Celebrating 100 Years
The Student Voice Since 1903 UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2004
'Month of Action' to begin at Capitol "Raise Your Voice: Month of Action" will kick off at 3 p.m. Feb. 12 in the House chambers of the state Capitol. Activities including voter registration campaigns, volunteer recruits and food bank service projects are already planned at. 11 public and private institutions, with more planned. At UCO, a Campus Mapping Project will be held Feb. 15 through March 20. The project will be a series of meetings, and volunteers will use the Raise Your Voice Community Mapping Guide to conduct and investigation of the UCO campus. Volunteers will meet every Friday during the "Month of
Action." A Community Civic Engagement Fair will be held March 11 at Broncho Lake. Campus and community organizations are invited to the fair in an effort to inform students on opportunities to engage in the community. Also, a booth will be set up from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Friday during the month in the Nigh University Center. It will provide information on VOICE, voter registration and upcoming events. A drawing for a $50 gift certificate will be held for those who register to vote during the month. For more information, contact Tambra Nowell at tnowell@ucok.edu .
Oklahoma college students will raise their voices in a series of constructive events that are intended to get students involved in their communities. The events are sponsored by Vocal Oklahomans in Civic Engagement (VOICE), a campaign dedicated to getting more Oklahoma college students engaged in a broad range of their civic responsibilities. Chancellor Paul G. Risser for the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education and Campus Compact Coordinator Jennifer Green will welcome participants from college campuses and from state government in a forum to discuss upcoming activities.
Vending machine bill stalled ■
Bill would ban sale of soft drinks in public schools. By RON JENKINS Associated Press Writer
Photo Services
The cast of "Shakespeare's R&J" rehearses in Mitchell Hall Theatre.
Theatre Dept. premiering new twist on old favorite by Sherrod Wall Staff Writer The play "Shakespeare's R&J" will be presented Feb. 12 through 14 at 7:30 p.m. and at 2 p.m. Feb. 15 in Mitchell Hall Theatre. "Shakespeare's R&J" is an adaptation of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" and centers on four students in an all-boys parochial school who discover the text of the classic play. In the course of one night, the boys pour over the play and are swept away by the story, eventually assuming the roles and enacting the play. This modern adaptation is not so different from the classic presentation of Shakespeare's works, where men played all the roles. "Instead of having a full cast of characters it only has four young men doing the entire play," Dr. Roberta Sloan, chair of the Theatre Department said.
Sloan also said the play is cut down and only portions of the play are acted out. "It's only portions of the play, but you get a feel for the whole story," she said. Sloan thinks that college students will be able to relate to this play more because students their own age will be playing in it. "[The audience] can look forward to being exposed to Shakespeare in a very new and inventive way," She said. "I thought it was something the students of the university community would really relate to." The play stars UCO students Timothy Berg of Tulsa, Mykle Bull of Oklahoma City, Daniel Gilbert of Mustang and Terren Wooten of Midwest City. Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for senior citizens, $5 for UCO faculty and staff, $3 for UCO students and $5 for non-UCO students.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A bill to ban vending machine sales of soft drinks in elementary and middle schools hit a snag in the state Senate education committee on Monday. An 8-8 vote kept Sen. Bernest Cain's bill from being sent to the Senate floor, despite impassioned pleas from health care advocates, who said schools should not be contributing to the problem of obesity among Oklahoma's children. The measure by Cain, DOklahoma City, also pushed for the sale of nutritious snacks in school vending machines. Sen. Penny Williams, DTulsa, committee chairman, said another vote would be held on the bill next week, raising objections from some senators who voted against it. Health experts backed the bill, citing the links between obesity and increased rates of diabetes and heart disease. Some senators were concerned about money schools
would lose from vending machine contracts with soft drink companies. Marilyn Schorin, a nutritionist who has worked for Pesi-Cola Co., questioned whether soft drink sales in schools had as much effect on obesity as other factors such as physical inactivity and children's eating habits at home. Schorin said stopping vending machine sales of the product could contribute to children's desire to drink them, citing the experience of Prohibition on the adult population. Jim Schmidt of Elk City, president of the Oklahoma Soft Drink Association, said industry studies show student consumption rates of soft drinks should not be a major factor in their health problems. Schmidt suggested physical inactivity and eating habits at home were among the major causes. Stanley Hupfeld, head of the Fit Kids Coalition and president of the Integris hospital group in Oklahoma, said schools cannot be totally
blamed for the health problems of children but should not be contributing to them. State Health Board member Gordon Deckert, a doctor, said if something is not done to cut down on the calorie intake of children, one in three of them will wind up with diabetes. Deckert said "calorie addiction" is fast overtaking tobacco as the cause of illnesses that lead to premature deaths. "We have an epidemic on our hands. This is not trivial," Deckert said. Sen. Jeff Radon, D-Hugo, said some school superintendents have asked him to vote against the bill because it would cost schools badly needed money. Rabon, however, said he knows that his three small children would never consume anything but "pop, candy and junk it you let them." He said adults have a responsibility to set limits. "They are children. They don't know any better. They depend on us," he said.
Super Bowl suit dropped KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Less than a week after filing a proposed class-action lawsuit in federal court because of her outrage over the Super Bowl's halftime show, Terri Carlin believes she's made her point. The Knoxville woman is withdrawing the suit filed last Wednesday in U.S. District Court against singers Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake, along with MTV, CBS and their parent company, Viacbm. The lawsuit had sought billions.of dollars in compensatory and punitive damages. Carlin alleged that she and others who watched the show during the Super Bowl were injured by the performers' lewd actions when Timberlake tore off part of Jackson's costume, exposing her right breast. The notice of dismissal filed in federal court claims Carlin wants to see if "remedial measures recently announced by the corporate defendants, the potential (Federal Communications Commission) sanctions and perhaps the passage of stronger enforcement provisions will prevent further similar conduct." Carlin and attorney Wayne A. Ritchie II, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of Carlin and has represented her for free, have already received phone calls and mail from hundreds of supportive parents from across the country who wanted to be included in the suit, the notice
states. Such a legal action would be better filed in the state court system bemuse of the "diversity of citizenship" of the proposed plaintiffs in the suit, Ritchie wrote. In the lawsuit filed on behalf of "all Americans," Carlin charged that Jackson's exposure and "sexually explicit conduct" by other performers during the halftime show injured viewers. Carlin did not specify the type of injury allegedly suffered. Jackson apologized for the incident, saying a red lace garment was supposed to remain over her breast when an outer garment was ripped away. She denied that the NFL, CBS or MTV, which produced the halftime show for CBS, knew of her plans. Those entities all condemned the performance. The lawsuit also charged that the broadcast companies and the two signers violated an "implied" contract with viewers not to subject them to lewd actions. It stated broadcasters should have had a "sufficient broadcast delay" to censor the acts. Carlin's lawsuit was not a bid for attention or cash but reflected her convictions that the shoyv overstepped the bounds of decency, Ritchie said. Carlin sought to send a message that corporations can and will be held accountable for violating the public's trust, he said.
• Photo by Justin Avera
Andre Francisco and Jeff Morris perform "Steal Away" at "A Festival of Spirituals... 'a celebration of our heritage'" Feb. 10 in Mitchell Hall.