News15th StreetRSC to install

butterfly garden, ... page 3

Volume XXXVIII, ISSue 19roSe State College

FrIday, February 27, 2009

Inside

SPOTLIGHT:MaHMOud RadfaR,

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CuBICLE:CaRyL GIBBS,... page 6

InTERnET uSERS BEwaRE,

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Volunteers learn tools to help alleviate racism

Volunteers united Feb. 20 with the intention of finding out how they can contribute to end-ing racism in a seminar entitled, “Reading to End Racism.” One of the objectives of the one-day course was to help vol-unteers learn how to deal with racism in a positive way and to break the cycle. Beatrice Johnston, senior director of Racial Justice and Economic Empowerment with the YWCA spoke in the Tinker Terrance Room. Twelve indi-viduals came to the function, which was held from 9 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. “Racism is alive and well,” stated Johnston. Johnston later told the crowd, it makes a difference when ev-eryone gets involved. ‘Reading to End Racism’ is a community initiative dedicated to enhancing the knowledge and understanding of diversity. The program uses children’s books to engage elementary and middle school students in a dialogue to explain and explore racism. During the discussions, stu-dents are encouraged to brain-storm and come up with ideas to handle racism. The history of the program started in the 1980s to deal with racism in Colorado. By 1989, the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom

developed and coordinated a week long project for school-age children. The project was successful and expanded to become district wide. By 2004, funding supported “Reading to End Racism” to respond to interest by other organizations around the United States. During the event at RSC, ma-terial was handed out and dis-cussed on vital topics concern-ing comparison of dialogue and debate (dialogue is preferred), engaging in dialogue, address-ing culturally inappropriate be-havior, managing your non-ver-bal communication (body lan-guage accounts for 70 percent of communication), engaging in active listening, cultural val-ues continuum, understanding cultures, a model for cultural competence, challenges in the classrooms and literacy strate-gies for readers. This material was embedded into the minds of the volunteers to prepare them for their roles as mentors dealing with racism when they enter children’s classrooms. The group also performed exercises to demonstrate simi-larities people can have and how labeling others can have a negative impact. Director of Special Services and Student Outreach, Dr. Joanne Stafford, who comes from a Polish heri-tage, indicated all people are much more than what others merely see. Everyone carries history with him or her. The session contained dif-

ferent cultures from Indian to Irish and students with various majors. Some even shared life-changing stories regarding diversity and rac-ism. One student shared the story of how she was told by her grandmother to never bring a black man home; others stated that they had never “met a black” until they came to Oklahoma. These stories encouraged most of the individuals to help put a stop to negativity. A display was provided along with a list of stories that could be read to chil-dren. Children books such as “The Butterfly,” by Patricia Polacco; “Almost to Free-dom,” by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson; “The Circuit,” by Francisco Jimenez; “Sounder,” by William H. Armstrong; and “We were there, too,” by Phil-lip Hoose were given as ex-amples of acceptable literature volunteers can choose to read to children. RSC replenished the vol-unteers with lunch as they watched a film on methods that can be used in the classroom. The YWCA has an agree-ment with several school dis-tricts throughout Oklahoma to provide mentors to aid in end-ing racism. If students have a particular school in mind, staff at the YWCA will walk them through the process to begin “Reading to End Racism.” RSC takes an extra step,

permitting students on campus who are interested in this pro-gram to work side by side with the school. All interested indi-viduals will have to first fill out a volunteer application, a con-sumer authorization form and submit to a background check by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) – an $18 fee may apply. If students want to work with RSC the OSBI fee will be waived. The forms can be picked up and returned in Dr. Joanne Staf-ford’s office located in the Stu-dent Services Bldg., Room 101; or to Professor Sherri Mussatto. For additional information, individuals can also contact Beatrice Johnston at 424-4623 or e-mail her at bjohnston@ywcaokc.org.

Examples of books used in Reading to End Racism:“The Butterfly” by Patricia Polacco A story based on Patricia Polacco’s family history. Her great-aunt sheltered many Jew-ish families during the occupa-tion of Paris, and aided them on their way to freedom. This is the touching story of Polacco’s Aunt Monique who was then a child, and her friendship with a refugee girl who eventually escaped to Switzerland, though the girl’s parents did not sur-vive.“Pink and Say” byPatricia Po-lacco. Pink and Say are two young soldiers in the Civil War. Pink (Black) saves the life of Say (white), but later loses his own life - a tragic story.

BY NICOLE FORDAssignment Editor

Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education have had a tough legislative year as they continue to fight for $80.4 million in order to support current operating obligations despite a defi-cit. If the Regents receive funding from the legislature then students could see a temporary freeze on their tuition fees. However, the authority to set tuition amounts may soon be out of the hands of the state regents if Okla-homa Senate Bill 791 (SB 791) is approved. Last week, SB 791 made its way out of the Senate Appropriations Commit-tee by a narrow margin of 10-8. The bill’s author, Senator Jim Reynolds aims to remove the tuition set-ting authority from the state regents and return it to the legislature for the 2010-2011 academic year.

SB 791 is now set to be placed on the floor calendar to be voted on by the sen-ate. Reynolds said he wants “to protect the students of this state from excessive tu-ition increases that the state regents have thrust upon [them].” “The change is not a good one for higher edu-cation or [RSC],” college President Terry Britton said. “I am on record as oppos-ing the change as I strongly support [the RSC] Board’s authority to set tuition and fees. We have been care-ful and conservative with increases in the past and remain at 80 percent of the peer average in surrounding states. The legislature chal-lenged us not to exceed the peer average, and we have honored that request,” Brit-ton said. In response to SB 791, Higher Education Chancel-lor Glen D. Johnson called

for college presidents to meet at the Capitol Tuesday, Feb. 24 “to express opposition to SB 791 to the Senate members.” “As the legislative process continues, it is important to note that our colleges and univer-sities have kept tuition below the limits set by the Legislature in 2003, allowing Oklahoma to remain among the top five most affordable states in the country,” Johnson said as report-ed in the Tulsa World on Thursday, Feb. 19. “It is imperative that we convey our opposition to this bill with a strong united voice,” Johnson said. While at the Capitol, the college presidents armed themselves with various “talking points” aimed at swaying opinion to vote against SB 791 claiming that “since the State Re-gents received the tuition

setting authority in 2003, tuition at all tiers, research, regional, and 2-year institu-tions have been well below the legislatively mandated limits,” and that “each in-stitution has access to the best information available to gauge the needs of the institutions and then to rec-ommend tuition levels for the students.” Noting that

“it is not in any institutions’ best interest to raise tuition any higher than what is absolutely necessary to pro-vide for quality educational opportunities for their stu-dents,” and that finally “re-cent data shows Oklahoma is the 5th most affordable State in the nation in terms of the total cost of higher education.”

President Britton discusses his opposition to SB 791 with Senator Cliff Aldridge. (Photo by J.L. Morrissey)

Jimmy White Jr. and Shirley Nero answer ques-tions after their presentation regarding “black

towns” during the African American History Cel-ebration Feb. 12. (Photo by Eric Tatom)

LaShawn Ervin, pre-education major, recites her poem, “A Letter to Inspiration Anonymous” during the open mic contest held at the Student

Center. (Photo by Eric Tatom)

Dewayne John-son sings “Would You Be My Valentine” during the open mic contest held by the Black Student As-sociation. (Photo by Eric Tatom)

BY J.L. MORRISSEYAssistant Editor

Beatrice Johnston, Senior Director of Racial Justice and Econom-ic Empowerment for the YWCA, educates prospective volunteers on the “Reading to End Racism” initiative. (Photo by Eric Tatom)

Wing Rest

BSA ‘Open Mic’ event fun, informative for all

College presidents appeal to senateBill may result in tuition setting changes

Page 2 • February 27, 2009

OPINION

PolICIeS and letterS to the edItor Columns, commentaries and letters to the editor are personal opinions of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of 15th Street News or other students, faculty or administrators of the college. Editorials are written by the editorial staff. Letters to the editor may be hand delivered to FA110; sent by mail to 15th Street News, Rose State College, 6420 SE 15, Midwest City, 73110; e-mailed to the secretary, [cbenefee@rose.edu] or recorded nights on PhoneMail at 733-7400 between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. Letters must include the writer’s full name, ID number and telephone number. Letters will be printed with full name and must be 500 words or less. Editing may be necessary for space, clarity or to avoid obscenity, libel or invasion of privacy, but ideas will not be altered. Publication of all materials is at the discretion of the editor. Anyone having a complaint may call the editor in chief, 733-7400, or the Student Publications Board chairperson, Towry Barnard, 733-7379. 15th Street News, a student newspaper serving the RSC community, is published weekly, except school holidays, on Fridays during the fall and spring semesters by the Office of Student Publications, 6420 SE 15,

Midwest City, OK 73110. 15th Street News is a member of Oklahoma Collegiate Press Associa-tion, which has designated this paper top junior college newspaper six years, and Associated Collegiate Press, which has rated it All American 30 semesters. This publication is printed by Edmond Sun, Inc., issued by RSC and authorized by the Coordinator of Student Publications. Cost to the state taxpayers is $301.81 for 4,000 copies per issue and $56.40 for spot color. This paper is recyclable. RSC, in compliance with Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, Executive Order 11246, as amended, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and other federal laws and regulations, does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, disability, sexual orientation or status as a veteran in any of its policies, practices or procedures. This includes, but is not limited to admissions, employment, financial aid and educational services.

Editor in ChiefRacheal Price (rprice@rose.edu)

Assistant EditorJ.L. Morrissey (jmor-rissey@rose.edu)

News Editor Miranda Liming (mi-randa_liming@stu.rose.edu)

Features EditorBryan Mangieri (bmangieri@rose.edu)

Staff WritersNicole Ford

PhotographersChelsea McIntire (cmcintire@rose.edu)Eric Tatom (etatom@rose.edu)

Graphic ArtistsBrian AllenGrant Skaggs

Circulation ManagerPaul Kim (pkim@rose.edu)

Tech SupportScottie Seger (aseger@rose.edu)

SecretaryCarol Benefee (cbene-fee@rose.edu)

Coordinator of Stu-dent PublicationsJulie Lesko-Bishop (jlesko-bishop@rose.edu)

StaFF memberS

Home school symposium seeks to ease college transition

In 2003, House Bill 1748 was passed to allow the individual college and university board of regents to set tuitions for their institution. They were not given blanket approval to do as they wish; there were guidelines. According to highered.org these include:

• The president of the institution needs to “analyze the need for resources to ensure the quality and availability of higher education offerings at the institution, balanced by the students’ needs and ability to pay.”

• The president then proposes, “tuition and fee increase to the institutions’ [regents].”

• The regents “review the president’s proposals and make a recommendation to the State Regents.”

• Then, State Regents review “the governing board’s recommendation, and if justified, approve the increases, and report their actions to the state

Legislature.”• The State legislature

reviews the State Regents’ action within the prescribed statutory limits.

Senate bill 791 (SB 791) seeks to take the responsibility for setting tuition at all universities and colleges from the regents and give it to the legislature. This bill should be opposed because most colleges and universities have maintained their promises regarding tuition, there is little firm evidence it is necessary, the institution regents know the socio-economic conditions of their students best and our legislature can find a better use of its time. It is time to act and call local senators and rally them to vote no. There is no call to remove tuition-setting responsibilities from most of Oklahoma’s institutions. Most institutions have maintained their promise to remain at 80 percent of the peer average in surrounding states. RSC’s president and Board of Regents not only have maintained the promise, but have maintained one of the lowest tuition rates in the state. According to Higher Education Chancellor Glenn Johnson, Oklahoma is the fifth

most affordable state for higher education. As the State Regents have met their obligations to keep education affordable in Oklahoma it would be punitive to remove it. The question should be do we punish organizations for doing what they have been asked to do? As of press time, we could find no solid reason given for this bill. The best we could find was a quote circulating by Senator Jim Reynolds – R, author of the bill, “I believe something must be done.” And according to the World Capitol Bureau Senator Jim Wilson – D said he didn’t think the regents had been responsible for setting tuitions. No reasoning for why or what prompted this bill. We have suppositions that it regards the University of Oklahoma’s almost annual tuition hike battle, but this is not a fact that could be verified. And we have the aforementioned vague comments by two senators – again, no facts to back up what has been said. Dr. Terry Britton, RSC president and the RSC Board of Regents know the students at this institution best. They know the percentage of students needing financial aid, the general background of them and

other demographic information used to set tuition. They have been conservative in spending and have exhibited good fiscal responsibility. Lastly, the Okla. legislature has other things to do than to evaluate and set the tuition for every single public college or university in the state. By leaving this issue in the hands of the Regents, where it belongs, the lawmakers will have time to ponder banning eyeball tattooing (senate bill 844), protecting local barber shop poles from inappropriate use (house bill 1047) or recognizing “The Oklahoma Run” as the state land run song (house resolution 1002). Seriously, looking at some of the nonsense the lawmakers in Okla. already try to pass, does anyone believe they are competent to judge the needs of students attending RSC? Perhaps a better use of the legislators time would be to remove other inane laws from the books and leave systems that already work in place. As of today, there is no reason to remove tuition setting from institutions. The proper and just reaction to SB 791 is for the students, faculty and staff of RSC to write, call, e-mail and bombard local senators to vote no.

Regents need to continue to set tuitionARIES

(March 21-April 20) Try something new

and you will be pleas-antly surprised.

TAURUS (April 21-May 20)

This is the week for great things. Do your best and you will suc-ceed; do your worst

and you will fail.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21)

It is time to put that dual nature to good

use. You will need to mediate between two paths and keep every-thing balanced. Good

luck.

CANCER (June 22-July 22)

Get ready to be re-warded for your hard work. You deserve it.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22)There is a time for

every emotion. Don’t make others feel

guilty for their feel-ings.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

Friends are like ‘M&M’s’, you can never have just one.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23)

Don’t be pretentious; it just annoys the

people around you.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22)

Things are not always rosy, but that doesn’t mean it should be an

absence of hope.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21)Take some of your

own advice this week. It can be tough, but it

will be worth it.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 20)Lessons can only

be learned by those willing to listen…or when they mess up.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 21-Feb. 19) Decide what you

want to be and when you do watch it blos-

som until fruition.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Wake up and smell the coffee, your re-sponsibilities won’t take care of them-

selves.

Grace Bercier couldn’t deny the leap from home school to college would be a change, but she and her parents, Cub and Kimbra Bercier, fully believe she’s prepared for it. The fifth annual Home School Sympo-sium, held Feb. 20, reached out to home school and non-traditional students, like Grace Bercier, planning to attend college. Terrance Grayson, program coordinator, said RSC values these students and makes special efforts to recruit them because, often, home school students are overlooked. “We want these students,” Grayson said. Cub Bercier—once not an advocate of home school— eventually switched his po-sition. Cub Bercier now disagrees with the old adage home school students lack social skills. “In reality, they’re probably more social-ized and adapted than most private and pub-lic schools kids are,” Cub Bercier said. “Their influences are the adults around them all day.” Though it will be a transition, Grace Ber-cier will adapt to the classroom environment, she said. Putting himself in his daughter’s position, Cub Bercier said he realized college would be a significant difference for her. “It’ll be a little less one on one,” Cub Ber-

cier said. The symposium also brought other non-traditional students like Tevin Chambers. Tevin, a sophomore at Norman North, said high school doesn’t challenge him enough. His mother, Penny Chambers, said even when he’s sick, he can make up a couple weeks of work in a couple hours. Traditional high school bores him, he said. So his mother, Penny Chambers, looked into the option of removing him from high school so she can teach him, herself, the cur-riculum he needs to succeed at a higher level of education. Meanwhile, he plans to enroll concurrently at RSC. “Yeah, I’m hoping when I go here it’ll be more of a challenge,” Tevin said. But in order for him to be accepted to the school, he must make a 22 on his ACT. Cur-rently, he waits on the results before he can go any farther. Grace Bercier and Tevin Chambers agreed on the advantages to home schooling. If Grace Bercier grasps a concept in 15 minutes there is no need to focus on it anymore, but if Bercier en-counters trouble with a subject, her mom spends extra time helping her study it, Cub Bercier said. In fact, Kimbra Bercier said her daugh-ter takes it upon herself to do her studies. “The older they get, the more responsible they get,” Kimbra Bercier said. “That’s the

hope of most home schoolers…” And independent study is exactly what college requires of its students. “My mom’s really good at teaching me,” Tevin Chambers said. “She’s taught me everything I know except for what I taught myself.”

BY BRYAN MANGIERIFeatures Editor

Student Welcome Center Coordinator, Ter-rance Grayson, speaks at the fifth annual

Home School Symposium. (Photo by Chelsea McIntire)

ditorialE

Page 3 • February 27, 2009

CAMPUS CORNERBriefly

Speaking

ACROSS 1 Louisiana county7 Microscopic layer15 Hardy shrub of the honeysuckle family16 Source of agar17 Small change18 Inborn behavior19 Bother20 Torn tickets

22 Toddler’s wheels23 Squash pigment25 Sporting dog26 Wins by charm27 Walks of life28 Made a hole-in-one29 Voiced one’s thoughts31 But, to Brutus32 Depended on34 Shoot the breeze

37 Skulls38 __ Verde National Park39 Redhead duck42 Museum guides45 Intertwine46 Plants with funnel-shaped flowers47 In the rigging48 Sheds skin49 Can material50 Have a ball52 Apparel54 Sap of energy55 Moves in and out56 Final courses57 “Gunsmoke” starDOWN1 Cure-alls2 Act of enduring without yielding3 Took note of4 Kind5 Gato nap6 Reins attachment7 Extended family group8 Barnyard biddies9 Proof-of-age cards10 Prattled11 Batted one’s eyes, for example12 Start burning13 One in want14 Taxi devices21 Defective

24 Massive ref. work25 All there27 Fortress30 Greek letter32 Serving to pull33 Uncommon34 Possessive case35 Fred and Adele36 Low quality of music?37 Large slow moving beetles38 Generic game pieces39 Rang out40 Surfing the internet41 Sections of garlic43 Canada’s capital44 Loser at Little Bighorn46 Leaders of the Roman Catholic Church48 Mongrel51 Black gunk53 Author of “Saving Fish from Drowning”

By Matthew Higgins

Solution from 2/20/09

Community Health Fair

RSC and Midwest Re-gional Medical Center will host a community

health fair on the campus 9 a.m. – noon Saturday,

Feb. 28. Participants will be offered free health

screenings for adults in-cluding blood pressure,

body fat analysis, asthma testing, diabetes foot

care, vision and sleep ap-nea screenings. Glucose and lipid screenings will be available 9 a.m. – 11 a.m. on a first come, first served basis. For more

information call the RSC Wellness Center at 733-7525 or Marilyn Flin-

chum at 610-8328.

Census BureauThe US Census Bureau is looking for candidates to fill positions for the 2010 census. Interested

persons can apply at www.2010censusjobs.

gov. Census assessments will be conducted in the RSC Student Center 10

a.m. – 4 p.m. every Mon-day until March 9. No

appointment is necessary. For more information

call 424-9140 or 1-888-861-2010.

Address UpdateStudents are reminded to update their address in Oasis to insure they

receive their Higher One Debit Card. The debit card will be mailed in March and will be the way refund disburse-

ments are issued.

Oklahoma History Center

The Oklahoma History Center will be training

new volunteers 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Saturday, March

7. Center volunteers greet visitors, give tours, host galleries and work

at special events. Behind the scenes volunteers

help staff with cleaning, researching and preserv-ing artifacts and with ex-hibits. Anyone interested in becoming a volunteer must submit an applica-tion and participate in an interview before attend-ing the March 7 training. Please contact the Volun-teer Services Office with questions at 522-0754 or visit the Web site www.

okhistory.org.

Student Success Work-shops

The Office of Student Success will hold several

workshops throughout March.

Learning Styles will be discussed Tuesday, March 10. Test Taking Strategies: Overcom-

ing Test Anxiety will be held Wednesday, March 11. Both sessions will

be held 2 – 3 p.m. in the Student Center Tinker

Terrace Room.

Women’s Leadership Conference

The third annual Wom-en’s Leadership Confer-ence will be held 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. Friday, March 27 in the Professional

Training and Education Center. Preregistration is required. For questions call 733-7373 or to reg-ister online visit www.

rose.edu.

Staff lends helping hand to Mother Nature

Innovative grounds-keepers, Christina Rog-ers, Brenda Wharton and Kelly Lancaster are in the process of transform-ing a patch of land in the college campus mall into a temporary home for hundreds of migrating Monarch butterflies. The idea, more than two years in the making, originally sprang from a conversation with a professor from the Engi-neering Department while Wharton was tending to plants that attracted but-terflies. The professor who introduced the con-cept of a butterfly garden is a still a mystery to both Wharton and Rogers. “Honestly, I’ve only seen him once and he’s never come back out to talk with us about it,” Rogers said. Though the professor

remains anonymous, the concept immediately took root and the groundskee-pers with some help from Mother Nature, worked to make the garden a re-ality. “After the ice storm, we lost a lot of trees” and as a result “there really was not anything color-ful here on the east end,” Rogers said. The barren plot of land in front of the engineer-ing building had the groundskeepers wonder-ing what to do with it and Wharton suggested in-stalling a “butterfly bed.” The ladies then began to compile research from neighboring institutions such as Oklahoma State University, the Okla-homa Zoo and various Internet sources. With the research in hand, the grounds-keepers learned about the importance of Monarch waystations. According to Monar-chwatch.org, “a Monarch

waystation is a site that provides milkweeds, nec-tar sources and shelter needed to sustain Mon-arch butterflies as they migrate through North America” and “milkweed

and nectar sources are in rapid decline due to urban development and widespread use of pesticides and herbi-cides in croplands and pastures.” The ladies thought the butterfly garden would be something that would appeal to everyone and also help provide habitat to dwindling populations of Monarch butterflies. “Our goal is to pro-vide a waystation for

Monarchs and to aide in the education and re-search for faculty and students,” Wharton said. The groundskeepers also extended the concept to include sustainable practices such as using recycled flagstone from other campus projects for walking paths in the gar-den and using established native plant species that will be maintained with-out the use of pesticides, insecticides or require co-pious amounts of water. Last week, Rogers met with RSC President Dr. Terry Britton in order to decide on a name for the garden. Many suggested names including, “Nectar Sector, Butterfly B & B,

and Raider Pollinators” were kicked around. However the official name of the garden will be RSC Monarch Way-station. The garden will be reg-istered as a habitat with Monarchwatch.org and will receive an official plaque from the organiza-tion. Currently there are only five other sites in the state of Oklahoma to share this unique feature. Though it will take sever-al months to establish the garden, a grand opening is slated for May. “We’re hoping nature lovers from across the state will come and visit the garden,” Rogers said.

BY J.L. MORRISSEYAssistant Editor

Brenda Wharton labors in the soon to be opened RSC Monarch Waystation butter-fly garden. (Photo by J.L. Morrissey)

(Photo by Jennifer Elliott)

Per capita, Oklahoma impris-ons more women than any other state. Dr. Charles Wood, a professor at the University of Tulsa, said this “awful statistic” produces a “crying need” for action. There-fore, Wood helped implement a statewide contest named the So-cial Innovation Challenge. The contest calls students to “create a 5-7 minute video that clearly demonstrates an activity or action you took that made a difference on this issue.” Dr. Kent Lashley, Associate Vice President for Student Life,

said he would like to coordinate with students on campus who plan on entering the contest be-cause he feels it’s a noteworthy cause. Lashley said losing contact with a family member in any capacity impacts the develop-ment of a child, but especially so in the cases where those family members are behind bars. “There’s the social stigma associated with incarceration that is going to be hard to over-come,” Lashley said. Lashley said often children of incarcerated mothers might feel like they did something wrong. “They didn’t do anything wrong, and it’s important for ev-erybody to know that,” Lashley

said. “Even though we all do know that sometimes I think so-ciety does tend to stereotype and label and think ‘Oh! They come from a criminal background.’” “Really, they don’t at all,” Lashley said. Wood said he looks forward to seeing the students’ entries. “I’m amazed at what students can come up with when they’re challenged,” Wood said. “We be-lieve the best ideas come when you have a lot of ideas.” Lashley echoed this sentiment. He said student bodies often present the most “cutting edge” ideas. The top 20 entries will be called upon to give presentations at the Social Innovation Summit

on Apr. 20 in Tulsa. The top five entries will be awarded prize money equaling $1000 each, Wood said. But Wood said there’s more incentive to participate than cash. The contest will give stu-dents “exposure to this issue and a chance to make a difference.” More information about enter-ing the Social Innovation Chal-lenge can be found at following web address: http://studioblue.utulsa.edu. Also, students may contact Lashley at 733-7385 or Dr. Joanne Stafford, Director of Spe-cial Services and Student Out-reach at 733-7373. The deadline for all entries is noon March 30.

BY BRYAN MANGIERIFeatures Editor

Contest raises awareness for incarcerated women

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Abbreviation GuideBS - Business buildingCC-PAT - Communications Center-Performing Arts TheatreFdR - Founders RoomFR - Fountain RoomHBAT - H.B. Atkinson TheatreHE - Health and Environmental Sciences buildingHPER - Health, Physical Education and Recreation buildingHSA - Health Sciences Annex

LRC - Learning Resources CenterMDR - Main Dining RoomPTEC - Professional Training and Education CenterRR - Raider RoomSC - Student CenterSM - Science and Math buildingSSB - Student Services BuildingTSC - Tom Steed CenterTTR - Tinker Terrace Room

1

News15th Street

Wesley Student Fellow-ship meeting SC 123

@ 11:30 a.m.; Student Senate meeting SC 123 @ 2 p.m.; Republicans

Club meeting SC 123 @ 5 p.m.

PEERS Drunk Driving Simulator MDR and

Campus Mall noon – 6 p.m.

Mu Rho Alpha meeting HSA 138 @ 11:10 a.m.; Baptist Collegiate Min-istry meeting SC 123 @

11:30 a.m.

Newman University re-cruitment booth SC 10 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.; PTK meeting SC 123 @ 2:30 p.m.; Scholarship Open

House MDR @ 5:30 p.m.

PTK Induction TSC @ 2 p.m.

Southwestern College recruitment table SC 10

a.m. – 2 p.m.

Newman University re-cruitment booth SC 10 a.m.- 1:30 p.m.; Wesley

Student Fellowship Meet-ing SC 123 @ 11:30 a.m.; Learning Styles Tinker

Terrace Room @ 2 p.m.; Dating Safety Presenta-tion MDR @ 12:30 p.m.;

Student Senate meeting SC 123 @ 2 p.m.; VOICE/OIL meeting SC 123 @ 5 p.m.

Baptist Collegiate Min-istry meeting SC 123 @ 11:30 a.m.; Great Issues

Lecture RSC Lecture Hall @ 3 p.m.; Test Tak-

ing Strategies Tinker Terrace Room @ 2 p.m.

American Indian Associa-tion meeting SC 123 @ 12

p.m.; Friends of the Li-brary Club Meeting LRC 110 @ 3:30 p.m.; TEACH Club meeting SC 123 @ 2 p.m.; “On A Pale Horse”

book discussion LRC 110 @ 3:30 p.m.; Miss RSC/MWC and Miss Black RSC/MWC Scholarship Pageant H.B.

Atkinson Theater @ 6 p.m.

Campus Closed

Wesley Student Fellow-ship Meeting SC 123 @ 11:30 a.m.; Student Sen-ate Meeting SC 123 @ 2 p.m.; VOICE/OIL meet-

ing SC 123 @ 5 p.m.

Baptist Collegiate Min-istry meeting SC 123

@ 11:30 a.m.; TEACH Club meeting SC 123 @

2 p.m

Friends of the Library Club Meeting LRC 110

@ 3:30 p.m.; PTK meet-ing SC 123 @ 2:30 p.m.

Women’s Leadership Conference PTEC 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. ; NTSO meeting

SS 137 noon

Wesley Student Fellow-ship Meeting SC 123 @ 11:30 a.m.; NTSO

Meeting SS 137 @ 12:30 p.m.; Student Senate meeting SC 123 @ 2

p.m.; Republicans Club SC 123 @ 5 p.m.

Spring Break

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Photo provided by MCT Campus

RSC Physics Professor Mahmoud Radfar may have a mind for mechan-ics, but his body is flesh and blood like everyone else. Two years ago, Radfar’s son, Amir “pushed” him to shoot some hoops on the weekend. Radfar “tried to be like Mike” and in the process “fell down.” He twisted his ankle and badly injured his foot. The intol-erable pain did not prevent him from coming into the classroom the following Monday. “I was so concerned all weekend. I thought by Monday my ankle would be better,” Radfar said. Ultimately Radfar’s “stubbornness” would not

allow him to miss an op-portunity to ensure that his students received a proper physics lesson. He “loves his job” and is so com-mitted to the task that he improvised the best way he could by wearing san-dals instead of shoes to alleviate the rapidly swell-ing ankle. Like all good instructors, Radfar learned from this experience and still plays ball with his son, “once in a while” but “with caution.” Radfar is originally from Ahwaz, Iran. He came to America after the Shah of Iran was deposed, revolu-tion tore the country apart and the Ayatollah took power. Radfar wanted to continue his education in Iran, but the circumstances made that possibility “tough.” “I don’t know how to

describe a country that is in chaos and going through a transition. I was really unhappy with the system and decided to leave,” Radfar said. Radfar’s mother and sister had fled Iran to join his brother in Oklahoma, who was attending medical school. Ten months later, Radfar joyfully reunited with his family. The tran-sition to American life, like for many immigrants, wasn’t easy. “Even though I was unhappy with the system there in Iran, it was still home,” Radfar said. At the urging of his fam-ily, Radfar returned to school in order to facilitate the transition to American life and to help relieve the stress of a broken home-land off his mind. “Once I began to learn

about this country, I de-veloped a love for it. I’ve been here almost 29 years. This is my second home and I’ve been here longer than I lived in Iran. I love it,” Radfar said. Radfar is a former RSC student and graduated with a degree in pre-en-gineering. He went on to Oklahoma University and

received his bachelor in Mechanical Engineering in 1992. He received his mas-ter’s from the University of Central Oklahoma in Industrial Applied Physics in 1994. Radfar is married to wife, Vilian of 22 years and they have a daughter, Ladan, age 17, and son, Amir, age 15.

Mahmoud Radfar potlight on ...SBY J.L. MORRISSEY

Assistant Editor

Page 5 • February 27, 2009

COLLEGE LIFE

Mahmoud Radfar (Photo by J.L. Morrissey)

Students who enjoy fixing cars, doing minor electri-cal work, carpeting or tiling, computer repair, commer-cial printing, graphic arts or drafting work as a hobby may find the Applied Technology Associate in Applied Science degree offered at RSC through a partnership with area technical schools to be perfect for them. With six options to choose from the degree may be the most versatile degree offered at RSC. Students can select one of these options:

• Automotive services, automotive collision, heating, ventilation and air conditioning and electrical trades

• Carpentry, masonry, residential plumbing and welding

• Office technology• Commercial printing• Drafting

• Healthcare Technician These degree options are made possible by an agree-ment between technology centers and RSC. The ulti-mate goal of the program is to help students receive employable skills in the technical field and enhance promotional skills. RSC Cooperative Alliances Program has united with five technical centers in close proximity including Mid-Del, Eastern Oklahoma County, Metro-Tech (all branches), Moore-Norman and Gordon Cooper techni-cal centers. This allows students to gain between 15-25 college credit hours towards an Applied Technol-ogy degree while attending a technical school. Students will begin by taking hands on training classes at the technical school of their choice, and then they will come to RSC to complete their degree. This partnership was primarily formed to support the RSC degree. For the cooperative alliances classes, students will only have to pay $8.00 a credit hour, plus $15.00 for

the enrollment fee. Books are issued free of charge. These advantages are only provided for the students during hands on training courses. Normal tuition will apply when RSC campus classes start. High school students have always participated in the program and received college credit, but since 2006 these students have received a letter grade. Require-ments for high school students before entering the RSC program are earn a 19 or higher on the ACT or to earn a 15 or higher on the ACT Plan. “This program has really grown over the last three years,” said Jerri Cachero, Career Technology Center Coordinator. Some cooperative programs will allow the students to further their education and achieve a master’s degree. In fall 2008 the program enrolled 245 students whom received a total of 1276 credit hours. Students can refer to the Technology Center Catalog Supplement for specific program details. For more in-formation contact Jerri Cachero at 736-0244.

BY NICOLE FORDAssignment Editor

Degree plan serves students, community with many career choices

Harris Smith deposited $1.2 million into an account with the Diplomatic Courier Company in Nigeria, and since you’re such a good friend of Smith, well, he would like for you to collect the money. You know, for all your help. Just send your name, address, country and telephone number in a reply e-mail and the money is yours. Fall for that and you’ll find yourself a victim of phishing. Phishing is the retrieval of personal information on the Internet by attempting to ap-pear legitimate. The preferred method of phishers, more often than not, is a pop-up, but some-times phishers use e-mails or fraudulent login pages to dupe their prey. Phishers entice Inter-net users to surrender personal information—e-mail addresses, passwords, Social Security numbers. Then, phishers sell this information on the digital black market. Or as Skyler Tuter puts it, basically, phishing is a scam on the Internet reeling people in “hook, line and sinker.” Tuter should know, too. He was a victim of phishing at the age of about 16. Innocently enough, he clicked on a pop-up. By clicking on the link, phish-ers tracked his I.P. address. From there, phishers sent more and more pop-ups via the web until the pop-ups overtook his computer. Finally, he consulted a friend at the Eastern Oklahoma Coun-ty Vocational Center to help.

After watching the process his friend went through to rid his computer of the problem, Tuter was fascinated. He asked “tons of questions” from his friend, and eventually, he decided to learn for himself how to com-bat phishing. Now, as a computer informa-tion technology student at RSC, he specializes in the art of “dig-ital forensics.” He also works at Best Buy as part of the Geek Squad. In his positions as both student and employee, people call on Tuter when their com-puters crash due to viruses caused by phishing. That’s his specialty, he said. Phishing by way of pop-ups is no different than telemarket-ing, Tuter said. He said, techni-cally, it’s not illegal. “There is no Internet law. It’s untouched, if you will. It’s completely untouched,” Tuter said. “You still have your free-dom of speech on the Internet, but you are also vulnerable.” Todd Qualls, another comput-er information technology ma-jor, said computer users should be careful because phishers even pull fast ones by disguis-ing their programs as govern-ment web sites. Tuter said many often view the Internet as in its “Wild West” phase. Accordingly, Tuter must walk the line with others specializing in digital forensics. “[Hackers] are the mad scien-tists of the Internet,” said Tuter. “We are taught how to hack to prevent hackers,” said Tuter. Tuter and Qualls summed up the best way to avoid phishing scams: “If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.”

Dewey offers tips to avoid being scammed

Ken Dewey, director of pro-fessor networking and cyber security, recently gave tips on cyber security and how to pro-tect your identity in the physi-cal world and cyberspace. 1. Don’t give out personal information, like your student I.D. or Social Security num-ber, to people over the phone. “People give out information too easily,” Dewey said. 2. Don’t put personal infor-mation on MySpace or Face-book. Dewey gave as an exam-ple he hadn’t talked to his niece in a year and just from her MySpace, he discovered where she lived, where she worked, whom she lived with, her ad-dress and cell phone number. “A little too much informa-tion,” Dewey remarked. “So watch what you put on there.” 3. Get a shredder. “Shredders are cheap,” Dewey said. “Shred everything. If you get a credit card receipt or a credit card ap-plication in the mail, shred it.” Dewey said if you don’t, what could happen is someone could go through your trash and fill out your credit card applica-tion using your name. “I shred everything,” Dewey said. “I literally shred everything that comes in with my name and ad-dress on it.” 4. Be careful with the e-mail address you choose. Dewey used the fictitious example of BobandGina@hotmail.com. “Now I know that person’s wife name is Gina, so I already got some information just by your e-mail address…Why do I need to know your wife’s name just by your e-mail address?”

5. Get your credit report. Even if you don’t own a credit card, Dewey warned you might not know who’s using your name and personal information, without your authority. “How many people check their credit report?” Dewey questioned. He suggested using www.annual-creditreport.com. 6. For security questions, such as those asking where you went to high school or your mother’s maiden name, use bogus information. For ex-ample, answer these questions with a word like “dog.” “If I can find stuff about you, I probably can find out where you grew up, where you went to high school. I can probably figure out your moth-er’s maiden name,” Dewey said. 7. Make sure the links in e-mail re-directing you to another site are legiti-mate. “When you get a link in your e-mail and you put your mouse on top it, it will show you where the link is going to go at the very bottom of your e-mail,” Dewey said. For example, if you receive an e-mail ap-pearing to be

from Amazon.com, make sure the link you click takes you to Amazon.com. 8. Use Snopes.com. “If you get an e-mail and you don’t know if it’s true, go to Snopes.com,” Dewey said. “If you go to Snopes, put in the informa-tion you see in the e-mail, and it will tell you if it’s true or false.” Dewey concluded that people are far too willing to put their lives on the Internet and that “it’s just too much information, especially without a password.”

Cautionary tale and eight tips to protect personal identityBY BRYAN MANGIERI

Features Editor

(Graphic provided by MCT Campus)

Page 6 • February 27, 2009

ENTERTAINMENT

The Learning Resources Cen-ter will host a book discussion of Piers Anthony’s “On a Pale Horse,” 3:30 p.m. Thursday, March 12 in the LRC, Room 110. For those unfamiliar with the novel, On a Pale Horse is the first book in the Incarnations of Im-mortality series by Anthony. The series consists of eight books. The novel follows the adven-tures of Zane, an unlucky fellow with no looks, no money, no love and no prospects…until, he ac-cidentally kills the incarnation of death and is forced to take on the mantle himself. Thanatos, as the incarnation is called, has the

duty to weigh the souls of the dying and grant them entry into heaven or send them to hell. Zane quickly finds the love of his life and is wrapped up in one of Sa-tan’s plots. The choices he makes regarding how to beat the incarna-tion of evil’s plots kept the book rolling right to the end. Anthony tells the story using lots of humor, wit and philosophical pondering. Piers Anthony is the author of many books of science fiction and fantasy. And he even claims to have written at least one book for every letter of the alphabet. Join the LRC in discussing the work of this “fantastic” author and find yourself sucked into the world of the Incantations of Im-mortality.

BY RACHEAL PRICEEditor

Caryl Gibbs, English professor de-scribes herself as “eclectic, adventur-ous, worldly,” a lover of philosophy, culture, travel, ancient wisdom cultures and literature. A quick look through her office indicates this just might be true. Her bookshelves, two huge ones, are lined with books on varied topics including literature, philosophy and

writing techniques. This is un-derstandable considering she teaches classes on all three. It also helps that she holds a bachelor’s in philosophy and a master’s in English composi-tion. “English and philosophy rule my life,” Gibbs said. But philosophy remains her first academic love, “I fell in love with philosophy. It called me to itself.” To round out her exten-sive book collection, she has many pedagogical books. This echoes truth to a favorite phrase she says to her stu-dents, “I love my job.” The one book in her collec-tion that she says is very per-sonal to her is “Prairie City: The Story of an American Community” by Angie Debo. The book, a novelization of the life of a village from the

land run through World War II, is partic-ularly special to Gibbs because her great grandfather participated in the land run. After the sheer number of books, what is really striking about her office is the variety of cultural gems. She has artifacts from her travels, gifts from students (she usually discour-ages this) and gifts from relatives. “All of my knick-knacky things came from somewhere. I feel they represent me in some way,” Gibbs said. Gibbs married Mark Gibbs, originally from London, five years ago, which ex-plains some of the nuggets in her office including metal figurines from Sutton Hoo, an Anglo-Saxon burial ground and

tea from the British House of Commons that she bought when on an insiders’ tour of the buildings. From Kraków, Poland, she has nest-ing dolls, a small drawing of the town center, a container she uses for binder clips and a decorative plaque. She has also visited the Auschwitz concentration camp located about 50 kilometers from Kraków. “It blew my mind. I fainted. It was so powerful; I actually fainted. I cried a lot. It was tough seeing that,” she said. From an uncle, Gibbs received two blue jars from India and two robed fig-ures from Kenya. Gibbs also has soap and a pencil hold-er from Syria that were given to her by a former student. According to Gibbs, the student felt it was very important for Gibbs to have them so that she would always remember her. A little Buddha sitting on a shelf was a gift from another student who found it in a pool table and was taking Gibbs’ Religious Philosophy of the World class at the time. Perhaps the strangest thing, Gibbs has been “given” from students are the “flames of hell.” “They didn’t give them to me; they installed them in my office,” she said. The flames were part of an American Literature to 1865 presentation. (Note: the flames are not required for any fu-ture students wishing to enroll in her class.) Art adorns her wall in the form of pic-tures created just for her by her seven-year-old niece. She possesses a coffee pot and a teapot because she likes to drink both. This gives the impression that caffeine

could be an important part of her daily routine. “I like to go to museums; movies, I like artsy films more than blockbusters. I like to cook, eat out and be involved downtown,” said Gibbs of other things she enjoys. She even has a scale model of the downtown bike racks in her office be-cause she and her husband were instru-mental in writing the grant proposal, selecting the design and installing them around the downtown area. With so many varied objects adorning her office, Gibbs creates an atmosphere that fosters learning. A person could look through her office and learn some-thing they never realized they didn’t know. All of these things paint a picture of a very interesting English professor and one more of the many interesting people on this campus. Stop by and check this professor out for yourself.

Photos by J.L. Morrissey

BY RACHEAL PRICEEditor

Caryl Gibbs,Professor of EnglishHumanities 131

Office Ambush: Getting to know campus personalities through

cl u t T e r

Students…Looking for a mentor????Faculty…are you willing to serve as a mentor???? Please join the Student Success Center Stafffor a “Mentor-n-Mingle.”Wednesday, March 4, 2009Tinker Terrace Room2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. (Come and go)Free Refreshments

This is an informal opportunity for faculty and students to interact and discuss their similar interests.No pressure, No obligation – Simply fun!Questions???? Or for more information contact the Student Success Center at 733-7334 or visit us in the Student Center, Room 111.

m m&mentor-n-mingle

First year dental hygiene students participate in the Oklahoma Den-tal Hygienists’ Associate Lobby Day at the state Capitol Wednesday,

Feb. 18. Pictured: Ashley Hubbard, Krystal Bolinger, Jessica Watson, Representative Gary Banz, Professor Gayla Ross, Christine Moore,

Kris Speers and Shannon Benton. (Photo provided by Janet Turley)

Each smaller square, called a cell, is to be filled in with a numerical figure

from 1-9. These numerals are not

to be repeated within horizontal or vertical rows

or within a large square.

Solut

ion fr

om 2

/20/

09

SU D O K U

Help Wan

ted?

Dental students visit lawmakers

Sci-fi book discussion slated