The Vista March 8, 2012

Money

MARCH 8, 2012

Behind the Scenes

Last week, a student debt panel discussed the problems with student loans and what they can do to better manage them.

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The Vista goes behind the scenes of UCO Golf to meet with Brian Soerensen, the Head Golf Professional at Kickingbird Golf Club.

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UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA’S student voice since 1903.

GOP Nomination

SANTORUM TAKES OKLA. PRIMARY

By Sean Murphy / Associated Press OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Rick Santorum proved his strength among conservative voters with Super Tuesday victories in Oklahoma, Tennessee and North Dakota, though whoever emerges as the GOP nominee is almost assured the Sooner State’s seven electoral votes in November.

President Barack Obama’s chances of winning the deeply conservative state in November were already

poor, but losing 15 counties to an anti-abortion crusader from West Virginia and a perennial candidate from Midwest City show how deep anti-Obama sentiment is among all voters in Oklahoma, not just Republicans.

With all precincts reporting unofficial results late Tuesday, Santorum secured 34 percent of the vote, while Mitt Romney had 28 percent and Newt Gingrich was a close third with 27.5 percent. Santorum’s victo-

ry ensured he receives 14 delegates, while Gingrich and Romney each are awarded 13.

The message from Santorum, who visited the state twice in recent weeks, clearly resonated with Christian conservatives, a key component of the state’s Republican voters.

“I like his stand on being pro-life,” said 74-year-old Henry Strategier, the owner of a heat and air company who cast his vote for Santorum at the Freeman Baptist Church in

Norman. “He’s a Catholic. He has morals.”

Santorum can also boast of winning the “reddest of the red” states, where Obama failed to win a single of its 77 counties in 2008.

Exit polling conducted for The Associated Press and other media showed Santorum’s strongest performance came among those who said it was deeply important for a candidate to share their religious beliefs, those who considered abor-

tion a top issue and those seeking a candidate with strong moral character.

“It’s the nature of the issues he spoke to,” said Keith Gaddie, a political science professor at the University of Oklahoma. “He’s speaking to the evangelical voters and tea party voters about the need to roll back some of the initiatives that have come out of the Obama administration.

Continued on page

GOING BEYOND THE CLASSROOM

(from left) John Paul George, freshman, Kate Collins, sophomore, Giselle Colon, sophomore, and Chris Kotlowski, junior, sketch campus scenes for their Drawing I class by the Mass Communications building, Wednesday, March, 7, 2012. Photo by Garett Fisbeck, The Vista

Campus Economy

UCO STUDENT RUNNING FOR STATE HOUSE

Photo provided

At the age of 22, current UCO student Justin Wood is running for a seat in the Oklahoma State House of Representatives. While many college students are only just figuring out their preferred area of study or perhaps coming to terms with the fact that they need to buckle down and take school more seriously, Wood is raising a family, running for public office and writing a novel in his spare time.

Wood credits his decision to run for office to his parents, and the values they instilled in him. His father is Shawnee police Sergeant Freeland Wood and his mother Shirley is a public elementary school teacher. His parents, he said, have given him a good example to follow.

“My father, number one, just the service he’s given, just the way he treats people,” Wood said. Wood’s middle name, Freeland, is in honor of his father.

Wood has taken this semester off from

UCO, if you’re wondering why you haven’t seen him, in order to focus on his campaign.

He is majoring in English and says, “Win or lose, I’m going back next semester.” Wood is not impressed with his opponent, whom he said uprooted his family to move to Shawnee where the current representative’s term limit is up.

“Right now there’s only two people running and we’re both Republicans. My opponent is from Tulsa. He moved to the county just to compete,” Wood said. “He doesn’t have a

WEATHER

By Celia Brumfield / Staff Writer

TODAY H 53° L 38°

job, he just campaigns. I guess he needs to,” Wood said.

Wood admitted that at times it would have been easier if he had moved closer to school, but he wanted, along with his family, to remain in the community they have been a part of for so long, so he commutes.

“I’ve been a youth pastor and worked on a couple campaigns. Right now I work for Oklahoma Baptist University,” Wood said. “I set up events.”

TOMORROW H 52° L 33°

Continued on page 5

DID YOU KNOW? A person would have to consume 1,500 pounds of marijuana in 15 minutes to overdose

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OPINION

2

MARCH 8, 2012

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March 8 is International Women’s Day. Who is a woman you admire and why?

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Editorial

OKLAHOMA, YOU HAVE YOUR MAN The results are in. Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, with his social conservatism and his sweater vests, is the candidate of choice of Oklahoma.

Well, not all of Oklahoma. Santorum only garnered 33.8 percent of the statewide vote. For comparison, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney came in second place with 28 percent of the vote and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich was a close third with 27.5 percent.

After all the dust settles, delegate counts will be handed out and since nobody grabbed the majority, Oklahoma doles its delegates out proportionally. Unofficial estimates suggest Santorum will recieve 14 delegates, Romney and Gingrich would get 13, and no delegates to Texas House Representative Ron Paul, who received less than ten percent of the vote.

A recent poll by SoonerPoll.com found that 43 percent of Oklahomans think Romney stands the better chance in beating Obama this fall. Santorum only got 23 percent, and another 13 percent said they didn’t know or refused an answer. If Romney walks away with the magic 1,144 delegates before Santorum gets there or runs out of money, will Oklahomans rally behind him?

Regardless, in Oklahoma’s primary everyone wins, except Ron Paul. What does that mean for Oklahoma? Well, nothing. The other Super Tuesday states have more to say about this than Oklahoma did, and really Republican strategists are just hoping for Oklahoma to reclaim its status as the “reddest” state in the country.

In 2008, every county in Oklahoma went for Arizona Senator John McCain. Even some of the counties in eastern Oklahoma, where District 2 Democratic House Rep. Dan Boren won his seat, had McCain winning by 15 points.

The pessimistic view that a single vote does not really count for much holds a little true with national politics in Oklahoma.

If history is any preface, Oklahoma will vote red for red’s sake.

Where it is important to keep an eye is on is with Oklahoma’s local politics. Those are the ones that matter more than others and have the most effect on the day-to-day life of a given place’s population. But since Fox News doesn’t moderate the daily legislative actions of the State Capitol or the Edmond City Council, we’ll just have to go back to watching the primaries.

“My girlfriend. We’ve been going out for three years.”

“Lindsay Stanford, because “I’m going to say someone in the business department, she’s awesome.”

Dr. Janetta Sims. She’s simply phenomenal. She’s balanced her career and her family.”

By Evan Oldham / Cartoonist

NEWS

MARCH 8, 2012 Technology

3

Opinion

KINDLE SINGLES BRING NEW MARKET FOR WRITERS OF SHORT STORIES

Out of Context By Brittany Dalton Stuck at Square One

Last January, Amazon launched the new Kindle Single’s format which allows authors to directly publish texts between 5,000 and 30,000 words. The “Singles” can be read on any of Amazon’s Kindle devices or with any of the Kindle apps availible for most smartphones, Macs and Windows PCs. Photo provided

By Josh Hutton / Staff Writer Amazon has launched a new medium for long-form journalists and short fiction writers: the Kindle Single.

The Kindle Single allows writers to explore stories with greater depth and receive 70 percent of the sales. Stories accepted range from short story length (5,000 words) to novella length (30,000 words).

Amazon refers to the singles as “compelling ideas expressed at their natural length.”

Recent bestsellers include journalistic ventures like Jonathan Mahler’s depth story over Penn State coach Joe Paterno, entitled “Death Comes to Happy Valley” and John Hooper’s report on the Costa Concordia disaster entitled “Fatal Voyage”. The highest grossing Kindle Single is “Second Son,” a short story by Lee Child. Child felt the avenue would be beneficial due to the thriller writer’s cult following. Child has sold more than 180,000 electronic copies.

“The short story and novella have al-

ways been there for fiction writers, but I see a clear advantage for journalists using the [Kindle] Singles approach,” UCO sophomore and creative studies major Mark Fite said. “Journalists have never had an avenue to publish something larger than an article but shorter than a biography or something like that.”

Categories for Kindle Singles include: essays, fiction, human interest, memoirs, page-turning narratives, profiles, reporting, and the world stage. Fiction claims the largest selection of material. Amazon has published 160 Kindle Singles since the medium’s implementation.

“I’ve had friends self-publish e-books on Amazon, but I think you can only make money on that if you have a lot of Twitter or Tumblr pals,” Fite said.

“The [Kindle] Singles can be intimidating because you look at the authors who got books on there, and you walk away from your computer thinking, ‘How am I going to compete with Stephen King?’

Most people can’t. That’s all right. Everybody starts somewhere and Amazon’s new form is a tough one to break into.”

Creative studies professor James Dolph believes publishing in any form is important.

“It’s not a good avenue to make money, but writing is not a good avenue to make money. It’s a good way to get your stuff out there and get people to read it,” Dolph said. “The kid who wrote ‘Eragon’ – that was originally a self-published book. He got the word out there, people read it, and suddenly got a book deal for it.”

Dolph finds the Kindle single an “absolutely legitimate” medium.

“It’s the wave of the future,” Dolph said.

Both Amazon’s Kindle Singles and self-publishing avenues allow the writer to set their price. On average, the prices range from $.99 to $2.99 with the max being $4.99.

The submitted works must be selfcontained. Amazon refuses to publish a work through Kindle Singles if the pieces are excerpts from a novel. Amazon does not publish previously published material.

Fitness

OKC JOINS LIST OF FITTEST CITIES

Well, it’s the ol’ rally cry again.

Earlier in the week I was talking to a former classmate, and I made an offhanded comment about how much it now costs me to fill up my tank. It’s more of a general annoyance than anything – it’s never a pleasant feeling to watch the numbers jump dime by dime, day to day.

“A bunch of us are protesting!” he told me, to which I said, “Oh neat. How?” By not buying gas on a specific day, of course. You can check your Facebook events to see if there’s a “Boycott” event you can click “join” on, as you pump gas into your sedan and simultaneously text three of your friends.

It seems like every week, there’s some new “cause” circulating on the Internet for people to complain about, to tweet to all their friends or reblog on Tumblr.

This week, it’s been the Invisible Children video putting Joseph Kony on blast for his policies and actions in central Africa.

I was lucky enough to see the video crop up nine different times, in just an hour’s time on the Internet.

I’ve heard it played in classrooms three times today alone.

It’s not so much their message, as their means.

What good is it going to do if you ask two thousand people to reblog this video? For most, it entails showing whichever of their friends happens to be sitting next to them when they do. They will probably say, “Oh, that’s so terrible!” and click reblog.

But then what happens?

Probably nothing.

I take nothing away from those passionate enough about a cause to create videos and distribute them – even if I disagree with their core values or message.

I take nothing away from these groups’ rights to free expression, because I ask the same right of them.

I think it’s wonderful that groups like Occupy and Invisible Children exist, to name only two of many.

It shows that they are passionate about their beliefs.

It shows they’re willing to take a stand for what they believe. Some groups risk well-being to protest and fight for change.

So what, if anything, is the person who clicks “like” on a group’s webpage and leaving it at that – what good are they helping do?

Bet you thought I’d say they were doing absolutely nothing.

But they are. In their way, they help to raise awareness of a cause that may have gone otherwise unknown to their friends. By clicking “reblog,” or by forwarding that chain email that “maybe this time” will be genuine – they are sending a message. “Hey, this is a thing now,” they’re saying.

But awareness is only the first step. And until that awareness is followed by action, you are stuck at square one. Think about it – Gandhi once said you must “be the change you wish to see in the world.”

He didn’t say to reblog a video or news article and stop there.

Comment on this column on UCO360.com Follow Brittany on Twitter @lttlbrd

People run on treadmills and the Wellness Center, Wednesday, March 7, 2012. Photo by Garett Fisbeck, The Vista

By Treva Yarbrough / Staff Writer According to The Oklahoman, Oklahoma City has reached its goal to get healthier after Mayor Mick Cornett’s public challenge.

Oklahoma City is now ranked 23rd on the Men’s Fitness magazine list of the fittest American cities. The list was published in the March issue.

Five years ago however, Oklahoma City was on the fattest cities list, ranking eighth.

“It’s something we should feel good about. We’ve worked hard at it,” Cornett said. “I’m grateful that people who have worked hard to turn their lives around are seeing some validation for it.”

“On the awareness side, we have succeeded,” Cornett said.

“I can’t imagine us ever getting to the point where we’ve

succeeded on obesity and the issues that go with us. But it’s something that the city is willing to talk about and anxious to talk about, and health is just a higher priority in people’s life than it has been before in Oklahoma City.”

Cornett added that it’s not just personal health that should motivate Oklahoma City to continue to make progress on fitness and nutrition.

“If you’re a job creator or an entrepreneur, and you’re looking at somewhere to create jobs, you’re going to look at those lists of the cities with health problems,” Cornett said. “If you can get a reputation for being one of the healthiest cities in America, it’s going to help you create jobs.”

Portland, Ore., ranks as the fittest city on the current Men’s Fitness list, and Houston is listed as the fattest.

4

NEWS

MARCH 8, 2012

Continued from page 1

PRIMARY “When he surged, it was because he was likable. He seemed very earnest.”

Gaddie said Santorum’s victory in Oklahoma also paves the way for a strong performance May 29 in Texas, where voters share many of the same conservative credentials.

“If it plays here, it’ll play in Texas,” Gaddie said. “We’re kind of like spring training for Texas.”

The nearly half of voters in the state who called themselves “very conservative” gave Santorum a double-digit advantage over Gingrich, while those who were “somewhat” conservative split about evenly between Romney and Santorum, while more moderate and liberal voters favored Romney outright.

Romney won among those seeking a candidate who could defeat Obama, and Gingrich won more than half of those who said a candidate with the right experience was their top priority.

Results from the Oklahoma exit poll conducted by Edison Research for the AP include 1,097 voters. The survey’s margin of sampling error is plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Christie Hay, 39, a mother of two from Broken Arrow, said she voted for Santorum because she believes he has good family values and will open the Alaskan pipeline for drilling to create jobs and lower gas prices. She said the economy was the biggest factor in her vote.

“In a debate, Santorum would do better than Romney (against Obama),” Hay said.

While much of the excitement Tuesday was on the GOP side of the ticket, the results of the Democratic primary also shocked some political pundits. Randall Terry, a 52-year-old anti-abortion activist from West Virginia, won more than 18 percent of the vote statewide, including victories over Obama in 12 counties, allowing him to claim at least one of the state’s Democratic delegates, according to party rules.

“I’m so excited right now I can hardly stand it,” Terry told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from Tulsa. “This is a big deal.”

Jim Rogers, a perennial candidate from Midwest City, finished with nearly 14 percent of the vote against Obama and won three counties outright. Overall, Obama won 57 percent of the Democratic vote in Oklahoma, while Rogers and Terry combined with two other candidates to capture 43 percent.

“It shows a significant percentage of Democratic primary voters were not happy for whatever reason and wanted to deliver that message to the president,” said Ben Odom, a political strategist and former vice chairman of the Oklahoma Democratic Party.

“People, even in the Democratic Party, think he’s wrong on a number of issues: wrong on oil and gas issues, wrong on taxes, wrong on border security. Oklahoma Democrats are more conservative than nationally, but this goes beyond that.”

Santorum supporters Daren Ward, left, of Edmond, Okla., and Wes Lavin, right, of Oklahoma City, talk as Romney supporters hold signs at rear, at a Republican watch party in Oklahoma City, Tuesday, March 6, 2012 Voters lined up to cast ballots in the Super Tuesday contest in Oklahoma, where Republican Rick Santorum hoped his brand of social conservatism and recent campaign visits would translate to victory in the self-proclaimed “reddest of the red” states. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Super Tuesday results state by state Gingrich

Alaska

Georgia

Idaho

Massachusetts

North Dakota

VOTES CAST: 12,958

VOTES CAST: 872,888

VOTES CAST: 43,485

VOTES CAST: 357,274

VOTES CAST: 11,349

14.2%

Paul

24.0%

Romney

32.6% 29.0%

Santorum

Gingrich Paul

(Delegates allocated)

(0) (0) (0) (0)

47.4%

(31) (0)

6.5% 25.7% 19.6%

(0) (0)

2.2%

(0)

17.4% 63.2% 17.1%

(0)

4.6% 9.6%

8.5%

12.1%

(0)

28.1%

(0) 72.1% (41)

(0) (0)

(0)

23.7%

(0)

39.7%

PRECINCTS REPORTING: 96%

PRECINCTS REPORTING: 97%

PRECINCTS REPORTING: 77%

PRECINCTS REPORTING: 99%

PRECINCTS REPORTING: 100%

Ohio

Oklahoma

Tennessee

Vermont

Virginia

VOTES CAST: 1,181,074

VOTES CAST: 283,308

VOTES CAST: 543,667

VOTES CAST: 54,949

VOTES CAST: 265,520

14.6%

(0) (0)

9.3%

Romney

38.0% (35)

Santorum

37.0% (21) PRECINCTS REPORTING: 99%

SOURCE: AP Election Research

27.5%

(13) (1)

9.6% 28% 33.8% PRECINCTS REPORTING: 100%

(13) (14)

24.0% 9.0%

(0) (0)

28.0%

(10)

37.3% (25) PRECINCTS REPORTING: 99%

8.1%

(0)

25.4% 39.8% 23.7% PRECINCTS REPORTING: 93%

40.5% 59.5%

(9) (4)

(0) (0)

(0)

0%

(4)

(0)

0%

(3) (43) (0)

PRECINCTS REPORTING: 100%

AP

Debt

DEBT PANEL DISCUSSES STUDENT LOAN SYSTEM

By Trevor Hultner / Staff Writer Last week UCO students and faculty gathered to discuss a topic with a lot of weight – literally and figuratively – in current affairs: the problem of student debt.

A panel of students and experts, including professors Lisa Overman and Dwight Sulc and UCOSA president Matt Blubaugh, held forth on the issue. The panel formulated ways in which students could educate themselves and even work the system in their favor.

Overman began the discussion by addressing some of the hard numbers on student debt, according to the Federal Reserve of New York.

“The amount of loans taken out by students last year totaled $100 billion,” she said. “This was the first time it hit that amount, and the total amount of outstanding student debt passed $1 trillion in 2011.”

Overman told the audience that out of 320,000 student borrowers who had entered into a repayment period in 2009, 10 percent were forced to default – that is, 10 percent of student borrowers failed to pay back the loan.

“Defaulting on student loans actually circumscribes a person’s life,” Overman said.

“These loans are literally a form of indenture – the loans are secured not by property, but by the person, and so there are very few loans in which a person can actually get rid of through bankruptcy.”

Panelist Drew Duke, executive director of UCO’s Student Financial Services, said that in

ELN SUPER TUES RESULTS 030712: Graphic shows the results for all 10 contests held on Super Tuesday; x 4 what inches; stories; ETA “Think4c about youwith needrelated to do after you JEM; limits; andpending a recentresults change in federal law reget your degree,” he said. moving all standard consumer protections.

Maddoxthat hadaccompany some practical solutionswhen for repurposing “We’ve weakened truth in publication lending, bankEditor’s Note: It is mandatory to include all sources this graphic or editing it for doing just that. ruptcy proceedings, the statute of limitations, “Avoid loans altogether,” she said. “Try to the right to refinance, the adherence to usury get scholarships. There’s FAFSA, there’s the laws, fair debt and collection practices, which Pell Grant.” effectively strip students of the ability to deAlso: choose a school based on price, not clare bankruptcy in this particular area,” he prestige; apply for subsidized federal loans; said. repay as much as possible as quickly as posThe panel came up with a couple of recomsible; apply for loan forgiveness; make sure mendations to assuage the problem of student all options are off the table before consider- debt, including a moratorium on loan repaying defaulting on the loan; and try to get into ments and even just a broad shift in thinking, nonprofit groups like the Peace Corps and a transition to the idea that higher education AmeriCorps. is not a privilege, but a right.

2010, UCO students had $58 million taken Sulc had a different attitude towards the out in loans. problem of student debt.

Full audio from the panel, and an interBy Duke’s summation, the situation is get“The student debt crisis is a massive issue, view with Professor Dwight Sulc, can be ting “worse:” new limits on the number of se- but it is a flea on an elephant’s back,” he said. found by scanning this barcode: mesters that students can receive Pell Grants “What we are really dealing with here is much and new regulations associated with schol- bigger and much older; we’re talking about arship and state grant programs based on a monetary system that is debt-based. If we grades. take a look at the comparative financial sys“As there are more of those conditions or tems of different countries, we can take a look qualifications of grant aid and scholarships, around and we need to ask ourselves why is the only other option for a student to con- it that Canada is not having a banking crisis? tinue to go to school currently is to replace Why is it that Canada has passed a law to set that with loans,” Duke said. a ceiling on university tuition, and why is it Political Science senior Sierra Maddox and that the laws in this country include no such graduate student Rusty Olson both had help- thing?” ful tips to attempt to avoid the student debt Sulc gave an overview of why what he calls mire. the student debt “bubble” is happening: a reAccording to Olson, staying educated is duction of state and federal appropriations; goo.gl/rVSJs paramount.

Congress occasionally raising student loan

NEWS

MARCH 8, 2012

5

Oddities

NEWS OF THE ODD Presidential chicken, high-fives and mattresses find their way into our roundup of the country’s weird news.

By the Associated Press

MCWASHINGTON? PRESIDENTIAL MCNUGGET SELLS FOR $8K IN AN ONLINE AUCTION DAKOTA CITY, Neb. (AP) — Call it McWashington.

A Nebraska woman has sold a three-yearold McDonald’s Chicken McNugget that resembles President George Washington for $8,100 on eBay. The Sioux City Journal (http://bit.ly/ z2wK9S ) in Iowa says bidding ended just after 11:30 a.m. Monday.

Rebekah Speight of Dakota City sold the McNugget to raise money for a drive to raise $15,000 and send 50 children to summer

church camp in Sioux City.

Speight says her children didn’t eat the chicken during a McDonald’s visit three years ago. She was about to toss it, then spotted Washington’s resemblance. Speight stashed the McNugget in her freezer. eBay had temporarily taken down the auction last month because it violated rules regulating expired food.

She later received an email saying the site was “willing to make exceptions to help your cause.”

FILE - In this Feb. 21, 2012 file photo, a McDonald’s Chicken McNugget found by Rebekah Speight of Dakota City, which she believes resembles President George Washington is placed next to a U.S. quarter dollar bearing the image of the president. Speight sold the three-year-old nugget for $8,100 on eBay. (AP Photo/Sioux City Journal, Nathan Robson, File)

VETERAN COP STRIPPED OF BADGE AFTER USING POLICE CAR TO HAUL MATTRESS MAN TRIES HIGH-FIVING COP WHO GAVE DUI MIAMI (AP) — A veteran Miami police officer caught using her patrol car to haul mattresses has been relieved of duty with pay while the department investigates.

Several Miami television stations aired viewers’ video or photos of the marked patrol car with mattresses fastened to the top on Monday.

Officer Sandra Lyles’ vehicle, gun and badge have been taken. The 32-year veteran of the Miami-Dade Police Department is set to retire

Monday, but a police spokeswoman said the investigation wouldn’t affect her retirement.

Major Nancy Perez, the department spokeswoman, says Lyles violated department policy and embarrassed herself.

A phone number listed for Lyles has been disconnected.

Personnel records show that Lyles has received merit increases since she was hired in 1980, but she’s also been disciplined than a dozen times.

TYRONE, Pa. (AP) — Police say a central Pennsylvania man thanked and tried to highfive the officer who flagged him down for driving without his lights — only to then be arrested on a drunken driving charge.

The Altoona Mirror (http://bit.ly/zQItVl) reports that Gerald Decker was driving early Feb. 19 when a Tyrone officer noticed that Decker’s car didn’t have its lights on and flagged him down.

Officer Adam Bonsell says Decker told him, “Thanks, buddy,” and tried to high-five him.

Bonsell told him, “That’s not how it works” and gave Decker field sobriety tests.

Police say Decker’s blood-alcohol content was 2 1/2 times the legal limit for drivers.

The charges were recently mailed to Decker.

Online court records don’t list an attorney for the 27-year-old Decker of Tyrone. His phone number isn’t listed.

time for more than 7,000 door to door visits, where he goes to every household in his district, introduces himself and talks a little about his campaign.

“I’ve learned quite a bit about the complexi-

ties of running a campaign,” Wood said. “The most important aspect I’ve learned is how important my family, friends, and faith are to maintaining a level head and to keep my core values in check.”

Continued from page 1

RUNNING FOR HOUSE Wood grew up in Shawnee along with his wife Olivia, who is his high school sweetheart. Wood graduated in 2008, got married in 2011, and welcomed his baby girl Joscelyn Kate in 2011. In addition to hanging out with his family, he enjoys biking and has recently lost more than 50 pounds from a strict regimen of 30 miles a day and reducing his caloric intake to 1,200 calories a day.

“I don’t eat junk food,” Wood said, but admitted he still likes to eat pizza.

His campaign pictures will need to be redone and his campaign associates say he

looks a little younger. “They said I should gain about 10 pounds, “Wood said, but he is actually just a few pounds shy of his goal weight.

Wood finds time to work on his novel despite working and campaigning full time.

“My novel is about a fictional governor of Oklahoma and the life behind the scenes of a public official. It’s classified as political fiction,” Wood said. UCO professor Clifton Warren is his mentor and has helped him with his novel.

In the near future, Woods will have to make

Narcotics

OKLA. BILL AIMS TO CONTROL PSEUDOEPHEDRINE SALES

By Ken Miller / Associated Press OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma pharmacists generally support a bill designed to restrict sales of medicines containing a key ingredient used in the manufacture of methamphetamine, even though it could place them in dangerous situations.

The legislation awaiting debate in the House requires pharmacists to determine the “legitimate medical and pharmaceutical” need of a customer trying to buy medicines containing pseudoephedrine, which is found in many over-the-counter cold and allergy medicines.

Oklahoma Pharmacists Association Executive Director Phil Woodward said there is always concern that a desperate meth cook or addict could attack if turned down.

“It kind of puts us on the line again,” Woodward said.

Nonetheless, he said pharmacists have been making judgment calls on medicines that can be abused for decades, such as selling overthe-counter cough medicine that contains codeine. Pharmacies can choose whether to make the sale, and some will not sell medicine containing codeine without a prescription.

“We’ve been doing that for 40 years,” Woodward said.

The pseudoephedrine bill, which follows two failed bills calling for such pharmaceuticals to become prescription only, was sent to the full House on a 15-0 vote by the House Public Safety Committee on March 1. It does not yet appear on the House calendar for a possible vote.

The legislation also exempts pharmacists from lawsuits if they refuse to sell the medication and allows for a pharmacist to sell the medicine to a customer who poses a threat, Woodward said.

“Obviously the pharmacist makes the decision, but you have other people in the store.

You have technicians and clerks who could be in danger,” he said.

Pharmacist Lee Gile, co-owner of Hospital Discount Pharmacy in Edmond, said she thinks the idea is good, but she acknowledged the potential risk.

“I think it kind of puts a pharmacist in a dangerous situation. I mean, you’re saying no to people who don’t want to be told no,” Gile said. “A pharmacist should be able to tell if a customer needs pseudoephedrine.”

The pharmacy association had opposed the bills that would require prescriptions to obtain the medications.

“Obviously we support a non-prescription scenario where a legitimate customer can obtain the medication without having to go to a doctor for a prescription, then we could support it,” Woodward said.

Law enforcement and prosecutors also are behind the bill.

“Anything the Legislature can do to limit these drugs getting into the wrong hands for the wrong purposes, we applaud,” said Pottawatomie County District Attorney Richard Smothermon.

Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics spokesman Mark Woodward said the agency got behind the bill after learning that a similar law in Arkansas had resulted in successfully reducing the number of meth labs.

“The good thing is we have gotten some proven track record with it,” said Woodward, the nephew of the pharmacy association director.

“Meth labs are down in Arkansas and the pharmacists don’t see it clogging their businesses,” Mark Woodward said.

“These people don’t want a consultation, they don’t want to visit with a pharmacist.

They (pharmacists) can tell who has a true allergy and who has a meth problem.”

6

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1. Accidental contact between two points in an electric circuit with a potential difference.

6. New Testament book describing the development of the early Church from Christ’s ascension to Paul’s sojourn at Rome.

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Contact Kylie at 14. Abnormal new mass 405-974-5913 or of tissue. email your questions to vistamedia@ 15. Talk socially without yahoo.com for rates exchanging too much information.

16. Term used to indicate the color of a wine RANDOM QUOTE and its external aspect.

17. Relating to nutriWise men profit more from fools than fools from tion. wise men; for the wise men shun the mistakes of 19. Acronym for Users fools, but fools do not imitate the successes of the Requirement Advisory wise. - Cato the Elder Group.

20. French for “boat.”

21. Customary activity SUDOKU Puzzle 1 (Medium, difficulty rating 0.48) of a person in a particular social setting.

23. Diamonds.

2 8 5 24. Paul _ Haga, actor.

26. Cyclecar produced 4 6 in London from 1921 2 7 9 6 1 to 1922.

28. Branches of the 8 9 2 Japanese Imperial Family formed from 8 6 2 5 branches of the Fushimi-no-miya house.

5 4 7 31. Describing a boat that handles with little 5 2 8 9 3 effort.

32. Acronym for 2 3 Recomputation Using 4 7 9 Rotated Operands.

33. Movable staircase used to board an airGenerated by http://www.opensky.ca/~jdhildeb/software/sudokugen/ on Wed Mar 7 17:01:48 2012 GMT. Enjoy!

MARCH 6 CROSSWORD ANSWERS craft.

35. Win a Date with _ Hamilton.

36. Toroidal shape.

38. Winding, roundabout paths.

40. Planet seen just before sunrise in the eastern sky.

43. Municipality in Palermo Province on Sicily.

44. Enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of superoxide into hydrogen peroxide and oxygen.

45. Uncle.

47. Different from this

one.

49. Acronym for Open Users Recommended Solutions.

51. Israeli political party _ LaOlim.

52. Young unmarried woman.

54. Situated along the direction of an axis.

56. Peruvian name for certain species of Oxalis.

57. Doomed to extinction.

59. Seventh album by Jody Watley.

63. Valkyrie in Norse mythology.

65. Make equipment inactive by disconnecting it.

67. Military commander in a Saracen army.

68. Therefore.

69. Miscellany of literary works.

70. Woman’s full loose, hiplength jacket.

71. Products used in the process of coloring a material.

72. Essential oil or perfume obtained from flowers.

Down 1. Thrust of a pointed weapon.

2. Polynesian rain dance performed by a woman.

3. Leave undone.

4. Ardent male lover.

5. Written agreement between two sovereigns.

6. Legal document codifying the result of a committee’s deliberations.

7. Blackened from fire.

8. Tropical, starchy tuberous root.

9. Relating to a stylus.

10. Acronym for Crime Reporting Unit.

11. Bee Gees’ second album.

12. Two islands, Great _ and Little _ in the Bahamas.

13. Inter-specific red hybrid grape red variety used for making wine.

18. Involuntary swaying.

22. Hard gray-black mineral consisting of corundum and either

hematite or magnetite.

25. River that rises in northeastern Turkey near the Euphrates.

27. Take part in a rebellion.

28. Regular valley wind at Lake Garda in Italy.

29. Japanese weapons that resemble traditional farming devices similar to a scythe.

30. Serving as a visible symbol for something abstract.

34. Watertight cylindrical vessel, open at the top and fitted with a handle.

37. Australian television show that aired in 2000 and 2001 on the Seven Network.

39. Slang for things exceptionally entertaining.

40. Term applying to sweetened wines.

41. Off course.

42. Rate of revolution of a motor.

44. Process of becoming softened and saturated after being immersed in water.

46. Loves intensely.

48. Escaped the perception of.

50. Clear liquid secreted into the mouth by the salivary and mucous glands.

53. _ Pueblo, Native American pueblo in New Mexico.

55. Grayish blend of colors used in textiles for plaids.

58. _ Alberto Pumpido, football coach and former goalkeeper who played for the Argentine national team.

60. Firm, abnormal, elevated blemish on the skin caused by a virus.

61. Monotypic genus of cichlid fish.

62. Back of a military formation.

64. 2005 computer-generated imagery movie directed by Kenny Hwang.

66. Lettuce with long dark-green leaves in a loosely packed elongated head.

SPORTS

MARCH 8, 2012

7

Softball

SOFTBALL CARRIES MOMENTUM FROM WEEKEND SUCCESS, WIN STREAK AT 13

By Whitt Carter/ Contributing Writer

Senior Rachael Steverson pitches in a game earlier this season . Photo Provided

Continued from Page 8

BEHIND THE SCENES break in. Soerensen originally studied business management at Texas Tech University before transferring to New Mexico State to pursue that passion.

“I like this sport and I see potential in it,” Soerensen said. “It wasn’t until after my freshman year in college that I wanted to make this my career.”

Kickingbird Golf Club also serves as home course to the UCO Women’s Golf team, as well as UCO’s Golf Management Program.

“We have been the home course for UCO since I’ve been the Head Pro in 1997,” Soerensen said of his relationship with UCO. “I coordinate everything with those coaches.

They coordinate their tee times through me.”

Brian didn’t always play golf. In fact, it wasn’t until high school he became interested in the game that he loves.

“My junior year I worked at a golf course and just fell in love with the game,” Soerensen said. “I gave up soccer to chase this little white ball around. I was happy I started playing.”

From that moment on, Soerensen knew this is where his passion lay. He knew that this was going to be his life.

“This is something I love to do,” Soerensen said. “I am very blessed this is my profession.”

Soerensen runs his golf course with passion.

He presents fun and is very family oriented.

“It’s a game a lifetime of generations can play

it,” Soerensen said. “This is a place for people to come be with friends. For some, it’s a social event. For others it’s a competitive event. Golf just serves so much on a relational level.”

Many can be seen at Kickingbird, and Soerensen only wants to continue to see more.

Each day Soerensen makes returning phone calls and emails his first priority. He is all about the customers and making sure everybody that walks through the doors feel welcome.

“Price only becomes an issue in the absence of value,” is a quote Soerensen carries with him.

“We want to give our customers a valuable experience,” he said. “We want your experience at Kickingbird to be one to remember.”

From making sure tee times are met, giving lessons and that golf carts are aligned straight, Soerensen does everything to make the difference for his customers.

“If you told me when I moved here in 1992 that I’d still be in Oklahoma today, I’d say no chance,” Soerensen said with a warming smile. “I really love the community here and I’ve loved it ever since I got here.”

Soerensen has shot another hole in one.

This time, with his business and giving back to everyone that walks through his doors at Kickingbird.

The UCO Women’s Softball team has gotten off to a hot start in 2012, entering the first weekend in March riding a seven-game winning streak. The Bronchos sought to continue recent success as they traveled to the Teri Mathis Zenner Memorial Tournament, held in Joplin, Mo. Mission accomplished.

The Bronchos swept the weekend, winning all four games in the tournament, then a doubleheader Tuesday, extending their winning streak to 13 games, while pushing their record to 15-3 in this early 2012 season.

Playing as an independent in Division-II this season, the Bronchos were anxious to play in this tournament, specifically because it featured several future MIAA opponents.

In Friday’s action, UCO beat Truman State 7-2 and Northwest Missouri 8-2, overcoming late-inning deficits in both wins.

The Bronchos followed the first day’s performance up by handing Fort Hays State a 9-1 loss and drubbing Washburn State 16-2 on 20 hits, both games falling victim to a UCO run rule on Saturday.

The red-hot Bronchos left Joplin very pleased as they outscored their four opponents by a total of 41-7, en route to their fourgame weekend sweep.

“It was a great weekend for us,” UCO head coach Genny Stidham said. “We had our bats going in every game and we did a great job staying aggressive at the plate. We are playing really well right now and we just want to keep it going.”

UCO’s success can be attributed to several players who have established themselves as

heavy hitters thus far in 2012.

Junior Kacie Edwards, who plays all over the field for the Bronchos, leads the team in average (.460) and hits (29), while also blasting six homeruns and knocking in 23 RBI’s.

Senior catcher Nathalie Timmermans isn’t far off - she has been the top Broncho powerhitter thus far, smashing eight home runs and driving in 24 RBI’s.

This past weekend, however, other key contributors led the Bronchos.

Senior infielder Megan Whitmire was 3-for4 with a HR and senior outfielder Kayce Raines was perfect, going 4-for-4 at the dish with 3 RBI’s in the win against Washburn.

In Friday’s action against Truman State, it was Whitmire that led the Bronchos again, going 3-for-4 and again totaling 3 RBI’s.

Junior catcher Kacie Edwards was the driving force in the win for the Bronchos against Northwest Missouri State, posting a 3-for-4 game with 3 RBI and Whitmore struck again, delivering with a two-run homer in the seventh to seal it for UCO. The Bronchos have gotten off to an outstanding start in part because they returned nine players from last year, and their top two pitchers.

Senior pitcher Rachael Steverson (8-2) and sophomore pitcher Amanda McClelland (7-1) have been superb for the Bronchos thus far, posting a combined 3.75 ERA and striking out 86 through 18 games.

UCO returned home to host cross-state rival Cameron in a doubleheader on Tuesday. winning both games 14-6 and 4-3 respectivly.

The Bronchos will travel to Pittsburg State on Friday and Missouri Southern State, on Saturday.

Continued from page 8

AT THE BUZZER kept on claiming what the rest of us could plainly see was not true.

With Manning, it’s different. Here we have a known factor looking to return from injury, and the scuttlebutt says that he’s working his tail off trying to make that happen. He’s not sitting in his living room doing some soul searching, and he’s not constantly changing his mind.

Granted, Manning is no spring chicken, he will turn 36 here in a few weeks, and there is still concerns on whether he has the arm strength he had only a few years ago. However, regardless of whether or not his fused vertebrae would allow him to chuck it the way he used to, he at least is going about addressing the twilight of his career the right way.

There are teams all over the league now slobbering over the possibility of Peyton Manning’s head in their helmet. Prominent names being thrown around include Miami, Arizona and the Jets, and earlier yesterday Jerry Rice urged the San Francisco 49ers to make a move in the Peyton race.

In response, Manning’s offering contract terms with very little guaranteed money, with most of it tied to bonuses for meeting performance benchmarks. He knows that he may not be the QB he used to be, and he doesn’t want to scare off teams with taking the risk on him.

So, good on you Peyton Manning. Now, I’m going to sit down, listen to the latest Brett Favre comeback rumor, and die a little inside.

Sports Opinion

VISTA SPORTS PREDICTIONS: NBA WEEK 12 Christie Southern continues her wire to wire lead. A strong week by Photo Editor Garett Fisbeck has him in the middle of a log jam following Southern between himself, Terry Fox and Courtney Landsberger, who are all racing to catch up.

NBA Week 12

Bryan Trude Vista Sports Editor

Christie Southern Vista Managing Editor

Garett Fisbeck Vista Photo Editor

Chris Brannick Vista Sports Writer

Terry Fox UCentral’s “The Huddle”

Courtney Landsberger UCentral’s “The Huddle”

“The Coin” 1987 Quarter Dollar

Cavaliers @ Thunder

Thunder

Thunder

Thunder

Thunder

Thunder

Thunder

Thunder

Magic @ Bulls

Bulls

Bulls

Bulls

Bulls

Bulls

Bulls

Bulls

Nets @ Bobcats

Nets

Bobcats

Nets

Nets

Nets

Bobcats

Nets

Clippers @ Spurs

Spurs

Clippers

Clippers

Spurs

Spurs

Spurs

Spurs

Mavericks @ Warriors

Warriors

Mavericks

Mavericks

Mavericks

Mavericks

Mavericks

Mavericks

Timberwolves @ Lakers

Lakers

Lakers

Timberwolves

Timberwolves

Lakers

Lakers

Lakers

Pacers @ Heat

Heat

Heat

Heat

Heat

Heat

Heat

Pacers

Raptors @ Pistons

Pistons

Pistons

Raptors

Pistons

Pistons

Pistons

Pistons

76ers @ Knicks

76ers

76ers

76ers

Knicks

76ers

Knicks

76ers

Celtics @ Lakers

Lakers

Lakers

Celtics

Lakers

Lakers

Celtics

Celtics

Grizzliers @ Nuggets

Grizzlies

Nuggets

Grizzlies

Grizzlies

Nuggets

Grizzlies

Grizzlies

Pacers

Magic

Pacers

Magic

Magic

Magic

Pacers

6-6

6-6

8-4

5-7

6-6

7-5

6-6

57-39

65-31

61-35

57-39

63-33

62-34

38-58

Pacers @ Magic Last Week’s Picks (W-L) Season Picks (W-L)

8

SPORTS

MARCH 8, 2012

Opinion

Behind the Scenes

AT THE BUZZER BEHIND THE SCENES: HEAD

GOLF PRO BRIAN SOERENSEN

By Bryan Trude

Vista Sports Editor

WITH MANNING LEAVING INDY, IS IT FAVRE 2.0?

The biggest piece of news coming out of the NFL that everyone already knew came down yesterday. Peyton Manning, the face of the Indianapolis Colts franchise for 14 years, will be released.

I would say that cutting Mr. Indy himself would rock the sports world, but let’s face it. After Brett Favre left Green Bay to play in a Jets uniform, the illusion of the iconic franchise player is deader than Prohibition.

Anyone who ever identified football with an oval ball instead of a round one knew this was coming.

When Favre left the Packers, it was the wild flailings of an over-the-hill quarterback who did not want to face the fact that his career was functionally over. I recall countless press conferences with a weepy-eyed Favre announcing his retirement, only to pop up again two months later to announce yet another comeback.

With Manning, there was no sobbing in front of a microphone, no comeback announcement after throwing passing drills with some Louisiana high school. Here, we have an organization who did not want to take a risk on a proven franchise QB with a neck held together with the surgical equivalent of duct tape and super glue, and a quarterback who wants to give his naysayers the middle finger and prove he can still play.

You know what? I’m OK with this.

With Favre, I got tired of the theatrics of constantly retiring and coming back, like drawing out a bad comedy routine long after the red light comes on. While with every year it became obvious that Favre was becoming less and less able to keep up with the rigors of a full NFL season, he just

Continued on page 7

Brian Soerensen, head golf professional at Edmond’s Kickingbird Golf Course, shows off a map of the course. Photo

by Stuart Dickinson, The Vista

By Stuart Dickison / Contributing Writer “Congratulations Brian! 1st Hole in One.” This is a sign on the wall reads in the office of Brian Soerensen, the Head Golf Professional at Kickingbird Golf Club in Edmond, Okla.

“That was my first ever,” Soerensen said. “It was on hole three. It’s a skill shot and a lucky shot. You must have everything right to make a hole in one. It was

Wrestling

UCO OFF TO NATIONALS

By Blake Colston / Contributing Writer

The UCO wrestling team will continue its quest for its 16th national title at the NCAA Wrestling Championships Friday, March 9 and Saturday, March 10 in Pueblo, Colo.

As winners of Super Regional Two, held in Edmond, the Bronchos produced nine national qualifiers, the most of any team at the championships. Super Regional Four winner Nebraska-Kearney advanced eight to the national tournament.

UCO head coach David James is happy that nine of his wrestlers qualified, but wants them to take advantage of the opportunity.

“The key is with the numbers there you have to go do something with them,” James said.

In his 30th season at the helm of the Bronchos wrestling program, James knows his team will have to wrestle well to be in position for a team and individual titles.

“There’s not going to be any easy matches. They’re going to have to scrap and fight for everything they get.

Hopefully the coaching staff has done a good job of preparing them for that,” James said.

James, a four-time All-American

and two-time national champion as a wrestler at UCO, expects his entire team to compete well but highlighted two wrestlers as title contenders.

“Corey Dauphin at 157 and Kelley Henderson at 174 both placed last year and I know a goal this year was to springboard that and get to the finals and be a national champion,” James said.

The next step down from a national title is to earn All-America honors.

A wrestler must finish in the top eight of his weight class in order to receive All-American status.

Last season Corey Dauphin, Kelley Henderson and Trison Graham finished as All-Americans for UCO. Dauphin, a sophomore from El Reno, is 20-8 on the season while Henderson, a native of Tahlequah, holds a record of 18-10.

James also mentioned junior Ky Corley at 149 pounds as a wrestler with potential to reach the finals. Corley was the Bronchos’ lone individual champion at the NCAA Division II Super Regionals.

“We have a plan A, I want see all of our guys go to the finals,” James said.

“Is that realistic, probably not? They need to think that way though; the mindset needs to be set like that.”

Wrestling Nationals Matchups 133 - Dustin Reed, UCO, vs. Evan Yenolevich, Kutztown.

141 - Casy Rowell, UCO, vs. Max Ortega, Adams State.

149 - Ky Corley, UCO, vs. John Hagerty, Maryville.

157 - Cory Dauphin, UCO, vs. Braden Turner, East Stroudsburg.

165 - Chris Watson, UCO, vs. Isaiah Jimenez, San Francisco State.

174 - Kelly Henderson, UCO, vs. Carl Serck, Augustana.

184 - Tanner Keck, UCO, vs. Zach Benzio, Shippensburg.

197 - Jarrett Edison, UCO, vs. Luke McPeek, Adams State.

Hvy - Cody Dauphin, UCO, vs. James Malenchek, Wisconsin-Parkside.

pretty neat.”

To some, golf is merely a game. To Brian Soerensen, it is far more than that.

It is an experience.

“There isn’t a day I wake up I dread coming to work,” Soerensen said. “Golf is a relationship business. I get more out of kids sending me the letters and the thank you cards for the impact I’ve made in their life and not necessarily their game. That is what is cool about golf.”

Brian, a graduate of Golf Management at New Mexico State University, has been at Kickingbird since 1992. He smiled as he spoke of his experience in Oklahoma.

“I’d never been to Oklahoma, “Soerensen said of his move to Edmond. “I chose this opportunity over another in Colorado. Edmond is a great community for golf.”

He always knew golf is where his passion was, but wasn’t always sure how

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