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The Student Voice of the University of Central Oklahoma Since 1903
August 30, 2007
UCOSA KICKS OFF SEMESTER WITH JOINT SESSION by Nelson Solomon Staff Writer
The Joint Session of the 10th UCO Student Association convened on Aug. 27 in the Nigh University Center's Heritage Hall. This session's speakers included UCO President Roger Webb, Oklahoma State Rep. Joe Dorman, Executive Vice President Steve Kreidler and Vice President of Student Affairs Dr. Kathryn Gage. The meeting started with recognition of the three different branches of UCOSA: the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the Supreme Court. Other guests were too recognized. UCO Student Body President Jason Hines opened with remarks about his passion for student government and discussed his goals for his time in office. He stated that he would like to see UCOSA strive to engage in more civic service, specifically in the Edmond area, emphasizing more cooperation between the City of Edmond and UCO. "UCO's doing great things, Edmond's doing great things. We put our minds together; we can accomplish even greater things," Hines said. Hines emphasized his desire to see the UCO Library staying open 24
Photo by Alex Gambill
UCO's student body president Jason Hines addresses the crowd at the first UCOSA meeting of the year with Oklahoma State Representative Joe Dorman, District 65, (third from right) as guest speaker, Aug. 27 in Nigh University Center.
hours a day and said he has that must be handled in praise for Jason Hines. right now, as the university is "My heart beats fast, "stepping already met with key offi- order to expand library out in giant strides." He reflected on how cials, including President hours are keeping students hearing Jason's passion and Webb and director of the and faculty secure during what he wants to accom- UCO used to lag behind the Library, Dr. Bonnie McNeely. the night hours and staffing plish for this university." University of Oklahoma in to work during those hours. Webb said that students Norman and Oklahoma State He stated that his dis- President Webb and faculty were especially University in Stillwater, but cussion with Dr. McNeely revealed that two aspects then opened with privileged to be a part of UCO is now reaching higher lev-
els of success than the latter. "It is our time. It is UCO's time, our time in the sun." Webb then commended the leaders ofUCOSA and praised them for taking a chance by becoming leaders and exposing themselves to criticism. "You take a chance, a risk, and stand up and take leadership to take this university to greater levels." He highlighted on how much of an impact UCOSA has had in recent years at the university. "So much of what happened over the past few years has happened because of an idea, a spark, that came from UCOSA." Webb concluded his remarks with a positive note about the upcoming year, "Energy and passion are what will make this year, 20072008, the best year ever. State Rep. Joe Dorman, Democrat of House District 65, is an alumnus of UCO and said his involvement in politics commenced with his involvement in the Oklahoma Intercollegiate Legislature. Dorman urged students to take an active stance and lobby at the state capital for issues that affect college students, specifically citing a bill that may further increase col-
see Joint session, page 4
MTV/MySpace Full-time student, full-time tattoo artist launch debates by Lyndsay Gillum Copy Editor
MySpace and MTV recently announced their plans to launch the interactive candidate dialogues, which continue the new wave of presidential debates that began in July with the CNN/YouTube debates. Hosted on college campuses across the country, broadcast on MTV and streamed live on MySpace, the forums seek to promote "candid, unfiltered" discussions between young voters and the major Republican and Democratic candidates. "I'm trying to remain hopeful that the forums will empower [young people] to connect with presidential candidates in a much more meaningful way," said MTV President Christina Norman, in a statement. The standup presidential debates, with everyone in the same room and questions only from a few reporters, are now a thing of the past. Interactive dialogues are now the new wave of presidential debates, bringing political celebrities the kind of videochat-withaudiences that some popculture celebrities engage in. Anyone can submit questions during the one-hour dialogue via MySpace instant messaging, mobile devices and e-mail. Viewers will also have the chance to rate candidates' responses in real-time through a continuous live poll on both MTV.com and MySpacc.com . "These Presidential dia-
logues will bring individual candidates directly to the voters - one at a time," said Chris DeWolfe, co-founder and CEO of MySpace, in a statement. "We are lowering the barriers to entry, setting a high-water mark for direct engagement between presidential candidates and average Americans." The first dialogist will be former Sen. John Edwards on Thursday, Sept. 27. Several other candidates have also accepted, but no dates have been formally set. These include Republicans Sen. Sam Brownback; former Mayor Rudy Giuliani; Rep. Duncan Hunter; Sen. John McCain; Rep. Ron Paul; and former Gov. Mitt Romney. The Democrats include Sen. Hillary Clinton, Sen. Chris Dodd, Sen. Barack Obama, and Gov. Bill Richardson. Each candidate will appear on a college campus that is a member of the 750-college mtvU network, MTV's 24hour college channel. College journalists from the network's College Media. Network, consisting of online college newspapers in the United States, will also participate. For viewers to be a part of the physical audience, MySpace users will need to "friend" the official profile on that site, add it to their Top 8, and be one of the first in line for a campus location. MTV.com users can submit a video online about how elec-
by Vista photographer Chris Albers
Joel Martin holds a book filled with images of his tattoo artistry.
by Hannah Jackson Staff Writer
"Mom, Dad, I got a tattoo." It's the classic example of retaliation. It could almost be considered a rite of passage for college students - a prerequisite for graduation. A permanent picture on your skin that symbolizes what you stood for, where you've been, or who you've loved. Joel Martin, 37, an industrial and occupational safety see MTV/MySpace, page 4 major, is offering UCO stu-
News Central Channel 6
Mon. & Thurs. at 5 p.m.
dents the chance to get 15 percent off his/her next (or first) tattoo at his Oklahoma City shop Eternally Inked. Martin became interested in tattooing while he was a maintenance man at Rolling Greens Apartments. During December 2003, he was fixing the back of a refrigera tor and noticed that the fan freezer blower would make a great tattoo gun. He later made another do-it-yourself tattoo gun out of a Dremel (A Dremel, by the way, is
"Always remember that the future comes one day at a time." — Dean Acheson
a hand-held rotary tool). Martin's first three tattoos are on his own left arm. He also practiced on his 22-year-old son, Josh Day. He even tattooed his father, who was so impressed he made his own tattoo gun! Martin said that he'd never planned on becoming a professional tattoo artist until his stepfather, Mark Kennedy, asked if he'd ever thought about tattooing for a living. "He's never acknowledged that I'm good at any-
UCO DEFEATS DALLAS BAPTIST SEE SPORTS
thing in my life," Martin said. After Kennedy recognized that he had a talent, Martin started looking into opening a shop. He had assumed, because of Kennedy's interest, that his stepfather was going to be financially invested in the endeavor. Unfortunately he had jumped to incorrect conclusions, but with the idea in his head, Martin couldn't turn
see Tattoo, page 4