INSIDE
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
Stoops' Sooners sack the Seminoles
• Letter to the editor ... PAGE 3 • Review
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• Sports PAGE 6, 7, 8 •Column
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•Out and About PAGE 21
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• Classifieds PAGE 22
The Student Voice Since 1903
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BRIEFS >News Snowed in Oklahoma is declared a disaster area following recent snow and ice storms. ✓ Page 4
>Sports Continuing tradition
The UCO wrestling team adds to a winning record with a win over Seton Hall. ✓ Page 7
>Features State of affairs UCOSA execs complain of a lack of communication and an unproductive semester. v Page 3
TODAY IN HISTORY In 1964, the head football coach of the Oklahoma Sooners, the popular Bud Wilkinson, resigned from the University of Oklahoma.
"If 'ifs' and 'buts' were candy and nuts, we'd all have cavities." — Josh Ward
THURSDAY • JAN.
11, 2001
Century-old track program faces finish line BY BRADLEY PEMBERTON
Staff Writer
W
ith the ringing in of the new millennium, the death knell sounds for a century-old sports program. UCO's track and field program, which began in 1901 and includes cross-country and indoor track, will disband after the spring 2001 season. Southwest Construction in Wichita, Kan., discovered drainage problems in May during a resurfacing attempt of UCO's track. A large crack through the center of the track escalated the cost of repairs from $175,000 to $400,000, prompting the move to disband the program, said Paul Parent, UCO track and field coach. "I like track," said President Roger Webb, "but at $400,000 we reached a threshold point. We had to weigh the people served versus the benefits of the program." Webb said many of the other sports need funding, and investing in a new track would overburden the athletic budget. "You don't have a right to run track or play football or play basketball, but you do have a right to come here to get an
attempt to save the program. Conoco, a major corporate sponsor of UCO athletics, could find no record of the university requesting any financial assistance for track repairs, said Kenneth Ray, director of external affairs for Conoco and UCO alumnus. "I read about the track program, but no one from the university has contacted me about it," he said. Edmond North High School practiced on UCO's track for the past seven years and plans to complete their new track in February. Tom Snyder, athletic director of Edmond North High School, said "How could we say 'no' to someone who has said 'yes' to us for the past seven years? No one (from UCO) has ever PHOTO BY TSUYOSHI SHIRAISHI contacted us about using our UCO Soccer Club member Clyde Radovani finishes his workout at the track." Randy Heath, track and track. The Soccer Club is just one organization that will be affected by the track's closing. field coach at Oklahoma Christian College in Edmond, said UCO is using education. We'll offer that to you. other academic programs, there's OCC's track for practice and We'll continue that," he said in just not enough money." the announcement meeting with Webb said the university was UCO Relays this spring. Longthe runners. unable to reach productive term usage of the track has never "But in fairness to all the other athletic programs, and all the
solutions with corporate sponsors and area schools with tracks in an
See TRACK, Page 9
UCO library displays extremist literature collection BY MENA GANESAN
Staff Writer
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writings of extreme right and left wing political groups in 1961. The collection has now grown into an extensive library including newspaper clippings, magazine articles, audio tapes and over 250 books from such extremist political groups as the John Birch Society, the Nation of Islam and the Ku Klux Klan. "In 1925, when the Klan damn near killed my uncle, there were about 2 million Klansmen in America. Today our population is over 280 million and we have under 5,000 known members in the Klan," he said. "I think that people are
ivaling national collections of fringe literature at the University of Kansas and , Brown University, the John George Collection of extremist political publications now resides in the Archives Department of Chambers Library. "People who read this literature should be prepared to find wildly unfounded charges, irresponsible accusations and character assassinations," said George. Currently professor emeritus of sociology and political science at UCO, George began collecting the See LIBRARY, Page 10
PHOTO BY MOLLY MATHIS
A new literature collection containing the books shown above is located in the Archives Department of Chambers Library.