CLOSED OU EATING OPERATIONS AND INCREASED NORMAN RESTAURANT TRAFFIC COINCIDE
Norman Restaurants See Increased Business on Weekends

If one were to dine at a Norman restaurant on the weekends, one might notice the increase in restaurant traffic and a decrease in parking spot availability.

“I’m basically forced to go eat out on weekends to eat, and when I do there's always longer lines and it takes longer to make my food, but at least it's good for Norman restaurants," freshman Will McWhirter said.

The reason for increased restaurant traffic and decreased parking spot availability is because Norman restaurants have better business on the weekends, Darrol Ray said, co-owner of Ray’s Smokehouse BBQ located on W. Lindsey Street.

Typically Ray’s makes most of its profit on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Ray said.

However, Ray’s isn’t the only Norman restaurant that sees increased business during the weekend.

Texadelphia – located on W. Lindsey Street – and Seven47 – located on Asp Avenue – see about a 30 percent increase on the weekends compared to weekdays, Brian Bogert said, owner of Texadelphia and Seven47.

And increased restaurant sales don’t end with Ray’s, Texadelphia and Seven47.

Lucky Star, a Chinese restaurant, located next to Ray’s on W. Lindsey Street, also experiences more customers during the weekend, Sanny Lee said, a Lucky Star employee.

“There are times on weekdays where we don’t have any customers,” Lee said. “But during the weekends most tables are occupied”.

Since Norman is home to a university with over 26,000 students, according to the College and University Directory, the demand for restaurants is high, Ray said.

“Restaurants are in such high demand, and there’s such a high restaurant per capita rate in Norman, that it almost scared me away from settling here,” Ray said.

Weekends Also Equal More Student Business
Along with increased business, Ray’s, Texadelphia, Seven47, and Lucky Star also see a higher number of student customers.

During the weekends at Ray’s, about 30 percent of its customers are students, compared to only about 20 percent student customers during weekdays, Ray said.

Those statistics are similar to Lucky Star’s. In a normal week without holidays, Lucky Star sees about 30 percent student customers compared to about 10 percent student customers on weekdays, Lee said.

Closed Campus Food Options Affect Increased Norman Restaurant Traffic
Both Ray and Lee said closed campus food operations played a role in its increased weekend business.

“We see flocks of students come in for lunch and dinner on the weekends, and they don’t have to,” Ray said. “They could stay on campus eat at the open campus restaurants, but we appreciate it. Obviously the choices are more limited for students during weekends on campus”.

Ray, a former OU student athlete, lived in the athletic dorms in 1980 and experienced the closed cafeteria every weekend, which forced him to venture off campus for meals.

“Looking back to when I lived in the athletic dorms the cafeteria closed on the weekends,” Ray said. “So I always had to go out to eat and spend money. Nobody goes hungry, everyone has to eat somewhere”.

Campus Operations Close to Save Money
There are currently 22 dining locations on campus, according to the university’s Housing and Food Web site. However, only six of these dining options are fully open on the weekends: Burger King, Crossroads, O’Henry’s, Oliver’s, Taco Mayo, and Xcetera.

“Those six operations that are open on the weekends are fairly busy throughout the course of Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday before Couch restaurants opens back up on Sunday evenings for dinner,” Lauren Royston said, Housing and Food Services Marketing and Public Relations Specialist. “Those operations see great traffic and our student response to those being available is really positive”.

These six operations stay open on the weekends for three main reasons: it saves the university around $250,000 per year, many students leave campus for the weekend therefore all 22 food options aren’t necessary and the six open food operations can handle the volume, Food Service Director Chuck Weaver said.

In Kitchen Comments Issue No. 633, Dave Annis, Former Food Services Director and current Housing and Food Services Director, said when Couch was open all weekend there weren’t many customers from Friday night until Sunday afternoon which ultimately led to lost profit.

Customer Service a Top Priority for Food Services
To give students better eating options, since 16 operations are closed, Food services broadened meal card use around campus. Currently, Burger King, Cate Center and Crossroads have meal exchange capability which allows students full access of the menu with their Sooner ID card, Weaver said.

But customer service is Food Services top priority and the Food Services employees are always in planning stages of improving, Weaver said.

Introduced last year, room service from Cate ala Carte was added as a convenience for students living in residence halls or OU Traditions Square. The room service is available every day of the week, and is considered another weekend eating option for students, according to the Housing and Food Web site.

Freshmen Thoughts on Closed Operations
Although Food Services closes 16 operations to save money, which increases local Norman restaurant sales, some students aren’t OK with eating off campus every weekend.

“All the effort to please students with meal plans, like myself, doesn’t go unnoticed,” McWhirter said. “It’s just frustrating because the only place I enjoy eating is the cafeteria, and when it’s closed, it forces me to eat out”.

There aren’t plans to fully reopen Couch Cafeteria, or the other closed operations, on the weekends in the near future, Weaver said.

Owner’s Thoughts about University Not Changing Closings
So while students may not be pleased with eating off campus, restaurants owners, like Ray, see the closed campus eating operations in a positive light.

Ray said the university’s decision to keep 16 of the 22 campus food operations closed for the weekend can only increase sales for his restaurant.

"Doesn’t hurt it, doesn’t hurt it," Ray said. “It certainly isn’t bad for [Ray’s Smokehouse BBQ]. It only gives students more reason to come eat here”.

Closed campus food operations and increased restaurant profit on weekends coincide with one another, Bogert said.

"In general more people just eat out on the weekends," Bogert said. "People look at the weekends as mini vacations and want to eat out".

So unless Food Services decided to fully reopen Couch Cafeteria or any of the 16 closed food operations, things seem as if they might stay the same.

“For now I’ll keep going off campus to eat,” McWhirter said. “Only until I figure a better way, or perhaps more affordable way, to eat on the weekends".



Check out the slideshow and video related to the story:

Students Leaving Campus for Thanksgiving
When OU classes end on Tuesday, many students are leaving campus to travel to their hometowns for Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving Break will start Wednesday November 25 and last through Friday November 27.

“I haven’t even heard anyone say they’re staying in Norman over the break,” Chad Kelly said, who’s going to Houston for Thanksgiving. “Norman will probably be completely empty”.

Students will return for classes Monday November 30, and will not see another break until finals week is over Friday December 18.

Check out the video coverage below:

OU Student to Fulfill Music Dream
Sophomore Rusty Redden isn’t your average OU student; in fact, Redden will be completing a dream of his starting next semester.

Redden will be transferring to Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee – one of the nation’s most prestigious musical schools. In the past few months Redden has even been paid to play guitar, alongside his band, in several popular Dallas locations.

“When I leave for Belmont University, hopefully it’ll be a big step in becoming a well-known musician,” Redden said. “I mean Dave [Matthews] started out like this, so maybe someday my music will impact other's lives”.

Redden and his band will continue playing in different locations this semester, and then Redden will start classes at Belmont University in January.

Check out the video and slideshow below:

17,000 Square Foot Addition Implemented for Ellsworth Collings Hall

OU President David L. Boren has approved a capital fund-raising campaign to meet the growing and evolving needs of the College of Education’s students in order to continue the tradition of providing an outstanding and challenging educational environment, according to OU College of Education website.

The College of Education has experienced tremendous growth that exceeds the capacity of the existing building, resulting in the 17,000 square foot addition to Collings Hall. Improved facilities are needed to continue to bring in top students and faculty, and provide the most appropriate learning environment.

"We are able to start construction because of a generous gift," Bill Moakley said, Director of Communications for the College of Education. "[The College of Education] looks forward to starting the Fall 2010 semester".

The projected completion date for Collings Hall is late spring or earlier summer of 2010 and they anticipate holding classes in the building in the fall of 2010, according to Moakley.

See the video and slideshow below:

Shack-a-thon to Help Less-Fortunate Wednesday
All of the proceeds from the OU Shack-a-thon will go toward a local Norman family.

Tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. in the South Oval, students will create their own shacks made from cardboard, tape and other easily accessible items. The students will be collecting donations to fund the next Habitat for Humanity house build.

“Shack-a-thon is a creative way to give back to the Norman community,” Jason Denny said, a Shack-a-thon volunteer. “Many students have spare change they won’t use so we will be collecting it all day.”

Habitat for Humanity will build a house for a less-fortunate Norman family with Shack-a-thon donations accounting for partial building costs.

See the video and slideshow below:

A student runs near the Cate Center dormitories Friday. Cate Center is currently under renovations.

Cate Center Significantly More Affordable than Towers
Although the Cate Center quads are undergoing renovations, Cate is still the most affordable of the residence halls.

The Cate Center rooms are the last to be upgraded; therefore the prices are significantly lower than the Adams, Couch or Walker towers. The cost is $4,312 for a single room in the quads, while the price to live in the towers is $5,010 for a single room, according to the Housing and Food Services website.

“I had to switch from the Cate Center dormitories to Couch dormitories because the difference in price was not worth the lack of quality,” freshman Laurence Greene said, a former Cate Center resident.

The plan is to completely finish upgrading all four dormitory options.

Students Find Ozone Confusing
Ozone has become the new campus enrolling program for the spring semester and some students are finding the switch difficult.

Any students planning on attending OU next semester must use ozone.ou.edu to enroll for their classes. Enroll.ou.edu will no longer be effective, except for practice schedules. There are Ozone training seminars for students with less than 60 credit hours.

“The enroll site that [students] are accustomed to worked just fine,” junior James Mobley said. “Switching to something completely new during the middle of a school year doesn’t really make sense. It's much more difficult than the original”.

Ozone is considered the future of campus enrolling and no current plans to return to the original enroll site is expected.

A bulletin board near the Housing and Food Services offices shows ways to consume waste and the changes OU is making in the Crimson and Green program.

OU Making Changes to Go Green
Anyone with an OU account can make a commitment to Crimson and Green and the OU Physical Plant will donate $2 per person to campus recycling.

Crimson and Green is trying to promote campus sustainability and have a semester campaign to encourage students, faculty and staff to make a commitment to change wasteful behavior.

“Our goals through Crimson and Green are to raise campus awareness and of course funds for recycling through the commitments,” Stacy Hawthorne said, a Crimson and Green representative.

Housing and Food Services is making changes for the Crimson and Green program in continuing efforts to support the wishes of customers and their commitment to social responsibility. Housing and Food Services is in the process of replacing ‘styrofoam’ to-go packaging with made-from-recycled and can-be-recycled paper products.

Listen below to a student's opinion of Crimson and Green:

Students working on their float for the Homecoming parade at 3 p.m. CT before kickoff of the Kansas State football game.

Homecoming Parade: A Timely Effort
In an attempt to boost school spirit, Saturday’s homecoming game against Kansas State will feature the annual float parade.

But much work is put forth into each float to ensure a high rating by the panel of judges. Each participating organization assigns members hours each week that they are required to attend. Ten floats created by campus organizations will be used in the “There’s Only One” themed parade.

“Putting a float in the parade shows school spirit,” sophomore Robert Sidwell said. “The work that goes into the float is endless, so it seems. Pomping ribbon and making a frame takes longer than most would think. I spend hours a day working on the float”.

The float parade will take place on the north end of campus at 3 p.m. CT.

Students walk by a closed Couch Cafeteria on Saturday. The cafeteria is closed to save around $250,000 per year.

Food Services’ Weekend Closings Change Students Eating Options
In an effort to save over $250,000 per year, 16 campus dining options close during weekends, including Couch Cafeteria. Therefore students with a university meal plan have fewer options to eat which force them to venture off campus or use their meals at other campus operations.

Couch Cafeteria is closed from 2 p.m. Friday until the dinner meal at 5 p.m. Sunday. The decision to operate with these hours is a reflection of the customer traffic on campus during that time, according to Food Service Director Chuck Weaver.

There is an exodus that occurs around 3 p.m. every Friday afternoon and there are simply not enough people on campus to justify or efficiently operate a facility the size of Couch.

On April 10, 2009, Kitchen Comments Issue 633 informed students why Couch is closed on weekends. Former Food Services Director and current Housing and Food Services Director Dave Annis explained when Couch was open all weekend there weren’t many customers from Friday night until Sunday afternoon.

Other operations – Burger King, Cate Center and Crossroads – could handle the volume, except Sunday night, when students returned to campus.

Couch is labor intensive and by shutting it down for six meals, food services saved 14 FTE’s, which is around $250,000. However, to even out the eating options, food services agreed to extend Cate’s closing time from 10 p.m. to midnight.

Food services also broadened meal card use around campus. Currently, any operation south of Lindsey St. has meal exchange compatibilities. Crossroads is also in the process of becoming a 24-7 meal exchange service.

But customer service is food services' top priority, according to Weaver. They are always in planning stages of new commodities.

Introduced last year, room service from Cate ala Carte was added as a convenience for students living in residence halls or OU Traditions Square. The room service is available everyday of the week, and is considered another weekend eating option for students.

Weaver still believes there are plenty of eating options on the weekends.

“The customers that are available to us on the weekends do go to our other operations on campus but even those days are slower than weekday traffic,” Weaver said.

And there’s a reason for slower weekend traffic.

There are currently 22 dining locations on campus, according to the universities housing and food website. However, only six of these dining options are full open on the weekends: Burger King, Crossroads, O’Henry’s, Oliver’s, Taco Mayo, and Xcetera.

So if students aren’t eating campus operations, they are commuting to off campus restaurants.

And with Lindsey St. running east and west through campus, many restaurants understand that locating on Lindsey St. will boost sales.

Lucky Star is a popular off campus food destination on Lindsey St. and they see a higher volume of business on weekends, compared to weekdays, according to employee Sanny Lee. Lee believes the jump in weekend sales has something to do with campus operations being closed for the weekend.

Lee also said that around 30 percent of their weekend business is students, compared to about 10 percent students during weekdays.

Lucky Star wants students to feel comfortable, so they recently added a big screen television so students can watch weekend football.

But Lucky Star isn’t the only restaurant feeling the wave of weekend business; Ray’s Smokehouse BBQ has become a big addition to Lindsey St. dining.

Darrol Ray, co-owner of Ray’s Smokehouse BBQ, says that while both weekends and weekdays are strong, Friday through Sunday seem to bring in the most business. Ray also said that game day’s bring forth many customers with all the Lindsey St. traffic.

Ray added that around 30 percent of weekend business is students, while weekdays are around the 20 percent range.

“I would think that some of the closed campus eating options are a reason for students eating [at Ray’s Smokehouse BBQ] on the weekends,” Ray said. “Right now we’re trying to get a spot in the food court next year. That’s just wishful thinking though”.

Ray said his restaurant is targeting the student demographic; one way was adding two big screen televisions for weekend football viewing use.

In another attempt to higher student sales, Ray’s Smokehouse BBQ added two student coupons in the “Campus Special” discount book.

Money is the main factor for both food services and students in weekend eating options. For food services, the 16 closings level out meal plan prices so there’s not a steep climb in prices.

“With the resources we have I think that to keep Couch open for those 6 additional meals would be a very expensive service and very few would benefit from the service,” Weaver said.

However some students say they don’t have the income or parental monetary support to eat off campus on the weekends.

“Working is not an option for me as a full-time student,” freshman Will McWhirter said. “So it’s Cate or [Burger King] for me”.

McWhirter also said he understands that some people leave for home or work on the weekends, but it’s an inconvenience for him that the cafeteria is closed.

“The [cafeteria] is where I spend most of my meals,” McWhirter said. “On the weekends, without class, students are more likely to leave Norman. Personally I stay here all weekend, every weekend; so the closed cafeteria is like a nightmare. I don’t even like Burger King”.

Student groups can and do use Couch for programming during those shut down hours for specific purposes so Couch is somewhat open on the weekends for those groups.

There aren’t plans to fully reopen Couch Cafeteria, or the other operations, on the weekends in the near future.

Check out the slideshow of campus operations:

Check out the video of a student's opinion concerning the closed cafeteria:

Check out the audio of Food Services Marketing and Public Relations Specialist Lauren Royston:

Fill the Trolley is an philanthropy to help less fortunate families. CART hopes to fill four trolley's full of gifts this year.

CART to Pursue Gifts for Less Fortunate

To ensure a great holiday season for Norman’s less fortunate families, Cleveland Area Rapid Transit is supporting their annual Fill the Trolley initiative.

CART will be collecting donations and attempt to fill trolleys full with toys, household items and teen gifts. Organizations and departments interested will receive a large decorated box during the first week of November to fill with gifts. Then on December 2 the boxes will be collected for distribution.

“The is a wonderful opportunity to do something great for the community,” Kris Glenn said, the CART Marketing and Public Relations Specialist. “The donations are growing every year”.

In 2009 CART will attempt to fill four trolleys full of donations, which is one more than last year.

Check out the video of CART Marketing and Public Relations Specialist Kris Glenn below:

Editor-in-Chief Jamie Hughes posts a new internship opportunity on the bulletin board inside the OU Daily newsroom Tuesday. Hughes says that internship experience is important when interviewing.

Internship Opportunities Available in OU Daily Newsroom

The OU Daily posts internship opportunities on the bulletin board located inside the OU daily newsroom so students can further their chances of gaining experience and ultimately finding careers, according to Editor-in-Chief Jamie Hughes.

Since the start of the semester, Hughes and editorial advisor Judy Gibbs Robinson have posted flyers and information regarding summer internships for those students who are having trouble finding internship opportunities on their own. Currently, around 20 internship opportunities are posted on the bulletin board.

"Internship experience is important in getting hired after graduation," Hughes said. "We understand that, so when we see something worthy of being posted, we'll post it".

Hughes and Robinson will continue to post information as the semester continues.

Check out the internship soundslide:

Students wait to receive their Red River Rivalry ticket Tuesday. The game will be held at 11:00 a.m. CT Saturday at the Cotton Bowl.

Selling Red River Rivalry Tickets Popular
Students have been selling tickets for the Red River Rivalry game on Saturday in an effort to completely fund their weekend trip to Dallas, TX.

Craigslist.com, Facebook Marketplace, Ebay.com, and Stubhub.com are only a few websites that list hundreds of potential sellers trying to make profit from the original $95 ticket. Money isn’t the only reason to sell; with the two OU early losses, many fans have also lost interest.

“We’re out of the national championship hunt,” sophomore Matt Zarse said. “So, honestly, I don’t care much anymore. Also, it doesn’t hurt that selling my ticket brings in a large profit margin, even with OU’s record”.

Ticket sales are expected to last until kickoff at 11:00 a.m. CT.

Listen to a student's perspective on selling Red River Rivalry tickets:

Gould Hall is currently being renovated by the College of Architecture. It's reportedly cost $9 million in hard costs.

Construction of Gould Hall for COA Betterment

With the renovation to Gould Hall, Dean of the College of Architecture Bob Fillpot hopes the finished facility will be more reflective of the professor's mission and responsibility and that the only thing the college loses is being regarded as one of the ugliest buildings on campus, according to a COA newsletter.

A new library, outdoor gathering place, lobby space, classrooms, archival space, and faculty center are only a few of the new additions the building. The renovation is presently $9 million in hard costs, according to Dean Bob Fillpot.

"Defined by concept design I did for President Boren five years ago," Dean Bob Fillpot said. "[The] program was determined by previous studies that had been [done] regarding different aspects of the college operations, together with thoughts on programmatic issues noted through one-on-one discussions with faculty and staff during my first two years with the college," according to the COA newsletter.

The facility is scheduled to be complete January 10, 2011, according to Nick Harm, Director Division of Architecture.

Check out the still image slideshow of Gould Hall below.

AFTERdark visited the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman on Tuesday. The doors opened at 6 p.m. CT.

AFTERdark Visits OU
In an effort to minister to universities across the nation, AFTERdark made their most recent visit to the University of Oklahoma and provided students with uplifting speakers and a free concert.

Musician Jon McLaughlin performed and AFTERdark speaker Joe White and OU football standout Gerald McCoy spoke at the Lloyd Noble Center Tuesday; and it was all free to the public. With many students searching for answers and wanting to be put in the right direction, AFTERdark tours campuses and sets goals for students. There have been 120 AFTERdark events and nearly 200,000 students in attendance, according to whatsafterdark.com.

“AFTERdark was better than I anticipated,” sophomore Tim Beedle said after attending. “I didn’t really know what to expect, but it was worth attending. I’d be willing to travel to one of the next universities they go to.”

AFTERdark chooses their campuses stops based on student recognition and requests. Their next stop will be at Texas Christian University Wednesday, followed by Missouri State Thursday.

Listen to the audio of a student who attended AFTERdark below.

Sophomore Austin Kolakowski runs for a first down in the Sigma Alpha Epsilon vs. Delta Tau Delta intramural football game Tuesday. Delta Tau Delta won 12-0 for their first win this season.

Intramural Football is Underway on Campus
Intramural football kicked off last week and is considered a way to relieve students of their stress and serve as a networking tool, according to intramural supervisor Matt Carpenter.

There are four intramural football leagues including: men's open, women's open, fraternity league, and men's residential. Overall there are nearly 130 teams within these four leagues, according to Carpenter.

"Intramurals are another way to meet people," Carpenter said. "It offers another element outside of the dorm life for freshmen and is a great bonding experience for everyone".

After the five week season concludes, there will be playoffs the last week of October. Also, intramurals such as horseshoes, volleyball and wiffle ball are soon to be underway.

Students are given the Vault taste challenge in the Walker Adams Mall on Tuesday. Vault's next stop is Oklahoma State University.

Coca-Cola Company Promotes Vault to Students
The Coca-Cola Company has started a nation-wide tour promoting Vault, their citrus flavored soda with a kick, to persuade the young adult demographic that Vault is better tasting than Mountain Dew.

On Tuesday Vault set up a taste challenge in the Walker Adams Mall where students could compare the taste of Mountain Dew and Vault. Oklahoma is currently a Mountain Dew state, according to Vault field manager Les Redman. However, after researching at the State Fair of Oklahoma the past week, 70 percent of taste-testers have switched their preference from Mountain Dew to Vault.

“Vault is a man’s drink,” said Vault assistant field manager Djuante Woods. “This drink is for people who wake up early in the morning, have a busy schedule in front of them and want to get through the day”.

The next stop for the Vault promotion tour is at Oklahoma State University.

A student exiting the Price College of Business building.

Business Fraternity Signs 16 New Members
Business majors that wanted to become more involved within the Price College of Business were interviewed Sunday for membership in Delta Sigma Pi.

Delta Sigma Pi, a co-educational professional fraternity organized to foster the study of business in universities, signed 16 new members on their eightieth year at the University of Oklahoma.

“The fraternity offers valuable leadership opportunities in the field of Business,” member Joeli Diemer said. “We pride ourselves on being one of the top business fraternities on campus”.

Delta Sigma Pi will be hosting a hayride philanthropy event on October 16, 2009.

An OU student studies outside of Gaylord Hall.

Gaylord College to Host "Town Hall" Meeting
All JMC students that are interested in seeing where their student fees go may attend an informal student “Town Hall” meeting.

The meeting will be presented by Dr. Joe Foote, dean of the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication, in Gaylord Hall, Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation Auditorium (Room 1140) Wednesday at 4 p.m.

“Student fees are a sore topic,” Daniel Terracina said, a Broadcast and Electronic Media junior. “Any student wonders where their fees go, but expanding Gaylord College isn’t cheap”.

Gaylord College’s next meeting is Thursday, hosting NBC News Correspondent Bob Dotson.

Students gathered around Crossroads in the Oklahoma Memorial Union.

Popular Food Item Gone
Crossroads, located inside the Oklahoma Memorial Union, has changed from curly fries to regular fries and students have constantly been sending in concerns through “Kitchen Comments”, according to Housing and Food Director Dave Annis.

Housing and Food has changed Crossroads for the new fall semester, including adding new burgers, sandwiches and other food items to the menu.

“Being a junior, curly fries have been legendary during my first two years,” said Drew Michalak, a Crossroads employee. “But, there’s nothing anyone can do but just enjoy the new fries.”

There will be particular days in which students can order curly fries, but the new fries will be staying, according to Annis.

EMSA students gathered at the Jimmie Austin Golf Club Sunday for the sixth annual "Kickoff Barbecue".

EMSA Holds “Kickoff Barbecue”
The Energy Management Student Association held its sixth annual “Kickoff Barbecue” on Sunday at Jimmie Austin Golf Club to introduce students to networking within the major.

Twenty Devon executives were present and students were able to ask questions about opportunities within the energy management field.

“I was able to talk with a Devon executive and he was able to answer any concern I had about getting an internship in the field of energy management,” sophomore Cassie Mongold said, an Energy Management student.

EMSA plans on having other extracurricular activities throughout the semester.

Student Arrested in Walker Tower

A freshman was cited for public intoxication at approximately 1:00am on August 27, 2009 in Walker 1120W.

Clay M. Girdner urinated on freshman Michael T. Burke’s microwave, minifridge and guitar amplifier. Girdner stayed in jail that night and was released that morning.

“I couldn’t believe that this actually happened,” Burke said. “[Girdner] has since apologized and I forgave him. Well, at least as long as he doesn’t do it again”.

Burke plans on locking his door from now on to prevent future incidents like this and warns other freshmen to do the same.

"It's funny looking back on it," Girdner said. "It'll take a while to get over it though."

Pedestrian Hit by Car

Freshman Ryan Chang was hit by a car Friday morning. Many friends tell Chang to file a lawsuit, but he respects senior Matt Carpenter, the driver of the vehicle for helping. Chang would prefer not to get legal.

Chang’s friend, freshman Sara Lambert, was also hit. Both Chang – thirteen staples in his head – and Lambert – 4 staples – suffer from head trauma. Chang will get his staples taken out of his head Sunday and Norman Regional Hospital in Norman.

“I respect him for stopping, it shows his character. I’m sure he didn’t even mean to hit me,” Chang said. “People were telling me different ways to get money from him but we’re both Greek gentlemen and we’re better than that”. Chang says if the roles were reversed, he wouldn’t want someone to file a lawsuit against him.

Chang plans to be more careful when crossing the street. “What a way to start my freshman year on campus. I’ll remember this day for the rest of my life,” Chang said. “I could’ve died and now I will start appreciating life more”.