Today, OCU’s Center for Student Leadership will host Star Summit.

Star Summit is a leadership conference held at the end of each year for student leaders to reflect on the past year and begin preliminary planning for the next year.

“It’s always a good thing to get the campus leaders in a room together to discuss campus issues and potential solutions. It’s everyone’s goal to make next year better than last year,” said religion junior Trey Witzel.

Each organization is asked to send at least one representative. During Star Summit every organization will have the opportunity to put their events on a calendar. This helps organize events so there are less conflicting dates.

Students will also make a list of items for SGA and administration to work on for next year. Last year, students were split into groups to discuss certain items, including Wi-Fi and the housing lottery. This allowed student leaders to give their opinions for improvement.

“It’s great to know that SGA and the administration want to hear from us and solve issues together,” said marketing junior Addison Broberg.

Fiji is hosting its first ever USO Week this week to raise money for American troops stationed overseas.

The United Service Organization is a nonprofit organization that organizes services and live entertainment for troops abroad. They are Fiji’s local philanthropy.

“USO Week is Fiji’s first philanthropy week,” said Andy Underkoffler, Fiji’s recording secretary and justice studies sophomore. “All proceeds from it will go to the USO, and then that will go to troops overseas to give them equipment that will let them talk to their families, make them feel more like they’re at home; anything that will make them feel like they’re out of war.”

Fiji started the week with a bake sale. On Wednesday, they hosted a video game competition. Today, they will have their annual Spaghetti for Soldiers event in Watson Lounge.

“It’s a way to support our troops. It’s a way to care for them,” said Underkoffler. “A lot of people don’t know that it doesn’t take a lot of money to get them what they need.”

The organization is enthusiastic about their endeavors this week.

“I feel like a lot of students either know someone who is there or are connected to someone in some way, so that it is kind of more of a personal connection for them,” said Reed Bentley, acting junior and Fiji president. “They are also fighting for us, therefore we should help and not necessarily feel obligated to give back, but just to help support the people who support us.”

Julianne Reynolds, voice sophomore, supports Fiji in their efforts.

“I think Fiji has overcome a lot in the past year,” Reynolds said. “They need to be bold and confident about getting their cause heard, and really start establishing themselves as a force on this campus.”

Reynolds has a personal connection to the cause.

“I support USO week because I support the people fighting for our freedom. I have friends overseas right now, and I know how much they and their families appreciate support from organizations like USO,” Reynolds said.

Students who would like to participate in USO week can find more information by joining the Facebook event “Phi Gamma Delta USO Week”.

Nathan Hatcher, mass communications senior, won first place in feature page layout and design from the state chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. The awards were presented April 20 at a banquet in Tulsa, Okla.

Hatcher was honored for page design on the feature Six Degrees of President Robert Henry. Staff Writer Emma Velez wrote the story.

The university’s police department is attempting to become compliant with federal campus safety laws, but their efforts may be too little, too late.

Police did not maintain the daily crime logs mandated under the Clery Act, a federal law requiring all colleges and universities receiving federal financial aid to publish security policies and crime statistics.

University police were unable to provide current crime logs April 2 and April 11, when they were requested by reporters from the university’s student newscast.

Officials told News on the Twos reporters on April 11 that they could find the crime logs on the police department’s website. When reporters visited the website the same day, the crime log’s last entry was dated Jan. 31, 2013. Click here to view a screenshot of the online crime log from April 11.

Officials corrected the online log April 16 after News on the Twos reporters noticed the discrepancy, but past negligence could be grounds for an audit or fine from the federal Department of Education.

The police department is required to make the crime logs for the most recent 60-day period open for public inspection during normal business hours in the department office, according to the Clery Act.

An online crime log, even if it is up-to-date, does not satisfy the requirement unless the public is able to view the crime log on a device at the police department, according to statute.

An institution that does not comply with the Clery Act could be fined up to $35,000 for each violation and lose its federal funding.

There’s no excuse for OCU not being in compliance with the Clery Act, said Joey Senat, mass communications professor at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater and former Freedom of Information of Oklahoma president.

“They know what crimes are being reported to them on a daily basis.” he said. “They should be keeping some kind of log. That’s a basic requirement.”

Updating the crime log to fix past errors does not excuse those violations, Senat said.

“They have to, at a minimum, have the most recent 60 days there at the police station where anyone from the public can walk up and look through them,” he said. “That can’t be any more blatantly obvious of a requirement in the law.”

Police are aware of Clery Act requirements, but the crime log was not updated online or in the office because of staff transitions, Capt. Jeff Stonebreaker said April 11.

OCU Police Chief Lyndel Harris and Steve Taylor, assistant chief of police, did not respond to multiple phone calls and emails.

Dr. Rick Hall, vice president for student affairs, and Mary Jenkins, university general counsel, refused to comment and directed questions to Sandra Pantlik, senior director of communications. The university police department falls under the purview of the vice president for student affairs.

The error in the availability of the crime logs was due to a technical problem, Pantlik said. She said the university did not violate the Clery Act.

“Due to a software glitch, when it became 2013, the software was set up to pull from 2012, not 2013,” she said. “All that information is still available through the police department.”

If an institution has an electronic log and technical problems make it unusable, a hard copy log must be used as a temporary replacement until the problems are resolved, according to the Education Department’s Clery Act compliance handbook.

Adam Goldstein, attorney advocate at the Student Press Law Center, said, if a glitch caused the problem and the logs were not available in the police department office, the university was noncompliant with the Clery Act for months.

“There is no exception to Clery Act provisions for an inability to run the software,” Goldstein said. “There’s no obligation to even use software to comply with the Clery Act.

“At some point you have to look at a pattern of willful neglect in maintaining the system as intentional.”

Read more about potential Clery Act compliance issues in University officials refuse prompt release of crime logs and University officials fail to release annual crime statistics.

For more information, watch OCU-TV’s News on the Twos:

Archie Randall, the head men’s and women’s wrestling coach, was placed on paid administrative leave April 23.

Randall and Athletic Director Jim Abbott were unavailable April 24 for comment.

Officials cannot discuss the reason for the leave, said Sandy Pantlik, senior director of university communications, in an interview with a reporter from News on the Twos, the university’s student newscast.

“It is a personnel issue and the school is doing an internal investigation,” Pantlik said.

Liz Donnelly, dean of students, refused to comment on the matter.

Several wrestlers, who asked to remain anonymous, said the issue pertains to verbal abuse.

Randall came to OCU in 2006 from El Reno High School.

He has led the women’s team to four national titles, coached numerous All-Americans and is a member of the USA Wrestling board of directors.

University officials refuse to comply with federal campus safety laws regarding the prompt release of archived crime logs.

Reporters from News on the Twos, the university’s student newscast, requested the past seven years of crime logs April 17, but were told the university is not required to make archived crime logs available to the public.

Institutions must make any portion of a crime log older than 60 days available within two business days of a request for public inspection, according to the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations.

The regulations are part of the Clery Act, a federal law requiring all colleges and universities receiving federal financial aid to publish security policies and crime statistics.

Retention of crime logs is a suggestion, not a requirement under federal law, according to an official university statement issued April 19. Click here to read the university’s official statement.

“The university will provide copies of seven years of archived logs to you within 30 days, or by no later than May 20, 2013,” read the statement.

“Although the university is not required by the Clery Act, by the Clery Act regulations, or by the Handbook to make these archived logs available upon request, Oklahoma City University will voluntarily provide these records to you pursuant to your request.”

The Education Department’s handbook on Clery Act compliance instructs universities to retain all supporting documents used in the most recent annual statistical report. The annual report requires universities to list crime statistics for the last three calendar years.

Click here to read the Department of Education’s Handbook for Campus Safety and Security Reporting.

“For example, the 2011 annual security report should contain statistics for 2008, 2009 and 2010,” according to the handbook.

“The 2008 statistics and supporting records must be kept until Oct. 1, 2014—in effect, seven years.”

Adam Goldstein, attorney advocate at the Student Press Law Center, wrote in an email that universities must make all crime logs for the past seven years available to the public within two business days.

“A school must have a log for the current year (one year), the annual report for last year (which goes back three years), and then three years beyond that to comply with the records retention regulations,” he wrote.

“The assertion that the Clery Act does not require them to make these records available upon request is just a lie, and not a very good one. You can debate whether the Clery Act is the source of the requirement, but there is no debate that federal regulations require the college to maintain records for nearly seven years.”

Read more about potential Clery Act compliance issues in University police violate federal campus safety law and University officials fail to release annual crime statistics.

For more information, watch OCU-TV’s News on the Twos:

University police failed to publish up-to-date crime statistics in the 2012 annual security report by the federally-established deadline.

The 2012 annual security report downloaded April 20 from the university police department’s website showed only statistics from 2008-2010.

Click here to view the first publication of the annual security report.

The Clery Act, a federal law requiring all colleges and universities receiving federal financial aid to publish security policies and crime statistics, requires three years of crime statistics be reported in an annual security report.

The report must include the past three years of the most recent Clery crime statistics and be published by the deadline, according to the Act. The 2012 security report should have included crime statistics from 2009, 2010 and 2011.

“You must publish and distribute your annual security report by Oct. 1 each year,” according to the Education Department’s Clery Act compliance handbook. “This is a firm deadline. There is no grace period and there are no exemptions.”

The file was corrected April 21 to include 2011 crime statistics, leaving the public without the most recent data for nearly seven months. Click here to view the corrected file.

The report was corrected after other potential Clery violations were brought to the police department’s attention by reporters from News on the Twos, the university’s student newscast.

Read more about potential Clery Act compliance issues in University officials refuse prompt release of crime logs and University police violate federal campus safety law.

The Boston Marathon bombing re-opened some of the wounds that a lot of us have in relation to terror attacks. Immediately after the attack I saw a lot of things on social media about people who said they were “mad at humanity,” or were just “losing faith in humanity.”

Despite the vile nature of the bombing, acts of random violence are no reason to lose faith in humanity. In fact, the outpouring of love that I saw made me gain more faith in humanity.

The world we live in can be very difficult and full of challenges. Every day in the news, we see images of violence, hate, oppression and other things that can lead us to an apathetic and negative view of humankind. However, the media often does not report to good that humanity is capable of. There were many reports last week of people running toward the explosions after they happened to see what they could do to help. Every day, doctors work tirelessly to combat disease. Churches and other faith communities help families make ends meet.

I believe the random acts of love and care that happen every day throughout the world have tremendous power over the acts of hate. It is just that we as humans sometimes focus on the bad things that people do, and forget to remember the good things.

Humans are the ones who kill each other. We attempt to annihilate others of our kind because they look different, or believe different things than we do. We enslave each other and cheat each other. We create weapons that are capable of destroying our entire planet.

However, in this immense capability to destroy, I believe we also have an equal capability to love and create. Let us not forget that we are the ones who made it through the ice age. We are the ones who made mighty ships and learned celestial navigation to find a new world. We are the ones who cured polio and eradicated other diseases. We are the ones who dreamed of the heavens and built a machine to take us there. We set foot on another world in the name of all mankind and have dreams to reach even further.

We have the capability to end war, end disease and reach for our full potential. I have faith that we can continue to make the world a better place to live in. I have faith in us. Do you?

April 16 marked the 50th anniversary of the day that Martin Luther King, Jr. began writing his acclaimed Letter from Birmingham Jail. I was among those members of the OCU community who participated in a worldwide coordinated reading of King’s letter to celebrate its historic impact and continued relevance in today’s world.

Though I’d read it before, I will admit I was struck anew by the stark clarity in which King’s letter offers universal insight that transcends the issue of segregation. King writes, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

These words resonate with the myriad of injustices that take place daily in contemporary society. Groups fighting for equal rights for women, environmental activists, and members of the LGBTQ community have much to gain from King’s call to action and chastisement of those who maintain the status quo.

As I reflect on King’s call for the action of “creative extremists”, I cannot help but think of those Oklahomans, two of whom I know personally, that are actively resisting construction the Keystone XL. Recently arrested for impeding construction by locking themselves to pieces of equipment, these Oklahomans have demonstrated that they are “willingly going to jail for conscience’ sake”.

This demonstration of active resistance to the oil-drenched politics and economy of our state is incredibly courageous and demonstrates an intense desire to fight institutionalized injustice. King warns that fear is paralyzing, as is excessive cautiousness and the desire to wait for the right moment.

King writes, “For years now I have heard the word “Wait!” … This “Wait” has almost always meant “Never.” King understood that “justice too long delayed is justice denied.” King, an ordained Baptist minister, also criticized the complicity of the religious establishment and the “anesthetizing security of the stained glass windows”.

It is from this comatose state that America watches as Congress continues to refuse to pass legislation for equitable pay for women, continues to sanction drone strikes against civilians, and continues to build pipelines that have proven to be disastrous as exemplified by the spill in the fragile ecosystems of the tar sands of Arkansas.

Dr. King’s letter continues to stand as a challenge to act for those whose moral consciences are offended by the injustice that continues to riddle the world. As Dr. King wrote, “the nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists.”

Undergraduate Research Day, a competition where OCU students present research projects, is scheduled for  April 26 in Walker Center for Arts and Sciences.

Students can submit any work they have done in class or on their own for presentation.

“We have the poster contest in the fall, and we have the paper and PowerPoint contest in the spring,” said Regina Bennett, associate professor of English. “Students can win prizes for extremely well-researched, written and produced pieces of paper or PowerPoint or poster.”

Research can be submitted in a wide variety of categories.

“We just take the papers, no matter what they are, and then we assign categories to them,” Bennett said. “We’ve got some categories about music and gender and music and pop culture.”

About 50 students will be presenting their work this semester.

Victoria Trujillo, music sophomore, participated in the competition last year and plans to participate again. She presented a paper she wrote for a music theory class to a panel of judges.

“I had a PowerPoint that walked them through my paper and then I answered questions,” Trujillo said.

Trujillo would encourage other students to submit their work in the future.

“There’s a good chance, depending on what category you submit in, to win a prize,” Trujillo said. “If it’s one of the less-known categories, you have a better chance.”

Students not participating in the competition are also invited to attend.

“People are welcome to root for their friends,” Bennett said.

Presentations will be in classrooms throughout Walker Center.

The event OneGive, scheduled for Friday, April 19 has been cancelled.

The annual event hosted by Student Government Association was planned around Earth Day to promote sustainability.

An email was sent out today about 1 p.m. informing students that OneGive was cancelled, and will be rescheduled for the next semester.

Jaron Reid, nursing freshman and secretary of initiative and policies for SGA, said the committee decided to cancel the event due to several reasons, including the weather. With the cold front hitting today, it has been determined that it is too cold and wet for an outdoor event.

“The quad is where most of the event would have been held, and after last nights torrential rain, the already saturated quad is flooded,” Reid said.

The committee also wants to have the event earlier in the day, to make it easier for more students to come.

“The students are our primary focus,” Reid said.

OneGive will be rescheduled for the fall semester.

OCU’s final Out of the Box show, Sight Unseen, is scheduled to run in the Norick Art Center at the end of this semester.

Drew Feldman, acting senior, is directing the show. The show will be in the Norick Art Center because of the play’s unique relationship to art.

The play, by Donald Marguiles, is the story of superstar Jewish painter, Jonathan Waxman as he reconnects with his former lover. The play questions the relationships of art, money, love and inspiration.

“There’s something within the relationships in the play that really struck me,” Feldman said.

Feldman and assistant director Valerie Sharp cast the show and began rehearsals at the beginning of April.  Sharp is also painting for the show and some of her artwork will be included in the performance. Sharp paints during rehearsals to draw inspiration from the cast.

Feldman has also enlisted the talents of Davis Good, music composition senior, to compose the music for the show.

“It has been truly a collaboration…the best idea wins, and it doesn’t matter whose idea it is,” Feldman said.

Nick Jiminez, acting junior,  enjoys being a part of student-directed shows.

“I like these shows because everyone’s hungry,” Jiminez said. “Everyone’s passionate because the directors had to fight for these shows.”

The show will preview May 2 and show May 3 and 4, though show times are still undecided. Admission is free.

Students can read more about the show on Feldman’s website, http://www.drewfeldman.com.

The Dulaney-Browne Library is celebrating National Library Week with several different events for OCU students.

National Library Week began Monday, and has been celebrated here since 2005.

“It’s about celebrating reading and libraries, and we think both of those are important to students,” said  Victoria Swinney, library director.

During the week, they will host a book walk every day. The book walk will be similar to a cake walk — everyone who participates will get a treat, and the winner will receive a book.

Prizes that have been given out during National Library Week so far include Stars Cash and a six hour-long reserved time in a study room.

Students can get involved by staying and studying in the library, or participating in Food for Fines.

If a student has a fine from the library, they can bring in canned soup, a jar of peanut butter, or other non-perishable items and their fine will be lifted. The food items brought in will be donated to Skyline Urban Ministries.

There will also be a book sale. The money that the library gains from the book sale will be used toward the purchasing of new books.

On April 26, when the library starts its extended hours for final exams, the library will also start the Chocolate Express, a trolley of snacks that goes around to students studying in library and hands out free food. The library pays for the food with fine money that students pay.

The library will be hosting both the book sale as well as Food for Fines through the end of the semester.

The following is a list of storm shelter locations on campus, according to the university’s crisis management plan:

The basement of the Clara A. Jones Administration Building

The first floor hallway on the northeast side of the Dawson Loeffler Science and Mathematics Center

The north lower level hallway (practice room area) of the Wanda L. Bass Music Center

The basement of the Bishop W. Angie Smith Chapel

The basement of the Dulaney Browne Library

The east and west hallway locker rooms of Henry J. Freede Wellness and Activity Center

The basement of the Ann Lacy School of Dance and Arts Management

The basement of the Gold Star Building

The basement hallways adjacent to Room No. 14 in Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Center

The skills lab or facility workroom and bathrooms in Kramer School of Nursing

The lower level or Student Leadership Center in Tom and Brenda McDaniel University Center

The first floor north and south hallways and first floor bathrooms of Meinders School of Business

Walker Center Rooms 143 and 144

First floor and rooms 104 and 108 in Sarkeys Law Center

The basement of Walker Hall

The basement of Banning Hall

The basement of Smith Hall

The basement of Draper Hall

The basement of Harris Hall

The parking garage of United Methodist Hall.

If instructed, take cover in the closest shelter.

At the time, Oklahoma City was under a thunderstorm warning and a tornado watch.

The campus was part of an Oklahoma Gas & Electric Co. outage that affected 622 customers in Oklahoma City.

“Power is out campuswide. Crews are working to restore power as quickly as possible,” according to a Blue Alert message students received at 9:29 p.m.

During the outage, students reported via Twitter that power still was on in Henry J. Freede Wellness and Activity Center. Emergency lights were operational in some campus buildings, including Walker Hall dormitory.

University officials announced Monday that they will sell the property and building originally leased for a new campus restaurant.

The announcement comes after leaders in the United Methodist Church spoke out against the university potentially profiting from the sale of alcohol at the building, located at 23rd Street and Virginia Avenue.

Sodexo, the university’s food service provider, leased the building from the university at the beginning of the academic year. They originally planned to open the restaurant, which officials named Rehearsals, in March.

Concerns about plans to sell beer and wine at the restaurant prompted the sale of the property, said Sandy Pantlik, senior director of university communications.

Officials originally said Sodexo would serve beer and wine at the restaurant, which would be open to the public, and the university would receive a percentage of the business’s profits.

The restaurant will not open prior to the sale, Pantlik said. She also said the 10-year lease agreement with Sodexo is void. Officials previously refused to provide the lease agreement to The Campus.

The executive committee of the board of trustees unanimously approved the sale of the university-owned property, according to a statement released Monday.

The committee met last week to discuss the issue, said Ron Norick, chairman of the board and committee member.

“We decided that the administration would take care of whatever issues that they felt were appropriate on the deal,” Norick said. “Robert Henry’s office will take care of that and report back to us on whatever he wants to do on that particular issue.”

Selling the property and building will be a “cost-cutting measure” for the university, according to Monday’s statement.

Officials are uncertain about a timeline for the sale, but Pantlik said it should occur “as soon as possible.”

“They’re working on the process now,” Pantlik said.

The announcement comes after Bishop Robert E. Hayes, Jr. condemned serving alcohol at the restaurant.

“I would pray that the school would come to realize that we have a lot more to lose than to gain from this,” Hayes said during an interview with News on the Twos, OCU-TV’s student-run newscast.

Hayes serves on the university’s board of trustees as the leader of the Oklahoma Annual Conference of the church. The university receives about $1.2 million annually from the church.

“I think I would have to look at ways to influence the school to cease and desist from going down that road, and I would have to use everything within my power to work to persuade them… to convince them… to implore them this would not be in the best interest of the institution,” Hayes said.

The Methodist Book of Discipline, the official listing of the church’s laws and stances, encourages abstinence from alcohol and reads that the church should avoid financial investments that support the distribution of alcoholic beverages.

A portion of the student handbook policy addressing alcohol and drug use reads: “Oklahoma City University is to be a safe environment free from alcohol and other drugs. It recognizes that the use of alcohol and illegal drugs diminishes the strength and vitality of human resources and the integrity of the institution. It is the intent of the University to educate and encourage students to abstain from alcohol and other drugs.”

University officials decided to sell the building, but David Severe, director of mission and administration for South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church, said he still is skeptical about the restaurant.

“I still don’t think it’s a very good deal because of the proximity,” Severe said. “But it may be the best that can be done at this point, given what Sodexo has already put into it and the agreements that were made before there came an awareness in the Methodist circles.”

Kelli Keegan, the university’s director of food services, did not return calls Friday or Monday. She previously told The Campus that selling beer and wine was “part of the business model” for the restaurant.

The issues extend beyond the sale of alcohol to the building’s location, influence and the image the restaurant will project, Severe said.

“I know that the situation is a lot more delicate than I think the administration understood,” he said. “I think the relationship and the apportionment payment is far more fragile than perhaps what they thought.”

Contributing: Hailey Holloway, OCU-TV

The caf’s vegan chef, Destiny Hand, doesn’t let a lack of formal training stop her  from creating vegan menus for students.

She’s not a vegan herself, but the students who eat her creations don’t seem to mind.

Although this is only Hand’s second year at OCU, she said she has always been interested in cooking. Before coming to OCU, she worked at University of Central Oklahoma as a baker. She was born in Seminole, Okla., but has lived in Florida and Texas as well.

Not only did Hand teach herself how to cook, but she specifically taught herself how to be a vegan chef. She said she spent lots of time in Barnes & Noble and read new cookbooks every weekend to help master her skills.

Hand said, since she is not a vegan, she often has vegan students test and comment on her food.

She is open to tips about how to improve her cooking.

Often, students will give her recipes to try.

“I’m open arms to everything,” Hand said.

Hand enjoys cooking junk food with a healthy spin. One of Hand’s greatest accomplishments is providing desserts at the raw vegan bar. She said the desserts attract a lot of athletes and others who are not vegan.

Hand makes her own menu each week. Some of her personal favorite dishes include an apple, spinach and lemon juice salad and walnut tacos. When trying out new recipes, Hand makes them at home before bringing them to campus.

Hand takes pride in her work.

“There is a big difference between a chef and a cook,” Hand said. “A cook will see what’s in there, throw it in one pot, and send it out. A chef is very particular and detailed.”

During Hand’s two years on campus, the vegan bar has grown significantly. Hand said when she first started, she only served about 20 students a day. Now she serves nearly 100 entrees every day.

“I try to make every plate the same,” Hand says.

The vegan bar is open from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Hand also makes a point to celebrate birthdays with a vegan cupcake or a special juice. Make sure you express any allergies before indulging in these treats.

“This is a great school,” Hand said. “It’s awesome, it really is.”

The cross-country team is working overtime during the offseason by running distance events in track.

In his first year, coach Conor Holt has had success with the women’s and men’s teams in cross-country and track.

“The team is so young and so new because I’m new, but they’re a great group of kids to work with,” Holt said.

Holt came to OCU from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., where he guided the men’s and women’s distance team to many improvements, including a pair of NCAA qualifiers, eight regional track and field qualifiers, four Big Ten medal winners, and 14 conference place winners.

His team has broken numerous records this year and is made up of mostly underclassmen.

Freshman Katrina Nolan is already an all-American in cross-country and has broken numerous records as well.

“Arriving as a freshman, you have all of these opportunities to make a big impact in the program and get your name out there,” Nolan said. “As a young team, I feel like we are still trying to find our base and get a feel for how things work.”

Nolan has a 500-meter time of 18:08, 1,500-meter track race time of 4:55 and steeplechase track race time of 11:25, all of which are OCU records for cross-country runners.

Freshman Arya Bahreini also has his share of records at OCU, including his 19:58 in the 4-mile and 25:17 in the 8,000-meter cross-country races, 8:44 in the 3,000-meter and 15:01 in the 5,000-meter indoor races and 8:53 3,000-meter outdoor race.

“I set personal goals for me to beat a certain time,” Bahreini said. “The records just come through the process.”

Bahreini competed for the U.S. in the North America, Central America and Caribbean Athletic Association cross-country championships Jan. 26 in Mandeville, Jamaica. He was the fourth man in for the United States and finished 13th overall.

Since OCU does not have a track, the team practices at Bishop McGuinness High School at 801 NW 50th St. or on nearby trails.

The team is in their outdoor track season and will compete until the end of May.

Professors indulge in some interesting hobbies in their spare time.

Between grading papers, teaching classes, assisting students, and filing paperwork, professors keep themselves busy on the job.

Brooke Hessler, English professor, makes paper from scratch.

She was inspired years ago, but last summer she took a class on how to make paper from leaves. Now, she is remodeling her home to install a work area for her crafting.

Hessler boils mulberry leaves and pounds the mixture to make a slurry that can be shifted into thin sheets of paper.

She said you can incorporate different things into your paper, like bits of other paper or leaves.

Hessler has a special relationship with books. Her interest in papermaking was a natural result of her love of literature.

“It gives me a sense of what writing meant when paper was precious and why it was such an art form,” Hessler said.

Eventually Hessler said she hopes to teach a class on the history of the book and incorporate her papermaking hobby.

Marie Hooper, history professor, has a pair of interesting hobbies. She trains dogs and also makes stained and fused glass.

She started the dog obedience training 13 years ago with her first dog.

Hooper teaches at the Oklahoma City Obedience Training Club, 3504 N.W. 16th St., to help other dog owners learn how to train their dogs. Hooper trains her own dogs in French.

Hooper said that French commands help create more sound variety so the dogs are less confused.

While dogs and glass may seem like a strange combination, Hooper said they go together quite nicely.

“Dogs taught me patience, and you have to have patience to do glass,” Hooper said.

Tracy Floreani, English professor, is in MAW, an all-woman acoustic band.

MAW is a mountain-style band based out of Lawrence, Kan.

Because of the distance, the band sends mp3s through Dropbox to share their music with the other members. Floreani drives to Kansas once a month to practice.

“We laugh a lot…it’s actually hard to get practice in,” Floreani said.

Floreani sings and plays rhythm guitar in the band. She has played in a band previously, and played wind instruments in school.

Floreani taught herself how to play guitar by ear. Only MAW’s fiddle player can read music.

“If all of us are sort of mediocre together, we’re really rockin’,” Floreani said.

MAW has played in Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, and Nebraska. You can find their ReverbNation page, www.reverbnation.com, to hear their music and see upcoming performance dates, or like them on Facebook.

More than half of the state’s House Democrats stormed out of chambers instead of voting April 9. The demonstration was in response to HR 1009, whose rather lengthy title is: “Concurrent Resolution; reaffirming marriage and urging the Supreme Court to uphold the Defense of Marriage Act and the right of states to regulate marriage.”

The resolution was a response to the recent oral arguments heard by the Supreme Court on California’s Proposition 8 and the federal Defense of Marriage Act. Text from the resolution urges “THAT the Oklahoma Legislature reaffirms its commitment to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman and urges the United States Supreme Court to uphold the Defense of Marriage Act and the right of states to regulate marriage.”

The resolution was approved 84-0. The 17 members who walked out rather than vote on the resolution included House Democratic leader Scott Inman and the openly gay representative of OCU’s own District 88, Kay Floyd.

Rather than take a stand on the issue, the 17 dissenting members excused themselves from the chambers in an act of indignant protest at wasting taxpayer’s time and money… or something like that. Personally, I find it difficult to understand the reasoning that concludes not having one’s vote recorded carries as much weight as casting a dissenting vote. While these 17 may pat themselves on the back for this gesture, I see this inability and unwillingness as cowardice and call these 17 House Representatives out for their collective inaction.

It is my firm belief that when elected as a political leader, you are empowered and entrusted with the ability to vote on important issues concerning that state. Further, you should use that power to advocate what you believe as just for your constituents to the best of your ability, regardless of the perceived political repercussions. Indeed, one should feel compelled to do so.

Allowing the measure pass 84-0 does not give the appearance that there was dissent on the resolution, and instead perpetuates the notion that Oklahoma is of one conservative mind on the issue of same sex marriage when this is simply not the case. I can only imagine the great disappointment the gay and lesbian constituents of these representatives feel after such a grand demonstration that yielded no results.

Perhaps even more disheartening than the self-righteous political grandstanding of those that stormed out of chambers are those progressive House members who cast “Yea” votes. I am disappointed with Representatives Doorman, Pittman and Johnson, all House members who I have come to admire for their ability to take a stand on divisive issues like last session’s Personhood Bill.

It’s a sad day for Oklahoma when our representatives cannot or will not cast votes on issues from fear of re-election. Looks like it’s politics as usual at the Capitol here in the Great State of Oklahoma.

I’m a United Methodist. I wear this as a badge of honor because I am proud to be one. I plan on working in the United Methodist Church and pursuing ordination as a minister. This being said, it should be understood I have a certain bias toward the belief systems of my denomination.

There has been a lot of discussion recently surrounding the opening of Rehearsals, the new restaurant at 23rd Street and Virginia Avenue. Initially, the restaurant was planning on serving alcoholic beverages because the restaurant was technically “off campus.”

To say that the restaurant is off campus may be true, but it’s disingenuous. It is within short walking distance of the heavily-freshmen dorm Draper Hall and an easy walk from the rest of campus.

The university has a dry campus policy due to its partnership with the United Methodist Church. The Book Of Discipline reads, “We affirm our long-standing support of abstinence from alcohol as a faithful witness to God’s liberating and redeeming love for persons.”

Some will argue that they are not United Methodist or even people of faith, so they should not be prohibited from having alcohol on campus if they are older than 21. While I have no fundamental disagreement with responsible consumption of alcohol,  the United Methodist Church provides more than $1 million annually to OCU, and more money to students in the form of scholarships funded by prominent local Methodists and affiliated organizations.

Bishop Robert E. Hayes, Jr., the bishop of the Oklahoma Conference of the United Methodist Church, said the school had much more to lose than to gain by serving alcohol at Rehearsals. OCU and the Oklahoma Conference of the United Methodist Church have a great partnership that has benefited both institutions for a long time.

So, is it worth being able to buy a beer on campus when it could sabotage or damage the great relationship and tradition between the school and the church? I agree with the bishop – there is so much more to lose than there is to gain.

At the core of this issue is fundamental respect. The United Methodist Church respects and funds the many different religions, cultures, beliefs and diversity of people at OCU without discriminating. They do not have to do this, but they choose to, because the United Methodist Church believes in the education of all people as a fundamental human right from birth. They understand that education could be the silver bullet to ending poverty, hunger, disease, hate and oppression.

In short, they deserve the respect of students. Maintaining the relationship between the school and the church, which benefits all of us, is more important than being able to get a drink on campus.

OCU won three more championships after a successful weekend in Daytona, Fla.

The spirit squads, composed of all-girl cheer, large co-ed cheer and team performance pom team competed against teams from across the country.

The teams brought home NAIA titles in all-girl cheer and large dance and earned a Division II title in large coed cheer.

OCU received a score of 92.40 in the all-girl cheer category, 9.498 in the large dance category and a final-round score of 94.53 to win the Division 2 title.

“Even though this is my first year being a collegiate national champion, I take pride in the fact that I have helped my team and our school continue our tradition of excellence,” freshman cheerleader, Karly Judkins said.

The Stars beat Columbus State by 1.45 points to win the Division II championship.

The teams have won back-to-back national titles in cheer, but the Pom team fell short last year.

“This year we really focused on what it took us to win two years ago and focused on keeping the theme in contact with the dance,” said Kayle Marshall,  junior pom member.

OCU beat St. Ambrose by 0.134 points and took the honor for most innovative choreography.

“We started a ritual this year where we just stand there with our arms out, eyes closed, feet together and just meditate,” Marshall said. “We did that right before we went on, prayed, danced, and won.”

OCU was ranked No. 1 in Division II STUNT, but lost 33-32 in quadruple overtime to Central Oklahoma in the Division II STUNT championship.

“Moving to Division II was tough and the team stepped up and had an amazing performance,” Coach Brandy Corcoran said.

Corcoran was named Division II STUNT Coach of the Year.

The Stars also received a runner-up in hip-hop dance, falling short by 0.096 points. OCU’s mascot, Starsky, finished runner-up as well in the mascot competition to Wright State’s Rowdy Raider.

The competition will be televised on CBS Sports Network at 11 a.m. April 28 and again at 11 a.m. May 5.

Student organizations may not know until September how much money they will get from the student government.

Student Senate upheld SGA President Robin Ladd’s veto of the allotments at their April 9 meeting.

Senate approved allotments totaling about $16,000 for the fall at the April 2 meeting. Ladd vetoed the allotments the next day.

Allotments are money provided to student organizations that apply at the beginning of each semester for funding from SGA.

Ladd said she vetoed the allotments because SGA probably will receive budget cuts next semester.

Student Affairs administration advised Ladd that cuts could be coming, Ladd said.

“The president doesn’t know the budget until July 1,” she said.

It was unwise to allot money without knowing the budget, Ladd said.

Senate’s appropriations committee based this semester’s allotments off of SGA’s five star ranking system. Each organization is ranked based on a star system, which ultimately decides how much funding each organization will receive.

The appropriations committee decides the cap for each star, which typically is more than $50, Ladd said.

SGA funding comes out of the student affairs budget, and Ladd said administrators discussed the possibility of student affairs receiving a budget cut.

“Had I signed those they would have been in affect regardless, and Student Government would have had to find a way to fund those things, possibly at the detriment of other events that students also enjoy,” she said.

Senators discussed the veto for nearly an hour during the April 9 Senate meeting before voting to overturn the veto or let the decision stand. Three senators voted to overturn the veto, eight voted to let it stand and two senators abstained.

Several senators expressed concerns with time, asking Ladd if student organizations would receive funds at a reasonable time if the allotments were not passed.

“If the committee meets and makes a decision in August, or even September, the transfers will still occur about the same time,” Ladd said. “Organizations will not be affected by an additional allotments meeting.”

Ladd also said she met with Beatrize Martinez, president-elect at the time, to discuss her decision.

“I know president-elect Martinez is very passionate about helping student organizations, and I have full confidence that she’ll be able to assess and solve the problem,” Ladd said.

Without two-thirds vote to overturn the veto, the veto stands and it will be up to the new administration to review allotments after a budget is set for the upcoming academic year.

“I do think the committee will meet in August and get this taken care of,” Ladd said. “In my opinion that is a little bit more wise because then they’ll know exactly the figures that they have.”

Alan Arkin has joined the cast of Disney’s upcoming baseball drama “Million Dollar Arm.”  Jon Hamm will also star in the film.

For more information on the project, click here.

Jim Carrey is set to star in Summit Entertainment’s upcoming “Ricky Stanicky.”  Steve Oedekerk will write and direct the film.

For more information on the project, click here.