Celebrating 100 Years
TFIEVisrA The Student Voice Since 1903
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2003
'Operation Clean Sweep' encourages tidiness by Shannon I. Scott Student Writer
Photo by Robert T. Crauthers
Muslims pray during the observance of Ramadan, Nov. 12 in UCO's mosque.
Students celebrate Ramadan Central's Muslim and Moroccan student associations host celebrations of the Muslim holy month. by Lauren Pulsinelli Staff Writer Central's Muslim and Moroccan student associations are holding a series of events to highlight Ramadan. A documentary entitled, "Islam Empire of Faith will show in the Nigh University Center at Constitution Hall Nov. 19 at 7:30 p.m. Those who follow the religion called Islam practice Ramadan. The root of Islam is Silm and Salam, which means peace. The followers of Islam are called Muslims. Ramadan is in the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, and started on the first of November. During the month long Ramadan Muslims fast from dawn until sunset. The fast
includes abstaining from food, sexual activity, liquids, and basically any bad habits, such as smoking and cussing. Sometimes people feel nauseated after the first day of fasting but according to the president of the Moroccan student association, Nassim Marauane, "After the first day it gets easier." Fasting in the month of Ramadan is required by all Muslims who have attained puberty. Women who are on their menstrual period or who have not fully recovered from childbirth postpone the fast. Also, the ill and the elderly are not required to fast. "Ramadan is not to hurt
you but to help, it allows people to remember their spiritu-
"Ramadan is not to hurt you but to help, it allows people to remember their spiritual side and forget their animal side." —Nassim Marauane
al side and forget their animal side," Marauane said. This holy day is a reminder that Islam brings hope and comfort to more than a billion people. "Islam gave birth to a
Central's poll sci professors honored by Sherrod Wall Staff Writer Two UCO political science professors recently received awards from the Oklahoma Political Science Association. Dr. Brett Sharp was given the Oklahoma Political Science Teacher of the Year for 2003 award, and Dr. Youngtae Shin was given the Political Science Scholar of the Year for five articles and two book contracts. "Ten years ago exactly, I attended my first Oklahoma Political Science Association conference at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah. I participated on a panel and attended all the functions," Sharp said. Sharp said after that experience he was inspired for the first time to become a professor some day. The guest speaker at that time was Sen. Fred. Harris. "He was also the guest speaker this year. Receiving the award here at UCO and having Fred Harris as the guest speaker again made receiving the award even more meaningful," Sharp said. Sharp said he puts a lot of effort into his teaching. "I teach public administration courses and so I try to bring a lot of the real world
rich civilization of learning that benefited mankind," Marauane said. The month of Ramadan is also called the month of the Qur'an. The Qur'an is the Islam holy book and is in Arabic. Muslims all over the world try to learn Arabic so. that they may be able to read the Qur'an and understand its meaning. Allah is the name of the Muslims' one and only God. Allah has ninety-nine other names such as, The Gracious, The Merciful and The AllKnowing. There are approximately five million Muslims in North America. During Ramadan everybody donates money or Zakat, which is an annual payment of a percentage of a Muslim's property among the poor or other rightful beneficiaries. "We fast all month so we can feel how the poor person would feel," Marauane said. Nov. 29 people go out, looking for a new crescent in the western horizon where the •sun sets. If the crescent is sighted, it means the end of Ramadan and `Eid' is declared. Eid is the Muslim fast-breaking celebration. If the crescent is not sighted, Ramadan is extended by
into the classroom," he said. "My courses often incorporate work simulations so that students can make mistakes in school rather than on the job." Sharp also invites guest speakers from the community to interact with his classes. Sharp will teach Advanced Public Administration next semester. "Which in spite of its intimidating title is actually one of the more fun courses that I teach," Sharp said. "We'll be examining a series of interesting public administration case studies." Some examples of studies included in the class are the space shuttle disasters, environmental contamination in Wichita, the crash of ValucJct 592, gays in the military, how libraries handled Madonna's book called Sex, the decision to bomb the Serbs, the Centralia Mine Disaster, and the murder of Kristin Lardner by her boyfriend. Other courses that Sharp will teach are Public Human Resource Management, American National Government and a special section on Leadership Development for UCO's President's Leadership Council. "UCO was well represented in the awards category since
Dr. Youngtae Shin received the Oklahoma Science Scholar of the Year," Sharp said. Shin believes in correlating creativity and scholarly publication directly with teaching. "Do not think teaching can ever be separated from scholarly and creative work," she said.
one day. There will also be a Moroccan "Eid" Celebration from 8:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Nov. 25 in the Education Building, Room 101.
Commons' residents will compete for cash prizes by showing off their apartments in a contest to be held Nov. 18. "Operation Clean Sweep" is hosted by the Commons Hall Council in an effort to encourage students to keep their rooms clean. The scores will be based on lighting, organization, originality, cleanliness and theme. Cash prizes for the top three winners will be $75, $50 and $25. Residents wanting to participate in the competition must sign up in the Commons Clubhouse, and at least one resident of the apartment must be present for the judging. "I hope a lot of people participate to make the competition tough and to make people more aware of keeping their rooms clean," said Johnny Sandman, council treasurer. "I'm really excited to judge this competition because I like to see the different ways people decorate their, own rooms."
Research Day hilights student, faculty work by Rick Russick Staff Writer Central hosted the Fifth Annual Regional Research Day at the Nigh University Center, Nov. 14. About 16 institutes of higher education participated with 364 presentations, 51 of which were oral and 313 were poster graphic displays. Faculty presented 124 presentations while students presented the remaining 240. The oral presentations focused on the arts, music and liberal arts. Cash and certificates were given to winners of the oral and poster presentations. Dr. S. Narasinga Rao, dean of the College of Graduate Studies and Research said the goal of the gathering was to promote the exchanging of ideas between faculty and students. "This consortium has brought all universities and institutions of higher learning together, Rao said. "I have seen tremendous success with the program and the creative exchange of ideas has been
healthy," he said. Dr. Jesse Snowden, Southeastern Oklahoma State University's vice president for Academic Affairs, said he was impressed with the turnout. "This is about the fourth [gathering] I've attended," Snowden said. "It's gotten bigger and better each year." When asked - why Central was picked as the host and the leader of the regional event, Snowden and Rao both accredited the decision to Central's size and location. "The problem with [communication between] smaller schools is that there tends to be a smaller faculties and they tend to be scattered throughout the region," Snowden said. "UCO is in a central location and is attractive to those people looking for collaborative degree programs and UCO definitely has the best facilities in the region for this purpose," he said.
see Research, page 3
Sir, yes sir!
Photo by Justin Avera
Broncho Battalion Cadet Captain Anndea Jordan, Captain Ken Western and Cadets Tyler Tully and Dustin Haines prepare for an ROTC orienteering exercise Nov. 13.