University of Central Oklahoma
rniEVIsmi The Student Voice Since 1903
TUESDAY January 30, 1996
Student's letter ignites threat of lawsuit By Jessica Halliburton Staff Writer
Pittman said the letter was malicious. "On the advice of my lawyer A UCO English professor said I'm suing this man for this she is suing malicious letter, and I have no eqr;z1 301ft a former other comment," said Pittman. UCO student Bob Taliaferro said he can't over a letter understand why he is being sued, he wrote to but stands behind his letter. President The Vista obtained the letter George Nigh dated Dec. 14 in which la s t Taliaferro apologized to Nigh for semester. accusations he made against the D r president and the administration Pamela at a student rally concerning the Pittman '20 to make' rule Nov. 9. His :,:
letter centered around the accusation that an administrative retreat was taken in Cancun, Mexico. Taliaferro claims in his letter to Nigh that "the faculty member responsible for promoting the disinformation about the alleged trip was Dr. Pamela Pittman." He said Pittman told him about the retreat in her office. "At the time I had no reason to not believe what she was said. I assumed because she was an instructor that she was telling the
truth," he said. Taliaferro said Pittman promoted the accusation and encouraged him to become involved in the student protest where he made the accusation in front of more than 150 students and various members of the news media. "I thought I was doing something good at the time by pointing out something I thought the students should know. I guess I should have just kept my nose in the books," he said. Taliaferro also said in his
letter that Pittman said she was to be reviewed for tenure. Dr. Michael Shirley, president's liaison to the faculty, confirmed that Pittman is being reviewed for tenure. "I believe that all the recommendations from her department have been made," he said. "The president makes the final recommendation for the tenure of all faculty before it goes on to be approved by the Board of
VSee LAWSUIT, Page 8
It ain't nuthin' but a slang thang, you dig? When sparks fly...
y
4 4 o fisk, groove on this selection of crazy wordage."
Sheesh, the things people say. Jocks, preps, hackers, goths, skaters, hippies, alter-natives, punk rockers— everyone uses slang. During the past three decades, slang and catch phrases have really come into their own. In the '70s the punk rockers broke out and "Oi" came into the language along with various grunts, growls and assorted bleedin' British words. The '70s also continued to use and expand on the '60s penchant for words like "heavy" and "deep." However, when it comes to generating slang, no decade can compete with the '80s. The yuppie network obliviously touched base while goths and punks yelled "Die Yuppie Scum." At the same time, surfers and bimbos from the West Coast, with the help of Moon Unit Zappa, used their collective brain power to create "Val speak." Oh my god, gag me with a spoon. Now in the '90s most slang comes from the media—from Homer Simpson's "Dowh" to Captain Picard's "Make it so." At UCO, current and not so current slang words and catch phrases fly through the cold winter air. "Let's motor;" a typically '80s saying implemented mainly by -
VSee SLANG, Page 8
Jim Chapman of Trade Mechanical welds metal piping inside the Home Economics Building. (Staff photo by Bill Wilkinson )
INSIDE TODAY SPORTS
INDEX Editorial
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Miss UCO 4,5 Sports 6,7 Around Campus ... 11 Comics 11 Classifieds 12
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FIRE AWAY! Machine Gun Mary takes a shot at The Vista's Brady Bunch, or is it the Mansons?
EINSTEIN & ME Find out what some UCO students and Einstein have in common.
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