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UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
THURSDAY, APRIL 24, 2003
Memorial pays tribute to lives lost by Thad Danner td@thevistaonline.com A cluster of blue folding chairs sat in the shelter of the cypress and magnolias facing bouquets of yellow roses and a podium in front of Y-Chapel of Song. Heartland Plaza, a small garden of trees ringed by plaques with words of comfort from world leaders in response to the Murrah bombing, lay just west of the set-up. The Y-Chapel is a low-slung,
small space designed and created largely by students in the closing years of the 1940's. Its stained glass windows are brightly colored, filling a dark room with saints and iconic images - a soldier, a bride, a pilgrim. None of these figures wear smiles or looks of ecstasy. The colorful figures all wear the same contemplative looks, and gaze downward in meditation. This building - not working toward height, rapture or mass spectacle - is the spiritual reflection of a time that saw the horror of Pearl Harbor, of firebombed
European capitals, of Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and massive numbers of relatives and friends who never made it back from the call to armed service. The faith that came back from that experience, reflected in this building, is not the charismatic jubilee of the contemporary megachurches or a glib denial of the suffering in the world, but a private search for consolation in the face of terrible loss. The building's lawn, green and quiet, was a fitting place for the UCO Remembers Ceremony April 21. Born in the wake of the
Three Doors Down
Murrah bombing, the service today faces similar questions and reflects a common need with the builders of the chapel. The service honored members of the UCO community who died in the past year, the recent tragedies of September 11 and the Murrah bombing, as well as those in Iraq. Dr. Charles Lillard, campus minister for the Baptist Collegeiate Ministry, opened the service by talking about YChapel. He said the chapel was meant as a "place of personal prayer" not of public assembly, and that when constructed at the close of the 1940's it stood at the center of the campus.
see Memorial page 4
A rain cancellation forced North Division rivals UCO and Cameron to settle for a 3-3 tie. - Page 7
Photo by Justin Avera
Jarrod Noftsger reads the names of the ten UCO students who died last year at the memorial service April 21.
Lottery vote delayed to 2004 by Mark Schlachtenhaufen ms@thevistaonline.com
â– Senate fails to pass the amendment to designate lottery revenue for public education.
Photo by Justin Avera
Three Doors Down performs at Hamilton Field House as part of Spring Fest on April 16.
Students to reply to financial aid offers online by Robert T. Crauthers Student Writer Beginning next fall, UCO students applying for student loans or work-study for the 2003-2004 academic year will have to accept or decline their award offers online. Sheila Fugett, director of the Office of Student Financial Aid (OSFA), said students will have 60 days from the start of the semester to officially accept or decline their award in order to receive their funds. If the student does neither, the processing will
stop and the offer will be cancelled, she said. The OSFA decided to make this change as a way to cut costs on paper, staff processing and to protect against the potential loss of documents during transactions, she said. Originally, the awards were sent to UCO on a pre-accept basis. Borrowers would state on their application that they would like to be considered for a loan or work-study. Students were not required to accept the loans. Once students received their award letter, the OSFA had
already started the loan process, Fugett said. There was a loss of time and effort by the staff when funds came in and students no longer wanted it, she said. Now, students have the opportunity to cancel their award if they do not need it, she said. Students can accept or decline their award beginning in August. They can do so by logging into the Personal Information section on the UCO financial aid webs h ttp: //bro nze. ucok.ed u/ fi naid/ge neral_info.htm
Oklahoma could see more tornadoes than last year TULSA, Olda. (AP) With four, possibly more, twister touchdowns over the weekend, Oklahoma's tornado season is shaping up to be more trouble than the last, meteorologists said April 21. One tornado traveled 15 miles and packed winds up to 120 mph as it tore away roofs, smashed homes and put one northeast Oklahoma woman in the hospital.
April numbek are still being compiled, but the four tornadoes brought the total since March to at least 14. That compares with last year's total of 18, all of which were weak and short-lived, said Rick Smith, warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Oklahoma City. The 2002 twister total was only one shy of the slowest year
on record, which was 17 in 1988. What do outbreaks foretell for the rest of the tornado season? "Not a single thing," Smith said. But one safe bet: "We're definitely going to have more than we had last year," he said. Oklahoma sits on the most tornado-prone spot in the world and averages 54 twisters a year.
see Tornadoes page 8
A constitutional amendment guaranteeing that lottery proceeds would be spent on education has been defeated in the House, effectively delaying a popular vote on a state-run lottery until 2004. Following the defeat of Senate Joint Resolution 22 in the House, Gov. Brad Henry said the lottery issue will not be on a ballot sometime this summer, as he had hoped. "This issue has been thoroughly debated and it is probably time to move on," Henry said. On April 16, in the House, 61 representatives voted for SJR 22, which needed 68 "Yeas" to proceed to the Senate, where the amendment would have also needed two-thirds approval, as mandated by the state constitution. SJR 22 seeks to amend the state constitution and create the Oklahoma Education Lottery Trust Fund, which would guarantee that lottery proceeds would be independent of the state education budget. "I think it's vital to have that kind of safeguard in place so the people can be absolutely sure funding won't be subtracted from
the education budget as lottery proceeds come in," Henry said. Without the Legislature's approval, SJR 22 cannot appear on a ballot until the next general election, in November 2004. In order to be placed on a ballot this year, the resolution needed twothirds support in the House and Senate. Some legislators had speculated that SJR 22 could be sent to conference committee and then be revived for a final vote on the special election feature. But the seven-vote margin was likely too high a hurdle to overcome, Henry said. Henry could still call for an election seeking to create a lottery this summer, authority granted in HB 1278, the Oklahoma Education Lottery Act. However, Henry said to vote on the lottery in separate elections would be unwise. "As I have said many times, because that constitution protection is such an important part of the education lottery, I believe it must be on the same ballot as the companion proposal," Henry said. "That is the package that I promised to the people of Oklahoma." The delay until November 2004 means more time for Baptist leaders and other lottery opponents like Forrest Claunch, R-Midwest City, who debated Henry on the issue, to change public opinion.
The Senate elected Amy Dunaway President Pro Tempore for the 2003-2004 academic year on April 21. Dunaway garnered 21 votes to 18 for Dallas Strimple, her only opponent in the close election. "This is something I've always wanted to do - I want to be more of a voice for the campus," Dunaway said. "She made sure everyone got more money than they even needed," said Jonathan Shrupp,
the Senator who nominated her, referring to her experience budgeting for student groups. Though Strimple advocated specific objectives in his speech and Dunaway's referred more to her character. Dunaway said all of Strimple's objectives - a court of academic appeals to deal with complaints about professors, a UCOSA website, a committee to advertise for
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see Lottory page 8 UCO biology student wins internship at Harvard Medical School.
UCOSA Senate elects Dunaway President Pro Tempore by Thad Danner td@thevistaonline.corn
The Bronchos golf team captured the Lone Star Conference tournament in Trophy, Texas.
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Amy Dunaway UCONNECT and a UCOSA scholarship for outstanding legislators - were goals already discussed in committees and ones she would work on. Dunaway is the last of the 2003-2004 UCOSA officers to be elected. The rest of the slate are: Joe Garvey, Speaker of the House; Kate Thrift, President; and Kristin Hoffman, Vice President.
Country musician Chris Cagle is scheduled to perform at UCO April 30. - Page 6