirty air filters can rob a car of up to 10 percent on its fuel economy.

Most can be easily checked by undoing two clips that hold the air filter cover in place.

YOU ARE INVITED! Public Master Classes

Marilyn Horne Former Star of the Metropolitan Opera, praised by critics as having “the greatest voice of the 20th Century”

7 p.m.

Tuesday, March 24 and Friday, March 27 Pitman Recital Hall Catlett Music Center

Place the jack under the car on solid, level ground and elevate it enough for you to crawl under.

Drain the oil reservoir into a container made to hold motor oil.

Carefully remove the oil filter and allow the oil to drain completely out.

This can get messy.

Check the owner’s manual for the car’s oil capacity and sometimes specific oil types. It is usually written under the hood.

Put the filter back on, preferably a new one. Only hand tighten it, you don’t want to over tighten it because you could crack the seal and make it difficult to replace the filter later.

Pour motor oil through a funnel into the oil reservoir. This may take a few bottles of oil. Wipe up any spills.

Tires Loosen the wheel’s lug nuts with the car on the ground.

Jack the car on solid, level ground.

Finish removing lug nuts and pull the tire off.

Replace it with the spare tire.

Tighten the lug nuts on very well.

Get to the nearest service center to have the removed tire repaired or replaced.

Source: Clark Armor Brookhaven Goodyear owner, Norman

4

Opinion

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

OUR VIEW

Ray Martin, opinion editor dailyopinion@ou.edu phone: 325-7630, fax: 325-6051 For more, go to oudaily.com.

COMMENTS OF THE DAY

Sentencing efforts miss more important issue Oklahoma’s correction systems need help. The leg- ing Cleveland Country Detention Center that voters islature is making changes, then, right? Not exactly. approved last year. They mean much-needed governOklahoma lawmakers are trying to add more ment money that could be spent on roads, bridges, offenses to a list that requires convicted social programs and a host of other needs felons to serve 85 percent of their sentencwill instead be spent on overcrowded es before they’re eligible for parole. While OUR VIEW prisons. we don’t find much wrong with efforts Lawmakers need to enforce sentencing is an editorial to punish those guilty of violent crimes, reform. and take a hard look at whether selected and debated by the editorial board we think these legislators are fighting or not non-violent crimes are reasonable. and written after a the wrong battle. Oklahoma has crowded They also need to consider appropriating majority opinion is more state dollars already in the budget to prisons, high percentages of people incarformed and approved prisons, even if it means cutting the funds cerated and low percentages of people on by the editor. Our View from less important areas. While issuing parole. See page one for more details. is The Daily’s official more state dollars is unreasonable, reWe think legislators should be working opinion. appropriating some might be necessary. to alleviate some of the prison problems.

It’s easy to appear tough on crime by Crowded prisons mean spending more money that the state doesn’t have thanks to a big hiking minimum sentences, but if lawmakers really budget shortfall and a national recession. They mean want to improve the correctional system as a whole, some old prisons have to be renovated, and others they will reject cosmetic procedures in favor of subhave to be built from scratch – like the forthcom- stantial changes.

In response to Max Avery’s Monday column on libertarianism

What do you think about Oklahoma legislators investigating OU’s Darwin 2009 events, or about Blake Griffin getting flipped over someone’s back?

Tell us, and interact with columnists, at the opinion desk blog at: http://oudaily.com/weblogs/ opinion-desk-blog/

If you believe anarchism to be a valid, non-discredited, plausible political system, you may be a college student!

- POSTED BY JJANOWIAK AT OUDAILY.COM

No. No. No. Anarchism will never work, and trying to package it with libertarianism is laughable at best.

- POSTED BY EIGHTBITGIRL AT OUDAILY.COM

Hey folks, why don’t you try to refute his argument instead of just namecalling? You sure found some witty ways to say how ridiculous you think anarchism is, but you don’t present any reasoning. Don’t you see that the point of the article is to make people question why certain labels can automatically discredit ideas? And, to wonder whether ideas we reject outright might have some relevance or worth, even if, like every ideology, they are not foolproof? Please, try to separate cultural stereotypes from engaged, thoughtful political discourse. Come on, we’re in college. Can’t we at least try to sound smart when we argue?

- POSTED BY SARAH AT OUDAILY.COM

STAFF COLUMN

Jindal proof conservative ideas fall short I’m from Louisiana, and boy, do we know how to pick ‘em. Like a rare old recipe, our governors have long been known for their famous blend of ineptitude, corruption and being on-the-make.

Governor Bobby Jindal is making national news as a young conservative voice, but his ideas are nothing new, and our state is evidence that they don’t work.

I met with him during his first campaign for that office in 2003 at a fundraiser at an SLATER antebellum plantation RHEA house in Alexandria, my home town.

I was a junior at the Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts, a state-funded high school for gifted and talented students, and our brief meeting centered on education.

Though I knew of his hard management of the state’s university system and health care budgets, he assured me that the Louisiana School, and more broadly, Louisiana colleges were safe from serious detriment.

“The Louisiana School is a vital program,” I remember him saying, “I would never close it, or seriously cut its budget.”

We talked about people leaving Louisiana, and how if students can gain serious educations in-state, they are more likely to stay and support the economy, the society and that culture that has so long sustained.

And so I left assured, and with all

my youthful enthusiasm, encouraged my teachers and all my friends to support this man in his bid for the governor’s mansion.

Though he lost that election, Gov. Blanco’s profound bungling of the response to Katrina and his own assumption of disgraced Sen. David Vitter’s former congressional seat allowed an easy win in 2007.

And many, like me, supported him again, based on his intelligence and bravura education, and by the dire situation in our state.

But the young Rhodes Scholar with new ideas and a passion for reform has proven dedicated instead to aping old ideas and to slashing the state’s income by massive tax cuts to the well-to-do and to corporations, and an intolerance of those displaced and out-of-work by the scourges of Katrina and the national recession.

According to “The New Orleans Times-Picayune,” Jindal’s new ‘balanced’ budget for the coming fiscal year slashes 1,421 state jobs, cuts funding to healthcare programs by 5 percent, and cut’s the state’s support to colleges and university a full 8 percent.

The Louisiana School, my alma mater and Jindal’s “vital program” takes it on the chin with a whopping 17 percent cut, the loss of three fulltime staff members, and a reduction of building operating costs of over $100,000.

This is while the school will be adding two new buildings and doubling the space it must heat and cool.

All salaries will be cut by 3 percent,

Photo provided

Columnist Slater Rhea and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal at a fundraiser in Alexandria, La. in 2003. and administrators’ by 10 percent.

The most insidious part of Jindal’s program of cuts is that the state holds a fund of $420 million for such hard times as these which he refuses to tap, and at the same time he has refused $100 million in aid from the federal government that would have given 25,000 Louisiana residents unemployment benefits.

It is flawed and unbalanced in a state that so long has stood as a high cultural legacy to its own citizens and to its country, in the fertile crescent of jazz and the seeding ground of so much of what is uniquely American, our people have no advocate. And they are leaving.

And that which is most valuable – our lives together, our unique, indefatigable and centuries-enduring culture – is dying a little every day.

And some of it – like the lower ninth ward in New Orleans and so many stories you’ll never hear – is dead now, and gone forever.

And, bitter and ironic, for what will it go?

For the generic, bankrupt policies of the last eight years, failed and abandoned on the ash heap of American history in the last national election, and only to gain a new standard barer in Jindal.

The immigrants’ child who took the name of Bobby from TV’s “The Brady

Bunch” and believed that in America, everything is possible.

It is true, and must be. That amid crises that would ruin and explode any other nation, we will prevail, because we must.

It is the same belief that keeps my and others’ hopes alive that one day, we’ll stop the coastal erosion in south Louisiana, where every 38 minutes, a football-field size of precious wetlands disappears into the sea.

But the tide will not be, and cannot be turned by cutting taxes for the wealthy and on corporations, and bringing the state’s needs into “balance” with those shortfalls.

These are generational problems, and require long, deep thinking and long-term planning. They cannot be solved by the pat, conservative dogmas that Jindal espouses and so-well has enforced.

His convert’s zeal and devotion to the hokum of old conservatism is as conspicuous and self-conscious as his adoption of Catholicism and the fauxLouisiana accent he speaks with.

But unlike those stalwart pillars of our culture, his false god has fallen, and his idol-worship shames us all.

Louisiana shows us why, as a nation, we can only move forward as we are now, and Bobby Jindal shows us why the Republicans are out on their can.

I hope to God with all I care for and feel that it won’t be too late for Louisiana.

Slater Rhea is an English literary and cultural studies and letters senior.

STAFF COLUMN

Overbooked flights shouldn’t keep us from flying

I N D E P E N D E N T

S T U D E N T

V O I C E

NEWSROOM DIRECTORY Meredith Simons Nijim Dabbour Jamie Hughes Mack Burke Ray Martin Zach Butler

Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Assistant Managing Editor Night Editor Opinion Editor Photo Editor

Dane Beavers Whitney Bryen Steven Jones Luke Atkinson Judy Gibbs Robinson R.T. Conwell

Senior Online Editor Multimedia Editor Sports Editor Life & Arts Editor Editorial Adviser Advertising Manager

By simply overbooking the flights, the airlines are increasing their income while not increasing the amount of flights they make...it makes business sense. were in their shoes, I would have done the same thing.

According to a study done by United Airlines, no-shows range from about 10 to 15 percent of all scheduled passengers on their flights and can even get up to around 30 percent on some.

These no-shows often don’t get refunds for their flights, so it is not a huge drain on their income. It is, however, an opportunity to make a little extra profit.

By simply overbooking the flights, the airlines are increasing their income while not increasing the amount of flights they make.

The only cost of this venture is a few angry customers, such as myself, who are unlucky

O F

160 Copeland Hall 860 Van Vleet Oval Norman, OK 73019-0270 phone: (405) 325-3666 e-mail: dailynews@ou.edu

T H E The Fine Print

T H E

stupendous accommodations at the Airport Hilton.

I was informed that I was booked on a flight for Tuesday, though this was not very reassuring as, as I was previously booked on the flight that had just taken off without me.

You can imagine, with tons of homework left unfinished in Norman and a test coming up Tuesday, I was not too thrilled with the prospect of an extended spring break at the Denver Airport.

So, for the rest of the day, I ran from gate to gate trying to get lucky enough to get onto a plane to Oklahoma City.

My efforts paid off, and I got home with just enough time left to grab my bags from the lost luggage center, catch a ride home, and fall into the sweet enveloping sheets of my bed.

After such an ordeal, you would think I would forsake the airline companies, rip up my free ticket, and vow only to travel by greyhound bus from now on.

This is not the case, however, because, even though I was infuriated with United Airlines at the time, I understand why they did it, and if I

Contact Us

As I sat in the Denver Airport Sunday night, four hours after the plane that was supposed to carry me back to Oklahoma had already departed, I wondered what god had created a world in which airlines overbooked their planes.

Now, though, I am convinced to fly despite the overbooked flights and hassle for the few unfortunate people who have to wait.

I booked my ticket months in advance, picked out my favorite seat (the exit row aisle seat), and had arrived at the Denver airport from Canada ready to make my connection back to the Sooner State.

A very irritable and somewhat rude United Airlines employCARSON ee informed me, however, that PAINTER they had overbooked the flight, and I was one of the unfortunate five people who would not be getting a seat.

Don’t worry, though. I was compensated with a brief smile, a free flight to anywhere in the U.S., save the fun places such as Hawaii, and

enough to show up for a full plane!

So, while overbooking is a hassle for some of us, it makes business sense.

When it comes down to it, the airlines are a business, not a public service, and it is their duty as a company to make as much profit as possible.

This incident will not stop me from flying. In fact, with my free ticket, I am now thinking of where I want to fly next!

Maybe a revenge flight from Southern California to Maine would be nice.

Carson Painter is an international business and finance sophomore.

U N I V E R S I T Y

The Oklahoma Daily is a public forum and OU’s independent student voice.

Letters should concentrate on issues, not personalities, and should be fewer than 250 words, typed, double spaced and signed by the author(s). Letters will 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. Authors submitting letters in person must present photo identification. Submit letters

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O K L A H O M A

Sunday through Thursday, in 160 Copeland Hall. Letters can also be submitted via e-mail to dailyopinion@ou.edu.

Guest columns are accepted at editor’s discretion. ’Our View’ is the voice of The Oklahoma Daily.

Editorial Board members are The Daily’s editorial staff.

The board meets Sunday through Thursday in 160 Copeland Hall.

Columnists’ and cartoonists’ opinions are not necessarily the opinions of The Daily Editorial Board.

News

Obama moves against bad bank assets

Gerald Herbert/AP Photo

President Barack Obama smiles Monday in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington. Joining him, from left are, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Chair Sheila Bair.

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration aimed squarely at the crisis clogging the nation’s credit system Monday with a plan to take over up to $1 trillion in sour mortgage securities with the help of private investors. For once, Wall Street cheered.

The announcement, closely stage-managed throughout the

day, filled in crucial blanks in the administration’s financial rescue package and formed what President Barack Obama called “one more critical element in our recovery.”

The coordinated effort by the Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. relies on a mix of

government and private money — mostly from institutional investors such as hedge funds — to help banks rid their balance sheets of real-estate related securities that are now extremely difficult to value.

The goal, said Obama, is to get banks lending again, so “families can get basic consumer loans, auto loans, student loans, (and so) that small businesses are able to finance themselves, and we can start getting this economy moving again.”

It was a huge gambit and one that came like a tonic to Wall Street, which had panned an earlier outline of the program that lacked detail.

Stocks soared, the Dow Jones industrial average shooting up nearly 500 points, thanks to the bank-assets plan and a report showing an unexpected jump in home sales.

The introduction of the plan was closely choreographed so that the president — rather than Geithner — would be the first administration official to appear on camera at midday to discuss it. Geithner met earlier in the day, before markets opened, with a group of reporters at the Treasury Department to go

over specifics. But cameras and broadcast-quality audio recorders were barred.

It was the reverse of what happened Feb. 10. Then, after Obama had helped raise expectations toward Geithner and the plan, the treasury secretary went before cameras and bombed. The Dow plunged about 300 points amid investor confusion about details.

The fleshed-out plan is designed to help fix a value on damaged mortgage loans and other toxic securities.

If the value of the securities goes up, the private investors and taxpayers would share in the gains.

If the values go down, the government and private investors would incur losses.

“This will help banks clean up their balance sheets and make it easier for them to raise capital,” Geithner said.

The plan will take $75 billion to $100 billion from the government’s existing $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program. The government will pair this with private investments and loans from the FDIC and the Fed to generate $500 billion in purchasing power.

—AP

ND city scrambles to prepare for flooding

Williston Herald, Alan Reed/AP Photo

Sunday, a trailer home and garage immediately off of U.S. Highway 85 on the south edge of Waterford City, ND is surrounded by water from Cherry Creek. High school and college students were let out of class Monday in Fargo to help with sandbagging as residents raced to hold off a threat of flooding from the rising Red River.

5

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

FARGO, N.D. — The city of Fargo is racing to fill 1.5 million sandbags to prepare for record flooding as a nearby river is expected to crest more than 20 feet above flood stage.

Volunteers were being bused to a city utility building the size of a football field where they will fill sandbags, officials said. The city also bought two machines that resemble large spiders and can produce about 5,000 sandbags an hour.

“It looks a little ‘Star War’-ish in here,” said Bruce Grubb, Fargo’s enterprise director.

The National Weather Service projected that the Red River would crest between 37 feet and 40 feet between March 28 and April 1.

That’s about 22 feet above flood stage and about a half-foot higher than the 1997 spring flood that swamped several homes. A storm also was expected to drop one or two inches of rain in the Red River Valley starting Sunday.

“If we go to 40 feet, we’re going to be tested,” Fargo Mayor Dennis Walaker said Saturday after touring sandbagging operations with North Dakota Gov. John Hoeven and other officials.

Officials said it would be difficult to predict the extent of flooding.

Walaker said an aerial tour of the river basin indicated the situation “didn’t look as threatening as we’ve been hearing.”

City officials said 225 National Guard soldiers have been called in ahead of the flooding, and the mayor said the North Dakota State University football team was scheduled to help with the sandbagging process.

Stephen Colbert wins NASA space station name contest

Jason DeCrow/AP Photo

In this Monday, March 5, 2007 file photo, Stephen Colbert poses in New York.

Colbert, whose mock presidential campaign could not get off the ground, is succeeding at a much higher altitude electoral pursuit: getting the new room of the international Space Station named "Colbert."

WASHINGTON — NASA’s online contest to name a new room at the international space station went awry. Comedian Stephen Colbert won.

The name “Colbert” beat out NASA’s four suggested options in the space agency’s effort to have the public help name the addition. The new room will be launched later this year.

NASA’s mistake was allowing write-ins. Colbert urged viewers of his Comedy Central show, “The

Colbert Report” to write in his name.

And they complied, with 230,539 votes. That clobbered Serenity, one of the NASA choices, by more than 40,000 votes. Nearly 1.2 million votes were cast by the time the contest ended Friday.

NASA reserves the right to choose an appropriate name.

Agency spokesman John Yembrick said NASA will decide in April, but will give top vote-getters “the most consideration.”

—AP

POLICE REPORTS

MUNICIPAL WARRANT

Names are compiled from the Norman Police Department and OUPD. The reports serve as a record of arrests, not convictions. Those listed are innocent until proven guilty.

Toni Rose Castaneda, 25, 1004 E. Main St., Sunday

COUNTY WARRANT DRIVING WHILE IMPAIRED

Robert William Drake, 30, 1430 24th Ave. SW, Sunday Francis Brownlow Williams, 25, 24th Avenue, Sunday

Matthew Robert Erickson, 22, 187 N. Cockrel Ave., Sunday

POSSESSION OF MARIJUANA DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE Roberto Mitchell Hernandez, 22, North Peters Avenue, Sunday Muriel Littlecalf, 48, 5401 Huettner Dr., Sunday

PUBLIC INTOXICATION Timothy Lawton Mitchell, 21, North Interstate Drive, Sunday

Samuel Tyrone Woodfork, 20, South Flood Avenue, Sunday

GRAND LARCENY Amy J. Cory, 40, 3499 W. Main St., Sunday, also contributing to the delinquency of a minor

OUTRAGING PUBLIC DECENCY Richard Steven Cox, 23, Asp Avenue, Sunday

—AP

$1,000 Fellowship to Study WIND ENERGY! Accepting applications for the 2009-2010 Mark Coleman Fellowship on the Environment “Wind Energy: The future for Oklahoma?”

Many experts are predicting that wind generated electricity will be the next major growth opportunity in the Oklahoma energy industry.

• What are Oklahoma’s assets that drive this prediction?

• What are the obstacles to the growth of the wind industry in Oklahoma?

• Who are the winners as this industry develops?

• Are any stakeholders losers in this process?

• What is the potential role and economic niche for distributed vs. centrally generated electricity?

Hands-on Experience in Environmental Decision Making Both semesters of the 2009-2010 academic year will be spent researching the history, regulatory context, ecological, economic, and political aspects of wind energy. The project will culminate in one or more public presentations on the work and submission of a 20-page paper.

Money and Academic Credit, too!

The Coleman Fellowship carries a stipend of $1,000 plus reimbursement for three hours of tuition & fees at the in-state rate (one credit hour in Fall and two credit hours in the Spring), supplies, and travel associated with the research.

Who Can Apply?

Any full-time, regularly enrolled, undergraduate at the University of Oklahoma, who is planning to graduate no earlier than May 2010 and no later than May 2012.

For application information, please email ipe@ou.edu or call 325-0595.

Application Deadline: April 8, 2009

6

Sports

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Women’s Basketball

OU faces Georgia Tech tonight ANNELISE RUSSELL The Oklahoma Daily The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are the next roadblock the Sooners must hurdle to bound into this year’s Sweet 16.

The Sooners took down Prairie-View A&M in the first round to advance to the second round of the tournament where they will face the Yellow Jackets out of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Georgia Tech made it into the tournament at an impressive 22-9 and drew Iowa for its first round game.

Georgia Tech was without its leading scorer for Sunday’s game against the Hawkeyes, but even minus Alex Montgomery Georgia Tech’s quick defense was too much for the struggling Hawkeyes.

Iowa had the home court advantage with the game in Iowa City, but the Yellow Jackets posted 20 more attempted shots than Iowa.

For the Sooners to put away Georgia Tech, they need to find some intensity and momentum to carry them from tip-off to the final buzzer.

Against Prairie-View, the Sooners put together ten-point swings and built momentum squarely behind them, but then they consistently let their opponent back into the game.

The Sooners will be looking for their reliable senior center Courtney Paris to post another big game by cleaning up rebounds underneath and putting them back up. Paris is currently averaging 16.4 points per game and 13.7 rebounds per game.

Sophomore guard Jenny Vining was shooting poorly at the start of the season, but in the past six games is averaging almost 50 percent from behind the three-point line. She is a key aspect of the Sooner bench and for OU to be successful in the tournament she needs to be able to come off the bench and knock down outside shots.

If OU moves past the Yellow Jackets they will have improved from last year where they were ousted prematurely in the second round by Notre Dame. Throughout the Paris dynasty, the Sooners have not made it past the Sweet 16.

If Paris is to stay true to her promise to bring home a National Championship, that will be further than these Sooners have ever gone.

Steven Jones, sports editor dailysports@ou.edu phone: 325-7630, fax: 325-6051 For more, go to oudaily.com.

STAFF COLUMN

Officials could keep closer eye on Griffin’s defenders to limit abuse aybe Sooner fans should thank Morgan State freshman forward Ameer Ali for going kung-fu on sophomore forward Blake Griffin in OU’s opening round victory of the NCAA tournament Friday.

Not only did Ali’s “unintentional” flip and consequential ejection from the game cause an immediate spark from the rest of the Sooners, but it opened up the referees’ eyes to the pounding Griffin has been taking all season.

It can be argued the Sooners were given a bit of help from the referees in Saturday’s second round victory against Michigan as some of the fouls called against the Wolverines could have easily been good no-calls. But, many of those calls came after Griffin had already taken a beating that he had grown accustomed to during Big 12 play.

Griffin played part of the first half with gauze JONO sticking out of his nostril to stop a nose bleed and GRECO had to put on a protective pad after falling on his left elbow while going after a rebound during the first half.

The “Hack-a-Blake” game-plan many teams have been using all year is about to be extinct because the refs will, or at least should, keep an extra eye on the abuse Griffin consistently takes in the paint.

The Syracuse Orange aren’t going to be stupid and will likely foul Griffin, as he is shooting an abysmal 59 percent from the free throw line and has shot 11-20 on free throws during the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament.

But, with the refs finally protecting Griffin during the second half against Michigan, Syracuse is going to have to be careful with exactly how they’re going to defend him. The refs can go to either side of the spectrum, either calling just about any contact they see on Griffin or letting them play and not let the game be decided because of a foul or two.

No matter what happens in Friday’s game, the refs will be scrutinized because they can’t do a little of both. They’re going to have to be consistent in their calls, and from the look of their most recent actions, they’re going to protect Griffin and call the fouls.

Mr. Ali should take the credit for turning the “Hack-a-Blake” philosophy on its back. Now the Naismith Award Finalist can play without worrying in what minute he’ll start his 12-round bout.

M

[Ameer] Ali should take the credit for turning the “Hack-a-Blake” philosophy on its back.

Eli Hull/The Daily

Senior center Courtney Paris (3) muscles her way past Kansas’ Krysten Boogaard on March 13 at the Big 12 tournament in Oklahoma City. The Sooners beat the Jayhawks 76-59.

JOIN THE OKLAHOMA DAILY’S LIVE CHAT What: A live chat with The Oklahoma Daily’s sports staff during the men’s basketball’s Sweet 16 game against Syracuse Where: OUDaily.com When: Friday beginning at 6:27 p.m.

Log on to OUDaily.com Friday night to participate in the conversation.

25 Feaver-MacMinn th

Anniversary

Public Lecture

NEED MORE HOURS? HOW ABOUT SOME FUN? 5 DAYS IN CLASS, 3 HOURS CREDIT

May 2009 Intersession Environments in Fiction (Univ4000/Grad 5003) Class meets May 18-22, 2009

Neuromarketing, Coercive Advertising, and Autonomy (Univ4000/Grad 5003)

The World Food Crisis: Its Roots to the Future Date: Time: Location:

Thursday, March 26, 2009 7 p.m.

Dick Bell Courtroom, University of Oklahoma College of Law 300 Timberdell Rd., Norman, OK Reception to follow in the Sneed Lounge

Speaker:

Robert L. Thompson, Ph.D. Gardner Endowed Chair in Agriculture, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Thompson is active in the global trade debates of the World Trade Organization and will share his thoughts on the world food crisis. He holds an in-depth perspective on the world food economy and its predicted demand and supply, and the effects of national and world exports and imports of agricultural food and dairy products. As an international expert, he has lectured, consulted or conducted research in more than 90 countries worldwide, while carrying on projects in rural development with a focus on food productivity and distribution.

Class meets May 18-22, 2009

Fall 2009 Islam & the West After 9/11 (Univ4000/Grad5003) October 7-11, 2009

The Hacker Ethic (Univ4000/Grad5003) November 4-8, 2009 Special permission & application required 3 hours upper division/graduate credit For additional information: www.oslep.org 325-4309.

For additional information visit:

www.ou.edu/cls/fm A Tradition of Excellence in Scholarship Sponsored by the College of Liberal Studies The University of Oklahoma

Sports

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Baseball

State of the Sooners address • The Daily’s Jono Greco examines the baseball team’s performance so far After posting a 5-2 record over spring break, the No. 12 baseball team returns to L. Dale Mitchell Park to take on the Central Arkansas Bears today at 7 p.m. before continuing its Big 12 schedule.

The Sooners (20-5, 2-1) posted a perfect 12-0 record at home and look to continue that trend today against the Bears, who are 12-9 overall 4-3 on the road.

HITTING Coming off a 29-4 thrashing of the Kansas State Wildcats that included 11 OU long balls, it is easy to say that the Sooners’ offensive attack is one of the most lethal in all of college baseball. In 25 games, OU has outscored its opponents 248-136 and hit 40 round-trippers, 14 less than the 2008 team hit in 63 games.

Junior center fielder Jamie Johnson has hit seven home runs, a career high, and junior short stop Bryant Hernandez has doubled his career total by blasting four homers.

But, the offensive production is not a JONO result of just home runs as the Sooners GRECO can beat anyone by playing small ball.

Sooner base runners have stolen 30 bases on 39 attempts – Johnson has yet to be caught stealing in any of his 10 attempts – and hitters have totaled 41 sacrifices: 13 sacrifice flies and 28 sacrifice bunts and hits.

Senior second baseman Matt Harughty has laid down many bunts that have plated runners from third, went for singles or both.

Combining the various players who can come off the bench and cause opposing pitchers havoc with the one-through-nine starters has caused nightmares for opposing pitchers. The Central Arkansas pitching staff, who has posted a 4.74 ERA, will have to pick its poison when dealing with the Sooners’ lineup.

FIELDING The Sooners defense has done almost everything it has been asked by making plays on a regular basis and not getting pitchers into unnecessary jams. In 25 games, OU has committed 22 errors – 15 by infielders, five by outfielders and two by pitchers – but has not

Elizabeth Nalewajk/The Daily

Redshirt freshman infielder Garrett Buechele fouls off a pitch during the Sooners’ game against Houston Baptist on March 10 at L. Dale Mitchell Park. The Sooners won the game 10-1 in the first game of a double-header. OU swept the double-header, and is undefeated at home this season. lost any games because of a costly error.

Johnson has a 1.000 fielding percentage and is the only player to start every game for the Sooners this season who has not committed an error.

WISE PLAYER OF THE WEEK Senior catcher J.T. Wise was named the Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the Week Monday.

Wise currently has a 10-game hitting streak and ďŹ nished last week with a .533 batting average.

In four games, he had two home runs and knocked in 11 RBIs. Wise had a .933 slugging percentage during the week. — DAILY STAFF

J.T. WISE

PITCHING

SPORTS BRIEFS Paris, Griffin both Naismith finalists The Sooners already have a Heisman Trophy winner on campus, and they may soon have two National Player of the Year winners as well.

Senior center Courtney Paris and sophomore forward Blake GriďŹƒn are both one of four ďŹ nalists for the Naismith Trophy, presented annually to college basketball’s best player.

This season, GriďŹƒn has averaged 22.5 points per game and 14.4 rebounds per game. He shot 65 percent on the season and was the Big 12’ s player of the year.

Paris, the women’s Big 12 player of the year, averaged 16.4 points and 13.7 rebounds per game. Paris shot 59 percent from the ďŹ eld this season.

The four women’s ďŹ nalists are Paris, Renee Montgomery and Maya Moore of Connecticut and Angel McCoughtry from Louisville.

On the men’s side, the ďŹ nalists are GriďŹƒn, Pittsburgh’s DeJuan Blair, North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough and Connecticut’s Hasheem Thabeet.

Flores named Big 12 Player of the Week

The Sooners’ pitching staff could possibly be the weak link on a strong team, but that does not mean they have performed poorly through 25 games.

On average, they are allowing a hair more than five runs on about 10 hits per game. A pitching staff can survive with those numbers when it is backed by an offense that averages 9.92 runs per game and a defense that commits less than one error per game.

Junior Andrew Doyle (2-2), sophomore Michael Rocha (3-1) and sophomore Antwonie Hubbard (1-0) lead the starting pitchers as they have posted ERAs of 4.55, 4.35 and 3.00 respectively.

Sophomore pitcher Ryan Duke (2-0) has been consistent out of the bullpen as he has a 2.77 ERA in 13 innings and has recorded five saves.

Despite the offensive support, OU’s pitching staff’s 5.16 ERA is going to have to improve if it wants to succeed in the Big 12 and postseason.

Junior shortstop Amber Flores was named softball’s Big 12 Player of the Week for the second time this season on Monday.

Against Iowa State on Saturday, Flores was a perfect 5-5 at the place and knocked in ďŹ ve RBIs in OU’s 10-7 Flores hit a walk-o home run in the seventh inning of the game.

On Sunday, also against Iowa State, Flores was 1-2 with one run scored. Over the weekend, she hit .857 and had a slugging percentage of 1.8757. She scored three runs.

The Sooners next game is Wednesday at 5 p.m.

JONO GRECO IS A JOURNALISM SOPHOMORE.

— DAILY STAFF

Lloyd Iverson Scholarship

OU Federal Credit Union is giving away a $500 scholarship to full time undergraduate students who are members of the credit union. Please call 325.4902, visit any of our locations, or log on www.oufcu.com for more information!

Locations: OMU Room 135 325.6048 2000 W. Lindsey 325.2211 300 12th Ave. SE www.oufcu.com

Honor ĂŒ

Integrity

ĂŒ

Respect

Membership Applications Now Available

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8

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Life & Arts

Luke Atkinson, L&A editor dailyent@ou.edu phone: 325-5189, fax: 325-6051 For more, go to oudaily.com.

Q&A WITH THE DIRECTOR OF ‘KNOWING’ EDITOR’S NOTE: The Daily’s Dusty Somers participated in a conference call with Alex Proyas, the director of “Knowing,” which is in theaters now.

In recent years, apocalyptic movies have become extremely popular. Why do you think that is?

Alex Proyas: When people live in uncertain times I guess it’s something we dwell upon. We all know what the current potential doom scenarios are for our civilization. And I think everyone’s genuinely concerned, and movies are a reflection of that, really.

[It’s] a way of analyzing the situation in [a] dramatic form and helping us perhaps find a solution. Or at worse, prepare ourselves.

With the rate at which technology is increasing these days, do you have to go back to school every time you do a film with lots of special effects?

AP: It’s sort of an evolutionary process. You know, the one thing that I have done in this film for the first time is I shot the movie digitally. In this instance, I used a camera called the RED camera, which I was really impressed with. That was a bit [of a] learning curve for me and for my entire crew.

Do you think the RED camera and digital cinema is changing the industry?

AP: I think it’s definitely going to give us a more [even] playing field in terms of big and small budgets because it costs $50,000 to purchase [the RED camera], which would seem like a lot of money to many younger filmmakers, but compared to the hundreds and thousands of dollars that camera equipment of that quality has cost to this point, it’s becoming a very affordable medium. I think anything that makes filmmaking less expensive is good for everybody.

Is there any specific moral message that you want to be conveyed through the film?

AP: [The movie] is a spiritual question on the part of Nicolas Cage’s character. He starts off believing that the universe is a meaningless place that functions on the basis of randomness and chaos, and comes to realize that perhaps there is meaning to his life on earth. And that to me is a deeply spiritual aspect of the film, and that’s why [I made] the movie.

DUSTY SOMERS IS A JOURNALISM JUNIOR.

L&A BRIEFS Museum of Art to hold student-only opening party The Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art will be hosting a party at 7 p.m. tomorrow to welcome the Edward S. Curtis “Gathering Fragments” photo exhibit.

The festivities will include free food and performances by the Sooner Scandals group and a live DJ. “Gathering Fragments” is a photo exhibit documenting the lives of Native American tribes in Oklahoma during the 1920s. It contains over 75 photos of multiple tribes, including the Comanche, Cheyenne, Otoe and Wichita.

The photo exhibit opens Friday, March 27.

Williams recovering in Ohio after heart surgery NEW YORK — Robin Williams is recovering at the Cleveland Clinic after heart surgery that his doctors deemed successful, his publicists said Monday.

The 57-year-old actor had an operation to replace an aortic valve on March 13, publicists Mara Buxbaum and Chris Kanarick said. He was expected to make a complete recovery in the next eight weeks.

“His heart is strong and he will have normal heart function in the coming weeks with no limitations on what he’ll be able to do,” said Dr. A. Marc Gillinov, a cardiothoracic surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic. “A couple of hours after surgery, he was entertaining the medical team and making us all laugh.”

Williams was initially treated at the University of Miami Hospital before being transferred to Cleveland. He had been in Florida earlier this month when he was forced to cancel the remainder of his one-man comedy show, “Weapons of Self-Destruction,” after experiencing shortness of breath.

– DAILY STAFF AND AP REPORTS

photo provided

Nicholas Cage stars in the apocalyptic thriller, “Knowing.” Cage plays an MIT professor who becomes obsessed with a set of numbers in a time capsule that seem to predict disasters.

FILM REVIEW

‘Knowing’ isn’t everything Caleb’s dad, John (Cage), a recently widowed MIT professor, is immediately interested in the numbers, and even more immediately discovers that they contain a hidden code that outlines the date, the coordinates and the death toll for all the major disasters of the last 50 years.

Trouble is, three of the dates are in the near future, and John is convinced the numbers have been sent to him so he can prevent the disasters.

The world might be coming to an end in the new Nicolas Cage “Knowing” spends the bulk of its running time setting up John flick “Knowing,” but the far greater disaster would be plopping as the would-be hero; he races to the scenes of a plane crash and down seven bucks to submit yourself to its a subway accident, where he just mostly preposterousness for two hours. stands around, lucky to not get killed himDirected by Alex Proyas (“Dark City”), self. the film wavers between wholly manipulaCage has perfected the stone-faced look tive, unnecessarily grim and unrestrainedly of a man desperately trying to hide the fact stupid, with a script that barely tries to that he knows his career is in the crapper, hide the fact that it’s been bouncing from and it serves him well as the stoic John, but writer to writer over the his actions are more futile than we could past ten or so years. even expect.

More than anything, it’s And, as if planes falling out of the sky and likely a sad bellwether subways careening off their rails weren’t of where Cage’s career is enough, he also has to deal with sinister headed – a bevy of lame glowing figures that appear to be followaction movies and seconding his son and the histrionics of Lucinda’s rate thrillers indiscernible daughter, Diana (Rose Byrne, “28 Weeks from the ones he’s already Later”), who may be the key to unraveling DUSTY got on his résumé. If the guy the mystery.

SOMERS would just stick to what he Proyas’s eye for impressive visuals works excels at – playing a quirky here, as the whole film is wrapped in a oddball (see “Raising creepy, dank atmosphere. Still, the disaster Arizona,” “Matchstick Men,” “Adaptation”) imagery goes too far at points, treading the – he’d save himself the embarrassment. line between distasteful and laughable, and “Knowing” opens with a dreadfully acted somehow achieving both. prologue in a 1959 elementary school The worst of the stupidity is saved for the classroom, where the students are putfinal act, though, with Cage and company ting together drawings to place in a time on a collision course with the end of the capsule. Lucinda Embry (newcomer Lara “Knowing” is in theatres everywhere. world. It’s the kind of ending that renders Robinson), a troubled girl who looks like the previous two hours nearly pointless, and the faux-religious she just stepped out of an old “Addams Family” episode, isn’t symbolism tacked on to try to give this mess some meaning is the drawing, but frantically writing a series of seemingly random last in a long series of unintentional laughs. numbers.

Fifty years later, the capsule is opened and young Caleb DUSTY SOMERS IS A JOURNALISM JUNIOR. Koestler (Chandler Canterbury, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”) ends up with Lucinda’s page full of numbers.

• Doomsday thriller starring Nicholas Cage garners more laughs than thrills

CAMPUS NOTES TODAY CHRISTIANS ON CAMPUS Christians on Campus will host a Bible study at noon in the Oklahoma Memorial Union.

CAREER SERVICES Career Services will host an interview workshop at 1:30 p.m. in the Oklahoma Memorial Union.

OKLAHOMA UNDERGRADUATE INDIA SOCIETY Oklahoma Undergraduate India Society will host a India themed festival at 6 p.m. in Holmberg Hall.

TOMORROW CAREER SERVICES OG&E will host a career workshop at noon in the Oklahoma Memorial Union.

CAREER SERVICES Career Services will host an interviewing workshop at 2:30 p.m. in the Oklahoma Memorial Union.

CHRISTIANS ON CAMPUS Christians on Campus will host a Bible study at noon in the Oklahoma Memorial Union.

OKLAHOMA UNDERGRADUATE INDIA SOCIETY Oklahoma Undergraduate India Society will host a India themed festival at 6 p.m. in Holmberg Hall.

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Life & Arts

MUSIC REVIEWS ‘Hazards’ paints vivid soundscape Today, the Decemberists released “Hazards of Love,” a is carrying his child.

Along the way, an evil witch, demonic animal and an all17-track “billed-as-a-rock-opera-but-also-pretty-fantasy/folkedout” album based on the work of a little-known, mid-60s folk around nasty guy hassle Margaret (see “The Rake’s Song”). A singer that features a fairytale plot about a heroine with a river factors in there, Margaret’s child is changed into a faun, shape-shifting lover haunted by a villainous queen with guest William (apparently) rescues her and the hero and heroine share appearances by My Brightest Diamond’s Shara Whorden and My a happily-ever-after kiss to cap it all off.

Although this is all very frivolous, Meloy and his band deliver Morning Jacket’s Jim James. it with seriousness and honesty. Like any great folk singer, Two questions are immediately begged: 1) Why must bands insist on including the possessive “my” in Meloy’s straining voice is believable; it suspends the silliness and impracticality of old English lyrics like “fifteen lithesome their name, as if to intentionally complicate things? maidens lay along in their bower/fourteen 2) What precisely occupations pay to pass the idle hour” has The Decemberists and “softer than a shower/and here I am/ lead singer Colin Meloy to garland you with flowers” in order that been smoking since the listener may enjoy the richness of the the release of 2006’s arrangement of the story and music. bizarre but masterful And what music!

“The Crane Wife?”

The seven-piece ensemble paints the Whether or not soundscape with organ, accordion and the answers to above heavy guitar, ranging from gentle pasMATT questions will ever be toral forest scenes to emotions of wild CARNEY realized, the review rage and fiendish frustration. The song, must continue and “The Abduction of Margaret” sounds an the reviewer will now awful lot like “My Morning Jacket” with elect to provide background regarding guitars crashing as hard as Niagra Falls songwriter Meloy’s fixation with fairy and the ensuing “The Queen’s Rebuke/ tales and 60s folk.

The Crossing” turns the nob up to eleven.

Once this guy gets started writing Conversely, “Isn’t It a Lovely Night” does songs, he’s apparently very difficult to a tremendous impression of the Italian “Hazards of Love” stop—”The Crane Wife” was sparked by Riviera. a Japanese folktale of the same name The Decemberists While a few songs stand out on their Meloy happened upon. Similarly, “The own (“The Rake’s Song”, “Won’t Want for Hazards of Love,” was kindled from his Love”), the album is only truly apprecidiscovery of a 1966 EP by obscure folk ated (as all such ‘concept albums’ are) in singer Anne Briggs. Briggs’s EP lacked a title track, which set its entirety, allowing the listener the full experience of the rich Meloy to his bizarre work. songwriting, end-to-end storytelling, and the sonic depiction of Now to the fun part. it all.

Topically, this album is the fantasy stuff of C.S. Lewis, The Somewhere, J.R.R. Tolkien is beaming.

Hobbit and approximately one-quarter of Led Zeppelin and T. MATT CARNEY IS A JOURNALISM SOPHOMORE. Rex’s song catalogue. Early in the album, we are introduced to lovers Margaret and William – which is fairly conventional until we learn William is some variety of centaur and Margaret

9

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

STAFF COLUMN

Take off your vest T

he following is fashion advice: It’s getting warm, so stop wearing your vests.

The brand doesn’t matter: North Face, Patagonia, Columbia – they all suck.

Before you remove your vest, however, I want you to understand something. I do not want you to stop wearing it because it is in style (inasmuch as a vest can be stylish). I’m not one of those people who hates everything that is marginally popular (i.e. a hipster). If I was, I wouldn’t have much room to talk, because I’d be wearing a pair of skinny jeans (and quite possibly a scarf). I’d also listen to lame indie bands with names like Soup Star Road or Boiling Kettle.

ADAM Kitchen, You are removing your vest for a much simpler KOHUT reason: It is the most nonsensical piece of clothing on earth. It is a broken jacket. During cold weather, most body heat escapes through the limbs (which a vest does not cover) and the top of the head (which a vest does not cover).

If you insist on wearing half-clothing, it would make much more sense to wear a yarmulke-esque fleece hat perched on top of your head. Or a nice pair of fleece sleeves. Boy, those would look cool.

To avoid writing a column in which I put myself on a pedestal, I must tell you that in eighth grade, I owned a vest. I do not really remember how it came into my possession, but I’m almost positive I did not buy it. Anyway, I wore it to school one day. No one made fun of me; I don’t think anyone even mentioned it. But I sure as hell wasn’t warm. Instead, I looked like some strange army ranger wearing a fleece flak jacket. A very cold army ranger.

Wearing a vest is the fashion equivalent to listening to Coldplay, or writing a column supporting or denouncing evolution: Everyone’s doing it. This is never a good reason to do anything. Although I think I would rather wear a vest than listen to a Coldplay album in its entirety. And I would definitely slip my arms through some vest holes in lieu of writing a column about evolution/intelligent design/Darwinism/Richard Dawkins/the Bible. I do not want to look like an ignorant moron. Instead, I will stick to writing about such things as vests.

I realize that there is no way I can possibly convince you to stop wearing your vest. After all, it is your vest, not mine (thank God).

But remember, wearing a vest is quite similar to wearing a hat with a little plastic propeller on the top – both make you look like an idiot (although the hat could possibly be endearing).

ADAM KOHUT IS A PROFESSIONAL WRITING SENIOR.

‘Parades’ missing a few good notes music.

European music has its oddities and this is no exception.

This review might sound harsh, but I’m calling Efterklang “Parades” is Efterklang’s foray in the wonderful world of post-rock, a genre that at the best of times produces legends out. I’m tired of bands who think they are artistic or revolike Mogwai, Sigur Rós, Explosions in the Sky, or Godspeed lutionary just because they use strange chords that don’t resolve and instruments like clarinets and flutes that clash You! Black Emperor. gleefully at every opportunity.

But in the worst of times, we have Efterklang.

It’s obvious by listening to the album, Efterklang is trying When reviewing music, there are things I dislike, but can’t their best to be artistic. I would give explain why. Then there are things I disthem an “A” for effort if only they didn’t like and I know exactly fail so abysmally. why. In Efterklang’s One of the main problems with this case, it’s the latter. album seems to be that every “revolutionIn “Parades,” ary” idea has already been done before, Efterklang uses so only much, much better. Something many instruments that Efterklang seem to be fond of is choral it is simply bewildering arrangements against a backdrop of – flute, clarinet, strings, cacophonous brass and woodwinds. If brass, electronic drums, KYLE you want sweeping choral arrangements, guitar, voices, you name WEST it. While this isn’t a bad then listen to Sufjan Stevens’ “Illinois” or Eric Whitacre’s “Cloudburst” and thing in its own right, “Other Choral Works,” both of which coupled with their fondness for not are genius in my opinion. creating a catchy melody and their outI listened to “Parades” three times landish chord changes, I simply must and tried to like it. I tried convincing hold Efterklang in absolute awe. Never myself that it was a “grower.” But I have before have I listened to an album that to be honest here – I do not, cannot, was such a glorified jumbled mess, like “Parades” and will not ever care for Efterklang’s a parade run off a cliff.

Efterklang album.

The music itself is incredibly dreamy I’m not a harsh person, but will be and lackluster – it doesn’t really give for the sake of honesty. And truthfully, you anything, unless that thing happens I think those who want good post-rock to be a coma. As mentioned before, it’s almost as if Efterklang is trying not to sound interesting or will look into the artists and works listed above and steer melodic for fear of being too conventional. Let’s not forget clear of the mostly pretentious “Parades.” that, historically, catchiness has been the hallmark of 99 perKYLE WEST IS A PROFESSIONAL WRITING JUNIOR. cent of good music.

“Parades,” as its name somewhat suggests, is a celebration of senseless noise and garble which does little to advance

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10

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

PLACE AN AD Phone 405.325.2521

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Next Door to Opolis 321-0826

C Transportation AUTO INSURANCE

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Employment HELP WANTED THE MONT Now accepting applications for the following positions: SERVERS-must be available for day shifts beginning at 10:30 am, experience preferred HOSTESS must be available nights and weekends. Apply in person M-F, 2pm to 4pm, 1300 Classen

$5,000-$45,000 PAID. EGG DONORS for up to 9 donations, + Exps, non-smokers, Ages 19-29, SAT>1100/ACT>24/GPA>3.00 Contact: info@eggdonorcenter.com Now hiring lifeguard, swim instructors, and AM pool managers. Apply at the Cleveland County Family YMCA, 1350 Lexington Ave. EOE. MERCURY POST & PARCEL needs p/t customer assistant. Apply at 121 24th Ave NW. SUMMER EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Employment HELP WANTED GREAT STUDENT JOB Part time leasing agent, M-F Rotating Sats. Pay based on experience.

Must be friendly & detail oriented.

Apply at 2900 Chautauqua Or call 360-6624 for more info.

J Housing Rentals APTS. FURNISHED $400, bills paid, efficiency LOFT apartments, downtown over Mister Robert Furniture, 109 E Main, fire sprinkler, no pets, smoke-free. Inquire store office.

APTS. UNFURNISHED P/L Now for Summer & Fall! $99 Deposit! No Application Fee! Models open 8a-8p Everyday!

7 Locations to Choose from!

Elite Properties 360-6624 or www.elite2900.com $99 1st MONTH/$99 DEPOSIT* Immediate Move-Ins Only Prices Reduced / 2 beds Available!

Pets Welcome! Large Floor Plans!

Models open 8a-8p Everyday!

Elite Properties 360-6624 or www.elite2900.com 1 BLK FROM OU, very nice 4 room apt, 800 sf, wood floors, 1016 S College, Apt 1, $295/mo.

Call 360-2873 or 306-1970.

CONDOS UNFURNISHED Summer Rent Slashed in 1/2!

Leasing 1-4 bdrms, amenities galore, The Edge Call Iris, 303-550-5554

HOUSES UNFURNISHED FOR RENT 915 W Lindsey, NEAR OU, 1/2 bd, 1 ba, NO PETS, $500 per mo.

1104 Grover Ln, NEAR OU, 2 bd, car garage, CHA, W/D, stove, refrigerator, microwave, compactor, NO PETS, $800 per mo.

Contact: 329-1933 or 550-7069 AVAILABLE IN MAY A short walk to OU, 1-5 blks west of OU, nice brick homes, wood floors, CH/A, w/d, disposal, good parking.

3 Bdrm $750-$1500 2 Bdrm $600-$800 1 Bdrm $420-$460 MISTER ROBERT FURNITURE 9-4 pm, Mon-Sat, 321-1818 4 bed/3 bath/2 car garage + study in Norman. All bills paid. Available NOW. $1600/month, $1200 deposit. Call 366-0074.

3 bdrm, 2 bath, 1 mile east of campus!New carpet and paint, fridge, w/d included. Pets okay, $825/mo. Call 637-7427.

J Housing Rentals

HOUSES UNFURNISHED 805C Cardinal Creek Condo’s, 2 bdrm, 2 bth gated community, pool, weight room, on-site washer/dryer, close to campus, nice enviroment to study, overlooks OU golf course $585/mo. Call (580) 763-4278 817 Birch - Short walk to campus! 3bd/2ba 2 car garage. Remodeled kitchen & master bath. W/D & lawn service included. $1200 mo. Call Steve Gray 214-455-4508.

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ROOMS FURNISHED NEAR OU, privacy, $250, bills paid includes cable, neat, clean, parking. Prefer male student.

Call 329-0143.

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9

Previous Solution

3

8 4 1 5 1 7 2

3 6 2 4 3 5

4 6 1 7 6 3 9 5

5 7 9 4 9 1 5 2

5

2 7 9 4 1 5 8 6 3

6 5 8 2 3 7 1 9 4

3 4 1 6 9 8 2 7 5

8 9 5 7 2 3 4 1 6

4 1 2 8 5 6 9 3 7

7 6 3 1 4 9 5 2 8

9 8 7 5 6 2 3 4 1

5 2 4 3 7 1 6 8 9

1 3 6 9 8 4 7 5 2

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.

If you are interested in any of these positions, please call our job line or access our website to find out the minimum qualifications. Selected applicant must pass physical exam, drug screen, and background investigation.

Universal Crossword Edited by Timothy E. Parker March 24, 2009

Obtain application at: 201-C W Gray, Human Resources Department CITY OF NORMAN (405) 366-5482 JOB LINE (405) 366-5321 Web: cityofnorman.com EOE/AA

ACROSS 1 In the course of 5 Camera-bag item 9 Characteristic mark 14 Very skinny 15 Figure in geometry 16 “Jaws” author Benchley 17 Went kaput 19 “Me, Myself & ___” (Jim Carrey vehicle) 20 Routes to the Supreme Court 21 Elbow counterpart 23 One of every two hurricanes 24 Atoll barrier 26 Have a finger in the pie 30 Cola mixers, often 32 “If ___ say so myself” 34 Green Gables girl 35 Fly in the ointment 37 Prepare for painting 39 Mommy deerest?

40 In need of repair 43 Canton in Switzerland 44 Trumped-up 45 Auditions, essentially 46 Invite letters 48 Short winter

SeekingSitters is open in the Moore/Norman area, and is looking for qualified, reliable sitters to work flexible hours. FT, days, nights, and weekends available. If you are interested apply at seekingsitters.com.

Make up to $75 per online survey, student opinions needed www.cashtospend.com.

Traditions Spirits is seeking a motivated, energetic, and personable Bar Supervisor for Riverwind Casino. The ideal candidate must: have at least 1 year experience in high volume club, hotel, or resort; be skilled in staff management; be knowledgeable of wine and spirits, and have open availability. Apply in person at 2813 SE 44th, Norman or email resume to michelle.snider@traditionsspirits.com 405-392-4550 STUDENTPAYOUTS.COM Paid survey takers needed in Norman 100% FREE to join. Click on Surveys.

Here is your chance!

Blu Fine Wine and Food is now accepting applications for waitstaff and experienced cooks.

Must be 21. Apply in person between 2-4 pm M-F, at 201 S Crawford. 360-4258.

Bartending! Up to $250/day. No exp nec. Training provided. 1-800-965-6520, x133.

(located just below the puzzle)

POLICY

R.T. Conwell, advertising manager classifieds@ou.edu phone: 325-2521, fax: 325-7517 For more, go to oudaily.com.

Deputy Marshal (Part-Time) Municipal Court Graduation from college and currently attending law school. Valid OK Driver’s License and satisfactory motor vehicle record. Knowledge of courtroom proceedings and practices. $8.00 per hour. Work Period: 15 hrs a week maximum. Approx. 10 hrs in the courtroom on Tue, Wed, and Thu afternoons and 5 hours serving processes.

Selected applicants must pass a background investigation and drug screen. Application Deadline: Open Recruitment. Obtain application at: 201-C West Gray, Human Resources Dept., City of Norman, (405) 366-5482.

Web: NormanOK.gov EOE/AA

True Sooners Don’t Haze.

illness 49 Do some ballooning 50 Do a slow burn 52 Prerequisite for gain?

54 Greek letter 57 Woofer output 59 Refrigerator drawer 61 “Friday the 13th” villain 64 Went to pieces 66 Tale of the Trojan War 67 Colony that’s now part of Yemen 68 Haughty attitude 69 Well-bred Londoners 70 Velvety growth 71 Lazy Susan, e.g.

DOWN 1 Arafat’s successor 2 Change, sci-fi style 3 Needing fixing 4 Dick Van ___ 5 Dishes out 6 Eaten away 7 Unfamiliar 8 Dropped like an anchor 9 Le Carre characters 10 Mother who won a 1979 Peace Prize 11 “Thanks, I already ___”

12 Queens, in chess 13 Tense start?

18 Drum cover?

22 Wynonna’s mom 25 Braces 27 Needing fixing 28 Condescending type 29 They’re between 12 and 20 31 Sci-fi vehicle 33 Phone call cost, in Bogart films 35 Goes bad, as milk 36 Nightingale or Barton, e.g.

37 Survey 38 Baltic republic 41 Parisian sidewalk sights

42 Water source 47 Kennedy’s was 109 49 Warning devices 51 Clock parts 53 Highest points 55 ___ firma 56 ___-craftsy 58 Hoodwink 60 Minor quarrel 61 Rustic dance 62 Hearty pub order 63 Pride, lust or envy 65 Fuss

PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER

© 2009 Universal Press Syndicate www.upuzzles.com

“MAINTENANCE REQUIRED” by Carla Azure

Report Hazing.

325-5000 All calls are anonymous.

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Details

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

11

Pakistani militants strengthen in heartland • Facilities train ‘Jihad fighters’ in religion, combat Chris Brummitt Associated Press Writer BAHAWALPUR, Pakistan — The compound bore no sign. Residents referred to it simply as the school for “jihadi fighters,” speaking in awe of the expensive horses stabled within its high walls — and the extremists who rode them bareback in the dusty fields around it.

In classrooms nearby, teachers drilled boys as young as 8 in an uncompromising brand of Islam that called for holy war against enemies of the faith. Sitting cross-legged on the floor of the Dar-ul-uloom Madina school, they rocked back and forth as they recited sections of the Quran, Islam’s holy book.

Both facilities are run by an al-Qaida-linked terror network, Jaish-e-Mohammed, in the heart of Pakistan, hundreds of miles from the Afghan border that is the global focus of the fight against terrorism.

Their existence raises questions about the government’s pledge to crack down on terror groups accused of high-profile attacks in Pakistan and India, and ties to global terror plots.

Authorities say militant groups in Punjab are increasingly sending out fighters to Afghanistan and the border region, adding teeth to an insurgency spreading across Pakistan that has stirred fears about the country’s stability and the safety of its nuclear weapons.

The horse-riding facility, discovered by The Associated Press during a visit to this impoverished region where miles of dusty, windswept desert spread out in all directions, had never before been seen by journalists.

There, would-be jihadi fighters practice martial arts, archery and

horse-riding skills and get religious instruction, according to a former member of Jaish-e-Mohammed, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he did not want to be identified by ex-comrades or authorities.

Horse-riding is considered by many extremists to be especially merit-worthy because the pursuit is referenced in Islamic teachings on jihad.

Pakistan has seen a string of attacks, including the ambush this month of Sri Lankan cricket players in the Punjab capital, Lahore, and a truce with extremists in Swat less than 100 miles from the capital, Islamabad, that have heightened alarm in Washington and other Western capitals that the country is slipping into chaos.

Amid the near daily onslaught of violence, the country’s president and opposition leader have been locked in a bitter political dispute that has exposed the weakness of the civilian government less than a year after it took over following

Mexican government offers $2 million for top drug lords • Offer made preceding impending visits from Obama, Clinton ALEXANDRA OLSON Associated Press Writer MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s government on Monday offered $2 million each for information leading to the arrest of 24 top drug lords in a public challenge to the cartels’ violent grip on the country.

The list indicated that drug gangs have splintered into six main cartels under pressure from the U.S. and Mexican governments. The two most powerful gangs — the Pacific and Gulf cartels — each suffered fractures that have given rise to new cartels, according to the list published by the Attorney General’s Office.

The list offers 30 million pesos ($2 million) in rewards for 24 top members of the cartels and 15 million pesos ($1 million) for 13 of their lieutenants.

Mexico’s drug violence has killed more than 9,000 people since President Felipe Calderon took office in December 2006 as gangs battle each other for territory and fight off a government crackdown. Some of that violence is spilling over into the United States, especially the Southwest, where kidnaps and killings are on the rise.

The rewards are the largest Mexico has ever offered for top drug lords, said Ricardo Najera, a spokesman for the Attorney General’s office. Some of the men, such as suspected Pacific cartel leaders Joaquin Guzman and Ismael Zambada, are targeted by separate $5 million reward offers from the U.S. government.

The new list appeared to be the first offering rewards for all the most-wanted cartel members at once. The government could be trying to signal its determination to take on the cartels at the same time, rather than one or two at a time as past administrations have done, said Andrew Selee, director of the Wilson Center’s Mexico Institute.

“It tells you a little bit about Calderon’s thinking,” Selee said. “He really sees this as something he wants to eradicate. He’s willing to take them all on as a unit.”

The document offered insight into the reorganization of the cartels more than two years into Calderon’s military crackdown against them.

The Beltran Leyva and Carrillo Fuentes gangs — once considered affiliated with the Sinaloa group under the Pacific cartel alliance — were listed as their own cartels. So was La Familia, which operates in central Mexico and was once considered a gang that answered to the Gulf cartel.

Calderon’s government has attributed fractures in the cartels to the military crackdown, saying the arrest of drug kingpins has set off internal battles for control that have led to Mexico’s sharp surge in violence. It dismisses suggestions by some U.S. officials that Mexico is losing control of some of its territory.

The list sends a message that Mexico is using all its resources to root out drug traffickers days before a visit from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and a month before President Barack Obama visits, said George Grayson, a Mexico expert at the College of William & Mary in Virginia.

Mexican officials “have been quite defensive about all the talk about Mexico’s being a failed state and that the cartels are controlling more and more territory,” Grayson said. “I see this as an acceleration of Calderon’s policy but with one eye on the upcoming visit of the American leaders.”

However, monetary rewards have not proved crucial to the capture of Mexican drug lords in recent years. Calderon’s government has not granted rewards for any of the kingpins arrested on its watch, Najera said.

Stephen Meiners, a Latin America analyst for the U.S. intelligence service Stratfor, said many arrests are likely based on anonymous tips from cartel leaders trying to get rid of rivals.

“So far that’s been enough incentive to phone in these tips,” Meiners said. “I kind of doubt that the people making these calls would want to come forward to claim reward money.”

Two of the people named were captured last week: Vicente Zambada, the son of Ismael Zambada, and Sigifredo Najera Talamantes, an alleged Gulf cartel hit man suspected of organizing an attack on the U.S. consulate in Monterrey.

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years of military rule by Gen. Pervez Musharraf.

Pakistan outlawed Jaish in 2001, but has done little to enforce the ban, partly out of fear of a backlash but also because it and other groups in Punjab were created by the powerful intelligence agencies as a proxy force in Afghanistan and Kashmir, a territory disputed with rival India.

“You can say Jaish is running its business as usual,” said Mohammed Amir Rana, from Pakistan’s Institute for Peace Studies, which tracks militant groups. “The military wants to keep alive its strategic options in Kashmir. The trouble is you cannot restrict the militants to one area.

You cannot keep control of them.”

Apart from the martial arts and horse riding center, Jaish militants openly operate two imposing boarding schools in Bahawalpur, a dusty town of 500,000 people. Food, lodging and tuition are free for their 500 students, paid for by donations from sympathizers across the country.

AP Photo

Pakistani religious students memorize Islam’s holy book, the Quran, in DarulUloom Madina religious school in Bahawalpur, in southern Punjab, Pakistan, on Friday, March 20, 2009. Officials say al-Qaida linked terror network Jaishe-Mohammed and other outfits in Punjab are increasingly sending fighters to Afghanistan and the frontier region, where they add to an insurgency that is spreading from there across Pakistan.

Fearing bad publicity, S. Africa bars Dalai Lama from peace conference DONNA BRYSON Associated Press Writer

JOHANNESBURG — South Africa barred the Dalai Lama from a peace conference in Johannesburg this week, hoping to keep good relations with trading partner China but instead generating a storm of criticism.

Friday’s peace conference was organized by South African soccer officials to highlight the first World Cup to be held in Africa, which South Africa will host in 2010.

But because the Dalai Lama isn’t being allowed to attend, it is now being boycotted by fellow Nobel Peace prize winners retired Cape Town Archbishop Desmond

Tutu and former president F.W. de Klerk as well as members of the Nobel Committee.

“It is disappointing that South Africa, which has received so much solidarity from the world, doesn’t want to give that solidarity to others,” Nobel Institute Director Geir Lundestad told The Associated Press in Oslo, referring to the decades-long fight against apartheid.

An eclectic mix of Nobel laureates, Hollywood celebrities and other dignitaries are coming to discuss issues ranging from combating racism to how sports can unite people and nations.

But Thabo Masebe, spokesman for President Kgalema Motlanthe, said a high-profile visit by the Tibetan spiritual leader would have distracted from the confer-

ence’s focus.

“South Africa would have been the source of negative publicity about China,” he said Monday.

“We do value our relationship with China.”

South Africa is China’s largest trading partner on a continent in which China is heavily and increasingly involved.

Tamu Matose, a spokeswoman for Tutu, told the AP that Tutu would not attend “because of the Dalai Lama issue.” Tutu was quoted Sunday as calling the barring “disgraceful.” “(South Africa) should admit anyone with a legitimate and peaceful interest and should not take political decisions on who should, and who should not, attend,” de Klerk said Monday, announcing he also would skip the conference.

HOROSCOPE

By Bernice Bede Osol

Copyright 2008, Newspaper Enterprise Assn.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009 ARIES (March 21-April 19) -- It might be wise to sleep on any major decision, because you’re likely to have a difficult time distinguishing between what is a constructive suggestion and just plain criticism.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) -- Don’t allow yourself to get tangled up with someone who has a knack for offending others, even if his or her remarks are made humorously. You will be judged by this person’s unpopular reputation.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) -- Doing something out of spite, even for retaliation, is apt to boomerang. Onlookers might not know what this individual did to you, but they’ll clearly see your unbecoming reaction.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) -- Even if you feel strongly about an issue, don’t try to champion an unpopular cause. Unfortunately, it will put you out on a limb that everyone else is trying to saw off.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) -- Your commercial affairs could be precarious at this time. However, you are not apt to see the signs and could easily think you’re in the catbird seat, only to discover you’re not.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) -- Be careful in the selection of those with whom you choose to spend your time. Being stuck with people who don’t operate on the same wavelength could be quite frustrating.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) -- This could turn out to be one of those backward days where you will treat serious matters lightly and puny issues profoundly, complicating your life. If you see signs of this, try to turn things around.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) -Guard against being enticed into some kind of frivolous pursuit of a social nature by an undisciplined friend. It could cause all kinds of trouble for you and damage your reputation.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) -- Taking out your frustrations on family members will cause all kinds of uncomfortable feelings for everyone within the confines of your home. Don’t be a troublemaker.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) -- Why put yourself in the uncomfortable position of using someone as a sounding board who always finds fault with your thinking? This person will, once again, discourage you from developing your ideas.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) -- Take care not to go overboard for someone who takes you for granted and is always unappreciative of your efforts. It could leave you wrongly feeling inadequate and unappealing to others.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) -- You’re a compassionate and giving person, but don’t go to extremes trying to placate a difficult person who blames everyone else for his or her ills.

This individual only wants to complain.

12

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

OU STUDENTS YOU ARE INVITED! Informal Discussion

John Zogby Internationally Noted Pollster

“The Way We’ll Be — America in the Future” John Zogby has polled, researched and consulted for a wide spectrum of business media, government and political groups nationwide. His polls are a daily feature on Yahoo! He regularly appears on all three nightly network news programs. He recently wrote a best-selling book – The Way We'll Be: The Zogby Report on the Transformation of the American Dream – The book speculates about the kind of America that the current 18- to 29-year-old age group will create in the future. It is based on his in-depth polling of this age group benchmarked against earlier generations.

5 p.m.

March 30, 2009 Sandy Bell Gallery, Mary and Howard Lester Wing Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art Please respond by calling the Office of Special Events at 325-3784.

For accommodations on the basis of disability, call the Office of Special Events at (405) 325-3784.

The University of Oklahoma is an equal opportunity institution.