Midterm Interesting Person Profile

The Race for Summer Lifeguard Jobs is Underway

Students seek lifeguard certification in hopes to gain summer employment in hard economic times. 

A high number of students have recently enrolled in lifeguard certification classes at the University of Oklahoma Murray Case Sells Swim Complex. 

"Students are looking for summer jobs with good pay and that still get to enjoy the summer weather," Kim Bramblett Head Lifeguard at the OU Swim Complex said. 

With the ever-present hard economic times, students are beginning to get creative in searching for new summer jobs; however, some students still seek out lifeguard jobs even with the high volume of applicants. 

View from the lifeguard stand at the OU Swim 
Complex. PHOTO: AJ Graffeo

"I'm a little nervous with the times being how they are...less people are paying to swim at public pools, which I think means pools will hire less lifeguards," Amber (last name withheld) prospective lifeguard said. 

Bramblett said last summer the OU Swim Complex had about 40 applicants for lifeguard positions, and only about 20 were hired throughout the summer. 

The applications for this summer are posted at www.jobs.ou.edu in early April. The OU Swim Complex is estimating to have about 45 to 50 applicants for this summer based on their inquiry volume, Bramblett explained. 

"Experience and leadership set the quality lifeguards apart from the other applicants," Bramblett said. 

Every year the OU Swim Complex provides various lifeguard certification classes that begin in January and run two consecutive weekends. 

"For the current class in session ten students are enrolled, and the numbers have increased for each class as the Summer gets closer," Rhiannon Windsor Lifeguard Certification Instructor at the OU Swim Complex said.  

Windsor explained how lifeguard certification students will learn surveillance and rescue techniques, CPR, and basic first aid. 

"[The lifeguard certification] will prepare the students adequately and give them the confidence to respond correctly in an emergency situation," Windsor said. 

Lifeguarding can be a high-stress job especially in the middle of the summer as the temperatures climb and more pool patrons come to swim. This does not scare away most applicants, however. 

"I think I'll be able to handle the stressful emergency situations, I've known how to swim well since I was little," Amber said. 

The OU Swim Complex offers one more lifeguard certification class in late April through early May. The classes cost $150, which includes all materials necessary. For more information on classes and employment, call the OU Swim Complex at 405-325-4837.

The necessary safety equipment used by lifeguards. PHOTO: AJ Graffeo

Art Students Fight Against Faulty Equipment

Students within the University of Oklahoma Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts petition against faulty equipment Monday.

"I'm a bit upset at the moment," Tyson Manning Photography Senior said. Manning started this discussion Monday after he sent out a mass e-mail to his classmates with the subject line: "YOU pay student fees - WHY does nothing work?."

Students pay class fees each semester according to their specific college and also general university fees. OU School of Art students pay nearly $300 in fine arts supply fees and arts and sciences technology fees according to a summary of fees for the OU School of Art students.

"I am paying labs fees and the school pays the IT department to take care of technology...Yet why does nothing work?," Manning said.

Many students were conscious of what their fees were applied to and equally frustrated; however, some students were not as concerned.

"Who really looks at that [bursar bill]? Either you have financial aid pay for it or your parents pay for it." Byron Towles Visual Communications Senior said.

Looking past the fees, both Manning and Towles agreed that there are printers and other lab equipment that have not worked all semester long within the OU School of Art, and feel it is impeding on their educational opportunities.

Within the Visual Communications lab there are printers that are "unbelievably unreliable," Towles said. He explained there is a lot of work to be done when the printer is working. "I know no one enjoys doing that, but at the same time, we have to do what is necessary to use a machine that requires a lot of annoying and tedious work," he said.

Manning explained, "I am in a screen printing class and I can't ever log into any of the computers...and the paper printer has been broken since the start of the semester." He went on to explain how for his photography classes, the water temperature in the basement isn't at the correct temperature for developing film properly.

Manning is collecting information on all the faulty equipment within the whole OU School of Art from his classmates and other art majors, then plans to compile the common problems into a petition.

In speaking out to his fellow art students Manning said: "I'm mad and you should be also. You're paying for broken crap."

Andrew Strout, professor of photography, explained that the OU Facilities Management is working on the problems.

Strout said the OU School of Art dark room should have cold water sometime in the near future. He explained that the school's water supply is being connected to the new plant being built by the Huston Huffman Fitness and Recreation Center.

Towles said the printers in the visual communications labs are working; however, they are more complicated than before to operate.

Nevertheless, Manning is still planning on petitioning for the remaining faulty equipment within the college.

"Come Monday, the petition will be ready," Manning said.

Audio Slideshow Assignment

This is an audio slideshow assignment I completed for class.

Burglary Tops University of Oklahoma Campus Crime Reports.

Annual crime report shows burglary to be the top crime on the University of Oklahoma Norman Campus. 

According to the 2010 Sooner Safety and Fire Report  burglary outnumbers all other crimes ranging from liquor law violations to murder. Additionally, in recent reports theft related occurrences were reported Wednesday and Thursday. 

Burglary numbers have risen slightly since the oldest report in 2007. 43 burglary occurrences were reported in 2007, 41 in 2008, and 45 in 2009. On average, 40 of these reports occurred on campus. 

  Recently, theft was reported in Dale Hall Thursday morning. "Someone left a wallet and car keys in the restroom of Dale Hall and they were gone when he came back," Tim Sieger University of Oklahoma Police Department Records Manager explained. Additionally, items were reported stolen from the eighth floor of Walker Tower Residence Hall Thursday night. 

Furthermore, another theft related incident was reported on Wednesday. The University of Oklahoma Police Department (OUPD) was dispatched to the OU Information Technology store when the burglary intrusion alarm was triggered. The alarm was "just an alarm," Sieger said. 

Sieger mentioned that when most alarms are triggered they are false activations. "Many are triggered by weather, electrical interference, or an employee not turning the alarm off in time upon entering...there's really too many reasons for me to list," Sieger said. 

The OUPD serves as the central alarm and monitoring station for the Norman Campus. All the electronic security systems triggered on campus report back to the dispatcher's position, according to the Sooner Safety and Fire Report.

Though burglary numbers are highest in the crime reports, one should not be alarmed. Burglary numbers are not always an actual theft crime, Sieger mentioned. "Anytime someone thinks they lost something they report it as theft even if it is not," he said. Sieger said he does not know for sure if burglary is actually the top crime on campus in numbers due to the wide range of "burglary" reports.

The OUPD are actively working to reduce the number of crimes on campus in many different ways. The department offers self-defense classes, alcohol classes, SafeRide/SafeWalk programs, and online theft reduction tips. 

"Always lock car doors and roll up windows. Keep valuables out of sight or in the trunk," "Never leave personal items unattended or unlocked," and always "take keys with you, even when steping out 'just for a second,'" the Sooner Safety and Fire Report lists. 

The OUPD recommends the OU community follow the crime prevention tips listed on their website, www.ou.edu/oupd/. Nevertheless, to report a non-emergency criminal incident, call the OUPD at 405-325-2864. For emergency incidents dial 911.  

Investigative Journalists in Murder of Daniel Pearl Scheduled to Visit University of Oklahoma

  Authors of "The Truth Left Behind," an extensive investigation into the murder of Daniel Pearl, are set to visit the University of Oklahoma Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication Monday. 

Asra Q. Nomani, former Wall Street Journal reporter and friend of Pearl, and Barbara Feinman Todd, Georgetown University Journalism Director, are two leaders of The Pearl Project. Georgetown University students researched extensively alongside Nomani and Todd for three years in the case of the kidnapping and murder or Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, 'The Oklahoman' reported. 

Nomani and Todd will be talking to various classes about the recent findings in the murder of Pearl. The results of their research have been released as conclusive evidence into the events leading up to Pearl's murder and the people involved. 

Pearl was in Pakistan investigating "shoe bomber" Richard Reid and his alleged connections between a Pakistani cleric. Reid had attempted to detonate a bomb on a transatlantic flight in December 2001, according to 'Right Vision News'. 

In order to get the most recent and complex information, Pearl set up an interview through Omar Sheikh with an extremist Muslim leader, Sheik Mubarak Ali Shah Gilani. However, this introduction through Sheikh was a trap. On January 23, 2002, Pearl was kidnapped and taken to a safe-house where he was chained to an old car engine within a small building, according to "The Truth Left Behind". 

"Pearl stumbled into his kidnappers' hands through his effort to find the identity of the man who gave instruction to Reid in Pakistan," "The Truth Left Behind" said.

After extensive vascular technology, FBI matched the veins in Khalid Sheik Mohammed's hand with the hand in the video of Pearl's beheading, Right Vision News reported. Mohammed, a self-proclaimed mastermind behind the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, was named the murderer of Pearl. 

"I decapitated with my blessed right hand the head of the American Jew Daniel Pearl in the city of Karachi," Mohammed declared at a military hearing in 2007. 

It is reported that the high-profile execution actually angered al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, according to the 'Washington Times'.

Mohammed is being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba where he has been water-boarded 183 times by the CIA, according to 'Right Vision News'. Mohammed has not been charged with Pearl's murder, as the CIA feels Mohammed's treatment while in custody would negatively hinder the case. Additionally, Sheik is in prison for Pearl's kidnapping and murder, 'Right Vision News' reports. 

Furthermore, The Pearl Project research by Nomani, Todd, and the Georgetown University students has extensively accelerated the case against the murder of Pearl. The project is sponsored by the Center for Public Integrity and funded by the Oklahoma City-based Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation, according to 'The Oklahoman'. 

The project has discovered 27 men that were involved in Pearl's kidnapping and murder; however, four have been convicted or are missing, five are dead, and fourteen remain free in Pakistan, according to "The Truth Left Behind". 

Nomani and Todd will be speaking to future generation journalists about the details behind the investigative journalism used in The Pearl Project to uncover Pearl's murderer. This inside look at the death of a journalist stationed inside Pakistan, is a realistic look at the reality behind journalism in the field and the risks that accompany it. 

"Reporters can no longer assume they possess a special immunity to the violence," "The Truth Left Behind" said. 

Students at the University of Oklahoma will have three opportunities to hear the lectures by Nomani and Todd. Beginning at 9 a.m., the guests will be in the Gaylord Hall of Fame room. Then at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., they will be in the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Auditorium. Space at the lectures is reserved for the classes they are scheduled to visit; however, any additional space is open to visitors on a first come basis.