sat:National Make a Difference DayThe True Blue Neighbor Volunteer Center and Student Association will be sponsoring a neighborhood cleanup from 9 a.m.–noon. Volun-teers are needed to pick up litter, paint house numbers on curbs and paint a room at the Crosstown Learn-ing Center. Organizations can sign up to volunteer at orgs.utulsa.edu/sa.

fri:Deadline for spring 2012 study abroadApplications are due at 5 p.m. Con-tact the Center for Global Education as soon as possi-ble to finalize plans for next semester.

Congressional pay raises would increase competency p. 9

Athletic director leaves for North Carolina p. 4

Forza MotorSport 4: the best driving game ever p. 6 OpinionVarietySports

a student newspaper of the university of tulsa october 18, 2011 issue 7 ~ volume 97

Courtney Handy, a junior ma-joring in history and English,

hoped to study abroad in Ireland. She had chosen a program she thought she could afford, at Trin-ity College in Dublin. When she went the Center for Global Educa-tion for a second consult about her trip, she discovered that it would be out of reach.

The University of Tulsa charges students TU rates for room and board, regardless of the cost at the host university. Courtney, who lives off campus, said, “It’s really not okay with me. The CGE needs to tell people (about the cost) up front. It’s ridiculous. Not only do I have to live at home, I can’t even study abroad.”

Laura Semenow, director of CGE, explained the university’s policy. “If the program costs less than TU tuition, students will only pay TU tuition and not room and board,” she said. “If the pro-gram abroad costs more than TU tuition we will charge room and board. If students live at home, don’t pay TU room and board, and don’t want the extra expense, they should choose programs that cost less than TU tuition.”

The goal is to equalize costs for everyone, but students like Handy often feel penalized, since they do not pay room and board unless they study abroad.

According to “Open Doors Re-port on International Exchange,” the number of college students studying abroad fell from 262,416 during the 2006–2007 academ-ic year to 260,327 during the 2008–2009 year. The economic

TU students “Occupy Tulsa”

Study abroad remains affordable

Lydia ChengStudent Writerand

emiLy CaLLenStaff Writer

Laura Semenow:The TU study abroad coordina-tor was born in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

The Mountain West Conference and Conference USA football

programs plan to enter into an un-precedented 22-team partnership

in 2012, MWC Commissioner Craig Thompson and C-USA Commissioner Britton Banowsky announced in a joint news confer-ence Friday.

The move comes after “well over a year” of talks between of-ficials in the two conferences, cul-minating in a “memorandum of understanding” to form a football-only association that will produce a single champion of all confer-ences.

“College athletics is changing so fast,” Banowsky said, refer-ring to the recent upheaval that has Texas A&M, TCU, Pittsburgh and Syracuse all moving to different conferences. “If we’re not quick to react to the change we could lose positioning.”

Banowsky’s call for speed is timely indeed, as rumors are flying that the Big East’s survival strat-egy may include poaching teams from both the C-USA and the

Mountain West.Boise State and Air Force both

voted “yea” in the unanimous de-cision to pursue an alliance with the C-USA, but both admitted to having been approached by the Big East. Houston, SMU and UCF are also thought to be targets of the Big East, along with independent Navy.

The commissioners demurred as to whether the winner of a C-USA/Mountain West champion-

ship could hope to receive Auto-matic Qualifying status for a BCS game, but Banowsky did state that “the champion of a group of universities like this is a worthy champion.”

If nothing else, conference of-ficials hope to create a champion-ship game between the two con-ference winners in 2012. Goals

See Abroad page 3

Tulsa prepares for C-USA/Mountain West Merger

Last Saturday, protesters took to the streets of downtown

Tulsa to join the Occupy move-ment that began in New York City last month.

Occupy Tulsa, a group that op-erates largely on Facebook and other social media, planned the event and has been maintaining a full-time office in Tulsa.

Roughly 600 protesters met at the BOK Center and, braving the Tulsa mid-day heat, proceeded to march through the city to the Cen-ter of the Universe plaza, west of the Jazz Hall of Fame.

The rally started with a num-ber of short speeches given by the organizers of the rally and select guests. This included two repre-sentatives of the Indigenous Peo-ples Alliance, who read a list of demands made by the Alliance and then offered a traditional Native

American blessing on the march. The demands, much like the

protest, covered a wide range of issues, including income inequal-ity, government corruption and environmental protection. There was also a fiery speech from a representative of the Teamsters union, who called for solidarity among the working class against the corporate elites he claimed are running the country.

The march itself went smoothly, with the protesters staying on the sidewalks and cooperating with the small number of police that turned out to manage the event. There was also no visible infight-ing among the movement and no presence of any type of counter protest. Throughout the march the protesters chanted slogans like “We are the 99 percent,” and “People over profit.”

Although the event was not a student rally, a number of Uni-versity of Tulsa students decided to attend. Sophomore sociology major Bailey Adkison cited tax re-distribution as her main complaint, arguing, “The poor are taxed more than the rich ... That is not right.”

Adkison was also very excited

that the movement had finally spread to Tulsa.

Sophomore Vincent Dale echoed the excitement, saying he considered making a humorous poster but decided against it be-cause he “wanted this to be a le-gitimate protest.”

Another theme of the protest was the alleged inability of the

media to report truthfully on the movement. Many protesters re-cited the line “Fox News will lie about us,” while others being in-terviewed by the television crews in attendance expressed skepti-cism that the truth would be re-ported.

TU junior Adam Polcha was

J. Christopher proCtorStaff Writer

Students joined fellow Tulsans to show solidarity with Occupy Wall Street protests.

See Occupy page 3

Anna Bennett / Collegian

Anna Bennett / Collegian

University of Tulsa students march across downtown Tulsa as part of the Occupy Tulsa rally. Students were showing support for causes such as correcting the growing income inequality and stopping government corruption.

Protestors’ signs ranged from angry to comical during the Occupy Tulsa rally, held in front of the BOK Center on Saturday.

See Merger page 5

John LepineStudent Writer

tues:Third Tuesday Jazz—TU Jazz Singers and ComboVisit Gilcrease Museum to see TU Jazz Singers and Combo perform “America’s Music” in the Vista Room, 5:30–7:30 p.m. The museum galleries will remain open until 8 p.m. Admission is free for TU students and a buffet dinner will be available from The Restaurant at Gil-crease for an additional $5 per person.

thurs:Opening ceremonies for Tulsa OktoberfestEnjoy bratwurst, the Chicken Dance, Wie-ner Dog races, Ger-man beers, Bavarian cheesecake and great music all weekend long at the River West Festival Park.

The merger would create an opportunity for TU to play in a BCS bowl game.

Asia

THAILAND

Government officials are being blamed for the record monsoons and floods in Thailand. Due to the worst flooding in half a century, Thailand’s capital Bangkok may soon be submerged. A combina-tion of unusually high floodwaters in the north and monsoon rains and flooding from every direction is one reason for the record floods.

However, external factors are also responsible, including defor-estation, overbuilding in catch-ment areas, the damming and diversion of natural waterways, urban sprawl and the filling-in of canals, combined with flawed wa-ter management and urban plan-ning.

All these man-made issues have embittered many residents and scientists who have been warning the government about the environ-mental impact their actions will have on the country. Capt. Som-sak Khaosuwan, director of the National Disaster Warning Center claims, “Our city plan is inefficient … the weather hasn’t changed that much. We always have more water in the rainy season. But if we don’t

have integrated water manage-ment, we will face this problem again next year.”

Middle East

LEBANON

Syrian ambassador to Lebanon, Ali Abdul Karim Ali, denied re-ports that his embassy is behind recent disappearances of anti-Syrian protestors in Lebanon. Ali was referring to recent statements by Major General Ashraf Rifi who claims that members of Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces and the Syrian embassy were involved in the kidnapping of three Syrian brothers in February and the re-cent disappearance of 86-year-old Shibly Aisamy, a strong Syrian dissident and former head of the Baath party.

Legislators met earlier in the week to discuss the allegations and one Member of Parliament noted that there was “dangerous infor-mation that implicates the Syr-ian Embassy in Aisamy’s kidnap-ping.” Rifi’s evidence stems from documents, secret service agents, pictures and video from surveil-lance cameras installed in the Syr-ian Embassy parking lot and along roads surrounding the embassy and witness testimonies.

However, the Syrian ambas-sador has lodged a complaint and

called on Rifi “to present evidence to prove the embassy’s involve-ment.”

Africa

KENYA

A group of Somali gunmen have kidnapped two European aid workers in Nairobi, Kenya’s capi-tal city. This is the fourth kidnap-ping of aid workers in five weeks.

Kenyan security forces believe the gunmen are members of Al Shabab, an Al Qaeda linked group. The victims in this most recent kidnapping were two female mem-bers of Doctors Without Borders who were traveling through the Dadaab camp, which has become a home for hundreds of thousands of Somali refugees. Their driver was shot and wounded before the gun-men sped off with the women to-wards the Somali-Kenyan border.

Another possible culprit is So-mali pirates. Although known for hijacking ships, they may have expanded their criminal activity to include land kidnappings.

Kenyan security officials re-quire all aid workers to travel with armed security; however, Doctors Without Borders claims that this conflicts with their humanitar-ian mission. Money seems to be a primary motive for this influx of kidnappings, though no ransom re-quests have been made for recent victims.

South America

PERU

President Ollanta Humala has dis-charged two-thirds of the country’s police generals as a part of a new anti-corruption plan that began in July. Humala, a former military officer, won the presidency in July and since then has been working on forming a new, more democrat-

ic government. This not only includes purging

the country’s police force, which Peruvians claim is the “most cor-rupt institution in the country,” but also bolstering the force with some 5600 new officers. These officers will focus on combating the influx of criminal activity and drug traf-ficking cases.

Some, like Gen. Horacio Huivin Grandez, a former antidrug of-ficial, felt the purges were too broad, claiming that “(the gov-ernment) didn’t specify who was placed in retirement because of seniority and who was replaced because they are being investigat-ed.” Vice President Omar Chehade defended the president’s actions, stating that Humala along with his Interior Ministry “had undertaken for weeks a serious evaluation” of the hierarchy of the police.

Europe

BRITAIN

The British government has agreed to open a full investigation into the possibility of radiation poisoning in the death of former K.G.B. of-ficer Alexander Litvinenko. The coroner, Andrew Reid, has led the decision to investigate “wider cir-cumstances” that will “include an investigation into the involvement of the Russian state in his murder.”

Litvinenko died from ingesting a rare radioactive isotope, which authorities believe was slipped into his teapot while he was stay-ing at an upscale hotel in Grosve-nor Square in 2006.

British authorities indicted An-drei Lugovoi, a former K.G.B. bodyguard and current member of the Russian Parliament for the death. The Russian government has refused to extradite him. Brit-ish authorities hope the inquest will thaw relations with Moscow which have been strained in part due to the case.

NEWS thE COllEgiaN : 218 OCtOBER 2011 NEWSthE COllEgiaN : 3 18 OCtOBER 2011

Oct. 3

8:13 a.m.Officers responded to the report of a medical emergency in the Case Athletic Complex. It was discov-ered that a student was practicing a presentation and collapsed uncon-scious. The student did not suffer any visible injuries. EMSA was contacted and arrived on scene to treat the student; however, she re-fused to be transported.

8:27 a.m.An officer was dispatched to the Case Tennis Center in reference to a vending machine with shat-tered glass. It was confirmed that the front glass had been shattered. There has been a tennis tourna-ment going on in the building. There were no witnesses or sus-pects; however, one employee stated that the machine has been taking money and many people have been observed beating on the glass. The area was cleaned up and the vending service was noti-fied.

Oct. 5 12:13 a.m.Officers responded to a noise com-plaint in USA-West Apartments. Upon arrival, contact was made with the registered occupants. The tenants were compliant and 10 guests left the residence. Alcohol was observed in the room. 7:03 p.m.An officer was dispatched to the Hurricane Track and field to the report of an injured person attend-ing the soccer game. Upon arriv-al, an officer met with a spectator who had tripped and fallen. There were no visible injuries. The sub-ject refused medical attention.

Oct. 6

5:00 p.m.Officers responded to a complaint of a fire on a balcony of an apart-ment in Mayo Village. Officers put the fire out and TFD respond-ed and checked the building. The all clear was given and it was de-termined that a student had been smoking on the balcony and a small fire was started.

Jinan eLsabbaghStudent Writer

Eye on the world:

The University of Tulsa has had the opportunity to take on several new faculty members in various colleges this year. This week, The Collegian highlights recent addi-tions to Collins College of Busi-ness.

Linda Nichols, Ph.D., CPA has been a professor of accounting and the associate dean of the Col-lins College of Business since January. She hails from Louisiana where she attended the University of Louisiana and earned a B.S. in accounting.

After completing her under-graduate studies, Nichols worked in the oil and gas industry as an auditor for Arthur Anderson & Co., and then as Supervisor of Economics for Colombia Gas De-velopment Corporation. She con-tinued her education at Louisiana State University to pursue a Ph.D. in accounting with a minor in a fi-nance.

Nichols comes to TU after more than 20 years of teaching at Texas Tech University. She is “(looking) forward to working to continually improve the programs and servic-es of the Collins College of Busi-

ness and to further strengthen our reputation at both the regional and national levels.”

Dr. Roger Stern is an assistant professor of energy. He studies the impact of peak oil forecasts on U.S. foreign policy, the role of energy in U.S. policy towards the Middle East and the costs of U.S. force projection in the Persian Gulf. He is also interested in the Iranian energy sector and in prob-lems of the state-run oil company.

Stern is from Parkersburg, W.Va., a former hub of the oil and gas industry. He holds an M.S. in botany from the University of Vermont and earned his Ph.D. in geography from Johns Hopkins University “relatively late in life after a long career in land conser-vation then water environmental policy development.” Before his time at TU, he held a post-doctoral research position with the Oil, En-ergy, & the Middle East Program at Princeton University, where he also taught courses on energy, the Middle East and national security.

Stern came to TU to join in a unique effort, TU’s new National Energy Policy Institute, a pro-

gram exploring ideas to balance economic, environmental and na-tional security aspects of energy policy. In his free time, Stern en-joys canoeing, swimming, sailing and being near the water.

Dr. Brian Walkup, assistant pro-fessor of finance, specializes in corporate finance topics, such as payout policy, as well as some market microstructure topics in-cluding extended-hours trading. His education includes a B.S. in mathematics from Trevecca Naza-rene University, an M.B.A. from Rollins College, and a Ph.D. in finance from the University of Florida.

Upon first arriving at TU, Walk-up said “I immediately felt like it was a great fit. I love the feel of campus and the size of the univer-sity.” Having come from a rela-tively small university, Walkup says he appreciates the interactions between faculty and students. He teaches an undergraduate course in business finance and graduate courses in financial theory and long-term financial decisions. Walkup says he would love to get to know more students.

New faculty spotlight

Take one part love for the outdoors, add a spoonful of curiosity, mix in a pinch of an endurance athlete’s grit. Stir in a heaping heart’s worth of aspirations to lead the field of global sustainability. The result is Katy Brown, a student of bio-geosciences and an anything-but-cookie-cutter candidate for grad school.

Brown attended a small high school in Edmond, Okla., and has always felt a connection with the planet. Her childhood included regular hiking, fishing and nature trips to Colorado.

After high school, she planned to study environmental geoscienc-es. With a last-minute offer from the University of Tulsa, Brown discovered a hidden gem in TU’s department of geosciences. Here she witnessed world-class under-graduate research opportunities that meet an unmatched level of individual instruction. Sold by big opportunities with a personal touch, Brown matriculated at TU in August 2007.

After her sophomore year, Brown started TURC and GSURP (Geosciences Summer Under-graduate Research Program) under the guidance of Dr. Winton Cor-nell, professor of geosciences. Her summer task was measuring the gamma ray signatures in Oklaho-ma aquifers to determine the flow pattern of the water table.

This past summer, Brown shift-ed her research focus to the “Bio” side of biogeosciences. Her TURC project involved the bio-remedi-ation of land-locked oil spills us-ing bacterial enzymes to degrade hydrocarbons. Working alongside Dr. Kerry Sublette, professor of chemical engineering, Brown

measured the bio-remediation po-tential at Tulsa’s Holly Refinery.

One of the most valuable ben-efits of her research, Brown says, was the interaction with profes-sionals from the refinery, the U.S. Geological Survey and environ-mental companies. “I’m definitely more confident and I can speak the lingo of the pros,” she said. “I’m having a conversation with them instead of having them explain something to me.”

Looking back at her other col-lege choices, Brown says that TU’s emphasis on undergraduate research is evident. The TU de-partment of geosciences requires three credit hours of research for a Bachelor of Science degree, while Texas and Arkansas require none. During her research work, Brown says she tried to maximize the ex-perience. “I wanted to use research to get the most out of college, not just do it because it was required,” she said.

Next year, Brown plans to start a Ph.D. program in global sustain-ability. Although a little nervous about the rigor of grad school, Brown says that TU has prepared her well. After earning a Ph.D., Brown’s career goal is the Envi-ronmental Defense Fund, a U.S. government agency that focuses on climate initiative and global environmental health. A dream of Brown’s is to investigate aquacul-ture and sustainable ocean fisher-ies with the goal of recovering wild fish populations while still feeding people.

Next month, Brown’s hard work culminates in two ways: she will present her bio-remediation re-search at the International Petro-leum and Biofuels Conference in Houston, as well as compete in a half-Ironman triathlon.

Looking back on her under-graduate career, Brown encour-ages others to make connections with their professors. “At TU, the professors are eager to give you one-on-one attention. They really care.”

WiLL LepageStudent Writer

downturn is largely to blame, but Semenow emphasized that study abroad is still affordable for most students. “For those programs that exceed TU tuition, everyone pays the same tuition, room and board,” she said. “While some programs cost less than that, others cost more, but TU doesn’t penalize students for that and we won’t charge the difference, up to around $3,000.”

Faculty-led programs are anoth-er option for students concerned about the costs of study abroad. These courses often include short trips abroad during breaks. Seme-now said that participation in these types of programs has been rising.

Dr. Steve Steib underscored the benefits of studying abroad. “Studying abroad lessens the provincialism that other cultures are like our own, or inferior,” he said. Steib said he had noticed the change in perspective of econom-

ics students returning from foreign countries. Their experiences often change their views on foreign eco-nomics and currencies.

Senior Sean Fuentes studied abroad in Costa Rica. He said that his experience enriched his edu-cation, and that “I left Costa Rica with amazing friendships that I never want to lose, a language I can actually use now, and the knowledge of what it is like to live in a place that is different from the United States.”

From Abroad on cover

unhappy that “the media has not been reporting very much about this movement” and said the only way he knew about the rally was through Facebook.

Another interesting aspect of the national Occupy movement that has been both praised and ridiculed is the apparent lack of consensus on the issues. This was certainly true to an extent in Tulsa, with a very large variety in the is-sues outlined on the protest signs

throughout the group. Although these opinions sometimes conflict-ed with one another, TU computer science grad student Frank Grove argued that the only way we can move forward as a country is to look to our similarities, not our dif-ferences. Grove has been studying the use of the internet in modern politics and urged that in order to make a difference the movement needed to “reach out to everyone, right, left and center” and “begin to organize nationally and adopt a message.”

From Occupy on cover

Senior biogeosciences major Katy Brown uses her research to act on her love of nature.

Soccer falls to Memphis

Sports thE COllEgiaN : 418 OCtOBER 2011 SportsthE COllEgiaN : 5 18 OCtOBER 2011

The University of Tulsa Golden Hurricane defeated a pesky Blazer squad in what turned out to be a closer match than anticipated. Coming into the game, UAB was 0–5 and a 21–point underdog to Tulsa. Despite this, the Blazers were able to capitalize on key Tul-sa mistakes and seriously threaten upset during the first half. Luck-ily however, TU was able to pull away late in the game to achieve an important 37–20 victory and move to 3–3 on the season and 2–0 in conference play.

Things initially looked like they would go Tulsa’s way Saturday night, as the Hurricane allowed only four yards on its first defen-sive stand and then cruised to an easy touchdown, with G.J. Kinne finding Clay Sears in the end zone to take the lead.

However, after a failed offen-

sive attempt on 4th and 1, a freak interception and two 45 plus yard UAB touchdowns, the momentum had shifted significantly.

But the Hurricane stormed back to score twice before the half, with passing touchdowns from Kinne to Carter and Sears. These scores were set up by a successful 4th and 10 attempt on the first drive and a 68 yard pass to Jordan James on the second. The Hurricane would have entered the half leading 24–17, but a highly questionable roughing the passer call set up a 49 yard field goal for UAB to end the half.

In the second half Tulsa pulled away, but the offense continued to commit key turnovers that kept the final lead to a modest 17. The Hur-ricane had four turnovers, a num-ber that will likely be insurmount-able when C-USA rivals SMU and Houston come to town later this season.

The offense also struggled to finish drives, having to settle for two Fitzpatrick field goals in the third quarter. However, Tulsa was able to get ahead by 17 near the start of the fourth quarter with an

impressive 47 yard rushing touch-down by Ja’Terian Douglas. It finally put the game out of reach on a 41 yard interception return by Lowell Rose that permanently deflated the UAB sideline. Dexter Mccoil also got an interception on UAB’s last drive to keep it from adding any extra points to its final score.

Hopefully this game will serve as a wakeup call for the Hurricane. Although it was clearly the better team, it found itself down early and struggled to put the Blazers away until late in the game. If it continues to make the mental mis-takes it did in this game the dream of a C-USA title could be out of reach. Tulsa has a very talented team and should be considered a contender but it will need more focus going forward in order to challenge the other elite teams of the C-USA.

Tulsa plays Rice next Saturday at 6 p.m. in Houston. The game will air on Fox Sports Southwest as Tulsa tries to maintain its per-fect conference record against the Owls.

Tulsa slays BlazersJ. Christopher proCtorStaff Writer

Suqin Lin / Collegian

Logan Miller / Collegian

Sophomore Kalynn Schrock takes the mound as the Tulsa softball team battles the Independence Community College Pirates.

Oct. 9W Soccer at Memphis L 4-0Volleyball v. Southern Miss W 3-0

Oct. 12M Soccer at Kentucky L 3-1

Oct. 14W Soccer v. ECU W 1-0Volley at UAB W 3-0

Oct. 15Football v. UAB W 37-20

Oct. 16W Soccer v. Marshall W 3-0Volleyball at Memphis W 3-0M Soccer v. Memphis L 3-0

Scoreboard:

Oct. 18

M Golf David Toms Invitational All day

Oct. 19

M Soccer v. Florida International 7 p.m.

Oct. 20

Volleyball v. Marshall 7 p.m.

Oct. 21

W Soccer at UTEP 8 p.m.

Oct. 22

Football at Rice 6 p.m.

M Soccer at UCF 7 p.m.

Oct. 23

W Soccer at Colorado College 1 p.m.

Volleyball at ECU 1 p.m.

Oct. 20-23

W Tennis Regional Championships All Day

Oct. 21-25

M Tennis Regional Championships All Day

for 2013 and beyond include a multi-divisional model and more integrated scheduling, but the commissioners emphasized that the landscape of college football is always changing, going so far

as to wonder aloud “whether there will be a BCS in 2014.”

The proposed mega-conference has yet to be given a name, but if all goes according to plan, it will be the largest college football con-ference in history, spanning five times zones and including public

and private universities of all dif-ferent sizes. However, given the current instability of college ath-letics, only time will tell what will become of the Mountain West, C-USA, Big East and BCS.

From Merger on cover

Willie Carter scores on a 14 yard reception from G.J. Kinne to tie the game at 17–17. The touchdown was set up by a bold conversion on 4th and 10 that helped turn the momentum in Tulsa’s favor. The Hurricane went on to beat the Blazers 37–20, scoring 13 unanswered points in the second half.

Tulsa Athletic Director Bubba Cunningham is going east.

University of North Carolina trustees voted Friday morning to bring in Cunning-ham to replace Dick Baddour, who is retir-ing after 44 years at UNC and 14 as Athletic Director.

“I’m not smart enough to have enough adjectives about the emotions I feel right now,” Cunningham said, calling UNC a “special, special place” with a rich history.

Cunningham’s six-year contract begins Nov. 14 and includes compensation of over half a million dollars annually, plus expens-es and bonuses. In the meantime, AD Bad-dour will appear for North Carolina before the NCAA infractions committee on Octo-ber 28.

This announcement comes less than a year after rumors that Cunningham was about to be announced as the new AD at Kansas. In-stead, Cunningham signed a contract exten-sion of unspecified details in December and remained at TU during the critical transition from Todd Graham to Bill Blankenship as head football coach.

A Notre Dame alumnus and for-mer athletic director at Ball State, Cun-ningham came to TU in 2005 to replace Judy MacLeod, who resigned to become a C-USA associate commissioner. During his tenure, Cunningham oversaw the $25 mil-lion renovations to H.A. Chapman Stadium, as well the construction of the $10 million Case Athletic Complex. TU won a league-best 34 C-USA championships during Cun-ningham’s directorship.

“All of us wish Bubba and his family great success in his new position,” said TU

President Steadman Upham in response to Friday’s announcement. “He served with distinction at TU for six years, and helped to elevate the profile of TU athletics nation-ally.”

For his part, Cunningham called Tulsa an “incredibly hard place to leave,” a sentiment given credence by his reluctance to take ac-cept other jobs, despite the interest of BCS programs like Kansas. “I don’t think people have any idea how great a job the AD job is at the University of Tulsa.”

President Upham has named Ross Parm-ley interim AD while TU seeks a replace-ment for Cunningham. Parmley has been at Tulsa since 2005, first as a member of the football office, and as associate athletic director for operations and administration since June 2007.

“I’m sincerely appreciative of the oppor-tunity that President Upham and the univer-sity have given me,” Parmley said. “This is a great time to be a part of the University of Tulsa and the athletics department. Our student-athletes perform at a very high level both athletically and academically, and we will continue those ideals front and center as we move forward.”

While TU seeks to fill Cunningham’s shoes, Cunningham will be searching for a permanent head football coach at UNC. Butch Davis was fired in July of this year af-ter allegations of improper benefits to UNC football players.

UNC’s new Athletic Director has an ex-cellent record as a headhunter, having hired Brady Hoke (now head coach at Michigan) while at Ball State and Todd Graham (now head coach at Pittsburgh) while at TU.

Cunningham leaves a legacy of growth at TU, and the Tulsa administration is com-mitted to maintaining the momentum estab-lished by his efforts. Upham cited the “qual-ity of coaches and administrators” at TU as the critical piece in ensuring stability in the coming months and years.

Athletic Director Cunningham departs for UNC

John LepineStudent Writer

Bubba Cunningham has been selected to replace long time Tar Heel Dick Baddour.

Tulsa overcomes early struggles to defeat UAB and move to 3–3 on the season.

Last year when the Rice Owls came flying up from Houston, they were shot down with ease by the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, hot from an exhilarating win at Notre Dame. This year it is Tulsa’s turn to make the trip, and thought of revenge for last year’s 64-27 loss may well lurk in the minds of the wounded owls.

Tulsa (3–3, 2–0 C-USA) is looking to maintain momentum for the remaining sea-son of conference-only play. Stumbling in Houston will not bode well for a team about to run the gauntlet of last year’s C-USA West and East champions, SMU and UCF.

The Owls (2–4, 1–2 C-USA) have strug-gled to take flight this fall, despite an upset against Purdue in early September. It was Rice’s first win against a BCS opponent in 10 years, but since that match they have only managed to defeat C-USA bottom feeder Memphis.

The Golden Hurricane leads the series against Rice 8–7–1. Tulsa has won seven of the last eight consecutive contests, Rice’s sole win coming in a double overtime de-cision in 2006. The two teams first met in

1937 in Houston, a game that ended in a scoreless tie.

The Owls are undefeated in their own nest so far this year and have had some no-table defensive success. Rice held the Mem-phis Tigers to a mere 2.4 yards per rushing attempt, and the defeat of Purdue resulted from heroic defensive efforts: a sack, sev-eral goal-line stands and a game-winning blocked field goal.

The TU offense, however, may prove overwhelming for the Owls. G.J. Kinne put up 371 passing yards and four touch-downs last year against Rice, and though he is missing some of his favorite targets this time around, his portfolio has been diver-sified with assets such as Brian Burnham, Willie Carter, Clay Sears and Jordan James. Burnham and Carter have each averaged over 50 yards per game this season.

Rice head coach David Bailiff admitted after playing Memphis that the Owls needed “to do a better job protecting.” Tulsa has the potential to exploit this weakness in the per-son of Curnelius Arnick, whose 74 tackles make him the 5th-most productive tackler in the nation. Arnick has played some of his best games against top-five teams such as Boise State and OU—any ball-carrying Owl would be wise to avoid his clutches.

Kick-off is set for 6 p.m. at Rice Stadium. The game will be broadcast on Fox Sports Network.

John LepineStudent Writer

Tulsa will need to stay focused to take care of a determined Rice team.

Hurricane prepares to blow away owls

Bubba Cunningham looks forward to bright futures at the University of North Carolina. He will inherit a highly respected program that has won 13 national championships in the last 15 years and finished 6th in last years Directors’ Cup, a measure of success across all sports.

Photo courtesy naplesnews.com

Tulsa softball takes on Pirates

Yue Hu/ Collegian

Sophomore forward Tom Gaus breaks away as Tulsa falls to the Memphis Tigers 3–0. Men’s soccer is back in action at 7 p.m. this Wednesday against Florida International at home.

Golden Hurricane star receiver and returner Damaris Johnson has pleaded guilty to fed-eral charges of embezzlement this week. Johnson has been sentenced to a one year deferred prison sentence, one year proba-tion, must complete 80 hours of community service and pay around $750 in fines.

The deferred sentence means that John-son will serve no jail time and after com-

pleting his community service—and bar-ring any other criminal activity in the next year—the case will be dismissed without a felony conviction.

Johnson remains suspended indefinitely from the team and Coach Blankenship has been reluctant to comment on his future at the University of Tulsa. Earlier in the sea-son Blankenship said he could not “foresee anything changing” for the 2011 season, al-though there is still a possibility of Johnson returning for his last year of eligibility in 2012.

Johnson pleads guilty All-purpose yards record holder Damaris Johnson avoids jail time.

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“Top Gear” fans rejoice. The world now has access to every car the Stig has thrown around the famous Top Gear track. (I got my decked out VW GTI around in one minute 21 seconds, which is up there with the Audi R8 V10).

Fans of “Top Gear’s” Jeremy Clarkson will love the game as well. He provides technical specs on some of the best cars in the world in Autovista—a game mode in Forza that allows players to explore cars up close, as in an auto show. Halo fans will love that he gives a tour of a Warthog.

Most gamers will never see cars like a Bugatti Veyron or a Lamborghini Aventador in person, but now even the little old lady driving 40 m.p.h. in the fast lane can feel the power of a 900 horsepower, 16-cylinder engine blasting down a scenic, real-world track.

Gamers can even save tune-ups that are specific to different tracks for different weather conditions, like the PSI of the tires

or transmission gear ratios for faster accel-eration times or top speeds.

Artistic gamers can design paint jobs and vinyl layouts to make their cars as unique as they like, and can even showcase them on Forza’s network and put them up for down-load or auction for in-game credits.

Although there are no limits to the cus-tomization options, cars like the Ferrari 458 Italia should be left alone. There is no rea-son to alter perfection.

The beauty of this game is that each car performs differently and provides gamers with a new experience. In addition, this game is realistically difficult, especially with traction control turned off and manual gear changes. But this challenge makes the game more fun.

Other driving games are too easy. There is no practicing or timing a turn perfectly in order to shave off .1 seconds a lap time. This means, however, that this game will likely only appeal to car fans or more serious gam-ers. Casual gamers might feel bogged down by the abundance of information and the detail involved with changing the gaming experience.

To the motor-heads out there, this game has no limits. It is as close to racing as most people will ever get. For those with Xbox Kinect, the game will even track head movements and will show gamers a view from within the car.

This is the first game I have played in a while that is worth the $60 price tag for new Xbox releases.

Infinite beauty abounds here at the turn, as summer changes to autumn finally, and the nights get cold and the world gets dark and dreary. But never fear, though the Demons come out to play in the wicked months be-fore winter, they can do you no harm as long as you simply follow our advice to the letter. Don’t talk back to us. We are the seers of the stars.

Aries—Your all-time favorite TV show has yet even to be invented. Religiously watch all of the TV, lest you miss it. Quit your job. Watch TV. Dump your lover. Watch TV.

Taurus—You know, pretty soon they’re go-ing to find out that sugar causes cancer. You will be forced to choose—sugar or cancer? Tough question.

Gemini—Given the opportunity to be the first human to venture to Mars, you will be forced to face the existentially trying ques-tion of “What do you want your life to be?” Would you abandon your fellow humans for decades to be the first to venture to a com-pletely unknown world? Or will you stay here, where the beer is? Don’t be an idiot. Go to Mars.

Cancer—Though you are not fooling any-body with the half-gallon of wine in your QuikTrip cup, your brazen boldness does not go unnoticed either. Keep it up. Your discreet drinking habits will only lead you to success.

Leo—The measure of a man lay in how much spice he can handle in his food. Are you a bad enough dude to eat a fistful of

ghost peppers? Figure it out, because the stars are never wrong—the time to prove your worth is fast approaching.

Virgo—Like a Magic Eight Ball constantly landing on “Answer Unclear, Ask Again Later,” all that the stars can say about your sex life is that you will lose your virginity eventually. You say you’re not a virgin? Oh, okay … sure.

Libra—Soon you will be endowed with the ability to see the thoughts and desires of everyone around you, floating about their heads like a cloud of close-kept secrets. You’ll never be lied to again, but you’ll also never be able to unsee the odd and unset-tling fantasies that the rest of your disgust-ing fellow humans use to fill the time.

Scorpio—You will wreck your enemies in fierce combat, be they real or intangible. But then they will get you back, because that’s what enemies do. Rid yourself of enemies. Make peace and be at peace. Zen life. Na-maste.

Sagittarius—Eventually you will reach a point when none of the “Never have I evers” apply to you anymore, and you will slowly start to lose that game every single time. This is not a bad thing.

Capricorn—You will grow a mighty tree and within it will live a mighty bird, and the mighty bird will lay a mighty egg, and the mighty omelette that follows will poison you. Don’t eat the eggs of a mighty bird.

Aquarius—You will swim across a thou-sand lakes, but there will be a prize in-volved, so you will do it well.

Pisces—All of the music you listened to in high school is still awesome.

variety thE COllEgiaN : 618 OCtOBER 2011 VarietythE COllEgiaN : 7 18 OCtOBER 2011

2011-2012

This award recognizes the “graduating student who most closely emulates Marcy Lawless’ generous spirit, creativity, vision, pursuit of excellence, and commitment to serving others both on campus and in the greater Tulsa community.” Any student scheduled to graduate during the December 2011 or May 2012 commencement ceremonies (undergraduate, law or graduate) is eligible. The award, which carries a cash stipend, will be presented during the December 17, 2011 commencement ceremony.

Nomination/Application forms may be obtained at any of the following locations: ACAC Administrative Office, Student Affairs Office in Holmes Student Center, Housing Office in Fisher Hall, Office of Registration and Records, or the Student Volunteer Center in Holmes Student Center 25.

Completed forms must be submitted by noon, Friday, October 28th, to the Student Volunteer Center in Holmes Student Center, Room #25. Finalists will be interviewed by the selection committee.

1. “Breaking Bad”—Any show with a cov-er displaying a man in his underpants has to be good.

2. “Arrested Develop-ment”—Last week’s TU Ten should have something to say about this one.

3. “Mad Men”—This show can get kind of heated, but Don Draper is just so darn entertaining.

4. “Firefly”—Easily the best “gorram” sci-fi show in recent times. Guns, horses, space-ships, bar-fights, cursing in Chinese and Alan Tudyk: ev-erything that makes a show great.

5. “Scrubs”—This show got me playing “Find the saltine.” See season 7, episode 5.

6. “Boondock Saints”—A penny saved is worth two in the bush. Or at least two hours of righ-teous judgment.

7. “Dirty Harry”—Fee-lin’ lucky? I am, cause this movie is a clas-sic.

8. “Wallace and Gromit”—Everyone knows the moon is made of cheese.

9. “Good Will Hunting”—“How do you like them apples?” I like them a lot, thank you.

10. “Santa Claus Conquers the Mar-tians”—Possibly one of the worst movies ever made. No one’s ever had the courage to watch it. Who will be the first?

by Cory bys

Things to Watch on Netflix Streaming

(We Stay) Up All NightPortugal’s Buraka Som Sistema is back again with a track that will make you dance and sweat—kuduro style!

Following Buraka’s hit single released earlier this year, “Hangover (BaBaBa),” the group has now given us an equally energetic single “(We Stay) Up All Night,” featuring Blaya and Roses Gabor.

The song is more than just another club banger. It combines infectious African per-cussion with today’s popular synths and pumping basslines of the electronic genre. It features lyrics both in Portuguese and Eng-lish.

Not only does the video encourage one to “stay up all night,” but it pays homage to (or at least pokes fun at) the increasing popularity of social networking and digital media, referencing sites like YouTube, Chat Roulette and Boiler Room, a site where DJs scratch it up for you live.

The kings of kuduro have released a track to keep us dancing as we still wait for their next album, “Komba,” to drop and a track worthy of becoming an international hit!

LovumbaPuerto Rican reggaeton singer Daddy Yan-kee sings of love and rumba in his newly released single “Lovumba.”

Released on Oct. 4, the song has already gained attention from parts of Europe, Asia and of course, Latin America. Its momen-tum is just beginning.

It is impossible not to love this song, which is not a typical reggaeton jam. It blends many flavorful Caribbean genres, in-cluding soca, mambo and dancehall, incor-porating a techno-friendly undercurrent and dance beats.

This is not the first time Daddy Yankee has experimented mixing reggaeton with

other genres. His previous single “Ven Con-migo,” a collaboration with Prince Royce, was a medley of reggaeton, merengue and dance pop that reached the top 10 in mul-tiple charts and gained the number one spot in the Venezuelan Singles Chart.

Daddy Yankee once again moves reg-gaeton a step forward and proves that it is here to stay and reminds the world why he is called “El Jefe” of reggaeton!

Sawa (اوس)Hailing from Lebanon is Ramy Ayach, one of the leading pop stars of the Middle East. His latest single “Sawa,” a duet with the beautiful Maya Diab, has currently taken the number one spot on Hitmaker’s Arabic Music Chart.

The song, released Aug. 25, is an enchant-ing, passionate story of two lovers who can-not live without each other. The song was written and composed by Salim Assaf and arranged by Dani Helou.

In an interview with Lebanese newspaper Nadine, Ayach described his duet with Diab as “crazy, and the best of his career.”

Although the song was recorded in Ara-bic and most Americans will not understand the lyrics, it is still graceful, fascinating and outshines many of the songs on today’s ra-dio.

PromiseThe King of Bachata—Romeo Santos—and Usher have joined forces to deliver an ex-otically romantic, tropical ballad entitled “Promise.” This is Romeo’s second single from his first solo album “Formula.”

This duet seems like a dream come true. Both artists have smooth vocals, similar melodic styles and songs of comparable themes. One might say Romeo is the Span-ish Usher and vice versa.

The song’s blend of Spanish guitars, bon-gos, warm synths and a chiming piano with each singers’ smooth vocals justifies that this song is dynamic, yet beautiful.

Additionally, the song is not just a treat for Latino music listeners. Romeo’s verses were recorded both in Spanish and English in an effort to captivate American audiences.

“Promise” truly is a powerful collabo-ration and provides Romeo with his long-deserved crossover into the English market.

International songs teach listeners

Recent international singles will provide listeners with taste of foreign cultures through infectious beats and energetic styles.

davian riveraStudent Writer

sarah szaboGuest Writer

Known for his satirical and con-troversial novels, Jonathan Fran-zen is promoting his latest novel “Freedom.” His recent book tour brought him to the Lorton Per-forming Arts Center’s first presi-dential lecture on Oct. 13.

Released in 2001, the novel re-ceived the National Book Award, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and was listed in Time Mag-azine’s list of 100 best English-language novels. Franzen spent most of the evening addressing the four questions that he claimed an-noyed authors most.

The first of those questions was,“Who are your influences?” What annoyed Franzen about this particular question was that it was

almost always asked in the pres-ent tense. He claimed that at this point in his career he was most in-fluenced by his own work. He did reference Kafka, Don Delillo and Dostoyevsky as past influences on his work.

No one bothered asking the question “When does an author stop having influences other than himself?” The answer may have been, “When the author wins the National Book Award.” Rather than thinking of himself as an au-thor with “influences,” Franzen said he considers himself to be, “like a member of a single, large, virtual community in which I have dynamic relationships with other members of the community, most of whom are dead.”

When answering “What time of day do you work?” Franzen criti-cized the personal nature of the question while simultaneously re-vealing that he works in the morn-ings at his office desk.

The third question was “Do your characters ever ‘take over’ your writing?” Franzen refer-enced Nabokov, who—in a 1967 interview—had identified E.M. Forester for this “loss of autho-rial will,” and promptly responded a resounding no—he worked his

characters “like galley slaves.” Franzen’s final and most lengthy

question was “Is your work autobi-ographical?” He quoted an anony-mous friend with, “Yes. Seventeen percent.”

After answering the four ques-tions he hated being asked, Fran-zen went on to describe the cir-cumstances surrounding his novel, “The Corrections.”

Perhaps the most touching mo-ment of the evening was when he spoke of the last afternoon he spent with his mother before she passed away. He had tried to ex-plain to her why he had not turned out as she wanted him to. She had responded vaguely, “Well, you’re an eccentric.”

Oddly enough, Franzen spent very little time discussing his new book “Freedom,” but did manage to take half an hour of questions from audience members.

During one hilarious “ques-tion,” an older woman repeatedly proclaimed “This is your gift!” The rest of the audience watched in amusement as Franzen’s hands sunk deeper and deeper into his pockets in a fit of sheepishness.

Franzen both astounded and im-pressed with his incredibly open demeanor and lecture.

Jonathan Franzen astounds audience with questions

Author Jonathan Franzen spends an evening in the LPC addressing questions he dislikes being asked.

CLarissa dunnStudent Writer

Photo courtesy Microsoft

This muscle car pack is just one of the many driving options in Microsoft Studio’s new game, Forza Motorsport 4. Forza provides gamers with an opportunity to drive some of the most expensive and powerful cars in the world through high definition graphics and realistic racetracks. This game can be purchased on forzamotorsport.net or at a local retail store.

Forza provides realistic racing

Cory bysStudent Writer

Forza Motorsport 4: possibly the best driving game—dramatic pause—in the world.

After watching the trailer for “Hesher,” I thought to myself, this is going to be an awesome movie. After seeing the actual film how-ever, I wish it were more like the trailer.

“Hesher” depicts a story that has been played out in many mov-ies: how a family copes with grief. The film portrays this often-over-used storyline in such a new and interesting way that it feels fresh.

The film follows T.J., (Devin Brochu), a young boy who falls into depression following a hor-rific car accident that caused the

death of his mother. T.J. and his father (Rainn Wil-

son), who has been immobilized with grief, are forced to live with their elderly grandmother (Pip-er Laurie) who can barely care for herself, let alone her son and grandson.

Left to fend for himself, T.J. quickly heads down a dark path filled with delinquency and an interest in the local grocery store cashier Nicole (Natalie Portman).

Hesher (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is unexpectedly introduced into the story when T.J. ventures into a construction site and, in frus-tration, breaks the window of the house Hesher has been squatting in. This results in Hesher losing his free home and becoming T.J.’s new problem.

Hesher’s brash and violent at-titude toward young T.J. might be too much for some to handle. After all, he is the stereotypical Metal-lica blaring, van driving, “screw the world attitude” metal head.

Hesher, through a series of in-sane pranks and unusual motiva-tional speeches, turns out to be the demented grief counselor that this

family needs.I developed an interesting love-

hate relationship for Gordon-Lev-itt’s character throughout the film. On one hand I despise his charac-ter for the way he treats T.J. and his family, but on the other, Hesher is a very deep and intricate char-acter.

Unlike the trailer, which is full of the character and his mischie-vous ways, the film is not. There are many sequences throughout the movie that needed a little more Hesher. Many times one is left longing for a scene featuring the crude, raw character.

The ending is as equally ambi-tious as the rest of the film. Like any rocker, there is only one way for Hesher to go out, and that is by an over-the-top monologue taking place in a locale no one would ex-pect.

As with heavy metal, this film may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but for those that do like it this movie will be a cult classic. Even though the film has some nega-tives, it is recommend to anybody who desires to see a fresh approach to an overused plot line.

Heavy-metal “Hesher” contributes fresh plot

matt doWningStudent Writer

The crude character Hesher consoles a grieving family through unusual motivational speeches and insane pranks.

Spiked Punch Lines performs comedic improv

Eli Wright (left), Patrick Creedon (center) and Erik Shook (right) play one of the many games that Spiked Punch Lines has to offer. The improv group meets 8 p.m. every Monday and Wednesday in Kendall Hall and has a show at 7 p.m. on Oct. 22 in the Mayo Village SAC.

Logan Miller / Collegian

Want to be heard?

Iranian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani was arrested in 2009 and charged with apostasy for practicing his Christian faith. He was later sen-tenced to death. His case, current-ly on appeal, has been put before Iran’s supreme religious leader, Ayatollah Khameni, whose word will likely decide Nadarkhani’s fate.

It is a tragic state of affairs when a country attempts to control a per-son’s beliefs. There will always be a multiplicity of religions, and in the modern world, more people should accept that. Religion is, by nature, voluntary. A gun to the

head does not compel belief—only action.

It makes no sense to use vio-lence to enforce religion; in fact, such methods are against nearly every religious and moral doctrine. Jesus taught that men should love their neighbors as themselves, and Jesus is not only the central figure of Christianity but also a recog-nized prophet in Islam. Murder and war hardly demonstrate kind-ness and love.

“It is in vain for an unbeliever to take up the outward show of another man’s profession,” Eng-lish philosopher John Locke once said. “Faith only and inward sin-cerity are the things that procure acceptance with God.” The goal of religious intolerance cannot be to save souls.

Members of religions want oth-ers to convert and thus be blessed and rewarded in the afterlife. Us-ing violence and hatred to ensure that someone is blessed does not make sense, nor does trying to change the way someone’s mind works.

One might argue that certain re-ligions are dangerous to the gov-ernment. If such a religion existed, it would be much better known. Besides, most religions believe in respecting others and treating them with kindness. Individuals, not belief systems, are sources of danger. It is a person’s actions, not his or her beliefs, that form a basis for fair judgment.

Baruch Spinoza, another En-lightenment philosopher who pro-moted religious toleration, said that the purpose of a state “is not to exercise dominion nor to restrain men by fear and deprive them of independence.” Instead, our soci-ety must strive to free people from fear, so that they can exercise their right to worship as they see fit.

The government is not responsi-ble for choosing a religion for the people—it is for the government to give people a safe environment to find religion for themselves, what-ever that religion may be. Govern-ments are meant to give people a better standard of living, and fear does not lead anyone to happiness.

It is both illogical and morally wrong to punish Nadarkhani for practicing a specific religion, and it is also morally wrong to blame the situation on Muslims in gener-al. Just as the Iranian government cannot say what this man should believe, one religion should not be

blamed for the way a few of its fol-lowers act.

In a cosmopolitan society, the reality that many religions and cultures will have to interact is inescapable. More active attempts at tolerance are required to ensure that the future is peaceful.

When I first heard about the Oc-cupy Wall Street protests almost a month ago, I was skeptical of their staying power, just as I was with the Tea Party. However, what started out as a localized youth protest is turning into a national movement.

The protesters are frustrated with the Obama administration and the significant influence of the moneyed elite, the “one percent” that benefits from the current po-litical-economic system. They are

expressing the economic frustra-tions of the 99 percent of Ameri-cans without access to corporate power.

The basis for their concerns is real. According to data from the Senate Joint Committee on Taxa-tion, since 1970 the corporate tax rate has dropped dramatically compared to the rise of the payroll tax rate. In addition, many stud-ies have show that in 21st-century America two thirds of income growth has been in the top one per-cent, while the bottom 99 percent of incomes hardly grew.

Business undoubtedly enjoys a privileged position in government. Corporations exercise signifi-cant influence via special interest groups, lobbyists and campaign contributions.

They also have a huge impact on a local level, sometimes un-consciously. Take for example major business location decisions. State governments compete to at-

tract big businesses like Google or Boeing. Ultimately, political elites must pay attention to business elites, but not at the expense of the people. This is exactly what hap-pened when Wall Street convinced the government that it could regu-late itself, and today we feel the consequences.

The greatest strength of OWS

is its populist appeal. The protest-ers do not have clear demands or a clearly defined leadership. They have horizontal organization and use a general assembly method to make decisions. The protesters are proud that their movement has a

strong democratic nature and that they do not seek the favor either political party, even though many trade unions have shown their sup-port. OWS has acknowledged that they draw inspiration and ideas from the Arab Spring, and protest-ers in Spain and Greece.

The common factors in all of these movements are an emphasis

on non-violence and the instru-mental role of social media. Face-book, Twitter, streaming videos and other social media services have kept OWS connected and ex-panding city by city, from NYC to London and even to Tulsa.

I was curious to see for myself the protesters in NYC and was able to join them through live video streaming on the OWS website. To my surprise an elderly man with a WWII cap was answering some viewers’ questions online. He said he was 86 years old, and was with his wife. As the camera moved about I could see the camp in the park and hear defiant drumming and chanting in the background.

For OWS to continue its evolu-tion into a political force, it must eventually make an appeal to for-mal power, much the same way the Tea Party became associated with conservatives. It is refreshing to see both liberal and conservative political activism contributing to a much-needed debate about our government and our society. As Americans, we must take owner-ship of our government by ask-ing tough questions and voting. In 2008 we needed hope. In 2012 we need compromise and change.

In response to Emily Callen’s thoughtful article regarding the lack of stated protections for LGBT students, I’m writing to say I believe such a policy is needed for university employees as well. I’ve been privileged to work in a friendly, open department the en-tire 16 years I’ve been here, but each time a new employee comes into the department I find myself anxiously hoping they will be open-minded and that this will

continue to be a safe place for me to work.

The University of Tulsa is a great place to go to school or work. We should protect our current students and employees and encourage the best possible applicants no matter what their sexual orientations by putting our progressive attitudes into our stated non-discrimination policy.

Sincerely,Mark Archer

Opinion thE COllEgiaN : 818 OCtOBER 2011 opinionthE COllEgiaN : 9 18 OCtOBER 2011

Amid the current recession’s economic woes, there has been much talk about the salaries of U.S. lawmakers. Some have suggested that Congress’s pay should be significantly reduced, while many wish to eliminate it altogether. Despite these popu-list urges, however, the best thing to do for our country would be to dramatically raise Congressional salaries, even to one million dollars a year.

It is easy to understand the hostility di-rected toward Congress. Members of the House and Senate make a base salary of $174,000 per year and those in leader-ship roles make up to $223,500 per year. With the median household income hov-ering around $43,000 a year, it is easy to see why people are upset that those

they blame for the recession—fairly or unfairly—are making three to four times as much as the rest of the country.

This, however, is a shortsighted emo-tional response that fails to consider the ef-fect these salaries have on the nation as a whole. There are three primary reasons that increasing congressional salaries to one mil-lion dollars would be beneficial.

First, higher salaries would attract more talented and qualified individuals. Second, they would cut down on the financial incen-tives for corruption amongst our politicians. Finally, they would help ensure that Con-gressional elections are more competitive, allowing the federal government to more accurately reflect the American public.

If we want our government to be managed in the best possible way, then as a society we will want to direct our best and bright-est citizens into government. Currently our nation’s top youth are being funneled into the private sector. Salaries on Wall Street and in Silicon Valley make Congress’s pay look laughably insignificant. It is easy to see why the student graduating at the top of his class at Harvard—the exact type of person we want running our country—would be far more inclined to take a high paying job in the private sector than to run for Congress. Of-fering significant and competitive financial

incentives to entice highly qualified people to run for office could counteract this.

Additionally, higher salaries would re-duce the incentive for members of Congress to take bribes and engage in other scandal-ous activities. Instead of just risking their

position and prestige, they would also be risking a million dollars a year. Although this would by no means eliminate corrup-tion, it would create an atmosphere in which many unscrupulous practices would no lon-ger be financially worthwhile.

This could also reduce the incidence of what has become known as the revolving door problem, in which legislators leave their positions in Congress to take high pay-

ing jobs in private sector industries, thus giving these corporations an unfair advan-tage in obtaining favorable government ac-tion. If Congress were to receive higher pay, there would be less incentive to leave for the private sector.

Finally, if members of Congress got paid one million dollars a year, there would be a significant increase in the number of people willing to run for Congress. This would cre-ate competition in what are often largely un-contested primaries and general elections. This increased competition would give vot-ers a chance to elect someone they felt more closely represented their values and would force incumbents to take re-election more seriously.

Raising Congressional salaries is an un-popular suggestion, and improbable due to the fact that Congress must set its own wages. However, it would be a relatively low-cost way to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of American government, sav-ing citizens large sums of money and help-ing pave the way to a brighter future.

Despite the country’s anger with Congress, dramatically increasing Congress’s pay would bring in new talent and fight corruption.

J. Christopher proCtorStaff Writer

More pay a recipe for better Congress

Pastor’s plight portrays free religion’s importance

Kaedi LoveStudent Writer

An Iranian Christian’s death penalty sentence highlights a desperate need for increased tolerance.

zhenya yevtushenKoStudent Writer

Occupy Wall Street is a true populist movement, a leaderless expression of economic discontent.

Occupy Wall Street takes on corrupt business, politics

“(Occupy Wall Street) has a strong democratic nature and does not seek the favor

either political party”

Just before last week’s Republi-can presidential debate, Georgia businessman Herman Cain made a leap in the polls, overtaking Texas governor Rick Perry. It appears that the Cain surge is genuine, although the former Godfather’s Pizza CEO still has the likes of Mitt Romney to contend with for the GOP nomination.

Mitt Romney, however, seems unfazed by Cain’s recent success in the polls, telling ABC News, “We don’t have a Herman Cain problem, Rick Perry has a Herman Cain problem.” If this onslaught of

Cain support continues, Mitt Rom-ney may soon find he has a Her-man Cain problem of his own.

Certainly, Cain’s appeal can be easily identified—he is an ex-tremely successful and outspoken businessman. Cain is winning sup-port because his followers feel that he is qualified to take on this coun-try’s financial problems transpar-ently and efficiently.

Cain said during the debate that his “9-9-9” economic plan, which would set the corporate and per-sonal income taxes at a flat nine percent and establish a nine per-

cent national sales tax, is “well-studied and well-developed.” With Cain’s increasing fame, his plan has come under intense scrutiny by opposing candidates.

Cain is at least honest when he says that his plan would alter the nation’s tax code entirely and increase the cost of goods such as food and medicine. Further, it would place increased taxes on those who, under the current tax code, pay less income tax because of low incomes. Cain believes that his plan is fair because it takes the same percentage from people of all economic classes.

While Cain grew up in a mid-dle-income household, he has been well off for most of his life. He is a self-made businessman

who worked for Coca-Cola and later for Pillsbury, where he even-tually rose to the position of vice president. Throughout his career, Cain has shown a propensity for

overcoming financial obstacles.In his political career, however,

Cain has shown some insensitivity towards lower-income citizens. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Cain made remarks about the protesters occupying Wall Street: “Don’t blame Wall Street, don’t blame the big banks. If you don’t have a job and you’re not rich, (then) blame yourself.”

In the entire Republican debate, Cain spoke almost entirely of his “9-9-9” plan, mentioning the “fail-ings of the current administration” only once. Cain’s website refers to him as “the man with a plan.” While the “Issues” section of his website contains brief elaborations on several issues, such as immi-gration, healthcare, national se-curity and education, most of the focus was on economics.

Herman Cain knows his way around economics. He is not, however, familiar with immensely complex legislative procedures and policies, nor would he feel at home at an international nego-tiations table. Cain readily admits

that he is not up to speed on for-eign policy, but feels as if he is qualified to be president, as he said in an appearance on “The View,” because he is a “problem solver.”

President Obama’s opponents, many of whom are conservatives, harshly criticized Obama’s “lack of experience.” Cain has even less political experience than Obama—none. Cain’s supporters maintain that the country does not need an-other politician in office and that his inexperience in the field of politics is a much-needed change for the country.

Americans should remember that the responsibilities of the presidency are numerous and var-ied. Herman Cain is not an expert in foreign policy, legislative pro-cedures or any form of political science. He does not take a firm stance on humanitarian issues or environmental concerns. Cain’s focus and expertise lie solely in the realm of finance. This makes him especially qualified to be an economic adviser, not the leader of the free world.

LiLy CLoughStudent Writer

While his “9-9-9” plan has garnered attention, Herman Cain is unprepared for the presidency’s challenges.

Herman Cain qualified for business, not presidency

“Salaries on Wall Street and in Silicon Valley make Congress’s pay look

laughably insignificant”

Dear Readers,

I hope you have been enjoying the Col-legian this semester. I have heard a lot of positive feedback about both content and our new look, and we really appreciate it.

I would just like to encourage all of you to send us feedback, both positive and nega-tive. Agree with one of our opinion writers? Let us know. Did one of our articles make you angry? Send us a letter. It helps us im-prove and is another great way to further our goal of being a voice for TU students.

I hope everyone’s semesters are going smoothly.

Catherine RobertsEditor-in-Chief

“Cain’s appeal can be easily identified—he is an extremely

successful and outspoken businessman”

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thE COllEgiaN : 1018 OCtOBER 2011