Soccer team makes national tourney, Pg. 8
Girls will be boys will be girls, Pg. 6
The Student Voice Since 1903 THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2005
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
Hate muffled UCO, Rose State by cycles' roar business degree The funeral of Pfc. program off to David J. Martin strong start by Kelley Chambers
by Amanda Black
Vista Editor in Chief
Vista Staff Writer
with additional reporting by Vista Staff Writer Brett Deering
It looked like a biker rally. Dozens of leather and denimclad men and women lined the street in front of New Covenant United Methodist Church in Edmond and waved American flags. Hogs, Choppers and the like roared down Boulevard, revving their engines loudly as they passed a small group set apart from the fray. That group, across the street and about a half block down was from Kansas, and represented Westboro Baptist Church, purveyors of the Web site godhatesfags.com , which promotes an anti-gay message. The five by Vista photographer Brett Deering members present waved signs Motorcycle riders and others from at least two states stood outside New Covenant Church in Edmond Nov. 8 to wave flags and show with inflammatory messages their support at the funeral of Pfc. David J, Martin, a former UCO student who was killed in Iraq Oct. 31. The bikers blocked the efforts directed at gays, America and of a church group from Kansas that held up signs across the street supporting its anti-gay agenda. The church group has recently the motorcycle-riders as they paced a small grassy area and protested at soldier's funerals. sidewalk. The crowd of motorcyclex4 X
Edmond soldier killed in Iraq remembered at funeral; Kansas protestors promote own agenda outside by The Associated Press Friends and EDMOND family of an Oklahoma soldier killed in Iraq packed a church Tuesday to honor his sacrifice, while outside a handful of protesters from a Kansas church tried to promote an anti-gay agenda. While mourners remembered Army Pfc. David Jeffery Martin, hundreds of motorcycle-riding supporters of his family revved their engines to drown out the comments of five members of -
the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., who held signs bearing anti-gay slogans. "I'm just here in support of a fallen hero," said Jeff Scroggins, a member of the Central Oklahoma No. 1 Harley Owners Group of motorcyclists. "I think it's wrong that a group hides under a church banner. They're just hate mongers." The church members, who have protested soldiers' funerals in Oklahoma and elsewhere, say God is punishing U.S. soldiers for defending a country that
The son of Edmond residents harbors gays. Displayed in the lobby of Rick and Janet Martin, David the New Covenant United Martin was a 2002 graduate of Methodist Church was a yellow Edmond North High School. kayak that belonged to Martin, As music played inside 21, who was remembered as an the sanctuary, photographs of avid outdoorsman and a selfless David Martin flashed on two patriot who died doing what he giant screens that loomed above -his- flag-draped coffin. Many loved. Martin and three other mem- of the photos depicted a grinbers of the 101st Airborne ning David Martin flashing a Division were killed Oct. 31 thumbs-up sign and wearing a when a roadside bomb explod- beaten Detroit Tigers baseball ed near their Humvee while hat. they were on patrol south of Baghdad.
Please see MARTIN, page 3
by Trisha Evans The UCO Student Association senate broke into six different committees in its weekly meeting Nov. 7 in the Robert S. Kerr Room of Nigh University Center. Senators were assigned a place on one of the following committees: Academic Affairs, Broncho Pride, Student Life, University Policy, Appropriations and Judiciary. Barrett Dye, senate presi-
Opinion 2 3 News Classifieds 7 Sports 8
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Please see MAY, page 3
Please see PLAYS, page 3
by Trisha Evans Vista Senior Staff Writer
by Vista photographer Justin Avera
Janet Lauchlan, math education senior, looks at the moon through a telescope Nov. 6 during the Astronomical Society's Star Party at Plunkett Park. Participants reported seeing the planets Mars, Neptune and Uranus. The group scans the night skies and reports its findings to NASA.
by Amanda Black
INDEX
The Terry May Memorial Park will be dedicated at 11 a.m. Nov. 11 on the north side of Thatcher Hall. Capt. Justin Covey, assistant professor of military science, said the park was completed last week. New fences, benches, shrubs, trees, a flagpole and cannon adorn the grounds. People on and off campus donated money to pay for the memorial. Lt. Col. Stuart Jolly said he submitted a proposal to build the memorial soon after May's death in Dec. 2003. Lt. Col. May retired from UCO in 2002 where he was vice president of Academic Affairs and a professor of military science. May was an active member of his church and Kiwanis club and he wrote for the Edmond Sun. Dr. William Radke, vice president of Academic Affairs, Jerry Legere, assistant vice president of Enrollment Management and Carol Hartzog, former managing editor of the Edmond Sun will
schools to attend workshops and compete with their school plays, from Nov. 17 to Nov. 19. Dr. Robert McGill, chair of the Department of Theatre, Dance and Media Arts, said Rose State College, St. Gregory's University, Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College, Northwestern Oklahoma State University and UCO will each perform a play in front of a respondent, whose role is to determine which plays advance to regionals. Dr. Douglas Getzoff, UCO theatre professor and coordinator of the event, said the university frequently hosts the festival. "It averages out that we host every other year," Getzoff said. McGill said there are many reasons why UCO hosts the event more than other schools. "We (UCO) are right here in the middle," McGill said. "And we probably do it very well. Our kids are well trained and they know how to do it (run the event)." McGill said UCO is probably the biggest school to enter, and smaller schools can barely afford the entry fee, much less host. Getzoff said the entry fee is $200 per school, and UCO gets to keep $75 from each entry
Ceremony will dually honor Col. May, along with veterans on campus
Stargazer society scans skies, invite public along to observe and learn PROFILE The life and unusual times of Professor Holly Easttom, Pg. 5
Please see DEGREE, page 3
Kennedy Center theatre festival coming to UCO Park dedication this month Nov. 11 for by Courtney Bryce Vista Staff Writer former military The theatre program will host professor, the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, invitadministrator ing theatre students from several
Vista Senior Staff Writer
INSIDE
by Vista photographer Brett Deering
A black leather vest with patches for a motorcycle club in Kansas draped over the owner's bike Nov. 8 near the funeral of Pfc. David J. Martin in Edmond.
UCOSA takes second at legislature competition
Please see UCOSA, page 3
Please see BIKERS, page 4
The new program to offer a UCO bachelor's degree in business at Rose State College has become more popular than anticipated in its first semester. "We know we have a very large population of students who want UCO degrees. It has even grown a little faster than we had initially expected," said Dr. William Radke, provost and vice president of UCO Academic Affairs. UCO and Rose State presidents Dr. W. Roger Webb and Dr. Jim Cook, respectively, signed the agreement July 21, for the new program at a ceremony at Rose. At the time of the signing 48 students were pre-enrolled in the program. Radke said the program offers students a way to get a UCO degree at a more convenient location. "There are a lot of reasons why they might not want to come to the main campus here at UCO to do this. These students are what we call adult learners, so they have jobs; they have families and all sorts of reasons that making the trip up here is difficult for them. So this provides them the opportunity to get a four-year degree without coming up here to do so," he said. Radke said another reason why UCO is implementing the new programs is to better the education level of the community. "UCO has a brain gain initiative to increase the number of citizens who have bachelor degrees," he said. "The partnership between
Vista Staff' Writer
The Pegasus Astronomical Society hosted its only public "Star Party" of the semester from 7 to 11 p.m. Nov. 7 at Plunkett Park. Janet Laughlan, math education senior, said, "The society is a group of students. We do star parties and observe things that are happening in our skies." Laughlin said at the parties, members set up telescopes to view the sky and it's free to all students.
Dr. Charles Cooper, UCO College of Mathematics and Statistics chair and the club's adviser, said, "The society promotes the beauty and understanding of the night sky." One of the lessons Cooper said he wants students to learn is "an appreciation of the night sky and the glory of everything that's out there." Even if you don't have a telescope, the skies can still be appreciated, Cooper said. Thomas Williams, society president and engineering and physics sophomore, said, "We
do surveys, we do observations and submit our data to NASA." Williams said as one of the few astronomy clubs in Oklahoma, the society holds public star parties to get more people involved. "Most of the time we are just looking at various space phenomenon," Williams said. He said the main focus of this party was "gazing at the Mars opposition." The winter is the best time because all of the smog and haze dissipates so the
Please see STARS, page 3