Pioneer 2008 01 14

IONEERPOklahoma City Community College

www.occc.edu/pioneer

• There’s no room for apathy, editorial, p. 2.• Campus parking ins and outs, p. 7.• RCS starts semester right, sports, p. 8.• Campus clubs gearing up, clubs, p. 10.

This WeekInside January 14, 2007

Vol. 36 No. 17

Preparation is the key

Photo by Amber McBride

Help availableto students allover campus

Language center opensBy Cynthia PraefkeStaff Writer

The six clocks onthe wall above

the computers and theworld map set thestage for OCCC’s new-est lab.

Located in the MainBuilding on the sec-ond floor, the newWorld Languages andCultural Center opensits doors Jan. 14.

Students studyingforeign languages willbe introduced to thelab by their professorsfor use as a studyaide.

The facility, open toall students, offersDVDs and books forinformation concern-ing languages.

“We are compiling allthe information wecan in the lab,” saidChiaki Troutman, lab

assistant.“If we do not have a

resource here, wehope to be able to tellthe student where it isavailable to them.”

Troutman said theprogram also will at-tempt to pair studentslearning languageswith students fluent inthat language or fromthe country of origin.

World languages of-fered on the spring

Transferring student John Potts fills out some of the necessary paperworkto take classes at OCCC. Spring enrollment is open until Jan. 18. Studentsmay enroll in person or online at www.occc.edu./Spring.

schedule are; Chinese,French, German, Ital-ian, Russian, Spanishand Vietnamese.

For more informa-tion, consult theOCCC spring scheduleor Professor AbraGlenn-Allen Figueroaat [email protected].

Staff Writer CynthiaPraefke can bereached at [email protected].

OCCC’s newest lab, the World Languagesand Cultural Center, opens Jan. 14.


By Chris LuskEditor

The beginning of a new semes-ter can be overwhelming to

all students — new and returning.Several campus offices have a

variety of helpful services availableto all students, ranging from coun-seling to employment to recreation.Receiving the right service startsat knowing where to look.

Academic AdvisingAcademic Advising director E.J.

Warren said the Advising office pro-vides students advisement in aone-on-one environment andworks to develop relationships withstudents to provide guidance fortheir education.

“We review the student’s aca-demic goals and help the studentwith proper placement in coursesfor their specific degree plan,” War-ren said.

The Academic Advising office willplan an “Advising Month” this se-mester where they will promotetheir services to students, she said.

“We work with the students toteach them how to fish for them-selves and be able to take controlof their education.”

Transfer CenterAnother service offered within

Advising and Career Services is theTransfer Center, which helps stu-dents prepare to transfer to senior-level institutions.

Transfer and Distance AdvisingCoordinator Leslie Jones said theTransfer Center provides space foruniversity and college transfer rep-resentatives to meet with OCCCstudents, and to provide informa-tion and applications for numer-ous universities, both in state andout of state.

“We [also] are offering to take See “Students,” page 9

current OCCC students to the Uni-versity of Oklahoma, OU-College ofJournalism, University of CentralOklahoma, Southern NazareneUniversity, Oklahoma City Univer-sity and University of Science andArts of Oklahoma for a campustour, information on transferringand getting admitted, and oppor-tunity for a question and answersession,” Jones said.

“Students can contact me if theyare interested in going on … thetours.”

The Transfer Center also is host-ing a Transfer Fair March 3.

Employment Services Students looking for help build-

ing résumés and finding jobs willfind the help they need in the Em-ployment Services office.

The office will provide several dif-ferent workshops throughout thesemester focusing on topics suchas how to dress for success, howto apply for jobs and more.

Students can visit EmploymentServices at the back of the advis-ing area and request to speak withan adviser, no appointmentneeded.

Student Support ServicesThe Student Support Services

office provides students with learn-ing support, personal counselingand disability services.

Pat Stowe, Student Support Ser-vices director, said they help builda support place for students bynetworking them with the variousservices they need across campus.

The mental health counselor canmeet with students who feel theyare experiencing a level of stressinterfering with their ability tolearn, Stowe said.

“If there are more severe prob-lems, wehelp con-

From jobs to tutors, students can findassistance throughout college

2 • PIONEER • January 14, 2008

Editorial and OpinionEditorial

The PIONEER is a publica-tion of Oklahoma City Com-munity College through theDivision of Arts and Humani-ties. It is published weeklyduring the fall and spring se-mesters and the eight-weeksummer session.

All opinions expressed arethose of the author and do notnecessarily represent those ofthe publisher.

The PIONEER welcomes let-ters to the editor and encour-ages the use of this publica-tion as a community forum.All letters must include theauthor’s name, address,phone number and signature.However, the PIONEER willwithhold the name if the re-quest is made in writing. ThePIONEER has the right to editall letters and submissionsfor length, libel and obscen-ity.

Letters to the editor can bedelivered to the PIONEER of-fice, mailed to: Pioneer Editor,7777 S. May, Oklahoma City,Oklahoma 73159 or faxed to(405) 682-7843.

Letters may also be e-mailedto [email protected]. A phonenumber for verification mustbe included.

The PIONEER can be ac-cessed on the Internet at:www.occc.edu/pioneer.

Vol. 36 No. 17Chris Lusk..............................EditorMatthew Bishop............Staff WriterScott Glidewell.............Staff WriterStephen Sossamon......Staff WriterYvonne Oberly...............Staff WriterTony Tsoodle...............Staff WriterAmanda McCrutchen....Staff WriterCynthia Praefke............Staff WriterAmber McBride.......PhotographerCynthia Praefke...........Ad ManagerBrian Stansberry..........WebmasterJamie Laleff....Circulation ManagerRichard Hall.............Lab AssistantRonna Austin.............Lab DirectorSue Hinton...............Faculty Adviser

Well balanced diet,exercise key to healthTo the editor:

What was your New Yearresolution?

If you’re like many Ameri-cans, getting into shape is afavorite resolution.

However, a survey byShape Magazine found 33percent of resolutions arebroken within two days.Only 16 percent lasted allyear long.

Living in Oklahoma Citycan make resolutions evenharder to keep since we wereranked 15 of America’s fat-test cities in the latest sur-vey done by Men’s Fitness.

While there are many di-ets and theories about diet-ing, health professionalsrecommend a simple for-mula — cut back on calo-ries and increase exercise.

Nutritionists discouragequick fixes like skippingmeals, cutting out a wholefood group or taking dietpills not prescribed by amedical doctor.

The key to success is awell balanced diet and dailyexercise.

A diet rich in a variety offoods provides essential nu-

trients needed and allowsone to maintain a healthyweight or lose weight gradu-ally.

Here are some healthfuleating tips that might helpkick start that New Year’sresolution:

• Mix up food groups• Focus on fruits• Vary your veggies• Eat calcium-rich foods• Eat whole grains• Go lean with protein• Cut out the sodaAlong with healthy eating,

exercise is imperative forlasting weight loss.

Oftentimes individualswill diet but not exercise atthe same time.

Employees at OCCC arefortunate to work for an or-ganization that provides freemembership to its workoutfacilities, swimming pooland group fitness classes.

I challenge each of you toenroll in a group fitnessclass, or get involved in theweight room or cardio room.

The Recreation and Com-munity Services Depart-ment employees can helpyou start an exercise pro-

gram that will get you re-sults!

—Lisa VaughanCoordinator of

Environmental Healthand Safety

In the 2004 presidential primaries, youth voter turn-out in Oklahoma was 44 percent.

Forty-four percent? Where was everyone else thatday? You know, that oh-so-important day when we,the citizens of the United States, begin the process ofmaking arguably the biggest decision we make everyfour years?

Apparently we all had something really important todo.

I’m positive more than 44 percent of Oklahoma’syouth voters have something to complain about re-garding our current government.

In fact, I hear it all the time. These last couple ofyears, bashing our president seems to have becomethe popular thing to do.

When conversations arise concerning the state of ournation, everyone seems to have an opinion, and a nega-tive one usually.

Browse through MySpace and Facebook, I prom-ise you will find a lot of anti-Bush material.

Now I am not sitting here defending our president.In fact that’s the last thing I’m doing. The problem isso many people have a problem, yet so few of us doanything to fix that problem.

Ignorance is a huge problem in politics. We don’tknow what’s going on and we don’t seem to carewhen it matters the most.

Look at the large discrepancies between voter turn-outs for the primaries and the national election.

I don’t know about you, but when I’m choosingsomeone to lead me, I would rather choose from alarge pool of candidates than from two.

I want to be able to evaluate the candidates’ ideasand their platforms. I want to have a hand in decidingwho will represent my party in the national election.

Too many people depend on others to make that de-cision for them. They don’t make an effort to under-stand their options. Instead, they vote for the ‘Demo-cratic one’ or they fill in the bubble for the ‘Republicanone’ because well, that’s how they are registered.

That’s stupid. It’s called thinking for yourself, everheard of it? The time for action is now. The 2008 Presi-dential election is rapidly approaching and there is anenergy surrounding this election that is exciting.

Change is imminent, but we will decide the type ofchange. Youth voters carry a lot of weight; we are alarge and, sadly, a largely untapped demographic.

Why sit back and watch things happen when wehave the ability to stand up and make things hap-pen?

You’ve got three weeks until the Feb. 5 primaries.Surf the web, turn on your television, or even – gasp– read a newspaper. However you want, just educateyourself.

Prepare yourself to act.It is not only our right, but our responsibility.

—Chris LuskEditor

Will ignoranceprevail?

January 14, 2008 • PIONEER • 3

Comments and Reviews

“Desire creates the power.”—Raymond Holliwell

A new year is upon us, and with it, a new semes-ter. Whether it’s your first semester in college, yourfirst semester at OCCC, or the end of your aca-demic career, you should want to do as well as youcan academically.

While some folks seem to go through life never need-ing anything much from anyone else, most of us needsome occasional support to navigate life’s rapids.

Fortunately for those students, OCCC offers a widearray of support.

We offer you resources to help you smoothly tran-sition into the life of a college student, resources tohelp you persist and be successful in your academicprogram, and resources to help you transition on-ward.

Why, then, would anyone not take advantage ofthese resources? This is a complex issue, but onereason is “desire.”

Many things compete for our time and attentionevery day. Research tells us that one of the charac-teristics of successful people is their ability to de-lay gratification.

In other words, successful people can resist thetemptation to do one thing so they can do some-thing else. They have the desire to be successful,so they invest themselves in behaviors that lead tosuccess.

This doesn’t mean that they give up everythingfun, but it means they must weigh what that activ-ity will cost in terms of completing necessary taskslater.

Successful students go to class. They probablyaren’t sitting on the edge of their seats awe-struckat every meeting, but they recognize that it’s im-portant to show up.

Successful students meet with their professors.Office hours may not be convenient, but studentswho desire success are willing to live with a bit ofinconvenience.

Successful students use the learning labs andthe library. Watching a movie or having a beer withfriends might be more fun, but they don’t yield thesame benefits.

Successful students seek the advice of faculty andstaff. They also take that advice to heart rather thansummarily dismissing it because it requires theirtime and attention.

As Holliwell said, “Desire creates the power.” Hav-ing the desire to succeed can help you succeed. Ifyou need help identifying campus resources and/orways to mold yourself into a more success-orientedperson, come by and see us here in Student SupportServices.

Have a great (and successful) semester.—Mary Turner

Learning SupportSpecialist

‘27 Dresses’ is witty,predictable, but fun for all

‘Mad Money’ a safe, cleanbet for a load of laughs

The film “27 Dresses,” isa great girls movie. It cen-ters on Jane, played byKatherine Heigl, a womanthat has always, always, al-ways been a bridesmaid,with her closet full of 27dresses she has collectedover years of weddings.

Kevin Doyle, played byJames Marsden, is a writerwho is tired of writingabout commitments in thepaper he works for.

Kevin meets Jane by luckat a wedding he is cover-ing. Unfortunately, Jane isin two weddings at once.

While running back andforth between the wed-dings, you watch as Janetries to make each bridehappy on her special day.Finally, after trying to catch

some flowers, Jane getsknocked off her feet.

Jane and Kevin then ex-change remarks , which notonly are funny but also showwere most men and womenstand on marriage issues.

The plot thickens whenTess, played by MalinAkerman, meets Jane’sboss George, played by Ed-ward Burns.

Jane is tossed into anemotional cycle as her sis-ter and the boss that shehas been in love with foryears decide to get married.Jane is pushed to her limitswith putting a wedding to-gether in three weeks.

The situations becomefunnier as Jane tries to playnice, while Kevin tries toteach her how to say no.

The acting was remark-able, not seeming forced inany scene. The wit andcharm sparked betweeneach character made themall engaging.

There was perfect moodsset to each scene by the di-rector, which I believe wasone of the best things aboutthe movie.

Chick flicks are ratherpredictable and this onedoesn’t stray away from thetypical mold.

Yet, with it’s predictabil-ity it still maintains it’s ownidentity. The film “27Dresses,” is not only a moviefor girls to enjoy but can betolerable by boys.

Rating: A+—Amber McBride

Staff Writer

Place strong actors suchas Dianne Keaton, QueenLatifah, and Ted Danson inthe position of beingstrapped for cash and aninteresting story is born.

Add a ditzy Katie Holmes,Adam Rothenberg as herequally inept boyfriend, andthe dry humor of StephenRoot as the head of the Fed-eral Reserve and you have agood comedic/robbery notunlike that of Oceans 11.

It seems that TedDanson’s character hasbeen downsized and ratherthan share the news with hiswife, Keaton, he puts theirhouse up for sale in an ef-fort to pay the bills.

Keaton’s character,Bridgett, decides to get a job,but finds being an uppermiddle class housewife, witha degree in literature doesnot qualify her to do much.

She takes a job as ahousekeeper at the FederalReserve and is amazed atthe amount of money beingdestroyed each day. The

boss catches her staring atthe procedure and warnsher “not to want.” Shedoesn’t listen to his advice.

She begins to devise a planto get the money, but de-cides she also needs help topull it off. Enter Nina,played by Latifah, a singlemom who wants more forher kids than the ghetto lifeand Jackie played byHolmes, a young fun seeker.These two are convincing asher coworkers and eventualpartners in crime.

Latifah is a realistic singlemother without being ste-reotypical. Holmes is a bittoo dingy at first, but settlesinto the role and comesacross well in the end.

Keaton is the consum-mate actor, and is Bridgettfrom the beginning of themovie. Although one doeswonder how a woman un-aware of her husband’s situ-ation, and unable to qualifyfor other than a janitorialposition, could come up withsuch an elaborate scheme to

rip off the Federal Reserve,the plot is justified by beinglikeable.

Unlike the preconceivednotion aroused by the post-ers and previews, this is notjust a movie for women. Theyoung men in the theaterlaughed at the comedy ex-changes between charactersas much as the women.

The ending contains a fewtwists and has the viewersympathizing with thecriminals, which happens incomedies of this sort.

There is no sex, violenceor bad language. It is not forsmall children because theywouldn’t understand thepremise, but otherwise thisis a fun movie for all ages.

A pleasant fantasy in theRobin Hood genre, ‘MadMoney’ is worth seeing.

If you have a little cashstashed away, you mightwant to spend it on thismovie.

Rating: B—Cynthia Praefke

Staff Writer


Student wins big on ‘Deal or No Deal’By Amber McBrideStaff Writer

In December 2007, phys-ics major Efren Afantewalked out of “Deal or NoDeal,” the television gameshow with $148,000.

Afante was featured intwo episodes that airedDec. 12 and Dec. 13.

Afante said life for himhas changed since the epi-sodes aired.

“The majority who haveapproached me have justsaid that both shows wereamazing,” Afante said.

The show that aired on

Dec. 12 had 16.1 million,and 16.8 million watchedon the Dec. 13 episode.

Despite the excitement ofAfante’s national televisionappearance, he said hemust make plans for hiswinnings.

“I now have all the collegemoney for my physics de-gree at OCCC.

“All my debts are going tobe paid off and the rest willgo toward savings,” Afantesaid.

After the first show airedDec. 12, Afante said thathis phone didn’t stop ring-ing for 30 minutes.

After the phone stoppedringing, and the outcome ofhis show was known by ev-eryone, Afante said he wasrelieved.

“I actually slept for thefirst time comfortably. Ihadn’t been able to sleepthe last two-a-half monthssince I taped the show,”Afante said.

There was no shock fromthe people around Afantesaid. There wasn’t a singleperson that he didn’t tellthat he was going to be on“Deal or No Deal.”

“High executives from mycompany watched my showat a bar, and had everyonein there screaming,” Afantesaid.

Afante went to Hollywoodin September, thinking hewas trying out for the show.

“Deal or No Deal,” had alist of surprises for Afante.

“They knew they weregoing to have me on theshow, but hid it from mefrom the first minute. So,getting me on the show was

a surprise,” said Afante.It didn’t stop there, with

Afante’s parents beingflown out to the show fromThailand.

“I hadn’t seen my parentsin a year,” said Afante.

The last thing added tohis surprises and shock:“Howie had the ladies onstage and told them to say‘hi, Efren.’

“When they all said it, Ifelt like a 12-year-old boythat just got kissed for thefirst time,” Afante said.

“Deal or No Deal” is agame show hosted byHowie Mendel. Contestantsplay the game on luck, with26 cases for them to pickwith varying amounts rang-ing from a penny to $1 mil-lion.

Contestants pick onecase to keep hoping it to be$1 million, from there theytry to knock out as manylower amounts as they can.From there contestants areoffered money based on theodds of them getting $1

million in their case by theelusive banker.

The offer will go up if theycontinue to keep largeamounts in game, andknock the smaller amountsout.

If they knock largeramounts out the offer willgo down.

Staff Writer AmberMcBride can be reached [email protected].

Play auditions to be heldBy Erica TatumNews Writing Student

Auditions for the play “The ResistibleRise and Fall of Arturo Ui (A GangsterSpectacle)” will be held at 7 p.m. Tues-day, Jan. 15 and Wednesday, Jan. 16 inthe OCCC Theater.

There are five women and 15 men neededfor the play’s 35 characters. Some actorswill need to play more than one role, saidDirector Brent Noel.

“The play itself is one of metaphors,” saidtheater program Director and ProfessorBrent Noel.

The first is in the title itself, which, whenlooked at metaphorically, can be seen asU plus I equals WE (Ui is pronounced “we,”Noel said).

Set in 1930s Chicago, the play followsthe life of gangsters, with Arturo Ui beingthe main character.

However, the play is more than a storyabout gangster life.

“It is a thinly disguised story aboutAdolph Hitler and the Nazis rise to power,”Noel said.

The play, by Bertolt Brecht, was writtenin the 1940s after Brecht had been forcedby Nazis to leave his home in Germany.

Auditions are open to everyone and noexperience is needed.

Production dates are Feb. 21, 22 and23. Rehearsals are scheduled to beginMonday, Jan. 21.

For more information, contact Noel at405-682-1611, ext. 7246, or by e-mail [email protected].

College closed Jan. 21 for MLK DayThe college is closed Monday, Jan. 21

in observance of Martin Luther King Day.Classes resume Tuesday, Jan. 22.

Efren Afante


By Stephen SossamonStaff Writer

Campus security officersarrested a visitor on cam-pus Jan. 4 after she wasobserved inhaling fumesfrom an aerosol can of dustremover in the collegebookstore.

Adrianna Boswell was ar-rested by Oklahoma Citypolice for shoplifting andinhaling a dangerous sub-stance.

Boswell was arrested in acollege parking lot afterbookstore employees alert-ed security officers to herbehavior.

At about 5 p.m., SecurityOfficer Sgt. Kevin Tiptonwas notified by BookstoreSecurity Officer WilliamBusby that an employeenoticed a lady that was“huffing” aerosol cans ofdust remover, according toa report.

“On the can, it says thatthe dust remover is ex-tremely dangerous,” Tiptonsaid.

According to the incidentreport, Tipton and Officer

David Shriver made contactwith the suspect and ques-tioned her about being thebookstore, to which she re-plied she had not.

Tipton then asked Bos-well to stick out her tongueto check for any freezerburn marks, but none werevisible, he reported.

He than asked her for anI.D., but Boswell didn’thave one.

Tipton then told Boswellthey would head back tothe bookstore, and if shewere identified as the sus-pect, they would deal withthe situation then.

The report said the driverof the car then took Boswellto the entry to wait for sus-pect confirmation.

Busby then confirmedBoswell as the suspecthuffing the aerosol cans.

Boswell was then de-tained and identified bybookstore employees.

Boswell pointed outwhere she had left the aero-sol cans, which she dis-posed of in the same placeshe got the aerosol cans,just behind the T-shirts in

Campus visitor caught inhaling aerosol fumesthe bookstore.

“She inhaled one full canand got another, but didn’tinhale any of the second,”Tipton said.

Tipton said Boswell wasnot a student of the college,

but she was just taggingalong with a friend who wasenrolling.

Boswell had two warrantsout for her arrest, one fortraffic fines out of Okla-homa City, and larceny of

merchandise in a retailstore out of Tulsa.

Boswell had no commenton the incident.

Staff Writer StephenSossamon can be reachedat [email protected].


Chiming in on voting, state primariesJohn Hughes Jr.,

armed security officer forthe campus’ security

department, is aregistered voter and plans

to vote in Oklahoma’sprimary. He said he has

paid attention to theprimaries in Iowa and

New Hampshire buthasn’t picked a candidate

yet.“In my job, it’s best

that I remain objectiveand keep [my politicalviews] to myself. But

yes, I plan on voting,”Hughes said.

Jenny Atteberry, publicrelations major, said she’sbeen closely watching thegoings-ons in Iowa and NewHampshire, and she’salready decided theDemocratic Senator HilaryClinton is her choice.

“She has the mostexperience and it’s timefor a woman,” Atteberrysaid.

Cassidy Oliver, 19-year-old OCCC nursing

student, hasn’t picked acandidate yet.

“I haven’t beenwatching the

primaries,” Oliver said.She said she intends to

vote in Oklahoma’sprimary on Tuesday,

Feb. 5.

John Hughes Sr., OCCCpolitical science professor,said he’s definitely votingFeb. 5, but anticipateswaiting until closer to theelection before choosing hiscandidate.

“It’s a little too early totell [which candidate I‘dpick],” Hughes said.Hughes said he’sresponsible for some of hisstudents registering to vote.

Huh? Voting time already? How to registerThe Oklahoma

Primaries are fastapproaching — the

polls will be openTuesday, Feb. 5.

In order to vote, youmust be registered.

If you aren’t alreadyregistered, it’s too late

to register to vote inthe primaries.

However, later thisyear, general elections

will occur so be sure tobe registered by then.

EligibilityA person who is eligible to register to vote must be: at least

18 years old , a United States citizen and a resident ofOklahoma.

However, a person who has been: convicted of a felonymay not register until a period of time equal to the originaljudgment and sentence as expired , adjudged to be anincapacitated person may not register and adjudged to bea partially incapacitated person prohibited from votingmay not register.

How to registerYou must fill out a voter registration forum. They’re available

at your local County Election Board, post offices, tag agencies,libraries and many other public locations. You can alsodownload an application form by visiting www.ok.gov. Regis-tering to vote is free. The application form asks for: name andaddress, political affiliation, birth date, driver’s license and lastfour digits of your Social Security Number (required if you haveno driver’s license).

When to registerRegistration applications can be submitted at any time.

However, voter identification cards cannot be issued during the24 days prior to an election. If you become 18 during the 60days before an election, you can apply for voter registrationbetween 25 and 60 days before the election.

Voter identification cardYou do not become a registered voter until the county

election board in the county where you reside has approvedthe application. When your application is approved, the countyelection board will mail a voter identification card to you. It listsyour name, address, political affiliation and the polling place foryour voting precinct. When you receive the card, look it overand report any errors to the county election board. Take it withyou when you go to vote.

For more information about voting in Oklahoma, visitwww.ok.gov or call the State Election Board, located in

Oklahoma City, at 405-521-2391.


Parking spots do exist!You just have to look for them

By Stephen SossamonStaff Writer

Students should have nodifficulties finding a placeto park — if they look.

Ike Sloas, campus Safetyand Security director, saidthere are 2,775 parkingspaces on OCCC campus.But, there are 12,000 stu-dents.

“Most students park inlots A and C,” Sloas said.

Parking lot A Main has554 spaces and A Southhas 325 spaces. Sloas saidhe believes these spaces areusually filled first becausethey are close to main en-trances.

“Most students pull intothe main campus aroundthose two lots, so they arethe most convenient forthem,” he said.

Sometimes, it seems as ifstudents don’t realize thereare other spaces.

Parking lot B has 283spaces, lot C has 548spaces and D has 232.

Parking lot E has 273spaces, parking lot F has20 spots and G lot Northhas 206 spaces, while G lotSouth has 104 spaces. Fi-nally, H lot has 92 spacesavailable.

Sloas said certain timesduring the day promise abetter spot than others.

“When looking at per-centages, from 10 a.m. tonoon are the worst times forparking on Mondays,Wednesdays and Fridays,”

Sloas said. “And from 11a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesdaysand Thursdays.”

Sloas said getting to cam-pus early, before 10 a.m.,is the best time for a goodparking space.

“Parking for the eveningstudents is usually also re-ally good,” he said.

Even with all of the park-ing spaces allotted for stu-dents, there are thosetimes, such as big events,when it seems impossibleto find a spot to park.

Sloas said there are sometricks to finding a goodspot.

“First, check the Arts

Festival’s parking lot, thereis usually something overthere. If there isn’t, checklots D and E,” Sloas said.

When all slots to park arefull, Sloas noted the over-flow parking is just southof the Aquatic Center.

“There will be security totraffic the activity over intothe overflow area whenthere isn’t enough park-ing,” he said.

Nevertheless, some driv-ers will try to find a refugein spaces not allowed tostudents, or that require apermit some don’t have.

According to CampusTraffic and Parking Regu-

Some fines are...•Failure to stop at astop sign — $25•Going the wrongway on a one-waystreet — $25•Unsafe driving —$25•Parking in a firelane — $100•Parking in ahandicapped spotwithout permit —$100•Parking in afaculty/staff areawithout permit —$15•Improper parking— $3•All other parkingviolations — $5

lations brochure, parkingin a faculty and staff areawithout a proper decal willcost a fine of $15, whileparking in a handicapspace without a proper per-mit will cost $100.

Safety in the parking lotsis a big thing at the college,Sloas said. He mentionedthat, though break-inshave been declining sinceJuly, students and facultyalike should still be cau-tious.

Sloas said the decline hasstemmed from new surveil-lance equipment.

“We have new vehiclesand cameras positioned in

various places, which isprobably the reason therehasn’t been as many break-ins,” he said.

Sloas said people canprevent themselves frombecoming a target by hid-ing away valuable itemsand by locking their doors.

If a student does happento have their vehicle brokeninto, Sloas urges them tocontact security immedi-ately, so they can assistquicker.

Call boxes with a directline to the Safety and Se-curity office are set-uparound campus and in theparking lots.

By Chris LuskEditor

Criminals beware — OCCC cam-pus parking lots are under the sur-veillance of 10 Sony RX550 secu-rity cameras.

The cameras are located outsideon building walls across campus,said Safety and Security Coordina-tor Keith Bourque.

Parking lots watched carefully by security Bourque said the cameras were

installed this past July and havebecome an important investigativetool for campus security.

“[The security cameras] havehelped us establish and solve somecrimes,” Bourque said. “We canmonitor the parking lot from theoffice.”

Bourque said the cameras feedback to a main computer station

in the Safety and Security Officewhere officers can keep an eye onthe entire parking lot at once.

The cameras have an all-pan tiltfeature which allows a wide rangeof movement that can be controlledfrom the Safety and Security Of-fice, said Bourque.

Safety and Security officers areable to utilize the cameras evenduring the evening, said Bourque.

“They see reasonably well in low-light situations,” Bourque said.

Bourque said the cameras pro-vide a deterrent to car break-insand thefts, which had been a prob-lem last year.

“We are looking for anyone whoappears out of place or suspicious,”Bourque said.

Editor Chris Lusk can be reachedat [email protected].


Sports

UPCOMING

OCCCINTRAMURALS

EVENTS

•Feb. 4: The Intramural HotshotBasketball contest will be heldinside the Wellness Center gym-nasium. This three point shoot-ing contest will be for students,both men and women. For moreinformation on Intramural sports,contact Recreation and Sportsspecialist Eric Watson at 405-682-1611, ext. 7786.

•Feb. 5: Intramural Basketballwill start its regular season. Formore information on how to signup, contact Recreation andSports specialist Eric Watson at405-682-1611, ext. 7786.

•Feb. 9: Registration for PowerVolleyball League ends. This isa competitive league open for allmen and women ages 18 and up.The league starts on Feb. 19 andgames will be held on Mondays.The league fee is $200 per team.For more information about howto sign up, contact Recreationand Sports specialist EricWatson at 405-682-1611, ext.7786.

•Feb. 23: Registration for Men’sSpring Basketball League ends.This basketball league is open toall men ages 18 and up. Gamedays are on Thursdays and theleague cost is $230 per team. Formore information about how tosign up, contact Recreation andSports specialist Eric Watson at405-682-1611, ext. 7786.


Basketball set to tipoff soon

•It pays to advertise inthe Pioneer, call the Ad

Manager at 405-682-1611,ext. 7674•

Have a great sportsstory you want to

share?Contact Matt at

405-682-1611, ext.7675 or e-mailSeniorWriter@

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By Matt BishopSenior Staff Writer

Basketball will tip-off the intra-mural sports season with theHotshot Basketball contest onMonday, Feb. 4.

In this event, participants willhave their skills tested in three dif-ferent categories of shooting in-cluding the three-point shot, freethrows and spot shooting in vari-ous areas of the court.

Intramural basketball is slated tostart the next day, Feb. 5.

Eric Watson, Recreation andSports Specialist, said both basket-ball events will be co-ed.

Watson also said information onother upcoming intramural sportswill be available on Monday, Jan.14 and Wednesday, Jan. 16. A

table to recruit players will be setup in the foyer outside of theWellness center, Watson said.

There, students interested inplaying any of the intramural sportscan gather information on the datesto signup and play.

The information table will be setup from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. onJan. 14 and 16, outside theWellness Center.

Information on other sports suchas soccer, dodge ball, bowling, bil-liards, chess, volleyball and tabletennis will be available at the table.

Watson said that there are plansof possibly having a faculty, staffand student volleyball league.

RCS is hoping to get the differentdepartments around campus to puta team together for the league,Watson said.

He said the teams wouldn’t haveto be students versus faculty, butthat the two could join up and playon the same team together.

Watson said he hopes that RCScan gather enough participants toget a full league.

The league would need at leastsix teams of eight players to be bigenough to hold, Watson said.

The volleyball league would beplanned for after spring break,most likely in April.

Any student wishing to use theWellness and Aquatic Centers forrecreational use can do so for freeby presenting a valid student IDat the front desk in the WellnessCenter.

Senior Staff Writer Matt Bishopcan be reached at [email protected].

Nursing student, Christie Ezell,uses one of the many treadmillsand running machines that can befound in the Wellness Center.Many students can be found inbetween classes staying fit withthe variety of machines andactivities the Wellness Centerprovides to help students stayhealthy and active.

The Wellness Center is openMonday through Friday from 6a.m. to 8:30 p.m., and Saturdaysfrom 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and is freeto all students with a valid studentID.

The Aquatic Center is also opento all students with a valid studentID and offers open swim, waterbasketball and volleyball, anddiving. The Aquatic Center is openMonday, Wednesday and Fridayfrom 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday and Thurs-day from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., 11a.m. to 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. to8:30 p.m. and Saturdays from11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.


Students can find variety of support, help around campus “Students,”Cont. from page 1

nect them to community re-sources in order for themto receive long-term coun-seling or [if needed].”

Disabilities Services pro-vides equipment and assis-tance in accordance withthe American DisabilitiesAct, Stowe said.

Some of the services pro-vided include interpreters,captioning, audio instruc-tion materials, note takersand voice synthesizers.

TRiOThe TRiO office also pro-

vides assistance in a simi-lar fashion as Student Sup-port Services.

TRiO serves a targetedgroup of students whomust apply and be ac-cepted to the program.

In order to qualify, thestudent must be financiallydisadvantaged, disabled, or

a first-generation collegestudent, meaning neither ofthe student’s parents com-pleted a bachelor’s degree.

TRIO offers services in-cluding tutoring, men-toring, counseling, infor-mation and assistance withfinancial aid and scholar-ship applications.

Students can find theTRIO office on the first floorof the Main Building acrossfrom the College Theater.International StudentsStudents looking for help

transitioning into not onlya new school, but also anew country can find helpinside the Recruitment andAdmissions office.

International StudentAdmissions counselorSunny Garner said the ser-vices provided for interna-tional students are broaderthan simply learning totransition to a new culture.

Garner said they provide

students with assistancewith legal documents andhelps maintain the stu-dents’ international statuswhile they are studying inthe United States.

The office provides cul-tural adjustment informa-tion, helps coordinate ad-mission efforts, producesimmigration documents forstudents to obtain a stu-dent visa and meets all re-porting requirements forthe Department of Home-land Security.

Student LifeStudents can learn about

and join various clubs andorganizations through theStudent Life office.

Student Life holds BrownBag Lunch workshops,open to the entire studentbody, which cover topicssuch as study skills, stressrelief and test taking.

The office also gives stu-dents the ability to do com-

munity service throughtheir Service Saturdays.

Student Life also willdocument student’s com-munity service, leadershipand club membership andprovide a Student Activitiesand Recognition Tran-script.

Recreation andCommunity ServicesThe Recreation and Com-

munity Services office pro-vides students with an out-let to stay physically fit.

Students have free accessto the gymnasium, weightroom, cardio room andAquatic Center.

In order to use the facili-ties, students must presenta valid student ID.

Editor Chris Lusk can bereached at [email protected].


HighlightsOpening Day for new students

Opening Day for new students will be from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.Saturday, Jan. 12. It is a chance for new students to find theirclasses, explore campus resources and meet some faculty andstaff. In order to volunteer, please contact Darin Behara in Stu-dent Life. Student Life will provide lunch at noon, for the volun-teers. You can contact Behara at 405-682-7596.

Casting callAuditions for the play “The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui” (A

Gangster Spectacle) by Bertolt Brecht will be held at 7 p.m.Tuesday, Jan. 15, and Wednesday, Jan. 16 in the OCCC The-ater. Five women and 15 men are currently needed. All are en-couraged to audition, no experience necessary. Production datesare Feb. 21 to Feb. 23 and rehearsals will be held 7 p.m. to 10p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information, contactBrent Noel at 405-682-1611, ext. 7246, or [email protected].

Career and Employment Power workshopsOCCC Career and Employment Services is hosting a series

of workshops this semester designed to help OCCC studentsmake the transition from school to the workforce. Workshop top-ics include : “Career Exploration through Discover” Jan. 22; “JobSearch through OCCC Job Board” Jan. 29; “Optimal ResumeCreation” Feb. 12; “Optimal Cover Letter Creation” Feb. 19;“Optimal Interviewing” March 11; “How to Dress for Job Inter-views” April 01; “Hot Occupations — Top Salaries” April 22; “In-ternships — Greater Grads, Tinker and Disney” April 29. All work-shops will be from 12:30 p.m. to 12:55 p.m Tuesdays, in MainBuilding room 1F6. For additional information, contact Careerand Employment Services at 405-682-7519, or [email protected].

New transfer tour dates for Oklahoma campusesThis semester the OCCC Transfer Center will offer tours to

OU, UCO, SNU, USAO and OKCU. Tour dates: OU College ofJournalism , Tuesday, Feb. 5; OU, Wednesday, Feb. 6 and Tues-day, March 4; OKCU, Tuesday, Feb. 12; UCO, Friday, Feb. 15and Tuesday, March 11; SNU, Monday, Feb. 18; USAO, Friday,March 7. Tours are designed to answer your questions and makethe transition to your next school easier. There is limited spaceavailable for each tour. To reserve your spot or for more infor-mation, contact Leslie Jones at 405-682-7567, or e-mail [email protected].

Study abroad course offeredA course trip to Mexico’s Yucatan will beginn May 24. The trip

is open to the public and may be used to earn 3 Humanitiescredits (but not required). Students will return May 31. The costsfor this trip will be $1,606 for those 22 and younger, and $1871for those 23 and older. The cost covers the program and depar-ture but not the passport, though you may include it in the pack-age. For more information, please contact Catherine Kinyon at405-682-1611, ext. 7233.

All Highlights are due Tuesday by 5 p.m. forinclusion in the next issue. Highlight forms can be

picked up in the Pioneer office, located on thesecond floor of the Main Building,

across from the elevator.

Jon Horinek, Student Life Community Engagement Coordinator, serves popcorn tostudents waiting in line to enroll for classes. The last day to enroll for the spring semesteris Jan. 18.


Popcorn man

By Scott GlidewellStaff Writer

For most students, thefirst weeks of class arerather stressful. Buyingbooks, trying to findclasses, adjusting to newprofessors and just gettingback into the groove ofschool can be difficult.

In an attempt to alleviatesome of the stress associ-ated with this time of yearthe Office of Student Life issponsoring several activi-ties in the upcoming weeksbeginning with OpeningDay on Saturday, Jan. 12.

Opening Day activitiesbegin at 1 p.m. and con-tinue until 4 p.m. Volun-teers will be available tohelp students find theirclasses and to answer anyquestions they might have.

Students will have the op-portunity to take campustours, explore campus re-sources and meet OCCCstaff and faculty.

An optional family orien-

Office of Student Lifewelcomes students

Read the Pioneer Online atwww.occc.edu/pioneer. ThePioneer is YOUR newspaper.

Check it out online forbreaking news and extra

features.

tation is available at 1:30p.m. and a family orienta-tion for Spanish-speakingstudents will be offered at3 p.m. Those wanting to at-tend either family orienta-tion should call 405-682-7523 to reserve a spot.

Darin Behara, Director ofStudent Life, said the goalof Opening Day is to helpnew students find theirclasses and ease some ofthe tension from the firstday of class.

After the festivities ofOpening Day come to aclose, Welcome Week willbegin when classes startMonday, Jan. 14.

Students are invited tostop by the College Unionto take part in various ac-tivities throughout eachday.

On Monday students canget their name painted ona grain of rice. Creativebead art will be offered onTuesday. Students can getdog tags made on Wednes-day.

Thursday will bring themusical stylings of acous-tic guitarist Joe Rowan tocampus.

Rowan is set to performat noon near the OCCCCoffee Shop.

Once Welcome Week hascome and gone, the Stu-dent Organization Fair isthe next big event on theStudent Activities Calen-dar.

From 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. onWednesday, Jan. 23, andThursday, Jan. 24, morethan 40 student groupsand organizations will havebooths set up in the Col-lege Union.

Behara said the organi-zation fair has two goals.

“It is an opportunity forthe clubs to gain exposureand to recruit new mem-bers,” Behara said.

Behara said it’s impor-tant for students to get in-volved.

Staff Writer Scott Glide-well can be reached [email protected].


Pioneer Classified Advertisingis free to all enrolled OCCC stu-dents and employees for anypersonal classified ad. Adsmust be submitted in writingwith IDs supplied or work areaand college extension in-cluded. Deadline for advertis-ing is 5 p.m. Tuesday prior tothe publication date. For moreinformation, call 405-682-1611,ext. 7674, or fax 405-682-7843.

FOR SALE: Three-year-oldLudwig Doetsch violin with soft-side case. In excellent condition.A real buy at $1,500. 405-306-3290 or 405-306-1396.

ATTN. SCRAPBOOKERS:Sizzux Die Cut Machine, SizzletsConverter, “Girls are Wierd” al-phabet set, 16 Misc. Sizzlets incase, 3 misc. Sizzux dies. Over$300 worth of equip.All for $150.Call Barbara at 405-226-4004.

FOR SALE: Lady Trek CruiserBicycle. Red, Heavy duty, new inbox. $200. Call 405-677-3714.

FOR SALE: One used Lifestyle300 multi-action rowing machine.Smooth rowing action. Call 405-326-8134.

Class ifi eds

FOR SALE: ’05 50cc YamahaZuma. Blue, less than 100 miles,garage kept, recently tagged.Great for quick trips to the store,or running errands around town.Approx. 60-65 miles per gallon. Iam wanting a smaller scooter, butneed to sell this one first. Asking$1,500. Call Tammy Davis 405-524-9429 or 405-210-7438.

FOR SALE: ’00 Nissan Fron-tier. White, 5 speed manual trans.A/C, hard-top bed cover, new tires.Looks good & runs great! Asking$1,700. For information call 405-222-1954. Ask for Allen.

FOR SALE: ’94 Ford Taurus.164k miles, sable, cruise control,auto, A/C, power windows/locks/seats. $1,800 OBO. Great condi-tion. Contact [email protected].

FOR SALE: ’93 GMC extendedcab pickup. PW, PDL, AM/FM CDplayer, chrome mags, nerf bar.198,000 miles. New transmissionw/8000 miles, New crate motor2003 w/ ~ 60,000 miles. All docu-mentation. $4,875. Call Terri at405-413-1058. Leave message.

FOR SALE: ’91 Camaro. V8,runs but needs work. $1,000O.B.O. Call 405-410-4417.

FOR SALE: ’85 Honda ShadowVT 1100. Less than 18k miles,saddlebags, custom flame paint.$2,250 O.B.O. Call 405-570-8480.

NANNY NEEDED: Seekingtrustworthy, dependable nannyservice or live-in nanny to care forand love my 2-year-old son. Cre-dentials, references and back-ground check a must. Call Chrisat 405-473-1267.

FOR SALE: 61-keyboardCasio. Like new, 137 tones, 100rhythms, and more w/stand. $95Call Ray at 405-485-3382.

FOR SALE: Pair of Paradigm

FREE KITTENS TO GOODHOME: All precious! 8 weeks old,litter trained. Contact 405-682-1611, ext. 7197 or 405-550-9824.

Classified Ads up to 7 lines are free to OCCCstudents and employees unless business related.

QUIZNOSSW 104th and WesternNow hiring all positions

Flexible ScheduleCall 405-692-1118

Carson’s Market Fresh CafeAnnounces to all customers: Thata price increase will take effect01/21/2008.New prices will be

posted on 01/14. Refer questionsto Corrine Aguilar Ext.7583

Thank You

TEXTBOOK FOR SALE: I havean introductory & intermediateAlgebra book, 3rd edition, for sale.Great condition! 405-206-4125.

CITY OF EDMONDSummer positions@

Pelican Bay Aquatic Center:Asst. Pool mgr,

Cafe Mgrs,Cafe Staff/Cashiers,

Lifeguard Staff, Water Safety Instructors.

Golf Course,Arcadia Lake, Parks &

Recreation jobs also open.Job info line 405-359-4648

www.edmondok.comApply at 100 E First, Rm106

NOW HIRING: Fun, energetic,and enthusiastic teachers atGymboree Play & Music of Okla-homa City. Part-time positionsavailable. Call 405-755-3445 fordetails.

HELP WANTED: Serapio’sTortilla Factory. We are lookingfor several great employees towork a clean production line. Com-petitive pay, start immediately.Day & night shifts available, FT/PT. 405-942-2086. Ask for Rob-ert or Glenn.

ACCOUNTING, BUSINESS, &FINANCE MAJORS: Taxpreparers wanted for upcoming

tax season. Generous compen-sation to motivated & knowledge-able preparers interested in at-tracting clients. Experience pre-ferred but will train. Bi-lingualspeakers also needed. Office lo-cated in Oklahoma City. Pleasecall Harvey at Banner Tax Ser-vice: 405-491-9991. Leave msg.

$7.50/HR-NO SELLING! DOPHONE SURVEYS INSTEAD.Ideal,Permanent PART-TIME forstudents. Mon-Fri 5pm-9pm, Sat10a.m.-7p.m. Ask for Jane 405-525-3412.

Tim Tanner Air Nat ional Guard Repres entat ive Air Nat ional Guard Repres entat ive Air Nat ional Guard Repres entat ive Air Nat ional Guard Repres entat ive Air Nat ional Guard Repres entat ive

Oklahoma Air National Guard5624 Air Guard Dr.Oklahoma City, OK 73179-1067

100% COLLEGE TUITION WAIVER

$$$$ MONEY FOR COLLEGE $$$$

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Office (405) 686-5215Toll Free (800) 528-2231Cell (405) 517-3409

e-mail: [email protected]

Reference bi-polar home theaterspeakers. Approx. 4’ tall, blackfinish, in excellent condition. $500for pair-cost new was $1,200.Check website at www.paradigm.com for further information aboutquality of speakers. Call Christyat 405-401-1254.

FOR SALE: SprintPCS PalmTreo 650 smartphone. Perfectcondition & works very well. Noscratches or scrapes. $150. E-mail shelovezlaw @yahoo.com orcall 405-210-2219 for pictures,ESN clearance number &discription. Serious replies only.

Fax your ads405-682-7843 or

e-mail [email protected]

attn: Cynthia


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