The Vista April 12, 2007

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The Student Voice of the University of Central Oklahoma Since 1903

April 12, 2007

UCO Student Association Senate holds elections for pro-tempore

by Abha Eli Phoboo Staff Writer

On April 9, UCO Student Association Senate held elections for the office of president pro-tempore and deputy president pro tempore to serve the next term.

Logan Reynolds, broadcast journalism major, was elected president pro-tempore from the three nominated candidates. Reynolds will be taking over for Jason Hines.

Daniel Stockton was undisputed as deputy president protempore when his opposition withdrew from the elections.

Reynolds served as Student Senate president for a year while at Rose State College before transferring to UCO. He said the experience taught him how to effectively run a legislative body and to communicate and work with students and administration.

"I have a passion for UCO,

by Vista photographer Alex Gambill for the Senate and what the Senate can do," said Reynolds.

"I plan on creating a bi-monthly Bryan Lafuente steers while Bubba Macias, Chris Maffry and Nick Tesney push the Kappa Sigma newsletter that will have every bathtub in the annual Bathtub Push. The fraternity raised $2,300 for Make a Wish Foundation of organization's events, fundraisOklahoma, which helps children with life-threatening medical conditions. ers, philanthropy, etc. This way,

Photo Provided

Logan Reynolds (center) newly elected President Pro-Tempore for the Senate poses with two fraternity brothers, Micah Wright (left) and Jeremiah Nordean.

senators can take this back to their club and know exactly what is going on throughout campus and what clubs need help."

Reynolds' plans also include working with nonprofit organizations.

Stockton, interpersonal communications and psychology major, is a President 's Leadership Council scholar and senator for the Inter Fraternal Council.

According to Stockton, the Senate is notorious for passing any bill that is presented.

Among his main goals is to

empower the Senate to question bills and legislations that are brought before them.

"I want the Senate body to understand that they have the power and right to question any bill that is presented and to utilize the Senate committee to realize that it is ok to turn down redundant organizations," said Stockton, who will be taking over from Meredith Carrick.

Abha Eli Phoboo can be reached at aphoboo@thevistaonline.com.

Communications opens its doors

by Andrew Knittle Staff Writer

The newly revamped studio of UCO's student-run television station will be one of the highlights of the Mass Communication's April 13 open house, which is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. in the Communication Building's lobby.

The studio, home to the award-winning News Central,

features a completely redesigned set and "state-of-theart digital broadcast and video storage technology, surpassing many smaller market commercial television stations," according to an April 6 news release from the department.

In the release, General Manager of Academic Broadcasting Jeff Hagy said all the new bells and whistles would benefit students when

they enter the workforce.

"This digital conversion project represents an important milestone for the Mass Communication department," Hagy said. "These leading-edge improvements will provide students with hands-on, real-world experience as they prepare for a future in broadcasting."

Around half of the

by Vista photographer Alex Gambill

UCO's Channel 6 News anchors Julie Hoang (left) and Emily Parrott report the news live at 5 p.m.

see Comm, page 3 April 11 in the Mass Communication Building.

Agreements between universities and money lenders could bring charges Cozy arrangements between colleges and the companies that lend their students billions of dollars are far more widespread than anticipated, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo told The Associated Press Tuesday, even as another college financial aid officer was suspended amid a probe into the $85 billion industry.

Cuomo would not divulge where the burgeoning investigation is headed next, including whether more subpoenas are on the way. But he said the investigation could lead to criminal charges against highranking officials at both lending companies and universities.

"This is like peeling an onion," Cuomo said. "It seems to be getting worse the more we uncover. It's more widespread than we originally thought ... More schools and more lenders at the top end.

"We have demonstrated this is not just the exception," he said. "This is the rule."

Cuomo is investigating alleged kickbacks to school officials who steered students to certain lenders. His inves-

tigators say they have found numerous arrangements that benefited schools, financial aid officers and lenders at the expense of students.

Investigators found that many colleges have established "preferred lender" lists and entered into revenue sharing and other financial arrangements with those lenders.

Some colleges have "exclusive" preferred lender agreements with the companies.

So far, six schools, including the University of Pennsylvania and New York University, have agreed to reimburse students a total of $3.27 million for inflated loan prices caused by revenue sharing agreements, Cuomo said. The schools will return money to students who took out loans during the time the revenue sharing agreement was in effect. Students will be refunded based on the amount they were loaned.

On Monday, a loan company that has been at the center of the investigation, CIT Group Inc.,

see CIT Group, page 3

Watch News Central Channel 6 @ 5 p.m.

Volunteers needed for Zoo

by Aaron Wright Staff Writer

The Volunteer and Student Learning Center is seeking volunteers for a service project with the Oklahoma City Zoo from April 13 through April 18.

Volunteers are needed for various times throughout those days. Five volunteers are needed on April 13, April 16, April 17 and April 18 from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. These volunteers will be painting the monkey house, clear- i n g trash or working on trails. Thirty volunteers are being requested for April 14 from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. to help with the zoo's `Party for the Planet.' `Party for the Planet' will include booths with games, information, face painting and other activities. Volunteerswillman the booths.

It is in honor of National AP Photo by Mike Groll Zoo and Aquarium Month.

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo speaks during an Lyndsay Holder, coordinator interview in Colonie, N.Y., Tuesday, April 10. Cozy arrangements for the VSLC, encourages all between colleges and the companies that loan their students bil- volunteers to wear UCO T-shirts.

Breakfast and lunch will be prolions of dollars are far more widespread than anticipated.

vided by the VSLC. Students will also get into the zoo for free following their shifts. Students will be paired into groups, of two or three to work the booths.

"The zoo refers to us as 'the. university in their backyard' and don't understand why we don't do more with them," said Holder. She said the project started after a luncheon held for the community partners of the VSLC in January 2007. The zoo asked the staff members of the center if they had volun= rs, teem immediately interested in work-, ing with sea lions., Josh Krawczyk, director for the VSLC, saw a bigger picture, said Holder.

He wanted to develop a partnership that would eventually build into the biology curriculum by working with animals.

Right now, the VSLC wants to get UCO and the Oklahoma City Zoo working together, said Holder.

Aaron Wright can be reached at awright@thevistaonline.com.

"To be ignorant of one's ignorance is the malady of the ignorant."

- Amos Alcott

THU. 67/40

FRI. 63/56

OPINION &um April 12, 2007

THEVISTA I

Editorial

Photography

Teddy Burch, Editor in Chief Steven Reckinger, Cops , Editor No Lupov, Managing Editor

Alex Gambill, Photographer Travis Marak, Photographer Lae Hyung Lee, Photographer

News

Advertising

Nathan Winfrey, Senior Staff Writer Andrew Knittle, Stuff Writer Lyndsay Gilum, Staff 11"riter :Aaron Wright, Staff Wilier Abha Eli Phoboo. Staff Writer

Sports Justin Langston, Sports Writer Jeff Massie, Sports ffri•iter

I

Megan Pierce, Ad Director Aaron Pettijohn, Ad Designer

Cartoons/Illustrations Zachary Burch

Secretary Danyel Suter

Adviser Mark Zimmerman

The Vista is published as a newspaper and public forum by UCO students, semi-weekly during the academic year except exam and holiday periods, and on Thursdays only during summer, at the University of Central Oklahoma, 100 N. University Dr., Edmond, OK 73034. Telephone: (405) 974-5549. The issue price is free for the first copy and S 1 for each additional copy obtained.

EDITORIALS Opinion columns, editorial cartoons, reviews and commentaries represent the views of the writer or artist and not necessarily the views of The Vista Editorial Board, the Department of Mass Communication, UCO or the Board of Regents of Oklahoma Colleges. The Vista is not an official medium of expression for the Regents or UCO.

LETTERS The Vista encourages letters to the editor. Letters should address issues and ideas, not personalities. Letters must be typed, double-spaced, with a maximum of 150 words, and must include the author's printed name, title, major, classification and phone number. Letters are subject to editing for libel, clarity and space, or to eliminate statements of questionable taste. The Vista reserves the right not to publish submitted letters and does not publish anonymous letters.

Address letters to: Editor, The Vista, 100 N. University Dr., Edmond, OK 73034-5209, or deliver in person to the editor in the Communications Building, Room 107. Letters can be e-mailed to editorial@thevistaonline.com .

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

azy little thing called love You could call it the new after season, • television is craze. It is the one thing bombarded with these that everyone is searching hopefuls searching for the for. It is everywhere you one, and we are found on turn. It is in the books our couches rooting for we read, it is on the big our favorite contender. screen and now it has taken It is the typical story of over our television. It is boy meets girls, boy dates an epidemic that is spread- girls, boy gives roses to ing across the nation with- girls and boy and girl bi'eak out a cure. It is not about up after the cameras stop who wins, it is about how rolling. Who woulsia:t you win, how you played want this fairy tale story? your cards. Did you play Every episode there is a them right'? Did you fold at dramatic rose ceremothe first chance or did you ny. This rose symbolizes bluff your way through? his love for the bachelorIt is the game of love. ette, but he gives a rose to Meant to be something multiple women, so what sacred and beautiful, but does that say about love? somewhere in the midst of The rose seems to symit all, it was distorted and bolize more than love, but twisted into a form of enter- jealousy and pride. Women tainment. It has become begin to throw themselves the world where true love at the bachelor once they is jumble with reality. realize their time is cornEvery season hopeful ing to an end. This fear men and women fill our creates pandemonium and television, hoping to find soon they will do anything their true love. The mad- to be the last one standing ness began on Monday as with the man, the rose and ABC launched its 10th sea- the twenty-four carat ring. son of The Bachelor. Love It then becomes surhas become the ultimate vival of the fittest and spectator sport. Season the most beautiful.

The bachelor has a limited amount of time to weed out the wrong ones, fall in love with one, and then inemini-mine-mo the right one.

And to society this is true love created before our eyes.

Each episode, dreams are destroyed, hopefuls are sent home and hearts are broken all in the name of love.

It is a tragic thing that society is drawn to such a devastating form of entertainment, but our inner psyche feeds on wreckage that is not happening to us. We relish in others sorrow. Tragic? Yes. Entertaining? Even better.

So as women's biological clock ticks away and men's receding hair line increase, we wonder when this madness will end. Love has become an unattainable concept that has been glamorized by Hollywood. With the comparison of the portrayal on television, love will always seem to fall short of expectation. If we base love on what we see on TV, will you receive the final rose?

First I would like to mention the fact that I am a student in the Theater Depai Unent at the University. I would also like to mention that when I first came to UCO three years ago I had respect for your publication. I found it thrilling that my own face made the paper some four or five times my first year.

Recently, however, just like most of this campus, I have grown out of my childish immaturity and fully realized how little respect I actually have for The Vista.

Last semester our department put on a production of The Scarecrow. In the days following our show, your paper ran a review completely slamming our production and giving an inaccurate view of our depai talent's talent and ability to the rest of the university. You called our show "borderline boredom". if I stuck with my original ideas for this letter, here is where I would have stuck in one of my sarcastic remarks such as, "Thank you so much for helping us advertise," or, "Thanks for helping us sell tickets to our new show!" But since cynicism is the easiest way to remark on life, I elect to be as honest as possible. I personally do not appreciate our own University's paper putting down our shows and giving the students and staff a negative view of our department. We need tickets sales just as much as

you need people to pick up your paper to promote your advertising space, and when 4,000 issues disappear due to you printing mug shots of our students, you are equally upset and wonder why. MY main wonder is to why our University's paper is striving so hard to slander our students and our departments. Covering the news is one thing, but if we plan to grow as a university The Vista must cooperate and view this campus as a working family, printing positive articles, not chronicling each arrest and commemorating it with a wonderful mug shot. We can catch that through word of mouth and the interne.

This past week my anger towards the newspaper goA even worse. In April 3s, `s paper you ran an article advertising The Music Department's production "Blame it on the Movies" which I plan will be an awesome jazz lab show. I have no quarrel with their department. My only hold up is the fact that it was run NINE DAYS before the production went up, whereas our Department's production of Much Ado About Nothing was not mentioned at all in that issue, TWO DAYS before it opened. I was absolutely overjoyed however when yo ran ran editorial letters April 5tH showcasing the ineptness of your paper.

This has taught me that out

front honesty is much better that any sort of enigmatic renegade approach.

I, Jimmy Pike, was the student whq posted a copy of April 3s, 's paper with the phrase "WHERE IS THE MUCH ADO ARTICLE?" written in all caps on the front page. I was told that because of my actions, we would repeive no article on April 5 1", opening night, which apparently we were supposed to have. For whatever reason, you chose not to print anything in Thursday's paper except a small flayer on page nine. Thank you for that. But as I think more and more about this whole think, I am left thinking that my First Amendment rights have been dismissed.

Is the fact that I spoke the reason our department suffers with the lack of advertising in our University's paper, or it is the fact that The Vista just doesn't care?, I also ask how a newspa- . per at a liberal University; who views censorship as such a bad thing, can censor my voice by punishing our department for my wordsz Just like Mr. Nathan .

Winfrey, I should be able to tell everyone what I think, but instead an entire department was punished in a very childish manner, because of one student's actions.

Just searching for justice: Jimmy Pike — Theater Junior.

CAMPUS QUOTES: Compi led and photographed by Alex Gambill

"What do you think should happen to Don Imus?"

"I think he should be fired, because in this day and age he should know better."

"His best punishment would be a social punishment, cause people gonna see him in . the street."

"I'd probably suspend him, but I'd wouldn't fire him."

"I think the two-week suspension is fine.

I think he's cranky, not racist."

Jerra Simmons

Sarah Smith

Garrett Willis

Fashion Marketing

Broadcasting

History

Dr. William Hickman Professor

NEWS April 12, 2007

CIT GROUP from page 1 placed three top executives at its Student Loan Xpress division On paid leave following allegations of stock transactions with a high-level U.S. Department of Education official and college financial aid officers.

The Department of Education Official who oversaw parts of the student loan industry was also placed on leave after it was reported that in 2003 he owned at least $100,000 worth of stock in Education Lending Group Inc., the former parent of Student Loan Xpress. The company was acquired by CIT in 2005. ; A number of student loan officials at different schools bave also been placed on leave pending the investigation.

On Tuesday, Capella University, a Minneapolisbased online school, said it suskended its director of finanial aid after he acknowledged accepting consulting fees from Student Loan Xpress.

Financial aid director Timothy Lehmann was put on paid administrative leave after Cuomo's office said he received more than $13,000 in fees from - the company.

Capella President Michael ernan says Lehmann disclosed the payments last Friday.

The school is cooperating with Cuomo's office and doing an internal investigation as well, Offernan said.

Cuomo said he suspects "dozens" of financial aid officers around the country have similar arrangements that he has called deceptive, unethical and at times, illegal.

"No one is even defending the situation anymore," he said.

Last week, Cuomo sent subpoenas to SLM Corp., commonly known as Sallie Mae, requesting information on any current or former employees who had worked at the Education Department over the past six years.

In some cases, investigators said, lenders provided all-expense-paid trips for college financial aid officers to exotic locations. Financial aid officers at schools in some cases served on loan company advisory boards, Cuomo said.

Cuomo said the arrangements are particularly predatory because of the relationship between students and the colleges they pick.

"Ninety percent of the students take the 'preferred lender,'" he said. "Why? Because that's the nature of the relationship.

You trust the school. The school is in a position of authority. The school is there to nurture you."

Cuomo said various officials have been examining the issue for about a year but his investigation was spurred after a lender came to him to complain about the domination of a few lenders in the lucrative market. Cuomo would not name the lender.

"The new lenders were saying because they weren't doing the conferences, they didn't have these relationships with financial aid offices, they weren't willing to do or hadn't been doing the financial aid incentive," Cuomo said.

"They couldn't even compete."

The attorney general said he has talked with lawmakers in Washington _ including Sen. Edward Kennedy, DMass., who heads the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, about new legislation to reign in the student loan industry.

"There hasn't been enough supervision," he said. "There hasn't been enough regulation."

Earlier this year, House Democrats in Washington introduced a bill that would ban gifts from lenders to college employees and would require lenders to disclose the terms of their arrangements with colleges and universities.

Comm from page 1 $300,000 needed to complete the upgrades came from funds raised by the College of Liberal Arts and a grant from the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation.

News Central airs nightly on Cox Channel 6 and

reaches more than 20,000 hopae.s . in the Edmond area.

LThe Vista will also host students, faculty and staff to show off its renovated newsroom, which includes two flat screen televisions, new carpet and freshly painted walls.

Andrew Knittle can be reached at aknittle@thevistaonline.com .

Fraternity spikes the ball April 14

by Aaron Wright Staff Writer The Sigma Tau Gamma fraternity is hosting its 11th Annual Sand Volleyball Tournament on April 14 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Games will be played at the Sigma Tau Gamma house, located at 911 N. Washington in Edmond, and at The Commons volleyball court. The tournament is a 3-on-3, double elimination contest. The entrance fee is $30 per team and $10 per person.

The money raised will go to both the fraternity and to the Muscular D i strtrophy Foundation.

"We were looking for something to give back to with fundraising to enrich the community," said Chase Pulliam, biology freshman and volleyball chair for the fraternity. MDS is not the fraternity's official philanthropy.

Generally, they raise money and supplies for Books for Kids.

Those wanting to give to MDS, but not wanting to participate in the tournament, can give just by stopping by the fraternity house. A bucket will be set out to take donations.

Dave Dunn, an acoustic guitarist from Lubbock, Texas, will provide music throughout the day.

Free hamburgers, pizza and water will also be served from

11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The food is donated by Sprint, who also donated $400 to Sigma Tau Gamma for their tournament.

Anyone wanting to register can do so online at www.volleyball.ucosigtau.com . Participants in the past have included UCO students, fraternity members, community members and even students from other universities.

Aaron Wright can be reached at awright@thevistaonline.com .

by Vista photographer Laehyung Lee

by Vista photographer Travis Marak

A Canada Goose sits atop a nest of eggs near the Nigh University Center April 9. UCO horticulturist says the geese usually nest this location every year.

Mark Zimmerman, director of Student Publications, said the open house will highlight The Vista's past during the event.

"We're showcasing photographs from former Vista photographers, past editorial cartoons and historical editions of The Vista," Zimmerman said.

Dylan Jackson, left, philosophy freshman, and Brett Roberson, economy senior, demonstrate how to roll a T-shirt during inspection April 6 near Thatcher Hall.

Defend yourself at the Wellness Center "WV'

aVVV\

THE MAN BEHIND THE MAN BEHIND THE SANDWICH

***

by Lyndsay Gillum Staff Writer UCO female students, faculty, staff and Wellness Center members are encouraged to attend the Women's Self= Defense Seminar on April 19 from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the Wellness Center.

Participants will learn basic defense skills and moves along with safety awareness and issues from Wellness Center fitness coordinator and fifth degree black belt in Tai Kwon Do, Johnny Watley.

"It's going to be hands - on," Danielle Dill, Wellness Center assistant director of Programs

to your body. Watley will also talk about striking surfaces on the student's body versus the opponents striking surface. He will discuss what to attack, how to attack and how to defend yourself.

Along with learning selfdefense theories and moves, participants will learn about all the components of evidence, such as what the District Attorney will be looking for as evidence, such as DNA. "Why I think this is important is because the environment we live in today in America," Watley said. "Although Edmond is a nice, safe place, no where is totally safe. We

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and Services, said. "There will be a little bit of talking about safety issues and awareness, but they will definitely have the opportunity to practice situations."

According to Watley, this will not be a theory class. It is an application class, where participants will actually do some scenario based self-defense moves. "The teaching will be awareness, awareness of where you are at all times and awareness of your surroundings and those around you," he said.

Participants will also learn physical self-defense, which includes frontal assault, rear assault and from where the attacker is standing in regards

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need to be prepared at all times and be prepared mentally, prepared physically and emotionally to defend ourselves.

"We want to apply basic defensive principles, that's why I think it's important, especially as the student's transition from home, where they've been sheltered by parents, to living out on their own. Some awareness will actually help them feel more confident as they move from place to place on campus."

Some safety tips students can apply in everyday life include having your keys out as you approach the car so you won't have to stop and look for them; take an assessment around the car, including the other side and consider taking a walk around the car before getting in; and make eye contact with those around you so they are aware that you know they are there, said Watley.

The Women's Self-Defense Seminar is free for all current UCO students, faculty, staff and Wellness Center members.

Register by calling 974-3155.

Space is limited to 40 participants.

"Safety of our students is a priority," Dill said. "We want our students to have the knowledge and skills to be safe and have a good experience on campus."

Come to ELC! Lyndsay Gillum can be reached at Igillum@thevistaonline.com .

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NEWS April 12,

2007

Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame to induct ten Ten outstanding Oklahoma journalists will be honored :April 13 during the 37th annual ;induction ceremonies of the :Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame at the University of ;Central Oklahoma in Edmond.

Inductees this year will be 'retired OU Journalism School Director David Dary, Purcell ;Register Co-publisher Gracie $Aontgomery, CBS news ,cameraman Patrick O'Dell, retired Tulsa World Sports Editor Phillip Parrish, OETA Network News Manager Bob Sands, The Oklahoman David Dary (1934- ), a native ',Managing Editor Mike of Manhattan, Kansas, received :Shannon, OSU J-School prodegrees from Kansas State fessor Mike Sowell, Oklahoma University and the University Press Association Executive of Kansas.

He worked as a ,'Director Mark Thomas, The journalist in Kansas, Texas and ;Oklahoman columnist Helen Washington, D.C. with CBS 'F,ord Wallace, and Tulsa World fiecutive Editor Joe Worley. News and NBC News. He The luncheon program will taught journalism at KU for 20 be begin at 11:30 a.m. in the years before becoming head of ballroom at the University what is now the OU Gaylord Center. Dr. Terry M. Clark, College of Journalism. During chairman of the sponsor- eleven years at OU he rebuilt ing Mass Communication the program and obtained a gift Department at the University of $22 million from the Gaylord of Central Oklahoma, will be family that elevated the OU will be master of ceremonies. J-school to a free-standing colMore than 150 journal- lege and gave the program a ists, friends and families are new journalism building. He 'expected for the Hall of Fame. is the author of 20 books on the UCO President W. Roger American West including a his.Webb will welcome the crowd. tory ofthe Oklahoma Publishing "The annual ceremony has Company and the Gaylord fambecome an informal homecom- ily. He retired in 2000 as ing for distinguished previous an emeritus professor at OU. honorees. The Hall is a virtual Who's Who of Oklahoma Journalism, and the crowd will be filled with the giants of the profession," Clark said.

Tickets for the luncheon are available for $15 until April 6, and may be reserved by calling Sherry Sump, Mass Communication, at 405-974-5121.

Honorees are selected by a committee composed of members oftheworkingpress, Society of Professional Journalists and the Hall of Fame. The committee sifts through all nominations, both new ones and those held over from previous years before selecting the nine honorGracie Montgomery (1956ees. Nomination forms are avail) is co-publisher of The Purcell able at any time from the Mass Register.

She has served on Communication Department. nearly every Oklahoma Press Framed citations are on Association committee, and in display in a special Hall of 2005-2006 became the third Fame in the Journalism building at the University of Central woman OPA president. She and Oklahoma. The UCO Mass her husband John D. are the Communication is the host first husband-wife team to have and administrator of the Hall; served as its presidents. She and the Oklahoma Newspaper earned a BBA degree from OU in Foundation helped finance 1978. She began her journalism the display area. The Ethics career at The Johnston County and excellence in Journalism Capital-Democrat in 1979. She Foundation helps underwrite was appointed by Supreme expenses for the ceremony. Court Chief Justice Marion All members of the Hall of Opala to the original Oklahoma Fame are listed at the Mass Ethics Commission. She's a Communication Department's board member and active in web site at http://www. numerous Purcell civic groups. libarts.ucok.edu/masscomm.

Inductees follow: '

,

Patrick O'Dell (1938 ) was staff cameraman at the CBS Southwest Bureau in Dallas and covered national stories about Oklahoma for more than 30 years. Born in Lawton, he was chosen "Outstanding Graduate"

by Sigma Delta Chi at the University of Tulsa in 1961. He began his career at KOTV in Tulsa. As news director he covered Oklahoma delegations at the Democratic and Republican conventions in 1964. In the 60's at WSB-TV in Atlanta, he filmed Dr. Martin Luther King and other Civil Rights leaders. With CBS since 1972, he covered every presidential campaign, 10 national conventions, NASA shuttle missions, assignments in China, Russia, Cuba, the siege at Waco and the Oklahoma City bombing. He won an Emmy for coverage ofthe 1985 Mexico City earthquake.

-

Phillip Parrish (1937 ) joined the Tulsa World in 1959 after having served as sports editor of The Norman Transcript in 1957-59 and The Lawton Morning Press. Born in Chicago, he attended Indiana University and earned a BA in journalism from Tulsa University. He started his journalism career at age 18 as editor of the Tulsa County News. At The World he covered high school sports and wrestling. He received an award from the Oklahoma Coaches Association and was named national wrestling sports writer of the year. He became The World's Executive Sports Editor in 1967 and became only the third World sports editor in 67 years in 1993. He retired in 2002, and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Oklahoma Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists in 2006.

Bob Sands (1950- ) is Manager of Network News at OETA. He began his career in 1972 at KAFG-FM in Oklahoma City. He's worked in Tulsa at KAKC AM-FM, in Michigan and Montana, and in Oklahoma City radio and T.V: WKY, KEBC-FM, KOMA AM & FM, KKNGFM and KTOK. He was chief investigator for NBC Nightly News on the Oklahoma City bombing and worked for ABC News Primetime, CNN and NBC Dateline, and won numerous local, state and national awards. He was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award

by Oklahoma Professional Chapter of SPJ in 2006. A board member of FOI Oklahoma, he helped write the Oklahoma Open Records Law. He is Past-President of the Oklahoma Associated Press Broadcasters and the Oklahoma City News Broadcasters Association.

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Mike Shannon (1948 ), managing editor of The Oklahoman since 1999, started his journalism career at The Oklahoma City Times in 1970 as reporter working up through assistant editor jobs to become City Editor in 1977 to Executive News Editor in 1980 and assistant managing editor in 1989. Growing up in Lindsay, he earned his journalism degree from OU in 1970 and met'nbership in Phi Beta Kappa. He worked for The Oklahoma Daily, and interned at The Oklahoma City Times for Assistant Managing Editor Ralph Sewell in 1969. Colleagues and superiors describe him as a first-class newsman with the best news judgment in the modern history of The Oklahoman.

-

Mike Sowell (1948- ) , associate professor of journalism at the Oklahoma State University School of Journalism and Broadcasting since1998, earned his BA in journalism from OU and his MS from OSU. He started his journalism career in 1971 as reporter and editor of the U.S. Army Berlin Observer, and was sportswriter and assistant sports editor at The El Paso Times from 1974-1977. He joined The Tulsa Tribune as sports columnist, winning numerous awards, including APSE's national column writing contest, and was Sports Editor from 1981-1992.

He has written three books, two of them NY Times Notable Books of the Year, and the history of baseball for Collier's Encyclopedia. He was editor of college sports magazines for First Down Publications in Tul sa.

Mark Thomas (1959- ) is the Executive Vice-President and Secretary of the Oklahoma Press Association, representing Oklahoma's 213 weekly and daily newspapers. A native of Stillwater, he earned a BA degree at Oklahoma Christian College in 1981. He went to work for The Edmond Sun before joining OPA as assistant manager of the Oklahoma Newspaper Advertising Bureau.

He was Executive Director of the Colorado Press Association from 1989-1995, returning to OPA in 1995 to succeed Ben Blackstock. He's a board member and past president of FOI, OK, and past president of the Newspaper Association Managers and represents that board on the National Newspaper Association board.

He is passionate about his family, faith and safeguarding and advancing the newspaper industry to the benefit of the press and the public.

Helen Ford Wallace (1940) has been a columnist for The Oklahoman for more than 40 years, working for nine different editors. She began at U.S. Grant High School as a corespondent in 1957. She earned a journalism degree at OU, where she wrote for the Oklahoma Daily, She did graduate work at OCU, and taught journalism at Northeast High School, sponsoring the newspaper and yearbook. She has written the Sunday society column since 1978, started a shopping column and wrote many others including feature stories, also taking photos for the society section She's been chairman and president of several organizations, including the Beaux Arts Ball, the Oklahoma City Junior League, the OU Mother's Club,

Joe Worley (1947- ), executive editor of The Tulsa World since 1995, has been a champion of the newsroom and thinks a newspaper should aggressively cover its community and state.

He joined The World in 1987 as Sunday editor. A Tennessean, he earned a BA in History from Wofford College in South Carolina. He was a copy editor, reporter at the Nashville Banner in 1973-1978 before becoming news director at The University of Tennessee. He returned to The Banner as city editor and later became managing editor and executive editor from 19791987. He served the Oklahoma Press Association board beginning in 1995 and was president in 2004-2005. He's also a member of ASNE and AP/ONE. He served in the Tennessee and Oklahoma Army National Guard, retiring as Lieutenant Colonel in 2004. He's active in numerous Tulsa civic groups.

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NEWS April 12, 2007

'Pursuit of Happyness,' a tale of sacrifice and heartache

by Nathan Winfrey Senior Ste Writer

Intentionally misspelled, "The Pursuit of Happyness" hit DVD shelves March 27, and if you missed it at theaters, to not indulge in the emotional true story with at least a rental would be to miss out on one of the few good films of 2006.

You don't have to be psychic to watch a trailer for a film like this and predict exactly what you're getting yourself into, but the experience is well worth it. The way Italian director Gabriele Muccino handles this beautiful anthem of tenacity, hope and good ol' American stick-to-itiveness not only drags you through the mud with Chris Gardner (Will Smith), an ideal father with a string of bad luck, but somehow enables the viewer to share, in part, with the thrill of his victories as well.

It's 1981 and Gardner, an unsuccessful door-todoor salesman of bone density scanners, takes a chance and applies for a competitive internship with brokerage firm Dean Witter (this was before it became Morgan Stanley Dean Witter) in a last-ditch effort to find a better life for his family.

The grueling journey Gardner embarks on to achieve his goal is not pleasant to watch, and the fact that it's based on a true story makes it even more difficult. The emotional connections that are easily formed with the characters pay off in one of

the most harrowing, if strangely uplifting tales of the decade.

Smith takes a break from special effects-heavy sci-fi summer blockbusters and puts away his cavalier, strident characters long enough to show the serious actor we've been seeing more and more of lately, and it's quite a welcome change.

When you watch his graying, raggedy, Oscar-nominated portrayal of the put-upon Gardner, it's easy to forget he ever made films like "Wild Wild West." It's even easier to forget his annoying song by the same name that assailed radio airwaves in 1999.

Yes, Smith has come a long way since "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air," which I still think is one of his best works, but worthy of equal acclaim is his real-life son Jaden, who beat scores of other child actors for. the role of Smith's onscreen child as well. This is not simply Hollywood nepotism. Jaden is a terrific actor who displays not only a wide range of emotion in this film, but a father-son love and camaraderie that simply would not have been possible if anyone else had been cast.

Also great is Thandie Newton ("Beloved," "Crash") as Gardner's unsupportive and frazzled wife Linda. The few scenes all three share are charged with an impacting authenticity of realistic family drama.

The 1980s are expertly recreated without all the cliché period imagery that often befalls films set in that decade. There are no

side ponytails and cars don't roll past pumping Cyndi Lauper tunes into the air. What we do see is the double-edged sword of the often-ignored American class system. Muccino imbues his scenes with contrasting imagery that reminds us of the differences between the "haves" and the "have nots." A reason to put the gun This film expertly points away and climb down off out that the class division is that roof not based on the color of a man's skin, but what's in his bank account. "The Pursuit of Happyness" is not about a black man trying to make it in a white man's corporate world; it's simply about a man Finally, a movie you can unwilling to accept the finan- spend $8 on and not feel cial status the paycheck fairy bad about left under his pillow, and he just might have the determination it takes to rise above it.

Certainly about the pursuit of happiness (emphasis on the Asking for a ticket might word "pursuit"), this artful be too embarrassing, so drama, though slightly predictjust point at the marquee able, is not simply a by-thenumbers tear-jerker unleashed and grunt on movie-watchers. It's engaging and sometimes painful, but completely satisfying.

Available in both widescreen and full screen editions, DVD extras include a commentary Almost as bad as a Ben Aftrack from the director and a fleck movie handful of behind-the-scenes featurettes of varying interest and a look at the true story behind it all that's worth a watch.

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Nathan Winfrey can be reached at nwinfrey@thevistaonline.com.

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'Episodes' poetry books ignite 'Fubar,' a killer production the senses with aspiration The Department of Theatie, Dance, Media edia Arts Presents,I

by Lyndsay Gillum Staff Writer

Copy Editor

UCO students from the Department of Theatre, Dance and Media Arts will perform "Fubar: The Musical! Part 2!" at 7:30 p.m. on April 13 and April 14 in the Pegasus Theater.

The production is part of the department's series of "second stage" productions. "Second stage" productions are designed to provide creative challenges to students as well as creating provoking thoughts for the audience, according to Susan Parks, UCO College of Arts, Media and Design marketing and promotions coordinator.

As a student-written dark comedy, "Fubar" depicts the crisis college students face in life. It features students from the departments of theatre, dance and music performing to a wide array of live music. "'Fubar: The Musical Part 2!' features all new material, but the similarities still involve student crisis, including lost love, anorexia and other personal issues," said Daisy Bristow, managing director of the show.

Due to the adult content and mature topics featured throughout the show, it is intended for mature audiences. The cost for "Fubar" is one dollar, and additional donations will be

accepted. All funds received will go towards the production of other student shows.

For more information, call Parks at 974-3774. A complete schedule of events of CAMD performances can be found at www.camd.ucok.edu/events.

s a student-written dark comedy, "Fubar" depicts the crisis college students face in life.

Lyndsay Gillum can be reached at Igillum@thevistaonline.com.

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Poetry is one of the oldest and most universal forms of literature. From ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics describing religious subtext to the contemporary beat movement, the versatile poetic rhythm of a refined language has been an essential part of artistic evolution.

Local poet and UCO student Daniel R. Cooper illustrates the various stages of his life since childhood and elegantly places his memories into poetic form with his books "Episodes: The Process of Pain, the Passages of Healing" and "Episodes: the Journey Home," both published by Dickson Graphics.

"Episodes I" includes a short preface that speaks about Cooper's inspiration for the book and his views on how he approached his material.

Following the preface is a quote

by Cooperhimselfthatjustifiably represents the attitude shown in his poetry. "I am not free from the memory of the pain, but am exhausted of hate through these words I write," the second half of the quote indicates.

The first volume is broken up in two sections, one that generates a somber tone' of childhood memories reflecting hardship, abuse and the tragic death of his brother; while the second part attempts to overcome the challenges by accepting the gradual process of healing. The book contains approx-

each chapter, Cooper included a few quotes from authors such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry Ward Beecher.

"Episodes II" is more spiritual in nature, much of its subject matter focusing on religious implication. Also, there are several passages from the Holy Bible spread throughout the book. The content shifts much more than its predecessor; ranging from hardship to metaphorical interpretations of existence and what it means to be human. The running theme is choice and how it deeply affects an individual's life.

Sadly, the presentation of "Episodes II" isn't quite as elaborate as the first volume.

The test is larger in size with not much visible appeal to the layout. Although it works, it's disappointing to see a second effort appear less pleasing than the first, especially when the audience expects to see more of an improvement.

What it comes down to , is a substantial collection of a man's personal journey through hardship and emotional challenge. With any compilation, there is both good and bad points, but overall, these poetry books reveal tremendous potential for a local poet trying to get his name across ,in a competitive literary world.

Steve Reckinger can be reached at sreckinger@thevistaonline.com.

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imately 50 poems that range from Cooper's remembrance of his mother's alcoholism to his father's abusive nature.

The first part, titled the "The Process of Pain," makes up the bulk of the book. Many of the poems go back and forth between his younger days, pertaining to the difficulties he endured from a broken home.

His poetic style resembles traditional techniques, with rhyme and rhythmic beats. Only a few seldom follow a free-verse structure where no rhymes are present and doesn't necessarily contain any particular tempo.

The second part, roughly 15 poems in total, takes much of the content used in the first section and applies it to a more therapeutic method, hence the title "The Passages of Healing." It seems this section is the stronger of the two, possessing more poetic descriptions and showing a more developed form of writing.

The last three poems in the book are possibly the best out of the collection. They are written in a generalized manner, an overall message of what life can bring an individual and a focal point of an existence that has much more in store for the ones who are willing to accept the changes.

The second volume "The Journey Home" is broken up in seven chapters with longer poems filling the pages. A fivepage prelude initiates the book, similar to the preface from the first one. At the start of

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NEWS April 12, 2007

7

'Blades of Glory' sparkles across the ice with comedic fare 41

It's funny, but it light. It definitely worth it for a night with friends, but don't expect to come away with anything more than sore ribs from laughing too hard.

by Justin Langston Staff Writer "Blades of Glory" is a movie about a bad joke that shouldn't go as far as it does.

Essentially it's a movie that is much funnier than it should be and quite a bit funnier than the trailers make it out.

Jon Heder stars as Jimmy MacElroy, a male figure skating whiz kid who is considered one of the best in the sport. He rules the male figure skating world with a combination of grace and structure all to please his adopted father who raises children to be sports stars. His only rival is Chazz Michael Michaels (Will Ferrell), a hotheaded, sexaddicted wild man who skates with no set pattern, improvising almost the entire way.

After the pair were forced to share gold medals after tying at the 2002 World Figure Skating Championship, a brawl breaks out between them, leading to a lifetime ban. Both men go through the typical bum life- style with MacElroy being disowned by his adoptive father and Ferrell becoming a drunk in an icecapades show. MacElroy eventually finds out that his ban only extends to singles competition. As such he is eligible for pair skating, and he searches for a partner. Eventually, after being coerced by his former coach, the only partner MacElroy can find is Michaels.

While the movie is billed as a new kind of "Odd Couple" filled to the end with homoerotic humor, the movie is actually a bit more than that. Amy Poehler

and Will Arnett play the antagonists, Stranz and Fairchild Van Waldenberg, a twin brother and sister figure skating team who has earned the gold every year.

Unlike the trailers suggest, Ferrell is more of a supporting character, with Heder's MacElroy taking the star role. While Ferrell's Michaels is entertaining, his wild man antics are pretty typical of many of his other roles. It's quite refreshing to see Heder play someone who isn't quite like Napoleon Dynamite.

The movie is mostly low comedy humor with the homoerotic pair skating, and the obvious, but not directly stated, incestuous relationship between Poehler and Arnett.

It's all funny and there are very few parts of the movie where the entire audience is not laughing. The movie is a series of bad jokes that work.

Unfortunately, that's all the movie is. There's very little deeper meaning of friendship or family or coming together.

The movie is joke after joke.

While they're funny, many of the jokes are rehashes of old ones. There's very little that's new here. Outside of the premise, we're given more of the same series of jokes that show up in almost every comedy.

The characters are another problem with the movie. They're more like caricatures than fullblown characters. For instance, Chazz Michael Michaels has serious problems. He's an alcoholic sex addict and none of his problems are really explored outside of a few light jabs. The

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•

characters are just skin deep.

While there might be something there to explore, emphasis on might, the movie just doesn't even bother to see if it's there.

The acting doesn't really do much to show off the range of the actors, either. While Heder isn't playing a clone of Napoleon Dynamite, Ferrell is

playing the same character he seems to play in almost every movie. Ferrell is a good comedic actor and can do a lot more than the too-old frat boy buffoon.

Chazz Michael Michaels may be the worst version of Ferrell's collection near-identical roles.

Lastly, a few of the gags stretch the limits of suspension

of disbelief. As is fairly com- ribs from laughing too hard. mon of sports movies starring Ferrell, like "Talladega Nights," some of the gags are just too insane, even for a comedy.

It's funny, but it's light.

It's definitely worth it for a Justin Langston can be reached at night with friends, but don't jlangston@thevistaonline.com. expect to come away with anything more than sore

3/5 Stars

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NEWS April 12, 2007

Campus Announcements

What Nathan Thinks

UCO seeking distinguished former students

by Nathan Winfrey Nominations are now being taken for the Distinguished Former Student Award given by the UCO Alumni Association during annual Homecoming events.

Applications are available at www.ucok.edu/alumni/DFS_2007.

The Application deadline is May 25.

New fitness coordinator at Wellness Center Johnny Watley is the new fitness coordinator at the Wellness Center.

Watley graduated from UCO with a Master of Science in Wellness Management. He also is a fifthdegree black belt in Tai Kwon Do and has more than 20 years experience in martial arts and fitness.

Watley will manage the fitness floor and personal training progranis. He can be contacted at 9743155 or jwatley@ucok.edu .

UCO spirit program places at nationals Sixty-four students represented UCO at the National Cheerleader Alliance and National Dance Alliance competition April 5-6 in Dayton, Fla. The UCO Pom Squad placed seventh in the Division II Dance competition, the UCO Small CoEd placed third in the Division II Small Co-Ed division and the UCO All-Girl Cheer was first in the Division II All-Girl division.

Future teachers scholarship due The application deadline for the Future Teachers Scholarship is April 27.

Applications are available in Room 213 of the College of Education dean's office.

For more information, contact Karrie Terrell at 974-5701.

Honor society seeking volunteers for garage sale Gamma Beta Phi is seeking volunteers and donations for its April 13-14 campus garage sale.

Funds raised will go toward the Manos Juntas Free Health Clinic.

The garage sale will be by Broncho Lake April 13, and in the Howell Hall parking lot, April 14.

To volunteer, email Arvin Pourtorkan at apourtorkan@ucok.edu .

Wellness Center to host women's self defense seminar A free women's self defense seminar will be from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. April 19 at the Wellness Center.

Wellness Center Fitness Coordinator Johnny Watley, who is a fifth-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do, will teach participants practical defenses.

The seminar is open to all current UCO students, faculty, staff and Wellness Center members.

Participants must pre-register by calling 974-3155. Space is limited to 40 participants.

For more information, go to www.ucok.edu/wellnesscenter.

UCO to host Earth Day UCO will host its annual public Earth Day fair from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 18 Broncho Lake.

Local businesses and agencies, as well as student organizations, will have booths set up at the event to share their environmental missions and messages.

Free refreshments and live entertainment will be provided, as well as a plant sale put on by the UCO biology club.

Earth Day T-shirts will be on sale for $5.

The event is free and the public is encouraged to attend.

For more information about UCO's Earth Day fair, contact Dr. David Bass at 974-5772.

Theatre students to present `FUBAR' Students from the UCO Department of Theatim, Dance and Media Arts will present "FUBAR: The Musical! Part 2!" at 7:30 p.m. April 13 and 14 in the Pegasus Theatre. )

"FUBAR," a student-written dark comedy about the crisis coAirege students face features students from theatre, dance and music performing to a variety of live music.

The cost is $1, but additional donations will be accepted.

Funds received will go toward the production of other student shows.

This musical is for mature audiences and contains adult content.

"Spewing slurs" seems to be the new "it" thing to do in the entertainment biz these days, or, should I say, the crucifixion of anyone who's dumb enough to let one slip while they're being arrested, heckled, orbroadcasted.

Our beloved Kramer acted a fool at a nightclub, Crazy Mel made racist and sexist comments during a suspicion of DUI arrest, ESPN sportscaster Brian Kinchen was fired after using the phrase "kinda gay" on air and former Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott resigned after a potentially racist comment at a birthday party. Recently "Grey's Anatomy" actor Isaiah Washington took flak for a homophobic comment that led to the outing of a fellow cast member. This past weekend, teen icon Jason Wahler made headlines for racist comments during an arrest and no one can ignore the swirling Don Imus controversy that currently has a stranglehold on all media outlets.

All of these men said these terrible things, and all of them apologized profusely (except Wahler, at least not yet). But you have to wonder about the value of a man's apology when it's likely crafted by a half dozen well-paid publicists and his convincing delivery of it is the only way to save his career.

On the flipside, you have to wonder how necessary these apologies are in the first place.

Some political rights groups and individuals like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are like photo op bloodhounds who sniff out potential controversy and then milk it for all it's worth. They are quick to cry "witch" and proceed to light torches and ready the gallows without objectively considering exactly how harmful such reckless and inappropriate

Imus these days. The coverage of the fallout following his inexcusable April 4 on-air remarks has been more superfluous and excessive than the roundthe-clock Anna Nicole Smith baby daddy media blitz. By the way, those who had money on Larry Birkhead, go out and buy yourselves something nice.

Imus' statements, which included appalling sexist and racially-charged comments about the Rutgers women's basketball team and insults about their physical appearance, were mean-spirited and uncalled for, and are merely the latest in a long history of offensive, mediaattracting statements uttered by the controversial talk show host.

But does this really justify the outcry for his resignation?

Millions of people listen to/ watch his show every day, which is filled with his crotchety, irreverent ramblings, often targeted at others who aren't present and can't defend themselves. But the high listenership means a lot of people like his style, for better or for worse. A lot of people get bashed on his show.

This was just one instance that crossed the line a little too far.

With CNN's near 24-hour coverage of the Imus ordeal, preempted only by updates on the Smith baby's paternity test, at least it's good to know the American media has its priorities straight. An old man saying mean things on the radio and suspense over which man's genetic material impregnated a dead Playboy Playmate are far more newsworthy than the overseas war which continues to claim American lives, the ongoing immigration debate and Iran's developing nuclear capabilities. I really hope you picked up on that sarcasm.

PR to have Network Night

by Abha Eli Phoboo

`Student conduct' applications ready

Staff Writer

The Office of Student Conduct is seeking students to serve on the Committee on Student Conduct for the 2007-2008 academic year.

Applications are at http://www.ucok.edu/ssvp/conduct. They are due by 5 p.m. April 20.

The committee considers the appeals of students accused of violating UCO code of conduct policies.

Final selections will be announced no later than April 30.

For more information, contact Chris Snoddy at 974-2361.

Guide to UCO dining available Visit http://www.dineoncampus.com/uco to see UCO campus dining possibilities and nutritional information.

Special events, coupons, real-time menus, instant surveys, nutrition journals and much more are available.

Also, sign up for a free subscription to Menutainment, a complete guide to UCO campus dining.

To give students the opportunity to interact with working professionals and find out what public relations jobs are like, the Public Relations Student Society of America, UCO Chapter, is holding Network Night on April 17 at 6:30 p.m. in the Nigh University Center.

"Network Night will feature local Oklahoma City professionals working in various

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areas of public relations such as marketing, corporate communication and nonprofit," said Karissa Bradshaw, president of UCO PRSSA chapter.

The professionals will be open to questions from students regarding their line of work.

"Students will rotate from table to table and ask the professionals questions. For example, what they like about their job, what they don't and what it is that they do from day to day," said Bradshaw.

KAPLAI9

Network Night is not limited to just PR students but is open to all disciplines.

"Most people do not know exactly what will be required in their future jobs. There have been so many business and marketing majors who end up working in public relations but had no idea the method behind good PR," said Bradshaw.

Abha Eli Phoboo can be reached at aphoboo@thevistaonline.com.

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statements were to begin with.

A perfect example of this strange, backwards thinking is Wahler's case. The 20-yearold "Laguna Beach" star was arrested Sunday after allegedly fighting in a hotel lobby, punching a security guard in the mouth and passing out drunk in a hallway. I'm no math whiz, but I think being 20 makes Wahler underage.

Worse still, according to CNN. corn, this is the goateed heartthrob's third violent, alcoholfueled tirade since September.

However, all these serious offenses are not the media's main focus right now because Wahler also committed the criminal equivalent of locker room name-calling—he called a cop the "N-word," among other mean things.

Instead of reading something like "Underage actor arrested on drunken assault charges," CNN's online article posted April 10 was "Police: Arrested `Laguna' star spewed slurs." So what? He was drunk and under arrest. Is that really such a surprise? Whatever happened to that "sticks and stones" rhyme we learned in kindergarten?

What it boils down to is people taking rude, unsolicited, hurtful statements way too seriously. It feels like we're on the playground again and some kid runs to the teacher because one of his friends called him a naughty word. People who offend others should apologize. We've been taught that by parents, teachers and society all our lives. But one of the skills we adults must perfect if we are to make it in this world is the art of letting things simply roll off our backs and choosing our battles wisely.

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NEWS April 12, 2007

9

Associated Press photographer held in Iraqi prison

Bilal Hussein One year after his arrest, an Associated Press photographer is still being held at a prison camp in Iraq by U.S. military officials who have neither formally charged him with a crime nor made public any evidence of wrongdoing.

Bilal Hussein was taken prisoner in the western Iraqi city of Ramadi on April 12, 2006. Twelve months later, the U.S. military claims it is justified in continuing to imprison him merely because it considers him a security threat.

"April 12 is a sad anniversary for Bilal's AP colleagues worldwide," said the AP's executive editor, Kathleen Carroll.

"He has now been held by the U.S. military in Iraq for an entire year without formal charges or the due process that a democratic society demands."

Paul Gardephe, the lawyer handling the case for the AP, recently returned from an extended visit to Iraq, where he spoke with military officials, journalists, Iraqi citizens and _

for more than 40 hours _Hussein himself at the Camp Cropper prison near Baghdad's airport.

"Bilal has done nothing to justify a year in detention without charges," Gardephe said.

"The military has not provided any credible evidence to support the various accusations of criminal conduct that it has made."

Dozens of journalists mostly Iraqis _ have been detained by U.S. troops or Iraqi security forces during the war, according to the New Yorkbased Committee to Protect Journalists. Most were released without a trial after short periods, and Hussein is the only one currently being held on such a longterm basis, according to CPJ executive director Joel Simon.

"It's unfathomable to me why, after an entire year, there has been no progress in terms of the legal process moving ahead," Simon said. "If the U.S. government is affirming that they need time to develop evidence ... a year is plenty of time."

Hussein, 35, is allowed one-hour visits from family members once a month.

His attorney and AP colleagues also are allowed to see him.

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman, in a written response Tuesday to AP inquiries, said the case against Hussein has been reviewed four times _ mostly recently in November _ by three separate entities in Iraq, among them a review board that includes representatives of the Iraqi government and the U.S.-led coalition.

"Each of these independent, objective, fact-finding reviews considered all available evidence and determined Hussein represented an imperative threat to security and recommended con-

tinued detention," Whitman said.

Gardephe dismissed the legality of such hearings. He pointed out that Hussein was not present and had no legal representative at those reviews, and had no chance to confront any witnesses against him or call witnesses on his own behalf.

AP executives went public with news about Hussein's detention in September after months of behind-thescenes negotiations. They said the news cooperative's review of Hussein's work for the AP found no inappropriate contact with insurgents.

Numerous journalism organizations have voiced support for the AP demand that Hussein be released, and many newspapers have called for that in editorials.

Gardephe, a former federal prosecutor, is compiling a detailed report on the case based on his visit to Iraq. He intends to provide it to U.S. and Iraqi officials to buttress the requests for Hussein's release.

During his visit, Gardephe said he met at length with U.S. military officials, discussing each of the nine informal allegations that have been cited as justifying Hussein's detention.

Gardephe said U.S. officials indicated they lacked solid evidence on seven of the allegations and could not reveal the evidence they did have on the other two allegations because it was classified. One of those allegations is that Hussein offered to provide false identification to a sniper who was seeking to evade capture, while the other is that he took photographs that were synchronized with insurgent explosions, Gardephe said.

Gardephe disputed the validity of both those allegations.

AP Photo by Billal Hussein

One year after his arrest, the photographer of this image, Bilal Hussein is still being held at a prison camp in Iraq by U.S. Military officials who have neither formally charged him with a crime nor made public any evidence of wrongdoing. He was taken prisoner in the western Iraqi city of Ramadi on April 12, 2006. Twelve months later, the U.S. military claims it is justified in continuing to imprison him merely because it considers him a security threat.

False identification cards have long been easily available from a variety of sources in Iraq, and Gardephe said insurgents would likely have a ready supply without having to turn to an AP photographer for one.

He also noted that the military didn't even claim Hussein actually provided a false ID, just that he allegedly made an offer.

As for the photo allegation, Gardephe said he examined all of the more than 900 photographs Hussein submitted to the AP during a 20-month period before his detention. "There are no photos that are synchronized with an explosion," he said.

The Blue Whale's tongue weighs more than an adult elephant!

More people in China speak English than in the United States.

The state of Florida is bigger than England.

Until President Kennedy was killed, it wasn't a federal crime to assassinate the President.

Nachos is the food most craved by pregnant women.

McDonald's is the world's largest distributor of toys! `Second Street' is the most common street name in the U.S.; `First Street' is the sixth!

Among older men, vanilla is the most erotic smell.

It takes five minutes to execute someone in a gas chamber.

Black Whales are born white.

disturbia DREAMMRKS PICTURES punis IN ASSOCIATION WITH COLD SPRING PICTURES A MONTECITO PICTURE COMPANY PHODUCTION "DISTURRIA" SHIA LABEOUf DAVID MORSE SARAH ROEMER AND CARRIE-ANNE MOSS wslory GEE ANEW 1= IVAN REITMAN TOM POLLOCK "mit JOE MEDJUCK E.BENNETT WALSH JACKIE MARCUS "Ty CHRISTOPHER LANDON "wry CHRISTOPHER LANDON AND CARL ELLSWORTH OIOI9 D.J. CARUSO PG-13I PARENTS STRONGLY CAUTIONED

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SEQUENCES OF TERROR & VIOLENCE & FOR SOME SENSUALITY

"We hold him close in our thoughts as we continue to work toward a resolution that will lead to his freedom."

Gardephe said that during his visits at Camp Cropper, Hussein lookedhealthy and madeno complaints of recent mistreatment.

"He hasn't been interrogated since May 2006, so he clearly is not being held for intelligence value," the attorney added.

"He's just being held to be held."

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SOME MATERIAL MAY BE INAPPROPRIATE FOR CHILDREN UNDER 13

"The absence of evidence leads to the conclusion that Bilal is being held because of the photographs he took for the AP _ which were published around the world _ and which were part of AP's Pulitzer Prize-winning submission in 2005," Gardephe said.

Hussein is among a number of news photographers and television cameramen working in Iraq's Anbar province who have been arrested.

"We continue to believe that Bilal is being held simply because his photos from volatile Anbar province were unwelcome," said Carroll.

COMING SOON TO THEATRES EVERYWHERE

Cats' urine glows under a black

It takes about a week to make a jelly bean.

Sex workers (Prostitutes) in Roman times charged the equivalent price of eight glasses of red wine.

Babies are born without knee caps.

Florida has more tornados per square mile than any other state.

Apples, not caffeine, are more efficient at waking you up in the morning.

Pele has always hated his nickname, which he says sounds like "baby-talk in Portuguese".

J. Edgar Hoover liked to fire FBI agents whose palms were sweaty when shaking hands.

The lion costume in the film Wizard of Oz was made from real lions.

Mexico has more American residents than any other country except the United States.

Fathers tend to determine the height of their child, mothers their weight.

Aluminum used to be more valuable than gold!

The Pope's been known to wear red Prada shoes.

There are more nutrients in the

Donald Rumsfeld was both the

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Up to 25% of hospital keyboards carry the MRSA infection.

Pretzels were originally invented for Christian Lent.

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More people have seen David Copperfield - Perform live than &her performer in the world.

Urban birds have developed a short, fast "rap style" of singing, different from their rural counterparts.

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As of 2006, more than one in eight people in the United States show signs of addiction to the internet.

The Mona Lisa used to hang on the wall of Napoleon's bedroom.

Watching television can act as a natural painkiller for children.

Modern teenagers are better behaved than their counterparts of 20 years ago, showing "less problematic behavior" involving sex, drugs and drink.

During World War II, a German U-boat was sunk by a truck. The U-boat in question attacked a convoy in the Atlantic and then rose to see the effect. The merchant ship it sank had material strapped to its deck including a fleet of trucks, one of which was thrown in the air by the explosion, landing on the Uboat and breaking its back.

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1

NEWS

°April 12, 2007

Iranian intelligence operatives training Iraqi fighters Iranian intelligence operatives have been training Iraqi fighters inside Iran on how to use and assemble deadly roadside bombs known as EFPs, the U.S. military spokesman said Wednesday.

Commanders of a splinter group inside the Shiite Mandi Army militia have told The Associated Press that there are as many as 4,000 mem')ers of their organization that were trained in Iran and that they have stockpiles of EFPs, a weapon that causes great uneasiness among U.S. forces here because they penetrate heavily armored vehicles.

U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell would not say how many militia fighters had been trained in Iran but said that questioning of fighters captured as recently as this month confirmed many had been in Iranian training camps.

"We know that they are being in fact manufactured and smuggled into this country, and we know that training does go on in Iran for people to learn how to assemble them and how to employ them. We know that training has gone on as recently as this past month from detainees debriefs," Caldwell said at a weekly briefing.

EFP stands for explosively formed penetrator, deadly roadside bombs that hurl a fist-size lump of molten cop-

per capable of piercing armor.

In January, U.S. officials said at least 170 U.S. Soldiers had been killed by EFPs., Caldwell also said the U.S. military had evidence that Iranian intelligence agents were active in Iraq in funding, training and arming Shiite militia fighters.

"We also know that training still is being conducted in Iran for insurgent elements from Iraq. We know that as recent as last week from debriefing personnel," he said.

"The do receive training on how to assemble and employ EFPs," Caldwell said, adding that fighters also were trained in how to carry out complex attacks that used explosives followed by assaults with rocket-propelled grenades and small arms.

"There has been training on specialized weapons that are used here in Iraq. And then we do know they receive also training on general tactics in terms of how to take and employ and work what we call a more complex kind of attack where we see multiple types of engagements being used from an 'explosion to small arms fire to being done in multiple places," he said.

The general would not say specifically which arm of the Iranian government was doing the training but called the trainers "surrogates" of Iran's intelligence agency.

Caldwell opened the brief-

ing by showing photographs of what he said were Iranian-made mortar rounds, RPG rounds and rockets that were found in Iraq.

Also Wednesday, Iraqi Cabinet ministers allied to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr threatened to quit the government to protest the prime minister's lack of support for a timetable for U.S. withdrawal.

Such a pullout by the very bloc that put Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in office could collapse his already perilously weak government. The threat comes two months into a U.S. effort to pacify Baghdad in order to give al-Maliki's government room to function.

Meanwhile, bodies lay scattered across two central Baghdad neighborhoods after a raging battle left 20 suspected insurgents and four Iraqi soldiers dead, and 16 U.S. soldiers wounded, witnesses and officials said.

The fighting Tuesday in Fadhil and Sheik Omar, two Sunni enclaves, was the most intense since a massive push to pacify the capital began two months ago.

Al-Sadr's political committee issued a statement a day after al-Maliki rejected an immediate U.S. troop withdrawal.

"We see no need for a withdrawal timetable. We are working as fast as we can," al-Maliki said on his fourday trip to Japan, where he

signed loan agreements for redevelopment projects in Iraq.

"To demand the departure of the troops is a democratic right and a right we respect.

What governs the departure at the end of the day is how confident we are in the handover process," he said, adding that "achievements on the ground" would dictate how long American troops remain.

Al-Maliki spoke a day after tens of thousands of Iraqis took to the streets of two Shiite holy cities, on al-Sadr's orders, to protest the U.S. presence in their country. The rally marked the fourth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad at the hands of American forces.

"The Sadrist movement strongly rejects the statements of Prime Minister Nouri alMaliki, in which he stood by the continued presence of occupation forces despite the will of the Iraqi people," said the statement, a copy of which was obtained by the AP. "The Sadrist movement is studying the option of withdrawing from the Iraqi government _ a government that has not fulfilled its promises to the people," it said.

"We are serious about withdrawing," it added.

It would not be the first time the Sadrists, who hold six seats in the Cabinet, left al-Maliki's government.

Al-Sadr's ministers and

30 legislators boycotted the government and parliament for nearly two months to protest a November meeting between al-Maliki and President Bush in Jordan.

The statement expressed anger over the Baghdad security plan launched Feb. 14, calling it "unfair." Iraqi and U.S. troops have been targeting members of al-Sadr's Mandi Army militia, which has been blamed for sectarian killings.

Later in the day, the head of al-Sack's bloc in parliament, Nassar al-Rubaie, said U.S. troops had taken over al-Sadr's office in the city of Diwaniyah, the scene of weekend clashes between U.S. and Iraqi troops and al-Sadr's militiamen.

"We say that this matter is very dangerous and we put the blame on the Iraqi government for the American destruction of the country," he said. "We have thought before that sovereignty in Iraq is incomplete, but now we say that sovereignty doesn't exist in Iraq," al-Rubaie said.

Caldwell said he has no information about the alleged takeover of the office.

Iraqi soldiers held a security cordon around Fadhil, and residents hid frightened in their homes, a witness told the AP by telephone, on condition of anonymity out of fear for his safety.

The Muslim Scholars Association, a Sunni group,

issued a statement quoting witnesses as saying Tuesday's battle began after Iraqi troops entered a mosque and executed two young men in front of other worshippers. Ground forces used tear gas on civilians, it said.

"The association condemns this horrible crime carried out by occupiers and the government," the statement said.

But the witness in Fadhil said the two men were executed in an outdoor vegetable market, not in the mosque. The Iraqi military was not immediately available to comment on the claim.

The U.S. military said the battle began after American and Iraqi troops came under fire around 7 a.m. during a routine search operation. Helicoptergunships then swooped in, engaging insurgents with machine gun fire, the military said.

Some Arab TV stations reported a U.S. helicopter was shot down in the fight, and showed video of a charred piece of mechanical wreckage that was impossible to identify. Caldwell said four helicopters sustained minor damage but were able to return to base. He confirmed that one Apache gunship had dropped a missile pod as it left the area.

Caldwell said 13 of the 16 wounded Americans had returned to duty and that 20 suspected insurgents were killed and 30 wounded, he said.

Suicide bombing attacks common in Kabul Violence in Afghanistan has soared over the last year, and officials expect spring and summer to bring more suicide and roadside attacks. *WS

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AP Photo By Allauddin Khan

Afghan security officials examine the wreckage of a damaged vehicle after a suicide bombing in Kandahar, Afghanistan on Wednesday, April 11, 2007. A suicide car bomber targeted a NATO convoy in southern Afghanistan Wednesday, wounding seven civilians, while a U.S.-led coalition air strike killed 13 suspected militants, officials said.

KABUL, Afghanistan -A suicide bomber trying to blend in with street beggars exploded himself near a top intelligence official in a crowded part of the capital early Wednesday, killing four people, police said.

The bomber apparently targeted the investigations chief

of Afghanistan's intelligence service, said deputy police chief Gen. Zulmay Khan.

The explosion went off near Kabul's main market place, and 12 others were wounded, Afghanistan's intelligence service said. No members of the intelligence service were

AP Photo By Allauddin Khan

Afghan officials stand in front of a damaged vehicle after suicide bombing in Kandahar, Afghanistan on Wednesday, April 11. A suicidel car bomber targeted a NATO convoy in southern Afghanistan Wednesday, wounding seven civilians, while a U.S.-led coalition air strike' killed 13 suspected militants, officials said.

hurt or killed, officials said.

The attack's apparent target, Kamulladeen Khan Echekzai, is a powerful Afghan elder from the southern city of Kandahar, the Taliban's former power base when it ruled Afghanistan from 1996-2001.

An intelligence official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of agency rules, said authorities believe Echekzai was targeted because he knows details of top Taliban leaders suspected of operating from Pakistan.

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and officials expect spring and summer to bring more suicide and roadside attacks.

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Violence in Afghanistan has soared over the last year,

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NEWS

April 12, 2007

THIS DATE IN HISTORY

11

NEWS IN BRIEF ■ 1(

Today is Thursday, April 12, the 102nd day of 2007. There are 263 days left in the year.

In 1955, the Salk vaccine against polio was declared safe and effective.

Today's Highlight in History: On April 12, 1861, the American Civil War began as Confederate forces fired on Fort Sumter in South Carolina.

On this date: In 1606, England's King James I decreed the design of the original Union Flag, which combined the flags of England and Scotland.

In 1776, North Carolina's Fourth Provincial Congress adopted the Halifax Resolves, which authorized the colony's delegates to the Continental Congress to support independence from Britain.

In 1862, Union volunteers led by James J. Andrews stole a Confederate train near Marietta, Ga., but were later caught. (This episode inspired the classic Buster Keaton silent comedy "The General.")

In 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to fly in space, orbiting the earth once before making a safe landing.

In 1981, the space shuttle Columbia blasted off from Cape Canaveral on its first test flight.

In 1983, Chicagoans went to the polls to elect Harold Washington the city's first black mayor.

Ten years ago: Undaunted by a cache of explosives found on his travel route, Pope John Paul II plunged into a peace mission to Sarajevo, wading into crowds and declaring, "Never again war."

In 1934, "Tender Is the Night," by F. Scott Fitzgerald, was first published in book form by Charles Scribner's Sons (it had been serialized in Scribner's Magazine).

Five years ago: Boston's Cardinal Bernard Law ignored growing demands for his resignation because of the sex scandal engulfing the church. (Law ended up resigning in December 2002.) Secretary of State Colin Powell's trip to the Middle East was marred by a suicide bombing in Jerusalem that claimed six victims; the White House put on hold Powell's scheduled meeting with Yasser Arafat.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez resigned under pressure from the country's divided military. (However, he was returned to office two days later.)

In 1945, President Franklin D. Roosevelt died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Warm Springs, Ga., at age 63; he was succeeded by Vice President Harry S. Truman.

One year ago: Jurors in the Zacarias Moussaoui trial listened to a recording of terrified shouts and cries in the cockpit as desperate passengers twice charged panicked hijackers dur-

In 1877, the catcher's mask was first used in a baseball game,

by James Tyng of Harvard in a game againstthe Lynn Live Oaks.

ing the final half hour of doomed United Flight 93 on Sept. 11.

The Rev. William Sloane Coffin, a former Yale chaplain known for Vietnam-era peace activism, LEXINGTON, Va. (AP) Republican presidential contender John McCain said died in Strafford, Vt., at age 81.

Indian movie star Raj Kumar Wednesday the four-year war in Iraq is "necessary and just" and accused anti-war died in Bangalore at age 77. Democrats of being reckless. McCain, struggling to reinvigorate his troubled presi-

McCain assails Democrats on Iraq

Today's Birthdays: Country singer Ned Miller is 82. Actress Jane Withers is 81. Opera singer Montserrat Caballe is 74.

Actor Charles Napier is 71. Jazz musician Herbie Hancock is 67.

Actor Frank Bank ("Leave It to Beaver") is 65. Rock singer John Kay (Steppenwolf) is 63.

Actor Ed O'Neill is 61. Author Tom Clancy is 60. Actor Dan Lauria is 60. Talk show host David Letterman is 60. Author Scott Turow is 58. Singer David Cassidy is 57. Rhythm-andblues singer JD Nicholas (The Commodores) is 55. Singer Pat Travers is 53. Actor Andy Garcia is 51. Movie director Walter Salles is 51. Country singer 'Vince Gill is 50. Actress Suzzanne Douglas is 50. Rock musician Will Sergeant (Echo &amp; the Bunnymen) is 49. Rock singer Art Alexakis (Everclear) is 45. Country singer Deryl Dodd is 43. Folk-pop singer Amy Ray (Indigo Girls) is 43.

Rock singer Nicholas Hexum (311) is 37. Actor Nicholas Brendon is 36. Actress Shannen Doherty is 36. Rock musician Guy Berryman (Coldplay) is 29. Actress Claire Danes is 28.

Actress Jennifer Morrison is 28.

Rock singer-musician Brendon Urie (Panic! at the Disco) is 20.

Thought for Today: "The world is quite right. It does not have to be consistent." Charlotte Perkins Gilman, American economist-feminist (1860-1935).

CIstUIV: 40,

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dential campaign, also criticized President Bush for initially going to war without a plan to succeed. But the decorated war hero staunchly backed the commander in chiefs recent troop increase and said Bush is right to veto legislation that places conditions on the war.

23 dead, 160 hurt in 2 Algiers bombings ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) Bombs heavily damaged the prime minister's office and a police station Wednesday, killing at least 23 people and wounding about 160, the country's official news agency said. Prime Minister Abdelaziz Belkhadem, who was unhurt, said that militants believed to be linked to al-Qaida were responsible for the "cowardly, criminal terrorist act" as he spoke to reporters outside his wrecked offices,

Citigroup to cut 17,000 jobs NEW YORK (AP) Citigroup Inc., the nation's largest financial institution, said Wednesday it will eliminate about 17,000 jobs as part of a companywide restructuring to reduce costs and improve profit. That amounts to about 5 percent of the bank's 327,000-strong work force. Citigroup said its plans include "shrinking the size of corporate centers," several of which are in New York. It also expects to move some 9,500 jobs to lower-cost locations.

Duke charges expected to be dropped RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) State prosecutors will drop all charges against three Duke lacrosse players who were accused of sexual assaulting a stripper at a team party, a person close to the case told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The person spoke to The AP on a condition of anonymity because a formal announcement has not been made. The North Carolina Attorney General's office, which took over the case in January after the local district attorney was accused of ethics violations, said it would have an announcement on the case at 2:30 p.m.

Gates announces longer tours in Iraq WASHINGTON (AP) Beginning immediately, all active-duty Army soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan will serve 15-month tours, three months longer than the usual standard, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday. It was the latest move by the Pentagon to cope with the strains of fighting two wars simultaneously and maintaining a higher troop level in Iraq as part of President Bush's revised strategy for stabilizing Baghdad.

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WASHINGTON (AP) The White House is considering naming a high-powered official to oversee the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and report directly to President Bush and National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley. The goal would be to improve the coordination of military and civilian efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan by different parts of the government.

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CLASSIFIEDS

April 12, 2007

DEADLINES & PRICKA DEADLINES: All classifieds MUST be submitted by noon Tuesday for the Thursday publication and Friday noon for the Tuesday publication. Prices: Classified ads cost $6/day for the first 20 words and $.10/word thereafter. PAYMENT IS DUE WHEN AD IS PLACED. Classified Display ads (one column boxed ads on classified page) have same deadlines and prices as regular display ads. Call 974-5549 or 974-5918 for additional info.

SECRETARIAL JOB, pay depen-

PT OFFICE ASSISTANT needed

dent on experience. 9-2 M-F will work with hours. Call 326-8887

for busy psychology office in Edmond. Needs to have experience in Microsoft Office. Experience in transcription a plus. Please Contact Heather or Kayla @ (405) 341-3085

HELP WANTED for front desk.

Apply in person. Stafford Inn, 1809 E 2nd, Edmond 73034

2:30-6:00 Childcare NOW HIRING servers and host-

facility 5 days a week 330-3077.

esses. Apply Mon-Thur 3-6. @ Toby Keiths I Love This Bar & Grill.

Moliere Bridal Salon part-time flexible hours. Saturdays a must.

Molierebridal.com (405)728-0485

The Bethany YMCA is currently looking for summer day camp counselors to work with children ages 612. 40 hours/week. Looking for people who want to make a difference in kids lives and would like to have fun this summer. Free YMCA of Greater Oklahoma City adult membership.

For more information call 789-0231.

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS! Need to pass the TOEFL, an 1-20 for a friend, or a 12 week certificate? English Language Center can help you! Call us at (405)3487602, visit our web site www.elcok. com, or come meet us in person at 1015-C Waterwood Parkway, next to the UCO University Plaza on 2nd Street.

INTERNSHIP AVAILABLE! Natural Gas marketing company located in Edmond seeks highly motivated individual for part-time paid internship position. Ideal for college student pursuing business related degree. Good computer and communication skills required. Send resume to: CHartsell@unimarkl1c.com

The Athlete's Foot Technical Shoe Store in North OKC is accepting applications for employment! 12-15 hrs/week. Flexible hours & Saturdays. No retail experience needed.

Call 848-3232

Certified Lifeguard positions available. Memorial Day to Labor Day. Contact Abby @ 650-8478 or abbyleann@hotmail.com

Original Varsity Sports Grill... only 10 mins from UCO! Hiring all positions! Will work with your schedule. Don't be scared...knowledge of sports not requirement!

Apply in person! 1120 NW 63rd between 2-5 daily!

PART-TIME summer positions for certified lifeguards and/or pool managers. NW OKC and Edmond. Experience preferred but not necessary.

For info and to apply online go to www.nwpoolmanagement.com

FT or PT Graphic Designer needed please apply in person @ 304 SW 25th, OKC

JOB includes house cleaning, gardening, general chores, organizing and other misc. tasks at a home 1 block from UCO campus. (walking distance) Help needed 7 hours a week, split between several days.

Pay is $7/hr. Will work with school schedules. Successful applicant will be reliable, friendly, hard-working and trustworthy. Send references and resume to ucojob@gmail.com

LOCAL Pre-school is hiring parttime teacher/teacher aid. Please call Kathy@ 205-4299. Educ. or child development majors preferred.

HANDY STUDENT NEEDED painting & lawn maintenance. Close to UCO campus. Afternoons. Must be self-motivated, trustworthy, able to work unsupervised. 341-9651

TEACHERS Needed immediately for Edmond Daycare. FT/PT. Experience preferred, competitive wages.

Apply in person @ 24 NW 146th.

Call Camelot C.D.0 @ 749-2262

IMMEDIATE OPENING for PT bank teller in the NW 122nd & May area. Hours are 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. and every other Saturday morning. Apply in person Mon. - Thurs., 9a.m. to noon and 1 to 4p.m. at our main bank - Yukon National Bank, 401 Elm Street, Yukon (HR Dept. - 2nd Floor). EOE M/F/DN Affirm. Action Employer

HELP WANTED Will train, FT/PT. Apply within. Must be 21.Wolftrap 1109 S. Broadway

PART-TIME student. Excellent working conditions. Call John @348-0615

Need PT Job? St. Elizabeth Ann Seton after school program is looking for someone to work 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm five days a week. $6.50 an hour.

Summer & Fall position. Extra hours in the summer. If interested call the CDC office @ 340-1789

HOUSE MANAGER NEEDEDMUST LOVE DOGS Position includes general house cleaning & organizing, pet sitting, running errands (must have reliable transportation) & some light office duties.

Salary, 20-25 hrs/week - will work with school schedule. E-mail resume to Imunyon@ucok.edu

St. Elizabeth Child Development Center has FT teacher position starting Aug. 1st. Need to love working with children. Hours are 7am - 3pm.

Five days a week. Full benefits and salary based on experience. Also a summer position for PT teacher for June & July 9:30 am - 2:30 pm. Salary based on experience. If interested call the CDC office @ 340-1789

J's Hallmark Danforth & Kelly, Edmond. Nights, weekends, summer help needed. Apply in person.

VISUAL BASIC

tutor needed ASAP. Please call 406-6400

McAlisters Deli is now looking for energetic crew members to work Tuesday/Thursday lunch. Great pay, flexible hours & good times. Come see us today or give us a call.

(405) 340-3354 PINNACLE FITNESS

seeking Child Care Associate. Must be experienced, patient & love working w/ children. Apply in person, Pinnacle Fitness, N. of Memorial on Penn.

Next to Toys-R-Us.

SERVER POSITION available @ Pearl's Lakeside. Apply within.

748-6113

NEED STUDENT PART-TIME Accounting Intern Positions avail-

to clean my office, home & vacant apartments. M-F, 1:00-5:00. Near UCO. Must have positive attitude, be dependable, trustworthy & do quality work. Call Connie 341-9651

able with local CPA firm. If interested please call 209-0108

CONSTRUCTION WORK, hiring laborers now. No experience necessary. Part time or Full time. Carpenter Experience Preferred. 824-8954.

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SPORTS 13 April 12, 2007

MLB Outlook

by Jeff Massie Sports Writer

It's more than one week into the Major League Baseball season. That's plenty of time to make predictions on pennants and wild card races.

You're probably wondering how somebody can just study a tiny piece of the big picture and then claim their findings as fact, but hey, if it works for global warming, it works for me.

Between listening to the musical stylings of Swedish uber-star Gunther and working on a book report over Holy Roman elector Frederick William (ugh), I've managed to catch a few games. For anybody that hasn't been blessed by Gunther, the man will change your life.

He's an "international citizen" who has released his U.S. debut album entitled "Pleasureman."

Through songs like "Ding Dong Song" and "Teeny Weeny String Bikini," he preaches the virtues of champagne, glamour, sex and respect, and in that order I believe, just like a lot of pro baseball players. You can check him out at gunthernet.com, but that's enough about him and back to baseball.

This will be the Royals' year.

That's right, the Kansas City Royals are due, they will pull it all together and not lose 100 games this season. A feat they have not been able to accomplish the previous three years. You didn't think I was going to pick them to go all the way, did you?

After an opening day win over every poser's favorite team, the Red Sox, they've dropped five of six. Don't you worry, there's plenty of season left. The Royals only have to win 61 of their next 154 games to accomplish this lofty goal.

New York Yankees' third baseman Alex Rodriguez currently sits atop this season's homerun race with five. That means he is on pace to knock 135 balls out of the park, almost twice the current single season record of 73 held by Barry Bonds. He won't make it, and

you can take that bold prediction to the bank. That's probably how many homers it would take though for him to finally stop getting booed at home.

That's enough of the American League for now. The pitchers don't even bat; that's not baseball. The designated hitter makes me madder than Don Imus at a Title IX convention.

The three divisions where the best baseball is played are the National League East, West and Central.

The Cubs, hailing from the Central, spent the most money in the off-season. Alfonso Soriano being the key acquisition. The Cubs owe Soriano 10 million dollars this year. Not exactly a bargain for a career .279 batter, but he was the top free agent in the bloated market. As of April 9, Soriano is yet to produce more than one hit in any game and he has no homeruns.

Chicago is a good spot for him.

With teammates Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez, the team will not rely solely on Soriano's bat.

Ipredictthe East willboasttwo playoff teams with Philadelphia taking the wildcard spot away from the Cubs who will fall to St. Louis in the Central.

The Dodgers will come out of the West to be defeated by the East champion New York Mets.

The Mets will then lose to divisional foe Philadelphia after the Phillies defeat St. Louis.

The Phillies will face, get this, the Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series, just like they did in 1993. And just like in '93, the Blue Jays will lay waist to the American team. Only it will be Vernon Wells who plays the role of hero this time, not Joe Carter.

There you have it. One years worth ofpredictions and forecasts with one disclaimer, predictions likely to change often and without notice at writer's discretion.

AP photo by Sue Ogrocki

Hornets' center Hilton Armstrong, left, gets his hand on the ball as the Los Angeles Clippers guard Jason Hart attempts to pass in the first quarter of an NBA basketball game in Oklahoma City on April 10.

N A; season conclusion AP-No more need for talk about tanking. Nobody can catch Memphis for the best shot at the No. 1 pick.

And the Washington Wizards are going to the playoffs, even if they are losing almost as often as the hapless Grizzlies these days.

The Wizards clinched their third straight playoff berth Tuesday night, though it came despite a loss.

Washington fell 96-92 to New Jersey, but was guaranteed a spot in the postseason after Indiana lost to Philadelphia.

Washington hardly looks like a playoff team since AllStars Gilbert Arenas (knee) and Caron Butler (hand) went

down. The Wizards have lost five straight, the Grizzlies' sixgame skid is the only longer one in the NBA right now.

"I always say that in December and January, when we were going pretty darn good, that I always felt like I'm walking on the edge of a cliff and about to fall off," Wizards coach Eddie Jordan said. "I've been feeling that way a whole lot lately."

The Grizzlies (19-60) finally have something to show for their losing. A 112-100 home loss to Sacramento means they will have the best chance of winning next month's lottery for a draft that will now include Texas freshman Kevin Durant.

This draft is considered so strong that teams have been accused of losing on purpose to get a better pick. But Memphis didn't feel like celebrating, even if this loss could lead to a win.

"In three games, the season's over with, and that's how I look at it," guard Chucky Atkins said.

The Grizzlies have rarely looked as bad as they lid Tuesday. They-surrendered-aâ&#x20AC;˘25â&#x20AC;&#x201D; , 0 run, second-longest in the NBA this season, while falling behind by 26. Only Miami did better, scoring 27 consecutive points against the Knicks on Jan. 22.

"I've never been a part of something like that," Kings forward Ron Artest said. "That

was fun to be a part of I didn't even score a bucket in that, and I was having fun."

At Washington, the Nets closed within two games of the Wizards for the No. 6 seed. Richard Jefferson finished with a season-high 35 points, Vince Carter had 31, and Jason Kidd finished with four points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists for the Nets, who made 25 of 29 free throws.

"We understand what it takes to win in the playoffs. We've been there," Carter said. "The three of us have to lead our team. We're two games away and we just have to get those two games. That's how I see it."

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SPORTS

April 12, 2007

UCO plows the Aggies; Bronchos sweep series

by Justin Langston Sports Writer

The UCO Softball team hosted a doubleheader against Cameron University on Tuesday and won both games, the first 9-3 and the last 11-3.

"We were struggling at first," head coach Genny Stidham said.

"And then our sticks came alive.

We did so well that we're looking forward to the rest of the year.

I really felt like I got my team back."

In the first game, Cameron took an early lead in the top of the first by making a single run. In the bottom of the same inning, UCO responded by scoring twice. The game went quiet for a couple of innings until the Bronchos blasted out another run bringing the overall score to

3-1 in the bottom of the fourth.

In the top of the fifth, Cameron tried to mount a comeback and scored twice, but UCO responded by bringing the score to 5-3. Cameron never scored again, but UCO managed to make four more runs in the bottom of the sixth.

Alli Blake pitched for the first five innings. She struck out two and allowed four hits. For the last two innings, Hillary Brandt went in. She had two strikeouts and allowed n o hits.

inning, UCO took off, scoring seven runs when centerfielder Ally Roberts knocked out a grand slam with her only hit of the game. Cameron was never able to get another run up on UCO, who grabbed its last run in the bottom of the sixth.

Hillary Brandt pitched for the entire game, with eight strikeouts and four hits.

Third baseman Jodi Craig led on offense with two hits, two runs and an RBI. Catcher Kelsey Tiger hit two and scored two runs.

On Saturday, UCO will travel to Lawton to take on Cameron again for another doubleheader.

"Our sticks came alive. I really felt like I got my team back."

Leftfielder Meagan Campbell led the offensive charge with four hits and two runs.

In the next game, Cameron took the lead again in the first.

UCO tied in the bottom of the second. Cameron pulled ahead once again in the third with two runs and UCO tied it up again. Justin Langston can be reached at In the bottom of the fourth jlangston1@ucok.edu

by Vista photographer Alex Gambill

UCO's Stacy Walden hits the ball into the dirt in a game against Cameron University on April 10 at Broncho Field.

Toothless Tigers

by Jeff Massie Sports Writer

by Vista photographer Laehyung Lee

Two UCO baseball players go after the ball hit by Southwestern on April 4 at Broncho Field.

There is no better opportunity to stake a claim for the division title than the series this weekend against East Central University in the friendly confines of Edmond.

The UCO baseball team is 13-3-1 at home as of April 10.

These endangered Tigers reside at the bottom of the division standings. The doormat of the Lone Star Conference North division has compiled a record of 7-34 and is 1-9 in divisional play. The Bronchos currently hold a 26-13 record, 6-4 in the North, and are trailing only Southwestern Oklahoma State University in the standings.

"Everybody is coming and behind Abilene Christian.

East Central also hold the after us," head coach Wendell Simmons said. "We're the league's lowest ERA, a dreadful of 9.76. The one to beat."

Tigers also The weekrank last in end's series and runs will feature "Everybo dy rs corn- hits surrendered. three games, It doesn't a doubleing after us. We 're get any betheader on the one to beat." ter in the field Saturday and for lowly East one game the following day.

-Coach Simmons Central. The 88 errors cornAs a team, mitted by the East Central Tigers this has earned a season is also .247 batting a league low. average, good It has been a topsy-turvy ride enough for last place in the conference. The Bronthos are on the for the Bronchos so far this seaopposite side of the spectrum. son. Since posting a four-game Their .352 average ranks sec- win streak March 18 through

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March 23, UCO has not been able to put together a string of more than two wins. Ironically, the last time the Bronchos put together back-to-back wins was against East Central.

"A five win week is what we need," Coach Simmons said.

The three-game series present a perfect opportunity for the baseball team to reestablish themselves as a dominant force. The best opportunity for a winning streak starts with a sweep of the Tigers.

Jeff Massie can be reached at jmassie2@ucok.edu