OU President says tuition will not increase more than 9 percent
Boren explains budget crisis, answers questions at public forum in Oklahoma Memorial Union

Undergraduate tuition and mandatory fees will increase no more than 9 percent next fall, OU President David Boren said at a public forum in Beaird Lounge on Wednesday, May 5.

"Whatever it takes, we are not going to get in double digits this year," Boren said. "In other words, we're not going above 9 percent as an outside possibility."

Boren said the state legislature has not decided yet how much the state budget for the Norman campus will be cut. He said tuition and fees could increase by 4 percent, about $130.50 per semester, if state appropriations for the Norman campus are cut by 3 percent, or $4.2 million. If the state cuts funds by 10 percent, about $13.9 million, then tuition and fees could increase by 9 percent, or $292.50 per semester.

However, Boren said despite budget cuts, the OU scholarship program has raised enough money to offset the tuition increases.

"We've gone over our $150 million mark [in private scholarships]," Boren said. "We have actually not become less affordable; we've become slightly more affordable when you match the new resources together with the increased costs."

He also said OU would not experience a situation like California's, where some universities increased tuition and fees up to 33 percent in the middle of the fall semester last year, while cutting hundreds of courses and laying off hundreds of faculty.

During the forum, students questioned whether the OU administration was doing all it could to keep tuition and fees from rising.

Philosophy junior Matthew Bruenig asked Boren why the university continued constructing large buildings and using significant amounts of money for study abroad programs while OU is in a budget crisis.

Boren responded saying most current building projects are private gifts, such as the Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation gift to fund the construction of a new School of Social Work. Regarding study abroad, the president pointed out that students passed a proposed student fee increase for study abroad during the UOSA presidential election in March.

In an interview following the forum, Bruenig said buildings funded with private donations can cost students money after being built.

"Even if [buildings are] being paid for by private donors, because they're so big, they're going to have high insurance costs and high maintenance costs, and so I have to question whether or not that's the best way to go."

Bruenig also questioned the president on large administrator salaries. Boren said OU's administrative costs have decreased from 14 percent to 6 percent since he became president.

"Also, you have to remember we're in a competitive pool," Boren said. "We don't want administrators' salaries being in the bottom three as they were when I first came to the university."

Nicholas Harrison, a former Senator of the OU Graduate Student Senate and member of the Student Advisory Board for the Oklahoma State Regents, said he wonders if the administration might be planning tuition and fee increases each semester.

"9 percent, while that's okay if you haven't had an increase the previous year, if they plan on increasing tuition 9 percent every year for the foreseeable future, that's not a sustainable trend."


Philosophy junior Matt Bruenig, OU College of Law graduate student Nicholas Harrison, and Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students Clarke Stroud discuss their reactions to the forum.

Students camp out to stop genocide
Students build refugee shelters, raise funds for Genocide Intervention Network


Vietfil Do, vice president of OU's STAND chapter, explains why students should donate to the Genocide Intervention Network.

Students built mock refugee shelters representing several areas of the world afflicted by genocide during the fourth annual Campout to Stampout Genocide on Tuesday, April 20. STAND, a student-led anti-genocide coalition, sponsored the event and invited several fraternities and sororities to hand out fliers and take donations. Beta Chi Theta, Delta Phi Omega, Phi Delta Alpha, Lambda Phi Epsilon, Delta Gamma, and Delta Delta Delta all built shelters and raised funds.

Students used cardboard boxes to build camps, spray-painting either Burma, Darfur, or Congo on their shelters. OU STAND chapter vice president Vietfil Do said students should donate to the Genocide Intervention Network even if they are discouraged by the continuance of highly publicized genocides. "If people in other places are continuing to donate and do those kinds of prevention, like civilian protection programs like the radio intervention network, it can save a life," Do said. "If it's your spare change, it doesn't hurt you and everyone wins."

Do said OU STAND is using 25 percent of the funds raised to put on future events, and giving the other 75 percent to the Genocide Intervention Network. She said the Genocide Intervention Network is using the money for a civilian protection programs in Burma and Darfur. STAND will announce next week how much money the event raised.

Film festival exposes myths, promotes peace
Students use festival as opportunity to explain truth about diverse groups




The second annual "Peace Not Prejudice" film festival attracted about 300 students to the Molly Shi Boren Ballroom of the Oklahoma Memorial Ballroom Wednesday, April 14. The Muslim Student Association hosted the event, concluding the association's "Islam Awareness Month." The Muslim Student Association invited all campus organizations to participate. Eight organizations submitted a film, including Alpha Phi Alpha, Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic Association, American Indian Student Association, Delta Phi Omega, International Advisory Committee, Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Friends, Hillel Jewish Student Organization, and the Muslim Student Association.

"It was really a wonderful event," said Honors College Dean, David Ray. "I just hope it continues to get bigger and better." A panel of judges, including Ray, journalism professor, Kathryn Jenson White, and Honors College professor, Marcia Chatelain reviewed each film and awarded the top three. International Advisory Council received first place, viewer's choice award, and a $400 scholarship; Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Friends received second; and Alpha Phi Alpha received third.

"It is my prayer that beyond this place, we will still carry this notion, this motive, this philosophy that we need to promote peace," said Mimo Adenuaga, International Advisory Council president and mechanical engineering senior. "Let's end stereotypes, let's move toward peace."

Events Educate Students About Islam
Islam Awareness Month promotes understanding, interfaith dialogue



The Muslim Student Association is hosting a series of events this month to educate students about Islam.

Islam Awareness Month began with a public prayer in the South Oval on March 26 and will end with the Peace Not Prejudice student film festival April 14 in the Oklahoma Memorial Ballroom.

Peace Not Prejudice is a student film festival, hosted by the Muslim Students Association, featuring short films from diverse advocacy groups on campus, ranging from the Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender and Friends Students Association to Delta Phi Omega.

Events in March and April included the Taste of Islam cultural food fair, a discussion about science in the Qur'an, and a panel on the state of Islam in America.

Richard Wierengo, political science and geography senior, said he attended all the past events and plans to attend the film festival.

"It’s interesting to learn [about Islam], because where I come from, there aren’t many Muslims," Wierengo said.

He said the Islam in America discussion panel taught him that Islam's impact on the U.S. reaches back to the earliest days of the nation.

"Our first ally was Morocco, an Islamic state," Wierengo said. "Also, there is some evidence that shows system of English Common Law, which we use in the U.S. comes from a form of Islamic jurisprudence in Northern Africa."

Sarah Sullivan, Muslim Student Association secretary, said the reactions to the events has been mostly positive.

"We try to selectively choose the topics that will attract the most attention for each event, and there has been a lot of good discussion," said Sullivan, dental hygiene junior.

Sullivan said understanding is reached between Muslims and non-Muslims when both parties take steps to understand the other.

"It takes two to tango, so it takes non-Muslims to come and ask us questions about what concerns them," she said. "And we have to reach out to non-Muslims, because we understand the stereotypes that come along."

Expert Asks, "Can U.S. Avoid War With Iran?"
Middle East expert talks about prospects of war with Iran



The U.S. could avoid war with Iran once U.S. leaders realize Iran is not aggressive state and does not support terrorism, a Middle East expert told students Monday, March 29, in the Robert S. Kerr Auditorium of the Sam Noble Museum of Natural History.

Juan Cole, author of the popular blog on Middle East issues, “Informed Comment,” and professor of history at the University of Michigan, gave a lecture titled “Can the U.S. Avoid War with Iran?” and signed copies of his book, "Engaging the Muslim World."

Cole said he doesn’t think a U.S. war with Iran is an “immediate possibility, but in the world system we now have, Iran is viewed by NATO as the most troublesome.”

Cole said despite politicians’ frequent rhetoric about Iran’s nuclear weapons program, there is no evidence that Iran is building a bomb. He said if Iran did obtain a bomb, attacking Israel or the U.S. would not be in Iran’s best interest.

“If they got a bomb, deterrents would work, and the price of an alternative [U.S.] policy, which would probably be a land invasion, and a major war could be so destructive to the world that it’s not the preferable course,” Cole said. “But, you know, I could be overruled in 2012 by Sarah Palin.”

Co-director of OU’s Center for Middle East Studies, Joshua Landis, said Cole has had a great influence on his own interest in the region.

“In many ways [Cole’s] blog changed my life, because it inspired me to start blogging myself,” said Landis, associate professor of Middle East studies. “He is the most successful blogger on the Middle East. It is no exaggeration to say that he has educated an entire generation of Americans about Iraq.”

Landis said major news networks often seek Cole’s expertise and the CIA, the Defense Department, and the State Department constantly consult him for information on Iraq and Iran.

The Center for Middle East Studies sponsored the lecture. The center will bring in freelance journalist and reporter for Toronto's Globe and Mail, Orly Halpern, for the next contemporary Middle East issues lecture on April 5 in Ellison Hall.

UOSA President, Vice President Candidates Debate Campus Issues
Reforming student government central to candidates' platforms


UOSA President and Vice Presidential candidates (left to right) Nicholas Harrison, John Surles, Jay Kumar, Jess Eddy, Ally Glavas, Zac McCullock, Franz Zenteno and Cory Lloyd discuss how they would solve issues facing UOSA Wednesday and what they plan to do if elected. OU Daily editor-in-chief, Jamie Hughes (center, podium) moderates the debate.

Freshman and vice presidential candidate, Jay Kumar, shakes hands with a student after the debate. Kumar is the youngest of the president and vice presidential candidates.

Click here to read the profiles of each of the UOSA presidential candidates

All four UOSA presidential and vice presidential candidates highlighted their intent to make student government more relevant to the student body during the presidential debate on Wednesday, March 24.

The debate, hosted by Student Media and moderated by OU Daily editor-in-chief, Jamie Hughes, took place in the Molly Shi Boren Ballroom of the Oklahoma Memorial Union. The audience consisted mainly of specific supporters of each campaign.

Much of the debate focused on how the candidates would accomplish student interest and involvement in UOSA.

Presidential candidates, Franz Zenteno and Ally Glavas, said current UOSA representatives do not actively reach out to students and student organizations.

“We are student government and we are responsible if these students don’t know about us,” said Zenteno, international and areas studies graduate. “If I can get elected, that’s my main point. I want to reach out to every OU student and advocate for them.”

UOSA must dispel the thought of many students that UOSA representatives are just trying to beef up their resumes, said presidential candidate Nicholas Harrison.

“There’s the belief out there in a large part of the student body that student government is really just about trying to improve themselves, and that’s a problem,” Harrison said. “I think we have to show them that UOSA has the power to tackle issues that are important and relevant to them.”

Presidential candidate, Jess Eddy, felt the other candidates’ made good points, but students could not expect a change simply given their ideology or mindset. He said specific programs should be created to encourage student involvement.

“UOSA must set up programs that encourage academics, that encourage community, that encourage involvement, that encourage diversity,” said Eddy, religious studies and political science sophomore. “These are the kinds of programs that we can bring students to that UOSA members will be present at, and will bring us together in a closer relationship with these students.”

Harrison and his vice presidential candidate, John Surles, were the only candidates who announced support of a referendum, authored by Harrison last September, to create a Student Organization Senate.

“Oftentimes the current governmental bodies that exist don’t want to make these changes if they’re not in their own interest,” said Surles, multidisciplinary studies junior. “I don’t think it’s right that organizations that may be smaller or maybe don’t have the same amount of popularity on campus should suffer because of that.”

Glavas’s running mate, Zac McCullock, said he understood the motives behind the amendment, but that it goes about solving the issue the wrong way. He said creating an umbrella organization for each of the student organizations could solve the issue.

“This way, student organizations can present a simpler voice to student government to make sure that [UOSA] advocates for their interests,” said McCullock, international business and entrepreneurship junior. “I don’t think student organization presidents want to become representatives in another branch of student government.”

Cory Lloyd, Zenteno’s vice presidential running mate, said UOSA must do a better job of working closely with student organizations.

“We need to make sure student government is representing the student organizations in the right way,” said Lloyd, advertising junior. “The way you approach one organization might be different than how you handle another organization.”

Jay Kumar, Eddy’s vice presidential candidate, said existing problems, such as currently vacant seats in student congress, should be addressed before creating another branch of student government.

“Creating another branch, I fear would create more void, and possibly add to the problems that are already existing in UOSA,” said Kumar, University College freshman.

None of the candidates said they would support an amendment introduced last fall intended to increase stipends for the UOSA president. Eddy said if he were elected, he would use the current stipend for UOSA presidents to create a scholarship for the highest performing member of the executive branch.

UOSA elections are March 30 and 31. Students can vote online at elections.ou.edu or at polling locations in front of Dale Hall, the College of Law, the Oklahoma Memorial Union, the University Bus Stop, and areas around Couch Restaurants, according to the elections Web site.

Midterm

Students "Occupy" South Oval
Demonstration part of National Day of Action to Defend Public Education



A small group of students occupied an area of the South Oval on Thursday as part of the National Day of Action to Defend Public Education.

The group, called “The Undercurrent,” set up bikes with signs reading, “Occupy the South Oval” around a large rug to attract attention. Demonstrators played music, handed out fliers, and talked with passersby to raise awareness of tuition hikes in California as well as other states, including Oklahoma.

“Oklahoma’s tuition increases aren’t nearly as bad as California’s, but it’s still a move in the wrong direction,” said philosophy junior, Matthew Bruenig, one of the event’s organizers. “This is really about education rights in general, having access to affordable education.”

Protesters also hung a sign reading “Occupy Everything” from the top of Gaylord Hall during the morning, but OU authorities removed it later in the afternoon. Organizers of the protest did not confirm or deny that anyone of “The Undercurrent” hung the sign.

Oklahoma legislators agreed to a cut state appropriations to higher education 3.5 percent in February.

In a March 3 letter to the Oklahoma Daily, OU President David Boren said cuts to the higher education budget are “much less than the cuts to other areas of the state government.”

“We must all work as hard as possible on behalf of the higher education budget in order to keep university education accessible to all students,” Boren said in the letter.

Bruenig said he believes legislators and OU administrators could have done more to prevent the most harmful effects of the budget cuts from falling on students.

“If they’re just going to make up the budget shortfall by raising tuition and covering everything that way, that’s not really working through it together,” he said. “If we want to work through it together, [OU administrators] are going to need to take some hits themselves.”

Bruenig said cuts to OU administrators’ salaries should have helped balance the budget shortfall.

“Boren makes $700,000 plus a year. Is that really necessary when you live in Oklahoma and you don’t have to pay for your housing?”

According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, Boren received a $631,000 package for the 2008-2009 school year.

Furzanna Iqbal, letters senior, said the demonstration is also meant to highlight the disparity between administrators, whose salaries often remain untouched in crises, and students and faculty who take the brunt of budget cuts.

“These budget cuts are falling disproportionately on students and faculty workers rather than administrators,” Iqbal said. “It’s not just a problem with the budgets being cut in Oklahoma, it’s a whole structural problem with higher education in this country.”

The University of California Board of Regents voted last November to raise undergraduate fees 32 percent next fall. California's budget cuts have put teachers on furlough and led to the cancellation of entire classes and academic departments.

Students and professors held demonstrations in 32 states, occupying classrooms or skipping classes altogether. Some of the protests turned violent, with students smashing windows and damaging buildings.

Bruenig said he is happy with the demonstration’s small, but peaceful turnout. 


“[The protest] really only started getting organized a few days ago,” he said. “People come and go and there’s been good discussion.”

He said students should demonstrate now to prevent further cuts to higher education in the future.

“If no one does anything, there’s no sense to [lawmakers] that there’s opposition to their decision, so in the future they might feel that they can increase it again,” Bruenig said. “If we let our voices be heard though, it’s not just going to be a story in the newspaper. You’re going to have people speaking out against it, people criticizing it, and making [higher education cuts] more politically difficult to do by raising awareness.”

- The Associated Press contributed to this report

Soundslides Test

Story 2

Former aid worker speaks about genocide in Burma

Retired professor discusses crisis, ways students can help

Thomas Van Dyke, executive director of Heroes Serving Humanity, speaks to OU students about detained Nobel Peace Prize winner and Burma National Leage of Democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi

You won’t find the UN, Red Cross, or even Doctors Without Borders in the Free Fire Zones of Burma, a humanitarian aid worker told OU students and others Tuesday in Dale Hall.

Thomas Van Dyke, executive director of Heroes Serving Humanity, said Burma’s ruling military regime, the State Peace and Development Council, is committing systematic genocide against the various ethnic groups in the country.

Heroes Serving Humanity is a non-profit humanitarian relief and development organization focused on aiding victims of crimes against humanity in areas that are overlooked by the international aid community, according to its Web site.

“For 20 years, the Burmese military has been waging a slow genocide and up to a million people have been displaced,” Van Dyke said.

Van Dyke worked on the ground in Burma with the Free Burma Rangers, an aid organization that operates unknown to the Burmese government.

He said the Burma army uses various tools of repression, such as forced labor, torture, and forced relocation, against ethnic groups to exert ethnic dominance and control over the territory’s natural resources.

“Anyone who says this is occasional violence or civil war is sorely mistaken,” Van Dyke said. “This is the systematic destruction of people.”

Van Dyke said the U.S. sanctions are not enough to destabilize the military regime, which remains strong because of its control over the population. Since 1995, the Burma army has destroyed more than 3,500 villages of different ethnic groups, he said.

“There’s really no [U.S.] government activity in Burma simply because we don’t have a dog in the fight,” Van Dyke said. “There’s no oil, no Muslim terrorists, not a compelling national interest, except a humanitarian one.”

He said the U.S. has only used military intervention for humanitarian reasons during the Bosnian War in 1994. He said the U.S. was pressured to intervene because of media attention given to the conflict and the fact that Bosnians resembled Americans in appearance.

“Politicians will only take action against genocide when the cost of inaction is greater than the cost of action,” he said.

Van Dyke encouraged students to contact Congressmen to support aid organizations in Burma so the Free Burma Rangers can bring on more volunteers.

"We always have people who want to help out, but we don't have the financial resources to bring everyone on board," he said.

Burma’s military regime seized power after widespread pro-democracy demonstrations in the country in 1988. The military regime rejected the victory of the National League of Democracy, led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, during the free elections of May 1990. Suu Kyi is currently under house arrest in Burma, where she has remained for the past 20 years.

OU’s chapter of STAND sponsored the event. STAND is the student-led division of the Genocide Intervention Network, an international anti-genocide coalition, according to its Web site.

Cynthia Kao, vice-president of STAND, said she felt a connection to Burma when she learned about it at a recent STAND conference in Washington, D.C. because of her Taiwanese background.

“When I saw pictures of what’s happening in Burma, I felt this special connection like I was related to these people,” Kao said.

The discussion session after Van Dyke’s presentation concerned how the U.S. should respond to the situation.

“If I had my way, I’d love to drop the 82^nd Airborne in there and put an end to this,” Van Dyke said. “However, there is a possibility of a successful uprising among the people, and external forces should aid those people.”

A member of the Genocide Intervention Network, attending the event said the U.S. has many resources to advance human rights in other countries, but military intervention is not always the best solution.

“We can’t force democratic nations to come into existence, because often Americans don't know how other cultures operate,” said Genocide Intervention Network member, Marty Michelson.

Kao said students should get involved in humanitarian organizations because it is easier to learn about injustices across the world than ever before.

“The world is so much smaller now than before,” Kao said. “And if students don’t feel called to get involved on an international level, there are people in need even at a local level.”

Van Dyke retired last year from his teaching position at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro to work full time raising support for humanitarian organizations in Burma through Heroes Serving Humanity.

“I’d love nothing more than to be an expatriate living in Burma, led by Aung San Suu Kyi,” he said.

News Story 1

Students lobby at Capitol to help incarcerated women

OU student filming documentary to raise awareness about Oklahoma's high incarceration rate

Cleveland County's detention center houses on average 185 prisoners a day.

OKLAHOMA CITY - To improve the situation of incarcerated women in Oklahoma, one OU student is filming a documentary.

Women’s and gender studies senior, Amina Benalioulhaj, led a small group of students from the Women’s and Gender Studies Student Association to the state capitol Wednesday to get footage and meet with lawmakers.

“It was a kind of last minute decision, but all-in-all I think we had a productive day,” Benalioulhaj said.

Women’s and gender studies graduate, Sandra Criswell, said she and other students met with Sen. Constance Johnson, D-Oklahoma County, whose bill, Senate Bill 2329, intends to decrease Oklahoma’s extremely high rate of incarcerations.

“[Sen. Johnson] was really open to feedback, and she’s really interested in collaborating with students,” Criswell said.

Benalioulhaj said Senate Majority Whip, Anthony Sykes, R-Moore, refused to let the bill be heard because it concerned prison reform.

“Most of these lawmakers just don’t want to appear soft on crime, and that’s not the way politics should work,” Benalioulhaj said. “Whether you’re a Republican or Democrat, you should consider all sides, and you should hear out any bill thoroughly.”

Criswell said e-mails were sent to other student organizations on campus, and encouraged them to call Sen. Sykes and request he allow Johnson’s bill to be heard on the Senate floor.

“If no one calls the lawmakers and tells them what they support, lawmakers will vote however they want,” Criswell said. “They’re ultimately held accountable by their constituents.”

Benalioulhaj said the high incarceration rate of women is a human and fiscal issue.

“It’s really a waste of our money and it’s a waste of our state’s resources,” Benalioulhaj said.

According to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections Web site, Oklahoma has the highest per capita female incarceration rate in the nation, and fourth highest male incarceration rate.

A press release issued by Johnson reports Senate Bill 2329 could save the state $125 million establishing alternative placement programs for non-violent offenders.

Benalioulhaj said she was inspired to make a documentary after reading her women’s studies professor’s research on the issue. Her professor, Susan Sharp conducts the annual Oklahoma

Study of Incarcerated Women and Their Children, which is a survey of women prisoners that examines their childhoods, mental health problems, substance abuse histories, criminal histories, and their children.

“This is an issue that affects us all as humans,” Sharp said in an e-mail. “We lack the understanding that many of these women need help, not punishment, and certainly not rejection.”

Sharp said her research revealed that most incarcerated women are low level drug offenders and property offenders, whose histories of abuse are linked to why they began using drugs, and ending up in prison.

“Many of those children will end up dealing with their own emotional pain by using drugs and ending up in prison,” she said.

Other state initiatives suffer, Sharp said, partly because of the high cost spent on incarcerations.

“Money goes to corrections rather than to education, health, social services, road maintenance, etc."

Criswell said the Women's and Gender Studies Student Association is planning another lobbying day at the capitol to take place in early April.

Listening Exercise

My Location - Barnes and Noble Booksellers, in the café area

Time and date - 2:30 pm, February 14, 2010

1.

The difficulty to hear the noises around me varied by proximity. As I listened to sounds within six feet of me, I picked up on a number of noises, because people were sitting all around me. The Barnes and Noble Café is usually pretty packed on Sundays as people come to relax and read books and magazines after church, or because they have nothing else to do. High school students can always be found in the store on a Sunday afternoon because they have probably put off their homework for most of the weekend and come to the café because it is away from distractions at home.

As I expanded the area that I was trying to pick up sounds, I heard quite a bit of racket. The noise of baristas making coffee for customers accompanied with the soft chatter of other people sitting around and accented by the store music provided much noise within 20 feet of me. Trying to listen for sounds within the whole store was much more difficult because the café is where the noise is most concentrated. I picked up on noises that were maybe 35 to 40 feet away, but the rest of the store is treated much like a library because it is a bookstore. Thus I doubt I heard any noise emanating from the music and movies section at the back of the store.

Hearing beyond the boundaries of the store wasn’t too difficult because I was sitting next to a window. Outside was the parking lot, and the cars driving by provided noise I was able to pick up on if I listening as hard as I could. The sounds of smaller objects being blown past by the wind were most difficult to hear.

2.

I wasn’t expecting to hear an older lady complaining to someone about her relatives, (probably her grandkids judging by the sound of her voice) and family trips. I heard her mention her grandkids disliking the idea of “visiting Aunt Patsy’s house in the spring.” I wouldn’t think someone would complain about such a subject with so many people within close proximity. However, she was talking quietly, and given the amount of noise generated within the café, and the fact that the lady probably wasn’t expecting someone like me to start focusing on her conversation, it’s not too surprising that I picked up on this.

Unless I had listened as closely as I was, I probably wouldn’t have picked up on the subject of math that the two students behind me were discussing. I heard them mention various terms such as “the quadratic formula” and “x squared” numerous times, leading me to believe they were discussing either algebra or calculus.

As I expanded the area I was listening to, I heard someone say “that small one right there” and guessed they were either pointing at something in a magazine or selecting an item from the various product displays in the café. Also, someone was guilty of ordering a vanilla latte, as I heard one of the baristas call out to a customer that this drink was ready.

My favorite noise that I probably wouldn’t have caught if I hadn’t been listening for it was the deep humming of the various appliances within the café. When you enter a café, you usually aren’t thinking about the machinery surrounding you. You can expect to hear baristas noisily brewing coffee or blending ice for frappucinos, but the humming of refrigerating appliances probably escapes most people who aren’t listening for it.

I also didn’t think I would be able to tell the difference between the turning of a regular book’s pages and the turning of magazine pages. Crackling noises are emitted from the pages of magazines when people turn the pages and the pages bend.

An extremely deep rumbling sound accompanied by vibrations rolled past me every now and then and I could tell that it was coming from outside. I would usually take noises such as these for granted on any normal day.

3.

When I looked around, I discovered that my assumptions of the sources of the noises were correct. At the table in front of me was an elderly couple. The old lady was doing most of the talking and complaining as the old man, who I presume is her husband, sat and muttered in conditioned agreement periodically. Behind my table, two female students, probably in high school, were talking about algebra or calculus homework. While college students also study algebra or calculus, given the location of the Barnes and Noble I was at, the nearest college campuses are quite far. The nearest college is most likely UCO, and the drive from there is at least 15 minutes. The numerous high schools and neighborhoods surrounding the area led me to believe the students were in high school.

The other customers provided the noises of squeaking chairs and shuffling feet on the tile floor. Blenders, brewing machines, and aerosol cans filled with whipped cream provided the noises for the baristas as they made various delicious coffee drinks. The food in the deli area is served on plates, which led to the eventual rattling of dishes being cleaned off.

The speakers in the ceiling were playing the acoustic guitar music. It sounded similar to a CD of acoustic guitar music I bought while I was in Venice two years ago. The rustling and crackling of papery material indeed came from the magazine isle, which lies right before the entrance to the café. The screaming children could be found in the children’s area, which lies just outside the northern end of the café area.

A refrigerated display containing cold bottled drinks was the source of the low humbling, as the cooling mechanism started up every few minutes. Displays containing Godiva chocolates, water bottles and coffee cups were probably the reason I heard someone nearby say “that small one right there.”

Cars, trucks and SUVs rolling past the window provided for the deep rumbling noise that rolled past me periodically. Leaves and trash accounted for the barely audible scraping noises I heard just outside my window.

Sense of Place

Mercy Hospital stands empty on a cold Sunday as Oklahoma anticipates another winter storm.

Portrait Without a Person

Portrait Without a Person

Dog Picture - Story to Follow

Audience Profile

"If you do not turn on to politics, politics will turn on you."

Political activist and four-time presidential candidate, Ralph Nader, spoke these words during his acceptance speech of the Green Party's presidential nomination in 2000. Ten years later, his words ring as true now as they did back then. With ever-advancing communications technology, the actions of governments are easier to track than ever before. On the other hand, governments kept the pace and are using the same technologies to convince the public that it’s doing the best it can to serve them.

But is it? I might just be cynical about our elected leaders, but after two ill-advised wars and a severe recession, I feel that our elected representatives may not have been holding our best interests at heart. As political revelations and scandals during the Bush administration continue to emerge, it seems to be getting clearer that many politicians had become more concerned with their own wealth and power.

After feeling the effects of a government run wild, people were anxious to use their voting rights to steer the country in a new direction. During the 2008 election, the numbers of students who voted surged, which is a good sign. It would be surprising if many students didn’t want to positively affect the direction their country was heading after experiencing the effects of two wars and a severe recession.

However, the students shouldn’t stop voting there. Each state has its own governing bodies made up of elected representatives who enact policies that affect how we live. Thus, I believe it is just as important to be aware of what is going on in our state government as it is to know what's going on in our federal government. And I believe students have a unique position to affect their local governments.

Therefore, my audience is the students at this university who may or may not have realized how they have been affected by their local and national government and aren’t sure how they can have a say in the actions of these entities. As a student myself at a rather prestigious public university, I realize most of us are probably quite well off. Our parents paid most, if not all of our tuition and we’ve always had everything we’ve needed. What reason do we have to get active in keeping up to date with the latest local or national political news?

On the other hand, there are those at this university who haven’t always had what they wanted or needed. They may have had to apply for student loans because their family could not afford to pay the tuition. Or they have experienced some kind of discrimination while growing up for certain beliefs and choices of how to live their lives. They walk to class feeling a nagging anger that things aren’t completely right, and they wish they knew how to change their circumstances.

The one thing each of these groups has in common is this: they can vote, but they choose not to, either because they are unsure of what their elected representatives are doing, or because they simply haven’t found a reason to care. What each of these audiences need are organizations that will report accurately and with the information that is most relevant to all of these demographics.

I will dedicate myself to help spread awareness of what is going on in the governmental level of life in the clearest and most relevant ways I can so that my audience will understand what is happening and decide whether or not they care to affect it. My focus will be on the local Oklahoma government and how its policies could affect the livelihood of students. Quite often, decisions made at the national level have far-reaching consequences on states, and I will cover any of these decisions that will impact our university and the lives of its students.

As radical historian, Howard Zinn says, “Democracy is not a spectator sport.” The people are the players. And the students have a unique place in this system to enact change for the benefit of the people. As long as we do not lose sight of the power we students have, the politics will not turn on us.