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TUESDAY, FEB. 3, 2009 © 2009 OU Publications Board

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Faculty: Salary freeze better than layoffs administration’s plan to weather the committee member. recession.

Boren said he hopes to unfreeze salaries next year, Faculty, staff and administrators as long as economic conditions improve. likely will not receive the regular cost“To extend the freeze on compensation beyond one of-living pay raises that have become year would begin to reduce the quality of education an annual fixture. which no one wants to see happen,” Boren said.

At least one member of the faculty Boren emphasized the direness of the current ecoput a positive spin on Boren’s mesnomic climate and the need for all members of the OU HANNAH RIEGER DAVID L. community to share the burden during tough times. sage.

The Oklahoma Daily “Without a doubt, in my opinion, it “All units of the university, including the Department BOREN of Athletics, will be working to help us meet our budOU President David L. Boren heaped another help- is better to have a salary freeze than get targets,” Boren wrote in the statement. “We will all ing of bad economic news on the OU community to lay off or terminate faculty and Friday with a mass e-mail detailing the next step in the staff,” said Jeffrey Schmidt, Faculty Senate executive be in the same boat together.”

• Boren hopes to unfreeze salaries in 2010 if economic conditions improve

The Daily’s Dusty Somers and Osizemete Aken’ova give their opinions on who is this year’s best director. Page 7.

SPORTS Freshman gymnast Megan Ferguson already has become a key contributor to the women’s team this season. The Daily’s Kelsey Witten sits down for a Q&A with the Sooner standout.

Page 5.

SPORTS, PAGE 5

Sooners scale Summitt

Amy Frost/The Daily

OUDAILY.COM YouTube has transferred ordinary people into Internet superstars, among them OU students. Watch an interview with one of OU's own YouTube celebrities at OUDaily.com.

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TODAY LOW 29° HIGH 54°

WEDNESDAY LOW 21° HIGH 51° Source: Oklahoma Weather Lab Amy Frost/The Daily

Senior center Courtney Paris (3) drives to the basket during Monday night’s matchup against the Tennessee Lady Vols. Paris’ 112 consecutive double-double streak came to an end, while the Sooners kept Pat Summitt from reaching her 1,000th victory.

Darwin anniversary reignites ideological debates • Many disagree, while others search for middle KALI CARTER The Oklahoma Daily OU is marking Darwin’s 200th birthday and the 150th anniversary of his magnum opus, “On the Origin of Species,” with an extensive series of lectures and events to encourage debate of Darwinian evolution.

The celebrations are focusing on Darwin’s work and its impact on science and society, but the focus on one man’s contribution is leading to concerns the events will be one-sided, said Jonathan Bartlett, a contributor to the intelligent design Web site uncommondescent.com.

“Evolutionary biology is a diverse field, and I do not think that it does justice to Darwin or evolution to present to the public such a one-sided picture of science and present it as a fact,” Bartlett said in a letter to OU President David Boren.

According to Bartlett, Nick Matzke and Richard Dawkins, who are scheduled to speak at OU this year, present a biased view of evolutionary theory

History of science professor Piers Hale said in an e-mail that intelligent design is an argument based on religious faith, not science.

“People who have strong religious objections to the idea that humans have evolved from other life “Intelligent design is the study of patterns in have to be in conflict with one another. forms find evolution problematic,” Hale said. “This Although some people claim intelligent design is a nature that are best explained as the result of religious would explain why any state in the Bible Belt would theory, researchers who study the theory argue it have more vocal opposition to the established sciintelligence.” is scientific, intelligent design proponent Jeff Harwell said. ence of evolutionary biology.”

Bartlett said intelligent design seeks to detect intelligent — William A. Dembski, leading intelligent design theorist Hale said while some of the lecture events throughcauses to some features of biology. out the year may be controversial, little controversy In 1802, philosopher William Paley published “Natural “There are parts to human creativity that are based surrounds the “The Darwinian Revolution,” a special class which he teaches, because it aims not only to Theology,” which argued that life must have been created on physics and parts that are based on more of a spiritual explore Darwin’s ideas of science, but also to look at from an intelligent designer. nature,” Bartlett said. “Intelligent design is the science the cultural response.

Jonathan Bartlett, a contributor to the intelligent design that looks into those types of causes. It describes certain “The aim is to give students an understanding of Web site uncommondescent.com, said there is a sense in aspects, but it is not a complete explanation.” the science as well as why some continue to find it which evolution and intelligent design don’t necessarily Sources: ideacenter.org, uncommondescent.com, arn.org controversial,” Hale said. “Providing students with the information from which to make an informed opinion on an issue that remains of current relevance Bartlett is a member of the intelligent design com- is exactly what a university course should do.” that is weighted too heavily toward Darwinism.

Jeff Harwell, chemical engineering professor and “OU is a public university, so this series of lec- munity, which believes certain biological features tures is oriented to the public,” Bartlett said. “I don’t are best explained by an intelligent force, not an intelligent design proponent, said in an e-mail he begrudge people speaking their viewpoints, but there undirected process, and that design is scientifically is a responsibility to genuinely look at other sides.” detectable.

DARWIN Continues on page 2

WHAT IS INTELLIGENT DESIGN?

2

News

Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2009

‘Sooner Ally’ group offers Oklahoma legislation could support for LGBT students transform home schooling • Author: Bills are aimed to deter ‘lazy’ parents

• LGBT students have higher rate of suicide

ALEX LYNN The Oklahoma Daily

JAMIE BIRDWELL The Oklahoma Daily Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students have a special support network at OU for academic, emotional and social issues.

Members of the LGBT community can find support and confidentiality with a campus group called Sooner Ally.

Sooner Ally is a group of faculty and students that is a resource guide to LGBT students, said Kathy Moxley, Women’s Outreach Center coordinator.

Moxley started the program a year ago after researching similar programs at other universities, she said.

Kristen Partridge, Student Life director, said Moxley identified the need for Sooner Ally on OU’s campus.

“We developed a safe haven and a safe place for students to go with questions,” she said Students in LGBT communities have higher rates of depression and suicide, Moxley said. Many of the issues, like feeling isolated and lonely, are typical for all students, Partridge said.

Sooner Ally assists members with issues from depression and suicide to questions about schedules and academics, Partridge said.

To maintain full confidentiality, Sooner Ally has no system keeping track of how many students receive its services, Partridge said.

Although students can use OU’s academic Web sites for correspon-

Amy Frost/The Daily

Rave Clay, philosophy junior, is a Sooner Ally for OU and said that she usually has her button on her backpack so that people will know to come up and talk to her. dence, Partridge said students appreciate the one-on-one time.

“People really crave that face-toface attention,” she said.

Free, four-hour training sessions are available to those who are interested in learning about LGBT culture, Moxley said. The training sessions consist of terminology, discussing the common misconceptions of the communities and equipping volunteers with a resource guide to aid students in need, she said.

• Have an open mind about other people’s beliefs, values and choices.

• Educate those around me who may have misinformation about LGBT people and who express homophobia or heterosexism.

• Be a good listener and not feel like I have to “fix” problems.

• Maintain confidentiality of those who seek me out as an ally.

• To ask questions if I am unsure of what to do or

Approximately 50 people have been trained as Sooner Allies, and more will be available after the Feb. 17 training session, she said.

Those who choose to take on the role receive a pin or a sign to place on a window to show their Sooner Ally status, Moxley said.

“The most rewarding aspect of being an Ally is knowing that I’m going my part to promote tolerance and understanding at OU,” said Sophia Morren, graduate student, in an e-mail.

am just wondering about people who might be different than I am.

• Not try to sway a person of a different sexual orientation or viewpoint.

• Provide resource, support and referral information on LGBT issues.

• Refer to crisis intervention services or to the appropriate campus office or program if a student is experiencing a crisis or harassment.

Darwin

SOURCE: SOPHIA MORREN

OUR COMMITMENT TO ACCURACY

Continued from page 1 cally,” Bartlett said. “Whether it’s good or bad, it happens.”

Harwell said he is disappointed by the controversy and emotion surrounding the theory of evolution.

“I wish the issue could be examined and debated in a rational manner,” Harwell said. “I also realize there is probably no hope of that ever happening.”

He said people invest so much into the controversy for complex reasons.

“Some feel they are protecting the Bible from a loss of influence and respect,” Harwell said.

“Others feel they are protecting science and education from an intrusion of metaphysics and religion. Both are causes that stir the emotions.”

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

CORRECTION Due to an editor’s error, the location of the Young Choreographer’s Showcase performance was misidentified in Monday’s edition of The Daily. The performance took place last weekend and will take place this weekend in the Rupel J. Jones Theater, not the Donald W. Reynolds Performing Arts Center.

sooner .com Struggling to write your resume?

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Two bills introduced into the Oklahoma Senate Monday have upset some members of the homeschooling community.

S.B. 308 would allow police officers and truancy officials to interview and temporarily detain children not in school. S.B. 472 would require parents and guardians whose children are home-schooled to notify their local public school officials about Social stigma academic progress.

The public tends to think home-schooled children Legislative restrictions are not necessary, said are behind academically or have trouble socializing, Corinne Whitefield, accounting senior, who was said Rachel Folmar, linguistics senior. homeschooled until college. She said her three “There’s a lot of myths out younger siblings also have there about it,” Folmar said. been home-schooled.

Katie Pierce, public rela“I think we have a huge tions senior, said socilaization problem in Oklahoma of peoof home-schooled children ple avoiding educating their seems to be at the forefront children by saying they are of everyone’s minds. being home-schooled,” said As there are very few regulations “When you’re homeSen. Jim Wilson, D-Tahlequah, on home schooling in Oklahoma, there schooled and you tell somethe author of S.B. 308. one, the first question they ask is no data on the number of children Wilson said his bill is not is how do you socialize,” said who are home-schooled. State Sen. Jim an attack on those who home Pierce, who attended public Wilson, D-Tahlequah, said the federal school their children. school until the sixth grade “I don’t care about the curgovernment estimates between 2 1/2 when her parents became riculum,” Wilson said. “I care and 3 percent of children between the unhappy with the school sysabout the kids not getting an ages of 8 and 16 are home-schooled, or tem, she said. education. What we’re talking “I completely disagree about 18,000 kids. A spokesman from about is people too lazy to with home-schooled kids Oklahoma Christian Home Educators’ teach their kids.” being academically behind,” Under the current Consociation said the number is between Whitefield said. “I don’t want Oklahoma laws, it is easy for a 9,000 and 10,000. to say we’re smarter than person to claim they are home people who went to public or schooling their children when private schools, but we have a they are not, Wilson said.

“If they say they are homeschooling to a judge, huge advantage because of the individual attention he can throw the case out of court right then,” he we receive from the people who taught us. It comsaid. “This bill would make it more difficult for that pletely depends on the parents.”

Home schooling proponents say parents also can to happen.” offer unique support that students might not find in public schools.

Oklahoma legislation Ben Pierce, business administration junior, said Oklahoma is the only state that has constitutional in an e-mail he benefited from home schooling provisions regarding home schooling, the Home because he has attention deficit disorder and is Schooling Legal Defense Association’s Web site dyslexic.

“It is in fact the American parents’ right and states. Because of this provision, Oklahoma has very few regulations regarding home schooling, the responsibility to see that their child is provided with a quality education, and if they believe the U.S. govWeb site states.

The Constitution of Oklahoma states the legisla- ernment cannot provide that, it is then their right to ture will provide “compulsory attendance at some look elsewhere for that education,” he said.

Folmar said there are some families that do not public or other school, unless other means of education are provided of all children in the State who are provide the best schooling, but poor education can sound in mind and body, between the ages of 8 and be found in public schools, too.

“To me, it’s abuse to not provide a child an educa16, for at least three months each year.”

“Other means of education” has been interpreted tion,” Wilson said.

HOW MANY HOME SCHOOL?

SOONER ALLY: PROGRAM GOALS

thinks it is important for students to consider all scientific theories before drawing conclusions.

“I want students to know that every intelligent person in the university is not an atheist, that Darwinism has not disproven the existence of God, and that they are competent as logical thinkers to examine and understand the controversy without having to accept the extreme statements of those on either side of the issue,” Harwell said.

Bartlett said he agrees people should learn about other creation theories because most will disregard evidence that contradicts their core beliefs.

“As a culture, we tend to rely on what sciences say unequivo-

by Oklahoma legislators to mean home schooling.

Court cases like Snyder v. Asbery and School Board District No. 18 v. Thompson have strengthened home schooling rights.

The Oklahoma Court of Appeals ruled in Snyder v. Asbery “the State Department of Education has no jurisdiction in home schooling.”

In School Board District No. 18 v. Thompson the court ruled, “in this empire, parents rule supreme during the minority of their children. They may... withdraw them entirely from public schools and send them to private schools, or provide for them other means of education.”

If S.B. 308 and S.B. 472 pass, the precedents these cases established could all change.

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

Campus News

3

Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2009

Demonstration precedes Monday panel discussion • Group asks senators to seek peace in Gaza MATTHEW MONTGOMERY The Oklahoma Daily

Esteban Pulido/The Daily

Economics professor Alexander Holmes sits behind his desk in Hester Hall. Holmes is a finalist for The National Society of Collegiate Scholars’ Inspire Integrity Awards.

Professor touts integrity • Instructor up for national inspiration award LAUREN STALFORD The Oklahoma Daily Some professors might seem out of touch with students, but Alexander Holmes, OU economics professor, stands out by inspiring integrity in students.

Holmes is one of 15 finalists for the National Society of Collegiate Scholars’ Inspire Integrity Award. His former student, Alan Brashears, business sophomore, nominated him for the annual award.

Brashears said he first took a class with Holmes in the spring of 2008 and nominated him in the fall, when he learned about the award.

“There are many talented professors at OU and Professor Holmes stands out among them,” Brashears said in an e-mail. “His

love of the subject and ability to teach it effectively stimulates continued interest in his students.”

Holmes said he thinks integrity is important because it teaches students how to be honest after college, but he said he has seen a decline in students’ integrity.

Students who lack academic integrity now will be more likely to lack professional integrity, he said.

Holmes hopes to inspire more than just integrity in his students.

“With many of today’s students, the love for learning is being lost — professor Holmes is helping them find it again,” Brashears said.

Understanding material is very important to Holmes, economics senior Alissa Myers said.

“You can tell that he really wants you to learn the material,” she said.

Holmes said he wants his students to see a broader world and be prepared to deal with one beyond the disciplines studied at OU, he said.

“I will inevitably be turning the world over to you people,” Holmes said.

In an effort to get students to participate in campus activities, Holmes offers to pay for half of any OU culture event his students attend.

Campus activities aren’t Holmes’ only incentive program, though.

Holmes carves wooden bowls for any student receiving an A in his honors classes.

He started giving the bowls to students in 1994 as a way to clean out his house, and is now a tradition, he said.

Myers, who received a bowl, said the idea of getting it was a great incentive for students.

The personal touch has helped students keep in contact with Holmes after the semester ends, she said.

Holmes has been supportive by offering advice on classes and graduate schools, Myers said.

After 36 years of teaching economics at OU, Holmes said he still loves teaching and doesn’t get bored with the same subject because each semester’s new students make the class interesting.

Financial aid office moves temporarily The financial aid office in Buchanan Hall has temporarily relocated to the university’s payroll office while it undergoes repairs from a plumbing accident that occurred during winter break.

The pipes on the third floor ruptured on Dec. 21, flooding the financial aid office on the second floor, the Bursar’s office on the first floor, and other parts of Buchanan Hall.

Construction is estimated to take about two weeks.

–Daily staff report

SOONERS

Sooners for Peace in Palestine led a demonstration Monday morning to raise awareness of the violence in Gaza.

Students waited in line in front of Bizzell Memorial Library to sign a petition urging Oklahoma senators to consider more humanitarian aid in Gaza, said Bekah Stone, president of Sooners for Peace in Palestine and international and area studies junior.

The purpose of the petition is to make U.S. lawmakers and the public more aware of the crisis in Gaza, Stone said.

“I feel that we have a very biased perspective, considering the conservative state that we are,” she said. “So what we’re doing is offering letters and petitions to our senators asking for a more even-handed approach for foreign policy in Palestine and Israel and for humanitarian aid for the people in Gaza.”

Israel launched a three-week assault against Gaza in late December, aimed at stopping years of rocket fire into southern Israel by Hamas, which seized control of the Gaza Strip in 2007.

The fighting killed nearly 1,300 Palestinians, Gaza officials say, and 13 Israelis.

A cease-fire put into effect two weeks ago has since been tested by sporadic Palestinian shelling and retaliatory Israeli airstrikes. Hamas has claimed victory simply by surviving.

In letters to U.S. senators Jim Inhofe and Tom Coburn, the

Khalil Hamra/AP

Palestinian fire-fighters use water to clean blood from the street Monday as Palestinians gather around a car hit in an Israeli missile strike, in the Rafah refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip. group urged the senators to pursue a more active approach to resolving the conflict in Palestine and Gaza.

“If people are suffering you should do something about it,” Stone said. “The suffering of these people is the same as my brothers or sisters dying.”

Stone and her supporters said they realize they might not see a direct impact, but are still optimistic.

Lauren Twist, international and areas studies sophomore, said she wants widespread support and wants to spread awareness of the struggles in Gaza.

“We’re submitting two letters to two senators asking for more support and funding for Gaza,” Twist said. “If constituents act out, then the congressmen will listen.”

Mounes Habj-Bik, zoology senior, said he supports the petition because he feels there are no human rights in place in Gaza.

“I’m not asking for America to go in there to rescue Gaza from

RECREATIONAL SERVICES

Dodgeball

Drink Responsibly.

Call the Hotline at

325-5000 The University of Oklahoma is an Equal Opportunity Institution.

Men’s Soccer Club Tryouts

Not on our campus.

Thursday, February 5th and Friday, February 6th

Report incidents at:

325-5000

All calls are anonymous.

The University of Oklahoma is an Equal Opportunity Institution.

Tryout fees will be $5.

Contact: Michael Kubala michael.e.kubala@ou.edu

— The Associated Press contributed to this report

• Recreational services offers Body Composition Testing and Blood Pressure Screenings for free.

Massage Therapy and Personal Training are available for additional fees.

• Faculty/Staff memberships are all inclusive from fitness classes to the pool! Huston Huffman Center, OU Pool, Group Fitness Classes, Locker (as available), and Towel Service.

Memberships are $20/month for an annual membership through payroll deduction.

to report illegal or unsafe drinking.

All calls are anonymous.

Hazing?

Israel,” he said. “But I’m asking them to give more human aid and support their basic needs.”

Misheala Giddings, president of Sooners for Israel and international and area studies sophomore, had a slightly different view of the Gaza demonstration.

“The demonstration presented a very one-sided view of why there is a problem in Gaza,” Giddings said. “I did, however, encourage my members to sign the petition because we approved of the language.”

She said the fliers handed out

by Sooners for Peace in Palestine didn’t address the involvement of Hamas or Arab nations, particularly Egypt, which she said should also be held responsible for the lack of aid flowing to Gaza.

A panel discussion about the issues in Gaza will be held at 4 p.m. today in Meacham Auditorium and will include a visiting professor from Israel.

4:00 P.M. - 6:00 P.M. Intramural Fields -Off Stinson

Dodgeball entries are February 3-5, 9-10. Cost is $30/team.

Sign up at the Huston Huffman Center Front Desk. Play begins February 13th. Contact Garry for more information at 325-3053 or gmoney@ou.edu.

• Test out your racquetball skills with some fun IM competition. Sign up at the Huston Huffman Center Front Desk February 9th-12th. Entries are $1. Divisions for Men, Women, and Coed teams.

Brackets divided into Singles and Doubles.

The University of Oklahoma is an Equal Opportunity Institution.

Accommodations on the basis of disability can be made by calling Garry at (405) 325-3053.

4

Opinion

Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2009

OUR VIEW

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

YOUR VIEWS

Don’t ignore Gaza panel We know nothing induces instant boredom like different perspective from OU’s Maurice Roumani, an Israeli professor, and Norman Stillman, the chairthe phrase “panel discussion.”

Those two words conjure images of men in suits, man of Judaic Studies at OU. Joshua Landis, an OU sitting at ugly tables (if it’s a really nice event, the professor and expert on Syria, will round out the ugly table may be covered with a white tablecloth), panel.

We know, there are great speakers at OU all the hunched over microphones placed beside unopened water bottles and name cards emblazoned with time. But aside from the fact that this is a wellplanned program, there is the fact that it is addressridiculously long scholarly titles. ing what is literally one of the most imporThat said, we think the best place for you to be between 4 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.

OUR VIEW tant subjects in the world.

It may be difficult for many Americans today is at a panel discussion. is an editorial to comprehend, but for many in other placThe discussion on Gaza that will be in selected and debated by the editorial board es, their views of America and Americans Meacham Auditorium promises not to be and written after a are profoundly shaped by U.S. policy on an ordinary panel. Even if the white tablemajority opinion is Israel and Palestine. cloths and the water bottles are there, the formed and approved Throughout North Africa, the Middle topic alone guarantees that this event will by the editor. Our View is The Daily’s official East and Central Asia, not to mention parts be both important and interesting. opinion. of Southeast Asia and pockets of Europe, The event’s page on Facebook features people assess countries by the stances an almost comical array of students who plan to come. Among the seven guests randomly their governments take on the Israeli-Palestinian displayed on the page, we spotted one young woman conflict.

With the U.S. in a political transition for the first who, according to a recent Daily story, just returned from a Birthright trip to Israel, along with a young time in eight years, it is a critical time for America’s relationships with the rest of the world. And it is critiman wearing a keffiyeh.

There’s a great mix of speakers scheduled, too. cal for Americans — even college students who hate Husam Mohamed of the University of Central panel discussions — to understand the forces that Oklahoma has been invited, presumably to offer a shape those relationships.

Boycott unacceptable As both a student and an international citizen, I was appalled by the piece “International Writers and Scholars Endorse Boycott of Israel” in last Friday’s paper. The integrity of academia lies in its insistence upon independent research, research before analysis and analysis before decisions. The very notion of a public university boycotting Israeli scholars and restricting students from experiencing international life through study abroad programs is truly horrifying. This approach to dissension makes OU look like an international and academic backwater. Regardless of

your feelings towards any nation’s government, the urge to boycott scholars is both an inappropriate and irrelevant response. This proposed boycott is intellectual jingoism of the worst sort. It impoverishes us as a scholarly community without conveying any meaningful political message. The condemnation of an entire society due to the actions of its government is a narrow-minded excuse to limit debate to a monologue. OU prides itself on the international presence both on and off campus. It is entirely inexcusable to think that the opinions of a few could limit the academic freedom of many.

- FRANZ ZENTENO, INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE

PRESIDENT EMERITUS

COMMENT OF THE DAY In response to Jacob Jones’ Jan. 29 column “You can educate idiots all you want, but they’re still idiots.”

- POSTED BY KDBD1213 AT OUDAILY.COM

FACULTY POINT-COUNTERPOINT

Are Darwin events mere propaganda?

No

Yes

T H E

Image courtesy History of Science Collections, University of Oklahoma Libraries.

David Deming is geologist and associate professor of Arts and Sciences.

I N D E P E N D E N T Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Assistant Managing Editor Night Editor Opinion Editor Photo Editor Senior Online Editor

In a recent opinion colum column David events being Deming denounced the eve planned at OU to commemorate comm the achievements of Charles Darwin and to explain and exp explore evolutionary science.

Commemorations of D Darwin are being held around the world in 2009, this being both the t 200th anniversary of Darwi Darwin’s birth and also the 150th an anniversary of the publication of Darwin’s seminal book “The Origin of Species.”

As faculty, staff and students from departments and uni units across the university who are serving on the steering committee of the th Darwin at OU 2009 project, we pr have organized a wide variety of events, even including special lectures by lec scholars from around the world, rare ra exhibits from OU’s H History of Science Collections and Collec activities at the Sam S Noble Oklahoma Mu Museum of Natural History.

History Our yearlong series of events is one of the largest and la most diverse offered anywhere in the th world.

This initiative has been entirely the work of an w independent group of faculty and st students at OU, a grassroots grassroo movement of individual individua scholars who recognize the t towering importance importan of the Darwinian heritage in our w world and our work. We have encouraged encourage participation by scholars in fields ranging from the natural and na social sciences scienc to the arts and humanities. hum From the outset we have kn known that holding a ma major event focused on Darwin and evolution e would spark cons troversy trovers among some people here her in the U.S. U. and in

free from a n y ideological or religious constraint.

But instead of freedom from religion, we have simply substituted d one faith forr another.

Christianity has been replaced by the doctrines of materialism and atheism atheism. m.

The zealous followers followerrs of these doctrines masmas asquerade as scholars and an nd scientists, but relentlessly ly seek to stifle all criticism, dissent and inquiry. They are the enemies of both religion and science.

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 Dane Beavers

• Events to cover myriad y aspects of evolution, span many academic fields

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

Multimedia Editor Sports Editor L&A Editor Editorial Adviser Advertising Manager

O F

160 Copeland Hall 860 Van Vleet Oval Norman, Okla.

73019-0270 phone: (405) 325-3666 e-mail: dailynews@ou.edu

T H E The Fine Print:

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin’s groundbreaking book, “The Origin of Species.” To commemorate the anniversary, the Darwin Project at the University of Oklahoma will be conducting a series of lectures, meetings, and symposia.

The anniversary of “The Origin of Species” offers an opportunity to educate both students and the public, not just about evolution, but also about science as a process of discovery.

Unfortunately, that is not what will happen. The Darwin Project at OU has prepared an incestuous propaganda festival. None of the invited speakers or events promise to be in any way critical DAVID of Darwin’s idea. What should DEMING be an educational and scientific event will instead be a celebration of materialism and atheism. It is a breathtaking betrayal of the university’s ideals of diversity and inclusiveness.

Scientific knowledge is always provisional and subject to constant revision. In order to make progress, scientists are supposed to concentrate on anomalies, areas in which the facts don’t fit our theories. But all of this is thrown out the door when it comes to Darwin and evolution. The National Academy of Science has absurdly claimed that the “theory” of evolution is now a “fact,” and therefore cannot be questioned.

In point of fact, Darwin’s model of evolution by natural selection has never been consistent with the data. The theory predicts uniform, gradual and continual change. Accordingly, the fossil record should contain innumerable transitional forms. It doesn’t. The fossil record shows stasis punctuated by rapid change, with organisms suddenly appearing and disappearing. This was demonstrated by the French paleontologist Georges Cuvier as early as 1812, and remains true today.

Confronted with the fact that the fossil record did not support his theory, Darwin admitted that the absence of transitional forms was a grave difficulty. But rather than modify the theory to account for the facts, he instead tried to explain the evidence away. Darwin devoted an entire chapter of “The Origin of Species” to what he called the “imperfection of the geological record,” as if his theory were perfect and the data were defective.

It is true that the geologic record is fragmentary, but nevertheless the extant sections do not support Darwin’s theory. The gradual change predicted by Darwin is simply not present.

Darwin’s theory was badly flawed, but it was celebrated because it enabled science to explain everything and dominate the entire world of knowledge. Prior to “The Origin of Species” science had no way of explaining the origin of living things.

Christian theology was evicted from science, and materialism and atheism crept in the back door.

Unlike other scientific theories, Darwinism cannot be replaced, or even criticized, because it provides the foundation for metaphysical and religious concepts.

I am not a creationist, and am as skeptical of

traditional religion as Hume or Voltaire. But the doctrines of materialism and atheism have no more foundation than revealed religion, and probably less. It is impossible to be sure that God does not exist. The most brilliant and original thinkers who ever lived, the Greek philosophers, embraced monotheism long before the Christian era. To assert, as a materialist does, that nothing exists outside of the material world revealed to us by our senses is equivalent to the oxymoronic claim that one knows the unknown. It is the doctrine of a person that is incapable of critical insight or intellectual reflection.

Naturalism is essential to science, but I’m not sure if it is a good idea for science to lay claim to the entire world of knowledge.

Science does not tell us how to order our civilizations. It cannot define morality. If the atheists are right, and God does not exist, then the concepts of good and evil are meaningless. All we are left with is Darwin’s struggle for existence, where might makes right and the end justifies the mean.

Science should be a disinterested search for knowledge based on observation and reason,

Contact Us:

• One-sided celebration betrays university ideals of diversity, inclusiveness

Oklahoma. Deming’s letter, thus, comes as no surprise, although his restless rhetoric and angry tone are disappointing because they degrade the level of discussion.

Deming simply errs when he writes that, “none of the invited speakers or events promise to be in any way critical of Darwin’s idea.” A brief glance at the list of topics in the courses, lectures and exhibits will disabuse anyone of this notion (see our Web site at http://ou.edu/darwin.) Some of the events are celebratory; all are meant to be thoughtfully analytical and to fulfill the university’s mission to deal honestly and openly with all ideas.

Deming objects to the scientific community’s acceptance of evolutionary theory because he thinks that scientists are ignoring evidence that undercuts it, but his own claims about transitional fossils and the consistency of data and theory are incorrect.

Evolutionary biology has grown for 150 years. Contemporary evolutionary theory now gains support from many sciences, and the Darwin 2009 events seek to STEPHEN demonstrate just how strong this WELDON support is. Evolution, like all scientific ideas, contains areas of contention, but these scientific controversies do not undercut the basic observation that biological life evolved materially as a result of natural processes. Many questions have not been answered about how this has happened, but many of the sciences studying biological change are young, and yearly new insights come to light. It is wrong to suggest that the underpinnings of biological evolution have given way.

Deming further contends that scientists have embraced evolution largely for ideological reasons to support atheism and materialism. This claim is surprising since his article published last year in “Earth-Science Reviews” is a 21-page documentation of the scientific and philosophical failures of intelligent design, a popular challenge to evolutionary theory. It is clear, however, that Deming has joined some of those critics of evolution when they make the mistaken claim that contemporary scientists are simply ideologues. Anti-religious propaganda does not drive scientific support for evolution. The composition of the steering committee for the Darwin 2009 events illustrates this very point: we are a group of scholars who, together, hold a wide range of religious and metaphysical views from atheism to evangelical Christianity.

We have selected events that focus on the theory of evolution as it is understood scientifically today, as it developed historically and as it plays a role in public controversies. If others in the university community choose to sponsor events dealing with issues we have not addressed, they are certainly welcome to do so, just as we have done.

We hope this year, people will take advantage of the university’s rich offerings. Far from being narrow and exclusive as Deming claimed, the Darwin 2009 activities span many fields and cover myriad aspects of evolution. Nearly everyone should find an event that will be challenging and interesting.

It is our hope that this will raise the level of understanding, even among those who find evolution controversial, and contribute to better and more informed discussions.

Stephen P. Weldon, is an assistant professor of history of science and editor of the Isis Bibliography of the history of science.

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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 Sunday

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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 1 p.m. Sundays in 160 Copeland Hall.

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

Sports

Tuesday, Feb. 03, 2009

5

Q&A with freshman gymnast Megan Ferguson KELSEY WITTEN The Oklahoma Daily

good way for us to bond.

What is the highlight of Freshman Megan Ferguson has your college career so far? already become a major contributor to the 2-2 women’s gymnastics team, competing on bars, beam and floor in the Sooners’ first four meets. The Daily’s Kelsey Witten sat down to find out a little more about the freshman.

When and how did you get started in gymnastics?

My parents started me when I was 6 years old, basically just because I was in dance class at the time, but I would always run around and flip and they decided to put me in a safe environment for that. I absolutely loved it.

Talk about the differences in competing in club gymnastics versus college gymnastics.

The main difference is it’s all about the team in college, which I absolutely love. You’ve got your team to back you up and help you if you have a problem. In [club] gymnastics, it’s all about yourself and about how you can do. Here you’re trying to get a score for the team. I’ve come to like that a lot more. The training is probably about the same, but we tend to have a more intense workout in less time.

We had preseason with 6 a.m. conditioning three times a week, which was new for me. I’m definitely not looking forward to it again next year, but it was a really

POLICE REPORTS 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.

DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE Samuel Gottfried Meuwissen, 21, 800 Jenkins Ave., Sunday Kyle Delane Hollinsworth, 26, 400 W Boyd St., Sunday, also transporting an open container of liquor and possession of drug paraphernalia Leon de Juan Guidry, 27, Classen Boulevard, Sunday

ACTUAL PHYSICAL CONTROL Jeffrey Shawn Casey, 28, Donna Drive, Saturday

POSSESSION OF ALCOHOL Michael Sargent Allen, 20, College Avenue, Sunday Nathan Michael Beauchamp, 20, 840 Copperfield Dr., Sunday, also possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, and vandalism Amanda Michelle Dillard, 20, 840 Copperfield Dr., Sunday, also possession of marijuana Dakota Wayne Reed, 20, 840 Copperfield Dr., Sunday, also possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia

MUNICIPAL WARRANT Terence Demarcus Brown, 19, Peters Avenue, Saturday Roneita Lyn Bumpus, 35, Asp Avenue, Saturday

COUNTY WARRANT Ronald Leon Williams, 25, Main Street, Sunday

POSSESSION OF MARIJUANA Arlyn Francisco Franco, 22, East Lindsey Street, Sunday Martina Renee Minthorn, 29, 500 W Boyd Street, Saturday

NUISANCE Alex Darnell Williams, 20, 2329 Tahoe Dr., Sunday

PETTY LARCENY Lyndsie Brooke McCaskill, 21, 916 W Comanche St., Saturday

CAMPUS NOTES TODAY CITY OF NORMAN The City of Norman will host an inclusive community discussion at 6:30 p.m. in Union.

WEDNESDAY DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY “Religious Involvement and Adult Mortality Risk in the United States: Evidence and Controversy” will be at 7:30 p.m. at Sam Noble Museum of Natural History.

OU BASKETBALL The OU basketball team will play Texas A&M at 8 p.m. at Lloyd Noble Center.

and so intimidated by everyone.

I didn’t even want to go in, but I got comfortable immediately. The girls are just so open and nice and welcoming.

Just coming through the end of a meet. The whole team morale Why did you choose OU? is so excitI fell in love ing. It’s really with the camfun to nail a pus and everygood routine thing they Nickname: Fergie and just throw had to offer Hometown: Olathe, Kan. your head back besides gymafter your disClub: Eagles Gymnastics nastics. It was mount.

Planned major: Advertising the first school Favorite event: Balance beam I actually visDo you ited, and I Season-high scores: 9.85 uneven think you’ll didn’t know bars, 9.925 beam, 9.85 floor exercise score a what else to Recruited by: OU, Stanford, Florida, expect. I went “perfect Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas on a couple 10” for OU? other trips and It’s definiteI was like, “It’s ly a goal for absolutely OU.” It’s also about me. I think it’s something I can five hours from my hometown, do. I have to work at getting more which is good for me. consistent. I rarely ever saw the scores [in club] I’m seeing now all What’s your favorite OU the time. It’s just fun. sport besides gymnastics

FERGUSON FILE

What is something most people don’t know about gymnastics?

and why?

they completely taught me everything this summer. I came in not expecting to do bars until maybe my junior year. They were so great in teaching me everything. I was so surprised when I made the lineup on the first meet.

What are your personal goals for this season?

To stay consistent, especially on bars. I need to be consistent the rest of the season on beam.

My goal on floor [in the leadoff position] is to start the team off well with good personality. I’m mainly just out there to be the first one to start us off.

Do you have any premeet rituals or superstitions?

I’m extremely superstitious, but I’ve been getting a lot better since I came here. It’s just stuff like wearing the same socks and listening to the same songs. I get made fun of for it for good reason. I used to have a gym bag that had stuffed animals and stuff I had collected in it, but I don’t have that with me anymore. Now I listen to the same songs, and I eat a power bar before a meet.

Probably football just because it’s so much fun to go to the games. I’m a big football fan, I don’t think people understand actually. Of course we’re all big it’s such a physically demanding Sam Bradford fans.

What do you think is sport. People will say, “Oh you’re Talk about being a major unique about this year’s just a dancer, there’s no difference in gymnastics.” But there contributor on three team? really is. It’s underestimated. events in your first season.

All of us bring a little someWhat’s it like to come onto It’s definitely not something thing different which as a whole a team like this as a fresh- I expected. When I came here, just makes us shine. We all work Amy Frost/ The Daily the coaches refined my skills, together and we all get along realman? especially on beam and floor ly well. To me that’s something Freshman gymnast Megan Ferguson competes on the beam on Friday at Lloyd I can remember the first day and cleaned me up and made different. I’m not used to such a Noble Center in the 2nd annual “Beauty and the Beast” event.

I walked in. I was so nervous me a better performer. On bars large team.

Does embattled Michael Phelps deserve a break?

NEW YORK — A young man appears to be smoking pot at a party. Big deal, right? Our new president has freely admitted doing just that in his youth — inhaling, too — and it didn’t derail him one bit. So should we expect more of Michael Phelps?

It depends on what we want and expect our youthful role models to be: perfect, or flawed like the rest of us.

So as the Olympic swimmer’s many corporate sponsors were wrestling with their options Monday, a day after an embarrassing photo emerged of the decorated athlete appearing to inhale from a bong, some were looking at the bright side.

“We should grab this teachable moment,” said Lisa Bain, executive editor of Parenting magazine. “It’s a good opportunity to talk to your kids about role models. They’re human.

They’re not gods.”

“Any conversation you can have with your kids about the choices people make, especially those they hold up as role models, is a good thing,” Bain said.

To Bain and many others, there’s no question that Phelps is a role model for young kids, as opposed to, say, a celebrity endorser.

Only role models appear on Kellogg’s cereal boxes, for example. And that complicates the problems for this young man, whose journey to eight gold medals in Beijing last year captivated the world.

“Breakfast cereal — that’s really speaking to kids between 6 and 12,” said Marian Salzman, known as a trendspotter in the advertising industry. “He has big, important deals, in a terrible economy. This is just wacky.”

But that doesn’t mean Phelps, 23, doesn’t deserve a break, says Salzman, chief marketing officer of the Porter Novelli public relations firm. She blames his handlers, who should have done a much better job protecting him from the foibles of youth, from newly won freedom and from piles of money.

“He’s probably a nice boy who didn’t get enough guidance,” said Salzman — especially after a drunk driving arrest following the 2004 Olympics. “I think he accomplished that huge dream in Beijing, and then his people just relaxed.”

Of course, smoking pot, assuming that’s what Phelps was inhaling from that bong, is not nearly as serious as endangering lives on the road.

Indeed, perceptions of marijuana use have changed since 1987, when federal appellate

AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes

In this Sept. 8, 2008 file photo, Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps is hugged by children after sharing his Olympic experience during a visit to the Boys and Girls Club of Burbank, in Burbank, Calif. Phelps acknowledged "regrettable" behavior and "bad judgment" after a photo in a British newspaper Sunday showed him inhaling from a marijuana pipe. judge Douglas Ginsburg withdrew from consideration for the Supreme Court after reports surfaced about his smoking marijuana while a student and a law professor.

In 1992, candidate Bill Clinton admitted he’d tried it as a student in England, didn’t like it, and, famously, didn’t inhale. Fast forward to 2006, when Barack Obama said just as famously: “I inhaled frequently. That was the point.”

Still, as Bain points out, “No matter what we may have done in our youth, you can’t be saying to kids that it’s not so bad. First, it’s illegal. And also, it can lead people to make bad choices.”

The Phelps affair is sure to revive the debate over whether athletes should even be considered role models. “I don’t think they are,” Salzman said. “We have a tendency to

deify people who are great at one thing. We assume they’re great at everything. When we want them to be infallible, aspirational, perfect, it never works.”

Especially in 2009, when a simple visit to a party can be recorded on a cell phone camera. “The whole question of role models is a big problem in the age of 24/7 connectivity,” she said.

So maybe our expectations of a 23-year-old exploring his freedom and new celebrity are too great. On the other hand, Phelps signed contracts with morals and behavior clauses, which allow sponsors to cancel deals over egregious behavior, noted Carol Weston, an author of books for young girls and the advice columnist for Girls’ Life magazine.

“He knew he was being hired not just because of his accomplishments in the pool,

but also for his ongoing behavior in public,” Weston said. “It’s part of the deal.”

That said, Phelps’ apology sounded genuine to her. “It wasn’t the lame, ‘sorry-if-anyonegot-offended’ kind,” she said. And in the athlete’s defense, she added: “I often think, ‘Wow, he spent a lot of time underwater. When did he even get to hang out with friends?’”

It remains to be seen what happens with Phelps’ sponsors. Apparel company Speedo, luxury Swiss watchmaker Omega and sports beverage PureSport all say they support him.

But other big sponsors, such as Visa Inc. and Kellogg Co., aren’t talking yet.

His agency, Octagon, said Phelps has spoken personally with his sponsors to apologize and that the agency was encouraged by his sponsors’ support.

—AP

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6

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Clean 3bd/1bth near campus, big yard, fireplace, basement, $800/mo. 447-8313.

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1 6

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7 1 6 3 2 4 8 9 5

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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.

Edited by Timothy E. Parker February 03, 2009

ACROSS 1 Intrinsically 6 Swing around 10 South American cattle-catcher 14 Volcanic landslide 15 Crumbly clay mixture 16 Balder’s dad 17 “That’s ___ your head!�

18 Superlatively secret 20 Darn 21 What travelers hope is accurate, briefly 22 Indian strikers?

23 Squeal 26 Alimony figures 27 Is doubled?

28 Topper on the diamond 31 Liszt piece, perhaps 34 Angular opening?

35 A whale of a menace 36 Squeal 40 Danilova dip 41 After all deductions 42 Dylan’s were a-changin’ 43 Up to the present 44 R.M.N. was his veep 45 Flight school final 47 Squeal 52 Queequeg, e.g.

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55 Place for the rudder 56 Shankar of the sitar 57 Veneration 59 One for whom all roads lead to roam?

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Life & Arts

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Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2009

7

Don’t call home

Clever like a fox FLEET FOXES

THE ETTES “Look at Life plants a big wet sloppy one on her lips. Then he Again,” the sopho- orders a Pabst. You are crushed.

But after mending your broken heart, you realmore release by Los Angeles rock group ize that the indie girl is just a trite reproduction, The Ettes, sounds like a fabrication. While initially pleasing, she can’t how that one indie girl at offer you any long-term happiness. And her boyfriend is a total douche. the bar looks.

Similarly, The Ettes offer merely listenable She’s leaning against the wall by the pool tables, indie-rock. Nothing enduring. And while Coco smoking a cigarette and wearing is undoubtedly sexy, I want something long-term, an outfit that you would expect to see serious and life-changing. I want a band I can tell on Joan Jett. She briefly makes eye contact with my mother about.

I also have no interest in you but quickly looks competing with another man, away, completely disespecially one who drinks interested. You’re in Pabst. love.

While “Look at Life Again,” As the drums from offers cute, 60s beat-punk the opening track noise which reminds me of “I Get Mine” kick in, those trendy New York City reminiscent of early rock clubs, it remains nothClash, and the guitars, ing more than a noble effort. not far behind, start to The softer songs expose their fuzz into indistinguishlack of versatility and the more able chords, you start upbeat songs present nothing to walk over to her. significant to jump-start the Ettes singer Coco approaching staleness of indie sounds like Nancy rock.

Sinatra with extra After receiving rave reviews whiskey and the heavy from indie-friendly publicareverb in her voice is tions, relentless touring and sexy, slightly twangy The Ettes securing a spot on this year’s and full of attitude. The Take Root Records South by Southwest festival Ettes sound like 60s in Austin, The Ettes definitely rock, with cameo influhave something to be proud ences by The Ramones, The Stooges and The White Stripes: it’s the per- of, but they just don’t do it for me. Similar bands fect soundtrack to your strut as you approach the like The Gossip, Be Your Own Pet, or even The Donnas take what The Ettes aspire to and thrust indie goddess from across the bar.

But, to your dismay, when you finally draw it to the next level. Buy those records.

But, then again, I’d still consider putting near to her and muster a quavering, “Hey I like this band, too!” she condescendingly glares at you “Marathon,” “Crown of Age” or “I Get Mine” on and rolls her eyes. Then her greasy, long-haired the jukebox next time I’m at the bar. boyfriend emerges from the bathroom, wearing –TYLER BRANSON IS AN ENGLISH SENIOR. one of those stupid V-Neck shirts and tight jeans with the car-keys clipped to the belt-loop, and

After many rave reviews and acclaimed live per- malnourished lookformances, Seattle’s Fleet Foxes seem to be snow- ing musicians have balling toward the mythical realm of super-stardom. an eerie charisma And by looking at them, you may expect to see that captures you them at Woodstock, not among the New York elite. and holds on tight But these five ragged, heavily bearded musicians until lead singer Robin from the rainy city have been impressing just about Pecknold is done singeverybody lately, from 16-year-old MySpace junkies ing. to astute folk aficionados.

Their music sounds like What makes them and their debut self-titled the older folk of Bob Dylan and album so great? Well, it’s complicated. Literally. Neil Young, while their flawless Their complex four-part vocal harmonies rival four-part vocal harmonies resemble the 1960s folk heroes while their mellow, focused musi- Beach Boys, The Byrds, or Crosby, Stills, Nash and cal arrangements continue to Young. Sometimes the impress music critics and fans album sounds like somealike. Their recent mass-appeal thing you might hear seems also to tug at modern while walking through conventions of what “rock star” the Medieval Fair, thanks and “popular” usually have to the occasional polymeant. Also, the fact that a talinstrumental tendencies ented, eccentric band like Fleet of band mates. But for Foxes boast over a million plays some reason Fleet Foxes on their MySpace signals a culremain modern, elegant tural shift in American musical and classy. Perhaps it’s tastes—for the better. I have the intelligent, no-comalways had faith in American promise style of songculture and have refuted many writing. cynics over the years, claim“The songs are writing that if given the choice, ten from personal expeAmerica would undoubtedly rience,” Pecknold told choose good over evil, and here Rolling Stone. “There is a perfect example of America are no love songs.” The Fleet Foxes clearly recognizing the youthful group’s deliberate emoexuberance and sheer talent of tional approach to music Sub Pop Records a group of dedicated musicians. and songwriting seem to Did Fleet Foxes force America be a contributing factor to come around, or did they merely stumble upon to their recent super-buzz.

American culture just as it began to emerge from a Whatever it is, it’s a long time coming for prolonged period of introspection? Only time will American music. Intelligent, beautiful, cognizant tell. But I told you, Fleet Foxes are complicated. of the greats while still somehow remaining trendThey also have that special something, a magne- setting, the success of Fleet Foxes is just as much a tism and intrigue that grab you by the heart-strings. reflection of the changing tastes of pop culture for And if you saw their performance of “Mykonos” the better as it is the talent of the musicians themlast weekend on SNL, you’d understand that these selves. guys are more than just a trend or a fad in the music industry’s assembly-line onslaught of manufactured pop culture pick-me-ups. These five reserved,

WANT MORE? CHECK OUT OUDAILY.COM FOR SONG CLIPS AND FILM TRAILERS

Oscar Showdown: Best Director Danny Boyle For Best Director t’s about time Danny Boyle got some Oscar recognition.

He’s made a string of increasingly eclectic films over the last 15 years, showing the kind of range missing from any of the other nominees in the Best Director field. From the gritty realism of “Trainspotting” to the intelligent horror of “28 Days Later” to the family-friendly comic fantasy of “Millions,” Boyle has excelled across genres.

His latest, “Slumdog Millionaire,” is an absolute triumph of moviemaking – both a feast for the senses and a giant grin-inducing serving of hope. Boyle transformed the potentially gimmicky story of a boy recounting his life’s experiences through the framework of game show questions into a captivating rumination on love and destiny. Boyle’s direction makes the film.

As for the other nominees, Ron Howard has consistently shown himself to be a solid technical director who possess-

I

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L&A THURSDAYS IN THE LIFE & ARTS SECTION

David Fincher For Best Director es little imagination. “Frost/ Nixon” owes 90 percent of its edge-of-your-seat tension to Frank Langella’s brilliant turn as Richard Nixon.

Similarly, Gus Van Sant’s “Milk” is all about Sean Penn’s wonderful performance. The film itself doesn’t shake up any biopic conventions.

Stephen Daldry’s “The Reader” has to be the worst of the three films he’s been nominated for (the others being “Billy Elliot” and “The Hours”).

And David Fincher, himself a master filmmaker who has long deserved some Academy recognition, just missed the boat with “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” It’s a wellconstructed film, but just too bland alongside “Slumdog.”

It’s Boyle’s year, plain and simple. Look for “Slumdog” to be the Oscar darling this time around, and look for Boyle to get the hardware he so richly deserves.

–DUSTY SOMERS IS A JOURNALISM JUNIOR.

avid Fincher is known for making movies like “Fight Club” and “Seven”, highly stylized with dark characters and dark humor. “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” breaks away from this mold.

Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt) begins his life as an unwanted old man in a child’s body. All of the characteristics of his age follow him throughout the movie and appeal to the audience’s emotions well.

D

Instead of stumbling to find his ground in uncharted territory, Fincher manages to make the film his own, handling it with dexterity.

The movie doesn’t contain as much violence or harsh imagery as his other films, but he still manages to make this film – loosely adapted from an F. Scott Fitzgerald short story – an interesting tale throughout all 166 minutes.

The film isn’t a feel good fairy tale created to make

moviegoers think they can do anything, even out from the slums of Calcutta.

Rather, it is the presentation of one man’s life, complete with all of his small triumphs and shortcomings.

As a director, Fincher is able to extract from his actors the subtle emotions required by this story. Constantly coping with death and having the knowledge that you are too different to ever really find a niche in humanity is a tough shoe to fill for an actor, and Fincher is able to adapt his actors to the role.

Overall, Fincher deserves the Oscar for Best Director because he not only adapts a forgotten story by a great American novelist, but also does it far outside his directorial comfort zone.

– OSIZIMETE AKEN’OVA IS A FILM AND VIDEO JUNIOR.

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HOROSCOPE

By Bernice Bede Osol

Copyright 2008, Newspaper Enterprise Assn.

Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2009 AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) -Significant accomplishments are possible now. If you arouse your work instincts, it will compel you to do all that you can to make them a reality.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) -- One of your greatest assets is the ability to make people feel important. When you do so, it could awaken a strong sense of responsibility in others that will make what they do quite significant.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) -- There is nothing wrong with being motivated to seek ways to achieve self-gains. But as you’re looking out for No. 1, it is even more admirable to do so in ways that help others out as well.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) -- Your determination to succeed is your most powerful asset, which you’ll quickly discover once this force is awakened. Even your toughest objectives will be easily attainable.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) -Plans that require initiative and bold measures are likely to get easier for you as time passes.

Take advantage of openings to make improvements when you see things are easing up.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) -- A situation you’ve been letting control you, instead of vice versa, will relinquish its hold. When this occurs, you’ll finally be able to do what you’ve been aching to do all along.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) -TAURUS (April 20-May 20) -Someone whose cooperation you Quit wasting time worrying about need has been patiently waiting whether your ideas are any good; for signs that you’re ready to find a way to put them to the jump on board. The ball is in test. Nothing can be accomplished your court, so do what you can without first taking action on to show him or her that you’re them. ready to roll.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) -- If you had to go through an intermediary to get what you want, don’t get upset if that individual has delayed things. He or she is now ready to move on it and may actually be putty in your hands.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) -- Avoid persons who have a tendency to drag their feet, because you’ll have little tolerance for them. Seek out associates who are just as eager as you are to get things rolling.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) -- Push yourself a bit harder to finalize that sale you’ve been pitching for a long time. Your probabilities for success are starting to look better now than they ever have.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) -- An endeavor in which you’re involved that has been getting a bit stale lately needs a new infusion of leadership. You’re the person who can make a difference.

8

Sports

Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2009

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

Sooners roll over Lady Vols, 80-70 ANNELISE RUSSELL The Oklahoma Daily Monday night was historic, but not for the reason many thought.

The No. 2 Sooners beat No. 12 Tennessee 80-70 at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City, denying UT coach Pat Summitt her 1000th career win. In the process Sooner senior center Courtney Paris made history in a negative way, finishing the game with nine points and 12 rebounds and ending her career doubledouble streak at 112 games.

The tip-off went to the Sooners and, in typical OU fashion, went to Paris for a quick shot and senior forward Ashley Paris picked up the

rebound and put it in.

OU’s offensive flow, however, ended there.

Tennessee was 16-4 entering the game, but the Lady Vols played above their record in the first half.

Courtney picked up two quick fouls and rode the bench for about 10 minutes, but after Tennessee built a double-digit lead, OU head coach Sherri Coale put Courtney back in.

“I thought our club showed great poise when they went on a run in the first half,” Coale said.

With the senior back in the line up and the defense playing tight, the Sooners came back into the game behind a roaring crowd.

After the major OU comeback, the Sooners

headed into the half with a 41-36 lead.

OU returned from the locker room with their intensity slightly diminished and let Tennessee back within two.

The Lady Vols were not able to hang around for long, though, as the Sooners got going again and pushed the lead to double-digits.

“We’re very versatile and we like to compete,” sophomore guard Danielle Robinson said. “Our competitive nature helps us win.”

Freshman guard Whitney Hand came up big for OU going 8-9 and netting 20 points.

Crisp passes and hustle plays solidified the Sooners’ win.

“Just great balance, and great team effort, and unselfish play,” Coale said.

Sooner-heavy crowd a factor in OKC AARON COLEN The Oklahoma Daily The No.2 women’s basketball team took its show on the road on Monday — sort of.

The Sooners faced the No. 12 Tennessee Lady Volunteers in a much-anticipated match up of top programs at the notoriously loud Ford Center in downtown Oklahoma City.

The change in venue didn’t hurt the intensity of the crowd.

Despite the absence of a large student section, Sooner fans filled the lower bowl of the arena, creating an electrifying atmosphere.

“I thought it was a fantastic atmosphere for women’s college basketball,” head coach Sherri Coale said.

Orange shirts dotted the crimson sea, as a small number of Lady Vol fans attended in support of the visiting team and coach Pat Summitt, who was seeking her 1000th career victory.

With each Sooner basket came an ear-splitting roar, as the nonstudent Sooner supporters proved they had just as much spirit as their collegiate counterparts.

Adding to the intensity was the stiff competition put up by the visiting team. The game remained close early, with ten lead changes in the first half, and fans reacting more passionately to every play and call by the referees.

The Lady Volunteers briefly quieted the home crowd midway through the first half as they opened up a 15-point lead.

The home crowd began to rally around the Sooners’ comeback as the half went on, and momentum clearly shifted back to OU as the Lady Volunteers’ lead dropped back to single digits.

With three minutes remaining in the first half, the Sooners climbed out of the hole and regained the lead, inciting a thunderous roar from the Sooner faithful who seemingly willed their team back into the game.

OU rode the momentum of the crowd into halftime by extending the lead to five points, showing that the Sooners did not leave their home-court advantage in Norman.

STREAK ENDS

Amy Frost

Freshman guard Whitney Hand (25) fights for a loose ball against Tennessee guard Angie Bjorklund (5) during Monday’s match up against the Lady Vols at the Ford Center. The Sooners won the game 80-70.

For senior Center Courtney Paris, Monday night was bitter-sweet.

The Sooners beat the No. 12 Lady Volunteers by 10, but due to foul trouble, Paris played just 28 minutes and failed to record a double-double, ending her streak at 112.

“Well it had to end sometime,” head coach Sherri Coale said. “ If it ends tonight, it does, its the most remarkable COURTNEY streak in the history of college basketball”

PARIS

STAFF COLUMN

Congress should keep its nose out of sports • Government has bigger worries than BCS system Socialism and communism. These are a couple of things that are widely considered to be un-American.

Now we can add the BCS system to that list of truly un-American things. Thanks, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R - Utah.

“The BCS system is anti-competitive, unfair and, in my opinion, un-American,” Hatch said Jan. 30 during a speech he gave to the rest of the Senate.

JONO Hatch claims that if the BCS does not change its GRECO ways, legislation will.

When did this topic become an issue that the government should be concerned about? If I’m not mistaken it has more important things to worry about.

Hatch has been against the BCS for years now and has become adamant about making the system as “democratic” as possible due to the success of multiple teams in the Mountain West Conference, including Utah, who beat Alabama in this year’s Sugar Bowl and finished the season ranked No. 2 in the nation.

Hatch makes a good argument, but he lost all credibility with me when he basically threatened the BCS to make changes before the government does. It’s not his place to do that.

The government has been involved with sports for many years, but in the past few years it has been close to crossing the line, if it hasn’t already.

Is it really the government’s job to conduct these witch hunts against

sports and many of their most prominent figures?

The government’s actions have been most notable the past few years with its interrogations against current and former Major League Baseball players concerning the use of steroids and human growth hormones.

I place the most blame on MLB Commissioner Bud Selig because he asked for a third party to intervene in this matter.

Now, because of this third party, the reputations of many players from the “Steroid Era of Baseball” — from approximately the late 1980s to around 2004 — have been tarnished rather than celebrated for revitalizing the game after the 1994 players’ strike.

Granted, it was proven that some of these players used illegal substances, but it’s sad that we remember someone like former Athletics and Cardinals slugger Mark McGwire as a cheat rather than a deserving Hall of Famer whose home run race with Cubs outfielder Sammy Sosa in 1998 renewed interest in the game.

Also, I know President Barack Obama is the president of change, but do we — or should we — really care what he thinks about sports?

No. Why? Because there are more pressing things going on in this country.

Of course, he can have his opinions about sports like the rest of us, but does he need to be spending time talking in front of cameras explaining why he’s in favor of a playoff system for college football or why he supported the Steelers in the Super Bowl?

I don’t think so.

Just concentrate on fixing our economic problems.

I have a feeling that during his presidency, Obama will make significant changes to sports if he disagrees with any of their rules.

But oh well, he’s the president of change.

Please, government, I beg of you, stay out of our sports and we’ll do our best to make sure no more wrestlers become governors.

JONO GRECO IS A JOURNALISM SOPHOMORE.

The government has been involved with sports for many years, but in the past few years it has been close to crossing the line.

Zach Butler/The Daily

Sophomore defensive tackle Gerald McCoy (93) hits Florida’s Tim Tebow (15) in the NCAA BCS National Championship on Jan. 8 in Miami.