Safe sex? Make it a priority every time.
W W W.O U DA I LY.C O M
(Opinion, Page 4)
NATIONA L CONDOM W EEK
T U E S D A Y , F E B R U A R Y 14 , 2 0 1 2
STUDENT GOVERNMENT
MIDDLE EAST
UOSA creates new way to help
Syrian expert leads class
Program made to improve group communication RACHAEL CERVENKA Campus Reporter
UOSA administrators have implemented a program to facilitate conversation between student government and registered student organizations on campus.
The Registered Student Organizations Ambassador program was launched in January, Student Organizations Director Andi Atkin said. The program enables UOSA to reach out to student organizations rather than having the groups come to them, Atkin said. UOSA members recruited 10 ambassadors to serve in the program, Atkin said. The ambassadors were
VALENTINE’S DAY
required to complete an application before they could be considered for the position, she said. OU has more than 490 registered student organizations on campus, so each ambassador will oversee 50 organizations or more, she said. The student organizations were classified by their mission statements into 10 categories, Atkin said. Each ambassador contacted the
presidents of his or her assigned organizations at the start of the semester. The main job of the ambassadors is to inform UOSA of what the organizations are doing and, in turn, let the organizations know what UOSA is doing, Atkin said. The ambassadors notify the organizations about UOSA deadlines, events and resources SEE UOSA PAGE 2
SNOW-K-L-A-H-O-M-A!
Other nations mimic holiday
AJINUR SETIWALDI Campus Reporter
When Joshua Landis earned a European history and French bachelor’s degree in 1979, he never foresaw becoming a leading expert on a Middle Eastern country currently in turmoil. He knew he wasn’t going to be a doctor, a lawyer or a banker like his father, so he waved goodbye to his upbringing and decided to pursue an adventure. His hunger for adventure motivated Landis to travel to a civil war zone – Lebanon – to teach history and English literature at a college in Beirut. 30 minutes into his first lesson at the blackboard, a military shell disturbed Landis’ class. Despite the dangers, Landis returned to the Middle East again and again as a student, teacher and expert. That thirst for adventure became a career, and today Landis is recognized as a leading expert on the
Chocolates have two meanings in Japanese culture CORENTIN COURTOIS Campus Reporter
Roses and teddy bears may be the tangible exp re s s i o n s o f l ov e f o r Americans celebrating Valentine’s day, but in other countries a very different set of expectations and traditions exist. “In Japan, it’s basically chocolate day,” Japanese business student Yuki Nakatsuka said. Japanese people don’t traditionally go to the movies, a restaurant or other romantic settings, he said. Instead, women offer chocolate to men, but never the other way around, Nakatsuka said. Women can offer two types of chocolate, he said. Gir i-choco, or “obligation chocolate” in Japanese, are small pieces of chocolate or cookies usually offered to male coworkers, friends and acquaintances. H o n m e i - c h o c o, o r “true feeling chocolate” in Japanese, are of higher quality, more expensive and are usually given to boyfriends, prospective boyfriends and husbands. “It’s a tough day for girls because it’s often the day where they will confess their love to the guys depending on the type of chocolate they give,” Nakatsuka said. Though the distinction between chocolates may put the emphasis on women, but White Day, which takes place exactly SEE SWEETS PAGE 3
OUDaily.com The Daily’s multimedia staff picks a few local date destinations. oudaily.com/multimedia
SEE CULTURE PAGE 2
BIO BOX Josh Landis
ERIKA PHILBRICK/THE DAILY
University College freshmen Corrie DeGraffenreid (left) and Brennan Curtis build a snowman Monday in front of Couch Restaurants. Oklahoma received one to two inches of snow Sunday night, causing university officials to cancel early-Monday classes. OU resumed its normal schedule at 10 a.m. Visit OUDaily.com to see how other students on campus responded to Monday’s snow.
Landis is OU’s director of the Center for Middle East Studies and a professor of Middle Eastern Studies.
INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
Finding home depends on wants, necessities Exchange students seek appropriate campus living CORENTIN COURTOIS Campus Reporter
Coming to a new house is one thing, but finding a home is another for international students. Exchange students are usually afraid to be isolated from the other exchange students, which explains why only 1 to 2 percent of exchange students live in residence halls or off campus, International Housing Coordinator Luis Salvatierra said. Yet all the housing options
have pros and cons. Many students chose the OU Traditions Square apartments for the comfort and services, but for others, like Juliette Faraggi, these were not a priority. Faraggi, a French foreign language student, came to the U.S. to travel, and she needed cheap rent to accomplish that, so she decided to live in OU’s Kraettli Apartments, she said. “We arrived in this beautiful campus where everything was amazing, but then AUSTIN VAUGHN/THE DAILY they brought us to this dreary looking place and said, ‘OK, University College freshmen Jiyoung Moon (right) and Christiana Vipay talk in their dorm room Thursday. SEE HOUSING PAGE 3
Moon, an international student, chose to live with an American roommate instead of surrounding herself with other international students in Kraettli Apartments.
SPORTS VOL. 97, NO. 100 © 2012 OU Publications Board FREE — Additional copies 25 cents Campus ........................ Classifieds .................. Life & Arts ................... Opinion ...................... Sports .........................
OU professor studied, taught at Syrian college
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Oklahoma hosts Texas on Tuesday. The Longhorns are riding a three-game winning streak. (Page 5)
Cleveland County Health Department inspection reports of private food service groups that serve the 22 OU greek houses — To ensure private food service contractors are complying with state food service codes.
Wednesday
LIFE & ARTS
Current contracts between OU and all food franchises on campus — To learn more about the terms and conditions of those contracts.
Friday
OU Police Department call records from last semester to present — To learn more about the number of phone calls OUPD fields and the reasons people call.
Friday
OU students to compete Love it or hate it, but for $100,000 investment Valentine’s Day is here Two Venture for America Fellows will work at start-up companies in low-income cities after graduation. (Campus)
The Daily’s open record requests
Sooner men’s hoops to face red-hot ’Horns
If the day of love snuck up on you this year, the life & arts staff has some last-minute ideas to save the day. (Page 7)
BEN WILLIAMS/THE DAILY
Junior guard Whitney Hand (left) struggles to shoot as a Connecticut defender prepares to block the shot. The Sooners lost to UConn, 73-55, for the fourth straight year on Monday in Norman. (Page 5)