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UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
TUESDAY, AUGUST 27, 2002
UCO acquires artwork from Murrah Building by Timber Massey tm@thevistaonline.com Twenty-four works of art from the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building are now on permanent display in the UCO Max Chambers Library, said Pam Husky, a retired UCO professor and Assistant Chair of the art department, UCO Director of Galleries and Museums Zina Gelona said Husky was instrumental in bringing the exhibit to UCO. Husky said, "After the bombing the art work was stored in a warehouse for about five years." "We had to work very closely with the General Services Administration in order to make a permanent place for the art to be displayed," she said. The General Services Administration administers the Art in Architecture Program,
Unviersity cracks down on plagiarism
which provides for fine art in public places such as federal buildings, said Husky. According to Gelona, several of the fluorescent lights in the library had to be changed because they were hazardous to the fibers in the artwork. Husky said she first became interested in the artwork at the Murrah Building when she was a UCO undergraduate 30 years ago. At that time she had a ceramics class with Franklin Simons, an artist whose work was on display at the federal building. According to Husky, Franklin Simons' "Monolith IV" was one piece in a series of three. She said the first piece that was on the third floor of the Murrah Building was destroyed during
see Artwork, page 4
■ The punishments for plagiarizing ranges from a reduction of grades to explosion. by Kristen Armstrong ka@thevistaonline.com
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24 pieces of art from the Murrah Federal Building are now on permanent display at the UCO library.
New computer literacy program boosts graduates' job oppurtunities by Michael Larson ml@thevistaonline.com A new certification program is drawing UCO students to a heightened computer literacy with the lure of career options and real-world internships. The Certificate in Emerging Technologies (CET) program gives students pursuing nontechnological degrees the option of taking courses like "Law for E-Commerce" and "Information Management in Political Science" and have a certification to show for their efforts. "We thought there was a tremendous need to educate non-technology field students about technology," said Program Director Dave Harris, professor of management. The program has placed 10 students in internships at local Information Technology (IT) companies. The Internship in Business Administration (MNGMT 4953) class attempts
to place students in internships pertinent to their field, while teaching them skills involving technology. Students wishing to earn the certification are required to take 18 credit hours in courses from at least three of the school's five colleges. At least 12 of those hours must be completed at UCO, and none of the student's major coursework can be counted toward the certification. The student must earn an overall 2.5 GPA in classes counted toward the certificate. Examples of companies participating in the internship program are Oklahoma City's Advanced Academics, an online education company, and New Vision Consulting, an IT consulting firm based in Edmond, and Pace/Butler, an Edmond computer resale company. "The goal is for students to have an understanding and an appreciation of technology prior
to graduation," Harris said. With 16 classes available from all five of UCO's colleges, Harris said the program aims to give students as much flexibility as possible in earning the certification. A three-year $150,000 grant from the National Science Foundation started in 2001 grants scholarships to students seeking the certification. The grant's final year, which begins in January, has an application deadline of September 27. The scholarship is only available to US citizens. Though the program is in its infancy, it boasts an enrollment of 35 students. Harris said students should begin graduating from the program this semester. Ebony Dallas, senior advertising major, is confident the CET program will unlock new job opportunities not available to her without a background in computers.
"Not only will I be qualified to work in my major field of advertising, I will also qualify for jobs in the computer field." She said she took the class to add computer skills to her resume, she also gained exposure to the business world associated with the IT field. Barry Lofton, Director of the TRIO program, regularly refers his students to the CET program. Lofton, who assists "first generation students'', or students who's immediate family have not obtained college degrees before, said many of his students come from backgrounds in which they weren't exposed to computers and technology. "A lot of these students are afraid of computers, and avoid using them," Lofton said. "We try to make them understand that once they graduate from UCO, not having computer skills will hinder them from finding a job."
Plagiarism. The Oxford Essential Dictionary, American Edition, says to plagiarize is to ''take and use (the thoughts, writings, inventions, etc., of another person) as one's own" or ''to pass off the thoughts, etc., of (another person) as one's own." The faculty and staff of UCO are adopting new measures to combat its threat, including speaking to the freshmen on the first day of Stampede Week. "It's my biggest concern," said Jarrod Noftsger, assistant to the Vice-President for Student Services and senior conduct officer. Dr. Amy Carrell, director of Graduate Studies of the English Department, said plagiarism is an all-encompassing problem. It spans from undergraduates to graduates, from foreign students to American students. "It happens a lot," she said. Carrell said many students fall into plagiarism because they don't know how to correctly site sources, they have forgotten the procedure for siting, or they deliberately do it. "A lot of it is time," she said. She also said many students may not realize that plagiarizing is stealing. "It is theft of another's words or ideas. It appalls me," Carrell said. She has dealt with many different cases of plagiarism in her twenty years of teaching. Some student blunders she mentioned include the student
Internationally renowned Indian musican preforms August 25, in room 125 of the music building. — Page 6
UCO adds 24 pieces to its permanent collection. The artwork will be displayed in the Max Chambers Library.
see Plagerism, page 4
Bronchos look forward to season after intersquad scrimmage. — Page 9 Photo by Tina Fowble On Saturday graduate Nick Bayer helps Dr. Palmer and students paint a historical mural on the side Blockbuster Video on 2nd street in Edmond.
Palmer preserves Edmond history by Timber Massey tm@thevistaonline.com
Photo By Rebecca Martin Army Specialist Nathan Murphy, Cadet 1st Sgt. Aaron Stemps and Captain Dave Price try rock climbing on August 23.
Dr. Bob Palmer, UCO professor and chair of the art department, has another mural underway in Edmond. According to Palmer, the mural will be on the east wall of a shopping center located at Second Street and Littler. Palmer said the wall faces a camera shop that was originally the first public school in Oklahoma Territory. Palmer said Lucille Warrick, Vice Chairperson of the Edmond Historic Preservation Trust, contacted him to paint the mural. Warrick said,"We are in the process of renovating the school into a living history museum."
"Fourth and fifth graders will be taught Oklahoma history in the new building," she said. Palmer said Ben Beyoung, a UCO undergraduate, Nick Bayer, a UCO graduate, and Chris Small, an art lecturer at OSU in OKC, will be assisting him.' "The mural will give the illusion that it is an old photograph because it will be the color of sepia-tone and appear to have been hand tinted," he said. "Photographers at that time did not have paper which could achieve the rich black color that we do today." Palmer said he and his team will project the actual photograph onto the wall and paint the outline of the image. He said that they will fill in the images with paint and add people to make it look more life-like.
UCO's Volleyball team will head to Florida to open the season at the North Florida Invitational in Jacksonville . — Page 8