Monday April 11, 2016
Eriech Tapia @eriechtapia95
President Betz speaks on the budget crisis
Reporter
University of Central Oklahoma President Don Betz addressed faculty and staff Tuesday, April 5 on the state of the 2016-2017 budget fiscal year. He detailed the need for increased cuts and possible tuition increases, calling the 2017 budget a black hole. He cited that legislators overlook the problem of funding higher education and said, “Courage is an orphan,” speaking
about people who fight for funding. “Behind closed doors, we are not receiving the support that we need,” Betz said. “As a profession, we do not have those persons who tell us what a good job we are doing.” Betz said that he would ask the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education for increases in tuition, ranging from 5 percent to upwards of 10 percent. How-
ever, he stated that the political climate will determine the cut. They are not telling anyone the exact increase in tuition yet, because they do not know how much money they are getting from the state, he added. Tuition increases must be passed by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, which could happen later this year; this would also include a hike in
fees. “I’m not interested at this particular point in resolving our financial issues by beginning to slice . . . parts of the institution. I think that not only is it counter productive, I think it is a cultural mistake,” Betz stated. Betz and UCO Provost Dr. John Barthell, said that students should not be worried about the future and that
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Head injuries: an ignored issue in the NFL Peter Agnitsch @PeteyPete33 Contributing Writer
Currently, one of football’s biggest controversies is brain trauma, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which is also known as CTE. The origin of CTE began in the 1920’s when it was referred to as “punch drunk syndrome.” CTE is a degenerative disease of the brain caused by the buildup of the tau protein. Concussions and continuous hits to the head have been linked to causing CTE. However, the NFL has been reluctant to address the issue. “We don’t have that knowledge and background, and scientifically, so there’s no way in the world to
say you have a relationship relative to anything here,” said Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones during a recent interview with the Washington Post. “There’s no research. There’s no data… we’re not disagreeing. We’re just basically saying the same thing. We’re doing a lot more. It’s kind of thing that you want to work… to prevent injury.” The precautions and safety measures in football are a huge factor in showing how much we truly can protect these players from brain injury, according to retired Oklahoma Neurosurgeon Dr. Stephen Cagle. There’s no such thing as a concussion-proof helmet,
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