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UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
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The Student Voice Since 1903
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BRIEFS >News Onward and upward Ongoing campus construction projects on schedule and planned to culminate in early fall, per officials ✓ Page 3
>Sports Batter competes UCO right fielder Rqay Danzy competes in Home Run Challenge batting competition in Omaha, Nebraska. ✓ Page 5
>Features Art on display Art exhibit at Central Museum encourages viewer interaction with optical illusioins. v Page 8
TODAY IN HISTORY In 1954, President Eisenhower signed an order adding the words "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance.
1925)
WEATHER Partly cloudy
Thurs. with a 30 percent gap chance of showers and thunderstorms.
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Fri.
A 20 percent -c--`-r_ chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy.
Sat. Low in the upper ... 60s and high in the upper 80s.
Sun.
Mostly clear. Low from the upper , , / 60s and high in ,/ , \r:, the lower 90s.
14, 2001
East Hall to close indefinitely for repairs BY SARAH ROBERSON
Staff Writer
W
ith the discovery of extensive maintenance problems, university officials have decided to close the 39-year-old East Hall for the 2001-
02 academic year. "The building is plagued with problems with the roof, heating and cooling problems, and problems with general conditions," said Bill Wiseman, director of University Relations. An immediate evaluation will be conducted to determine the feasibility of remodeling the facility, but East Hall may never reopen, according to university officials. The closing will lead to a drop of about 85 beds available to students. "Until additional housing was made available, it would have been a serious drop," Wiseman said.
The university has been in contact with local real estate companies in case the housing needs of the students are not met on campus. Wiseman said Steve Kreidler, vice-president for administration, has received information from area apartment managers to give information to students who may not have a place to stay in the fall. Wiseman said private development might be an option if an overcrowding arises. Charlie Johnson, University Relations News Bureau Director said, "We are committed to making comfortable and safe student housing." Johnson said UCO is investing $500,000 in the remodeling of Murdaugh and West Halls. "Murdaugh will be the all- male facility [during the next school year]," Johnson said. West Hall will remain the female dormitory. •
PHOTO BY KELLY TESTER
East Hall displays a sign informing that the 39-year-old building is closed for the 2001-02 academic year due to problems with the roof, heating and cooling problems among other general conditions. The building housed 85 dorm beds for students, but to ease the lack of beds, a local real estate company has been contacted.
Chemical spill causes building evacuation
UOTE OF THE DAY "Persecution was at least a sign of personal interest. Tolerance is composed of nine parts apathy to one of brotherly love." — Frank Moore Colby (1865-
THURSDAY • JUNE
6
BY MICHAEL LARSON
Staff Writer drainage leak was cause for evacuation of the Howell Building on June 8 as classrooms filled with chemical fumes. The Oklahoma City Department of Hazardous Material responded, along with the Edmond police and Edmond fire department. The National Fire Protection Association considers the chemical spilled, cyclohexene, a serious fire hazard, but Dr. Dale Michael Hellwege, professor of chemistry, said the substance was not in high enough concentration to be a threat. According to Dr. John Ferguson, associate professor of chemistry, cyclollexene is an unsaturated hydrocarbon used by organic chemistry students as a representative compound in PHOTO BY JAYNA NOLEY experiments. The substance is relatively non-toxic and inexpensive. Two Oklahoma City Department of Hazardous Material employees The spill occurred during a leave the site of the chemical spill after getting the all-clear. The spill transfer when a chemistry associate was started on the 3rd floor of the science building.
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dropped a jar in a secure storage room that had a floor drain. Since cyclohexene is not water soluble, the technician poured a water and detergent solution down after it. "The fumes should not have appeared in other locations, but they did," Hellwege said. Don Powers, director of Safety and Environmental Management, points to the building's chemical holding tank. The tank dilutes chemicals to safe levels before introducing them into the sewage. "We think we have some minor problems with the chemical holding tank, and physical plant is coming to work on those, probably within the next week." Powers added that it would be a coordinated effort between the physical plant and the chemistry department. "We can't have chemicals coming down the drain and people working on it at the same time," he said. Check out what else is happening on UCO's campus at www.thevistaonline.com .. •