New law will require fl ags on state property to fl y at half-staff during soldiers’ funeralsMEREDITH SIMONS

Th e Oklahoma Daily

Gov. Brad Henry signed a bill into law Monday that will honor Oklahoma soldiers who die in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The bill, which will require certain flags to be flown at half-staff during soldiers’ funerals, originated at the hands of an OU student who found himself typing a spur-of-the-moment e-mail to his state senator from Baghdad after he learned that three fel-low Oklahomans had died in Iraq.

Todd Anderson, science education senior, is an Army intel-ligence analyst who spent most of 2008 in Baghdad. In early September, he arrived at work and found his computer screen flashing with the message that three soldiers had been killed in the southern part of the country. There was a rumor, confirmed later that day, that the soliders were fellow members of the

Henry signs Sooner’s bill

Recyclable materials at OU go through an intricate process before actually being recycled

LAUREN STALFORD

Th e Oklahoma Daily

Students might throw their empty Coke bottles into recycling bins across campus without a second thought, but OU’s recy-clables actually goes through a long process in order to help the environment.

Each morning housekeeping teams and physical plant custodial workers empty the recycling containers on campus into

designated pick-up areas, said Amanda Hearn, physical plant spokesperson, in an e-mail.

The materials are then transported to OU’s recycling compound. Once it reaches the compound, each container is hand sort-ed and materials are organized into their ap-propriate bins like newspapers, aluminum cans and cardboard.

The sorting process is part of what makes OU’s recycling program successful, said Deborah Dalton, director of OU’s interdis-ciplinary perspectives on the environment program.

Once material is sorted, it is shredded and then stacked. Every eight days the

companies GreenStar and Georgia Pacific pick up the materials. These companies use recycled materials to make consumer goods like T-shirts, carpets and containers, Hearn said.

“Recycling is not just a matter of putting cans in one spot and paper in one spot; there has to be a market for that material,” Dalton said.

But recycling goes beyond throwing a plastic bottle into a different bin than paper.

People who claim they recycle cannot just recycle material; they must also buy recycled material, Dalton said.

It’s easy to tell who is using recycled ma-terial and who isn’t, and many products are

labeled if they use recycled material, said Daniel Terlip, president of OUr Earth.

“Over the past couple of years, OU’s re-cycling program has made vast improve-ments,” Terlip said.

OU is doing a good job publicizing the recycling program, and students are more aware of their ability to recycle on campus, Terlip said.

Over the past year OU has increased its recycled material by 28 percent, giving the refuse and recycling department 805 tons of material to recycle, Hearn said.

Hearn said the physical plant will adapt its resources as needed to keep up with in-creased amount of recycling.

IT’S NOT EASY BEING GREEN

Proceeds to benefi t student scholarships

JAMIE BIRDWELL

Th e Oklahoma Daily

OU faculty and staff raised $16,481 for student scholarships in an online auction last week as part of a faculty and staff fundraiser.

Some of the items on auction in-cluded a lunch with OU football head coach Bob Stoops or women’s bas-ketball head coach Sherri Cole, au-tographed basketballs, free meals in couch cafeteria for a year and a T-shirt quilt signed by OU President David Boren and every OU sports team

coach, said fundraiser volunteer Beth Gatewood.

The items for the auction were all donated by OU faculty, staff and retir-ees, which allowed all of the proceeds to go toward scholarships, Gatewood said.

“I had a lot of fun getting some of the items [for the auction],” Gatewood said. “You would be surprised how generous people are.”The auction ran from March 30 to April 3 and had 1,517 bids, reaching as much as $2,050 for the top bid, according to the auction’s Web site.

The OU Campus Campaign is an annual event that solicits faculty, staff and retirees to give back to the

university, campaign coordinator Rebecca Tramel said. The campaign consists of the auction, private dona-tions and a T-shirt sale, she said.

All of the money from the on-line auction goes to a special fund that feeds into the Sooner Heritage Scholarship, Tramel said.

OU faculty gives back to university in online auction

MICHELLE GRAY/THE DAILY

Joe Garlett, Norman resident, recycles his cardboard at the Norman Recycling Center located behind Hobby Lobby on Main street. Garlett said he always recycles his cardboard at the center, and uses a recycling bin at home.

“Giving back provides a better work environment for ourselves and support for our students.”

RABECCA TRAMEL, CAMPAIGN COORDINATOR

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© 2009 OU PUBLICATIONS BOARD VOL. 94, NO. 127FREE — ADDITIONAL COPIES 25¢

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WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE DAILY’S NEW LOOK? GO ONLINE TO OUR OPINION BLOG, LEAVE A COMMENT AND TELL US WHAT YOU THINK OF THE REDESIGN.

Love to play pranks? Check out today’s edition of How-to-Tuesday for a comprehensive gag guide .

PAGE 3

The women’s golf team fi nished second at the Susie Maxwell Berning Classic Monday evening.

PAGE 5

Get familiar with Tea Leaf Green, headliners of Nor-man Music Festi-val’s Jagermeister tage.

PAGE 7

HE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA

ThteseSuBeM

PA

Oklahoma National Guard. “I thought, those guys are going to get

flown home and everyone’s going to talk about them for a day and that’s all there’s going to be for these guys,” Anderson said. “I fired off an e-mail to my state senator saying I thought the state capitol should fly a flag at half-staff.”

Anderson had paged for his state senator, Paul Gumm, D-Durant, during high school and knew that many Oklahoma bills began with recommendations from constituents. But he didn’t hear back from Gumm in September and eventually forgot about the e-mail.

“I didn’t really think anything about it, and then maybe three or four weeks ago I got an e-mail from Senator Gumm saying the bill had passed the Senate unanimously and was going on to the House,” Anderson said. “It passed unanimously there, too.”

Gumm had indeed authored a bill

reflecting Andrson’s idea. The bill will re-quire flags on state property to be flown at half staff on the days of memorial services for Oklahoma soldiers killed in Iraq or Afghanistan, and it will authorize the flying of flags at half-staff at all state agencies.

After sailing through the legislature, Henry signed the bill Monday and it will take effect in July.

“What this shows is that if you have any kind of idea that you could use to honor something or better our state or our coun-try, all it is is an e-mail or a phone call away,” Anderson said. “Your senator may say, ‘We

can’t do that right now,’ or he may run with the idea. It’s democracy in action.”

For now, Anderson is concentrating on finishing his education, which he had to suspend for three semesters while he was deployed. But he said that in the future, he may get more involved with other veteran advocacy efforts.

Many of his friends have returned from the war zone only to fight what he calls the “PTSD battle,” referring to post-traumatic stress disorder, and he said he would like to take on projects that could improve the services offered to soldiers suffering from the disorder.

Anderson said taking care of soldiers who return home and honoring those who don’t is important for him and for every Oklahoman.

“Every death that happened hit us in one way or another,” Anderson said. “Especially when it’s an Oklahoman and especially when it’s a guy from the Guard. The National Guard is really a close-knit organization. It’s like a family.”

In times of need, the funds also can go for other things, Tramel said. Last year, all of the unrestricted funds were used for the re-fores-tation of the campus after the devastating ice storm, she said.

Although the Campus Campaign is designed to raise money, the goal is to get as many faculty and staff members as possible, Tramel said. When the campaign started in 1993, only 4.9 percent participated with 357 donations, she said. Participation rose to 19.8 percent last year with 2,112 participants, Tramel said.

“Giving back provides a better work envi-ronment for ourselves and support for our stu-dents,” Tramel said.

In addition to directly helping the university, staff donations to the university look impressive to legislators and could attract research grants or other potential private donors, Gatewood said.

With 3 months left in the campaign, it is at 13.5 percent participation, Tramel said.

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FOUR RECIPIENTS TO RECEIVE HONORARY DEGREES AT COMMENCEMENT

Three others will join commencement speaker and two-time Pulitzer Prize win-ning historian David McCullough in receiv-ing an honorary degree from OU.

An honorary degree is used to recog-nize someone’s significant contributions to the academic institution that grants the degree, or the outstanding work within his or her communities. The four will receive

their degrees at OU’s 2009 Commencement Ceremony, scheduled for 7 p.m., May 15, at The Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium

Harold Hamm is the founder, CEO and chairman of Continental Resources Inc. Hamm and his wife, Sue Ann, were the founding donors who made possible the creation of the Oklahoma Diabetes Center.

He also played a pivotal role in bringing in-creased access to public higher education to Enid-area students.

Walter H. Helmerich III is the chairman of Helmerich & Payne Inc. He has helped endow gardens at OU, increase the library endowment and create a chairmanship in the Drama School. He was also a leading donor to the restoration of Boyd House and

to the OU North Tulsa Medical Clinic.Edward Joseph Perkins is a former U.S.

ambassador to the United Nations, Liberia, South Africa and Australia, and he is also a former director of the OU International Programs Center.

RICKY MARANON—Th e Daily

FORMERLY HOME TO THE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, CARNEGIE HALL WILL NOW HOUSE LETTERS DEPARTMENT

HANNAH RIEGER

Th e Oklahoma Daily

Carnegie Hall, which previously housed the University College, will soon be home to OU’s Department of Classics and Letters.

Renovations needed for the depart-ment to move into the building should be completed by April 15, said Don Carter, associate director of facilities for the Physical Plant. Renovations are taking

place on the first floor.Carnegie Hall has been vacant since

University College moved to the new Lissa and Cy Wagner Hall in January.

The Department of Classics and Letters is currently located in Kaufman Hall along with the Department of Modern Languages, Literature and Linguistics.

Freeing up space in Kaufman Hall will allow more room for both departments, said Jay Doyle, university spokesman.

“ T h e d e p a r t m e n t o f M o d e r n Languages, Literature, and Linguistics, which has added instructional faculty over the years, has been housed in shared space and the vacated space in Kaufman Hall will allow for individual faculty offic-es and departmental space,” Doyle said.

CARNEGIE HALL SOON TO BE REOCCUPIED

ASHLEY HAGGARD/THE DAILY

The Carnegie Building, also known as the old University College building, sits empty on Monday after-noon. The University College moved to its new location in the Lissa and Cy Wagner Student Services Center in January.

“Every death that happened hit us in one way or another. Especially when it’s an Oklahoman and especially when it’s a guy from the Guard. The National Guard is really a close-knit organiza-tion. It’s like a family.”

TODD ANDERSON, ARMY INTELLIGENCE ANALYST

2 Tuesday, April 7, 2009

You don’t have to be Ashton Kutcher to prank your friends

CLARK FOY

Th e Oklahoma Daily

After getting punked on April Fool’s Day, there must be some students dying to get re-venge on their roommates. The Daily wants to help, so we came up with a list of easy — but more importantly, effective, pranks you

can pull on your unsuspecting rival.

BUTTERING FLOORS

This one is just like it sounds. Take a stick of butter to a tile or wood floor. Make sure it is a place where your roommate walks fre-quently such as the bathroom, kitchen or the

tile by the front door. Don’t be conservative; use the whole stick of butter. The next time your roommate is running out the door, be prepared with a video camera to catch them biting it hard on the floor. For another varia-tion, butter the kitchen floor and place your roommate’s phone on a nearby counter then call the phone from your own. If everything

works out, this will send your roommate run-ning into the kitchen, which will make the fall that much better.

TOILET PRANK

There are so many toilet pranks out there, so if this one does not appeal to you then look up a few on the internet. This prank will require a porcelain toilet with a clean water tank and duct tape. Remove the tank’s cover, inside there is a tube that filters water through the toilet when it is flushed. Take that tube and reroute it using duct tape (make sure the tube is removable before trying) so that the tube is pointing towards the seat. Return the cover, but note it may not fit completely because of the tube. Try to make it look as normal as pos-sible by adjusting the top a little bit.

TABLE OVER THE BED

While your roommate is sound asleep, take a small table, stool or chair and place it over their head. Then, take an air horn and put it right up next to their ear. Take out your video recorder, press record, and sound the air horn. Disclaimer: Try not to use a steel object or something of the sort, because a concus-sion definitely makes this prank a little less funny — or more funny depending on how you look at it. Also, for best results, make sure your roommate is looking straight up once you sound the horn so that they hit their fore-head on the object as opposed to the back of their head.

FLIP-FLOP GLUE

This one is also pretty simple. All you need is your roommate’s favorite pair of flip flops, some strong glue and a little time. Take your roommate’s flip flops and apply the glue all over the bottom. Make sure to put them right next to one another so that your roommate can just slip their feet in without having to try and pick them up. Once your roommate slides both feet into the flip flops and tries to take a step, the flip flops will stick to the ground, sending your roommate to the floor.

SOUP SHOWER

For this prank, you will need a shower head that can be taken apart and bouillon cubes — dried pieces of soup broth. Take several cubes and open up the shower head. Place the cubes inside the shower head so the water can pass through easily. Put the shower head back together and reattach it back to the wall the way it was. Once your roommate turns on the shower and the water gets hot, they will find themselves taking a hot, steamy and deli-cious soup broth shower.

You just got punked!HOWTuesday

» Switch out your roommate’s cereal bags so they are all in the wrong bag

» Put a small piece of black tape over the remote receiver on the TV

» Change their internet home page to some-thing embarrassing for the next time they open their laptop in class.

» Make a classifi ed ad — try craigslist for free — advertising a too good to be true deal like a $500 Corvette. List your victim as the contact.

STATE BRIEFS

DEFENSE SECRETARY WEIGHS IN AGAINST CANNONOKLAHOMA CITY — Defense Secretary Robert Gates has recommended cutting a mobile cannon that was to be partially assembled in Elgin, Okla.

The high-tech cannon, which had been pushed by Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., was essentially a self-propelled howitzer with a two-man crew and a fi ring

range of more than 18 miles.

HEALTH LEADERS TRUMPET INSURE OKLAHOMAOKLAHOMA CITY — Health offi cials say the Insure Oklahoma program is a key to getting medical cov-erage for uninsured Oklahomans, but the program needs a new revenue stream.

Gary Raskob, dean of the University of Oklahoma

College of Public Health, said improving the state’s poor health ratings hinges on having more people insured.

EDUCATION BILL BEING CONSIDEREDOKLAHOMA CITY — A bill that would allow Oklahoma school districts to decide which state education policies they follow may help schools be more fl ex-

ible or pose problems with teacher pay and certifi -cation, depending on who you ask.

The full House will consider Senate Bill 834, which passed the House Common Education Committee last week. The Senate passed the mea-sure 26-21.

—AP

$534 billion budget aimed towards making military more effi cient

WASHINGTON — The nation should stop pouring billions into futuristic, super-expen-sive F-22 jet fighters, pull the plug on new presidential helicopters and put the money into systems U.S. soldiers can use against actual foes, Defense Secretary Robert Gates declared Monday.

Major overhaul plans laid out by the Obama administration’s Pentagon chief would slash several giant weapons programs — and thousands of civilian jobs that go with them. With recession unemployment rising, Congress may balk at many of the cuts in Gates’ proposed $534 billion budget for the coming year.

Still, despite all the talk of cuts, the total fig-ure would rise from $513 billion for 2009, and Gates spoke of using money more wisely, not asking for less.

Gates, a holdover from the Bush admin-istration, said he is gearing Pentagon buying plans to the smaller, lower-tech battlefields the military is facing now and expects in coming years. He also said he hopes lawmak-ers will resist temptations to save outdated system that keep defense plants humming in their home districts.

The Pentagon, he said, wants to move away from both outdated weapons systems conceived in the Cold War and futuristic pro-grams aimed at super-sophisticated foes.

Gates said he would expand spending on equipment that targets insurgents, such as $2 billion more on surveillance and recon-naissance equipment. That would include funding for 50 new Predator drones such as those that have rained down missiles on mili-tants hiding along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

“We must rebalance this department’s programs in order to institutionalize and fi-nance our capabilities to fight the wars we are in today and the scenarios we are most likely to face in the years ahead,” he said.

Major programs facing cuts include the F-22 Raptor, the military’s most expensive fighter plane at $140 million apiece. An ac-tion movie come to life, sleek, fast and nearly invisible, the Raptor is ill-suited to deterring roadside bombs in Iraq or hunting insurgents who vanish into the Afghan mountains.

Gates says the Pentagon won’t continue the F-22 program beyond 187 planes already planned. Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed, the nation’s largest defense contractor, has said almost 95,000 jobs could be at stake.

Gates also said no to a new fleet of Marine One presidential helicopters — with a price

tag of $13 billion, more than double the origi-nal budget. He said new helicopters would be needed at some point but he wants time to figure out a better solution.

A $160 billion Army system of combat ve-hicles, flying sensors and bomb-hunting ro-bots would be reduced, too, as would plans to build a shield of missile interceptors to defend against attacks by rogue countries. The Navy would revamp plans to buy new destroyers.

A new communications satellite would be scrapped, and a program for a new Air Force transport plane would be ended.

Congress reacted cautiously.Large defense contractors and their sup-

porters on Capitol Hill scrambled to assess how the changes would affect them. Gates had demanded total secrecy during weeks of Pentagon discussions, even requiring senior military officers to swear in writing that they would not talk out of school.

Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., chairman of the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, called the proposals an im-portant and overdue attempt to balance want and need at the Defense Department.

“However, the committee will carefully review the department’s recommendations in the context of current and future threats when we receive the detailed fiscal year 2010 budget request,” Murtha said.

Some programs would grow.Gates proposed speeding up production

of the F-35 fighter jet. That program could end up costing $1 trillion to manufacture and maintain 2,443 planes. The military would buy more speedy ships that can operate clos-er to land. And more money would be spent outfitting special forces troops who can hunt down insurgents.—AP

Big cuts seen for F-22, other big weapon programs

LIGHTER HIJINKS

US AIR FORCE, THOMAS MENEGUIN, FILE/AP PHOTO

In this April 2, 2007 file image, two U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor aircraft flying in trail behind a KC-135R Stratotanker aircraft after inflight refueling during a training mission off the coast of Florida, are shown. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Monday, the Pentagon will end the F-22 fighter jet and presidential helicopter programs run by Lockheed Martin Corp.

AUDITIONS:WEDNESDAY APRIL 8, 2009 | 6-9 PM | ALMA WILSON ROOMTHURSDAY APRIL 9, 2009 | 6-9 PM | LOUISE HOUCHIN ROOMFRIDAY APRIL 10, 2009 | 6-9 PM | ALMA WILSON ROOM

APRIL 25TH, 7-10PM IN MEACHAM AUDITORIUM

SOONERIDOL2009

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Tuesday, April 7, 2009 3

Ray Martin, opinion editor

dailyopinion@ou.edu • phone: 325-7630 • fax: 325-6051

COMMENTS OF THE DAY »In response to Monday’s letter to the editor about Sooner fans altering the “Star-Spangled Banner.”

YOU CAN COMMENT AT

OUDAILY.COM

“Is it really necessary to bring back up a topic that was beat-en to death in the fall?.”

- SAXMAN

“America is home of both the brave and the Sooners. I see no problem with just saying what is true.”

- MIKEDAVIS

“I agree with Kenny. I’m a sooner fan, but there are prob-ably other ways that sooner fans can show their support for their teams with out changing the national anthem.”

- SOONERBORN88

4 Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Meredith Simons Editor-in-ChiefNijim Dabbour Managing EditorJamie Hughes Assistant Managing EditorMack Burke Night EditorRay Martin Opinion EditorZach Butler Photo Editor

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Guest columns are encouraged. They can be submitted to the opinion editor via e-mail at dailyopinion@ou.edu. Comments left on OUDaily.com may be reprinted on the opinion page.’Our View’ is the opinion of majority of the members of The Oklahoma Daily’s editorial board.Editorial Board members are The Daily’s editorial staff. The board meets Sunday through Thursday in 160 Copeland Hall. Columnists’ and cartoonists’ work is representative of their own opinions, not those of the members of The Daily’s Editorial Board.160 Copeland Hall, 860 Van Vleet Oval

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contact us

A friend and I walked down to the L. Dale Mitchell Baseball Park a few weeks ago to see the Sooner baseball team whip the UCA bears. It was a great game.

W h e n w e started walking back to the South Oval, we stopped by the Kraettli apartments to see our wonder-ful OU cousin.

We found her apartment in the darkness and realized how dark it truly was. The lights from the base-ball park could be seen from parts of Kraettli and helped to light up the dark area, as it’s right across the street.

But what about when those lights aren’t on, like in the winter?

I flashed back to my freshman year when my suitemate and I used to go to Kraettli to party - I mean, to learn about international cultures through informal socialization.

I specifically remember in December walking from the dorms to Kraettli through the dark, snowy wooded area between the tennis courts and Kraettli and remarking, “Whoa. It’s so dark out here.”

We laughed it off and just kept walking.

Nothing happened, as it usually doesn’t. We felt safe, despite the obvious scary-movie context of the situation that lay before us. We felt safe on OU’s campus, as do most people with whom I talk.

Students from big cities in the states as well as around the world

seem to consistently feel comfort-able with OU’s safety record and the overwhelmingly decent people that go to our university and make up the Norman community.

However, a feeling of safety sometimes allows people to let their guards down, and that’s when bad things can happen. The lack of lighting, and blue emergency tele-phones around Kraettli, is baffling and unsafe.

After we left our friend’s apart-ment we noticed a blue emergency telephone inside of the Traditions East gate and gate near the law school. Both of these are on the opposite side of the street from Traditions and probably of zero use unless one ran to the phones in those locations.

As we kept walking, we noticed a third blue emergency telephone

on Timberdell Road.Many exchange and interna-

tional students who live at Kraettli, either for a semester or year, don’t have cars and walk or bike around campus, especially when the CART buses aren’t running.

More blue emergency tele-phones, as well as more lighting, should be added to the Kraettli apartment complex in the near future, even if the apartments will be eventually phased out for new housing.

OU is fortunate to have President David Boren and UOSA president Katie Fox who both care deeply about the international commu-nity on our campus.

OU Housing and Food does a decent job of caring for the fresh-men and upper classmen who populate the dorms and Traditions

complex, but that’s not where the OU family ends. OU’s family ex-tends beyond those students and extends not only around the coun-try and world, but further down on Jenkins to Kraettli.

It’s imperative, if Kraettli is still going to be used as the predomi-nant place to house International students, that it is upgraded with more blue emergency telephones and lighting so that inhabitants of Kraettli have the same amenities as their peers elsewhere on campus.

I h o p e i m m i n e n t U O S A President Katie Fox will work with the administration to create a vi-able solution to this solvable prob-lem so that exchange students for years to come can live in the glow of the blue lights of safety.

Kayle Barnes, professional writing senior.

LET THERE BE LIGHT AT KRAETTLI

When I was a kid, my family and I would occasionally take a trip to the local recycling center. The center was a maze of towers of aluminum cans, mountains of yard waste and stacks of paper. While we brought everything from

g l a s s b o t t l e s t o c a r d b o a r d boxes, we never brought any of our old comput-ers or TV’s. This c e n t e r, w h i l e still performing a g re a t m a n y services for the c o m m u n i t y , lacked the capa-bility to handle

and recycle e-waste, which has become one of the biggest waste products in the U.S. today.

E-waste is any one of the tech-nological devices we use today that has, or is going to be, discard-ed. It can be anything from a per-sonal computer to a cell phone, and while these things make our lives much easier in the present, their afteraffects can become quite costly if not kept in check.

According to the Consumer

Electronic Association, the aver-age American household owns around twenty four electronic devices. Such large amounts of personal electronics lead to things like the around 10 million comput-ers to the nearly 100 million cell phones that Americans throw out each year, according to a National Geographic study in 2005.

The e-waste problem presents us with a two-headed arrow.

The major problem is that many of the modern electronics we use today contain hazardous materi-als like lead, arsenic and mercury.

On top of this, much of the e-waste is actually exported out of the U.S. and sent to developing na-tions like India and Indonesia.

Here, on the other side of the world, the many electronic devic-es are taken apart, often by women and children, and salvaged for scrap metals like copper. Then, once all the useful metals are ex-tracted, the rest of the waste will simply be disposed into landfills.

E-waste has thus become a huge social and ecological prob-lem. One of the keys to stemming its growth is simply educating the public. The Environmental

Protection Agency offers many solutions for getting rid of your old electronics.

You can send them to local re-cycling plants that have the capa-bility to dispose of them properly. If there is not one near you, there are other options that work at least just as well.

Some companies will actually pay you for old computers in order to safely harvest the internal met-als. Want to be charitable? Many non-profit organizations will gladly take a donated phone or computer.

With such a focus on going green in our nation, it is hard to believe that such an important issue has received as little atten-tion as it has. Recycling materials, especially e-waste, helps preserve the virgin materials still left on our planet.

By recycling your old computer or phone, you will help cut down on the toxic materials leaked into ground, reduce energy costs and maybe even help better the life of someone on the other side of the planet.

Carson Painter is an international busi-ness and finance sophomore.

SOLDIERS NEEDMORE BENEFITS

An OU student, by fighting for a cause he deemed worthy of fighting for, initiated what recently became an Oklahoma law.

We commend Todd Anderson for drafting a bill, which Democratic Gov. Brad Henry signed into law on Tuesday, that requires flags be flown at half mast on the days of slain Oklahoma soldiers’ funerals.

We also commend Sen. Jay Paul Gumm, D-Durant, for introducing the legislation and Henry for sign-ing it into law.

See page two for details. But the legislators and Henry

need to spend more time taking care of soldiers who are still alive if they’re going to make laws pertain-ing to those who aren’t.

They can start with their educa-tion benefits.

Those in the armed forces deserve more benefits, specifically higher education benefits.

Soldiers are promised a free education while in reality they’re often forced to pay at least half of

their expenses.Their GI bills only cover tuition,

which, as most of you know, is usually less than the total amount of general and course specific stu-dent fees. The bills also don’t cover books, living expenses or anything else a student might need funds for.

After risking their lives in unstable countries, these students deserve an education paid in full.

They give months, sometimes years, of time fighting or contrib-uting to the U.S.’s efforts in Iraq or Afghanistan. Agree with those efforts or not, the soldiers them-selves should return from combat with the best possible benefits.

These soldiers will eventually receive some benefits that others won’t.

But future discounts on hospi-tal bills and license plates don’t compensate for the thousands of dollars they’re forced to spend for an education when they return to college.

Recycling means more than just cans nowadaysOUR VIEW

STAFF COLUMN

STAFF COLUMN

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

UOSA MIGHT BE ITS OWN BIGGEST PROBLEM

The recent poor voter turnout and paucity of candidates in recent UOSA elections should be setting off all sorts of alarm bells within UOSA.

It will certainly take more than one elec-tion cycle to signal any kind of a trend, but if something is not done, the system risks becoming totally irrelevant (if, indeed, it has not already arrived at that point.)

The problem is particularly acute for Student Congress, which was thoroughly uncompetitive this go-around. The prob-lems, however, may not be student inter-est, but rather, the institution itself.

It’s no secret to those in the know that Student Congress has very little power. The strongest power Congress has is distribu-tion of funding to organizations through its Ways and Means Committee.

The other committees, though both important and relevant to students, are usu-ally limited to making recommendations to the administration, which is free to ignore such requests if it so wishes.

I served a term in Student Congress myself and although I felt like some some-what important things were happening and could happen in retrospect, I am rather underwhelmed with the experience. The organization put far more emphasis on following correct parliamentary procedure than on the promotion of students’ well-being. That said, however, I do not wish to condemn the organization or the people in it. I believe the majority of the members of

Student Congress are well-meaning people who genuinely want to make OU a better place of higher education.

But the seeming inaction (at least from a student’s perspective) of Congress helps to perpetuate the idea that members of Congress (and indeed, UOSA at large) are doing little more than padding their own resumes.

I will be perfectly honest, I did not vote in the UOSA elections. I am apathetic and completely okay with my decision. I am not interested in being a rubber stamp. The one contested position, the CAC chair, does not affect me in the slightest. I don’t pretend to be representative of the entire student body, but I think my sentiments are likely present within other students as well.

In short, UOSA and Student Congress need to move actively and rapidly to make themselves (and just as important, present themselves as) both relevant and effec-tive. Congress has the potential to be a worthwhile body even given its institutional weakness if run properly. The onus will be upon the newly-elected representatives who mostly did not have to mount any kind of election campaign. Hopefully the effort they saved on this can be contributed toward students’ benefit. Congress’ future is in their hands.Daniel Johnson, international and area studies and French senior.

NEWS STAFF MISSED MARK BY IGNORING STUDENT REFERENDUMS

For the self-proclaimed “Independent

Student Voice” of the University of Oklahoma, The Daily really dropped the ball when it came to reporting on this spring’s UOSA elections. While the editors and contributing writers were busy beat-ing a dead horse by arguing the validity of the theory of evolution or the existence of anthropogenic global warming, three pro-vocative referendum items silently worked their ways onto the online ballot.

Meanwhile, The Daily’s repeated lamen-tations of the low turnout of candidates for UOSA positions made the very act of voting itself seem like a waste of time.

Personally, I discovered these referen-dums for a campus-wide smoking ban and a change in the drug policy on the last day of voting after learning of the anti-discrimi-nation amendment from a friend.

These proposals weren’t just routine items on a ballot – they were controversial initiatives that have a history of evoking strong responses from readers.

Only last Monday’s opinion column by Mary Stanfield mentioned any of these ref-erendums—and Stanfield did not mention the new drug policy or smoking ban.

In all honesty, most of the students on this campus (smokers and non-smokers alike) will notice the effects of an enforced campus-wide smoking ban almost imme-diately, while the same cannot be said for the repercussions of empty UOSA seats or the results of voting candidate X over candidate Y.

A search of the The Daily’s own Web site revealed that no articles that even mention

a smoking ban have been run in this paper since an opinion column in September of 2008.

Ironically, the only mention of smoking last Monday was a brief announcement for cessation classes. It’s pretty obvious that this ballot item was completely overlooked by the staff.

Why is it that this “independent” news-paper devotes countless pages to the inane arguments between amateurs as they debate evolution, intelligent design and the comparative merits of unrelated historical figures, yet it refuses to explain the rami-fications of the new and separate student drug policy that just got approved?

Why would this news source that is so fond of controversy be completely silent on a vote for a campus-wide smoking ban, even though it was a cover story last sum-mer? It shouldn’t require an opinion colum-nist to bring just one of these issues to the awareness of the student body.

Regardless of whether this omission came by a lack of information or a deliber-ate decision on the editors’ part, The Daily completely failed its readers.

I know several students who knew noth-ing about these referendums or the out-comes before I asked them about it.

Maybe the staff of The Daily should try to report on those few things that could affect students’ daily lives before they rehash the same tired old controversies. The global warming debate will still be around next year.

Tyler Gibson, chemical engineering senior

KAYLEBARNES

CARSONPAINTER

STAFF COLUMN

P itching wins championships. This concept is clear as day, but this area of

play is the No. 11 OU baseball team’s weakest component.

But, this past weekend’s performance by the Sooner pitching staff against Missouri was exactly what it needed to build confidence and momentum heading into OU’s toughest stretch of games during Big 12 play.

In this weekend’s three-game series in Columbia, Mo., the pitching staff threw 26 innings while allowing 10 runs on 19 hits and striking out 25 Tigers.

The Sooners got a good start out of ju-nior Andrew Doyle in the series opener, but the rest of the series was a showcase of a bullpen that has been less than stel-lar for most of the season. Six pitchers combined to allow one run on seven hits while striking out 14 in 13 1/3 in-nings of relief.

Heading into this series, these kinds of stats would have been almost un-heard of as in many instances getting from the starting pitcher to the closer would have been a journey unto it-self. The setup role has been unstable so far this season, but once the Sooners got to their closer, sophomore Ryan Duke, they’ve been in good shape.

I’ve said all season that this team will either live or die by being a two-dimensional team. College baseball is not like Congress where things get decided by a two-thirds vote, you need all three cylinders to be firing at once to make a Big 12 championship run, let alone a National Championship run.

Having a solid defense and an offense that averages 9.69 runs per game is great, but an inconsistent bullpen is going to make it difficult for OU to win games. The bull-pen’s solid performance against Missouri could possibly be the spark the pitching staff needs to have all three as-pects of the game syncing up at the right time.

According to Monday’s top-25 rankings by basebal-lamerica.com, there are five Big 12 teams in the top 20 – OU is the third-highest ranked Big 12 team as Baylor and Texas are ranked seventh and ninth respectively.

OU’s 5.19 ERA is the worst of the five ranked Big 12 teams, and that will come back to hurt the team once it hits the hardest part of its schedule in the next few weeks – the Sooners play Baylor and Texas on the road in back-to-back weekends starting April 17.

Baseball is a contagious sport; when one part of the game is working for the team, the rest of the puzzle pieces start to fall into place.

The past weekend’s pitching performance should be used as a building block for the next couple of months, and maybe the infection the pitching staff caught will linger around and spread to help the team make a good showing within conference play and in the post season.Jono Greco is a journalism sophomore.

Jono

Greco

OU needs improved pitching to succeed

North Carolina and Michigan St. battle for the titleOUDAILY.COM

MEN’S BASKETBALL

«

WOMEN’S GOLF

OU FINISHES SECOND AT HOME TOURNAMENTJARROD YOST

Th e Oklahoma Daily

It was a disappointing finish for women’s golf Monday at the 31st Annual Susie Maxwell Berning Classic at chilly Jimmie Austin OU Golf Course, but the Sooners certainly have plenty of positives to take from the tournament.

The good news came on the indi-vidual front, where senior Kendall Dye grabbed her second consecutive win in the tournament. Dye used a tourna-ment best 73 (+1) in the final round to snag the overall victory.

Dye said she was happy to finish out her regular season with a win in spite of the elements.

“I really wanted the team to win as well, but we still can’t be upset with a second place finish,” Dye said. “The conditions were tough, but it gave each one of us an experience that we can take with us into the future.

The good news continued on the individual side, as sophomore Ellen Mueller shot a final round 78 (+6) in order to finish as runner-up to Dye.

OU head coach Carol Ludvigson

praised the hard work of Dye and Mueller.

“I’m extremely proud of both of them,” Ludvigson said. “It was inter-esting going into today seeing them encouraging one another and they were both pulling for each other throughout the round.”

Several other Sooners had respect-able tournament performances, in-cluding freshman Kelly Short, who tied for 17th with a 239 (+23), and freshman Brooke Collins, who’s final round 81 (+9) netted her 24th.

Sophomore Sara Hemingway fin-ished tied for 11th, while competing individually for OU.

The disappointing news came on the team side of things, as OU coughed up a six-shot lead it had on Baylor through two rounds, and fell to the Lady Bears by three strokes overall.

OU now will prepare for the Big 12 Championship, which will be held in Lubbock, Texas, April 24-26.

Ludvigson said the team’s experi-ence in this weekend’s tournament gives them motivation heading into the Big 12 Championship.

“Obviously we’ve struggled with

our fourth and fifth place positions, but I think that gives the team fire for the next few weeks to get all scores competitive for the championship,” Ludvigson said.

Oklahoma State figures to be the favorite heading into the tournament. As defending Big 12 champions, the Cowgirls look poised to make anoth-er run at this year’s tournament, as they currently sit at No. 4 in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin women’s Division I performance ratings. OSU sits behind only Pac 10 powers Arizona State, UCLA, and Southern California in the national ratings.

OSU is also the top-ranked squad in the Big 12 ratings. Colorado, Texas, Texas Tech, and Missouri round out the top five, with OU right behind in the six slot.

This year’s event will mark the sec-ond time in which Texas Tech has hosted the Big 12 Championship, the first coming in 2000 at Lubbock Country Club. The Sooners will hope to have a repeat performance of the last championship in Lubbock, which saw the OU women win their only Big 12 title.

MERRILL JONES/THE DAILY

Senior Kendall Dye reads a putt Sunday, the first day of the Susie Maxwell Tournament held at the Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club. Dye won the tournament, shooting a final round 73 (+1)

FOOTBALL

Sooners trying to make fi nal adjustments before annual Red-White spring gameIntrasquad game will mark end of OU’s spring workoutsCLAIRE BRANDON

Th e Oklahoma Daily

OU spring football is coming to an end and OU had its first spring scrim-mage Saturday at Owen Field.

“It was good,” head coach Bob Stoops said. “We had 100 and two or three plays, no one was hurt and guys did a nice job.”

The Sooners’ offensive line, which Stoops referred to as “the weak link of the team” earlier this spring is making some mistakes but is decent in general. The line lost four of the five starters from last season.

“We can be quicker and better with it and thats why we have to keep snap-ping the ball,” Stoops said. “Getting snaps and getting guys used to us.”

The back seven, on the other hand, is returning starters from last season.

Despite the unit’s great amount of talent and depth, junior linebacker Keenan Clayton said he would like to see the linebackers step up in the spring game Saturday.

“I’m just gonna call it like it is, we’ve been messing up,” Clayton said. “We haven’t been getting the job done like we need to or like we should with the experience we have coming back.”

This spring has been a little different than the last for kicker Jimmy Stevens.

“This year I’m actually competing

for a job,” Stevens said. “Last year I kind of fell in the spot so this year I’m having to work harder for the position.”

Clayton is out with a sprained ankle but hopes to play in the game on Saturday.

“This is the time of year when you can get better mentally and physically and it’s not often,” Clatyon said. “This is my last go around, this is my last spring ball. I’ve been sitting on the sideline watching for most of it, and I’m not the kind of guy that wants to sit out. I’d rather be out there participating having fun but as far as Saturday goes its still up in the air.”

The annual spring game will be at 1:15 Saturday afternoon at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.

ZACH BUTLER/THE DAILY

Junior linebacker Keenan Clayton (22) tackles Nebraska’s tight end Mike McNeill (44) during OU’s Nov. 1 62-28 victory.

Steven Jones, sports editor

dailysports@ou.edu • phone: 325-7630 • fax: 325-6051

Tuesday, April 7, 2009 5

Tuesday, April 7, 2009 6

OU STUDENTSYOU ARE INVITED!

International Political Analyst and Best-Selling Author“How Should the New President Reshape America’s Foreign Policy”

5 p.m.

April 13, 2009Sandy Bell Gallery, Mary and Howard Lester Wing

Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art

Please respond by calling the Office of Special Events at 325-3784.

For accommodations on the basis of disability, call the Office of Special Events at (405) 325-3784.

Informal Discussion

Fareed Zakaria

The University of Oklahoma is an equal opportunity institution.

International political analyst Fareed Zakaria is the author of The Post-American World, a New York Times best-seller about the “rise of the rest” — the growth of China, India, Brazil and many other countries — and what it means for the future. He is the editor of Newsweek International, overseeing all of Newsweek’s editions abroad, and is the host of Fareed Zakaria GPS on CNN Worldwide. His award-winning cover stories and columns reach more than 25 million readers each week.

T ea Leaf Green, the San Francisco-based rock group scheduled to headline the Jagermeister Stage at this year’s second annual Norman Music Festival, knows

music festivals. Extensive touring and a strong, consistent following estab-

lished Tea Leaf Green as the go-to band on the festival circuit, having performed at Bonnaroo, Wakarusa and other independent music festivals across the country in recent years.

They even sound like they would do well at a music festival. With slow-paced tem-pos and laid back vocals, Tea Leaf Green sounds like classic southern rock meets modern jam band. It’s the soundtrack to people walking around outside, socializ-ing, drinking beer and slowly bobbing their heads to good-natured solos.

Lead singer Trevor Garrod’s innocuous voice complements the music nicely. That

is, there’s nothing really in your face about this group. It’s all very chill, eclectic modern rock. The music never takes any crazy risks, but overall Tea Leaf Green remains relatively solid: the solos are pretty straight forward, the piano and gui-tar mixture sounds like Tom Petty, the Grateful Dead and the Black Crows, with periodic instrumentation reminiscent of Dave Mathews.

But on their newest album, 2008’s “Raise Up the Tent,” what really stands out is the production. A lot of people take good production for granted. A band can go from mediocre to great with a finely produced album, and that’s what I think happened to Tea Leaf Green on “Raise Up the Tent.” The vo-cals are crisp, and the mixing of Tea Leaf Green’s various in-struments is impeccable. Also the production of the drums really anchors this album, taking it from an otherwise mild release to a standout rock record.

The occasional twang of Tea Leaf Green, which pops up in a few places on “Raise Up the Tent,” also makes them a more notable act. It’s very easy to take the country-rock sound and turn it in to something dreadful (see most modern country radio stations), but with Tea Leaf Green, it seems genuine at least. They’re obviously very good musicians, making use of the banjo, slide-guitar and blues riffs to exhibit their occasional country or “Red Dirt” tendencies. It can be a bit cheesy, and if you aren’t anywhere close to a fan of country or Red Dirt music, Tea Leaf Green probably won’t be your fa-vorite group at the Norman Music Festival – but some songsare worth a listen.

My favorite track on the album is called “I’ve Got a Truck,” which successfully demonstrates the combination of the classic southern rock sound, crisp production and alt-coun-try twang. The lyrics also tell a unique story idealizing life on the road, a testament to their deep commitment to touring.

Garrod writes “So come away with me / I got all that we need / If the road is my kingdom you can be my queen,” end-ing the romanticized quote with some humor to offset it: “but we really got to hurry / I owe that rich girl money / And I hear her daddy’s lookin’ for me.”

I really like “Raise Up the Tent” when it sounds like

southern rock or alt-country—that’s when I think they sound most original. Standout tracks include “I’ve got a truck” and “Let us Go.” They sound safer, more bland, however, when they do rock or jam-oriented songs, which comprise most of the album. It’s forgivable, however, be-cause Tea Leaf Green doesn’t ever sound like they don’t know what they’re doing.

They sound pretty solid, even if it is spacey, safe back-ground music for an outdoor festival. It is, after all, what they’re good at. Tyler Branson is an English senior.

GETTING TO KNOW TEA LEAF GREEN

TYLERBRANSON

PHOTO PROVIDED

Southern rockers Tea Leaf Green will visit the Norman Music Festival on April 25. They are set to headline the Jagermeister stage.

I’m not really sure what a bicycle is.A lot of times, there are bikes on the road, as though

its simple open-air metal frame offers enough protection to the rider from passing cars, trucks and eighteen wheel-ers. Other times, bikes are ridden on sidewalks , effectively tricking non-bikers into thinking they are safe.

This is why bicycles scare the hell out of me. It is also why bikes should be pub-licly banned.

A bicycle is a fusion between a human and a motor vehicle. If you attach a motor to a bicycle, it becomes a motorcycle. A motorcycle is suitable for the road. Without a motor, a bike cannot keep up; it is useless on roads used by gasoline-pow-ered vehicles. However, if you take the wheels off of a bike in an effort to make it safe for pedestrian-inhabited areas, it be-comes a bike frame, which you will have

to carry. At this point, your bicycle has become an inconve-nience. A bicycle has no proper habitat outside of a racing course or riding trail; therefore, it should not be allowed in public.

It makes sense: a vehicle used in professional racing (stock cars, Indy cars, etc.) is not allowed on the roads. This is because it is a hybrid of a vehicle used for daily transpor-tation and a fighter jet – because this vehicle cannot fly, it is not suitable for aerial use; because it can travel as speeds in excess of 200 miles an hour, it is not safe for public use. The only sensible place for a vehicle like this is on a racetrack.

Admittedly, bikes are good ecologically (and also eco-nomically, I suppose), but it doesn’t really matter, so long as the bicycle situation is viewed realistically: There sim-ply will not be enough people who stop driving their cars or trucks in order to ride bicycles to make any real differ-ence. I’m sure there are people who would disagree with this statement. They might also quote figures and statistics about the decrease in the amount of harmful emissions re-leased into the atmosphere.

But it’s not about stats, it’s about gut feeling: I just can’t see the environment getting that much better because of bikes alone. Bikes also provide exercise to our increasingly obese nation, but I don’t need to lose any weight (so that argument is obviously moot).

Adam Kohut is a professional

writing senior.

ADAMKOHUT

Gut feeling warns of bicycle dangers

STAFF COLUMN

Tuesday, April 7, 2009 7

Luke Atkinson, L&A editor

dailyent@ou.edu • phone: 325-5189 • fax: 325-6051

Flo Rida’s “R.O.O.T.S” is a stumble of a start really, more like trashy rap than hip-hop.

Unless you’re particularly well-versed in the world of sub-par Miami club rap largely concern-ing strippers, “poppin’ champagne” and provocative dancing, you’re probably not highly aware of Flo Rida.

He’s the guy behind the stutter-step verses in one of last year’s most popular singles, “Low” though his songwriting isn’t nearly as compelling as the auto-tune master T-Pain’s c a t c h y c h o r u s . He’s also the dude who produced the recent hit “Right Round”, which cribs

a lot of lyrics from Dead or Alive’s 1984 hit single “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)”, a notably hilarious song.

“Low” and “Right Round” each achieved incredible notoriety as singles, skyrocketing to the #1 spot on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, as well as the peak position on numerous other charts. “Right Round” actually set records back in January when it notched 636,000 digital sales in the first week alone. The following week saw 460,000 more, making “Right Round” the fastest million-selling download in US music chart history. This would explain (I think) the man’s great concern for his money, as it overruns the re-mainder of the LP.

That being said, his latest album is called “R.O.O.T.S.,” which stands for phrase “Route Of Overcoming The Struggle.” Judging by this fun little acronym, it’s safe to as-sume that most of the album concerns Mr. Rida turning his dreams of someday being on a boat with beautiful women, luxury items and piles of cash into a reality, and a quick lis-ten reveals this assumption true. His stereotypical fixation with the Miami club lifestyle may work for a hit single or two, but when it’s the driving force behind a whole album, it makes for a rather dull hour of music.

And man, if the song titles aren’t a dead giveaway to “R.O.O.T.S” lack of lyrical depth then I don’t know what is. “Gotta Get It (Dancer)” concerns a “nasty girl/ a backseat girl:” “Mind on My Money” serves up the stalest phrase in rap, and what self-respecting girl wouldn’t want to be the subject of the highly-romantic “Be On You”? He’s as shal-low as a dirty Coldplay, and he frustrates the listener by re-fusing to alter the pace or timbre of his flow.

Enduring the thirteen tracks on “R.O.O.T.S.” is akin to visiting thirteen different (yet altogether similar) strip clubs in 52 minutes. Upon amassing all the money and fame Flo

Rida toils for on the lead track “Finally Here”, he reveals his contentedness to rap about chasing skirts around Miami clubs and watching models slide up and down poles (much like his debut album, “Mail on Sunday”). “Available” loudly proclaims his bachelor status to all the women of South Florida, inviting them to come indulge his fantasy life: “Cuz I ain’t got no girlfriend/ got no obligation/ Baby I’m a single man/ that’s my situation”.

Midway through the third song it becomes clear there’s just no sense in purchasing the album when you can hear “Right Round” (itself not a par-ticularly impressive song) thumping

from ceiling-high speakers if you happen to frequent dance clubs, then I seriously doubt that the song or album are for you. I’d be willing to bet that you’re more of an “I’m on a Boat”-type.

R.O.O.T.S. clearly suffers from Flo Rida’s lack of original-ity, whether it’s in his lifeless lyrical cadence or insistent preservation of hip-hop stereotypes. He’s a picture-perfect representation of the dying rapper in Lil’ Wayne’s “Dr. Carter”.

Maybe Flo Rida ought to rip a page out of Weezy’s book and get addicted to cough syrup. It would certainly make his music more interesting.

Matt Carney is a journalism sophomore.

MUSIC REVIEWS

Flo Rida’s ‘R.O.O.T.S’ the same old song

MATT CARNEY

The 66th Annual Sooner Scandals, “One for the History Books” wrapped up Saturday night with an awards show in the Reynold’s Performing Arts Center.

The women of Kappa Alpha Theta and the men of Beta Theta Pi won fi rst place overall, the women of Delta Gamma and the men of Phi Delta Theta won second place overall and the women of Chi Omega and the men of Delta Tau Delta took third place overall. Over 300 students participated in this year’s event and the production played to over 3,000 audience members in four sold-out shows during Parent’s Weekend.

– Daily staff reports

AMY FROST/THE DAILY

AND THE WINNER IS...

OUDAILY.COM

VIDEOCheck out some of the Sooner Scandals performances online.

« THE BOSS HITS OKLABruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will perform at 7:30 p.m. tonight in Tulsa’s BOK Center. Tickets are $41 to $91.

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my friend’s got mental illness

To a friend with mental illness, your caring and understanding greatly increasestheir chance of recovery. Visit whatadifference.samhsa.gov for more information.Mental Illness – What a difference a friend makes.

Save a Life.Call the Hotline at

325-5000to report hazing,

illegal or unsafe drinking.All calls are anonymous.

The University of Oklahoma is an Equal Opportunity Institution.

Previous Answers

2 74 5 1 29 6 4

1 7 8 53 45 9 7 6

6 4 95 7 1 6

3 7Instructions:Fill in the grid so that every row, every column and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9. That means that no number is repeated in any row, column or box.

Previous Solution

Monday- Very EasyTuesday-EasyWednesday- EasyThursday- MediumFriday - Hard

5 8 9 2 7 3 1 4 63 1 4 6 9 5 2 8 76 7 2 4 1 8 5 3 92 3 8 7 5 9 6 1 44 6 7 1 8 2 9 5 39 5 1 3 4 6 7 2 81 4 5 8 6 7 3 9 28 2 6 9 3 1 4 7 57 9 3 5 2 4 8 6 1

Universal Crossword

“I GET AROUND” by Myles Hampton

ACROSS 1 ___ mater 5 “Take a

number” site 9 General

ideas 14 Omen

interpreter 15 Thing on a

list 16 To-the-max

prefix 17 Sci-fi vessel 19 Attract the

lifeguard, perhaps

20 Paragon of slipperiness

21 Pronoun for a destroyer

22 Munchkin 24 Eggs in

water? 25 No-tell motel

visit 27 About 57

degrees, mathemati-cally

30 Western transport

35 Like some famous fables

38 Military blockade

39 Small area of ground

40 Novelist Walker

43 Natural depression

44 Put on cloud nine

46 Moved to the middle

48 Commuter’s option

51 Self-promoter 52 Symbols of

silliness 56 Historic

period 59 Mischievous

child 60 Super-

impress 62 School liaison

org. 63 A long,

backless sofa

65 Slow-moving craft

68 Frosting 69 Perched

upon 70 Farm unit 71 Assays 72 Display, as a

dean’s list 73 “What

happened next …”

DOWN 1 It can be

used for collateral

2 One to be shunned

3 Dry and crumbly

4 Trajectory 5 Signal

receiver 6 Heavenly 7 Wahine’s

offering 8 Block 9 Belly laughs 10 Peaked 11 Type of

power 12 A combo 13 Store

window word

18 Prevent legally

23 It participates

in cover-ups 26 Certain

terrier 28 Ointments

for bruises 29 Lack of

sophistication 31 By way of 32 Paraphernalia 33 Behold

amorously 34 Can’t live

without 35 Imitator 36 First name in

the Jazz Hall of Fame

37 Stuff in a bar?

41 Mexican coins

42 One-point Scrabble tiles

45 Borders 47 Large Asian

feline 49 Male turkey 50 Foundation

of broken

stones 53 Time to

remember 54 Fix your

eyes 55 Devoured 56 Make a

change for the verse?

57 Chinese staple

58 Latin bird 61 Showed

sorrow, in a way

64 Symbol of industry

66 Prime Minister Hirobumi

67 Cave denizen

PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER

Edited by Timothy E. Parker April 07, 2009

© 2009 Universal Press Syndicatewww.upuzzles.com

Tuesday, April 7, 2009 8

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

ARIES (March 21-April 19) -- In your haste to move ahead quickly, you could take on something you’re ill-prepared to handle. As a consequence, instead of advancing your cause, you are likely to retard it further.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) -- Unless you have no choice, avoid all types of risky ventures and undertakings. It’ll be to your advantage to play every-thing close to the vest and not expect something for nothing.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) -- Some days, it’s extremely diffi cult to please anyone, espe-cially those close to you, such as family members. No matter how hard you try, this may be one of those days -- but give it your best shot anyway.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) -- If you fi nd yourself in a gregarious mood and a bit more loquacious than usual, be careful not to unintentionally reveal something meant for not just anyone’s ears. Watch what you say.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) -- Lock the barn doors early in the day when it comes to spending your money -- or, before you know it, more will have escaped than you intended. The sooner you get a grip on things, the less will be lost.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) -- Stay self-directed, and don’t let others tell you what to do and how to do it. Unfortunately, what serves their best interests could be far afi eld from where you want or need to go.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) -- Be careful not to leave anything up to chance that could adversely affect your work or job. If you don’t personally control matters, others will control you in ways that could leave you out in the cold.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) -- Conditions could be tricky with regard to your social involvements. Be careful not to be drawn into a petty situation between two friends who have nothing to do with you.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) -- Although your ambitions may be admirable, owing to poor planning, tactics or pro-cedures, you could get thrown off track quite easily. Think your moves through slowly and carefully.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) -- It behooves you to listen to advice or suggestions offered by associates, but follow your own common sense as well. If you are unduly infl uenced by unsound suggestions, things won’t go well.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) -- This is not the time to make unwarranted changes in your fi nancial affairs, especially if they are presently running smoothly or doing as well as can be expected. You might kill the golden goose.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) -- There are times when we all react poorly and provoke the opposite of what we intended. If a friend should do so, be diplomatic as to how you handle the situation and forgive him or her.

HOROSCOPE By Bernice Bede Osol

Copyright 2008, Newspaper Enterprise Assn.

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CAMPUS NOTES

TODAY

CHRISTIANS ON CAMPUS

Christians on Campus will host

a bible study at noon in the

Oklahoma Memorial Union.

OU LIBRARIANS

The librarians will host a

Research Rescue and Library

Resources Workshop at 6

p.m. in Walker Tower.

TOMORROW

WOMEN’S OUTREACH

The Women’s Outreach Center

will host a night of music

and poetry at 7 p.m. in the

Oklahoma Memorial Union.

OU UNIVERSITY THEATRE

OU University Theatre will pres-

ent the musical “Baby” at 8

p.m. in The Fine Arts Center.

POLICE REPORTS

Names are compiled from the

Norman Police Department and

OUPD. The reports serve as a

record of arrests and citations,

not convictions. Those listed are

innocent until proven guilty.

DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE

Jonathan Matthew Barrett, 35,

3500 South Highway 9, Sunday

Barbara Ann Marie Elcyzyn,

19, 400 N. Flood, Sunday

James Bruce Butler,

27, Boyd and University

Boulevard, Saturday

Mariana Bueno Blum, 25,

Trout Avenue, Sunday

Larry Lee Myers, 54, Lindsey

and Jenkins, Sunday

Kyle Paul Dennis,

23. Constitution and

Monitor, Sunday

AGGRAVATED DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE

Timothy Lawton Mitchell, 21,

East Imhoff Road, Sunday, also

transporting an open container

MUNICIPAL WARRANT

Raymond Eugene Ford, 23, 840

Ed Noble Parkway, Sunday

Michele Ray Kriz, 38, 4400

W. Main St., Sunday

Jordan Wade Lowe, 27, 1106

24th Ave. NE, Sunday

Joshua Thomas Rains, 22,

2657 Classen Blvd., Sunday

Clay Wesley Wyrrick, 21, 2138

W. Brooks St., Sunday

COUNTY WARRANT

Thomas Weslee Cooper, 30,

2420 Classen Blvd., Sunday

Quentin Jerome Williams,

29, Sunday

ASSAULT AND BATTERY

Brenton Thomas Driskill, 21,

1111 Oaktree Ave., Sunday

POSSESSION OF ALCOHOL

Russell Allen Fields, 20, 1111

Oaktree Ave., Sunday

Sam Proctor, 20, 2200

Classen Blvd., Saturday

Roger William Richter, 19,

1111 Oaktree Ave., Sunday

Kyle Allen Smart, 20, 1111

Oaktree Ave., Sunday

PUBLIC INTOXICATION

Nathaniel Ryan Michael, 26,

300 W. Boyd St., Sunday

Matthew James Johnson,

22, Boyd Street, Sunday

Andrew David Carruth, 25,

Boyd Street, Sunday

POSSESSION OF MARIJUANA

Michael Ryan Cass, 22, Boyd

and Chautauqua, Friday

Robert Erik Baker, 20,

Couch Tower, Friday

Nathaniel Alan Straight,

20,Bizzell Memorial Library,

Friday, also public intoxication

Tuesday, April 7 2009 9

CHICAGO — A striking new study says almost 1 in 5 American 4-year-olds is obese, and the rate is alarmingly higher among American Indian children, with nearly a third of them obese.

Researchers were surprised to see differences by race at so early an age.

Overall, more than half a million 4-year-olds are obese, the study suggests. Obesity is more common in Hispanic and black youngsters, too, but the disparity is most startling in American Indians, whose rate is almost double that of whites.

The lead author said that rate is worrisome among chil-dren so young, even in a population at higher risk for obesity because of other health problems and economic disadvan-tages.

“The magnitude of these differences was larger than we expected, and it is surprising to see differences by racial groups present so early in childhood,” said Sarah Anderson, an Ohio State University public health researcher. She con-ducted the research with Temple University’s Dr. Robert Whitaker.

Dr. Glenn Flores, a pediatrics and public health professor at University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, said the research is an important contribution to studies docu-menting racial and ethnic disparities in children’s weight.

“The cumulative evidence is alarming because within just a few decades, America will become a ‘minority majority’ nation,” he said. Without interventions, the next generation “will be at very high risk” for heart disease, high blood pres-sure, cancers, joint diseases and other problems connected with obesity, said Flores.—AP

1 in 5 preschoolers obese

LAS VEGAS — Ethan Hawke might want to avoid crossing paths with Toby Keith in the near future.

The country star lit into the actor for an article Hawke wrote in the new issue of Rolling Stone about Kris Kristofferson. In it, Hawke refers to a blowup Kristofferson had with an unnamed country star back in 2003 that sounds a lot like Toby Keith.

But a furious Keith, speaking back-stage at the Academy of Country Music Awards, said it wasn’t true, and added that Hawke did not name him in the story because he did not want to face him later.

“I don’t know Ethan Hawke. Ethan Hawke wanted to do some kind of su-perficial Rolling Stone article. And he did everything he could to make his story the greatest story ever in Rolling Stone,” Keith said. “And it was a fictitious (exple-tive) lie. O.K?

“He didn’t even call me by my name. ... He called Norah Jones, Ray Charles, everybody else by name. Willie (Nelson), Kris (Kristofferson). Why didn’t he call my name? Why didn’t he say Toby Keith walked through and said this (expletive)? Right? You know why. You know why.

You know as good as anybody why. He didn’t want to (expletive) deal with the aftermath.”

In the story, Hawke claimed he wit-nessed the confrontation backstage at Nelson’s tribute concert for his 70th birthday at the Beacon Theatre in New York. The article does not name Keith but says it was a country singer who “had a monster hit about bombing America’s enemies back into the stone age.” In 2002, Keith had the song “Courtesy of the Red, White & Blue (The Angry American)” that threatened retribution for the 9/11 attacks.

Hawke said the argument began with the “Star” telling Kristofferson: “None of that lefty (expletive) out there tonight, Kris.”

Hawke said Kristofferson then angrily confronted and asked him if he had ever served in the military.

“Have you ever killed another man? Huh? Have you ever taken another man’s life and then cashed the check your coun-try gave you for doing it? No, you have not, so shut the (expletive) up,” Hawke recounted Kristofferson as saying. — AP

Keith livid about Rolling Stone story

SYDNEY — Australian researchers sifting papers belonging to the author of “Schindler’s List” discovered a yellowing roll of 801 men saved from the Holocaust by the German industrial-ist — the very copy the writer used to bring the story to the world’s attention, a curator said Monday.

The 13-page document is a copy of one of Oskar Schindler’s famed compilations of names that eventually included 1,100 men and women he saved by employing them in his factories in World War II Germany.

“It’s the list Tom used when writing ‘Schindler’s Ark’ and that really brought Schindler’s actions to the attention of the world,” said State Library of New South Wales co-cu-rator Olwen Pryke, referring to the book’s author, Thomas Keneally.

“It is a copy of a copy, but it’s a moving document, regard-less,” said Pryke, who stumbled upon the pages late last year. “When you look at it you think of the lives that were saved.”—AP

Australian library fi nds previously hidden copy of Schindler’s list

MARK J. TERRILL/AP

Toby Keith performs at the Academy of Country Music Awards on Sunday.

THE DAILY

The Daily is hiring reporters, photographers, cartoonists, columnists, copy editors and designers for the sum-mer and fall semesters.

If you’re interested in getting real-world experience work-ing for an award-winning student newspaper, e-mail dailynews@ou.edu or come by the newsroom, 160 Copeland Hall, to pick up an application.

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(AND FIT IN DAD’S WALLET.)BE A PART OF OU HISTORY.

Call (405) 325-3668

Today-April 17Sooner yearbook is a publication of OU Student Media in the division of Student Affairs.

The University of Oklahoma is an equal opportunity institution.

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SOONERyearbook

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EDITOR’S NOTE: The Daily’s Claire Douthitt spoke with Rookie of the Year on its “What is Love?” tour.

Ryan Dunson, lead singer for Rookie of the Year, is on his way back to a familiar Oklahoma venue.

Dunson played at the Conservatory in Oklahoma City once before w ith Secondhand Serenade.

An emo-pop blend from North Carolina, Rookie of the Year has toured extensively with other bands such as The Spill Canvas and Cute is What We Aim For. Their last album, Sweet Attention, was released on One Eleven Records in August of 2008.

Rookie of the Year started in 2004 as a solo project after Dunson signed to One Eleven Records. He called upon some friends and put together a band that is now touring across the nation.

HOW DO YOU THINK YOUR MUSIC HAS CHANGED

OVER THE YEARS AND FROM ALBUM TO ALBUM?

Rookie of the Year: Technically, this is the third album but it’s the second on the label. Really, I just call it the second one. This last year’s tour has been really wonderful, we had a tour with Gym Class Heroes, after this we’re going on tour with The Veronicas. It’s cool, because now we have a manager and a booking agent, so they do stuff for us instead of us having to do every single thing our-selves, since people are actually listening to our music now.

WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS FOR THIS TOUR?

ROTY: Not really sure. It’s our first headlining tour, so I’ll be pumped if – because we’re used

to playing first – I’ll be excited if like 50 people come out to see us, but, you know, with some of these little towns, if just like a small crowd was there I’d be pumped. Some of the bigger cities, like Chicago and Orlando, are sold out so that’s great. We’re playing fifteen songs a show, a lot from both albums, so we have a lot to offer.

WHO ARE SOME OF YOUR MUSICAL

INFLUENCES?

ROTY: When I was a kid, I didn’t listen to, you know, “secular” music it was all Christian stuff. I would say probably the Goo Goo Dolls and Third Eye Blind. I think we sound a lot like Third Eye Blind.

DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE SONG TO PLAY LIVE?

ROTY: Yeah, there’s a song called “My Ocean” – it sounds a lot like Jimmy Eat World. That song always sounds good every time we play it, even if the sound system isn’t working very well.

WHAT’S THE STORY BEHIND “SWEET ATTENTION

.“ ARE THE SONGS REFLECTIVE OF ANYTHING OR

CONCEPTUAL IN ANYWAY?

ROTY: Well, the songs are kind of like what I went through about a year and a half ago, after the last album came out. It’s just me looking back and thinking on what I was experiencing. It’s more pop than “The Goodnight Moon,” which is all dark and stuff. “Sweet Attention” still has a little bit of that though, like there’s still slow songs.

Claire Douthitt is an englsih junior.

10 Tuesday, April 7, 2009

PHOTO PROVIDED

North Carolina band Rookie of the Year is currently traveling on its “What is Love?” tour. They will perform at 6 p.m. tonight at The Conservatory in Oklahoma City.

NOT YOUR AVERAGE ROOKIES

COLDPLAY DENIES COPYING ‘VIVA LA VIDA’LOS ANGELES — Coldplay has denied in federal court that it copied parts of Joe Satriani’s music for its hit song, “Viva La Vida.”

In a response fi led in Los Angeles on Monday, attorneys for Coldplay’s band members also argued that any similarities between “Viva La Vida” and Satriani’s “If I Could Fly” weren’t enough to warrant damages.

Satriani’s song “lacks originality,” Coldplay’s

response claims, and shouldn’t receive copy-right protection.

Satriani sued Coldplay in December, claiming the British band used “substantial, original por-tions” of Satriani’s “If I Could Fly,” which was released in 2004.

Satr iani ’s lawyer, Howard E. King , said Coldplay’s response was typical for copyright infringement cases and he reiterated that he thought the matter could have been resolved without a lawsuit.

– AP

L&A BRIEF