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THE DAILY COUGAR thedailycougar.com
@thedailycougar
Issue 74, Volume 76
Tuesday ®
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Best Case scenario for UH Quarterback Keenum has chance at ‘finishing unfinished business,’ receives sixth year
John Brannen
THE DAILY COUGAR
Robertson Stadium has not seen the last of No. 7, as Case Keenum will return for a sixth season. | File Photo/The Daily Cougar
today
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AROUND TOWN
Ozzy Osbourne and Slash Join former Black Sabbath frontman and former Guns N’ Roses guitarist at the Toyota Center tonight. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., with the show scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. Something old, something new The Houston Museum of Fine Arts will host “Gallery Talk: Objects Repurposed,” at noon. The exhibit features everyday items like car tires mixed with ancient Egyptian works. Westside Story The historic Broadway musical is playing at the Hobby Center tonight through Jan. 23.
ON CAMPUS
IT Training on Web Development - A free class for students and faculty introducing Adobe Flash CS5 will take place in the Social Work Building in room 110-L. The class will be held from 10 a.m. to noon.
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January 18, 2011
Case Keenum’s cell phone was blitzed with congratulatory calls and text messages after it was announced the NCAA granted him a sixth season of eligibility at UH. When he had a chance to call his father, he teased him by prolonging the verdict. “I stayed on the phone probably for the next hour or so,” Keenum said. “I was super excited. Every good feeling you could have, I had it. “I called my dad right afterward and kind of messed with him little bit by delaying it. It made him a little mad.” Keenum tore his right ACL in the third game of the 2010 season against UCLA. In order to get the sixth year, the Athletics
Department had to show the NCAA documentation that his red shirt season in 2006 was not voluntary. UH was able to prove that Keenum separated his throwing shoulder in his last high school game, and re-injured it in the summer prior to enrolling at UH. As a result, Keenum was unable to play as a true freshman. Keenum said he had his doubts about the decision leaning in his favor, as a sixth year is rare. The last incident where an athlete was granted six years was Jordan Shippley of Texas. “I didn’t think it was going to happen until coach Sumlin called me and told me it was happening,” he said. The University filed the appeal on Dec. 13, leading to a nervous few weeks for Keenum. But instead of trying his luck in the NFL draft, Keenum will get a chance to erase the memory of a short-lived senior season.
UH beats UT to win Gowalla app contest Ashley Anderson
THE DAILY COUGAR
Houston police were called to the scene after a witness in his home heard the accident and called police. “We were notified by HPD that she had gotten into a wreck at that location and was taken to the hospital,” Collier said. O’Donnell passed away as she was being taken to Ben Taub Hospital. She joined UHPD in September 2009.
The UH community edged out schools across the country in a campus check-in challenge resulting in a donation of $10,000 for the University. Gowalla awarded the donation to the university that had the highest number of campus check-ins in its AP Top 25 Gowalla Check-In Challenge, which took place during the regular NCAA football season. In its final weeks, the challenge was a close call between UH and the University of Texas at Austin. “At one point, UT and UH were neck-and-neck, where one day UT was on top and the next UH was, then UT back again,” Gowalla campus and events representative Ashley Cass said. “However, after a few days of that, it became apparent that (UH) meant serious business.” UH went from being ranked 29th at the beginning of the contest in October to finishing at the top with a total of 6,065 check-ins — 832 more than UT, which finished with 5,233 check-ins. The $10,000 donation will go towards the Cougar Community Tier One Endowment fund, according to Executive Director of Media Relations Richard Bonnin. The endowment is a four-year scholarship, which includes stipends for undergraduate research and study abroad programs. Two individual prizes were won by members of the UH community. Bonnin and UH student Amanda Sigurdson each won a MacBook Air laptop offered by Gowalla for contest participants. “It was an awesome and completely unexpected surprise,” Bonnin said. “I understand that a UH
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Officer dies in line of duty Car crash while responding to a possible kidnapping leads to first-ever death for department Naheeda Sayeeduddin
THE DAILY COUGAR As the new semester rolls in, the UH community is coming together to mourn the loss of UHPD officer Ann O’Donnell. O’Donnell’s death is especially heartbreaking for the police department because she was the first UH officer to die in the line of duty. “We really feel her loss deeply because she was really somebody that, regardless of whether or not she made the arrest, wanted to help,” UHPD Lt. Bret Collier said. “She wanted to be the person to resolve the situation and help everyone involved. That’s something that you don’t find in every officer.” O’Donnell, 24, was dispatched to a possible kidnapping in progress taking place at the Wendy’s restaurant on Scott Street, across from Robertson Stadium, around 1 a.m. on Dec. 24. According to the Houston Police Department report, O’Donnell was headed westbound on North MacGregor Way when she struck a curb, lost control of her vehicle and slid sideways into a tree.
Check-ins fetch win, check for $10,000
The Women’s Resource Center has setup a memorial honoring UHPD officer O’Donnell, who passed away during the winter break. | Courtesy UHDPS