twitter.com/UCO360
THU
UC 0360.com
s 1 (II)I N I VORA 01 1111 UN 'VI 1:.11Y 01 ( 1 N I RAI 01.1A110MA SIN(‘I 190.;
Senator stops for healthcare explanation
Students get `the talk' Amy Stinnett
Tiffany Brown 5„,,i
State Sen. Andrew Rice was "elected" to speak at the University of Central Oklahoma's second Lunch with a Policy Maker event on Nov. 9 at the Nigh University Center. Rice discussed the health care legislation that is currently being debated in the U. S. Senate after passing in the U.S. House. "I've been following this for the last year and I just have Some ideas that I think are important from a policy standpoint," Rice said as he began to discuss why he chose to speak about health care. Health care has been a topic in which there is a lot of bipartisan agreement in Oklahoma, Rice said. He explained what government officials and those who agree with the legislation are attempting to make a law. "What's being attempted in Congress is insurance reform as opposed to health care [reform]," Rice said. "Many American are relatively happy with the health care that they receive if they are able to receive it ... health care itself is high quality." What many people are not happy about is the cost, Rice said. Medical expenses are the number one cause of bankruptcies in the U.S., Rice said. While many Americans
Photo by Kory Oswald
Taylor England holds the large comparator tube to test chlorine level of the pool. On Monday the chlorine registered at 0.6 parts per million, just before an employee added more of the disinfectant.
Waters worry swimming students lenefar de Leon rilcr
Fred Fieth, assistant director of Sports and Recreation at UCO, and the Oklahoma County Health Department said the UCO Hamilton indoor pool is at the recommended chlorine levels despite contrary remarks from UCO students. Some students placed concern that the chlorine level was at o parts per million at times when they were swimming. The Oklahoma County Department of Health paid a visit to the UCO Hamilton pool house on Nov. 12 after receiving complaints that it was at o ppm. But Fieth said that students should not be worried, and in fact chlorine was recently added to the pool on Nov. 13. "I don't think it's a huge problem," said Suzie Campbell, Public Bathing Place coordinator for the Oklahoma County Health department. "There was some issues to address, but it is safe to swim in." The Center for Disease Control reports that swimming pools should contain chlorine levels between i.o to 3.o parts per million to help protect swimmers from germs and bacteria around and in the pool. According to the see RICE, page 6 CDC, if pools are not between those levels it can cause
New
irritation of skin or eyes. Some students were concerned due to the fact that some were facing some skin irritation. Kinesiology graduate Amy Brooks said recently she faced some skin irritation that may have been caused by the pool. "I had to go to the dermatologist recently because my skin has been itchy and irritated," Brooks said. "I feel embarrassed to show my skin. I haven't changed my soap, lotion or detergent so I know that it has to do with the pool." She_andother fellow classmates suspected that the pool might have not had chlorine in it, because the pool looked unsanitary. Brooks, an avid swimmer and lifeguard, said that the water inside the pool looks cloudy and gave off an odor. Brooks and fellow classmate accounting major Tim Kirby have voiced their concern to faculty and the health department in the past weeks to take a closure inspection of the swimming pool after a Hamilton pool lifeguard on duty tested the water and revealed the results to Brooks and Kirby that it was at o ppm. "It was our breaking point," Kirby said. "It's very upsetting that no one was taking this serious when it is a health issue."
see POOL, page 6
•
.5.,„0 .11ther
A student enrolls on a computer Monday on the first floor of the Nigh University Center.
The University of Central Oklahoma recently introduced a new waitlist system that allows students to sign up for classes that are filled. "We've just implemented it in the last two weeks," said Jerry Legere, assistant vice president of Enrollment Management. "We've not had that capability in the past." The program is already being implemented for some courses. The biology department is one that has decided to use the waitlist system, Legere said. The College of Business has also decided to make the system available for its students. The waitlist program may not be implemented for all courses or all colleges on campus. "Every department has been given the opportunity to participate," Legere said. "It really is going to vary from department to department." "They can choose to [use] it on all of their courses, some to their courses or none of their course," he said. Each academic department will
DI DD You MOW...? In the winter of 1891-92 James Naismith, an instructor at the YMCA Training School, invented the sport of basketball, to provide indoor exercise for his students between the end of the football season and the start of the baseball season.
see SEX, page 3
wai tl ist springs into action •
Tiffany Brown
Photo by Allison Rathgeber
.
The Mercy Clinic at the University of Central Oklahoma presents "SEXposure" to the students regularly to help them make responsible decisions. The goal of this presentation is to educate UCO's students about sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). "It's more than just wearing condoms," Tim Woods, a professional speaker for health education at the • Wellness Center said. Woods has been working at UCO for almost 2 years promoting sexual health through "SEXposure." In this presentation he enthusiastically provides the facts to college students using candid language, a few illustrations (one of which is himself, arms up and out, fists representing the ovaries, arms representing the fallopian tubes and his abdomen representing the uterus), and an open discussion with the students. Woods was a professional speaker on sex education for nearly seven year8 prior to his job at UCO, working for communities throughout Oklahoma and also international settings, such as a military base in Japan. He began his career as a health advocate and educator when he heard some very startling • and little-known facts. "If I didn't know this and my head's screwed on, I know a 15-year-old is not going to know this," Woods
also decide how many students can be waitlisted. If a class is dropped, students on the wait list Will be given the opportunity to fill the dropped seat on a first come, first served basis Students don't have to constantly check the enrollment list to see if a student has dropped a class, Legere said. However, student will need to check their email regularly. Students highest on the waitlist will be emailed when a seat opens, but they will have a limited amount of time to enroll. "There is an expiration date and an email will be sent to the next student on the list," Legere said. Students will have 24 hours to enroll. Each department can decide if they will extend or limit that time. It can be shortened to . 12 hours or extended to at least 48 hours for sonic courses. If a department does not choose a time frame, the time will automatically default to a 24-hour period. Once a student is passed on a waitlist, the process cannot be reversed. "We have no way of accounting for that," Legere said. "They need to be
WEATHER TODAY
TOMORROW
High: 54 °
High: 59 °
Low: 34
Low: 41 °
PARTLY CLOUDY
constantly checking their account." If a student is passed or dropped from the waitlist, one of the few options they will have is to re-place their name on the list again. No exceptions will be made for students who miss their opportunity to enroll. According to Legere, to prevent this from happening students should check their e-mail at least twice daily. Although the system has its ben= efits, there are some drawbacks. Students must meet the course prerequisites or they cannot be placed on a waitlist if it is available, Legere said. Also, if students have holds placed on their accounts while they are waitlisted, they cannot enroll, Legere said. The amount owed on an account cannot exceed $50, he said. Also, students should make sure the time of the class waitlisted does not interfere with any other classes they are enrolled in. For complete information about the new waitlist system, the policy and instructions on how to used the system can be found on UCONNECT near the top of the page before available classes are listed.
TUNE INTO NEWSCENTRAL student - run newscast runs Monday. through Thursday on Cox Digital Cable channel 125 in Edmond at 5:00 p.m. UCO's
PARTLY CLOUDY 9
9