Celebrating 100 Years
THEVis-rA The Student Voice Since 1903
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
TUESDAY, AUGUST 26, 2003
Policy allows alcohol service by Rick Russick Staff Writer After three years of proposals, the UCO Alcohol Policy Act was revised Aug. 18 to allow student organizations to serve alcohol off-campus. "The new Board of Regents policy was adopted this year because students asked for change," said Blake Fry, director
for Campus Life and Student Activities. The policy, adopted by the Board of Regents of Oklahoma Colleges (BOROC), allows organizations to serve alcohol by a third-party vendor off-campus if a representative from their organization attends an alcohol training session each year. The UCO Student Association (UCOSA) senate
passed the Alcohol Policy Act of 1999, which first proposed the changes, in March 2000. The proposal was approved in February by BOROC. "We do not actually make the decision to change policies," said Sheridan McCaffree, general counsel for BOROC. "We delegate authority to individual colleges and they make their own changes in poli-
cy," McCaffree said. "UCO has not had a big problem with drinking like the Big 12 schools," said Jarrod Noftsger, assistant to the vice president of Student Development. "I think the main reason for this is because UCO has always been a dry campus," he said. "The only real alcohol-related problems tend to come from
the residence halls. Usually cases include off-campus parties intervened by the police," he said. Fry said he believes UCO is now taking a more studentfriendly stance toward alcohol, and responsible drinking and education are the keys to preventing alcohol problems in the future. "I think it's our job on cam-
pus to educate students regarding alcohol," said Jarrett Jobe, of the Student Activities and Campus Life office. "Once a student turns 21, he or she needs to have the right to choose and to have the ability to get the education needed to drink responsibly," Jobe said. A former UCOSA president, Jobe helped pass the policy proposal in 2000.
Fraternity Returns â– The members of Tau Kappa Epsilon lead the fraternity's first rush in four years. by Audrey Dodgen Editor in chief After a four year hiatus, the Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE) fraternity has been re-recognized by the Intrafraternity Council and the University of Central Oklahoma. The fraternity's 19 active members hope to add several new members during fall rush, said fraternity President Nate Raddatz. "We hope to have a quality rush this fall. We're not trying to compete with the other houses but to improve our own house," Raddatz said. Mike Wheat, the house's New Member Educator, said the emphasis for this year's rush will be on building a strong Greek system, whether the potential members choose TKE or not. "When we improve the Greek system, we help improve UCO," he said. Raddatz said the aim of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity was to improve young men's journeys through college by teaching community service, leadership and social skills. "We encourage community service. Our philanthropy is the Alzheimer's Association. TKE supports it because Ronald Reagan was a member," he said. The leadership of TKE also wants to encourage fraternity
members to serve the community of Edmond. "When we participate in community service, we reflect on UCO. When we do things well, people have a chance to see how great UCO is. We are proud to affiliate ourselves with UCO," Raddatz said. With the improvements being made to the campus, Raddatz said he feels now, more than ever, the Greek system should contribute to the success of the university. "We should work to improve Greek life for all fraternities and sororites. Then we should pack Wantland Stadium. Even if our team is having a losing season, we should support them. That way, we can support the university. Greeks can help do that," Raddatz said. The Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity was given a one-year probation for low membership in 1999. During that probation, the fraternity was suspended for a violation of UCO's alcohol policy. "Our active membership was somewhere around eight when we were suspended," Raddatz said. "We hope to get our numbers up and become a positive influence on the campus, and avoid some of our earlier problems."
Photo by Justin Avera
Atanas Vladikov, MBA student, scales the ROTC rock wall. The ROTC held a recruiting fair Aug. 22.
Graduate college offers grants by Jim Epperson III
Senior Writer UCO students could be eligible to receive part of a $250,000 grant that will be given Oct. 1 to the Jackson College of Graduate Studies and Research. Qualifying undergraduate students can earn up to $750 and graduate students, $1000, with the Student Creative Research Grant, given by the federal government. "[The grant] is highly competitive," said Dr. S. Narasinga Rao, dean of the college. For eligibility, students must meet three requirements, Rao said. They must submit the name of a professor, they will work with, a description of the project and the project's budget to the college by 5 p.m. Sept. 12. After submission, a panel of five faculty members, one from each college, will judge students' five-minute presentations, Rao said. Professors who help students with their research project will be allotted $250, said Don Garic, associate dean of the college. Professors will be expected to help students with paper work, he said. Garic said the graduate college has a similar grant for professors wishing to research. He said the graduate college funds professors from the spark of the idea. Then they must apply for an external grant. "There's lots of stuff that comes through this office that helps a lot of students and faculty in small amounts of money, because most of it is grant money," he said.
"We pay money for the students if they want to visit graduate schools anywhere in the United States. [The grants] offer some support for students to keep going." - Dr. Narasinga Rao Dean of the Jackson College of Graduate Studies and Research One out of eight UCO students are in the graduate program, Rao said. He said when everyone is finally registered, one out of six UCO students will be enrolled in the graduate college. The Graduate College has the largest enrollment out of all of Oklahoma regional universities, such as Northeastern and Southwestern, he said. "We do a lot more than this out of this office," he said Rao said another grant, the Title 3 Strengthening Institutions grant, is the largest the college has. The federal government allo-
cates $350,000 for five years, he said, and UCO is currently in its third year. The grant is for students who need help in classes, Rao said. For example, students who have failed or received a "W" in classes might need extra help. This grant supplies to students one-on-one training, tutorials and a student lab. "This offers some support for student to keep going." Rao said all the college's grants are not limited to college students. The Ron McNair grant, named after the astronaut who died in the "Challenger" explosion, helps undergraduate students prepare for graduate college, he said. The $250,000 grant is used to help students study for the Graduate Admission Test and the graduate record exam, Rao said. "We also pay money for the students if they want to visit graduate schools anywhere in the United States," he said. Upward Bound is another grant that is used to prepare high school students for college. For six weeks during the summer, 20 high school students lived on the UCO campus, Garic said. This grant is aimed at first-generation high school students, he said. "If [a student] comes from a family that does not go to college, then [the student] does not know they should go to college," Garic said. The government provides $190,000 for the Student Support Services grant, which helps students with academic advisement, Rao said. Rao said all of these grants are highly competitive. For more information on the graduate school or applying for these grants, contact the school at 974-3341.